Permanent Mission of India
New York
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United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Pledging Conference

Statement by Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, Permanent Representative

30 June 2026

Madam President,

I thank you for convening the UNRWA Pledging Conference today. I also thank the UN Secretary General and the ad interim Commissioner General of the Agency for their remarks.

2. The backdrop of today’s meeting is significant. While the guns may have fallen silent in West Asia, the situation remains disturbingly fragile. In particular, the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, continues unabated. The loss of civilian lives, large-scale displacement, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and severe shortages, particularly of food, fuel, medicines and essential services have created a major humanitarian crisis. Normalcy is a distant dream for the Palestinian people. This must change. They have the same right to lead normal lives, that the rest of us have.

3. The central role of UNRWA in providing education, healthcare, social services, emergency relief, and protection to millions of Palestinian refugees across the region gains particular salience in this context. Over the years, the manner in which UNRWA supported various sectors, particularly health and education, stands out. Therefore, it is our view that UNRWA could continue to discharge key responsibilities towards improving the humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people.

Madam President,

4. India’s engagements with UNRWA are guided by its unwavering support for the Palestinian people and efforts aimed at addressing their humanitarian needs and aspirations. Overall, our endeavour has been to make a lasting impact on the daily lives of the Palestinian people. We continue to undertake human-centric projects towards this purpose and we have provided assistance worth USD 175 million to the people of Palestine and this includes projects worth USD 40 million which are at various stages of implementation. India also provides humanitarian assistance and disaster relief material, including emergency and general use medicines. The scale of such support has been around 150 tonnes in the last three years alone. We have received a request for life saving medicines from Palestine, which we shall be delivering soon. We treat UNRWA as a development partner, complementing our own bilateral initiatives towards realizing our vision.

5. In such partnership with UNRWA, India has been a consistent contributor to the Agency. We have contributed around USD 52 million till date. Just last week we announced USD 5 million as our contribution to UNRWA for this year and handed over USD 2.5 million as the first tranche. Moving forward, India will continue to be governed by this spirit of engagement with UNRWA.

Madam President,

6. UNRWA is facing several critical challenges, both on financial and operational fronts. These constraints severely hamper its ability to function effectively. Addressing these challenges on priority is vital to UNRWA’s future. It is also important for UNRWA personnel to strictly execute their mandate with professionalism, neutrality and in full compliance with UN rules and regulations.

7. In closing, we reiterate that we support a negotiated two-State solution leading to the establishment of a sovereign and independent and viable State of Palestine, living within secure and recognized borders, side by side with Israel in peace and security.

I thank you, Madam President.