Image of Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador H E Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani. Image taken from Twitter.
New York: The State of Qatar has renewed its commitment to supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and called on member states to participate in providing support to the agency.
This came in a statement by Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador H E Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani before the meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the announcement of the voluntary contributions of UNRWA.
She said that the Palestinian refugees, numbering over five million registered refugees, consider UNRWA’s vital role and assistance indispensable.
“The assistance is extended under its mandate and within the relevant General Assembly resolutions,” she said, noting UNRWA’s minimum services to enable refugees to overcome the difficulties and enjoy basic human rights, human development and an adequate standard of living through the agency’s comprehensive activities in the areas of basic health care, basic and secondary education, food, shelter, relief and social services.
She added that the provision of such services and support structures was essential in the face of the challenges faced by the Palestinian refugees because of the continued occupation and the siege imposed on Gaza and the failure to reach a just and comprehensive solution to their cause.
Sheikha Alya drew attention to the fact that the increase in the number of registered Palestinian refugees, the vulnerable conditions in which they live and the worsening poverty they were experiencing, increased the demand for basic services provided by UNRWA, citing the vast funding gap affecting the agency’s program budget.
“In line with its firm position on the Palestinian cause and the importance of ensuring the basic needs of the Palestinian brothers to enable them to lead a dignified life and in line with its firm support for the UNRWA, the State of Qatar announced the largest pledge of $50m at the extraordinary ministerial conference held in March 2018 and entitled “Preserving Dignity and Sharing Responsibility - Mobilizing Collective Action for UNRWA,” Sheikha Alya said.
She called on all member states to provide support to the UNRWA to ensure the continuity of basic services to improve the lives of millions of Palestinians.
