‘UNRWA is at a breaking point’ – Philippe Lazzarini warns

Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)

The Palestine Chronicle reports on 5 March 2024:

Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), has warned that the agency is “at a breaking point.”

Addressing the UN General Assembly on Monday [5 March], Lazzarini said  “75 years after its creation by this Assembly as a temporary UN entity, pending a just political solution to the question of Palestine, the Agency’s ability to fulfill its mandate is seriously threatened.”

He stressed that the UN’s “urgent action” is needed to facilitate “a political solution that will bring peace to Palestinians and Israelis, and in this context alone, allow the Agency to transition.”

In the meantime, Lazzarini continued, the financial crisis confronting UNRWA “must be resolved so it can continue its lifesaving operations.”

More than 15 countries have suspended funding to the relief agency after Israel alleged some of its employees were involved in the October 7 operation carried out by the Palestinian Resistance.  UNRWA immediately terminated the contracts of the staff concerned “in the interest of the Agency,” and an independent panel was commissioned by the UN Secretary-General to investigate the agency.  “Despite these prompt and decisive actions, and the unsubstantiated nature of the allegations, 16 countries have paused their funding, totaling 450 million dollars,” Lazzarini stated.

‘No Capacity’

UNRWA, he emphasized, “has no capacity to absorb financial shocks. Especially while a war rages in Gaza.”