18 April 2013, East Jerusalem

The Netherlands government has made a voluntary contribution of EUR 13 million (US$ 16.25 million) to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for the year 2013. This contribution will go towards the assistance, protection and advocacy that UNRWA provides for some 5 million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territory.

Bamako – The Netherlands, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Budget of the Republic of Mali and UNDP signed a Standard Arrangement Agreement for a 15 million Euro contribution. This first contribution to the Stabilization fund established on 25 February 2013, is allocated to the Education and Agriculture sectors. The Fund Steering Committee is to hold its first meeting in the next two weeks in order to approve the activity plan and first transfer requests and allow the direct implementation of stabilization activities by national entities.

The European Union is making today a contribution of approximately €20.8 million to the payment of the January salaries and pensions of around 83,500 Palestinian civil servants and pensioners in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This contribution, which is channelled through the PEGASE[1] mechanism, is being funded by the European Union (€20.0 million) and the Government of the Netherlands (c.€0.8 million earmarked specifically for PA salaries in the Justice sector).

10 February 2013 – The United Nations in Afghanistan has joined forces with national and international partners to expand and complement existing programmes to strengthen the capacity of women police, and improve access to justice for women and children in local communities of 10 Afghan provinces.

The UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is implementing the Afghan Democratic Policing Project (ADPP) with US$ 4.5 million funding support provided by the Government of the Netherlands.