Aid for Palestinian refugees | Washington implored Ottawa not to abandon UNRWA, says Hussen

(Ottawa) The United States ambassador to the United Nations implored Canada last month to continue funding the UN agency that helps the Palestinians, says International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen.

Last January, Canada was one of 16 countries to suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (“UNRWA”). Israel then maintained that a dozen employees of the UN agency had participated in Hamas attacks on Israeli soil on October 7.

But earlier this month, Minister Hussen announced that Ottawa would finally make the planned April payment to UNRWA, after Canada had access to an interim report on the Israeli allegations.

This decision came about two weeks after a meeting between Minister Hussen and the American envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The Canadian minister says that the American ambassador then urged Ottawa “not to disengage from UNRWA”.

“She implored us to continue to collaborate with UNRWA and provide it with the support it needs, in recognition of the lifeline that UNRWA provides to the Palestinians,” the minister said in a recent interview with La Canadian Press.

It was impossible to obtain comments from American authorities on Minister Hussen’s statements.

The United States has been UNRWA’s main donor for years; Washington paid 343 million to the agency in 2022. But following the Israeli allegations, the Americans withdrew their funding on January 26.

Hussen says Canada made the decision to move forward with its $25 million payment, due in April, because of reforms and increased accountability within the agency.

He also said that this decision was taken because the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip was worsening by the day and humanitarian aid was urgently needed. However, UNRWA is the “backbone” of aid in the territory, explained Mr. Hussen.

The European Union, Australia, Sweden, Finland and Iceland have also restored at least some of their funding to UNRWA, but several of its largest donors, including the United States, have not. have not yet done.

Germany on Tuesday pledged new funds for the agency’s work in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank, but its aid to UNRWA in Gaza remains suspended.

Last week, the United States extended its funding pause for at least another year, after Congress approved a spending package that helped avert a “shutdown” of the US government. The measure to cut aid was defended by Republicans.

The White House has said in principle that it supports the work of UNRWA. In mid-February, President Joe Biden’s administration indicated it was holding discussions with allies to keep humanitarian aid flowing.

“Frustrating situation”

Hussen said Ottawa was increasingly concerned about the “lack of adequate access” to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip, particularly in the north, where authorities say famine is imminent.

He said he raised the need for more entry points into the territory with Israel’s ambassador to Canada, as did Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with d other Israeli officials.

The situation is extremely “frustrating” for humanitarian groups and for Canada, added Minister Hussen, noting that fewer trucks passed through in January and February than in November and December.

UNRWA said that in the first 23 days of March, an average of 157 aid trucks per day entered Gaza – far less than the target of 500 trucks.

Meanwhile, Canada and its partners began funding aid airdrops in early March.

The Jordanian Air Force is leading the initiative, which includes Canadian contributions in the form of food, medical supplies, blankets and winter clothing as well as 300 parachutes.

Canada is also working with international partners to provide assistance in setting up a “temporary port” that the United States is helping to build. President Biden announced the project in his “State of the Union Address” earlier this month.

But airdrops and sea routes do not constitute an alternative to transporting aid across land borders, Minister Hussen recalled.

“The humanitarian situation is very, very dire. And in parts of Gaza, we face the threat of mass famine and famine-like conditions,” the minister said.

Canada also continues to demand a humanitarian ceasefire and the release of all Israeli hostages by Hamas.

With information from the Associated Press.