Source: Government of Qatar
Doha, Media & Communication Dept., January 29
The State of Qatar stressed its firm stance on the necessity of continuing and intensifying the relief efforts to the Gaza Strip, warning of the catastrophic repercussions of stopping the support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
This came in a phone call made by HE Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater on Monday with HE Commissioner-General of the UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini.
During the call, they discussed cooperation relations between the State of Qatar and the UNRWA, especially in the humanitarian field in the Gaza Strip. They also discussed the importance of forming an international team to coordinate unhindered aid delivery to all areas of the Strip.
HE the Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed the continuation of the State of Qatar’s contributions in providing urgent relief to the Gaza Strip. Her Excellency urged the international donors to continue providing the necessary support, especially in light of the international community’s failure to reach a political solution that leads to stopping the ongoing war on civilians in the Strip for four months.
Her Excellency pointed out that the UNRWA supports millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, warning that suspending its funding will negatively affect its work and its ability to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinians in all these regions.
Her Excellency stressed that review, transparency, and accountability regarding the agency’s work are extremely important and that justice requires not to practice collective punishment on the Palestinian people unjustly.
HE the Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs underscored that the State of Qatar considers UNRWA to be one of the most important UN agencies, and therefore Qatar’s donations to the agency increased during previous years. Qatar was also the first Arab country to sign a multi-year agreement with UNRWA in 2018 to support its main resources.
Her Excellency voiced the State of Qatar’s call for meeting the vital humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people to remain a top priority for the international community, especially in light of their worsening suffering from the scourge of occupation, siege, war, and Israel’s obstruction of the entry of aid in blatant defiance of international law and the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice in this regard.
For his part, HE the Commissioner-General of the UNRWA confirmed that the agency had taken all legal measures to investigate the allegations that affected a small group of its employees. In this regard, His Excellency stressed that the agency has remained and will remain committed to the values of the United Nations, and it should not be accused, punished, or overlooked for its major vital roles.
His Excellency also warned of the consequences of the collective cessation of support for UNRWA, pointing out that this matter would pose an existential threat to the agency and could lead to the complete cessation of its work within weeks. His Excellency underscored that the repercussions would affect the Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, who depend almost entirely on UNRWA work in those areas.