UNRWA has reached a breaking point due to Israeli calls for its abolition and the resulting freezing of funds “when they are needed most.”
The agency's ability to fulfill its mandate is now “seriously at risk.”
The Commissioner General of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa), Philippe Lazzarini, asked the General Assembly this Thursday for the political support necessary to maintain the organization.
UNRWA has reached a breaking point due to Israeli calls for its abolition and subsequent freezing of funds “when they are needed most,” its head said in a letter to the forum's president, Dennis Francis.
The representative warned that the agency's ability to fulfill its mandate is now “seriously at risk.”
The lack of resources to sustain the operations of the main humanitarian actor on the ground would have serious consequences for the situation in the enclave, which is considered catastrophic by the humanitarian workers themselves.
After just over four months, “more children, more journalists, more medical personnel and more UN staff have reportedly been killed in Gaza during conflict than anywhere else in the world,” the head of UNRWA said.
Lazzarini asked the forum for political support to prevent UNRWA from being swept away immediately, a crucial decision given the Security Council's paralysis in calling for a ceasefire.
The High Commissioner called on the Assembly to provide the necessary political support to maintain the agency or provide a path for “an immediate transition to a long-awaited political solution that can bring peace to Palestinians and Israelis.”
At the same time, he rejected a concerted attempt by some Israeli officials to misleadingly confuse UNRWA with Hamas, disrupt its actions and call for its dissolution.
These operations pose a risk to the safety of personnel, hinder their mission to serve the Palestinian civilian population and make it impossible for them to operate without the consent of the occupying power.
“I fear that we are on the brink of a monumental catastrophe with serious implications for peace, security and human rights in the region,” the Italian diplomat warned.
UNRWA's humanitarian work has been under threat since late January, when Israeli authorities released evidence allegedly linking 12 of its members to the Hamas group.
Although the evidence was submitted to the United States government and various media outlets, the UN has not received the dossier prepared by Tel Aviv to date.
As a result, 16 donor countries withdrew their funds – almost $450 million – which, according to the High Commissioner himself, could seriously jeopardize his work from March.
