Mr. Chairman, Mr. Deputy Commissioner-General,

On today’s occasion of the annual pledging conference, the Netherlands reiterates its strong support for the work that UNRWA carries out. We praise UNRWA staff and management for their unrelenting commitment to work under difficult circumstances. The Netherlands would like to express its deep sorrow on the loss of an UNWRA staff member this Summer.

The Netherlands shares the concerns of UNRWA about the lack of access hindering the work of the organization in the Palestinian Territories. We therefore call upon the international community to do its utmost to improve the admittance of humanitarian workers and goods to the Palestinian Territories. Furthermore, the Netherlands shares the concern expressed by the Commissioner General about the living conditions in Gaza and the Westbank, which have deteriorated due to the ongoing crisis. As a result, the demand on UNRWA services has risen in recent months.

As Chair of the Advisory Commission (or AdCom) of UNRWA, the Netherlands is closely involved in all the developments within the organization. We appreciate the expansion of the AdCom and the positive relationship between the AdCom and UNRWA. This has enabled the AdCom to develop into an efficient advisory body that provides the Commissioner General with advice on strategic, financial and programme matters.

We commend the Commissioner-General and the UNRWA management team for their efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its work and to increase transparency. We appreciate the recent accomplishments regarding the ongoing management reforms, the Annual Report, the planning and budgeting assumptions paper, and the progress made to come to a needs-based approach. The Netherlands welcomes the recent initiatives vis-à-vis donor coordination and the revision of the strategic Plan. In addition, we would like to mention our appreciation for the positive contributions of the host countries to the AdCom and to UNRWA in general.

Mr. Chairman, The Netherlands is one of UNRWA’s biggest donors. Besides the contribution of 11.8 million euros to the general budget in 2006, the Netherlands also donated 2 million euros extra for humanitarian relief in the Palestinian Territories, as well as 500.000 euros extra for the management reforms. As for the voluntary contribution for 2007, The Netherlands intends to pledge the sum of 11.8 million Euros, or at today’s rate, over 15 million dollars. This is equal to our contribution for 2006. This pledge is conditional on Parliamentary approval, which is expected in February or March 2007. The Netherlands wants to urge UNRWA to focus on priority setting and develop a comprehensive resource mobilization strategy to cope with its delicate financial situation and the increase in needs due to the ongoing crisis.

Mr. Chairman, Let me conclude by restating the strong support of my Government for the work of UNRWA and wish its staff all success.

Thank you.