RAMALLAH, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Monday urged the donors conference in Brussels to unconditionally support the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Several donor countries are scheduled to convene on Tuesday in the Belgium capital Brussels under the auspices of Jordan and Sweden to discuss resuming the financial support to the UN agency and the Palestinian Authority.
Ahmad Abu Holi, a member of the PLO's executive committee, said in a press statement that the donors conference is urged to support UNRWA from 2023 until 2028 strategically.
"The international donors' financial support will enable UNRWA to ensure the basic humanitarian needs of the Palestinian refugees," said Abu Holi, head of the refugees' affairs department in the PLO.
He also called on the donors' conference "not to link their financial support to UNRWA with the international and regional crises."
The senior PLO official expressed hope that the donors conference will succeed in achieving its goals to ensure long-term financial support to UNRWA and to provide financial contributions that push the agency towards financial stability in its budgets.
On Sunday, Sami Mshasha, spokesman of UNRWA, said that "the lack of sufficient funds and the absence of a continuous flow of grants will affect the agency's ability to pay the salaries of its employees on time during the next two months."
"Hopes are still pinned on the donor countries meeting, scheduled in Brussels on Tuesday, to raise the level of support and draw up sustainable long-term financing mechanisms for the agency," he added.
The UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 and was mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.6 million Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Enditem