U.N. Palestinian refugee agency warns it is in funding 'danger zone'

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini says organization reached an erosion of their capacity to deliver and at a given point if it will continue on this trajectory it won't be able to fulfill its mandate
Reuters|
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The global economic crisis has pushed UNRWA, the U.N. agency that delivers basic services to millions of Palestinian refugees, into a "danger zone" that could no longer fulfill its mandate, the agency's head said on Thursday.
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  • UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said stagnant resources as costs spiraled were pushing many of the 5.7 million registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East - for many of whom the agency is a lifeline - to unprecedented poverty levels.
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    UNRWA commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini
    UNRWA commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini
    UNRWA commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini
    (Photo: Courtesy)
    "There is an erosion of our capacity to deliver and at a given point if we continue on this trajectory we will reach a situation where we will not be able anymore to fulfill our mandate ... this a danger zone," Lazzarini told Reuters in an interview.
    Multiple crises that had hit the region have been worsened by the impact of the war in Ukraine, meaning the plight of Palestinian refugees was "de-prioritized" by many donors, he added.
    2 View gallery
    UNRWA delivers  food to Gaza residents
    UNRWA delivers  food to Gaza residents
    UNRWA delivers food to Gaza residents
    (Photo: AP)
    UNRWA provides public-like services including schools, primary health services, and aid relief in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The renewal of the agency's mandate for another three years will be put to a vote at the U.N. General Assembly later this year.
    "The level of despair and distress is heartbreaking," Lazzarini said. Poverty rates had gone up to 90% from 80% in some overcrowded camps in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, he said.
    The United Nations defines poverty as income of less than $2 per day.
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    2.
    UNRWA is evil
    They serve one purpose only: To create and maintain a Palestinian refugee problem, to make sure they are not given citizenship in the countries they and their parents (and grandparents) were born. To milk it for all its worth. It’s a total scam and no one should ever give a penny to thrm
    David| 11.20.22
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    1.
    The solution is simple:
    Dismantle UNRWA and place the Palestinian "refugees" under the aegis of the UN High Commission for Refugees, where they should have been in the first place. For decades, the UNHCR has dealt with the rest of the world's refugees more successfully than Unrwa on a budget one-quarter the size of UNRWA's. It's way past time to stop the redundant UN agency that deals with only a single group of refugees.
    Michael Davison| 11.18.22
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