Khaberni - The advisory committee meetings for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees "UNRWA" in Amman begin on Wednesday, with participation from nearly 30 donor countries, along with representatives from the Arab host countries for Palestinian refugees, the European group, and the Arab League.
The Directorate of Palestinian Affairs organized, on Tuesday, the coordination meeting for the host countries for Palestinian refugees, chaired by the Director General of the Directorate, Rafiq Kharfan, with the participation of representatives from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and the Arab League.
Kharfan explained that the meeting comes in implementation of a recommendation from the conference of supervisors on Palestinian affairs in the host Arab countries, held in its 69th session in Cairo in 2003, which emphasized the necessity to continue holding the coordination meetings for the host Arab countries.
He clarified that the meeting aims to coordinate positions among the Arab countries to formulate joint visions regarding the issues on the agenda of the advisory committee, the most important of which is the financial situation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees "UNRWA" and the impact of the unprecedented financial crisis on its services and programs.
He affirmed that Jordan, under its Hashemite leadership, will not relinquish the Hashemite custodianship of the Islamic sanctities in Jerusalem nor the rights of the Palestinian refugees, which are considered a trust on the Hashemites over the years, and will not accept the termination of the work of the international relief agency as the symbol and witness to the Palestinian refugee issue unless they attain all their rights under the resolutions of international legitimacy.
The participants discussed the main topics on the agenda of the advisory committee, focusing on the financial situation of UNRWA, emphasizing the necessity to mobilize financial support to bridge the deficit, and expressing their refusal of any reduction in the services provided to the refugees due to its negative humanitarian and social implications on the refugee community.
The participants emphasized the necessity of renewing UNRWA's mandate by the United Nations General Assembly without any amendments or reductions, as it reaffirms the international commitment to the Palestinian refugees' cause and their right of return according to Resolution 194, and highlighted the importance of continuing both political and financial support for UNRWA, particularly in light of the unprecedented challenges it faces, both in terms of funding and attempts to undermine its role by politicizing its work and delegitimizing it.
* UNRWA’s Mandate in Its Five Operational Areas
Ahmed Abu Holy, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, said that the advisory committee meetings for UNRWA are held amidst complex challenges that face the work of UNRWA in operational, financial, and political contexts, and their immediate and future impact on the lives of Palestinian refugees in its five operational areas, and on the UNRWA mandate and regional stability.
He added that the advisory committee will discuss ways to enable UNRWA to carry out its mandate in its five operational areas as per the mandate granted to it by Resolution 302 and how to harness the significant political support that UNRWA has received from the member states in the United Nations General Assembly which approved the New York Declaration and its annexes last September, which clearly articulated in section (14) of the declaration the indispensable role of UNRWA, and the commitment of member states to continue supporting UNRWA, including through appropriate funding, in fulfilling its mandate, in addition to the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice that obliges the Israeli occupation authorities to cooperate with UNRWA, and President Trump’s plan announced last September which included 20 items to end the two-year ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, and provisions (7) and (8) facilitate the entry of all relief materials without delay through the United Nations and its agencies, including UNRWA.
Abu Holy stated that UNRWA’s operations in the Gaza Strip post-declaration of halting the genocidal war will be present in the meetings, and UNRWA will provide a briefing on its operations in Gaza, including its emergency humanitarian interventions along with its relief, health, and educational services, and recovery plans for its relief, educational, and health operations and the challenges it faces in its work due to the ongoing Israeli targeting to prevent UNRWA from performing its duties.
He added that the reforms undertaken by UNRWA in running its programs and its responsiveness to previous recommendations issued by the advisory committee would be discussed, along with the progress made in implementing the recommendations contained in the external review group report (Colona Report) including the revised implementation plan and results framework, highlighting that the advisory committee will approve closing 20 recommendations that have been fully implemented by UNRWA out of a total of 50 recommendations contained in the Colona report, in addition to discussing the necessary measures to ensure the sustainability of the reforms that were previously closed.
Abu Holy clarified that the advisory committee will adopt a set of recommendations co-drafted by the Department of Refugee Affairs with the UNRWA subcommittee members, noting that the recommendations will form a roadmap for UNRWA to protect its mandate and continuity of its work and enable it to overcome the operational, political, and financial challenges it faces, and an appropriate framework to effectively and flexibly support UNRWA operations and its regular budget, and ensure resource allocation to maximize its impact in meeting the fundamental needs of Palestinian refugees.
Abu Holy affirmed that the Palestinian delegation will work on mobilizing support and urge the donors and member states in the meeting to support UNRWA to be among the main parties involved in the recovery and reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip, and to face any pressures to exclude UNRWA from it.
According to Abu Holy, the Palestinian delegation will demand that UNRWA develop new avenues for mobilizing financial resources to cover a financial shortfall estimated at $200 million to cover its operational requirements for the current November and upcoming December, and its operational needs for the first quarter of 2026, and urge member states to increase their funding and sign multi-year funding agreements with UNRWA to secure adequate and sustainable funding, as well as some donor countries to lift restrictions on their funding for UNRWA after the International Court of Justice ruled that UNRWA does not violate the principle of neutrality and the Israeli accusations are unfounded.
Abu Holy emphasized that the delegation will ask the member states to urge their governments to support the renewal of UNRWA’s mandate for three additional years, starting from June 30, 2026 to June 30, 2029, and that the renewal be accompanied by the necessary funds to execute its mandate, maintain regional stability, and protect the right to return, affirming that there is no alternative to UNRWA as long as the political solution to the refugee issue is absent and denied by the state of occupation.
