New York

Madam Chair,

Excellencies,

This is a critical moment for UNRWA, our 33,000 staff members, and the millions of Palestine Refugees we serve.

The risk of the Agency’s collapse threatens the lives and futures of individuals and communities, the stability of the region, and the integrity of our multilateral system.

Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) Public Policy Lecture

11 November 2024, Princeton, New Jersey

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to be here in Princeton and to engage with you all.

I would like to thank Professor Didier Fassin and the Institute for Advanced Study for the invitation to deliver the Public Policy Lecture.

Geneva

Excellencies,

Members of the Advisory Commission,

I would like to thank Spain for chairing the Advisory Commission at the most challenging time in UNRWA’s history.

I am also grateful to Brazil and Jordan for joining Spain in convening this timely meeting; and to Lebanon and Australia for their strong support as Chair and Vice Chair of the SubCom.

Geneva  

Thank you so much. A pleasure to be with you.  

Thank you, Minister Leis, and thank you Spain, first for the chairmanship of the AdCom, but also for stewarding the support to the Agency with other Member States, both politically but also financially. Spain has been very involved also in New York with other Member States when it comes to the joint commitments to the Agency.  

You said a lot. So, I want just to be a little bit briefer and give more time for the questions and answers today.  

From Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General as posted on his official X account (previously known as Twitter)

The spread of disinformation against UNRWA is meant to create chaos & divert attention from the political aims to dismantle the Agency.

From Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General as posted on his official X account (previously known as Twitter)

BREAKING: 

We are pausing the delivery of aid through Kerem Shalom, the main crossing point for humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The road out of this crossing has not been safe for months.

On 16 November, a large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs.

Cairo

Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States,

Excellencies,

As we mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, it is a great honor to accept this award in recognition of UNRWA’s services to Palestine Refugees.

This award belongs to my remarkable colleagues, especially those doing lifesaving work amid a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza; escalating violence in the occupied West Bank; and an uneasy truce in Lebanon.

Hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Nations

Cairo

Foreign Minister Abdelatty,

Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed,

Prime Minister Mustafa,

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

As we gather in Cairo today, Palestinians in Gaza are trapped in a dystopian nightmare.

More than 44,000 people are reported killed – 70 percent are women and children.

Thousands more lie unaccounted for under the rubble.

AMMAN

Using commercial advertisement including billboards in several cities around the world and paid Google ads on multiple websites, the Government of Israel has stepped up its disinformation campaign against UNRWA.  

These ads are the latest in a series of a wider campaign against UNRWA by the Government of Israel, which continues to publicly call for dismantling the Agency.  

(As Prepared)

DOHA

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are meeting in the shadow of the dystopian horror that is Gaza for a discussion that could not be more timely.  

The rules-based international order that has been in place since the end of the Second World War is fracturing. 

The Geneva Conventions, adopted 75 years ago to protect civilians and non-combatants during conflict, are increasingly challenged and at risk of becoming irrelevant.