UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday pledged 1 million U.S. dollars for the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) for 2019.

"China pays high attention to the situation with the Palestine refugees and deeply worried about the financial difficulties the (UN relief) agency faces. China is going to contribute 1 million U.S. dollars this year," Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told a pledging conference.

China has decided to increase its annual contribution to the agency because it highly values and supports the work of UNRWA. China will also provide assistance to the Palestinian people through bilateral channels, including support to refugee assistance programs in the regional countries, said Wu.

UNRWA provides assistance and protection to more than 5 million Palestine refugees, reducing their suffering, upholding their rights and dignity, helping promote social and economic development, and easing the pressure on the host countries, he said.

At the same time, the agency has exerted positive influence in promoting regional peace and stability and preventing the spread of terrorist and extremist ideologies in the refugee camps, he added.

"The two-state solution remains the only correct way out of the Palestinian-Israeli question," said Wu. The international community must work on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative, the land-for-peace principle, and relevant Security Council resolutions to facilitate a comprehensive, fair and lasting solution to the question of Palestine with a view to establishing a State of Palestine with full sovereignty, on the basis of the 1967 borders, and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Any new initiative must comply with the above-mentioned basic international norms, he said.

The UN agency, officially known as the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, is a relief and human development aid body for Palestine refugees and their descendants in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria as well as West Bank and Gaza.

The agency was confronted with its most severe funding crisis in 2018 after the United States, traditionally the largest donor, suddenly cut its funding before it completely stopped its support. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)