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A Palestinian woman carries an aid box provided by UNRWA in Khan Yunis, in January 2025. Credit: Hatem Khaled/Reuters
A Palestinian woman carries an aid box provided by UNRWA in Khan Yunis, in January 2025. Credit: Hatem Khaled/Reuters
Germany has, for the first time, withheld its support for extending the mandate of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA.
At a preliminary vote in a UN General Assembly subcommittee in New York, the German representative abstained on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in Berlin that the government expects “consistent and verifiable reforms within UNRWA” before backing another mandate renewal.
The resolution passed with 144 votes in favor, 11 against and 16 abstentions. A final vote in the full General Assembly, which is set to extend UNRWA’s current mandate from mid-2026 to mid-2029, is scheduled for December.
Wadephul acknowledged that UNRWA provides vital assistance to roughly 6 million people and that governments in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon had repeatedly asked Berlin for continued support.
But Germany’s abstention was intended to underline its expectation of “significant changes” in the agency’s work, particularly in the Palestinian territories, like the Gaza Strip.
He said there had been unacceptable cooperation in some cases with groups hostile to Israel that had fueled tensions.
“We have now drawn the consequences, and we hope that this message is understood and that the necessary reforms are finally implemented,” he said.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East has faced allegations that some members of its staff participated in the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel says 12 of the agency’s several thousand employees in Gaza were involved.