(Part 2) UNRWA Pledging Conference 2026

The 2026 meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the Announcement of Voluntary Contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is resumed. I now invite the ad hoc committee to hear the remaining delegations on the list of speakers who did not get the opportunity to speak during our morning meeting. I would like to recall the time limits of 3 minutes for statements for those speaking in their national capacity and 5 minutes for statements on behalf of a group of states, in keeping with past practice. The time limit will be strictly enforced by means of automatic microphone cutoff. Speakers are encouraged to deliver summarized versions of their statements and to submit the full text to e-statements@un.org in order to facilitate the work of the interpreters. Submitted statements will be uploaded to the Journal of the United Nations unless marked for interpreters only. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the United Kingdom.

Thank you, Chair. Let me start by paying tribute to the 392 UNRWA staff who've been killed since October 2023, and to those who continue to serve in the most challenging of conditions. UNRWA work remains indispensable to the delivery of essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. In Gaza, UNRWA has delivered over 18.7 million health consultations since October 2023. It is also reaching around 860,000 people each day with clean water. This is essential public health work. In Lebanon, UNRWA has been operating two emergency shelters supporting 1,900 people displaced by the conflict, and providing more than 200,000 medical consultations through its clinics. And across the region, UNRWA anchors stability and, through its mandate, supports Palestine refugee rights pending a just and lasting political solution. But the extensive challenges facing the agency are undermining its ability to operate. The UK condemns actions taken by the Israeli government including, including Knesset legislation aimed at restricting its operations in Palestine and the demolition of UNRWA's headquarters in East Jerusalem. Israel must comply with its obligations to respect the inviolability of UN premises. UN Security Council Resolution 2803 is clear: humanitarian assistance must reach civilians in Gaza at scale, in coordination with the UN and its agencies. UNWRA remains indispensable to that effort. So we must work together to protect its vital mandate, politically and through adequate and sustained financing. To this end, I am pleased to announce that the UK will provide $30.7 million to UNWRA this year, including $1.3 million to support implementation of the Colonna Report. We welcome progress on implementation to date and urge UNRWA to continue this effort. Through our role as co-chair of the Neutrality Working Group, we will continue to support reforms to strengthen neutrality, governance, and oversight. Chair, the United Kingdom stands ready to work with partners here today to support and safeguard UNRWA's important role, ensuring it can continue to provide stability dignity and hope across the region. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of the UK. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Bangladesh.

Thank you, Mr. President. Bangladesh expresses gratitude for organizing this important, pleasing conference. I thank the Secretary-General for his statement of support for UNRWA. I also thank the Commissioner-General of UNRWA for his briefing. UNRWA continues to be a beacon of hope for Palestinian refugees since it was established. We pay tribute to the UNRWA staff who lost their lives while working under extraordinary circumstances. Mr. President, Bangladesh unequivocally condemns the atrocities committed by Israel over the years and stands in full solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters. Mr. President, we regret that UNRWA's financial situation has worsened considerably in recent years. With the current humanitarian devastation in Palestine, it is impossible for UNRWA to sustain its operations without additional funding. It is our collective duty to keep UNRWA fully functional with adequate resources. Mr. President, Bangladesh has been a consistent supporter of UNRWA and UNRWA's critical mandate and have been making regular contributions to the agency. In keeping with our tradition, we are going to make a modest contribution to UNRWA for 2026 as well. To conclude, Bangladesh once again reiterates its call for self-determination, justice, and lasting peace for the people of Palestine, with the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and economically viable State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Bangladesh and I will give the floor to the distinguished representative of Tunisia.

Shukran, Sayyed Rais.

Thank you, President. At the outset, I would like to Thank you for convening this meeting with regard to announcing contributions to UNRWA at a time when the agency is facing an unprecedented financial crisis. We pay tribute to the UNRWA staff who are continuing to uphold their obligations despite difficult circumstances. UNRWA provides essential services to the Palestinian people and refugees, and we ought to focus on the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination. Unfortunately, the agency is facing the same challenges despite— and on top of budgetary restrictions. As well as the persistence of Israeli practices against it. My country therefore reaffirms its support for the crucial role of UNRWA to serve Palestinian refugees. We believe the international and humanitarian community ought to continue its action during this difficult time. The international community ought to shoulder its responsibility with regard to providing financial resources to UNRWA so that it can implement its mandate. In closing, we reiterate our full support and solidarity with the Palestinian people who are suffering from the occupation, and we support their right to pursue the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Thank you.

