Date: May 22, 2025
The Department of Refugee Affairs of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) welcomed the decision by the Swiss Federal Council to allocate 10 million Swiss francs (approximately 12 million USD) to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for its programs in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. An additional one million Swiss francs (1.2 million USD) was also allocated to implement the recommendations of the Colonna report aimed at strengthening UNRWA’s neutrality.
In a statement issued today (Thursday), Dr. Ahmad Abu Holi, member of the PLO Executive Committee and Head of the Refugee Affairs Department, described the resumption of Swiss funding as a corrective step to the decision to suspend funding last February. The suspension followed a narrowly approved motion by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Swiss Senate based on a proposal by Swiss People’s Party MP David Zuberbühler, calling for an immediate halt to current and future Swiss financial support to UNRWA.
Dr. Abu Holi regarded the decision as a positive development in Switzerland’s position on supporting UNRWA’s mandate. He emphasized that Switzerland’s resumption of funding represents an important step from a key donor and strong partner of the agency. He stated that this funding will help enable UNRWA to continue carrying out its mandate under UN General Assembly Resolution 302 and will contribute to bridging the significant financial gap in the agency’s regular program budget, which faces a 75% deficit of its total annual funding needs estimated at 880 million USD.
Dr. Abu Holi called on the Swiss Federal Council to reconsider its decision to exclude operations in Gaza and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, and to take an additional step forward by supporting UNRWA’s life-saving relief efforts in Gaza through the provision of flexible and unrestricted funding that includes all five fields of operation.
He pointed out that the external review group report (the Colonna Report), submitted to the UN Secretary-General on April 20, 2024, did not substantiate the Israeli allegations against UNRWA. This, he argued, gives the Swiss Federal Council sufficient grounds to channel its funding to Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, through UNRWA rather than diverting it to international humanitarian organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Dr. Abu Holi stressed the need for sustainable funding for UNRWA through the signing of multi-year funding agreements by donor countries, to move away from the unstable voluntary funding system that exposes the agency to recurring annual financial crises.
He reaffirmed UNRWA’s mandate in all five of its areas of operation under the authority granted by UN General Assembly Resolution 302. Therefore, donor countries are required to include all UNRWA operational regions in their funding without exception. He also highlighted the acknowledgment by the UN, donor states, and international organizations that UNRWA represents the backbone of humanitarian work in Gaza and remains an indispensable lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees across its five fields of operation.
