18 November 2024<\/p>\n
Excellencies,<\/strong><\/p>\n Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n I would like to thank\u00a0Spain\u00a0<\/strong>for chairing the Advisory Commission at the most challenging time in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s history.<\/p>\n I am also grateful to\u00a0Brazil<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jordan<\/strong>\u00a0for joining Spain in convening this timely meeting; and to\u00a0Lebanon<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Australia<\/strong>\u00a0for their strong support as Chair and Vice Chair of the SubCom.<\/p>\n The leadership of the Advisory Commission is urgently needed to protect the rights of Palestine Refugees, and to safeguard the Agency, at this critical juncture.<\/p>\n The clock is ticking fast towards the implementation of the Knesset legislation, which aims to end Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, and to shift \u2013 unilaterally \u2013 the long-established parameters for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict.<\/p>\n What hangs in the balance, is the fate of millions of Palestine Refugees and the legitimacy of the rules-based international order that has been in place since the end of the Second World War.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/strong><\/p>\n The Middle East is on a knife\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n Gaza<\/strong>\u00a0is an unrelenting dystopian horror.<\/p>\n More than 43,000 people are reported killed. Nearly 70 percent are women and children.<\/p>\n Thousands more lie unaccounted for under the rubble or have succumbed to starvation or disease.<\/p>\n Nearly the entire population has been displaced multiple times.<\/p>\n In 13 months, they have never found safety or a moment\u2019s rest.<\/p>\n They are living in overcrowded makeshift tents, amid mountains of garbage and rivers of sewage.<\/p>\n Across Gaza, 660,000 children who should be in school are learning nothing more than how to survive.<\/p>\n Hostages taken from Israel remain to this day in terrifying captivity.<\/p>\n North Gaza is under a tight siege, as military operations continue.<\/p>\n Palestinians trapped there are stalked by famine or burned and buried alive by airstrikes.<\/p>\n Israeli officials state that people will not be allowed to return to the North.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n In Gaza\u2019s long shadow,\u00a0the occupied West Bank<\/strong>\u00a0is undergoing a violent transformation.<\/p>\n Military incursions by the Israeli Security Forces are a daily reality.<\/p>\n Public infrastructure is destroyed systematically during military operations, inflicting collective punishment on Palestinians.<\/p>\n Illegal settlements are expanding at an alarming rate, and in total impunity.<\/p>\n Violence by Israeli settlers is rampant and goes unchecked.<\/p>\n The stage is being set for further annexation.<\/p>\n A senior Israeli minister stated recently that 2025 will be the year of sovereignty in \u201cJudea and Samaria\u201d.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n War has spread to\u00a0Lebanon<\/strong>, where thousands have been killed.<\/p>\n Nearly one million people have been displaced, as Israeli Forces\u2019 airstrikes and ground operations continue.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Nearly half a million people \u2013 among them 5,000 Palestine Refugees \u2013 have fled from Lebanon to\u00a0Syria,<\/strong>\u00a0a country that is struggling to recover from war, an economic crisis, and devastating earthquakes.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Jordan<\/strong>\u00a0is not immune to the social and economic impact of growing instability in neighboring countries.<\/p>\n Across a troubled region, millions of Palestine Refugees are deeply anxious.<\/p>\n They fear that events far beyond their control will deprive their children of education; and prevent them from accessing the healthcare and social support on which their lives depend.<\/p>\n They fear that after decades of waiting, hope for a just and lasting solution to their plight is fading.<\/p>\n That the dream of Palestinian self-determination may be ending.<\/p>\n Compounding these fears is the Government of Israel\u2019s campaign to end Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n A year of relentless attacks against the Agency \u2013 in blatant violation of international law \u2013 has seen\u00a0246<\/strong>\u00a0Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA personnel killed in Gaza.<\/p>\n More than two-thirds of our premises have been damaged or destroyed.<\/p>\n Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, as well as Israeli forces have allegedly used our premises for military purposes.<\/p>\n I have strongly, repeatedly and publicly condemned this alleged use of our premises.<\/p>\n Humanitarian aid convoys carrying lifesaving supplies have been struck and looted.<\/p>\n I continue to call for accountability for the attacks on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ personnel, premises and operations through an independent investigation into these violations.<\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA has also been subjected to a fierce, global\u00a0disinformation campaign<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Intense lobbying by the Government of Israel and affiliated groups has targeted parliaments and governments in top donor countries to undermine political and financial support to the Agency.<\/p>\n This has also created a permissive environment for the harassment of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA representatives, including in Europe and the United States.<\/p>\n The campaign against Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is premised on the misguided belief that if Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA disappears, so will the issue of Palestine Refugees.<\/p>\n Dismantling Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA will not terminate the refugee status of Palestinians \u2013 this status exists independently of the Agency \u2013 but it will severely harm their lives and future.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/strong><\/p>\n The attacks against Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA are being justified by allegations that the Agency is colluding with or infiltrated by Hamas.<\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA takes\u00a0allegations of neutrality breaches<\/strong>\u00a0extremely seriously.