The floor to the distinguished representative of Monaco.

Merci, Monsieur le Président. Thank you, Mr. President. Since its creation, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East has been providing essential services to populations in need. The scale of hostilities and conflict in the region mean that providing these services is more indispensable and urgent than ever today. Humanitarian aid provided through UNRWA does not only save lives; it protects human dignity. This is the prerequisite for building a stable future in the region. This goal can only be achieved by upholding the great humanitarian principles, including neutrality and impartiality. We've taken note of the efforts of UNRWA in implementing 40 out of 50 recommendations from the Callanan Report, and encourage it to continue these efforts to ensure complete implementation. Implementation. We also renew our support for the overall work toward transparency and quality assessment of UNRWA initiated a few years ago. President Law reminds us that there is— there are limits to war. Respecting international law, international humanitarian law is therefore an imperative. We reiterate our concerns with regard to the effects of the Israeli laws adopted in October 2024 on the activities of UNRWA as well as the the destruction of the headquarters of UNRWA in January 2026. We recall the urgent need to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers, and we pay tribute to all those who have given up their lives and were risking their lives to protect civilians. Mr. President, access to quality healthcare for all is a fundamental right which the Principality of Monaco is deeply attached to. For more than 15 years now, Monaco has been committed, together with UNRWA, in Lebanon to providing healthcare to Palestinian refugee populations. The Government of Monaco allocated more than €2 million over this period to support UNRWA programs and emergency aid. We are aware of the importance of the predictability of resources, especially in a difficult budgetary situation that UNRWA is facing. Therefore, we have not only maintained our financial support since 2011 without interruption, but also have been regularly increasing since 2017. This year, our government renewed its support, its support for 3 years until 2028, to the Medical Hardship Fund in Lebanon to allow for access to healthcare. In closing, allow me to reiterate our support for UNRWA and commend its pivotal action in providing humanitarian services. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Monaco. I now give the floor to the Mr. President, distinguished representative of Bangladesh— of the Maldives.

Thank you, President. I thank the Secretary-General and UNRWA Commissioner-General ad interim for their briefing this morning. Today, the Government of Maldives pledges $50,000 to UNRWA. This contribution is modest in size, yet firm in its purpose. It is our expression of solidarity with Palestinian refugees and with the mandate that keeps life-saving assistance within reach. By making this pledge, the Maldives joins all those who refuse to let UNRWA stand alone. Every contribution matters. It can keep a food distribution point open, medicine moving, a shelter standing, and a classroom ready for children who have already lost too much. Behind each of these services is a family waiting for food, a child waiting for medicine, a generation of young people waiting for classrooms to reopen. This is why UNRWA matters. It is one of the last pillars preventing absolute humanitarian collapses for millions of Palestinian refugees. It is the difference between hunger and food, illness and care, displacement and shelter. Yet UNRWA's work is being suffocated by Israeli restrictions and attacks. Life-saving relief must never be held hostage to baseless allegations. Israel must not be allowed, through obstruction, to decide who eats, who receives care, and who is left to suffer. The ICJ advisory opinion of October 2025 is clear. Israel cannot terminate the presence or activities of the UN. As the occupying power, Israel is legally bound to facilitate UNRWA's relief operations unconditionally. The Maldives therefore calls on all member states to support UNRWA politically, legally, and financially. UNRWA's mandate must be protected. Its operations must be facilitated. UNRWA and its staff must reach those whose survival depends on them. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Maldives. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Cuba.

Gracias, señor presidente.

