Accepting Recommendations of Independent Review Group on Palestine Refugee Agency, Secretary-General Commits to Establish Action Plan for Implementation

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General expresses his gratitude and appreciation to Catherine Colonna, who, on Saturday, submitted to him her Final Report as Chair of the Independent Review Group on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), entitled “Independent review of mechanisms and procedures to ensure adherence by UNRWA to the humanitarian principle of neutrality”.

The Secretary-General is also grateful to the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, the Chr. Michelsen Institute and the Danish Institute for Human Rights for the essential research that they conducted.

The Secretary-General accepts the recommendations contained in Ms. Colonna’s report.  He has agreed with Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini that UNRWA, with the Secretary-General’s support, will establish an action plan to implement the recommendations contained in the Final Report.

In this regard, the Secretary-General counts on the cooperation of the donor community, the host countries and the staff to fully cooperate in the implementation of the recommendations.  Moving forward, the Secretary-General appeals to all stakeholders to actively support UNRWA, as it is a lifeline for Palestine refugees in the region.