Jakarta, VOInews: Indonesia regrets the decision of a number of countries to suspend funding assistance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees. This was conveyed by Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers (AMM) Retreat Session in Luang Prabang, Laos on Monday (29 /1).
A number of countries including Germany, Britain,Italy , Australia and Finland on Saturday followed the the United States, which announced the postponement of giving additional funding due to alleged involvement of UNRWA staff in the Hamas attack on Israel, 7 October 2023.
In a statement received in Jakarta on Monday, Minister Retno "An open, transparent and credible investigation into the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees needs to be carried out, but the pospontmen on of financial support to UNRWA is collective punishment against Palestinian refugees."
Earlier, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres asked donor countries to guarantee the continuity of the Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA). Meanwhile, UNRWA Director Philippe Lazzarini expressed the possibility of stopping UNRWA activities due to the termination of funding. He also expressed surprise because the decision to temporarily posponed funding was made based on accusations from a few people.