Amman: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has met the staff of the Jordan office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) during a visit the Baqa’ camp for Palestinian refugees, north of Amman.
The Secretary-General also met students of the UNRWA Parliament and camp representatives and interacted with young students in human rights and science classes.
Guterres highlighted the importance of continuing to fund UNRWA’s vital services to millions of Palestine refugees in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
“The stories I heard today were very strong, in terms of the strength and courage of Palestinian refugees on the one hand, and in terms of conveying their concern about the future on the other,” Guterres said.
The UNRWA faced its biggest financial challenge in 2018, following the United States’ decision to cut $300 million from its funding to UNRWA.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl and the Secretary-General of the United Nations engaged in a discussion with a group of girls and boys from an UNRWA’s school parliament to promote a culture of respect, tolerance and positive role in schools and society as a whole.
Krahenbuhl voiced commitment to offering education to 122,000 students currently studying in UNRWA schools in Jordan.
He said that the Agency is currently investing in important efforts to rehabilitate schools in the Kingdom, in order to improve the educational conditions of tens of thousands of students.