<\/p>\n
Excellencies, distinguished members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n I would like to thank Lebanon for hosting this meeting today and I would like to thank:<\/p>\n Dear friends of AdCom<\/strong><\/p>\n Each time we meet,\u00a0I\u00a0always\u00a0wish\u00a0it would be under better circumstances.<\/p>\n However,\u00a0each\u00a0time\u00a0the situation for\u00a0millions of\u00a0Palestine Refugees in the region continues to get worse.<\/p>\n In the\u00a0West Bank<\/strong>, Palestinians\u00a0are being killed in record numbers, as\u00a0levels of\u00a0violence\u00a0remain high.<\/p>\n Refugee children\u00a0have been particularly affected by\u00a0daily armed confrontations.<\/p>\n We are only in June, and\u00a0already\u00a0this year more\u00a0Palestine\u00a0Refugee children\u00a0were\u00a0killed by live fire than any other year on record.<\/p>\n Yesterday, in Jenin, Ahmad, an UNRWA 15 years old schoolboy was killed and Sadeel, a 14-year-old schoolgirl remains in critical condition.<\/p>\n Armed groups are\u00a0attracting\u00a0increased\u00a0numbers of disenfranchised youth in the camps.<\/p>\n In\u00a0the\u00a0Gaza<\/strong>\u00a0Strip<\/strong>,\u00a0Palestine Refugees\u00a0are bearing a tremendous psychological toll.<\/p>\n They\u00a0lived through a war-type day every\u00a0five\u00a0days\u00a0this year.<\/p>\n They\u00a0are physically trapped in their territory.<\/p>\n They\u00a0are\u00a0being pushed\u00a0into universal poverty\u00a0and\u00a0reliance\u00a0on humanitarian\u00a0assistance\u00a0due to the\u00a0blockade, with\u00a0no prospect for healthy economic growth or any kind of normality.<\/p>\n And\u00a0just\u00a0when\u00a0refugees in Gaza\u00a0think they have\u00a0hit rock-bottom,\u00a0they\u00a0have to\u00a0worry about\u00a0no longer\u00a0getting their\u00a0food parcels\u00a0from UNRWA or World Food Programme.<\/p>\n In\u00a0Syria<\/strong>,\u00a0the earthquake\u00a0in February\u00a0struck\u00a0at a time\u00a0Palestine Refugees\u00a0were going through the worst\u00a0humanitarian crisis since the onset of the conflict.<\/p>\n With nothing left to\u00a0either\u00a0gain or\u00a0lose,\u00a0they\u00a0are returning to\u00a0live amid the rubble of their homes with limited access to basic services.<\/p>\n This is particularly the case in places like Ein al Tal and Yarmouk<\/p>\n I visited Syria in the aftermath of this disaster.<\/p>\n I was both heartbroken by the\u00a0dismal\u00a0reality\u00a0on the ground, and at the same time\u00a0deeply\u00a0inspired by the resilience\u00a0of refugees, including UNRWA staff, in supporting\u00a0each other\u00a0after the earthquake.<\/p>\n In\u00a0Jordan<\/strong>, the most stable of our fields of operations,\u00a0we should not overlook the\u00a0acute hardship of around 180,000 extremely vulnerable Palestine refugees from Syria and Ex-Gazans\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Palestinians who fled from\u00a0Gaza<\/strong>\u00a0to Jordan in the aftermath of the June 1967 hostilities.<\/p>\n They\u00a0rely almost exclusively on UNRWA services\u00a0due to their legal status\u00a0in the country.<\/p>\n With inadequate\u00a0emergency\u00a0funding\u00a0for\u00a0Jordan and insufficient livelihood opportunities, these refugees\u00a0are sinking further into debt to\u00a0meet their most basic needs.<\/p>\n In Jerash, one of the camps hosting Ex-Gazans, 90 percent\u00a0of the people\u00a0buy food\u00a0on credit.<\/p>\n Last, but\u00a0not\u00a0least, here in\u00a0Lebanon<\/strong>,\u00a0the\u00a0despair of\u00a0Palestine Refugees is\u00a0indescribable.<\/p>\n There is a\u00a0telling\u00a0example from our own\u00a0operations that captures\u00a0the despair\u00a0well: last month, UNRWA\u00a0opened 13 vacancies\u00a0for sanitation laborer\u00a0posts.<\/p>\n We received\u00a0no less than\u00a037,000 applications, including\u00a0from refugees\u00a0with\u00a0university degrees!<\/p>\n This shows how little opportunity\u00a0there is for Palestine Refugees\u00a0to lead a\u00a0life of dignity.