The State of Kuwait has announced a voluntary contribution of $30 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), while renewing the call for international recognition of Palestine’s membership in the United Nations.
Faisal Al-Anzi, Kuwait’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, made the announcement during an open ministerial session of the Security Council under the title “The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question,” according to the Kuwait News Agency on Saturday.
Al-Anzi stated, “The voluntary contribution stems from Kuwait’s ethical and humanitarian responsibility to support UNRWA,” emphasizing the continuation and commitment to Kuwaiti airlift relief operations to meet the needs of all Palestinian people.
He pointed out that with the increasing hardships facing the Palestinian people today, some are calling for limiting the agency’s activities and transferring its tasks elsewhere without realizing the impact of such extremist ideas on future generations and those in need of healthcare.
Al-Anzi discussed the decision of several countries to suspend their support for UNRWA following allegations made by the occupation, which were later proven to be unfounded, leading those countries to retract their decision to suspend their voluntary contributions to the agency.
UNRWA came under attack by the occupation, which claimed that 12 of its employees out of about 30,000 participated in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7 last year.
However, a report by an independent UN investigative committee concluded that the occupation did not provide evidence to support its claims in this regard.
In the same context, Al-Anzi reiterated Kuwait’s call to the international community to recognize Palestine’s membership in the United Nations, citing General Assembly Resolution No. (3236), which recognizes Palestine’s independence and full sovereignty and the organization’s recognition of it.
He explained that the resolution reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, especially the right to self-determination without external interference, as well as the right to independence and national sovereignty.
He added that the Israeli occupation was recognized by the UN as a member after four years of the organization’s establishment, while Palestine, after five decades of issuing the resolution, still demands its right to be recognized by the United Nations as an independent state like other member states.
Al-Anzi expressed regret for the United States’ use of its veto power against an Algerian draft resolution recommending that the General Assembly accept Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.
The Deputy Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the UN reiterated before the Council the necessity of adhering to the three basic demands: cessation of hostilities in Gaza, pushing for the delivery of humanitarian aid and relief, and stopping forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.
Last week, the UN Security Council failed to adopt an Algerian draft resolution recommending that the General Assembly accept Palestine as a full member of the UN.
Twelve out of the 15 Council members voted in favor of the resolution, while the United States opposed it and the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstained from voting.
