The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers yesterday authorized a package of voluntary contributions from Spain to international organizations, programs and funds for a total amount of 54,260,000 euros.
By far the largest item is the 8,425,000 euros to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for activities in the Philippines, Egypt and Senegal, for access to basic services for Venezuelan migrants and to fulfill the commitments made in the Spanish Cooperation Strategy to Combat COVID-19.
Apart from this, Spain will contribute 6,500,000 euros to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in line with the Spanish Cooperation Humanitarian Action Strategy 2019- 2026, and 5,445,000 euros to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to support the Strategic Plan 2018-2021 of this organization and in line with the priorities of the V Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation. The package also includes a contribution of 5,000,000 euros to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for current expenses in education, health and social programs in Palestine and host countries.
On the other hand, Spain will contribute 3,900,000 euros to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in support of humanitarian appeals in Mali, Niger, Syria, Venezuela and Palestine; another 3,350,000 euros to the World Food Program (WFP) for specific interventions in Mali, Palestine and in the Saharawi refugee camps in Tindouf; and 3. 250,000 to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a regular annual contribution in the planning of AECID’s Humanitarian Action Office for over eleven years.
The package of voluntary contributions includes an allocation of 2,500,000 euros to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to address the effects of the pandemic; 2,040,000 euros to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to alleviate the effects of COVID-19 in Spanish Cooperation partner countries; and 1. 1,400,000 to the World Health Organization (WHO) to finance the mitigation of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and post-crisis and to combat diseases such as malaria, polio and tropical diseases.
Venezuela, SEGIB and OEI
With regard to Latin America, the package provides for a contribution of 2,000,000 euros to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the framework of “the commitments made by the Spanish Government at the International Donors Conference in solidarity with Venezuelan refugees and migrants, held on May 26, 2020, during which Spain announced a commitment to allocate 50 million euros for the following three years.” Likewise, Spain will contribute 2,150,000 euros to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for actions related to COVID-19, the supply of medicines for Venezuela, “as part of Spain’s commitment of funding for that country,” and the impact of tropical storms Eta and Iota in Guatemala.
The Government also approved a contribution of 2,425,000 euros to the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) for the implementation of the II Four-Year Action Plan for Ibero-American Cooperation (PACCI), including actions related to the pandemic in the region, and for actions aimed at strengthening the Ibero-American Conference, in addition to a contribution to Casa América-Cataluña on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the first Summit of Heads of State and Government. Spain will also contribute 1,560,000 euros to the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), based in Madrid, for its actions in the field of education in line with the V Master Plan and the SDGs, to finance cultural cooperation programs and the Ibero-American Cultural Space, and to promote scientific diplomacy.
The contribution package includes 630,000 euros to the Ibero-American Social Security Organization (OISS), 200,000 euros to the International Labor Organization (ILO), 400,000 euros to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), 200. 000 to the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), 500,000 euros to the European Investment Bank (EIB), 560,000 euros to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), 200. 200,000 to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 550,000 euros to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 200,000 euros to the Conference of Ministers of Justice of Ibero-American Countries (COMJIB), 445,000 euros to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 550,000 euros to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 200,000 euros to the Conference of Ministers of Justice of Ibero-American Countries (COMJIB). 445,000 euros to UNESCO, 100,000 euros to the World Bank (WB), 300,000 euros to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and 30,000 euros to the Latin American Center for Development Administration (CLAD).
