UK resumes funding to UNRWA – Bond reaction
Today, David Lammy, the UK Foreign Secretary, has announced that the UK will restart funding to UNRWA in order to get humanitarian aid as quickly as possible to those who need it in Gaza.
In reaction to the Foreign Secretary’s announcement Bond said:
We are relieved that the new UK Government has reinstated funding for the UNRWA. As the Foreign Secretary outlined, civilians in Gaza are trapped in hell on earth.
We are pleased that the UK has been sufficiently reassured by UNWRA’s efforts to ensure they meet the highest standards of neutrality and strengthen its procedures, including on vetting. The funding suspensions, which should have been reversed long ago, risked depriving millions of civilians of the essential assistance they desperately need.
This announcement should be supported by multi-year commitments to fund UNRWA, alongside renewed political support for its mandate. Humanitarian funding should not be used as a sticking plaster to circumvent international responsibilities.
As the Foreign Secretary also outlined, Israel promised a flood of aid back in April, but imposes impossible and unacceptable restrictions. Aid is not enough when systemic barriers prevent humanitarian workers, emergency responders and medics from performing their life-saving work. The UK must hold Israel accountable for this.
We also welcome the new UK Government’s assessment of the Government of Israel’s compliance with International Law and look forward to the publishing of this assessment. We also urge the UK to immediately suspend arms licences and exports to the government of Israel.
We hope that reinstating funding to UNRWA signals turning the corner, and urge the new UK Government to take proactive steps to address the catastrophe in Gaza, in light of potential genocide.
ENDS.
Notes for editors
- This reaction was informed by Bond’s IOPT Humanitarian Working Group made up of humanitarian experts from Bond member organisations. The full statement from the Group is available here.
- Read UK NGO’s 100-day plan for the new UK government to address urgent issues and lay the groundwork for long-term solutions in Gaza and the West Bank.
- Read Bond’s latest blog questioning whether ‘aid washing’ is holding back peacebuilding and development in Gaza.
- Bond is the UK network for organisations working in international development. Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 350 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice.
- For further information, please contact Jess Salter, Media Adviser at Bond at [email protected] or call 07493200979
