On Wednesday 31 October Pierre Krähenbühl, Commissioner General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said that the whole international community should rally together to compensate for the €300 million shortfall for the UN agency resulting from the reduction in American financing. US President Donald Trump has indeed announced that his country intends to give UNRWA €60 million for 2018, instead of the €360 million paid in 2017.
"This will have to be a collective effort", Krähenbühl stated at a press conference in Brussels, following a meeting of the ad hoc liaison committee (AHLC) (see other article). "It is a really important sum. It is not an issue of 'business as usual'. This requires a collective sense of commitment, responsibility and action by the international community", he said, while stating that the UN General Assembly had extended the agency's mandate for three months in December 2016.
Krähenbühl said that UNRWA should make new alliances, hold discussions with current donors, engage with those – donors or partners – who do not contribute much, and also take more interest in private funds. He said he would go around the capitals to obtain more donations or political support for the agency and to help reach other donors. UNRWA also launched a fund-raising campaign last week (#DignityIsPriceless) with the objective of raising $500 million.
This is a call that seems to have been heard – at least at the AHLC meeting. According to Palestine's Foreign Minister Riyad Malki, therefore, "most of the participants are concerned about the American decision and all showed a commitment to UNRWA to upfront their commitment". Krähenbühl stated that, when at the meeting, several states had recognised the importance of the agency's work and that it was important for it to continue its activities, especially in terms of education and health. "It is a first very important step in the reaffirmation of the political commitment concerning the role and mandate of UNRWA, on which we can build to rally the international community as we seek concrete financial support", he said.
The UNRWA budget this year stands at between $1.2 and $1.3 billion for the benefit of 5.2 million Palestinian refugees. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)