<\/p>\n
04 September 2025<\/p>\n
Mr. Chair,<\/strong><\/p>\n Secretary-General of the League of Arab States,\u202f\u202f<\/strong><\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/strong><\/p>\n Last year, I told you that Gaza was a place that horrified even the most seasoned humanitarians.<\/p>\n That it had become a wasteland, unfit for human life.<\/p>\n Today, the situation is immeasurably worse.<\/p>\n Months of warnings have fallen on deaf ears.<\/p>\n A man-made famine is confirmed in Gaza Governorate and is expected to spread rapidly.<\/p>\n This is the direct and predictable result of a siege; and of deliberately constraining principled humanitarian organisations \u2013 including UNRWA \u2013 in favor of a mechanism that militarizes and weaponizes food assistance.<\/p>\n Gaza\u2019s population must now choose between dying of starvation or being killed in a desperate attempt to find food.<\/p>\n If this were not enough, forced displacement continues, and a full military occupation looms.<\/p>\n Journalists are targeted and killed to silence the last voices reporting on international crimes.<\/p>\n Beyond Gaza, in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military and armed settlers are inflicting appalling violence on Palestinians \u2013 annexation is now a declared political objective.<\/p>\n The world\u2019s indifference and inaction are shocking; amount to complicity; and compromise the stability of the entire region.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies<\/strong>,<\/p>\n The immense suffering of Palestinians is compounded by the physical, political, and legislative attacks against UNRWA.<\/p>\n In Gaza, more than 360 UNRWA personnel have been killed.<\/p>\n Most of our premises have been damaged or destroyed.<\/p>\n We are prevented by Israeli legislation from having international staff in the occupied Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n A fierce, global disinformation campaign has tarnished the Agency\u2019s reputation and strangled funding for our vital work.<\/p>\n In this exceptionally hostile environment, the extraordinary courage and dedication of our Palestinian colleagues, allows UNRWA to continue delivering critical services, including healthcare and education:<\/p>\n In Gaza, we have provided 1.5 million medical consultations since the breakdown of the ceasefire in March, and remain the largest provider of nutrition screening and treatment.<\/p>\n In the West Bank, our health clinics and schools continue to operate, except for six schools in occupied East Jerusalem, which were forcibly closed by the Israeli authorities. Austerity measures and strict cashflow management will allow us to pay salaries in September, but the financial outlook for the rest of 2025 remains uncertain.<\/p>\n Unlike in previous years, the projected income for early 2026 is too low to absorb any deficit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/strong><\/p>\n This dire situation caused Secretary-General Guterres to request a strategic assessment of the impact and exercise of UNRWA\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n Its objective is to protect the rights of Palestine Refugees amid immense pressures \u2013 an objective that all of us here share.<\/p>\n The assessment is a tool for navigating a complex predicament.<\/p>\n It underscores UNRWA\u2019s value and provides an opportunity for States to take bold and decisive action to reconcile UNRWA\u2019s mandate with its financial resources.<\/p>\n Without action, Palestine Refugees will be condemned to the inevitable and painful unraveling of essential services.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/strong><\/p>\n I would like to conclude with three appeals:<\/p>\n First<\/strong>, I call on Arab States to demonstrate solidarity with UNRWA through not only political support but also robust financial support.<\/p>\n This year, financial contributions from the region amount to just 3% of all contributions received by the Agency \u2013 a drop of more than 90% compared to last year.<\/p>\n I am convinced that this is not the message the region wants to convey to Palestine Refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory and across the region.<\/p>\n Words of solidarity must translate into matching funding to make a tangible difference.<\/p>\n Second<\/strong>, I urge you to safeguard UNRWA\u2019s role in protecting the rights of Palestine Refugees.<\/p>\n Constructive engagement on the options identified by the strategic assessment will help to chart a viable path forward, and ensure that the Agency is fit for purpose.<\/p>\n A genuine, time-bound political process would allow the Agency to finally transition its government-like services to empowered and prepared public institutions serving Palestinians.<\/p>\n Finally,<\/strong> I appeal to you to use all the legal political, economic and diplomatic tools at your disposal to end the unconscionable suffering in Gaza.<\/p>\n A ceasefire is imperative, and UNRWA must be allowed to deploy its expertise and its unparalleled aid distribution network to reverse famine and provide critical humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n Enough has been said.<\/p>\n Now is the time for action to save lives and secure the future of Palestine and the region.<\/p>\n Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 04 September 2025 Statement of Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA at the 164th Session of the League of Arab States Council at the Ministerial Level Mr. Chair, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States,\u202f\u202f Excellencies, Last year, I told you that Gaza was a place that horrified even the most seasoned humanitarians. That it […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2637,2773,1338],"document-source":[4553,1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,1945,2005,1741,1745,6891,6251],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-310931","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-remarks","document-category-speech","document-category-statement","document-source-league-of-arab-states-las","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-unrwa","document-subject-west-bank","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/310931","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\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/310931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":310979,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/310931\/revisions\/310979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=310931"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=310931"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=310931"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=310931"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=310931"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=310931"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=310931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAlthough we continue to operate, UNRWA\u2019s financial situation is disastrous.<\/p>\n