The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) has
run out of cash on hand to keep vital services going amid the
worsening health emergency, UNRWA spokesperson Tamara Alrifai told
a regular UN press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
“Despite the immense efforts to raise sufficient funds in 2020 to
maintain UNRWA’s critical services to 5.7 million Palestinian
refugees across the Middle East, as of yesterday November 9,
UNRWA has run out of money”, Ms. Alrifai said.
“If we do not have additional funding by the end of this month,
November, then we will have to enact really disheartening
measures that will affect the salaries of our frontline 28,000
UNRWA staff, in the middle of a global health emergency.”
The number of refugees who have contracted COVID-19 has jumped
from fewer than 200 in July to nearly 17,000 as of this week, she
said. The situation partly reflected the situation in the
countries the refugees were in, and numbers had risen across the
region.
Slowing the spread
UNRWA had put measures in place to slow the spread of the virus,
including giving medical consultations by phone, delivering
humanitarian assistance to avoid overcrowding at distribution
centres, and blending school with remote learning. But respect
for lockdown measures had increasingly given way to pressure on
people to leave home in search of a daily wage.
“This, in turn, has of course invited the virus into the refugee
communities”, Ms. Alrifai said.
UNRWA was established following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict,
and has operations in Gaza and the West Bank, but also in
Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, funded almost entirely by
contributions from UN Member States.
The agency usually needs $50 million per month to cover staff
salaries for services to 5.7 million in need, and now requires
$30 million in the next two weeks to ensure it can continue to
pay staff salaries, otherwise it will have to pay partial wages
and defer the rest until it had enough funds, Ms. Alrifai said.
Funding mismatch
She added that UNRWA, which plays an important part in
stabilising the region, would be devastated if it could not
continue running health centres and schools for more than 500,000
children, but this year it had not received sufficient funds from
donors, despite overwhelming political support at the UN General
Assembly.
“So, at the centre of our crisis is a mismatch between the
political support we get from UN member states and the financial
contributions.”
Tribute paid to veteran Palestinian
negotiator
Tributes have been paid to the veteran Palestinian official and
chief negotiator in search of a peaceful resolution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saeb Erekat.
He died at a hospital in Jerusalem on Tuesday, after being
admitted in mid-October, due to complications related to
COVID-19.
The Palestinian Authority has declared a three-day period of
mourning, with flags to be flow at half-staff, according to news
reports.
UN chief António Guterres, said he was "deeply saddened", by his
passing.
"I am grateful to have known Dr. Erekat and to have called him my
friend. He was dedicated to the peaceful pursuit of justice,
dignity and the legitimate rights of Palestinians to
self-determination, sovereignty and statehood.
"Now is the time to continue his crucial work and end the
conflict that has tragically affected the lives of so many", the
statement continued. "I reiterate my own and the United Nations
commitment to support all efforts to bring the parties together
to achieve a long-awaited, just and sustainable two-State
solution, with Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace
and security."
The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process,
Nickolay Mladenov (UNSCO), extended his “deepest condolences” to
both Mr. Erekat’s family and the Palestinian people.
“You remained convinced that Israel and Palestine can live in
peace; never gave up on negotiations; and stood proudly for your
people! We will miss you, my friend”, he added, in a tweet.
