UAE urges donors to help Palestinian refugee relief agency

New York: The UAE has urged all international donors to contribute to activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to enable it to meet growing humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees.

The UAE also called on Israel to end its ongoing aggression towards Palestinian camps and to lift the blockade, as well as to end the restriction of free movement of UNRWA's staff.

"UNRWA needs to be able to implement its operation in all areas of action without any discrimination. A comprehensive settlement of the question of Palestine must also include resolution of the refugees issue," said Al Shaikh Rahma Abdul Rahman Al Shamsi, member of the UAE delegation to the meeting of the UN Fourth Committee on Special Political and Decolonisation, which began consideration of the work of UNRWA.

"The UAE would continue to provide unlimited financial support to the humanitarian activities aimed at improving the plight of the affected Palestinians, he said, reiterating his delegation's support for financing programmes to rehabilitate those infrastructures destroyed by Israeli aggressions. Al Shamsi appealed to donor countries to meet their pledges with respect to rebuilding the Nahr Al Bared camp in northern Lebanon, which affected 33,000 refugees.