A GOAL FOR PEACE FC Molenbeek Brussels - vs – Palestine National Football Team 6 May 2009 Edmond Machtens Stadium of Molenbeek-Brussels-Belgium Address by the Commissioner-General

Your Excellency, Louis Michel,
Your Excellency, Leila Chahid,
Your Excellency, Mayor of Molenbeek,
Poul Hansen, Director of the United Nations Office for Sports for Development and Peace,
Players and officials of the FC Molenbeek Brussels and Palestine National Football Teams,

Distinguished guests, Friends of UNRWA:

Thank you all for coming together to join the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees – "UNRWA" for short - to mark its sixtieth anniversary.

I ask that as we enjoy ourselves, we bear in mind that the significance of UNRWA’s sixty years of operation extends beyond the boundaries of this stadium. I ask that we reflect on the plight of 4.5 million refugees, almost 1.4 million of whom still reside in refugee camps in Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Our sixtieth anniversary is an opportunity to recall the role that UNRWA’s programmes have played in contributing to human development and stability in the Middle East. Over the decades, tens of thousands of teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers and other UNRWA staff have valiantly served the needs of Palestine refugees, often in times of danger, including earlier this year in Gaza.

The contribution UNRWA has made would not have been possible were it not for the generosity of host countries and our donors, including Belgium and the European Commission, our largest donor. Your Excellency, Louis Michel, I thank you for the excellent support that we enjoy under your leadership.

On this day, as we mark UNRWA’s sixtieth anniversary, we celebrate as well the energy and passion for life that remains an indelible part of the Palestinian spirit. And there is no better way of doing this than with a game of football – without a doubt, Palestinians’ favourite sport.

UNRWA is one of the oldest and largest UN agencies and I have had the honour to be its Commissioner-General for the past four years. I have to confess that on an evening like this, I must temporarily abandon the impartiality which UNRWA always upholds. Tonight, distinguished guests, I must be a fan of the Palestinian team. This is a special night for the team, which is playing away from home for the first time, so please join me in applauding them.

Whatever the outcome on the pitch tonight, we are assured of a great game of soccer which will do justice to the theme, ‘a goal for peace’. This event will serve as a symbol of universal support for that goal for the people of Palestine and for the Middle East.

Thank you all and yallah Palestine.