UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES

That this House is appalled by the decision of the US Administration to end its funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which amounts to a reduction of nearly a third of UNRWA's operating budget; believes that such a move takes the Middle East further away from peace and is part of an unprecedented attempt to undermine the international legal consensus on the protected status of Palestinian refugees; notes that across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, around six million Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA and reaffirms their status as such; is concerned that this funding decision will critically endanger UNRWA's ability to continue providing vital services, including health care and social services as well as education for well over 500,000 refugee children; and calls on the Government to work with international partners to fill the funding gap left by the US Administration and ensure that vital front-line services are not put at risk by this reckless unilateral withdrawal of support.