April 17, 2024
PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), stressed that UNRWA is a stabilizing force at a time of “seismic change” in the Middle East.
It is the backbone of the humanitarian operation in Gaza and, beyond the Strip, it has championed human development for Palestinian refugees for decades.
He pointed out, however: “Today, an insidious campaign to end UNRWA’s operations is under way, with serious implications for international peace and security.” While six months of relentless bombardment and a merciless siege have transformed Gaza beyond recognition, while its children are bearing the brunt of this war, and while a man-made famine is tightening its grip across the Strip, UNRWA is denied permission to deliver aid and save lives despite the food and clean water waiting across the border.
While observing that an “overwhelming” majority of Member States support UNRWA’s mandate, he pointed out that the Agency is facing a campaign to push it out of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Israel seeks to end UNRWA’s activities in Gaza, the Agency’s requests to deliver aid to the north are repeatedly denied, staff are barred from coordination meetings between Israel and humanitarian actors and, worse, UNRWA premises and staff have been targeted since the beginning of the war. On that, he reported that 178 UNRWA personnel have been killed, and more than 160 UNRWA premises — mostly used as shelters — have been damaged or destroyed. Further, UNRWA personnel detained by Israel have shared harrowing accounts of mistreatment and torture in detention. Demanding an independent investigation and accountability for the “blatant disregard” of the protected status of humanitarian workers, operations and facilities, he stressed: “To do otherwise would set a dangerous precedent and compromise humanitarian work around the world.”
Turning to the “serious allegations” against individual UNRWA personnel that emerged in January, he reported that he immediately terminated the appointments of those concerned. Further, the Secretary-General ordered an investigation and, in parallel, an independent review group is assessing how UNRWA upholds neutrality. He pointed out, however, that — despite these prompt and decisive actions — a significant amount of donor funding remains suspended. “This has serious operational implications and undermines the financial sustainability of the Agency,” he stressed, adding that calls for UNRWA’s closure are not about adherence to humanitarian principles. Rather, they are about ending the refugee status of millions of Palestinians. “Accusations that UNRWA deliberately perpetuates refugee status are false and dishonest,” he stated, underscoring: “The Agency exists because a political solution does not.”
Recalling that UNRWA was created 75 years ago as a stop-gap measure pending a political answer to the question of Palestine, he said that the Agency can “retrieve its temporary nature” if the international community truly commits to a political solution. To that end, he called on Council members to safeguard the Agency’s critical role “both now and within the framework of a transition”; to commit to a genuine political process; and to acknowledge that a political process alone will not guarantee sustainable peace. “Instead, we must recognize — and reflect in our words and actions — that Palestinians and Israelis share a long and profound experience of grief and loss,” he urged.