H. E. Mr. Nabil Fahmy receives Head of the Palestinian Department of Refugee Affairs

Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Mr Nabil Fahmy received Mr Ahmed Abu Holi, Head of the Palestinian Department of Refugee Affairs and Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, on 19 July at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Cairo.

Mr Abu Holi briefed the Secretary-General on the situation of Palestinian refugees in light of the severe financial shortfall facing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which exceeds US$100 million.

He explained that the funding gap has adversely affected the Agency’s operations and its ability to provide essential services to Palestinian refugees, particularly in the fields of healthcare and education, across its five fields of operation.

The Secretary-General reaffirmed the League of Arab States’ full support for UNRWA and its indispensable role as an expression of the international community’s responsibility towards Palestinian refugees.

He emphasised that the Agency’s mandate, established pursuant to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) of 1949, must be preserved and fully upheld in the face of continuing attempts by the occupying Power to undermine it.

Mr Fahmy highlighted the campaigns aimed at discrediting the Agency, as well as the severe restrictions imposed on its operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including measures targeting its offices, premises and activities in occupied East Jerusalem.

The Secretary-General also underscored the responsibility of donor countries to bridge UNRWA’s funding gap and ensure adequate and sustainable financing for the Agency.

He highlighted its indispensable humanitarian role, particularly in the aftermath of the devastating humanitarian catastrophe inflicted on the Gaza Strip by the brutal Israeli war, where the overwhelming majority of the population are Palestinian refugees and remain heavily dependent on the services and assistance provided by the Agency.

Mr Fahmy stressed that weakening UNRWA would have grave humanitarian, political and regional consequences.

He reaffirmed that the Agency must continue to fulfil its mandate until a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian refugee issue is achieved in accordance with the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy.