Japan announced today its intention to soon resume its funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which it had suspended following Israel’s accusation against several agency employees of involvement in the October 7th events.
In a statement, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “Japan and UNRWA reaffirm their commitment to finalizing coordination efforts necessary to resume Japanese contributions” to funding the UN agency.
The statement came after a meeting held in Tokyo on Thursday between Japanese Foreign Minister Yuko Kawai and UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
Kawai emphasized to Lazzarini the necessity for UNRWA to take “effective” measures to improve its management, enhance transparency, track its finances, and ensure the “neutrality” of its employees.
A United Nations spokesperson stated last week that the independent committee responsible for assessing UNRWA’s neutrality issued a preliminary report identifying “critical areas” that need to be addressed.
The committee is expected to release its final report by April 20th.
UNRWA has been in a deep crisis since Israel accused around ten of its employees working in Gaza, totaling 13,000, of involvement in the October 7th events.
Israel’s accusation prompted several donor countries, including the United States, to abruptly cut their funding to UNRWA, posing a threat to the agency’s efforts to deliver essential aid to Gaza, where the United Nations warns of an imminent famine.
Following the Israeli allegations, the United Nations launched an internal and independent investigation, noting that Israel had not provided any evidence to support its accusations against UNRWA.
Lazzarini accused Israel of seeking to destroy UNRWA, which employs about 30,000 people in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, providing healthcare, education, and other essential services.
Last month, Lazzarini warned that the funding crisis at UNRWA was so severe that the agency might not be able to continue its activities after March.
However, with several countries resuming or increasing their funding recently, including Spain, Canada, and Australia, Lazzarini stated this week that the agency now has enough “funding until the end of May.”
