Ammon News - Jordan, Spain and Brazil will chair a special meeting on Thursday to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) at the foreign ministerial level, to mobilise financial contributions to the agency on the sidelines of the high-level meetings of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, according to Tamara Rifai, Director of External Relations and Communications at UNRWA.

UN General Assembly member states should discuss any scenario they choose for UNRWA, emphasising that defining the mandate is important, but not sufficient if it is not accompanied by adequate funding, Rifai said.

While the UNRWA continues its operations in five regions (Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan), UNRWA's financial deficit remains at approximately $200 million, according to Rifai, noting that the appeal is primarily addressed to Arab countries, whose funding has seen a sharp decline this year. The absence of funding from the United States and Sweden this year has further exacerbated the crisis.

Rifai indicated that the General Assembly will vote in early December on renewing UNRWA's mandate, which is extended every three years, stressing that efforts are underway to mobilise broad political support commensurate with the level of support shown by the General Assembly for the agency.