New Zealand Halts Funding to UNRWA, Joining the United States, Sweden and Finland
Foreign Minister Winston Peters says Wellington wants to “know our money is going for a legitimate purpose,” as a growing group of Western donors reconsiders its support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Faith & Freedom News (FFN) · October 31, 2026
VIDEO · UN Watch on X
WELLINGTON / NEW YORK: New Zealand has halted its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), joining the United States, Sweden and Finland among Western countries that have stopped or suspended support for the agency, according to a post on X by Daniel Schatz.
The announcement was highlighted in a video circulated by UN Watch, in which New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters, explains the government’s reasoning. In the clip, a caption quotes the speaker saying: “There was a full-scale inquiry.”
“We want to know our money is going for a legitimate purpose. And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out it certainly was not. We’re not financing cases where they actually engage with terrorists.”Winston Peters, New Zealand Foreign Minister
Who has stepped back from UNRWA
Select a country below to see the reasons attributed to each government in the source post.
Donor decisions at a glance
Tap a country to read its stated reasons.
Funding halted. Foreign Minister Winston Peters says Wellington needs assurance that taxpayer money serves “a legitimate purpose” and is not financing cases where recipients “engage with terrorists.”
Core funding ended in December 2024, citing a “crisis of confidence” over reported staff links to terrorist groups, educational materials said to promote extremism, and a lack of adequate controls. Stockholm redirected roughly SEK 800 million in 2025 to partners including WFP, UNICEF, UNDP and the ICRC.
Support suspended after allegations that UNRWA personnel took part in the October 7 attack, and amid serious concerns about the agency’s vetting and oversight.
Named in the post as an earlier donor to halt funding. The United States was UNRWA’s largest single contributor before it paused support.
Where Sweden’s money went instead
Sweden did not cut humanitarian spending outright. According to the post, it redirected about SEK 800 million in 2025 to four other channels.
Funding redirected by Sweden, 2025
Illustrative flow based on figures in the source post; the split between partners is not specified.
The concerns behind the decisions
The governments cited in the post point to a common set of concerns: alleged staff links to terrorist groups, educational materials said to promote extremism, and weak vetting and oversight. Finland’s decision followed allegations that agency personnel took part in the October 7 massacre.
Stated reasons by theme
Which donors cite which concern, per the source post.
Filled circle = concern cited. New Zealand’s stated concern is engagement with terrorists; it is shown against the staff-links row as the closest match.
Watch: the video behind the story
An inline preview of the clip is not available outside X, so the screenshot above links directly to the original. Open the video on X.
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