{"id":240334,"date":"2020-10-12T21:56:33","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T01:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=240334"},"modified":"2020-10-21T22:09:11","modified_gmt":"2020-10-22T02:09:11","slug":"unrwa-on-agenda-as-fourth-committee-holds-virtual-meeting-press-release-ga-spd-716-excerpts","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/unrwa-on-agenda-as-fourth-committee-holds-virtual-meeting-press-release-ga-spd-716-excerpts\/","title":{"rendered":"UNRWA on Agenda as Fourth Committee Holds Virtual Meeting – Press Release (GA\/SPD\/716) (Excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"

GA\/SPD\/716
\n<\/strong>12 OCTOBER 2020<\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East<\/u><\/p>\n

PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(UNRWA), introduced his annual report (document\u00a0A\/75\/13<\/a>), stressing that, six months into his tenure and into the coronavirus pandemic, the Agency\u2019s priority remains to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while ensuring that its critical services continue uninterrupted.\u00a0 He emphasized:\u00a0 \u201cThe agility and ability of UNRWA to adjust the way it operates in response to COVID-19 almost overnight truly impressed me: \u00a0UNRWA staff shifted to telemedicine, to home delivery of emergency food and medicine, and to distance learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to report that the total number of Palestine refugees infected has surged from fewer than 200\u00a0cases in July to more than 10,000\u00a0last week.\u00a0 Beyond the health crisis, COVID-19 is also unleashing a brutal pandemic of abject poverty that is making Palestine refugees feel hopeless, he noted, warning: \u00a0\u201cDespair is a threat to peace and stability.\u201d\u00a0 Addressing this requires a predictable and stable UNRWA that contributes to a sense of normality, if only through the consistent delivery of critical services, he stressed.\u00a0 Health and education are fundamental human rights and basic pillars of a dignified life, he added, describing them as being amongst UNRWA\u2019s flagship programmes. \u00a0However, rising poverty is leading a growing number of refugees to rely solely on the Agency\u2019s services, he said, underlining that maintaining quality services requires adequate resources.<\/p>\n

Describing the core programme budget as the Agency\u2019s backbone, he reported that its funding gap today is $130\u00a0million. \u00a0UNRWA is appealing for support for its COVID-19 response, he said, adding that it also needs $40\u00a0million to sustain its humanitarian operations, including food and cash assistance for more than 1.4\u00a0million conflict-affected refugees coming from Syria or living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.\u00a0 Today, $15\u00a0million of that amount is urgently required to sustain the food pipeline in Gaza for more than 1\u00a0million refugees, he said, adding that his priority now is to raise the necessary funds to sustain all our essential services.<\/p>\n

Failing to raise the necessary funds will impact both the salaries of 28,000\u00a0staff and the delivery of critical services, including the schooling of more than half a million girls and boys, he continued.\u00a0 \u201cSuch a situation will force me to revert back to you for advice on which parts of the UNRWA mandate to prioritize.\u201d\u00a0 The Agency\u2019s programme budget expenditures are predictable, but funding has constantly been unpredictable, with no visibility beyond a few weeks, he noted, emphasizing:\u00a0 \u201cThis is unsustainable.\u201d\u00a0 Unpredictable funding results in constant cash\u2011flow crises and structural underfunding, he said, urging agreement among Member States to provide the level of resources required to support full implementation of the UNRWA mandate and to increase the predictability of resources through multi-year financing.\u00a0 He said that, in turn, he is committed to developing and submitting a longer-term strategy for the Agency, with a multi-year budget.<\/p>\n

Israel<\/u>\u2019s representative said that UNRWA perpetuates the Israel-Palestinians conflict by inflating the number of Palestine refugees and inciting violence, hatred and anti-Semitism through education. \u00a0Peace between the two sides is possible, but there must be reconciliation and mutual recognition of existence, he emphasized, describing the denial of Israel\u2019s right to exist as an obstacle to a solution. \u00a0Hamas uses UNRWA\u2019s school facilities to launch rockets, underground tunnels are found on school premises, and history textbooks teach hatred and anti\u2011Semitism, he added, asking the Commissioner-General how to ensure that school infrastructure is not used for such purposes.\u00a0 How does the Agency vet educational content?, he asked.<\/p>\n

An observer for the\u00a0State of Palestine<\/u>\u00a0said UNRWA makes tangible contributions towards ending the conflict, rejecting Israel\u2019s claim that the Agency perpetuates the conflict. \u00a0Expressing appreciation to UNRWA staff for continuing to deliver essential services to the 5.6\u00a0million registered refugees, she said that, despite restrictions due to COVID-19, the Agency has adjusted its responses and continued its operations, \u201ca commendable feat\u201d. \u00a0Many recognize UNRWA\u2019s delivery of humanitarian services as exemplary, she added. \u00a0Citing the considerable funding gap and regional volatility, she asked the Commissioner\u2011General how to ensure the well-being of Palestinians and address the sense of despair and abandonment among their youth. \u00a0She also asked whether the Agency seeks a larger share of the United Nations budget for more predictable funding.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0European Union<\/u>\u2019s representative noted that the bloc is the largest contributor to UNRWA, shouldering 60\u00a0per\u00a0cent of its total budget, and will remain a staunch supporter, both politically and financially.\u00a0 He called upon all donors to make multi-year pledges.<\/p>\n

Mr.\u00a0LAZZARINI said he has been in the humanitarian and development business for 30\u00a0years, but has never seen an organization that invests in neutrality and impartiality as much as UNRWA. \u00a0It is probably the most scrutinized agency and therefore is on the edge of the curve in providing aid.\u00a0 He went on to emphasize that there is \u201cabsolutely no space in our schools\u201d for hatred, intolerance and anti-Semitism. \u00a0Assessment of textbooks is under way, with the help of the European Union, he said, adding that he looks forward to recommendations.\u00a0 UNRWA is probably the only organization that has dedicated neutrality officers, he said, noting the Agency\u2019s positive contributions to the broader stability of the region. \u00a0It is struggling to make ends meet, he said, asking donors to step up. \u00a0No Palestine refugees want to remain refugees, he added.<\/p>\n

Norway\u2019s representative, speaking in her capacity as Rapporteur of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA, said the pandemic and the resulting global economic downturn have exacerbated the Agency\u2019s financial instability, citing the $200\u00a0million budget shortfall. \u00a0She went on to call upon the international community to ensure that UNRWA can continue to meet the growing needs of the refugee population and upon all States to increase and sustain voluntary contributions to fully fund the Agency\u2019s programme budget. \u00a0Contributions should reflect appropriate international burden-sharing and should be disbursed early in the year, she emphasized.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GA\/SPD\/716 12 OCTOBER 2020 \/… United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East\u00a0(UNRWA), introduced his annual report (document\u00a0A\/75\/13), stressing that, six months into his tenure and into the coronavirus pandemic, the Agency\u2019s […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1365,5618,1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,2533,1745],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[],"class_list":["post-240334","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-general-assembly","document-source-general-assembly-fourth-committee-special-political-and-decolonization","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-health","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","entity-united-nations-system"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/240334","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\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/240334\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=240334"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=240334"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=240334"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=240334"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=240334"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=240334"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=240334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}