WRMC calls for humanitarian, reconstruction contact group for Gaza that includes Jordan

AMMAN — The World Refugee and Migration Council (WRMC) has proposed the creation of a humanitarian and reconstruction contact group for Gaza with Jordan as a key member, given its “critical role in the region”. 

In a statement published on behalf of WRMC by its Chair Lloyd Axworthy, the council suggested that the contact group can begin to set in place financial and logistical commitments for Gaza’s reconstruction, “given the enormity of the destruction that has taken place”.

“This work is essential to ensuring that Gazans can return to their homes and that the long-term displacement of Palestinians from the strip is categorically rejected — a commitment that the Canadian government has reiterated.”

WRMC also called on donor countries to resume their funding to UNRWA. “We are deeply concerned by the decision of Canada and 16 other countries plus the European Union to temporarily pause funding to UNRWA. 

“The decision by the many countries to withhold financing from UNRWA directly and significantly undermines the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza. The overwhelming majority of civilians in Gaza are dependent on direct assistance from UNRWA. The Agency is also a critical lifeline for other aid organisations working in Gaza that rely on its aid infrastructure to distribute support.”

Citing a recent statement in which WRMC called on the Israeli government to halt its plan for a ground invasion in Rafah, Axworthy said that Israel, under the provisional order made recently by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has a responsibility to ensure the delivery of essential services and humanitarian relief for civilians trapped in Gaza. “We are therefore profoundly concerned by reports that Israeli forces may have attacked aid convoys, and by statements from Human Rights Watch and others that the flow of aid into Gaza has actually decreased since the ICJ’s provisional order was made.”

“The extraordinary gravity of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza cannot be overstated. Over two million people have been displaced, with the majority sheltering either in or near UNRWA facilities and now on the brink of starvation. As the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food has stated, defunding UNRWA makes famine ‘inevitable’.

“Withdrawing funding from UNRWA, which has created the imminent danger that the Agency will have to suspend its entire operations, will have catastrophic consequences on the humanitarian situation across the region. Such action is neither a proportionate nor an effective response to those allegations.”

Axworthy also warned against the collapse of social order in Gaza as a result of the Israeli bombardment of the besieged strip. “Months of continuous bomb attacks and repeated displacement have undermined the social order in Gaza. Furthermore, Gaza’s police forces have been targeted by Israel and are no longer effective in maintaining order. So even if humanitarian aid arrives, safely transporting and distributing it will be impossible without the protection and supervision of an impartial and independent authority.”

To mitigate these circumstances, the council has suggested the resumption of funding to UNRWA, the establishment of a humanitarian and construction contact group and creation of a small “Protective Mission” to oversee access to aid and its distribution and to offer protection to aid workers 

“This work is essential to ensuring that Gazans can return to their homes and that the long-term displacement of Palestinians from the strip is categorically rejected — a commitment that the Canadian government has reiterated.”