Ireland has pledged €2million in additional support for a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.
Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora Colm Brophy made the announcement at an international ministerial conference on Tuesday, with the support going to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The Department of Foreign Affairs said the additional funding will bring the State’s contribution to UNRWA this year to €9 million, equalling its largest-ever contribution to the agency.
It will help support UNRWA to provide basic services and humanitarian assistance to 5.7 million Palestine refugees, in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
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Speaking virtually at the conference, Mr Brophy said “Ireland is a long-standing friend of UNRWA”.
“A friendship that is based on our awareness of the agency’s critical role in supporting millions of Palestine refugees,” he said.
“UNRWA is as vital now as ever before, not least given the Covid-19 pandemic and the multiple crises in its fields of operation. I am pleased therefore to confirm that Ireland will provide an additional €2 million to UNRWA in 2021.”
Ireland will provide more than €17 million in assistance to the Palestinian people in 2021, the department added, including its support to UNRWA.
