São Paulo – Brazil announced on Thursday (15) that it is going to donate US$ 7.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Brazil had already agreed that it would transfer another US$ 960,000 for food and education in Gaza Strip. According to UNRWA, this is the largest contribution ever made by a Latin American country and makes Brazil one of the institution’s most significant donors.
The contribution was announced by the ambassador of Brazil to Palestine, Ligia Maria Scherer. "Brazil is greatly interested in the humanitarian situation in Gaza. We believe that this contact with the agency is essential to supply the needs of refugees, thanks to its presence at the site of occurrences and to its mandate within the United Nations (UN) system. International recognition and the local appreciation of UNRWA show its vital importance. Strengthening the agency is essential to help the Palestinians and it is for this reason that Brazil has been aiming to provide financial support to the agency,” said Ligia.
The UNRSA general commissioner, Filippo Grandi, said that the donation is not only going to help those in need, but will also show the world that the problem of refugees is a global concern and should continue receiving the support of the international community. "I am touched with Brazil, a country of growing global influence – a country of the future – that decided to make an adequate contribution in support of the United Nations Refugee Agency for the least favoured population in the Middle East, the Palestinian refugees,” he said.
In 2010, Brazil donated 200,000 reals (US$ 110,000 at current exchange rates) to UNRWA, which was established in 1949. Over the last two years, however, the organisation has been receiving fewer donations.
*Translated by Mark Ament
