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Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General addresses the Advisory Commission (AdCom) on 24 June 2024, @UNRWA Photo<\/p><\/div>\n
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Excellencies, \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n Welcome to the Palais des Nations, for the first in-person meeting of the Advisory Commission since the start of the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n I would like to thank the United States for its efforts as Chair of the Advisory Commission, as well as Egypt and the European Union for their efforts as Vice-Chairs.<\/p>\n I would also like to thank Canada for serving as SubCom Chair, and Jordan and the European Union for serving as SubCom Vice-Chairs.<\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/p>\n We are convening at a time of seismic change in the occupied Palestinian territory, and the broader region.<\/p>\n In the last nine months, we have witnessed unprecedented failures of humanity in a territory marked by decades of violence.<\/p>\n Palestinians and Israelis have experienced terrible losses and suffered immensely.<\/p>\n Gaza has been decimated.<\/p>\n For more than two million Gazans, it is a living hell. A nightmare from which they cannot wake.<\/p>\n Catastrophic levels of hunger across the Gaza Strip are the result of human action.<\/p>\n Children are dying of malnutrition and dehydration, while food and clean water wait in trucks.<\/p>\n The breakdown of civil order has resulted in rampant looting and smuggling that impede the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n Gazans are clinging to life, displaced repeatedly across a ravaged territory.<\/p>\n In the shadow of Gaza, another tragedy is unfolding in the West Bank.<\/p>\n More than 500 Palestinians have been killed since October.<\/p>\n Daily attacks by Israeli settlers, military incursions, and the destruction of homes and critical infrastructure are part of a well-oiled system of segregation and oppression.<\/p>\n On the Israel-Lebanon border, clashes are intensifying, threatening full-blown war.<\/p>\n Millions of Palestine Refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan are anxious and afraid.<\/p>\n Most have been living in camps for generations, often with limited rights and in grinding poverty, waiting for a political solution that will bring an end to their plight.<\/p>\n Today, they are witnessing the greatest Palestinian tragedy since the Nakba.<\/p>\n And, as they have done for 75 years, they are looking to UNRWA for protection and the fulfillment of basic human rights.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n UNRWA has been a driver of human development for Palestine Refugees since its creation.<\/p>\n It has upheld the rights to education and health, while providing protection and assistance, in the absence of a full-fledged State.<\/p>\n By doing so, the Agency has been a force for stability across the region and a beacon of hope for Palestinians.<\/p>\n Today, however, UNRWA is staggering under the weight of relentless attacks.<\/p>\n In Gaza<\/strong>, the Agency has paid a terrible price.<\/p>\n 193 UNRWA personnel have been killed.<\/p>\n More than 180 installations have been damaged or destroyed, killing at least 500 people seeking Â鶹APP protection.<\/p>\n UNRWA personnel have been detained alongside other Gazans by the Israeli Security Forces and report mistreatment and torture.<\/p>\n Our premises have been used for military purposes by Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.<\/p>\n Our convoys have come under attack despite coordinated movement with the Israeli authorities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the West Bank<\/strong>, UNRWA\u2019s operational space is shrinking.<\/p>\n Israeli security forces have deployed inside some UNRWA facilities during military operations in Palestinian refugee camps.<\/p>\n Arbitrary measures imposed by Israel severely restrict the presence and movement of staff.<\/p>\n Increasingly violent protests outside our premises in East Jerusalem recently culminated in arson attacks.<\/p>\n These are grotesque, irresponsible and dangerous actions.<\/p>\n In 30 years of humanitarian work, I have never encountered such blatant disregard for the protected status of humanitarian workers, facilities and operations under international law.<\/p>\n Turning a blind eye to these attacks sets a dangerous precedent \u2013 it compromises future humanitarian work and the rules-based international order in other conflict situations.<\/p>\n In addition to these attacks, we are witnessing a concerted effort to dismantle UNRWA with the aim of changing the established political parameters for peace in the occupied Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n This effort includes legislative proposals that seek to undermine our operations by threatening eviction from our compound and labeling UNRWA as a terrorist organization.