India vows to continue support to UN agency helping Palestinians

Says it will continue its annual contributions of $5 million to the agency and will release half the amount in the coming days

United Nations: India has pledged to continue supporting the embattled UN agency helping Palestinians which is facing a financial crisis even as its needs have risen because of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

R Ravindra, the charge d’affaires of India’s UN mission, said that the nation will continue its annual contributions of $5 million to the agency and will release half the amount in the coming days. He was speaking at a pledging conference to help the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which provides humanitarian assistance to Palestinians and is facing a shortfall in budget after its biggest contributor, the United States, and some other countries suspended payments amid allegations of that its staff were involved in terrorism.

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Washington contributes about $340 million to UNRWA’s $1.6 billion budget but the US Congress has passed a legislative measure to stop aid to the agency till at least next year. General Assembly President, Dennis Francis said, “Considering the essential services delivered by the agency and its staff, it should deeply alarm us all that UNRWA is currently standing on the precipice of financial collapse.”

In his pitch for donations to make up for the shortfall, he referred to Commissioner-General Lazzarini’s warning that the budget deficit could force it to end operations this year. UNRWA, the largest UN agency with 30,000 employees, provides a range of services, from food delivery and housing to healthcare and education.

Ravindra said that UNRWA’s “role to assuage the difficult humanitarian situation remains critical, particularly its humanitarian and social services to the Palestinian refugee community living in Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon.” Beyond UNRWA, he said, India has been a “trusted development partner” for the people of Palestine.