<\/p>\n Poverty levels\u00a0amongst the Palestine Refugee community stands today at\u00a080\u00a0per cent.<\/p>\n Our\u00a0quarterly cash assistance brought the rate down from\u00a093 per cent.<\/p>\n For so many refugees across the region,\u00a0UNRWA\u00a0is their only lifeline, their only way to\u00a0access\u00a0healthcare, education or to have a\u00a0chance to earn a living.<\/p>\n For them,\u00a0we remain\u00a0the\u00a0hope\u00a0for a better future.<\/p>\n With this responsibility\u00a0in mind,\u00a0UNRWA has\u00a0continued to deliver on\u00a0its\u00a0mandate\u00a0for 74 years.<\/p>\n Until\u00a0today.<\/p>\n Dear Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n UNRWA, as you know, is at\u00a0a\u00a0crossroad.<\/p>\n If we continue on our current path,\u00a0we will\u00a0simply\u00a0not\u00a0be able to sustain the same level of services\u00a0and\u00a0to\u00a0effectively carry out our mandate.<\/p>\n Business as usual is over.<\/p>\n Our ability to muddle through is coming to an end.<\/p>\n The status quo we are \u201clocked in\u201d has become our main existential threat.<\/p>\n Collectively, and you mentioned it Mr. Chair, \u00a0we\u00a0must\u00a0overcome the tensions between:<\/p>\n –\u00a0The mandate;<\/p>\n –\u00a0The costs and resources needed to deliver our services; and<\/p>\n –\u00a0The perception\u00a0by\u00a0the communities that any transformation of the service delivery model in the absence of a political horizon would be an abandonment of their rights.<\/p>\n While I am extremely grateful for all the generosity\u00a0of our donors,\u00a0the gap\u00a0between\u00a0Palestine Refugees\u2019 needs, rights, and expectations and the\u00a0services the Agency can deliver with the available funds\u00a0is becoming just unbearable.<\/p>\n The \u201ctemporary\u201d nature of UNRWA and its fast-approaching 75th\u00a0<\/sup>anniversary have become an oxymoron that should push us to reflect beyond our short-term and often urgent\u00a0funding conversations.<\/p>\n Twice a year, I seek your advice, as the Advisory Commission, on how to manage\u00a0the gap between your political commitment and the financial\u00a0means you and others give us.<\/p>\n I then go back to my senior management team and we try, each time, to extend every dollar we receive to maximize its reach and cover critical services.<\/p>\n What started as manageable funding gaps 10 years ago, is now no longer manageable.<\/p>\n Any financial expert would tell us that cashflow and funding gaps are only manageable up to a certain level.<\/p>\n We have annually a negative deficit amounting on average to one to one and a half month of operations.<\/p>\n We, at UNRWA, managed to absorb much more than other similar groups can;\u00a0mostly with astute financial management, loans and austerity.<\/p>\n Last year we managed to keep all services\u00a0running\u00a0and paid all salaries on time only thanks to borrowing, some flexible funding and\u00a0last-minute\u00a0generosity of\u00a0donors\u00a0to bridge the gap.<\/p>\n At the\u00a0Pledging\u00a0Conference\u00a0in New York\u00a0earlier this month, UNRWA received again strong political support for the valuable work we are doing.<\/p>\n Whilst we were seeking to cover our most urgent core and emergency requirements of around US$ 300 million for this year, we received only US$ 13 million in additional funding.<\/p>\n Though\u00a0I am grateful\u00a0for every single dollar,\u00a0it is simply not enough to sustain the existing level of services, let alone modernize or meet our environmental sustainability commitments.<\/p>\n At this rate, this year\u00a0we will be out of funds\u00a0as of\u00a0September.<\/p>\n And then what?<\/p>\n I have alerted UN country teams in the regions to include in their scenario planning and contingency plans the likelihood of UNRWA\u00a0suspending its services.<\/p>\n I keep hearing that the UNRWA budget should be reasonable.<\/p>\n What does that mean when the bulk of our activities are essential public-like services?