UNRWA Commissioner-General tells the Advisory Commission that “the situation in Gaza remains precarious”

 

19 November 2025

Statement by Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General at the Meeting of the Advisory Commission (AdCom)

Foreign Minister Safadi,

Excellencies,

Members of the Advisory Commission,

I would like to begin by thanking Brazil for its strong support to UNRWA as Chair of the Advisory Commission at this time of great adversity and uncertainty.

I am also grateful to the Vice Chairs, Belgium and Egypt, for their steady commitment to the Agency; and to Australia, Jordan and Ireland for their leadership of the Sub-Commission.

Later today in New York, Member States will vote on the renewal of UNRWA’s mandate at the General Assembly’s Fourth Committee, before voting in December in a plenary session.

We hope that the result of the vote will reflect the overwhelming solidarity of people across the world with Palestine Refugees and UNRWA.

It is critical to renew the Agency’s mandate to assist and protect Palestine Refugees pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.

But it is not sufficient.

The renewal of UNRWA’s mandate must come with adequate funding for the Agency’s public-like services, and a delineation of its role in political plans for the occupied Palestinian territory.

To do otherwise risks the rights, lives and future of millions of Palestine Refugees.

 

Dear colleagues,

On Monday, the Security Council adopted Resolution 2803 authorizing a Board of Peace and an International Stabilization Force in Gaza.

We hope that this resolution marks a step toward a lasting peace and respect for human rights.

For now, the situation in Gaza remains precarious.

The population has reached the limits of human endurance, after two years of relentless bombardment, repeated displacement, and brutal siege.

Hunger and disease are widespread, and the scale of physical and psychological trauma is immense.

Winter has arrived, bringing torrential rain and compounding misery.

People’s needs and expectations are growing fast.

It is imperative that basic security be re-established, humanitarian assistance be scaled up, and essential public services restored as quickly as possible.

A misperception has recently emerged that UNRWA is no longer active in Gaza.

This could not be further from reality.

The Agency remains highly operational and is the main provider of public health and education.

Last week, in my address to the Fourth Committee, I urged Member States to seize the opportunity presented by the ceasefire to pursue stabilization, recovery, and a political path forward in Gaza.

I explained how UNRWA, with its 12,000-strong workforce and deep reserves of community trust, is uniquely capable of delivering services to a shattered population, thereby supporting a political process.

As they have done every day for more than two years, my staff in Gaza continue to deliver critical services despite their own exhaustion and bereavement.

Today, UNRWA delivers 40% of all primary healthcare in Gaza, providing some 14,000 medical consultations each day.

We bolster public health through immunization campaigns, nutrition screenings, water quality testing, and pest control campaigns.

Our water wells, desalination systems, and waste management services benefit hundreds of thousands of people.

We conduct in-person learning for more than 40,000 children, and support nearly 300,000 children through online learning platforms.

Psychosocial support is integrated into our education activities – both are critical for reviving hope and preventing radicalization.

Contrary to relentless disinformation – UNRWA’s education programme demonstrates a commitment to tolerance, human rights, gender equality and diversity that is unparalleled in the region.

We reached gender parity in our schools in the 1960s and introduced human rights into our curriculum in the 1990s.

We have held fast to these commitments, despite strong opposition and intimidation by Hamas and other groups.

We have succeeded in educating generations of Palestinians who are thriving global citizens, enriching communities across the region and beyond, in Europe and North America.

For decades, UNRWA has helped the people of Gaza to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of violence and destruction.

Our expertise, capacity, and social capital have never been more needed than they are today.

 

Members of the Advisory Commission,

Were it not for the tragedy in Gaza, all our attention would be on the occupied West Bank.

More than 32,000 residents of northern refugee camps have been forcibly displaced by Israeli security operations – the largest displacement of Palestine Refugees since 1967.

Israeli settler violence is at unprecedented levels, with more than 500 incidents recorded in October alone.

Palestinian homes and villages have been viciously attacked, a mosque set ablaze, and olive trees cut or set on fire, severely disrupting the olive harvest.

Recently, the Israeli Knesset voted to annex the West Bank – an action that runs counter to international law and the positions of almost every UN Member State, the General Assembly, and the Security Council.

The vote underscores the extent to which an illegal occupation has been sanitized, even legitimized, in political and public discourse.

In the West Bank, UNRWA’s health, education and other social support services reach nearly a million Palestine Refugees.

The loss of these services would intensify the immense pressure on the Palestinian Authority and exacerbate a volatile situation.

***

For Palestine Refugees outside the occupied Palestinian territory – in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan – UNRWA is no less essential.

In Lebanon, the Agency’s services are a lifeline for Palestine Refugees, most of whom face profound socioeconomic exclusion.

UNRWA is also essential for ensuring stability in refugee camps.

