Palestine Refugee Perspectives on Options for Sustainable Financing of UNRWA
The Fifth MAS Roundtable session of 2023 presented a Background Paper prepared by MAS and Professor Micheal Dumper provides an overview of the findings of three years of in-depth consultations between Palestinian and international experts and the relevant stakeholders – UNRWA, donors, Palestine refugees and Palestinian civil society. It synthesizes the papers and documents that were circulated and presented and updates them as relevant. It also includes an update of other contributions since then, including three important new reports published in late 2022: the first commissioned by UNRWA, the second by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the third by the International Crisis Group in September 2023.
The Background Paper focused in greater depth and with the benefit of hindsight, on some of the options that were examined in previous work. In particular, it explores the role of international financial institutions (IFIs), Islamic philanthropy, the Green Economy and the link between UNRWA funding, Palestine refugee rights and their confiscated assets. The advantages of each option are assessed. The main purpose of this Policy Brief is to suggest pathways to reassert the Palestine refugee voice in discussions on future options regarding the financing of UNRWA.
