The United States has reneged on a pledge to contribute $45 million to a United Nations agency tasked with providing services for Palestinian refugees, adding to cutbacks announced earlier this week.
US reneges on pledge to pay $45 million for Palestinian refugees
19 Jan 2018 - 14:56
The United States has reneged on a pledge to contribute $45 million to a United Nations agency tasked with providing services for Palestinian refugees, adding to cutbacks announced earlier this week.
The US State Department said on Thursday that the $45 million was a pledge to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to help it with “forecasting,” but it was not a guarantee.
“At this time, we will not be providing that, but that does not mean - I want to make it clear - that does not mean that it will not be provided in the future,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters at a regular press briefing.
She repeated the US view that UNRWA needs reform, saying there are a lot more refugees in the program than previously announced, and that “money coming in from other countries needs to increase as well to continue paying for all those refugees.”
“So we’re asking countries to do more,” Nauert said. “Fundamentally, we just don’t believe that we have to be the chief donor to every organization around the world.”
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