In Syria, the Agency is critical for service delivery to a deeply vulnerable population of Palestine Refugees.

In Jordan, the government has repeatedly affirmed the Agency’s crucial role and warned against its weakening, as we heard again from the Foreign Minister.

 

Excellencies,

The viability of political plans for Gaza, and the future of the occupied Palestinian territory, also depend on the success of UNRWA.

The New York Declaration, and the resolution being considered by the Fourth Committee today, both recognize the Agency’s vital role.

However, our operations continue to be deliberately undermined.

The Israeli Knesset adopted legislation in 2024 that forcibly removed UNRWA international staff from the occupied Palestinian territory and blocked the entry of our supplies into Gaza.

This September, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory found that the laws adopted by the Knesset to cripple UNRWA’s operations, and the establishment of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, were calculated to block lifesaving aid and create “unlivable conditions of life” leading to the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza – a genocidal act.

In October, the International Court of Justice found that Israel is obliged to lift restrictions on UNRWA’s operations, and to agree to, and facilitate, the Agency’s relief efforts.

The Court recognized the unique and sustained connection between the Agency’s mandate and the realization of human rights for the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination.

In short, safeguarding UNRWA’s mandate and operations is required under international law; it is vital to the survival of millions of Palestinians; and it is essential to a political solution.

 

Dear colleagues,

UNRWA’s detractors seek to end the Agency’s operations, and exclude it from any political process concerning Palestine, in order to strip Palestinians of their refugee status.

Falsely asserting that the Agency is colluding with or infiltrated by Hamas is a means to this end.

The occupied Palestinian territory is not a zero-risk operating environment.

But I can assure you that UNRWA has zero-tolerance for any proven breach of neutrality.

I recall our policy on Outside and Political Activities, which makes clear that while personal views and convictions are inviolable – in accordance with human rights – staff are prohibited from participating in the activities, or being a member, of any militant or armed group.

The Agency is also making solid progress on implementing the recommendations arising from the Independent Review of UNRWA’s neutrality conducted last year.

21 out of 50 recommendations are now fully implemented.

The implementation of all remaining recommendations is well underway.

Last quarter, this Advisory Commission formally convened the Working Group on Neutrality and Integrity – an important step towards embedding oversight of neutrality within an intergovernmental framework.

I reiterate that UNRWA stands ready to engage further with Member States to determine how to definitively address the repeated, unsubstantiated allegations that seek to end our operations in the occupied Palestinian territory.

 

Excellencies,

Virulent disinformation has not only tarnished the Agency’s reputation – it has strangled funding.

While many governments and the public now realize that allegations against the Agency are made in bad faith and have not been substantiated, enormous damage has been done.

The suspension of funding by two major donors, including the Agency’s largest contributor, has left a gaping hole in our finances.

Severe deficit and cashflow crises are now jeopardizing the viability of UNRWA’s operations across the region.

The steady implementation of austerity and cost control measures amounting to 150 million USD in 2025, and strict cashflow management, has ensured payment of almost all staff salaries until now.

However, it may not be possible to maintain UNRWA’s operations at their current scope and quality.

The shortfall between the last quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 is approximately 200 million USD.

Unlike in previous years, the projected income in the first quarter of 2026 is too low to absorb a large deficit from 2025.

In the absence of a significant influx of new funding, the delivery of critical services to millions of Palestine Refugees across the region will be compromised.

 

Members of the Advisory Commission,

Excellencies,

For decades, UNRWA has been a driver of human development in the region.

Today, the Agency is an invaluable multilateral asset.

UNRWA’s contribution is crucial for implementing the New York Declaration and President Trump’s 20-Point Plan.

The Agency is a vital support to the Palestinian Authority as it pursues reform and builds the capacity to govern and deliver services to the entire population of the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

But UNRWA cannot survive the immense political and financial pressure it is under without robust and tangible support from Member States.

Advisory Commission members who are part of the Civil Military Coordination Center, and will be part of the Board of Peace, can play a critical role in safeguarding the Agency’s operational space in Gaza.

I urge you all to push back fiercely against any effort to marginalize and exclude the Agency, and appeal for adequate funding to sustain our public-like services in the context of a political process.

I very much hope that our discussions over the next two days will reflect the urgency and gravity of UNRWA’s circumstances and what is at stake for Palestine Refugees.

***

Let me conclude on the issue of accountability.

Over 380 of our colleagues have been killed in Gaza.

More than 300 premises have been damaged or destroyed.

Many staff members have been subjected to arbitrary detention and torture.

The attacks on United Nations personnel and premises cannot go unanswered.

I urge Member States to ensure that there is an accounting for the harms and violations of international law that have taken place across the occupied Palestinian territory.

We cannot allow impunity to further undermine the United Nations and the future of multilateral action.

Thank you.