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Ammon News -

An international ministerial conference, co-chaired by Jordan and Sweden, brought together 29 officials and 61 representatives of countries and international organizations to drum up
financial and political support for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi and Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde headed the meeting held on Tuesday.

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who also attended the conference, spoke about the vital role the agency plays in the lives of generations of Palestinian refugees, and its pivotal role in promoting regional stability. He stressed that although countries have agreed to the UN mandate given to UNRWA, the agency is still facing an existential crisis, calling for providing adequate, sustainable and predictable funding to enable UNRWA to provide its vital services to the Palestinian refugees, and to plug the funding gap immediately.

In opening remarks, Safadi stressed the need for the international community to continue providing the necessary financial support to the agency, noting that the financial deficit is estimated at $100 million for this year.

He also underscored the need to support the agency to be able to provide its services to more than five million Palestinian refugees so that they, and UNRWA employees, can enjoy a decent living.

Safadi also stressed the need to guarantee the inalienable right of more than 500,000 Palestinian children to education and the inalienable right of refugees to health services.

Moreover, he rejected claims that UNRWA will shut down due to the financial deficit, underscoring that sustaining UNRWA's work is a shared responsibility.

Safadi commended the United States decision to resume funding, channeling about $318 million to the agency for 2021, underlining the importance of drawing up long-term and multi-year budgets.

The agency, he said, must continue providing services until the refugees issue is resolved according to the international law, and the two-state solution that would guarantee the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In a concluding comment, Safadi stressed that the Kingdom, the biggest supporter of the agency and Palestinian refugees, will continue to work with partners and with the UNRWA to ensure the continuity of funding and to plug the budget deficit.

Safadi said that backing UNRWA indicates support to refugees' right to a decent living, stressing that the agency, which operates under difficult circumstances, has proven the centrality of its role and the impossibility of its shut down.

He pointed out that the conference and the support shown by the participating countries underlined that the international community supports the agency and sends a message to refugees that the international community stands with them and with their rights and will not abandon them.

Safadi thanked the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs for partnering with Jordan in the efforts to back the agency, hailing her participation at a time when the current Swedish government is a caretaker. He also commended the UNRWA Commissioner-General and the agency’s staff for their efforts.