image source, Reuters
16 countries suspended their funding to UNRWA against the backdrop of Israeli accusations against the organization’s employees of involvement in the attack on October 7, 2023.
Canada and Sweden announced the resumption of funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), after it was suspended following Israel’s accusation that some of its employees were involved in the October 7 attack.
The two countries were among 16 countries that suspended their funding to the organization after Israeli accusations of the involvement of some of its members in the October 7 attack, into which the United Nations opened an investigation.
Sweden said on Saturday that it was sending 200 million Swedish krona ($19 million) as a start to resume funding after the organization agreed to impose more oversight on spending and its work crews.
A statement issued by Stockholm on Saturday said: “The Swedish government has allocated 400 million Swedish krona for UNRWA in 2024. The decision issued today relates to 200 million krona, which is the first tranche of these funds.”
This came after Canada announced the resumption of funding for UNRWA, coinciding with the continued investigation into allegations related to the organization’s employees.
The Canadian statement said funding will resume while investigations into employees continue.
Data for 2022 show that Canada is the eleventh country in the ranking of countries contributing to the UNRWA budget for the year 2022.
Canadian International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen announced the decision to resume funding in a statement on Friday.
He said the decision was made “in recognition of the robust investigative process underway” into the allegations.
He added that the temporary suspension of donations was lifted “so that more can be done to meet the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians.”
The Canadian Armed Forces will also donate approximately 300 cargo parachutes to Jordan, for use in airdrops of aid in Gaza.
In a press release, the Canadian government noted that it “did not miss any regularly scheduled payment intended to go to UNRWA during the pause period.”
“By having certainty that Canada’s planned contribution will continue, this will help prevent the imminent collapse of this essential organization,” the statement added.
The United Nations is conducting an internal investigation into the allegations, while former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna is also leading an independent review.
The European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries said on Friday that they intend to open a sea route to Gaza to deliver aid that could begin operating this weekend.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is the largest United Nations agency operating in Gaza. It provides health care, education, and other humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, and employs about 13,000 people inside Gaza.
The Israeli army launched air and ground strikes on Gaza, killing more than 30,800 Palestinians so far, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, in response to a Hamas attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 200 hostage.
The United Nations has also warned that famine in Gaza is “almost inevitable” unless measures are taken to provide aid, and the World Health Organization says that children are starving to death in the northern Gaza Strip.
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