NEW YORK, Apr 24 (IPS) – The UN Palestinian refugee company welcomed the suggestions made within the report from the impartial investigation led by Catherine Colonna, and warned of latest and persevering with considerations that threaten the company’s operations.
Lazzarini additionally advised reporters that his focus now was to bridge the funding hole left by the US, which was UNRWA’s greatest donor, and among the many first to droop its help. The US is stipulated to freeze its funding to UNRWA till March 2025. Ought to this suspension be long-lasting, Lazzarini warned that it might have a “sustainable affect” on UNRWA funding and operations.
He remarked that “grassroots solidarity by means of digital fundraising” has bolstered help for UNRWA. The company has obtained 50-100 million USD in donations for the reason that present hostilities.
UNRWA employees on the bottom proceed their work below harmful circumstances and even below questions of the company’s neutrality. The continuing assaults in opposition to the Palestinians elevate the query of whether or not UNRWA can or ought to preserve neutrality below the circumstances. Lazzarini famous that UNRWA employees and the communities they serve are “deeply anxious of the likelihood that UNRWA could possibly be dismantled”. “UNRWA has been a lifeline not just for the neighborhood, however for his or her households,” Lazzarini mentioned.
Lazzarini’s press briefing additionally adopted the general public launch of the report from the impartial investigation into UNRWA, led by former French overseas minister Catherine Colonna. The report is the results of a nine-week investigation into the company’s operations and conduct to evaluate its neutrality as a UN entity. In brief, the report makes a number of key suggestions to deal with considerations over transparency in communications and accountability, administration reform, employees neutrality, and cooperation with different UN companies, amongst others.
On the subject of the report, Lazzarini mentioned that UNRWA would maintain member states recurrently knowledgeable of their plans to implement the suggestions made within the Colonna report, whereas additionally including that the success of those suggestions would require the total help of donors.