AMMAN: The global economic crisis has pushed UNRWA, the UN agency that delivers basic services to millions of Palestinian refugees, into a “danger zone” that could result in it no longer being able to fulfil its mandate, the agency’s head said on Thursday.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said stagnant resources as costs spiralled were pushing many of the 5.7 million registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East — for many of whom the agency is a lifeline — to unprecedented poverty levels.
“There is an erosion of our capacity to deliver and at a given point if we continue on this trajectory we will reach a situation where we will not be able anymore to fulfil our mandate ... this a danger zone,” Lazzarini told Reuters in an interview.
Multiple crises that had hit the region have been worsened by the impact of the war in Ukraine, meaning the plight of Palestinian refugees was “de-prioritized” by many donors, he added. UNRWA provides public-like services including schools, primary health services, and aid relief in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The renewal of the agency’s mandate for another three years will be put to a vote at the UN General Assembly later this year.
“The level of despair and distress is heartbreaking,” Lazzarini said. Poverty rates had gone up to 90 percent from 80 percent in some overcrowded camps in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, he said.
The United Nations defines poverty as income of less than $2 per day.
UNRWA, which was established in 1949 in the wake of the first Arab-Israeli war under a UN mandate, should not be a victim of the international community’s failure to resolve the decades old Palestinian-Israeli conflict, he added.
“It is an anomaly that an agency that was supposed to be created on a temporary basis still has the same function ... almost 75 years later,” he added.
The agency averted a major crisis when the US reversed a decision by former President Donald Trump in 2018 to cut all funding to UNRWA, amounting to more than $344 million a year.
“It has been a critical return for the agency and I don’t know how we would have gone without this support today,” he added.
The United States was by far the biggest donor to UNRWA, an agency whose financial needs exceed $1.6 billion for this year, he added.
More cuts in essential services that refugees who already feel abandoned by the international community would only fuel more anger and create fertile ground for more instability, he added.
“In a highly volatile region donors are very much aware that if they withdraw funding from the organization it might create a vacuum and in a region like this one the vacuum will be filled with something none of us will like,” he added.
The agency was seeking to return back to a predictable funding path by opening new avenues by a wider donor support base and multi-year budgets that steer it away from dependence on voluntary donations, he added.
“We have been in a situation where we do not know at middle of the month if by the end of the month we are able to pay salaries,” he added citing a grim outlook for next year where traditional donors were themselves heading to austerity budgets.
“I keep telling donors don’t take our ability to muddle through with resilience as a given, there will be a point where we will not be able anymore to keep the entirety of our services running if we don’t get more,” Lazzarini said.
UN Palestinian refugee agency warns it is in funding ‘danger zone’
UN Palestinian refugee agency warns it is in funding ‘danger zone’
- Stagnant resources as costs spiral push many of the 5.7 million registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East to unprecedented poverty levels
Sudan defense minister dismisses ‘intelligence document’ as fabrication after convoy strike
- Gen. Hassan Kabroun tells Arab News claims that army hid weapons in aid convoy are “completely false”
RIYADH: Sudan’s defense minister has firmly denied reports attributed to Sudanese intelligence alleging that a convoy targeted in North Kordofan was secretly transporting weapons under the cover of humanitarian aid.
Gen. Hassan Kabroun described the claims as “false” and an attempt to distract from what he called a militia crime.
The controversy erupted after news reports emerged that a document attributed to Sudan’s General Intelligence Service claimed the convoy struck in Al-Rahad on Friday was not a purely humanitarian mission, but was instead carrying “high-quality weapons and ammunition” destined for Sudanese Armed Forces units operating in the state.
The report further alleged that the convoy had been outwardly classified as humanitarian in order to secure safe passage through conflict zones, and that the Rapid Support Forces had destroyed it after gathering intelligence on its route and cargo.
Kabroun categorically rejected the narrative.
“First of all, we would like to stress the fact that this news is false,” he told Arab News. “Even the headline that talks about the security of the regions, such as Al-Dabbah, is not a headline the army would use.”
He described the document as fabricated and politically motivated, saying it was designed to “cover up the heinous crime they committed.”
The minister affirmed that the area targeted by drones is under full control of the Sudanese Armed Forces and does not require any covert military transport.
“Second, we confirm that the region that was targeted by drones is controlled by the army and very safe,” Kabroun said. “It does not require transporting any military equipment using aid convoys as decoys because it is a safe area controlled by the army, which has significant capabilities to transport humanitarian aid.”
According to the minister, the Sudanese military has both the logistical capacity and secure routes necessary to move equipment openly when needed.
“The army is professional and does not need to deliver anything to Kadugli or Dalang on board aid convoys,” he said. “The road between Dalang and Kadugli is open. The Sudanese forces used that road to enter and take control of the region. The road is open and whenever military trucks need to deliver anything, they can do so without resorting to any form of camouflage.”
Kabroun further rejected any suggestion that the military uses humanitarian operations as cover.
“Aid is transported by dedicated relief vehicles to the areas in need of this assistance,” he said. “Aid is not transported by the army. The army and security apparatus do not interfere with relief efforts at all, and do not even accompany the convoys.”
He stressed that the Sudanese Armed Forces maintains a clear institutional separation between military operations and humanitarian work, particularly amid the country’s crisis.
“These are false claims,” he said. “This fake news wanted to cover up the heinous crime they committed.”
Sudan has been gripped by conflict since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, plunging the country into what the United Nations has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.
The latest dispute over the convoy comes amid intensified fighting in South Kordofan, a strategically sensitive region linking central Sudan with the contested areas of Darfur and Blue Nile.
The false report suggested that intelligence monitoring had enabled the RSF to strike what it described as a military convoy disguised as humanitarian aid. But Kabroun dismissed that version outright.
“The intelligence agency is well aware of its duties,” he said. “The Sudanese Army has enough weapons and equipment to use in the areas of operations. These claims are completely false.”
He argued that the narrative being circulated seeks to shift blame for attacks on civilian infrastructure and humanitarian movements.
“This shows that they are trying to cover up the atrocities,” he added, referring to the militia.
Kabroun maintained that the army has regained momentum on multiple fronts and remains fully capable of sustaining its operations without resorting to deception.
“The region is secure, the roads are open, and the army does not need camouflage,” he said. “We are operating professionally and transparently.”
“These claims are completely false,” Kabroun said. “The Sudanese Army does not use humanitarian convoys for military purposes.”
