Lazzarini Calls on UN Member States to Prevent Implementation of Israeli Ban Against UNRWA
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that this is a critical moment for UNRWA, and the millions of Palestine Refugees, asking the UN Member States to act to prevent the implementation of the Israeli legislation against UNRWA and urging for the continued funding of the agency.
“In open defiance of the United Nations Charter, the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, and the binding orders of the International Court of Justice, the State of Israel is working to unilaterally shift the long-established parameters for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict,” Lazzarini told the United Nations General Assembly Fourth Committee.
Last month, the Israeli parliament passed legislation that could end UNRWA’s operations in the occupied Palestinian territory in less than three months, he said, pointing out that dismantling UNRWA will collapse the United Nations humanitarian response, which relies heavily on the Agency’s infrastructure.
“Dismantling UNRWA will not terminate the refugee status of Palestinians – this status exists independently of the Agency – but it will severely harm their lives and future,” Lazzarini added.
Unique among United Nations agencies, he said, UNRWA is mandated to directly provide public-like services, including education for more than half a million children and primary healthcare, noting that the Agency provides human development services for Palestine Refugees in the absence of a Palestinian state.
During conflicts, UNRWA also provides humanitarian assistance to all those in need…UNRWA is a casualty of the war in Gaza. At least 243 UNRWA personnel have been killed, and others have been detained and reported being tortured. More than two-thirds of UNRWA premises have been damaged or destroyed, the UN official said.
In addition to the attacks within the occupied Palestinian territory, the Agency has also been subjected to a fierce, global disinformation campaign, he affirmed, adding that intense lobbying by the government of Israel and affiliated groups has targeted parliaments and governments in top donor countries.
He asked UN Member States to maintain funding to UNRWA and to not withhold or divert funds on the assumption that the Agency can no longer operate, calling for utilizing all the legal and political tools at their disposal to ensure that the international rules-based order is upheld.
He stressed the necessity that the Agency progressively concludes its mandate within the framework of a political solution, and, in the occupied Palestinian territory, hand over its services to an empowered Palestinian administration.