<\/p>\n While we do not operate in a zero-risk environment, we take a zero-tolerance approach to any proven breaches.<\/p>\n The Independent Review of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s neutrality found that the Agency has a more robust approach to neutrality than comparable entities.<\/p>\n We are making every effort to implement the recommendations of this review.<\/p>\n To this end, I urge all Member States to support our request for additional resources in the Fifth Committee next month.<\/p>\n I am pleased to report that the Agency is making progress in ensuring that\u00a0education materials<\/strong>\u00a0used in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA schools are fully aligned with United Nations values and Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO standards.<\/p>\n When required, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA uses textbooks supplied by host countries so that the education we provide to Palestine Refugees is accredited \u2013 this allows our students to pursue further education and employment.<\/p>\n We review the textbooks used in our schools annually, and identify instances in which the content is incompatible with United Nations values or Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO standards.<\/p>\n We have brought to the attention of the Palestinian Authority a limited number of remaining issues, which the Agency is taking immediate action to address.<\/p>\n I urge host countries and donors to support our efforts.<\/p>\n The Agency is also working tirelessly to ensure\u00a0staff integrity<\/strong>\u00a0by conducting background checks.<\/p>\n We are exploring technologies to better screen publicly available information and improve these checks.<\/p>\n Staff are also screened against United Nations sanctions lists.<\/p>\n Through our partnerships with banks, checks against additional sanctions lists are performed as part of the salary distribution process.<\/p>\n For the past 15 years, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA has consistently shared staff lists with host countries and Israel.<\/p>\n This year, we started doing so on a quarterly basis.<\/p>\n I must stress that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA \u2013 like comparable United Nations entities \u2013 does not have police, military or intelligence capabilities.<\/p>\n We rely on Member States when such capacities are needed.<\/p>\n We have repeatedly asked the Government of Israel for evidence to support its claims that some Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA staff are involved in militant activity.<\/p>\n We have even proposed how sensitive evidence might be shared with the Agency.<\/p>\n We have not received any response so far.<\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA cannot address allegations for which it has no evidence.<\/p>\n Yet, these allegations continue to be used to undermine the Agency.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Members of the Advisory Commission,<\/strong><\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is a soft target for warring parties that view its presence and activities as a threat.<\/p>\n Hamas has repeatedly and publicly accused Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, especially its senior management, of colluding with the Israeli occupation.<\/p>\n For many years, Hamas has strongly opposed Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s education programme, challenging our commitment to gender equality and neutrality.<\/p>\n Hamas has even disapproved of the Agency\u2019s Summer Fun Weeks programme, which brings girls and boys together for art, games, music, sports and psychosocial support.<\/p>\n Let me state the obvious \u2013 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is not a party to this conflict.<\/p>\n It is a United Nations agency.<\/p>\n It is the mechanism through which the United Nations is tasked \u2013 by the General Assembly \u2013 to assist Palestine Refugees.<\/p>\n All parties to the conflict have a responsibility to allow Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA to fulfill its mandate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/strong><\/p>\n At the start of this year, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA faced an\u00a0existential financial crisis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n While all donors but one have resumed funding to the Agency, our financial situation remains precarious.<\/p>\n The strict implementation of cost control measures and some additional financial contributions will likely allow us to close the year.<\/p>\n But not without a deficit and rolling millions of dollars in liabilities into 2025.<\/p>\n There is no clear path beyond that.<\/p>\n Our cashflow in the first quarter has traditionally relied on funding from the United States.<\/p>\n In the absence of this funding, we need early contributions from other donors to avoid an acute cashflow crisis in the new year.<\/p>\n I know it will be challenging, as several major donors are anticipating austerity cuts in their budgets.<\/p>\n As Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA battles for survival, adequate resources to implement our mandate is the bare minimum that we require, and that Palestine Refugees deserve.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/strong><\/p>\n Even if the war ends tomorrow, the future of Gaza looks bleak.<\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDP estimates that human development has been set back by seven decades.<\/p>\n Without Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, the prospects for recovery will be even more grim.<\/p>\n Implementing the Knesset legislation, and forcibly excluding Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA from a transition, will have catastrophic consequences.<\/p>\n In Gaza<\/strong>, dismantling Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA will collapse the United Nations humanitarian response, which relies heavily on the Agency\u2019s infrastructure.<\/p>\n Glaringly absent from discussions about Gaza without Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, is education.<\/p>\n Palestinians value education highly \u2013 it is the only asset from which they have not, until now, been dispossessed.<\/p>\n In the absence of a capable public administration or state, only Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA can deliver education to more than 660,000 girls and boys in Gaza.