President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), Enaam Mayara, expressed, here Tuesday, his support for the efforts of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

“UNRWA has made considerable efforts over the years to provide support and comfort to Palestinian refugees in the region and we give it our full support so that it can continue its humanitarian operations,” Mayara said during a meeting of the PAM delegation with Deputy Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Leni Stenseth.

He also highlighted the economic, social and humanitarian challenges faced by the countries which host refugee camps, notably Jordan that shelters the largest number of Palestinian refugees.

For her part, Stenseth presented an overview of the emergency programs and operations carried out for Palestinian refugees, pointing out that UNRWA faces enormous obstacles which hinder its activities and prevent it from carrying out its mission, in particular the lack of funds.

UNRWA, whose operations are almost entirely funded by voluntary contributions from donors, provides services (education, health care, social services, housing, microcredit and emergency assistance) to some 4.7 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Al-Quds.

Jordan is the first stop of a high-level PAM mission to the Middle East, which includes field visits to Palestine and Israel, with the aim of bringing together points of view of both parties, on a parliamentary level, and preparing the second International Parliamentary Peace Forum in the Middle East, after the first edition organized by PAM in 2009 in Malta, in partnership with the United Nations.

The visit also aims to promote dialogue between the parties through parliamentary diplomacy and to bring together the points of view of the main stakeholders to know their positions with a view to examining choices and scenarios and considering solutions in accordance with UN resolutions.

After Amman, the PAM delegation is expected Wednesday in Ramallah then in Al-Quds, with meetings with several senior Palestinian and Israeli officials.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse