‘If Legal and Political Framework in Which UNRWA Operates Does Not Hold, We Cannot Stay and Deliver,’ Its Chief Tells Fourth Committee, Warning of Agency’s Collapse
The collapse of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will threaten lives, regional stability and the integrity of the multilateral system, its chief warned the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today, pointing to recent legislation passed by the Israeli Parliament that could end the Agency’s operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in less than three months.
UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, highlighted catastrophic consequences: dismantling UNRWA would deny an entire generation of Palestinians the right to education and potentially leave 17,000 Agency staff in the Occupied Palestinian Territory unemployed. The risks posed would “fulfil an explicitly stated objective of the war in Gaza”, he said, emphasizing the Agency’s unique role in providing, not only education, but also healthcare and human development service to the Palestinian refugees.
“Today, UNRWA is a casualty of the war in Gaza,” he said, detailing the severe toll of the war on the Agency, with at least 243 personnel killed and more than two‑thirds of premises damaged or destroyed. UNRWA is “a soft target for warring parties”. However, it is a United Nations agency, and not a party to the conflict. If the Agency cannot operate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the responsibility for providing services to Palestinians will lie, not with the United Nations, but with Israel as the occupying Power, he warned.
He condemned the alleged use of UNRWA’s premises by Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, and Israeli forces, for military purposes. “While we do not operate in a zero-risk environment, we take a zero-tolerance approach to any proven breaches.” Addressing allegations of the Agency colluding with or being infiltrated by Hamas, he said that those charges were used to attack the Agency in a global disinformation campaign. The independent review of the Agency found that it has a more robust neutrality framework than comparable entities.
Painting a grim picture of the Gaza crisis, he said that more than 43,000 people have reportedly been killed and thousands more lie unaccounted for under the rubble amid widespread hunger. “Across Gaza, 660,000 children who should be in school are learning nothing more than how to survive,” he said, highlighting the aggressive expansion of settler violence in the West Bank and escalating humanitarian crises across Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians depend on UNRWA for survival. At the same time, he urged the immediate release of Israeli hostages who remain in terrifying captivity.
To address the challenges stemming from UNRWA’s potential collapse, he urged Member States to prevent the implementation of the Israeli legislation against the Agency’s operations, ensure that any political transition plan delineates UNRWA’s role, maintain funding for the Agency and uphold the international rules-based order. He stressed the importance of these actions for the stability of UNRWA and the multilateral system, adding: “If the legal and political framework within which we operate does not hold, we cannot stay and deliver.”
During the interactive dialogue that followed, Israel’s delegate, noting that he was sitting next to the mother of Yonatan Samarno who was taken hostage on 7 October, said the son was kidnapped by an UNRWA employee. To the Commissioner-General, he said: “After that monster threw Yonatan into his truck and brought him into Gaza, he returned home to a paycheck signed and sealed by you under the UN letterhead.” Calling on the Commissioner-General to “resign in shame” and ask all the “victims of your so-called employees” for forgiveness, he said Mr. Lazzarini will “be remembered as the face of an organization that traded humanity for bloodshed”.
The representative of Saudi Arabia, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, pointed out that the allegation of UNRWA’s involvement in the Hamas attack has been found to be false. The European Union’s speaker condemned attempts to obstruct UNRWA’s mandate, while Türkiye’s delegate asked what Member States can do to provide immediate support. The observer for the State of Palestine asked about efforts to secure reparations for the destruction to the Agency caused by Israel.
Responding, Mr. Lazzarini said empathy and compassion should not go one way alone. It is unacceptable that the hostages remain in captivity. He feels the pain of all mothers — those of hostages taken by Hamas as well as of Palestinians who have been through unspeakable suffering. If UNRWA staff participated in the abhorrent massacre of 7 October, it would be a betrayal, not only of the UN, but also of Palestinian communities. Noting the massive disinformation in this war, he said “it is time that international journalists have access to what is going on in Gaza”. On UNRWA’s funding, he called on donors to ensure that they release their 2025 contributions by the end of this year.
