PLO rejects UNRWA staff lay off and services reductions

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) on Sunday rejected plans to dismiss staff at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and reduce its services, warning against any move to undermine its UN mandate or restructure the agency.

It stressed that addressing UNRWA’s financial deficit is an international responsibility.

The position was announced during a meeting between a delegation from the PLO’s Supreme Committee for Following Up on the Preservation of UNRWA’s Mandate and Operations, acting UNRWA Commissioner-General Christian Saunders and other officials, according to a statement by the PLO’s Department of Refugee Affairs.

The meeting discussed the financial crisis facing UNRWA, its impact on staff and services, and the challenges threatening the continuation of its operations.

The committee said it rejects “decisions and measures taken by the agency’s management concerning staff dismissals, reductions in the workforce and cuts to services provided to Palestinian refugees”.

It called on Saunders to reverse these measures, including plans to close Qalqilya Hospital in the northern occupied West Bank, and to guarantee staff rights and the continued provision of services.

The committee warned that addressing the financial deficit through staff dismissals, service cuts and the closure of institutions would weaken UNRWA and undermine its ability to fulfil its UN mandate.

It also rejected any plans to restructure the agency or transfer its responsibilities to alternative bodies, stressing the need to preserve its institutions, programmes and workforce.