<\/p>\n Should we end all our activities in one of our fields\u00a0of operations?<\/p>\n Or ask 20 per cent of the students in our school to drop\u00a0out?<\/p>\n Should we prevent\u00a0cancer patients to access health care?<\/p>\n Or end\u00a0the social-safety net for\u00a0women-headed families or families with disabled members?<\/p>\n Who can make this triage in good conscience?<\/p>\n And who is ready to bear the political consequences to signal Palestine Refugees that\u00a0we are not willing to accompany them anymore until a just and lasting political solution?<\/p>\n Dear friends of UNRWA,<\/strong><\/p>\n By the fourth quarter,\u00a0we may also face an interruption\u00a0in\u00a0the food pipeline\u00a0in\u00a0Gaza.<\/p>\n This would be in addition to\u00a0WFP\u00a0having been\u00a0forced to\u00a0significantly\u00a0reduce the number of its beneficiaries.<\/p>\n And we are all too aware of the Palestinian Authority\u2019s\u00a0own challenges.<\/p>\n Between WFP and UNRWA,\u00a0three out of four Gazans receive\u00a0food assistance that\u00a0covers\u00a0around\u00a050 per cent of their calorific need.<\/p>\n This scenario would lead us to a situation where people in Gaza would be deprived of food,\u00a0education and primary health care all at the same time.<\/p>\n This just cannot happen.<\/p>\n The rights, dignity, and in many cases, the sheer survival of Palestine Refugees will be put into question.<\/p>\n The fundamental social contract between refugees and the Â鶹APP in Gaza would be\u00a0broken beyond repair.<\/p>\n The\u00a0human,\u00a0political and security implications of\u00a0the dead-end that we are heading towards are huge.<\/p>\n Human suffering\u00a0in the region\u00a0would reach new\u00a0heights.<\/p>\n And the cost for the international community\u00a0would\u00a0be far beyond what it would cost to bridge UNRWA\u2019s chronic underfunding.<\/p>\n Suspending vital services would be\u00a0perceived as a grave betrayal of\u00a0the Palestine Refugees after\u00a0more than seven decades of waiting for a just and lasting solution.<\/p>\n Dear partners,<\/strong><\/p>\n After\u00a0104\u00a0days, the end of the\u00a0strike\u00a0in the West Bank\u00a0has come as a relief\u00a0to\u00a0thousands\u00a0of Palestine Refugees impacted\u00a0by the interruption of the services.<\/p>\n Around 40,000 girls and boys\u00a0were on the\u00a0verge of\u00a0losing the entire academic year.<\/p>\n Health indicators among the refugee community were deteriorating as health centers remained\u00a0closed.<\/p>\n As we meet today, the Agency\u2019s 90 schools and 43 health clinics in the West Bank have reopened their doors.<\/p>\n The focus\u00a0of\u00a0all our efforts\u00a0is\u00a0now geared towards\u00a0catching\u00a0up on the lost services\u00a0in the next months.<\/p>\n Over the last four months, the management has spared no efforts to find a solution to the labour dispute.<\/p>\n In doing so, we have at all times sought to maintain\u00a0the\u00a0balance between the interests\u00a0of the\u00a0Palestine Refugee communities, the\u00a0staff well-being and the Agency\u2019s sustainability.<\/p>\n At all times, we have\u00a0upheld\u00a0the\u00a0right to strike but\u00a0have\u00a0also been\u00a0firm on\u00a0the right of staff\u00a0to work, on their right\u00a0not\u00a0to\u00a0be intimidated or threatened\u00a0and on the right of refugees to access critical services such as health.<\/p>\n Overcoming a legacy of past practice, we have firmly implemented our rules and regulations, including our\u00a0Pay\u00a0Policy, and\u00a0held\u00a0staff\u00a0accountable\u00a0for\u00a0their actions.<\/p>\n This\u00a0crisis must\u00a0now\u00a0lead to a\u00a0reflection\u00a0and review of\u00a0the relationship between staff and management\u00a0with the aim\u00a0of improving\u00a0it.<\/p>\n Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/strong><\/p>\n This labour dispute might well be the\u00a0first crack caused by ten years of financial difficulties.<\/p>\n An implosion of the Agency is what\u00a0my\u00a0team and I are\u00a0trying to avoid at all costs.