NEWS RELEASES

May 9, 2001 (10:15 a.m. EDT) No. 56

CANADA CONTRIBUTES ADDITIONAL $5 MILLION TOWARD

POVERTY REDUCTION IN THE WEST BANK AND GAZA

John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Maria Minna, Minister for International Co-operation, today announced that Canada will contribute $5 million to help create jobs and reduce poverty in the West Bank and Gaza.

The announcement was made following Minister Manley's meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, in Gaza City, on May 9. Mr. Manley is currently on a tour of the Middle East that includes stops in Egypt, Gaza City, Jordan and Israel. In Jordan, the Minister will participate in a Human Security Network Ministerial Meeting taking place in Petra on May 11 and 12.

"Since the beginning of the crisis, Canada has urged both parties to end the violence and restart negotiations," Minister Manley said. "At the same time, we have tried to address the urgent humanitarian needs in the West Bank and Gaza."

"The crisis in the West Bank and Gaza has resulted in almost half of the Palestinian workforce being unable to access work opportunities -- this has added to an increasingly dire humanitarian situation," Minister Minna said. "Canada is committed to improving the social and economic well-being of the Palestinian people."

The funds announced today will be provided by the Canadian International Development Agency and channelled through the World Bank's Palestinian Economic Assistance and Co-operation Expansion Facility to support job creation initiatives such as the construction and restoration of community centres, health clinics, schools and water systems in the areas administered by the Palestinian Authority.

Canada has contributed over $19 million for similar activities in the Palestinian territories during the past few years. Since 1993, Canada has contributed $165 million in support of development in the West Bank and Gaza and to address the humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees in the region. In response to the current situation, Canada has contributed $1.5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN Relief and Works Agency and other international organizations, $800 000 toward the Well-Being of Palestinian Children project, and $150 000 from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives toward emergency food distribution.

Funding for today's contribution was provided for in the February 2000 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.

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A backgrounder is attached.

For further information, media representatives may contact:

Sanjeev Chowdhury

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Mike Murphy

Office of the Minister of International Co-operation

(819) 953-6238

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

Media Relations Office

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

(819) 953-6534

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

(819) 953-6534

E-mail: media@acdi-cida.gc.ca

Internet: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca

This document is also available on the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca

Backgrounder

CANADIAN DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES IN THE WEST BANK AND GAZA SINCE OCTOBER 2000

The Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA) official development assistance program for the Middle East is Canada's primary vehicle for addressing humanitarian concerns in the region and assists Canadian efforts to promote peace. The Middle East Program's annual bilateral programming budget is approximately $10 million. This funding supports projects in the West Bank and Gaza that address basic human needs (focusing on water and sanitation, vocational training and technical education), promote peacebuilding, and provide assistance to the 3.4 million Palestinian refugees who comprise 80 percent of the region's poorest citizens.

Since the crisis began in late September 2000, there has been a need for increased assistance. CIDA has contributed to the following emergency projects and initiatives aimed at alleviating the suffering of those caught in the conflict:

• $5 million for the World Bank Palestinian Economic Assistance and Co-operation Expansion (PEACE) Facility. This project addresses the high rate of unemployment caused by the current crisis, while promoting social development. Activities include the construction and rehabilitation of health clinics, schools, water and wastewater systems at the village level, and community centres, which also serve as meeting places for women, children, non-governmental organizations and the disabled.

• $800 000 to various Palestinian non-governmental organizations to improve the physical, emotional and psychological well-being of children through physical rehabilitation, recreational and counselling programs. Children represent 50 percent of the population in the Occupied Territories and have been especially hard hit by the crisis, suffering from extreme anxiety, nervous tension, physical ailments and behavioural problems.

• $150 000 to Palestinian non-governmental organizations through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, which is part of CIDA's regular programming budget. However, in response to the crisis, the Fund has been redirected to emergency projects such as school renovations, medical assistance, job creation for farmers, and providing food rations.

• $1.25 million to the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to address the increased need for food, shelter, cash assistance, employment generation and medical assistance, including physical rehabilitation and counselling for those injured or disabled as a result of the current crisis. CIDA contributes considerable annual core funding ($9 million in 2000/01) to UNRWA, but since October 2000, an additional $1.25 million has been provided.

• $250 000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to address the medical, material and protection needs of the victims of the crisis. The ICRC has also recently launched the House Destruction Relief Programme to provide those families whose homes have been destroyed with tents, blankets and other essential household goods.