You are here
Conflict Incident Report
UNRWA, Palestinian students urge funding ahead of Rome conference
Hundreds of Palestinian students, alongside UNRWA officials, took part in an event urging vital funding for the agency ahead of a Rome donor conference slated for March 15.
Students of the UNRWA-funded Birzeit and Beit Jala schools in the Mount Lebanon town of Sibline danced Palestinian-style dabkeh and flew paper kites bearing UNRWA’s “Dignity is Priceless” slogan, in the latest public bid for international funding for the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency.
Similar events had also taken place in neighboring countries that are home to UNRWA-supported schools for Palestinian refugee children, officials from the agency said.
An UNRWA summit to be held at the FAO headquarters in Rome Thursday will aim to bolster the credibility and coffers of the troubled agency.
Monday’s event came after U.S. President Donald Trump in January cut funds earmarked for UNRWA from $125 million to $65 million, and suspended further funding.
UNRWA faces “a financial deficit of $446 million,” Gwen Louis, an UNRWA Lebanon representative, said at the event in Sibline.
“This deficit threatens the fate of our services and threatens the entire regional security,” Louis added, expressing hope that the agency could secure vital funds at the Rome conference.