Safadi stresses UNRWA’s ‘vital’ services for Palestinian refugees

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Sunday highlighted the importance of UNRWA continuing to implement its complete UN mandate through providing vital services to Palestinian refugees.

Safadi, during a meeting with UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, stressed the importance of providing the necessary financial support to the UN agency to help it overcome its recurrent budget deficit and enable it to offer vital services to refugees in the education, health and relief sectors, as well as other services mentioned in its UN mandate.

Safadi and Lazzarini also went over efforts to mobilise support for UNRWA, where the minister stressed the Kingdom's ongoing work with international and regional partners to provide the support UNRWA needs, according to a ministry statement.

Safadi also voiced rejection to any change on the UNRWA mandate, authorities or any reduction in the services it is able to offer to refugees, noting that offering these services is an “exclusive responsibility” for the agency as per its UN mandate and that the agency’s powers and authorities are “non-delegable”.

He also highlighted the importance of following up on the outcomes of his meeting with UN Secretary General António Guterres early in April in New York and to move forwards in ensuring the necessary support for UNRWA, which suffers from a financial crisis that hinders its ability to provide vital services to some 7.5 million Palestinian refugees.

Lazzarini praised the Kingdom's “intensified and continuous” efforts to mobilise political and financial support for UNRWA, stressing the importance of the international community to continue fulfilling its financial pledges to the agency.

He also reviewed UNRWA’s plans and the challenges the agency is facing, stressing that UNRWA will “spare no effort” in harnessing additional funds to enable it to perform its duties according to the UN mandate. 

Jordan and Sweden have held a series of ministerial meetings over the past years to mobilise political and financial support to UNRWA.