| 45 | | - | 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, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established on December 11, 1946, and renamed in 1950 as the United Nations Children's Fund, to provide humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide; and WHEREAS, UNICEF delivers gender-responsive Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) interventions to affected populations in the Gaza Strip and responds to the urgent humanitarian needs in the West Bank; and WHEREAS, the World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability, and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impacts of climate change; and WHEREAS, the World Food Programme also supports people in need in Gaza and the West Bank, granting cash transfers to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and distributing thousands of metric tons of food commodities to Palestine each year; and WHEREAS, both of these agencies rely on voluntary contributions from governments, non-profit organizations, corporations, and other private donors to assist communities in need; and WHEREAS, in 2024, UNICEF requires $263,300,000 for humanitarian action in Palestine, including $74,400,000 for cash transfers, $62,200,000 for WASH interventions, and $62,900,000 for health and nutrition interventions; and WHEREAS, according to the World Food Programme's Palestine Country Brief, it required $225,000,000 in 2023 to maintain their humanitarian interventions, and given that conflict has heightened in Palestine within the last few months, the funding required for 2024 is surely larger; and WHEREAS, the President of the United States has expressed his commitment to promoting human rights and addressing humanitarian crises worldwide; and WHEREAS, because of the intensified conflict, violence, restricted trade, and unemployment facing Palestinians currently, UNICEF and the World Food Programme urgently need funding to support men, women, and most significantly, children in need in Gaza and the West Bank; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the Senate concurring, that the President of the United States is urged to increase ongoing humanitarian aid to Palestine through the United Nations Children's Fund and World Food Programme; 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. Report Title: United Nations Children's Fund; World Food Programme; Humanitarian Assistance |
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| 45 | + | 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 House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the Senate 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 |
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| 46 | + | |
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| 47 | + | 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 |
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| 48 | + | |
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| 49 | + | |
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| 75 | | - | WHEREAS, in 2024, UNICEF requires $263,300,000 for humanitarian action in Palestine, including $74,400,000 for cash transfers, $62,200,000 for WASH interventions, and $62,900,000 for health and nutrition interventions; and |
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| 76 | | - | |
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| 77 | | - | |
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| 78 | | - | |
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| 79 | | - | WHEREAS, according to the World Food Programme's Palestine Country Brief, it required $225,000,000 in 2023 to maintain their humanitarian interventions, and given that conflict has heightened in Palestine within the last few months, the funding required for 2024 is surely larger; and |
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| 79 | + | 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 |
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| 91 | | - | BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the Senate concurring, that the President of the United States is urged to increase ongoing humanitarian aid to Palestine through the United Nations Children's Fund and World Food Programme; and |
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| 91 | + | 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 |
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| 92 | + | |
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| 93 | + | |
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| 94 | + | |
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| 95 | + | 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 |
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| 96 | + | |
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| 97 | + | |
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| 98 | + | |
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| 99 | + | 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, |
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| 100 | + | |
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| 101 | + | |
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| 102 | + | |
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| 103 | + | BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the Senate 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 |
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