Donors pledge over $47 million to UN relief agency for Palestine refugees

Donor countries meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York have pledged over $47 million for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The pledges to UNRWA's 2002 budget were made by over a dozen countries at a meeting on Friday of the General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary Contributions. Donors also pledged $6.83 million for an emergency appeal launched on 22 June.

Contributions in various amounts were made by Austria, Bahrain, Chile, China, Cyprus, Greece, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. These came in addition to previously announced pledges made by India and the Maldives, and brought the total amount pledged to UNRWA's regular budget to $47.2 million.

Established over 50 years ago, UNRWA is the main provider of basic services to over 3.7 million registered Palestine refugees in the Middle East.