Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Friday stressed the importance of sustained financial and political support to UNRWA by the international community, to enable it to continue playing its UN-mandated role.
He added that maintaining UNRWA is maintaining the rights of 5 million Palestinian refugees to a dignified living, the right of half a million students to education and the right of hundreds of thousands to healthcare, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Safadi made his remarks in New York while co-chairing a meeting with his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde, organised by Jordan and Sweden to rally support to the UNRWA.
The UNRWA support-rallying meeting has resulted in an additional assistance of $31 million which minimises this year's financial deficit to $89 million, according to another ministry statement.
In his opening speech, Safadi highlighted that the UNRWA is tied to the refugee cause, which is one of the most significant final-status issues, which must be resolved in accordance with international legislative decisions, most notably UNGA Resolution 194 and the Arab Peace initiative to guarantee the refugees’ rights of return and compensation.
“What we are addressing today is the protection of the Palestinians’ right to live with dignity,” Safadi said, warning that the choice is either to fulfill their rights to a dignified living, education and healthcare or “plunge them into deprivation and desperation, which create an environment that fosters extremism and terrorism”.
Safadi stressed the importance of the international community’s role in bridging the UNRWA’s budget deficit to ensure the maintenance of its schools and services, noting that it is vital to reach an agreement on a mechanism that would sustain long-term funding to the agency for the next three or five years.
