A $186 million funding shortfall caused by United States' refusal to contribute to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has been has been partially resolved with $122 million in pledges during a conference on the sidelines of this week's UN General Assembly meeting, the United Nations said in a press release on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th September, 2018) A $186 million funding shortfall caused by United States' refusal to contribute to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has been has been partially resolved with $122 million in pledges during a conference on the sidelines of this week's UN General Assembly meeting, the United Nations said in a press release on Friday.
"The Ministerial Meeting raised a remarkable US$122 million, with Kuwait, the European Union, Germany, Norway, France, Belgium and Ireland announcing additional funding commitments," the release said.
UNRWA was confronted with a "dramatic financial crisis" when in January 2018 "its largest donor announced a major reduction in contributions," the release explained, without mentioning the United States by name.
The Trump administration has halted US funding for UNRWA, claiming the agency is irredeemably flawed and has done little to promote peace.
UNRWA supports schools, health clinics and other services for more than 1.5 million individuals who live in 58 recognized Palestine refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the agency website.