<\/p>\n Are we willing to let these children be denied the right to education?<\/p>\n To sacrifice an entire generation, and sow the seeds for marginalization and extremism?<\/p>\n It is also horrifying that people enduring a devastating war might be left without basic healthcare.<\/p>\n Before the war, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA addressed 70 to 80 percent of primary healthcare needs in Gaza.<\/p>\n We still provide 16,000 medical consultations on a daily basis in Gaza.<\/p>\n In the\u00a0West Bank<\/strong>, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s collapse would deprive at least 50,000 children of education, and half a million Palestine Refugees of primary healthcare.<\/p>\n The Agency is the second largest employer after the Palestinian Authority and represents an estimated five to eight percent of the GDP.<\/p>\n Its collapse will further fuel the current instability.<\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is a direct provider of public-like services to an entire population \u2013 there is no other Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ entity geared to fill the void left by the Agency.<\/p>\n To think otherwise is to misunderstand the mandates and specialized capacities of our sister agencies.<\/p>\n If Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA cannot operate in the occupied Palestinian territory, the responsibility for providing services to Palestinians \u2013 and for bearing the cost of these services \u2013 will lie\u00a0not<\/u>\u00a0with the United Nations, but with Israel as the occupying power.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/strong><\/p>\n The Knesset legislation is placing an enormous additional burden on our staff, who have worked tirelessly for 13 months to deliver Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s mandate in near-impossible circumstances.<\/p>\n 17,000 staff in the occupied Palestinian territory fear that they will lose their employment.<\/p>\n They also fear further attacks, legitimized by these laws.<\/p>\n It is a valid fear.<\/p>\n Recently, a female staff member in the West Bank was detained, intimidated and harassed by Israeli Security Forces.<\/p>\n They accused her of working for a terrorist organization, seized her Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA computer, and used it to access internal information.<\/p>\n A total violation of United Nations privileges and immunities.<\/p>\n Despite everything they have been through, my staff is afraid that the worst is yet to come.<\/p>\n Without your decisive intervention, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA will collapse, plunging millions of Palestinians \u2013 including our staff \u2013 into chaos.<\/p>\n I will conclude by reiterating the three requests I made to the General Assembly last week in New York:<\/p>\n First<\/strong>, I ask that Member States act to prevent the implementation of the legislation against Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA.<\/p>\n Changes to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s mandate are the prerogative of the General Assembly, not individual Member States.<\/p>\n Second<\/strong>, I ask that Member States ensure that any plan for a political transition delineates Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s role.<\/p>\n The Agency must progressively conclude its mandate within the framework of a political solution, and, in the occupied Palestinian territory, hand over its services to an empowered Palestinian administration.<\/p>\n Third<\/strong>, I ask that Member States maintain funding to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, and do not withhold or divert funds on the assumption that the Agency can no longer operate.<\/p>\n The cost of providing critical services, including education and healthcare, during a transition will be immense.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n What is at stake today is not just Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA as an institution.<\/p>\n It is the collective future of Palestine Refugees.<\/p>\n Our actions in response to the immense challenges that confront us must be guided by what will protect and serve them best.<\/p>\n I can assure you that my team and I will do everything in our power to deliver the mandate entrusted to us, and to continue standing by Palestine Refugees.<\/p>\n Ensuring that the political and legal framework within which we operate holds firm is the responsibility of Member States.<\/p>\n I urge you to defend Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, the United Nations, and our multilateral system with the courage and resolve that this moment demands.<\/p>\n Thank you, Mr. Chair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 18 November 2024 Excellencies, Members of the Advisory Commission, I would like to thank\u00a0Spain\u00a0for chairing the Advisory Commission at the most challenging time in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s history. I am also grateful to\u00a0Brazil\u00a0and\u00a0Jordan\u00a0for joining Spain in convening this timely meeting; and to\u00a0Lebanon\u00a0and\u00a0Australia\u00a0for their strong support as Chair and Vice Chair of the SubCom. The leadership of the […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2637,2773],"document-source":[1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,1945,2265,2005,1741,1745,1821],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-303687","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-remarks","document-category-speech","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-ceasefire","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-self-determination","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/303687","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":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/303687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":303821,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/303687\/revisions\/303821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=303687"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=303687"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=303687"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=303687"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=303687"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=303687"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=303687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}