MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. Moscow has provided UNRWA with a platform to explain the agency's position on the catastrophic humanitarian situation to high representatives of the BRICS countries, Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), told TASS in an exclusive interview.
"I am in Moscow today because there is a meeting among the BRICS members on the Middle East at the level of the Deputy Foreign Ministers or Special Envoys. I received this invitation to address the BRICS as a group. I just came from New York where I was also at the Security Council," the agency chief said.
Lazzarini explained that against the backdrop of the terrible crisis in Gaza, he wanted to warn the BRICS members of the consequences of banning UNRWA's activities in the conflict zone. "There would be an impact on our collective ability to respond to the current unprecedented crisis," the UNRWA commissioner-general pointed out.
According to him, in addition to the humanitarian challenges in the Gaza Strip, the agency "is now under strain and numerous calls, including by the Israeli government, to dismantle or cease its activities in the Gaza Strip."
In this context, the UNRWA chief emphasized that "dismantling the main organization, which is also the main backbone of the international response in Gaza, can only weaken our collective effort to reverse this looming famine." "As we know, Gaza has been a little bit of all the superlative, if you look at the number of people killed, the number of children killed, the number of medical facilities and hospitals destroyed, the level of destruction, the level of displacement in the Gaza Strip and today we are even talking about an artificial famine, which is looming," he pointed out.
Transitional period
Lazzarini stressed that even in case of a ceasefire in Gaza, UNRWA must continue to provide basic services to the residents of the enclave until a full Palestinian state is established.
"Let's say we have a ceasefire tomorrow. There wouldn't be a long time between the ceasefire and the ‘day after.’ Or that's what I call the ‘day in between.’ It might last one, two, three years. During that time there will be extraordinary protracted humanitarian need. UNRWA is the only organization, which is capable to provide at scale basic services such as access to primary healthcare or access to education in the absence of a functioning state," the agency chief said.
So if a decision is made to get rid of UNRWA during such a transitional period, it will only deepen people's despair, Lazzarini said. "We might sow the seeds of future resentment, revenge and violence, and we might also undermine any political process. One of the main objectives is to also address the countries constituting the BRICS," he concluded.
About UNRWA
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East was established on December 8, 1949. As the situation in Palestine remains unresolved, the agency's mandate continues to be expanded. To date, the agency provides assistance to some 5.9 million people. About one-third live in 58 officially recognized camps in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The rest live in or near host towns, often not far from official camps. The agency is headed by a commissioner-general appointed by the UN secretary-general.·In late January, several countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States, announced the suspension of UNRWA funding because of suspected links to the radical Palestinian movement Hamas. Lazzarini ordered the dismissal of several employees who may have been involved in a Hamas militant attack on Israel in the fall. The agency later accused Israel of torturing captured employees to extract "false confessions" of links to the radical movement.· A report released on April 23 by an independent UN evaluation team on UNRWA's activities stated that Israeli authorities have so far failed to provide any evidence to support their accusations.
The full text of the interview will be published on the TASS website at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time (7:00 a.m. GMT).