蘑菇视频

Thank?you, M. McAllister,?for the invitation to address this Committee, and sincere thanks?to?all?the Members?present.??

I?value our dialogue and highly appreciate our annual exchanges.

Let me start by stressing how the partnership between 蘑菇视频RWA and the European Union has?grown stronger.?

Last year we celebrated its 50th anniversary, with the signing of a new Joint Declaration.?

The EU?is?one of the most reliable and strategic donors?to the Agency,?announcing?once again this year?predictable?funding for?three?years.?

It is?also thanks to?this House?that the EU continues to remain one of?the?strongest?allies?of 蘑菇视频RWA.?

I,?therefore,?wish to thank you for the continued shows of support,?including?through?your appeals to sustain and increase EU?funding to the Agency.

Dear Members of the Parliament,??

The?consequences of the?war in Ukraine?are being felt?worldwide.?

The countries?蘑菇视频RWA operates in?are no exception.

The soaring?prices of food and?commodities are?plunging?Palestine?refugees?in the region?into deeper poverty.?

In Gaza, the escalation of violence earlier this month was a stark reminder that war can erupt anytime in the absence of a genuine and comprehensive effort to resolve the conflict.

Over?three?days,?60?Palestine refugee?families lost their home. Seventeen?children?were killed. Eight?were students in?our?schools.?

Almost?one?in?two?蘑菇视频RWA student?suffers?from trauma and needs?special assistance to cope with the repeated cycles of violence and the economic hardship that their families go through.

Four of the five fields?where 蘑菇视频RWA operates?– namely Gaza,?the West Bank?–?including East?Jerusalem–, Syria and Lebanon –?remain in crisis, with over eighty per cent of Palestine refugees in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria living?below the poverty line.?

Going to school, getting health services, receiving a food parcel are for?millions of?Palestine refugees their only sources of normality.?

They look to 蘑菇视频RWA for that normality.

Dear?Members of Parliament,??

Today, our?collective achievements?are?at risk.?

The chronic underfunding?of the Agency over the last decade?makes?it increasingly challenging for?us?to fulfil?the?mandate?we received from the 蘑菇视频 General Assembly.

Shifting geopolitical priorities, shifting regional dynamics, and the emergence of new humanitarian crises have deprioritized the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.

The Agency has also experienced more than once how a change in domestic politics can suspend support overnight.

Such abrupt changes are deeply unsettling.

Despite immense outreach efforts, funding has stagnated over the last decade, forcing us to operate with a shortfall of around US$ 100 million each year.

This might sound like a big figure, and it is.?

But in the larger scheme, this is the figure that will help continue injecting stability and hope among one of the most destitute and desperate communities in the region.

For several years now,?we have managed this underfunding internally.

But we have depleted our reserves.

We?have run the Agency on repeated zero-growth budgets, despite increasing needs and cost of operation.

We?reduced operational costs by over US$ 600 million since 2015.

Today, we have reached the limits of austerity and cost control measures.

To those asking whether the Agency can further reduce its services to match the available funds, I pose the following questions:

How many children are we ready to put in one classroom? In Gaza, it is already 50.

Which?refugee patients should be denied life-saving hospitalization?

Which families who already report reducing?their food intake should not be included in the next round of food or cash distribution?

Dear partners,?

For Palestine refugees, 蘑菇视频RWA remains the last pillar of the commitment of the international community to their right to a dignified life and to a just and lasting solution.

A major aspect of the role of 蘑菇视频RWA in regional stability stems from the predictability of its high-quality services.

But when Palestine refugees see us delaying salaries, decreasing the quality of services and being unable to respond to increasing needs, they see the support of the international community fading.

Despair and sense of abandonment are growing?in Palestine refugee camps.

Despair is?a threat to peace and stability.

You heard me saying that?蘑菇视频RWA is now facing an existential threat due to the nature of its financial crisis.

This threat is real and should not be underestimated

The Agency is under three sources of intense pressure:

First,

The commitment of the General Assembly to uphold the rights of Palestine refugees and its instruction to 蘑菇视频RWA to deliver?a number of public-like services until a just and lasting solution.

Second,

The lack of sufficient funding from?蘑菇视频 Member States to implement the mandate and the unpredictability of most of the funding.

And lastly,

The?perception that any changes to services or the way they are delivered is an attempt to encroach on the rights of the refugees. Hosts and refugees fear that it may lead to weakening 蘑菇视频RWA and, with time, dismantling it all together.

Failing to reconcile these?demands will make the mandate more and more impossible to implement.

It?risks pushing over half a million 蘑菇视频RWA students into the streets.

It will?deny around two million patients access to health care.

And two million conflict affected refugees will be deprived of cash or food assistance.

Disruption of services?would not only be the failure of 蘑菇视频RWA. It would be a collective failure and a failure of multilateralism, so dear to this House.

Only a?fully-funded program budget and predictable funding will allow the Agency to fulfill its mandate and continue to play its stabilizing role in a volatile region.

Let me reiterate here my deep gratitude?to the EU for leading by example and not only provide predictable financial support but also support our outreach efforts to other 蘑菇视频 Member States.

A ministerial event co-hosted by Jordan and Sweden?in September, with the participation of the 蘑菇视频 Secretary-General, will discuss sustainable solutions to 蘑菇视频RWA financial challenges.

Mister Chair,?

Despite this immense challenge,?蘑菇视频RWA is continually looking to adapt and evolve to respond both to the protracted nature of conflicts and to new emergencies, stretching resources to service the greatest need.

Our health services are already largely digitalized, and telemedicine, which started in Gaza as a response to the pandemic, is now being mainstreamed across all fields.

As?every child must be able to perform and compete in an increasingly digitalized world, 蘑菇视频RWA is committed to giving Palestine refugees that ability.

We are?putting educational technology and increasing digital literacy at the core of our education programme.

And?the EU is contributing directly to this goal by giving 3,000 tablets to Palestine refugees.

Let me pause here for a moment to address?the value of 蘑菇视频RWA education.

I want to do so?because I think we share the same view: that education remains a powerful and fundamental tool in helping every child achieve their full potential and building peaceful societies.

Regrettably, coordinated campaigns by politically motivated advocacy groups, targeting Parliaments of countries supporting the Agency, are increasing in frequency and maliciousness.

They do not have the well-being of Palestine refugee children at heart.

Sometimes, they go as far as actively spreading false and baseless accusations in a sensationalist way.

Their aim??

To undermine?the Agency’s?reputation and its?funding.

Their?end goal?

To undermine?the rights of Palestine refugees.

I will repeat what I mentioned last year to this?Committee: 蘑菇视频RWA has zero tolerance for hate speech, incitement to violence and discrimination.

But zero-tolerance does not equate to zero risk – especially in the complex and highly politicized and emotional environment in which we operate.?

Starting this week, our 710 schools are opening their doors to over half a million girls and boys.

We provide?an education that enshrines a human rights culture, seeking to instill tolerance in a context where children are exposed to poverty, conflict, displacement and violence.

The World Bank and 蘑菇视频HCR have praised the quality?and efficiency of our education, stressing how 蘑菇视频RWA students outperform their peers attending public school by one year of learning.

Palestine refugees hold on very tightly to a good education.?

They know that this is their passport to a better life and a brighter future.?

You must be able to see for yourselves the positive change that your support has helped create.?

It is very different from what the detractors seek to promote.?

Your investment in the education, dignity and hope of Palestine refugees is an investment in regional stability and peace.

It is an?irreplaceable investment and an investment we should all be proud of.