AMMAN, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Saturday hailed the United Nations General Assembly's decision to renew the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
"An overwhelming support for UNRWA at the UN. 170 countries voted in favor of renewing the mandate," he said on his official Twitter account.
"Grateful to all who acted in support of justice and right of refugees to live in dignity," said Safadi.
On Friday, the Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly voted to extend the mandate of the UNRWA until 2023.
The resolution stated that the UN is "expressing grave concern at the especially difficult situation of the Palestinian refugees under occupation, with regard to their safety, well-being and socio-economic living conditions."
The UNRWA, which was established in 1949, currently helps more than 5 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria as well as the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The agency faced its most severe funding crisis in 2018 after the United States, previously the largest donor, suddenly cut its funding and then completely stopped its support.
