7 November 2001

FICSA Update No. 55 2001

    FICSA Contributes to Funding Campaign for Palestine Refugees

  • The following was published on 1 November 2001 by the United Nations Foundation (www.unfoundation.org/unwire/) under the title: "Palestinians: U.N. Relief Agency Calls For More Funds":

    "The head of the U.N. agency assisting millions of Palestine refugees urged the General Assembly Monday to provide a sound financial basis for the agency’s relief efforts. Calling for an end to the "hand to mouth" approach to its finances, U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Commissioner General Peter Hansen noted that the agency currently faces a $26 million deficit in its $311 million budget.

    "Our austerity measures have already run their course," Hansen said in a statement to the General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee. "We now face a situation where the quality and extent of our services are under serious threat."

    UNRWA’s resources, Hansen said, have not kept up with the demand for its services. "As the numbers of hardship cases keep rising with the growth in the refugee population, our relief and social services are coming under increasing strain." He added that the agency needs to accommodate more than 11,000 new students every year in schools in Gaza alone. In addition, Hansen said the agency was hampered by "the whole range of Israeli closures, checkpoints, blockades and other restrictions on movements of staff and goods."

    Hansen praised the UNRWA staff, which "has often risked their lives" to go out into the field and provide immediate sustenance to the refugees (U.N. Newservice, Oct. 29).

  • In this year’s advocacy campaign with the Member States, FICSA echoed the appeals of the Commissioner-General and the UN Secretary-General to Member States to enhance their contributions and to provide funding in a timely manner to UNRWA. "Beyond the practical and humanitarian reasons for ample and timely funding", we wrote, "the refugee community needs to perceive that UNRWA has the solid backing of the international community at this critical stage in history."

  • FICSA also called for the restoration of the competitivity of the UNRWA salaries in Lebanon as the successful achievement of UNRWA objectives depends on highly qualified and talented staff.