Mandate donate €5,000 to UNRWA
Friday 16 February 2024The Mandate Trade Union National Executive has donated €5,000 to UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for its work providing assistance to Palestinian refugees in Gaza.
The decision to supply funding to UNRWA follows the shameful decision by several countries to withdraw their support during a humanitarian crisis for the Palestinian people.
More than 28,750 people are dead in Gaza as Israel continues its assault on men, women and children in the region. It’s projected that the entire 2.22 million population of Gaza is now experiencing food insecurity at crisis levels or above. This is the highest share of a population facing high food insecurity that has ever been classified by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) anywhere in the world.
Eoghan Fox, Mandate’s National Executive member and a member of the Global Solidarity Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said:
“We are witnessing one of the greatest humanitarian crisis we’ve seen in more than 50 years. The people of Gaza are starving, they’re fleeing in terror from indiscriminate bombing, and they’ve lost all hope for a normal future. At this moment, for countries to withdraw funding to the key agency providing relief is horrific. That’s why Mandate’s National Executive have donated to UNRWA and we’d ask others to dig deep to help those who need it most.”
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel must take immediate steps to prevent genocidal actions in Gaza; prevent and punish incitement to genocide; allow access to humanitarian aid; and prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence of alleged crimes. Since the ruling, however, Israel has continued its reprehensible attacks on innocent Palestinians.
“We hope this small gesture from our members will provide some relief for those suffering in Gaza,” concluded Fox.