Thank you, President. President, we are grateful for the convening of this meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the announcement of voluntary contributions to UNRWA. UNRWA represents education, health, and food for the Palestinian people—basic rights that Israel has brutally targeted in pursuing a policy of extermination and ethnic cleansing. In this devastating context, UNRWA continues to provide humanitarian assistance and deliver life-saving services. It plays a vital role in facilitating access to drinking water and waste removal. We commend the agency for continuing to operate, carrying out thousands of medical consultations a day despite the many challenges it faces. We recognize its staff and pay tribute to those who have lost their lives carrying out this vital mission in the face of an operational deficit and indiscriminate attacks against its facilities and against the Palestinian population. For Palestinian refugees registered in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the tragic situation on the ground and the absence of funds necessary to carry out UNRWA's programs give rise to concern and uncertainty about the agency's future. Amid this catastrophic reality, the attack on UNRWA is a means of depriving Palestinian refugees and internally displaced Palestinians in Gaza of shelter and assistance in the midst of a genocide. It is, moreover, an integral part of Israel's broader assault on the UN and international law. We reiterate our rejection of Israel's prohibition of UNRWA's activities on its territory and of contacts with its authorities. This jeopardizes the delivery of humanitarian aid and basic services in Gaza and violates the UN Charter. Israel must immediately allow sufficient humanitarian access without conditions or limits for specialized UN agencies and must authorize UNRWA's work, which is so indispensable at this time. We are convinced of the need to lend every possible effort to UNRWA's important work. Sufficient, predictable, and sustained funding is urgently needed so that the agency can continue to fulfill its vital mandate. Guided by the humanist vocation of the Cuban Revolution and our historic support for the legitimate Palestinian cause, we will continue to make our modest contribution to the training of young Palestinians, primarily in the field of healthcare. Cuba reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with this brotherly people who continue to be unjustly denied their inalienable right to self-determination. Thank you very much.

I thank the distinguished representative of Cuba. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Qatar.

Shukran lakum, Sayyid al-Rais. Thank you, Mr. President. We align ourselves with the statement delivered on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and we welcome the statements by the Secretary-General and the Commissioner-General ad interim of the UNRWA. The State of Qatar reaffirms that UNRWA remains the backbone of the indispensable humanitarian services provided to the brotherly Palestinian people. In this context, we follow with deep concern the unprecedented challenges facing the agency, in particular the deficit in cash flow estimated at $100 million in its core program budget, and especially at a time when the humanitarian needs are escalating to unprecedented levels, especially in light of the tragic situation. The State of Qatar stresses the agency's vital services in the area in the areas of education, healthcare, relief, and protection, which benefit hundreds of thousands of students and their families. This contributes directly to regional stability and represents a collective commitment of the international community pending the fair and lasting settlement of the plight of the Palestinian refugees. We take this opportunity to renew our appreciation of the UNRWA staff who continue to carry out their duties in extremely dangerous conditions. Qatar reaffirms its principled and firm commitment to supporting the agency. In 2024, Qatar ranked 4th among the UNRWA's largest donors, contributing over $49 million. And in June 2025, we signed a core contribution agreement in the amount of $20 million for the period 2025-2026. And we look forward to continuing our support for the UNRWA's core budget in including in the coming years, 2027 and 2028. The State of Qatar reiterates its principled and firm position in support of the Palestinian question and the resilience of the Palestinian people based on UN resolutions and the two-state solution. This in a manner that ensures the right to self-determination and establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. In conclusion, we call on member states to fulfill their shared commitments by continuing to provide political, diplomatic, and financial support to UNRWA in a manner that ensures adequate, sustainable, and predictable funding so that the agency is able to carry out its mandate from the UN General Assembly as per Resolution 302. Thank you, Mr. President.

I thank the representative of the State of Qatar.

To the distinguished representative of the United States.

Thank you, Mr. President, and Under-Secretary-General Saunders. Always good to see you. Colleagues, doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result, is the definition of insanity. And yet here we are again, another annual pledging conference for UNRWA. Same speeches. In fact, if we dust it off and look a year ago, I bet you your speeches haven't changed except for the date. Same condemnation of Israel, same failures to condemn Hamas. Year after year, you choose to fund UNRWA in Gaza, hoping for, and perhaps even expecting, a different result. It is time. It is well past time to break this cycle. This year, you have the choice to stop funding UNRWA schools in Gaza that indoctrinate the hatred of Jews and glorify terrorism. This year, you have the choice to stop underwriting an organization that has become a subsidiary of Hamas, whose employees took part in one of the most barbaric terrorist attacks in human history on October 7th, 2023. This year, you have the choice to give the Palestinian people living in Gaza the opportunity to find durable solutions and prosper instead of subjecting them to endless cycles of dependency and forever refugeehood. Why is this year different from past years? Because since the last time you met in this room for this pledging conference, the Security Council strongly endorsed President Donald J. Trump's comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza with 13 votes in favor and 0 opposed. In this historic vote, the Security Council overwhelmingly supported the creation of the Board of Peace, and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. This year, you finally have a choice before, before you. You can choose to fund incitement, terrorism, and stagnation, or you can choose to fund the Board of Peace, giving Gazans a path to peace, prosperity, and real, durable change. The choice is yours. History will not forget. Thank you, Mr. President.

