São Paulo – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Unrwa) said this Tuesday (09) that Brazil is now part of its Advisory Commission, the body that advises the organization in its main strategic decisions. <\/p>\n
According to Unrwa, Brazil was elected by ONU’s General Assembly, along with The United Arab Emirates, and that it will be the first Latin American country to hold a seat in the commission. The body has 27 members and three observers. <\/p>\n
According to the UN’s agency, its relations with Brazil are getting stronger “in a remarkable way” in the last five years. This year, for instance, the country contributed with the equivalent of US$ 9.2 million in rice to the Palestinian refugees. In the couple of years before, the Brazilian government transferred US$ 8 million to help Unrwa.<\/p>\n
“Brazil and the United Arab Emirates are both commendable partners, offering great support for Unrwa’s operations”, said the agency’s general commissioner, Pierre Krähenbül, according to the agency’s release. “This support consolidates their places in the Advisory Commission; I welcome them to Unrwa’s family”, he added. <\/p>\n
Unrwa assists Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and Gaza Strip. Among the services provided by the agency are education, health care, social service and assistance, micro finance, infrastructure and living conditions’ improvement in refugee camps, besides trying to maintain food security for these populations. <\/p>\n
The body reiterates that the financial support it gets has not been enough to cover the refugees’ ever growing demands. The agency’s General Fund has a US$ 56 million deficit, says the release. <\/p>\n
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani<\/strong><\/p>\n