The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers yesterday authorized voluntary contributions from Spain to international organizations, programs and funds and other entities of an international nature for a total amount of 82,545,000 euros.
In execution of the mandate entrusted to it, and within the limits of its budget, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) regularly makes voluntary contributions to various international organizations, programs, funds and other international entities.
The main beneficiary of these voluntary contributions will be the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with 9.85 million euros for humanitarian appeals in Mali, Niger, Syria, Central America, Haiti, Colombia, Venezuela, Palestine, Ethiopia, Mozambique, the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf (Algeria) and Afghanistan. Spain will also contribute 8.7 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and 8.032 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), especially for its work on behalf of children in the Philippines, Syria, the Sahel, Venezuela and the Tindouf camps.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will receive a voluntary contribution of 7.3 million euros and the World Food Program (WFP) will receive 6.1 million euros for specific interventions in Ethiopia, Haiti, Mali, Niger, Palestine and Tindouf. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will receive 6.5 million for initiatives on sexual and reproductive health, family planning, gender-based violence or the fight against child marriage and female genital mutilation. The Government also plans to contribute 5 million euros to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Likewise, the United Nations Organization for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) will receive 3.25 million euros to promote the Global Initiative Safe Cities and Public Spaces for Women and Girls and interventions on Women, Peace and Security in the Sahel, among others. A similar amount, 3,1 million, will receive the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the framework of the commitments made by the Spanish government at the International Donors Conference for Venezuelan refugees and migrants, held on May 26, 2020 and in which Spain announced 50 million euros for the main host countries.
In addition, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will receive 3.095 million to alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 crisis and post-crisis in AECID partner countries, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) another 3.05 million for donor coordination and harmonization activities in Ethiopia, Senegal and Mali.
2.5 million for SEGIB and 1.4 million for the OEI
The remaining voluntary contributions include 2.7 million for the World Health Organization (WHO), 2.53 million for the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), 2 million for the International Labor Organization (ILO), 1.95 million for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), 1.5 million for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), 1.41 million for the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), based in Madrid, and contributions of between one million euros for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the African Union.
The remaining contributions include EUR 750,000 to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), EUR 600,000 to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Ibero-American Social Security Organization (OISS), EUR 500,000 to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Barcelona-based Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), EUR 450. 450,000 to the Spain-UNESCO Trust Fund, 350,000 euros to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), 200,000 euros to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and 50,000 euros to the World Heritage Fund.
