Head of the UN Palestine refugees agency to visit Finland

Press release 304/2009
24 November 2009

Karen AbuZayd, Commissioner General of the UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees, will visit Finland on 25 November. She will meet with Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen. UNRWA marks its 60th anniversary this year and AbuZayd, an American, has been head of the agency since 2005.

UNRWA was established to deliver emergency humanitarian relief to Palestine refugees, but today its activities focus on development cooperation and the provision of basic services. The organisation is an important employer of Palestinians. There are about 4.6 million Palestinian refugees, most of whom were born as refugees. UNRWA operates in the Palestinian Territories and also in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

UNRWA is financed almost entirely by volunteer assistance. The EU Member States and the Commission are UNRWA’s largest single financier. About half of the UNRWA budget is spent on education, and the next largest expenditure is health care. In addition, financing goes for various social and emergency services, microloans and infrastructure projects.

Finland’s support to UNRWA in 2009 totals 5.5 million euros in humanitarian aid and development assistance. Finnish assistant experts and other personnel from Finland currently work for UNRWA.

The UN General Assembly has renewed the UNRWA mandate every few years. The current mandate is in force until the end of June 2011. When the Middle East Peace Process has come to an end, the goal is to transfer the UNRWA-run schools, administration buildings and trained personnel to serve under the Palestinian Authority.

Additional information: Director Ulla-Maija Finskas, Unit for Humanitarian Assistance, mobile tel. + 358 40 043 1921