Several countries, among the largest donors to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), decided to suspend their support for the United Nations after Israeli accusations of the involvement of a number of its employees in the October 7 attacks, despite warnings that the agency’s work would be affected, especially in the Gaza Strip, which is suffering from a humanitarian catastrophe. actually.
Japan was the last of these countries, as it announced the suspension of additional funding for UNRWA. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Monday that it is “deeply concerned about allegations regarding the involvement of UNRWA employees in the terrorist attack on Israel.”
Tokyo called on UNRWA “strongly to conduct the investigation in a prompt and complete manner.”
Japan is the agency’s sixth largest donor, with an amount exceeding $30 million, according to UNRWA data for 2022.
A group of the largest donors, led by the United States, suspended its support for UNRWA, after reports issued in recent days about the participation of some employees from the agency in Hamas attacks (which are included on the American terrorist lists) against towns in southern Israel on October 7.
In response to the movements of those countries, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, confirmed that UNRWA is the main humanitarian agency in Gaza, stressing that many “feel hungry at a time when the clock is ticking towards a looming famine.”
Fears of the worst… How does the suspension of UNRWA funding affect the residents of Gaza?
Over the past two days, nine countries decided to suspend funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), after Israeli accusations against a number of UN agency employees of participating in the October 7 attacks carried out by the Palestinian Hamas movement, raising major concerns about the trend of the already disastrous humanitarian conditions. In the Gaza Strip, the situation will get worse and there will be a possibility of entering into “chaos” if the agency’s work is terminated.
He considered it “shocking that the agency’s funding was suspended in response to allegations against a small group of employees, especially given the immediate action the agency took to terminate their contracts and request an independent and transparent investigation.”
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, announced on Sunday the dismissal of 9 employees out of 12 who were accused.
He said in a statement that the international organization will “hold accountable any employee involved in terrorist acts,” explaining that out of 12 people who were charged, “9 of them were identified and their service terminated,” noting the death of an employee among those around whom the allegations revolve, while Work is underway to uncover the identity of the other two.
Who funds UNRWA?
The UN agency periodically publishes details of financial support to UN member states, who donate annually to its activities.
The agency said on its website that its funding comes entirely from voluntary donations, and the only exception is a very limited subsidy from the regular budget of the United Nations, used exclusively to cover administrative costs.
She added, “It would not have been possible to implement UNRWA’s work without sustained donations from state and regional governments, the European Union and other governmental partners, which represented 94.9 percent of total donations in 2022.”
UNRWA, which was established to help refugees from the 1948 war that accompanied the declaration of Israel’s founding, provides educational and health services and aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Fired 9 employees. Guterres demands continued funding for UNRWA
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, said that the international organization will hold accountable any “employee involved in terrorist acts,” following accusations that some of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) participated in the October 7 attacks against Israel.
UNRWA also helps about two-thirds of the Gaza Strip’s population of 2.3 million people, and has a pivotal role in providing aid during the ongoing war.
The agency indicated in its official data that in 2022, 44.3 percent of the agency’s total pledges of $1.17 billion came from European Union member states, which donated $520.3 million, including those that came from During the European Commission.
The United States, Germany, the European Union, and Sweden were the largest individual donors, contributing a cumulative 61.4 percent of the agency’s total funding.
revealed UNRWA data The United States is the largest donor government, as total aid to UNRWA during 2022 reached about $344 million, followed by Germany, with aid amounting to $202 million during the same year.
The European Union comes third with total aid worth more than $114 million, followed by Sweden with about $61 million, Norway with more than $34 million, then Japan with a little more than $30 million, and then France with total donations amounting to about $29 million.
The first Arab country on the list is Saudi Arabia, and it ranks eighth on the list of donors for the year 2022, with support reaching $27 million.
Switzerland comes next with support amounting to $25.5 million, then Turkey comes in tenth place with $25.1 million.
Kuwait comes second on the list of Arab donors and is ranked 19th overall, with donations reaching $12 million, followed by Qatar in 20th place with support amounting to $10.5 million.
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2024-01-29 04:30:42
