June 2018
Urge Congress: Act now for Palestinian children
- Restore UNRWA funding
- End abuse of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention
Ask them to urge full funding for the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and ask them to support H.R. 4391, the
Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian
Children Act.
Restore UNRWA funding:
As
World Refugee Day is commemorated on June 20, supporting UNRWA is a concrete
way to address the plight of one refugee population.
In
January, the Trump administration froze UNRWA aid, releasing only $60 million
of a $125 million funding installment. If the U.S. provides no further funds in
2018, this would amount to an 83 percent cut over the 2017 U.S. contribution of
$365 million.
UNRWA
assistance reaches roughly 5 million Palestinian refugees living in Gaza, the
West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, providing education, health care, relief
and social services, and other assistance. UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness
warned
that half a million Palestinian children will suffer if UNRWA cannot deliver
its services.
At
its core, the Palestinian refugee issue is one of rights continually denied,
specifically the right to return to their lands and homes. This issue is one of
several final status agreement issues (between Israel and Palestine) that must
be addressed. In the meantime, UNRWA services are critical to the welfare of
millions of Palestinians, including the children who rely on UNRWA schools and
other services.
Co-sponsor H.R. 4391 and attend a June 25 Hill briefing:
Human rights groups, including B’Tselem and Defense for Children International Palestine, have documented the abuse and rights violations to which Palestinian
children are subjected in the Israeli military system.
On Nov. 14, 2017, Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn.,
introduced a bill to prevent U.S. tax dollars from being
provided to Israel when human rights violations are being perpetrated against
Palestinian children in Israeli military detention.
The Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of
Palestinian Children Act (H.R.
4391) requires the secretary of state to certify annually that
no funds obligated or expended in the previous year by the U.S. for assistance
to Israel have been used to support prohibited practices under international
law. If the secretary cannot make this certification, a detailed report is
required, outlining the amount of money spent in violation of the bill and how
it was spent.
Members of Congress and their staff can learn more about the lives of
Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation and about H.R.
4391 at a June
25 briefing.
Contact your members of Congress today to urge full restoration of UNRWA
funding and support for Palestinian children in Israeli military detention.
For more information:
Unrwa.org
Feb.
6, 2018, ecumenical letter
on UNRWA funding
No Way
to Treat a Child
Note: Click here
to find out if your representative is already a co-sponsor of H.R. 4391, and if
so, send a note of thanks! If not, ask them to add their names as co-sponsors
of H.R 4391.
(To view this message in your web browser, click here).
