The United Nations and Refugees
Every year we express our solidarity with the Palestinian people. For my part as Secretary-General, I underscore my commitment to doing my utmost in the search for a just, lasting, comprehensive, and urgent settlement of the question of the Palestinians.
The Palestinian people are the world’s largest and longest-lasting refugee community, a reminder of how far we have still to go before the ideals of the United Nations founding fathers can be fully realized. In the absence of a political settlement the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the United Nations has provided succor to the refugees, assisted with their social and economic development, and prepares them for eventual statehood. The principal instrument for this task, albeit not the only one in the UN family, has been UNRWA: the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
UNRWA embodies the humanitarian, multilateral spirit of the United Nations. From its origins as a provider of the basics for survival –shelter, food, water and health care – it has gone on to develop an educational system that has produced many of the professional cadres of the region. UNRWA is not only a lifetime; it is also a symbol of the international community’s determination to end the state of limbo the Palestine refugees endure. The right of people to their own state, and the parallel duty of the United Nations to end statelessness, lie at the heart of our collective efforts to resolve the conflict. To deny the justice if the first is to turn a blind eye to the second.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, United Nations
© 2014 United Nations