The? Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA), Pierre Kr?henb¨¹hl, has paid tribute to the Agency in building and maintaining ¡°one of the most successful¡± human development?institutions in the Middle East, making an ¡°indispensable contribution to human dignity, to the pursuit of human rights and regional stability¡±.
Speaking in Jordan at the Advisory Commission of host governments and leading donors, Mr. Kr?henb¨¹hl told delegates that Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA in its 711 schools ¡°was equipping the next generation ¨C well over half a million children ¨C with skills for life¡±, with refugee girls ¡°among the best performers¡±. The Agency¡¯s Health Department had ¡°invented and introduced the concept of the family doctor in its 143 health clinics across the region¡± and, in Gaza, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA had overseen the construction of shelters for over 85,000 families since the 2014 conflict.
The Commissioner-General paid tribute to what he called the ¡°powerful renewed engagement of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ General Assembly¡± and the ¡°inspiring unity¡± with which Advisory Commission members had answered the call for support, which he described as ¡°truly global¡±. He outlined the recommendations in the report of 30 March 2017 by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on ¡°sufficient, predictable and sustained¡± funding for Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA, about which he said there had been some progress, including towards the establishment of a Trust Fund at the World Bank and a Waqf at the Islamic Development Bank.
Mr. Kr?henb¨¹hl told delegates that the shortfall in the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA operational budget for the rest of the year was still US$ 77 million. He explained that he had informed the Fourth Committee of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ General Assembly in New York just ten days ago that this shortfall would put at risk access to services to refugees in all fields. He concluded with an urgent call for collective action to close this critical financial gap.
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.
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Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA)
Subject: Assistance, Children, Education and culture, Gaza Strip, Health, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 14/11/2017
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