The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) petition to assist in the setup of the Nahr-el-Bared refugee camp for displaced Palestinians in Lebanon and in relieving the humanitarian situation of the refugees.
According to Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, Estonia highly values the work of the United Nations refugee assistance organization. “No solution has thus far been found for the problems of the Palestinian refugees and these people need the support of the international community,” he said. As a result of the conflict in Syria, over 70,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria have headed to Lebanon. However, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East does not have the resources to assist them.
At the end of July, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA sent an extraordinary request for assistance to the international community to assist displaced Palestinians in the Nahr-el-Bared refugee camp in Northern Lebanon. The refugee camp was extensively damaged in a bombing in 2007 and it has not been fully repaired to this day because of minimal support. Over 22,000 Palestinians are still residing in the camp without shelter.
UNRWA has been the spokesperson for Palestinian refugees since 1950. The organization provides assistance in the form of food, healthcare, education, and construction and repair of infrastructure. UNRWA’s activities depend almost entirely on voluntary donations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports humanitarian relief in the Palestinian refugee camp Nahr-el-Bared in Northern Lebanon with 30,000 Euros.