Finland resumes funding to UNRWA but earmarks portion of money for risk management

Finland will resume funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, its foreign trade and development minister says.

Several countries, including the United States and Britain, paused their funding to the body after accusations by Israel that around a dozen of the agency’s 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught in Israel.

“UNRWA improving its risk management, meaning preventing and initiating close monitoring for misconduct, provides sufficient guarantees for us at this point to continue our support,” Foreign Trade and Development Minister Ville Tavio says.

He tells a press conference some of the Finnish money would be earmarked for risk management.

Countries including Canada, Australia and Sweden have also restored funding to UNRWA, while several Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia have increased funding.

An interim report from a UN independent review into the allegations against UNRWA was submitted to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this week.

The report found that while the agency has mechanisms in place to ensure its neutrality, it also has deficiencies that must be addressed.