<\/p>\n The Agency is targeted because of its role in safeguarding the rights of Palestine Refugees, and because it embodies an international commitment to a political solution.<\/p>\n Israel has long been critical of the Agency\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n But it now seeks to end UNRWA\u2019s operations, dismissing the Agency\u2019s status as a Â鶹APP entity supported by an overwhelming majority of Member States.<\/p>\n If we do not push back, other UN entities and international organizations will be next, further undermining our multilateral system.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n Amid these extraordinary challenges, I received serious allegations that several UNRWA personnel in Gaza were involved in the abhorrent attacks against Israel on October 7.<\/p>\n If proved true, these allegations would constitute an appalling betrayal of Palestine Refugees and UNRWA\u2019s critical mandate.<\/p>\n I immediately terminated the appointments of the accused individuals.<\/p>\n The \u00a0Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is seized of the matter, and the Secretary-General launched an independent review of how UNRWA upholds neutrality in its work.<\/p>\n The OIOS investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n Of the 19 cases referred for investigation, one has been closed and the staff member has been reinstated.<\/p>\n Four cases are suspended, requiring additional evidence.<\/p>\n 14 investigations are ongoing.<\/p>\n Separately, the independent review led by the former French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, concluded that UNRWA has established policies, mechanisms, and procedures to ensure compliance with the principle of neutrality.<\/p>\n The review confirms that the Agency has systems to address alleged neutrality breaches, including through disciplinary sanctions.<\/p>\n Importantly, it recognizes the complexity of the environment in which UNRWA works.<\/p>\n The report also makes recommendations to reinforce neutrality and underscores that upholding neutrality is a shared responsibility.<\/p>\n UNRWA welcomes the recommendations and commits to implementing them, with your active engagement as hosts and donors.<\/p>\n The Agency has published an updated policy directive on outside and political activities for local and international personnel.<\/p>\n The policy reiterates that while staff have a right to their personal views and convictions, they cannot represent a government or a political party, nor hold any high or public office.<\/p>\n Membership in any militant or armed group or entity is prohibited.<\/p>\n You will hear more from my Deputy for Operational Support about implementation of the Colonna recommendations later today.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n I have warned repeatedly in this forum that UNRWA\u2019s funding model is incompatible with its mandate to provide public-like services.<\/p>\n More than a decade of chronic underfunding has depleted our financial reserves.<\/p>\n Together with severe austerity measures, this has eroded the quality of our services.<\/p>\n Palestine Refugees now have shorter medical consultations, with UNRWA doctors seeing an average of 72 patients per day.<\/p>\n UNRWA classrooms are more crowded, with more enrolments and less funding to open new classes or hire more teachers.<\/p>\n The Agency is increasingly less able to support the poorest and most vulnerable Palestine Refugees requiring food and cash assistance.<\/p>\n A strong resistance to change \u2013 stemming from the lack of any progress towards a viable political solution \u2013 has not allowed the Agency to adapt to its financial reality.<\/p>\n Weakened by snowballing financial deficits carried from one year to the next, the Agency nearly imploded earlier this year.<\/p>\n In the wake of the allegations against individual staff members, 16 Member States temporarily suspended funding to the Agency, amounting to half the expected funding for the year.<\/p>\n We have worked tirelessly with partners to restore confidence in the Agency. Almost all partners have resumed funding \u2013 I am immensely grateful for your trust and support.<\/p>\n However, the fundamental fiscal challenge remains \u2013 UNRWA lacks the resources to deliver its mandate.<\/p>\n The Agency\u2019s ability to operate beyond August will depend on Member States disbursing planned funds and providing new contributions to the core budget.<\/p>\n For the humanitarian emergency in the occupied Palestinian territory \u2013 driven primarily by the war in Gaza \u2013 we are appealing for $1.2 billion to cover critical humanitarian needs until the end of the year. As of today, the appeal is only 18 percent funded.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the emergency appeal for Syria, Lebanon and Jordan remains less than 20 percent funded.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza.<\/p>\n The Agency will remain essential for a viable transition from ceasefire to \u201cday after\u201d.