Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to support the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in its work and to address its current financial crisis; and what representations they have made to the government of the United States following that government's decision to withhold more than half its funding to UNRWA in 2018.

The UK remains unequivocally committed to supporting the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and has so far provided around £50 million in 2017/18 to help the Agency provide key services to Palestinian refugees across the region including basic education and health. On 15 March 2018 the Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa, Alistair Burt, announced that the UK has offered to deliver its next round of financial support earlier than originally planned, to help alleviate the pressure that UNRWA is currently facing. Minister Burt has spoken to United States (US) counterparts to discuss how best to ensure the sustainable delivery of UNRWA’s services, and UK officials are also in discussion with US representatives.