I thank the distinguished representative of the United States. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Italy.

Italy aligns itself with a statement delivered by the European Union. Mr. President, Italy remains deeply concerned about the situation of Palestinian refugees. The conflict and violence that erupted following the attacks of October 7th, 2023 have caused an alarming number of civilian deaths, injuries, and forced displacement. Italy renews its condolences to the families of the UNRWA staff members who lost their lives in Gaza while performing their duties. We reiterate the importance of full compliance with international law, the protection of civilians, and the security of UN personnel. Italy continues to support the United Nations system in the delivery of humanitarian assistance and early recovery efforts in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Italy has consistently provided contributions, both bilaterally and through the UN agencies and international organizations, including UNRWA, to support humanitarian assistance and relief operations for the Palestinian population. Italy remains firmly committed to the two-state solution, to responding to the needs of Palestinian refugees, and to promoting stability and security throughout the region. This includes the agency's work in Syria and Lebanon, where its education, health, social protection, and emergency assistance services continue to support vulnerable refugee communities and contribute to preserving social cohesion and resilience. Italy underscores the importance that the agency continues to take timely and appropriate measures to ensure accountability for any violation of the agency's policies related to the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence. In this regard, Italy notes the steps taken by ANRUAA to implement the recommendations contained in the Colonna report. We also recognize ANRUAA's efforts to increase transparency regarding its reform process and its willingness to undergo independent review. In this regard, we stress the importance of making further progress on the recommendations that are still outstanding and of ensuring appropriate follow-up to the positive measures already adopted. Italy also welcomes the introduction of a measure prohibiting the staff from participating in political activities and affiliations that are incompatible with the United Nations principles and values. We encourage UNRWA to ensure that this policy is implemented effectively and consistently. We also emphasize the importance of the agency's cooperation with host countries to ensure that educational materials and teaching practices are aligned with UNESCO and United Nations standards, and whenever feasible, with the national curricula of the host countries. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Italy. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the Holy See.

Mr. President, the OIC wishes to express its appreciation for the important work of UNRWA. During this time of ongoing suffering and profound uncertainty, UNRWA's assistance remains an essential lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees. For over 7 decades, UNRWA has provided them with education, healthcare, food assistance, and social services. Offering protection, support, and the opportunity to live with dignity. In this regard, my delegation is deeply concerned about the killing of UNRWA personnel and the attacks against UNRWA premises in the territories of the State of Palestine, including schools and other facilities where civilians have sought refuge. Moreover, it is of utmost importance that the delivery of humanitarian assistance is not being impeded, particularly in Gaza. Such acts exacerbate the suffering of those already living in precarious conditions and constitute a great violation of international humanitarian law. The Holy See reiterates the urgent need to protect civilians, humanitarian personnel, and humanitarian infrastructure, as well as to ensure safe, sustained, and unhindered humanitarian access. Mr. President, in recognition of UNRWA's indispensable services, The Holy See is pleased to reaffirm today its financial pledge of support as a concrete expression of solidarity with Palestinian refugees and confidence in the agency's humanitarian mission. In order to carry out its mandate effectively, UNRWA requires adequate, predictable, and sustainable support. The support must be accompanied by the agency's continued and steadfast adherence to the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. Faithfully observing these principles is fundamental to preserving the agency's credibility and ensuring it can fulfill its mandate as a trusted institution of solidarity and peace. Finally, my delegation wishes to underscore the importance of safeguarding UNRWA's mandate. Established by the General Assembly Resolution 302 on 8 December 1949, any deliberation concerning the Agency's future must therefore take place within that framework, as the expression of the collective will and the shared responsibility of Member States. It should not be determined by unilateral measures. Thank you, Mr. President.

I thank the distinguished representative of the Holy See. We have just heard the last delegation inscribed in the list of speakers. I would like to invite the Commissioner-General ad interim of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Mr. Christian Saunders, to make his closing remarks. You have the floor, Mr. Saunders.

