Shafaqna Pakistan: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday appealed to member states to help bridge a $100 million funding shortfall facing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), warning that the organisation was approaching a breaking point despite implementing deep cost-cutting and austerity measures.
Addressing an ad hoc meeting of the UN General Assembly on voluntary contributions, Guterres said UNRWA’s financial situation had become increasingly critical due to severe operational restrictions across the occupied Palestinian territories and a significant funding gap.
UNRWA operates in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, providing humanitarian assistance, education, healthcare, social services and shelter to around 2.6 million Palestinians.
The United States, previously UNRWA’s largest donor, suspended funding in January 2024 after Israel alleged that about a dozen agency employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that triggered the war in Gaza. Sweden also withdrew its funding for 2025. While several other major donors temporarily paused their contributions during investigations into the allegations, most have since resumed their financial support.
Guterres said the agency’s liquidity crisis jeopardized its ability to meet its mandate, which was renewed by the General Assembly six months ago with overwhelming member support.
“They cannot keep going like this without urgent backing and financial support from member states,” Guterres said, noting that the agency had taken decisive steps to implement reforms and update its policy on outside and political activities following Israel’s accusations.
“UNRWA is a stabilizing force in an age of instability,” he said, rejecting what he called continued efforts to undermine the agency through “disinformation, smear campaigns, legislative actions, operational restrictions, diplomatic roadblocks and more.”
Such actions threatened the well-being of millions of Palestinians as well as UNRWA staff, Guterres said, noting that 390 UNRWA staff had been killed in Gaza since October 2023. He noted that 1,000 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli attacks since a ceasefire announced in October.
Source: Dunya News
