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UN Secretary‑General António Guterres urges urgent, predictable funding for UNRWA amid rising crisis
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Summary
United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres told the General Assembly that the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, is under “extreme and rising pressure,” detailing casualties among staff and large increases in humanitarian caseloads while urging member states to provide full, predictable funding.
United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres on the General Assembly floor urged member states to provide urgent, full and predictable funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), saying the agency faces “extreme and rising pressure.”
Guterres said UNRWA before October 2023 provided schooling for “half a million” children and now delivers emergency food and cash assistance for about 2.6 million people and that its primary clinics handle roughly 10.5 million visits per year. “UNRWA is a force for stability in the most unstable region of the world,” he said.
The secretary‑general cited a strategic assessment he commissioned and shared with the General Assembly in July that reached three core conclusions: UNRWA has made “invaluable contributions” to development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security; the agency is operating under constraints that make the status quo untenable; and member states must take immediate action. Guterres summarized the assessment in his remarks and repeated the call for immediate steps by member states.
He warned that UNRWA’s operational capacity is under severe strain. “UNRWA is being forced to operate under extreme and rising pressure,” Guterres said, adding that in Gaza UNRWA staff and premises have been killed and destroyed and that the agency is facing budget shortfalls and “the fire hose of disinformation.”
Guterres also drew attention to UNRWA staff casualties. “More than 370 of our dear colleagues have been killed,” he said, and described staff working under “relentless horror” yet continuing to serve “with courage and selflessness.”
The secretary‑general appealed to member states to support UNRWA politically and financially, asking them to stand in solidarity, counter distortions about the agency’s work and ensure funding “urgently, fully, and predictably.” He framed UNRWA as a humanitarian stopgap that remains essential “until a political solution is achieved,” and noted that the General Assembly had shown “unprecedented global support for a two‑state solution” earlier in the week.
Guterres named a regional role for UNRWA, saying its operations contribute to the Palestinian Authority’s governance in the West Bank, to Lebanon’s efforts around ceasefire requirements in refugee camps, and to Jordan’s role in regional stability. He thanked Brazil, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Spain for co‑chairing the relevant gatherings and closed by praising UNRWA’s Gaza staff for continuing services despite heavy losses.
The speech called on member states to provide both political backing and predictable resources to prevent a further deterioration of conditions under which the agency operates. “It must be funded urgently, fully, and predictably,” Guterres said.
No formal votes or decisions on funding were recorded in the excerpt of the assembly remarks provided.
