Ban
Ki-moon
"Deeply
Concerned" by
UNRWA Funding,
Didn't Mention
in DC
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 4 --
There is a lot
of talk in
some circles
about the UN
Relief and
Works Agency
for Palestine
Refugees in
the Near East
(UNRWA) and
its funding
shortfall,
canceling
schooling for
Palestinian
children.
But when UN
Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon
met with US
President
Barack Obama
on August 4,
the read-out
he gave
afterward
(published on
the White
House website
site and an
hour later on
the UN's) did
not mention
UNRWA.
Just after
that, Ban
issued this
canned
statement:
"In a
letter
transmitting
the UNRWA
Commissioner-General’s
Special Report
to the General
Assembly, the
Secretary-General
expresses his
deep concern
over the
financial
situation
confronting
the Agency and
the
humanitarian,
political and
security
consequences
that will
result if
adequate and
sustainable
financing for
2015 and
beyond is not
made available
immediately.
"The Secretary
General
emphasises
that at a time
when crises
and human
suffering are
growing
throughout the
Middle East,
it is
imperative
that UNRWA, a
pillar of
stability for
a registered
population of
some 5 million
Palestine
refugees, is
provided with
the resources
necessary to
enable it to
continue
providing
services
including
education for
half a million
Palestine
refugee
children.
"The
Secretary-General
reiterates his
full support
for the
Commissioner-General's
proposals to
ensure
immediate
attention to
the gravity of
the situation
caused by
UNRWA’s
unprecedented
financial
shortfall for
2015 and to
address
urgently the
chronic
funding issues
faced by the
Agency for
2016 and
beyond.
"The
Secretary-General,
who has
personally
spoken to
several world
leaders in the
past few weeks
on this topic,
calls on all
donors to
urgently
ensure that
the US$100
million
required be
contributed to
UNRWA at the
earliest
possible date
so that the
children of
Palestine can
begin their
2015-2016
school year
without
delay."
If Ban is that
"deeply
concerned,"
why didn't he
raise it in
DC?
Back on April
6 amid news
that ISIS has
taken over
most of the
UN's Yarmouk
camp for
Palestinian
refugees in
Syria, the UN
Security
Council
scheduled an
urgent meeting
on April 6 at
11:30 am, to
get a briefing
by video from
Pierre
Krähenbühl,
the
Commissioner
General of the
United Nations
Relief and
Works Agency
for Palestine
Refugees in
the Near East,
UNRWA.
Inner City
Press arrived
early, and saw
going into the
Council the
UN's head of
Political
Affairs,
Jeffrey
Feltman. The
State of
Palestine's
Permanent
Observer to
the UN Riyad
Mansour spoke
outside the
Security
Council,
saying “we are
concerned
about the
safety and
well-being of
our
people,
About 2000
were able to
run to safety
away from the
camp on their
own. We hope
that the
Security
Council will
adopt a
position to
secure a
safety passage
through UN
agencies to
save and
protect the
16,000 now in
the refugee
camp and we
hope that all
countries will
help in
securing this
objective of
safety
passage,
security
passage and
for the
refugees to be
safe.”
Inner City
Press asked
Mansour
whether he
expects a
Security
Council
resolution on
the question
of Palestine
this month. He
answered -- video here -- always ready, but
that the key
is the
political will
to implement
such a
resolution. He
said that the
independence
of Palestine
would
eliminate
sixty to
seventy
percent of
extremist
recruitment in
the Middle
East.
Later, Inner
City Press
asked UNRWA's
Krähenbühl if
UNRWA is in
contact with
ISIS (no) and
who he thinks
might
influence
them. His
reply -- video
here --
cited the
“broad
spectrum”
including of
religious
leaders.
Inner
City Press
asked where
the displaced
refugees have
gone. He said
there are an
additional
44,000
Palestinian
refugees in
Lebanon, not
all from
Yarmouk.
Overall, he
said that of
560,000
Palestinians
in Syria
before, now
460 to 470,000
remain, with
half of them
having been
displaced.
The Security
Council agreed
to what's
called
“Elements to
the Press,”
which the
Council's
president for
April Dina
Kawar of
Jordan read
out; here's
the hard copy,
which Inner
City Press tweeted
in real time:
"The
members of the
Security
Council
expressed deep
concern
regarding the
grave
situation in
the Yarmouk
refugee camp
in Syria.
The
members
condemned in
the strongest
terms the
grave crimes
committed by
Daesh and
Jabhet al
Nusra against
18,000
civilians in
the camp and
emphasized the
need that such
crimes do not
go unpunished.
The
members called
for the
protection of
civilians in
the camp, for
ensuring
humanitarian
access to the
area including
by providing
life-saving
assistance,
and ensure
safe passage
and evacuation
of the
civilians.
The
members
welcomed
UNRWA's
efforts in
protecting and
assisting
Palestinian
refugees and
the need for
providing
UNRWA with the
necessary
resources to
carry out its
mandate in
Syria, provide
providing the
necessary
life-saving
assistance and
evacuate
civilians.
The
members
reminded all
parties of
their
obligations to
work toward
the safety,
security and
protections of
the civilians
in the camp.
The
members called
on all parties
to immediately
implement the
relevant
Security
Council
resolutions
including SCRs
2139, 2165 and
2191 and in
line with the
international
humanitarian
law.
The
members
recalled SCR
2139 which
inter alia
calls upon all
parties to
lift the siege
of populated
areas, demands
all parties
allow delivery
of
humanitarian
access and
enable rapid,
safe and
unhindered
evacuation of
civilians.
The
members will
look into
further
measures that
can be taken
to help in
providing the
necessary
protection and
assistance."
, 
