Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (Reuters - Archive)
Japan announced the resumption of its funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), stressing that the agency's role cannot be dispensed with in confronting the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip as a result of the war.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said in press statements in Parliament that her country will end the freeze on its financial contributions to UNRWA, noting that approximately $35 million - of the originally planned funding - is ready for disbursement.
Kamikawa - who met with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini in Tokyo last week - stressed that the agency's role in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is indispensable, even as it works to improve governance and risk management, as she put it.
UNRWA has been under Western pressure since Israel accused 12 of the agency's 30,000 employees of participating in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7th.
In light of these Israeli accusations, about 15 countries, led by the United States, the main donor to UNRWA, announced the suspension of their funding to the agency despite United Nations warnings that there is no alternative to carry out the agency’s work, especially with the escalating warnings of famine in Gaza.
This led to a freeze in funding worth $450 million for the current year, which hampered the agency’s operations in Gaza. But some countries later retracted this decision, including Australia, Canada, Finland, and Sweden.
UNRWA data for 2022 indicates that Japan is the agency's sixth largest donor.
Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters