Sweden, Jordan and Egypt are slated to co-host a conference later this month to assist the UN Relief and Works Agency in overcoming a major funding gap, Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the organization, said.
The conference will take place on March 15 in Rome, according to Gunness.
UNRWA provides health, education, social welfare and other services to millions of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
“The purpose of the conference is to actively support a collective response by the international community to protect the rights and dignity of Palestine Refugees,” Gunness said in a statement.
The announcement of the conference’s date comes some six weeks after US President Donald Trump’s administration said it would withhold $65 million of a planned contribution of $125 million to the agency. US State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert has said the Trump administration wants UNRWA to enact reforms and other countries to increase their funding to the organization.
However, in January in Davos, Trump said the US would only deliver US aid money to Palestinians, if the Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership returns to the peace negotiations table.
The US historically has been UNRWA’s largest donor. In 2016, the US provided UNRWA with some $355 million.
Since the Trump’s administration said it would withhold aid to UNRWA, a number of countries have said they would disburse planned payments ahead of schedule to the agency and Kuwait pledged to donate $900,000 for Palestinian refugees in Syria.
Article source: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Russia-says-not-ready-to-strangle-North-Korea-economically-518159
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