Qatar And Iraq Pledge $25M Each Amid UNRWA Funding Freeze

Qatar and Iraq have pledged $25 million each to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) amid a major funding freeze. Some other countries are considering resuming donations as the agency faces a crisis threatening to collapse its operations.

New donations

Qatar's donation is in addition to the $18 million allocated in December, according to the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Qatar’s UN Ambassador, Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani, highlighted the "unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip" as the key driver of Qatar's increased donation, state-owned Qatar News Agency reported Wednesday.

Many countries that paused funding to the UNRWA after Israel's allegations are likely to resume payments soon, Reuters reported, quoting Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. Still, Juliette Touma, UNRWA's director of communications, said none of the donors that froze funding in January have resumed yet.

Norway funded $26 million (275 million crowns) to the UNRWA in February, its regular annual contribution, while adding that more could come, an official statement showed.

Canada is also in talks to resume funding to the UNRWA after weeks of pausing donations. The federal government is planning an $18.5 million donation in April alongside announcements for new funding, Canadian news channel CBC reported Wednesday, citing an unnamed official.

In February, the UAE allocated $5 million to support the humanitarian efforts of Sigrid Kaag, the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza.

Funding crisis

Facing allegations of partaking in the October 7 attacks alongside a funding freeze by major donors, the UNRWA is at a "breaking point," the agency's director-general Philippe Lazzarini said Monday. The crisis is threatening to collapse the aid agency, with operations projected to come to a halt in March.

Sixteen countries have temporarily suspended their funding to UNRWA, with approximately $440 million of near-term funding hanging in the balance.

Some donors that froze funding have argued that their suspensions will not have a major immediate impact. The US pause affects $330,000 of imminent payments, while the European Commission did not have a payment due until the end of February.

UNRWA’s biggest donors in 2023 were EU countries and the US, accounting for roughly $865 million, or 75% of the agency’s $1.2 billion annual budget.