FROM: THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

To: His Excellency Mr. Jose Javier de la Gasca Lopez Dominguez
President of the Security Council
New York

6 December 2023

Dear Mr. President,
I am writing under Article 99 of the United Nations Charter to bring to the attention of the Security Council a matter which, in my opinion, may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.

NEW YORK/GENEVA/ROME, 21 February 2024 – In the less than five months that followed the brutal 7 October attacks and the ensuing escalation, tens of thousands of Palestinians – mostly women and children – have been killed and injured in the Gaza Strip. More than three quarters of the population have been forced from their homes, many multiple times, and face severe shortages of food, water, sanitation and healthcare – the basic necessities to survive. 

NEW YORK/GENEVA/ROME, 16 November 2023 – As humanitarian leaders, our position is clear: We will not participate in the establishment of any ”safe zone” in Gaza that is set up without the agreement of all the parties, and unless fundamental conditions are in place to ensure safety and other essential needs are met and a mechanism is in place to supervise its implementation. 

From Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General

AMMAN,

“The Israeli Authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on 7 October.

OVER 2 MILLION PEOPLE IN GAZA DEPEND ON UNRWA FOR SURVIVAL AS WAR AND DISPLACEMENT CONTINUE  

FROM PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, UNRWA COMMISSIONER GENERAL  

AMMAN, 27 January 2024- “Nine countries have as of today temporarily suspended their funding to UNRWA. These decisions threaten our ongoing humanitarian work across the region including and especially in the Gaza Strip.   

NEW YORK/GENEVA/ROME, 30 January 2024 – The allegations of involvement of several UNRWA staff in the heinous attacks on Israel on 7 October are horrifying. As the Secretary-General has said, any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable.

However, we must not prevent an entire organization from delivering on its mandate to serve people in desperate need.

As aid organizations, we are deeply concerned and outraged that some of the largest donors have united to suspend funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main aid provider for millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the region. This comes amid a rapidly worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

The Secretary-General, in consultation with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, has appointed an independent Review Group to assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made.

The review will be led by Catherine Colonna, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, who will work with three research organizations: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

The Secretary-General is horrified by extremely serious allegations which implicate several UNRWA staff members in the terror attacks of 7 October in Israel. The UN is taking swift action.

The Secretary-General immediately activated an investigation by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).