The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, warned, on Monday 12 February, that the European Commission’s financial support – €82 million for 2024, which could be disbursed in March – was critical for the UN agency’s operations.
“The European Commission’s contribution is absolutely critical”, he stressed at the end of the informal meeting of European development ministers in Brussels.
Mr Lazzarini, who met members of the European Commission on Monday morning, said that the Commission had put forward a number of expectations: an audit of recruitment within the UN agency, the strengthening of the internal control mechanism and the vetting of UNRWA staff. He added that there was a “mutual commitment to find ways to address (questions) in order to make release of this contribution possible”.
According to the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, the total amount put on hold or suspended for 2024 is currently 450 million dollars. “If there had been no pause or freeze, we would have had cash flow until the end of July. We’re going to suffer from now on, from March onwards”, he explained. According to him, the accounts will be overdrawn by 30 to 40 million dollars in March, with a significant increase in April, while the salaries of the 30,000 UNRWA employees represent 60 million euros per month. Mr Lazzarini warned that if there was a shortage of money, all the Agency’s activities would be affected “in one way or another” not just in Gaza.
While the Member States have taken different decisions regarding funding for UNRWA – Spain has announced exceptional aid of €3.5 million to be disbursed in the next few days, while Germany has decided to put on hold any new commitments to the Agency, but not for current payments, according to their respective Secretaries of State – the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, announced that “everyone agreed that the work (of UNRWA) should not be interrupted”. He stressed to the media that “the majority understands that there is no alternative to support the Palestinians to what we have put in place for over 70 years”, adding that it was not possible to imagine that someone else could, tomorrow, provide education to half a million people and food to 7 million people.
On their arrival, several ministers emphasised the importance of the UN agency. “The work done by UNRWA is irreplaceable, there are no other entities to do it”, explained the Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Eva Granados Galiano. For the German Secretary of State for Economic Cooperation and Development, Jochen Flasbarth, “UNRWA is absolutely essential” and there is “no alternative” to the UN agency.
The High Representative also advocated maintaining the Agency, opposing “collective punishment” against the Palestinians because of allegations that 13 UNRWA staff members were involved in the attacks of 7 October 2023. According to Mr Borrell and Mr Lazzarini, beyond the humanitarian disaster, the end of UNRWA could have dangerous repercussions for the stability of the region. “It is in everybody’s interest, including the European and Israeli people, to preserve UNRWA’s role”, warned the High Representative.
Mr Lazzarini spoke of the catastrophic situation in Gaza – 5% of the population has been injured, killed or disappeared since 7 October, famine is threatening in the north of the enclave, where no humanitarian aid has arrived for a month – and the difficult working conditions of his agency. He explained that the UN had been unable to operate in Rafah the previous day due to a lack of security. In addition, according to him, UNRWA suppliers have been ordered not to move food, the tax exemptions enjoyed by the Agency have been withdrawn, its accounts have been frozen by local banks, and staff are having difficulty obtaining annual visas. Finally, a bill is due to be voted on this week in the Knesset to put an end to UNRWA operations in Jerusalem.
In addition, the High Representative, Mr Lazzarini, and the Belgian Minister for Development Cooperation, Caroline Gennez, called for transparency and the sharing of information concerning the allegations against UNRWA. “Israel has made certain allegations, but so far the report has not yet been communicated to donors and, apparently, not to UNRWA either”, stressed Ms Gennez. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)