(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, May 31 (KUNA) -- A top United Nations official Wednesday called on the upcoming conference on Syria in Brussels to keep the issue of Palestinian refugees on the table and alive.
"I am appealing that we are not forgotten. That we remain visible and that support the solidarity with the Syrians and Palestinian refugees in Syria are kept on the table and alive," Director of UNRWA affairs (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) in Syriam Michael-Ebye Amanya, told a press conference in Brussels today.
He held talks with EU officials ahead of the 7th conference on the Future of Syria and the Region, to be held in Brussels on 14-15 June.
The UN official noted that the profile of Syrians in general and in particular of Palestinian refugees has fallen off the radar, due to the world's focus on the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Sudan.
He urged the Brussels conference to put the issue of Palestinian refugees on the agenda, saying, "which means better understanding of the situation on the ground, solidarity with the Syrian and Palestinian refugees".
"The second is funding. We have fallen of the radar of funding," he said urging for an urgent increase in funding for UNRWA in Syria.
"They don't need our pity but our support and to find a long-term solution for them," he stressed.
The conflict in Syria entered its 13th year, with nationwide and long-term impact.
An estimated 120,000 Palestine refugees fled the country, and the nearly 438,000 who remain continue to face an extremely difficult situation, he noted.
UNRWA's operations in Syria include humanitarian assistance and the provision of essential and regular services, such as education and health, and rehabilitation and recovery interventions.
UNRWA was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 8 December 1949 and became operational on 1 May 1950.
It is one of the largest United Nations programs.
Created as a temporary agency until a just and durable solution for Palestine refugees was achieved, the UNRWA mandate was set to expire in one year.
Seventy years later, the Agency continues to provide essential services for the well-being, human development and protection of Palestine refugees, pending a just solution. (end)
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