<\/p>\n It will play a key role in providing essential services \u2013 notably primary healthcare and education \u2013 to a shattered population.<\/p>\n Before the war, UNRWA met 70-80% of primary healthcare needs in Gaza.<\/p>\n Throughout the war, at least six out of 22 UNRWA health centers have operated continuously, in addition to nearly 100 mobile health teams.<\/p>\n Our extensive network and deep integration into the community allow us to rapidly introduce and scale-up services such as mental health and trauma care, which are crucial in the transitional phase.<\/p>\n Education\u00a0<\/strong>is another priority in Gaza, where every second person is a child.<\/p>\n Palestinian communities value education highly, evidenced by a 98% literacy rate.<\/p>\n Education was the only investment from which they could not be dispossessed.<\/p>\n Gazan children have now lost almost three of the last four school years to the conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n Today, more than 625,000 deeply traumatized children are living in the rubble without access to education \u2013 300,000 of them were enrolled in nearly 290 UNRWA schools before the war.<\/p>\n Children who are out of school are at risk of violence and exploitation, child labour, early marriage, and recruitment by armed groups.<\/p>\n Without decisive intervention to resume education, we will condemn an entire generation to poverty and sow the seeds of hatred, resentment, and future conflict.<\/p>\n Together with partners including UNICEF, UNESCO and the Palestinian Authority, we have put together a plan to resume learning in Gaza.<\/p>\n The plan\u00a0starts<\/u>\u00a0with the systematic provision of mental health and psychosocial support services;\u00a0transitions\u00a0<\/u>to fostering literacy and numeracy in informal settings like shelters; and\u00a0culminates<\/u>\u00a0in the return to formal education in rebuilt schools.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n UNRWA was created 75 years ago as a temporary agency.<\/p>\n A stop-gap measure, pending a political answer to the question of Palestine.<\/p>\n The Agency exists today because a political solution does not.<\/p>\n It exists in lieu of a State that can deliver critical public services.<\/p>\n If the international community truly commits to a political solution, UNRWA can resume its intended role supporting a time-bound transition, delivering education, primary healthcare, and social support.<\/p>\n It can do so until a Palestinian administration takes over these services, absorbing UNRWA\u2019s Palestinian personnel as civil servants.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n Let me conclude with three requests:<\/p>\n First, I urge you to safeguard UNRWA\u2019s critical role both now and within the framework of a transition.<\/strong><\/p>\n The notion that the Agency can be dismantled without triggering the collapse of the humanitarian response in Gaza, and causing chaos in its fields of operation is na\u00efve at best.<\/p>\n As members of the Advisory Commission, you know UNRWA\u2019s value and the indispensable role it plays in the lives of millions.<\/p>\n The Agency must be allowed to continue providing services until a political solution is at hand.<\/p>\n Second, we must scale up and enhance our service delivery to Palestine Refugees.<\/strong><\/p>\n For this, we must cultivate and maintain strong partnerships.<\/p>\n These partnerships must build on our respective strengths, and complement UNRWA\u2019s mandate, not undermine it.<\/p>\n These efforts to meet overwhelming needs must be matched by adequate, predictable and flexible funding from Member States.<\/p>\n Third, I seek your support as donors and hosts in implementing the recommendations of the Colonna Report.<\/strong><\/p>\n Upholding neutrality is indispensable for the survival of this Agency and the continuity of its vital work.<\/p>\n It is a shared responsibility \u2013 the Advisory Commission must play its part if we are to succeed, including by implementing the recommendation directed at the Advisory Commission.<\/p>\n In closing,\u00a0<\/strong>I appeal to hosts and donors to engage fully in strategic discussions about the future of this Agency.<\/p>\n The region and the world have changed drastically since we last met.<\/p>\n The pressures on the Agency today are greater than ever before.<\/p>\n If the status quo is maintained, the Agency will crumble and millions of vulnerable children, women and men will pay a heavy price.<\/p>\n I hope that our discussions at this meeting of the Advisory Commission will reflect the urgency and significance of the existential crisis we are confronting.<\/p>\n Thank you, Mr. Chair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 24 June 2024 Excellencies, \u00a0 Dear Members of the Advisory Commission, Welcome to the Palais des Nations, for the first in-person meeting of the Advisory Commission since the start of the war in Gaza. 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