Amman- The Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief
and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Karen AbuZayd, on
Wednesday urged donor countries to contribute 'significant additional
pledges' to enable the agency to come to grips with 'a grave and
imminent financial crisis'.
AbuZayd made the appeal during the concluding session of a two-day
meeting in Amman that brought together donors and host governments,
NGOs and other UNRWA stakeholders.
She said that the general fund, which finances UNRWA's core
services, would suffer a deficit of about 160 million dollars in the
first quarter of 2009. 'This will bring UNRWA closer to financial
crisis than it has ever been,' she said.
There were updates from UNRWA directors in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon,
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
AbuZayd issued an appeal to donors in the oil-rich Gulf region to
assist with the construction of the Nahr el Bared refugee camp in
Lebanon, which was destroyed during military confrontations last year
between the Lebanese army and the militant Fateh al-Islam faction.
She said the situation in the Gaza Strip was 'on the edge of
catastrophe' due to the siege imposed on the territory by Israeli
forces.
'There is no more milk, no more flour, no more other commodities.
We have nothing in our warehouses ... so there is a lot to worry,'
she added.
During the meeting, the four Arab countries hosting Palestinian
refugees - Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority -
urged an 'immediate' intervention by the world community to 'end
Israel's siege' of the Gaza strip.
In a joint statement, the four Arab states rejected Israel's
practices deemed as 'hindrances to UNRWA's work and the freedom of
movement of its employees'.
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