Thank you, Mr. President. Let me start by saying a huge thank you to all of you, to the Member States, for the huge political support that you have provided to the agency, the mandate of the agency, the services we provide to over 2.6 million Palestinian refugees around the countries in which we work. I have to say that the amount of additional funding that was pledged is a little disappointing, although because we have a shortfall of $100 million that we need to make up before the end of the year, I very much understand, particularly some of the smaller countries that you have pledged amounts within your means, and I very much appreciate that and understand that, and I think it's a very important sign of your solidarity with Palestine refugees, so I think it's really important. Maybe I address the US intervention just a little, because my My way is to address things head-on. I don't disagree with everything that the US said. In fact, I think they made some very important points. I agree with the statement that we seem to be doing the same thing over and over again. We need to move forward on this issue. We need to move forward on coming up with a just and lasting solution to the plight of the Palestinian refugees. But in so doing, we need to stop making UNRWA the talking point here. We are a United Nations agency providing services, essential public services to Palestine refugees, education, health, solid waste, water sanitation, and the like. It's not about us. It's about a political solution. It's about finding a way forward so that Palestinians can have a homeland, can have a place that they call their own. So we need political support to push forward on finding a just and lasting solution. To the Palestinians' plight. The US talked about stopping funding UNRWA schools that teach hate. I don't agree with that statement. We do an awful lot to ensure the neutrality and the appropriateness of the education and the learning that takes place in UNRWA schools. We go through every single page of every single textbook Remembering that we rely very much on the curriculum of the host countries. Wherever there is something that incites or wherever there is something that is not age-appropriate, we cut it out or we glue the pages together and we provide alternative teaching material to our teachers and we teach our teachers how to teach those alternative learning opportunities. We monitor, we give training to our teachers. These are UNRWA staff members, so we have more ability to hold them to account as well, and we do hold them to account when they transgress. But let's also remember that we're a United Nations agency. We're primarily a humanitarian and a development agency. We do not have the same facilities as sovereign state. We do not have a police force. We do not have an intelligence service. So we do not have the capacities and the abilities that a member state, a sovereign state, might have. So we rely very much on support from member states, particularly from Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories, to be able to support us to find out if people are committing misconduct, if people are committing criminal acts, And then we take action. And it's been very, very clear. The organization has been very clear that it takes action on these things. I don't— obviously, I don't agree that we're a subsidiary of Hamas. But then on the last point from Ambassador Bartosz, where he said that we're promoting an endless cycle of dependency, I do agree. We have to stop this. We have to give Palestine refugees agency. We have to look to promoting livelihoods, to promoting economic opportunities so that Palestinians are given agency and they can live full and meaningful lives while waiting for a political solution. And this is what we are committed to in UNRWA. We're committed to management reforms, we're committed to program reforms, and we're committed to constantly improving the way that the organization does business. We are a very effective organization. We are very cost-effective as well. There is no UN agency that is as cost-effective There is no UN agency that has the capacities or the breadth of skills. We have, as the Secretary-General said this morning, we have doctors and nurses, we have architects, we have engineers, uh, we have managers, we have sanitation laborers, we, we have psychologists, we have every type of, of skill that you might imagine. The next largest, um, UN agency, as example, in Gaza, has 300 staff. We have 11,000. That's our strength. Our strength is in our breadth and the capacity of our staff. We have resilient staff, we have professional staff, we have hard-working staff, we have staff that have worked through nearly 3 years of war and made sacrifice after, after sacrifice in order to support and ensure that our services are provided to the people of Gaza. Let me just, in closing, tell you a story. And you may have seen the social media post on this. There was an elderly woman who suffered from diabetes, and her toes were gnawed during the night by rats. In Gaza. When she woke up, what did she do? She said, "I called the waqale." The waqale is the Arabic word for the agency, and that's what they call UNRWA. UNRWA is part of the fabric of society. We have the trust of society. And what did UNRWA do? UNRWA sent a nurse, and the nurse bathed the wounds, treated the wounds, dressed the wounds. So that the woman could continue living as normal a life as she can in those conditions. And the conditions in Gaza are extremely bad at present. And we, we the international community, we the world cannot allow it to continue. We have to do something. We have to support Security Council Resolution 2803. We have to support the Board of Peace and the NCAG until such a time as they can hand over to the Palestinian Authority. We cannot continue to let the citizens, the refugees in Gaza live in the conditions in which they currently live. Sorry, I've gone on a little bit long. I'm very passionate about the work of the organization. As I said, I think The organization is a very effective organization. It's been around for 76 years, and I thank you again for the resounding political support you have provided today and hopefully will continue to provide. Thank you.

I thank the Commissioner-General ad interim for his closing remarks. Let me now thank all delegations for their active active participation and generous pledges of support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East at the 2026 meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the announcement of voluntary contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The meeting is adjourned.