India pledges 10 million USD to UNRWA

India recently announced that it will contribute 10 million USD to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the coming years.

Highlights

India stepped in with an annual contribution of 1.25 million USD to 5 million USD in 2018 when countries were withdrawing their funds from the United Nations. For the year, 2020, India has already disbursed 2 million USD.

Background

India is an active participant in the UN relief works. India provides 250 annual scholarships to Palestine youths. The current project grant of India is 72 million USD.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency

The UNRWA was established in 1949. It supports relief and human development of Palestine refugees. The services of UNRWA include health care, education, social services, camp infrastructure, micro finance, protection, etc.

The UNRWA helps Palestine refugees in West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Gaza strip.

Who are Palestine Refugees?

Palestine Refugees are persons who resided in Palestine between 1 June 1946 and 15 May 1948 and lost their livelihood and home due to 1948 conflict.

1948 conflict

The war is known as War of independence in Israel. It was fought in the territory of Palestine. Palestine was under British rule when the war was fought. The British occupied Palestine at the end of first world war in 1917. It was earlier a province of the Ottoman Empire.

The 1948 war ended with the establishment of the state of Israel by the Jews. It saw a complete demographic transformation of the Palestine and displaced 700,000 Palestinian Arabs destroying their villages, cities and towns.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2020