28 January 2025
Mr. President,
We thank the Algerian delegation for convening a briefing on the issue of UNRWA’s fate in the context of banning its activities in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) following the Knesset laws, which are supposed to enter formally into force within the next few days. We are grateful to Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini for his frank assessments, as well as to Jan Egeland for his briefing.
Colleagues,
In recent times, The UN Security Council has on numerous occasions discussed the situation surrounding the steps by Israel to ban UNRWA. Council members have consistently and unequivocally condemned West Jerusalem’s efforts to wreck the Agency, which, as we all understand, is absolutely indispensable for Gazans and the West Bank. This is confirmed also by the latest UN reports, which indicate that it is precisely UNRWA that provides a significant share of the aid distributed to the population there, including the aid that began to massively flow into the enclave following the deal reached between Israel and Hamas. What is of great help here is the Agency’s experience, its far-reaching system for providing humanitarian assistance as well as the Agency’s infrastructure established over decades. At the same time, virtually all residents of the Gaza Strip can be characterized today as falling into the most vulnerable category of the population, and UNRWA, as these people themselves admit, practically the only source of support that they still have.
Despite all this, however, it is clear that Israel is dead set on stripping UNRWA of its core function which will deprive the Gazans of the only lifeline they have. This is notwithstanding the fact that we never saw any substantiated evidence to prove Israeli’s allegations regarding the Agency’s non-compliance with the principle of neutrality and the involvement of 19 UNRWA staff in October 7thruthless attack by Hamas in 2023. Moreover, no accusations could serve as grounds for banning UNRWA’s work, as this Agency was established not by Israel but by a decision of the entire international community back in 1949.
We have repeatedly emphasized that the Israeli legislative acts not only violate the norms of international law, including the UN Charter, the 4th Geneva Convention and relevant GA decisions, but also contradict the conditions for Israel’s joining the UN back in 1949, which include the compliance with and the implementation of two flagship UNGA resolutions – UNGAR 181 with the Palestine Partition Plan, and UNGAR 194 on Palestinian refugees. Moreover, Israel’s ban on the Agency’s activities and the revocation of UNRWA’s privileges and immunities are at odds with the purposes and principles of the UN and constitute a flagrant violation by West Jerusalem of its international legal obligations, including those stemming from the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. No State has the right to unilaterally deprive UN agencies and its personnel of their privileges and immunities. Such an approach renders meaningless the very notion of privileges and immunities, which is supposed to ensure the unhindered performance of duties by international officials.
In this regard, the UN Secretary General is well-advised to take a more decisive stance, since the flagrant violation of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations is more than evident in this case. A delay in launching the dispute settlement procedure does nothing but trigger further violations by Israel, which feels its complete impunity.
We also deem necessary for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to consider the UNRWA file as part of the request for a third advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations in relation to the diplomatic and UN presence in the OPT.
Moreover, the ICJ’s second advisory opinion of July 19 on the consequences arising from Israel’s occupation, states that “Israel is not entitled to sovereignty over or to exercise sovereign powers in any part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The same applies to the Israel’s ban on UNRWA activities.
On top of the tragedy unfolding before our very eyes, the Agency is confronting the real threat of its physical annihilation. In the 15 months of conflict, 273 UNRWA personnel have been killed – this is the highest personnel loss for the UN in its entire history, a bleak record. More than 200 UNRWA facilities have been destroyed, dozens of UNRWA personnel have been arbitrarily detained and are reported to be tortured. We condemn any acts of violence against UN personnel. We oppose attempts to use force to block UNRWA activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Dear Colleagues,
Israel would not dare to defy the international community and violate international law so unabashedly if it weren’t for absolute and unconditional military and economic support from the US. Throughout the 15 months of escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Washington has supplied Israel with weapons used to kill Palestinian civilians and didn’t give a pass to any UN Security Council decisions that would have prevented Israel from implementing its plans regarding Gaza. The US has also blocked any attempts to craft any collective UNSC measures to defend UNRWA. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the blame for what is happening around the Agency lies fully with the US. And this is precisely what we’ve heard today from the US representative, this was crystal clear. According to the US, Israel has the right to shut down UNRWA office in Jerusalem. How is this consistent with international law, I wonder? The answer is that it is not. This is a clear example of the so-called “rules-based international order”, which replaces international law for the US. We call on our colleagues in Washington to come to their senses and exert the necessary pressure on West Jerusalem to avoid further suffering of peaceful Palestinians.
For our part, we reaffirm our readiness to contribute to developing any UN initiatives, including within the Security Council, geared at maintaining UNRWA’s presence in the OPT and ensuring the safety of its personnel. We support the calls on Israel issued by the UN Secretary General and the UNRWA Commissioner General, and demand that Israel uphold its international legal obligations and repeal the aforementioned legislative acts.
It is important to bear in mind that the implementation of the laws banning UNRWA’s work would deal a serious blow to the ceasefire, which we all have a stake in, and which is already very fragile.
Let me conclude by reiterating that Russia and Russian civil society will continue to unwaveringly support UNRWA. Not long ago, an international public fund – the Russian Peace Foundation – nominated UNRWA for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. We believe that this is a timely step, which deserves broad international support, given UNRWA’s irreplaceable role in Gaza as well as its principled position, which 273 staff members paid for with their lives while discharging their duty.
Thank you.