<\/p>\n Let me pause here for a second to thank my senior\u00a0management team.<\/p>\n Despite the considerable financial and operational challenges they are under, our senior managers showed incredible energy, team spirit and commitment to overcome recurrent and new crisis while driving improvements that allow us to build a stronger and more effective and modern Agency.<\/p>\n Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/p>\n I am convinced that nobody present here today would like to deal with an unpredictable UNRWA, unable to deliver basic services to millions of Palestine Refugees.<\/p>\n There is no known alternative to the Agency, and I am sure no one wants to deal with a vacuum under the current circumstances.<\/p>\n Over the last two years, we have\u00a0offered\u00a0three solutions\u00a0for discussion:<\/p>\n But none of these options will individually or collectively be the game changer\u00a0that\u00a0UNRWA, refugees, Hosts and the region need.<\/p>\n There is another path. It is also not an easy one, but we should leave no option unexplored.<\/p>\n In the run up to\u00a0the\u00a075th<\/sup>\u00a0commemoration\u00a0of an Agency that was meant to be temporary, and\u00a0at\u00a0a\u00a0time a\u00a0political solution\u00a0is further beyond reach, we need to\u00a0reflect on\u00a0our\u00a0obligations to uphold\u00a0the rights of Palestine Refugees.<\/p>\n We need to elevate the discussion from the self-destructive status quo and\u00a0find the political will\u00a0to discuss the future\u00a0of\u00a0a sustainable\u00a0UNRWA.<\/p>\n This conversation needs to be honest and transparent,\u00a0in good faith, and held together with Palestine Refugees, especially the\u00a0youth.<\/p>\n We need to understand the perspective of young Palestine Refugees and their expectations from the international community.<\/p>\n UNRWA\u00a0also\u00a0needs the political space to be able to evolve to meet the changing needs of Palestine Refugees\u00a0in a broader context of international support for their legitimate rights.<\/p>\n There is an urgent need for the refugees, the Agency, the donors, and Hosts to have a clear and common vision for how a sustainable\u00a0UNRWA can directly contribute to a future political solution that supports peace and development for all within the region.<\/p>\n Undoubtedly, this\u00a0needs to be accompanied by renewed, serious, and tangible commitment from the international community to work towards a political solution\u00a0to the Israeli-Palestinian\u00a0conflict.<\/p>\n Dear partners,<\/strong><\/p>\n UNRWA has proven to\u00a0be able to\u00a0adapt\u00a0to our changing context.<\/p>\n We have\u00a0reformed our management practices\u00a0and\u00a0made immense progress on digitalization\u00a0and modernization of the Agency practices.<\/p>\n And there is much more to come.<\/p>\n As an\u00a0example, I\u00a0recently endorsed the proposal to transform our Information Management and Technology Department\u00a0into the\u00a0Digital Impact, Technology, and Innovation Department.<\/p>\n I recently established a Compliance Advisory Group to look at overarching issues related to compliance, oversight, governance, policy architecture and emerging risks.<\/p>\n Work is also underway to develop a new Human Resource People Strategy as well as to set out our new approach to Accountability to Affected Populations.<\/p>\n We are also enhancing our organizational culture. I launched in May the Agency\u2019s first Leadership Dialogue which is now cascading down the Agency.<\/p>\n We also distributed a Where to Go Guide to help direct staff to the right avenues to resolve disputes, including promoting informal dispute resolution.<\/p>\n The Women Advisory Forum, which was launched last year to address female staff concerns, is already producing concrete outputs as we have increased the maternity leave and released the first ever teleworking policy for Area Staff.<\/p>\n Dear friends of UNRWA,<\/strong><\/p>\n To conclude, I want to\u00a0stress\u00a0the\u00a0following three\u00a0points.