UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl visited Canberra from 30 November to 2 December to express deep appreciation for Australia’s support to the Agency and engage in high-level dialogue about the critical situation faced by Palestine refugees in the five UNRWA fields of operations – Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
During the three-day trip, Mr. Krähenbühl met with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and other senior officials in the Department or Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as the Governor-General, Members of Parliament, Senators, foreign diplomats and civil society representatives. He also briefed the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and presented a public lecture at the Australian National University on the situation of Palestine refugees in an increasingly unstable Middle East.
“The support of key partners such as Australia allows UNRWA to deliver essential services to Palestine refugees, including education for almost half-a-million children and around 34,000 health consultations each day,” Mr. Krähenbühl said. “These services strengthen dignity and provide crucial stability to a community enduring the effects of protracted conflicts and dispossession – a community facing an existential crisis that is forcing many, for example those in Syria, to join the millions fleeing to Europe and beyond.”
In his meetings, Mr. Krähenbühl stressed that the plight of Palestine refugees should not be neglected. He emphasized that while UNRWA remains committed, with the support of key partners, to ensuring continued quality services to Palestine refugees, resolute political action is needed urgently to address the underlying causes of the conflict.
Australia was the tenth largest UNRWA donor in 2014, with a total contribution of AUD 30,058,000. Since 2005, Australia has also been a member of the UNRWA Advisory Committee, the body tasked with advising and assisting the Commissioner-General in carrying out the Agency’s mandate.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions, and financial support has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, deepening poverty and conflict. As a result, the UNRWA General Fund, which supports core essential services and most staffing costs, operates with a large deficit. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large deficits, are funded through separate funding portals.
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
Spokesperson, Director of Advocacy & Strategic Communications
Mobile: +972 (0)54 240 2659
Office: +972 (0)2 589 0267
c.gunness@unrwa.org
Sami Mshasha
Chief of Communications, Arabic Language Spokesperson
Mobile: +972 (0)54 216 8295
Office: +972 (0)2 589 0724
s.mshasha@unrwa.org