Also briefing the Committee, Anne Havn (Norway), Rapporteur of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA, presented that body’s latest report (document A/79/329). Noting that the United States dissociated from the report, she emphasized that the General Assembly and the international community bear primary responsibility for ensuring that UNRWA remains shielded from politicization and receives adequate funding to meet the drastically increased needs of Palestinian refugees across five fields of operation.
Since the Nakba, UNRWA has been a lifeline for Palestine refugees, the observer for the State of Palestine said, adding that, in Gaza today, UNRWA has become a sanctuary, standing between life and death for nearly the entire population since October 2023 and the launch of Israel’s genocidal war. The organization’s staff transformed overnight into emergency teams to serve their fellow refugees.
Calling on delegates to give credence to facts instead of propaganda, she highlighted the outcomes of investigations that reaffirmed UNRWA’s neutrality and accountability. Israel’s demonization of the Agency has culminated in the Knesset’s “so-called legislation” criminalizing UNRWA’s operation. Israeli officials openly boast that eliminating the Agency means eliminating the refugee status of millions of Palestine refugees, she said urging the international community to make it clear that the rights of the Palestine refugees are inviolable. The Assembly must address UNRWA’s chronic underfunding, she insisted.
Likewise, the representative of Venezuela, speaking on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, called for an increase of financial contributions to the Agency to enable it to fund its core budget, pay staff salaries and deliver assistance to the Palestine refugees. He categorically rejected any attempt by the occupying Power to prevent it from implementing its mandate, adding: “These illegal actions, threats and attacks must stop.”
The representative of Saudi Arabia, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, said the dangerous escalation in his region is due to the lack of accountability for Israel’s international law violations. It is vital to protect the Palestinian people from genocide, he said, calling for an end to the obstacles that restrict UNRWA’s humanitarian role in Gaza. The Knesset legislation is a blatant violation of international law as well as Israel’s commitments as the occupying Power, he said, condemning Israel’s systematic campaign of defamation against the Agency.
“There can be no unilateral altering or cancellation of UNRWA’s mandate; this is solely the remit of the General Assembly,” said Slovenia’s representative, speaking on behalf of the core group of the Shared Commitments in support of UNRWA. He cautioned that the recent legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset, if enforced, would lead to dire humanitarian consequences and hinder the prospects for renewed peace efforts as well the viability of the two-State solution.
UNRWA workers “exemplify the highest ideals of humanity and compassion”, said Brazil’s delegate, speaking for the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. Condemning the Israeli Parliament’s recent laws, he said that undermining the Agency's work amounts to jeopardizing the very survival of thousands of Palestinians. Its personnel, he added, are on the frontlines providing food, medical care and education while risking their lives daily.
The representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, reiterated the Union’s commitment to supporting the Agency, both politically and financially. The third tranche of the bloc’s 2024 funding to UNRWA was disbursed in October, bringing the financial support for the year to 82 million euro. “A similar payment is earmarked for next year,” she said, condemning any attempt to abrogate the 1967 agreement between Israel and UNRWA or to otherwise attempt to obstruct its capacity to operate its mandate. “As long as there is no sustainable solution to the conflict, the mandate of UNRWA will remain vital,” she stressed.
Israel’s battle to eliminate UNRWA is a desperate attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause and kill a just political solution, said the representative of Lebanon. The allegations against UNRWA staff are part of Israel’s systematic campaign to discourage donors from funding UNRWA. She stressed the Agency’s vital role in serving Palestinian refugees. It is time to put an end to Israel’s war crimes, she stressed, noting the repeated attacks against UNRWA and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) personnel and headquarters.
The Palestinian right to return scares Israel, Egypt’s delegate said, adding “we can talk of UNRWA’s inutility”, after the Palestinian territories have been liberated. He called for a day of remembrance in honour of the killed UNRWA staff.
The representatives of Israel and Iran spoke in exercise of right of reply.