<\/p>\n First \u2013 we\u00a0need to prevent the looming disaster we are on track to hit in September.<\/p>\n We urgently\u00a0need\u00a0around\u00a0US$ 200 million to continue\u00a0to deliver our\u00a0services\u00a0this year, pay our staff and end the vicious cycle of\u00a0debt.<\/p>\n We also need\u00a0the resource to address\u00a0the most pressing humanitarian needs,\u00a0including US$\u00a075 million to maintain the food pipeline for\u00a01.2 million refugees in\u00a0Gaza, and another US$ 30 million to maintain cash and food assistance to\u00a0600,000 of the most vulnerable refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.<\/p>\n I urge all of you\u00a0to raise the alarm in your capitals to prevent the looming implosion of the Agency.<\/p>\n Second\u00a0–\u00a0We need an\u00a0equally urgent conversation about a sustainable UNRWA.<\/p>\n We cannot let\u00a0the Agency\u00a0simply breakdown under its current model, as this would be a political and humanitarian disaster.<\/p>\n Third \u2013\u00a0the conversation on\u00a0a sustainable UNRWA must\u00a0be situated\u00a0in a\u00a0broader discussion on upholding the rights of Palestine Refugees, including their right to work\u00a0and their right to a\u00a0just and lasting\u00a0political solution.<\/p>\n As today we mark World Refugee Day, we must remember that Palestine Refugees have been waiting for a just and lasting solution for 75 years.<\/p>\n It is our duty to bring the conversation forward.<\/p>\n Before closing, it pains me, but I have to officially inform the Advisory Commission that Leni Stenseth, Deputy Commissioner-General will leave us soon to take a very senior position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.<\/p>\n As we know, Leni was instrumental in the reforms of the Agency. She has the drive and the energy that UNRWA needed to face challenges and it is thanks to your contributions that we accomplished many successes in the last three years.<\/p>\n She will be difficult to replace.<\/p>\n Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 20 June 2023 Excellencies, distinguished members of the Advisory Commission, I would like to thank Lebanon for hosting this meeting today and I would like to thank: Dr. Bassel el Hassan, Chairman of the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee for your excellent leadership as Chair of the Advisory Commission. Ms. Diane Corner, Consul-General of the […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[909,933,2241],"document-category":[2637,1338],"document-source":[1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,1829,2033,6650,2005,1857,2349,2153,1745,2385,6245,6251],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-287821","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-jordan","country-lebanon","country-syria","document-category-remarks","document-category-statement","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-children","document-subject-funding-needs","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-incidents","document-subject-living-conditions","document-subject-refugee-camps","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-security-issues","document-subject-violence","document-subject-west-bank","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/287821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/287821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":287823,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/287821\/revisions\/287823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=287821"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=287821"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=287821"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=287821"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=287821"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=287821"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=287821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n