PGA Remarks at the Informal Plenary of the General Assembly to hear a Briefing on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Ģ��ƵRWA)

Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,

Mr. Dennis Francis,

at the Informal Plenary of the General Assembly to hear a Briefing on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Ģ��ƵRWA)

4 March 2024

[As delivered]

Ģ��ƵRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini,

Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,

We gather again today under ominous and worsening circumstances, to say the least.

Ģ��Ƶ Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East �C or Ģ��ƵRWA, which was mandated by this Assembly �C faces?imminent collapse.

The absolute gravity of the situation has been underscored in distressing letters �C not one but two �C which I have received from Commissioner-General Lazzarini.

I welcome and thank the Commissioner General for being here today, to provide a brief to the membership on the situation on the ground.

You and your predecessors have been steadfast in your leadership �C as you dedicated yourselves tirelessly to the mandate of this irreplaceable Agency.

On behalf of this Assembly, and indeed on my own behalf, I also take this opportunity to acknowledge and express my utmost gratitude for the indefatigable efforts of all Ģ��ƵRWA staff members who are faithfully serving the Agency �C recently in what anyone would describe as impossible, nightmarish circumstances.

Excellencies,

In the absence of a comprehensive, just, and lasting two-State solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, Ģ��ƵRWA has been the only lifeline for the people of Palestine and their future.

Consider what the Agency has provided through the years:

Vital protection for 5.9 million registered Palestine refugees.
Schools and education for over half a million Palestinian refugees.
Health programmes �C both preventive and curative.
58 recognized Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, as well as Gaza and the West Bank.
Financial services to help those on the margins of the economy to generate a decent standard of living.

To many, Ģ��ƵRWA has been a powerful and living symbol of what the United Nations represents.

As an exclusively humanitarian agency, it has?no political mandate regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

We are reminded of this fact as we struggle to absorb �C let alone understand �C the killing of hundreds of people, through open fire last week as they rushed to receive desperately needed aid being transferred in an area west of Gaza City.

Because of the nature of its lifesaving humanitarian work, Ģ��ƵRWA��s significance to the Palestinian people transcends the practicalities of its humanitarian operations.

Let us also remember that the Agency was envisioned as a temporary entity �C awaiting a peaceful and comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This very General Assembly first endorsed the?mandate of Ģ��ƵRWA on 8 December 1949.

For over seven decades, this mandate has both evolved and been renewed repeatedly by Member States �C in their recognition that no other entity is capable of providing assistance on the scale required to meet the needs of the 2.2 million people in the Gaza Strip.

Excellencies,

While its current mandate runs until 30 June 2026, the pressing circumstances �C as also clearly described in the recent letter by the Commissioner General �C suggest that, if we the custodians of this important mandate sat idly, Ģ��ƵRWA may not survive without our immediate and decisive action.

I firmly believe that in the wake of recent scrutiny, Ģ��ƵRWA must still continue to discharge its mandate �C while efforts remain underway to respond to questions raised; and the Secretary-General concludes the ongoing investigations which should provide all information to this Assembly.

I also believe that �C as the custodian of Ģ��ƵRWA’s mandate �C this Assembly bears the primary duty towards the Agency, its staff, and the millions of refugees it supports until its mission is accomplished.

Therefore, today��s briefing is not a one-off initiative.

As President of the General Assembly, I will continue to engage with the Member States and key stakeholders on the future of Ģ��ƵRWA �C including through the morning?GAYAP Dialogue?I will convene in the coming days.

Let us not �C through inertia and inaction �C forsake our responsibility to the Palestinian people, nor dishonour the memory of the 160 Ģ��ƵRWA staff who have been killed in Gaza during this current crisis.

Ģ��ƵRWA needs both financial and political backing �C providing the Agency with sustainable and predictable funding, to address the serious financial shortfalls it has endured over the last decade; a situation which has worsened.

Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,

As I conclude, I cannot over emphasize that peace is just as critical to Ģ��ƵRWA’s operations as financial and political support.

Ģ��ƵRWA��s crucial work is contingent on the cessation of violence in the Gaza Strip.

I, once again, call for an immediate end to this carnage?and tragedy �C which has claimed far too many lives, and continues to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on innocent civilians.

I support all the ongoing diplomatic efforts �C and particularly call upon those with leverage to redouble efforts in this regard.

Often, it is a crisis that drives us to collective action.

Let us seize the urgency of this moment to not only support Ģ��ƵRWA to rebuild itself �C but to find a permanent resolution to this senseless and brutal conflict.

I thank you.

Ģ��Ƶ

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