{"id":129629,"date":"2018-03-15T13:27:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T13:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=129629"},"modified":"2018-03-16T12:23:56","modified_gmt":"2018-03-16T16:23:56","slug":"strong-political-endorsement-of-unrwa-at-extraordinary-ministerial-conference-called-to-bridge-unprecedented-deficit-press-release","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/strong-political-endorsement-of-unrwa-at-extraordinary-ministerial-conference-called-to-bridge-unprecedented-deficit-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Strong Political Endorsement of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA at Extraordinary Ministerial Conference Called to Bridge Unprecedented Deficit – Press Release"},"content":{"rendered":"
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15 March 2018<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n
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\u00a0Rome. 15 March, 2015: Powerful political support was expressed for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, its mandate and critical\u00a0services to Palestine refugees at a ministerial conference in Rome today entitled \u201cPreserving Dignity and\u00a0Sharing Responsibility: Mobilizing Collective Action for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u201d. The conference saw additional pledges to\u00a0Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA of approximately US$ 100 million by numerous donors as part of an international effort to address\u00a0the Agency\u2019s funding shortfall, and to sustain its \u201cvital\u201d services in an unstable region.<\/p>\n

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The meeting was convened by Jordan, Sweden and Egypt as co-chairs. Reflecting global commitment to\u00a0Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and the Palestine refugees, the conference was attended by senior officials from over seventy\u00a0countries, as well as international organisations partnering with Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA. Participants included United\u00a0Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and the High Representative of the European Union for\u00a0Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.<\/p>\n

The meeting aimed to ensure the collective action of Member States providing sufficient, predictable and\u00a0sustained funding to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, by generating a collective dynamic to build new funding alliances, reaffirm\u00a0support for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s mandate and overcome the Agency\u2019s unprecedented shortfall of USD 446 million.<\/p>\n

Echoing many participants in today\u2019s event, Ayman Safadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan, told the\u00a0conference that Jordan, which plays host to over two million Palestine refugees, believed the case or\u00a0bridging Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s deficit was overwhelming \u201cÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA needs to deliver vital services to the Palestinian\u00a0refugees, and this is an international political, legal, ethical and humanitarian responsibility\u201d.<\/p>\n

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Margot Wallstr\u00f6m, urged traditional and non-traditional donors to\u00a0come together, given what was at stake. \u201cWe have witnessed how Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and its vital humanitarian work\u00a0have been jeopardised time and again due to insufficient funding. We have seen how some countries take\u00a0great financial responsibility for the organisation while others do not. We are here because this is an\u00a0organisation that is a lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, told delegates that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s emergency and human\u00a0development services were vital to the dignity of over five million people. Minister Shoukry stressed on the\u00a0necessity of preserving the dignity and the status of the refugees, and called upon all concerned parties to\u00a0adhere to international resolutions that aim at solving the refugee problem.<\/p>\n

United Nations Secretary General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres paid tribute to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s indispensable role. \u201cBy\u00a0keeping half a million children in school and millions of people healthy and nourished, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is\u00a0contributing to stability in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as in Jordan and Lebanon — and\u00a0has undertaken extraordinary efforts to support Palestinians who have suffered as a result of the tragedy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0BACKGROÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵD INFORMATION<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA 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¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA Programme Budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agency\u2019s Programme Budget. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.<\/p>\n

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA 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¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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For more information, please contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Christopher Gunness<\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Spokesperson, Director of Advocacy & Strategic Communications<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mobile:<\/div>\n
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+972 (0)54 240 2659<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Office:<\/div>\n
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+972 (0)2 589 0267<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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c.gunness@unrwa.org<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Sami Mshasha<\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Chief of Communications, Arabic Language Spokesperson<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mobile:<\/div>\n
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+972 (0)54 216 8295<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Office:<\/div>\n
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+972 (0)258 90724<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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s.mshasha@unrwa.org<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

15 March 2018 \u00a0Rome. 15 March, 2015: Powerful political support was expressed for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, its mandate and critical\u00a0services to Palestine refugees at a ministerial conference in Rome today entitled \u201cPreserving Dignity and\u00a0Sharing Responsibility: Mobilizing Collective Action for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u201d. The conference saw additional pledges to\u00a0Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA of approximately US$ 100 million by numerous donors as part of […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,1745],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-129629","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/129629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/129629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=129629"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=129629"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=129629"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=129629"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=129629"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=129629"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=129629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}