Bill Text: HI SCR22 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urging The President Of The United States To Promptly Reinstate Funding For The United Nations Relief And Works Agency For Palestine Refugees In The Near East To Support Its Lifesaving And Critical Humanitarian Assistance Programs To Palestinian Refugees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-01 - Referred to PSM/TCA. [SCR22 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-SCR22-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	22
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the president of the united states to promptly reinstate funding for the united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east to support its life‑saving and critical humanitarian assistance programs to palestinian refugees.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been providing critical humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees since its establishment in 1949; and

 

     WHEREAS, innocent men, women, and children in Palestine continue to face dire humanitarian conditions, including mass displacement, loss of livelihoods, and limited access to necessities such as food, clean water, and health care services; and

 

     WHEREAS, Palestinian refugees are faced with escalating conflicts and crises in the region, resulting in nearly thirty thousand deaths and 1,900,000 people displaced from their homes; and

 

     WHEREAS, most of UNRWA's regular budget for Gaza pays for the salaries of thirteen thousand employees in the region, including teachers, health care specialists, engineers, and sanitation workers; and

 

     WHEREAS, the total amount of funding that is typical for salaries and operational expenses for UNRWA comes out to $30,000,000 monthly, according to Juliette Touma, UNRWA Director of Communications; and

 

     WHEREAS, however since the start of the 2023 conflict in Gaza, a supplemental budget for UNRWA increased to 47,000,000 a month from 12,000,000 a month, according to Tom White, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza; and

 

     WHEREAS, that extra money has paid for flour for three hundred fifty thousand families, fourteen million food items, mattress pads, blankets, and kitchen sets, and the distribution of twenty million liters of water; and

 

     WHEREAS, some of UNRWA's budget in Gaza also goes to distributing life-saving medications, including insulin and vaccines; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States usually gives between $300,000,000 to $400,000,000 to UNRWA on an annual basis, according to Matthew Miller, Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, which amounts to roughly one-third of the agency's annual budget; and

 

     WHEREAS, the President of the United States has expressed his commitment to promoting human rights and addressing humanitarian crises worldwide; and

 

     WHEREAS, in January 2023, the United States suspended funding to UNRWA amid claims that twelve of its thirteen thousand staff members in Gaza may have abetted extremist activities; and

 

     WHEREAS, in response, the United Nations Secretary-General immediately announced the creation of an independent panel to investigate the allegations made against UNRWA employees; and

 

     WHEREAS, suspension of funding to UNRWA by the United States government has severely impacted UNRWA's ability to deliver life-saving assistance to Palestinian refugees; and

 

     WHEREAS, reinstating funding to UNRWA is essential to ensure the delivery of critical services for Palestinian refugees, such as food, health care, and emergency relief assistance; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the House of Representatives concurring, that the President of the United States is urged to promptly reinstate funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to support its life-saving and critical humanitarian assistance programs for Palestinian refugees; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, United States Secretary of State, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

 

 

Report Title: 

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East; Restoration of Funding; Humanitarian Assistance