The level of anxiety and tension has risen again in the Middle-East and all eyes are turned to Jerusalem.

I stand here within the Old City of Jerusalem to assure you – the Palestine Refugees – that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA is more determined than ever to protect your rights and meet your needs. Nothing is more important to me than fulfilling that mission. It is a mandate that reflects the will of the international community and was extended by the United Nations General Assembly a year ago.

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA continues to face a challenging financial situation for the remainder of this year. Our deficit is now 49 Million Dollars. That is still a large amount.

As we near the end of 2017, I am therefore acutely conscious of the profound concern that refugees and Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA staff feel about a disruption of Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA services.

I have taken exceptional steps, including special appeals to the highest levels of the international community, and internal measures, to preserve our vital work. I am grateful for the strong support of hosts and donors.

So, today I am announcing that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA services – here in East-Jerusalem, in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon – will continue without interruption in 2017.

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA’s 711 schools will remain open. Palestine refugee students will continue to have access to the education that develops their skills and preserves their opportunities.

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA’s 143 clinics will remain open and Palestine refugees will have access to the care, both physical and psychosocial, that is so dearly needed.

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA’s relief and social services, sanitation and camp improvement work, its micro-finance, protection and emergency activities will continue in all fields.

I call on all our partners – host and donors – to further increase their mobilization in support of our services, which must continue until a just and lasting solution has been found. It is a matter of dignity for the 5.3 million Palestine refugees.

On 6 December, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Ant¨®nio Guterres, spoke for the entire United Nations when he said “Jerusalem is a final status issue that must be resolved through direct negotiations between the two parties on the basis of the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions [¡­]There is no alternative to the Two-State Solution. There is no plan B”.

And earlier this year, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA’s role was described as indispensable by the United Nations General Assembly in New York. It did so because it has a responsibility towards you, the Palestine Refugees. The future of your children matters and Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA stands for you. Not for charity, but for respect and for rights, for hope and for dignity.

Our common humanity depends on it.

I thank you.

BACKGROÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµD INFORMATION

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA Programme Budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agency¡¯s Programme Budget. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.

For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
Spokesperson, Director of Advocacy & Strategic Communications
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 240 2659
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0267
Sami Mshasha
Chief of Communications, Arabic Language Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 216 8295
Office:
+972 (0)258 90724