Published : 26-08-2022
Palestinian refugees are struggling for survival and need urgent humanitarian action, warned the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Addressing the UN Security Council, Philippe Lazzarini said: “Since I last briefed this Council in May last year, the situation of Palestine refugees has further deteriorated.”
“Over 80 per cent of Palestine refugees in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza live below the poverty line”, said Lazzarini.
“In Gaza, the escalation of violence earlier this month was a stark reminder that war and violence can erupt anytime in the absence of a genuine and comprehensive effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, he said. “Sixty Palestine refugee families lost their homes. Seventeen children were killed. Eight were students in UNRWA schools”.
Lazzarini also warned that “nearly half of UNRWA students suffer from trauma and need special assistance to cope with the repeated cycles of violence and the economic hardship that their families live in”.
“In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, political, economic and security conditions are deteriorating as Palestine refugees experience high levels of dispossession, violence and insecurity”, he said.
“In Syria, after 11 years of conflict, the most destitute families are returning to live amid the rubble of their destroyed homes as they can no longer afford rent”, Lazzarini told the Security Council. “Children who returned to demolished camps such as Yarmouk or Ein el Tal walk near unexploded ordnances to take UNRWA buses to school”.
“In Lebanon, the pressure on the Agency to do more to address the impact of the economic and financial crisis on the Palestine refugee community is becoming unbearable”, the statement proceeded.
“In Jordan, the pandemic left deep scars on the labor market. Unemployment is soaring, particularly for females and young people. Child labor and early marriage are reportedly on the rise”, UNRWA chief further stated.
Lazzarni warned that “for the past decade, the chronic underfunding of our program budget has made it increasingly challenging for the Agency to fulfil the mandate given by the General Assembly”.
He warned that “coordinated campaigns to delegitimize UNRWA with a view to erode the rights of Palestine refugees are increasing in frequency and in maliciousness”.
Lazzarini appealed to Member States who have reduced their funding to reconsider the impact of their decision on the region’s stability and to mobilize politically and financially to support UNRWA and continue working towards a political solution that will benefit desperate Palestinian refugees and the region.
Palestinian refugees are struggling for survival and need urgent humanitarian action, warned the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Addressing the UN Security Council, Philippe Lazzarini said: “Since I last briefed this Council in May last year, the situation of Palestine refugees has further deteriorated.”
“Over 80 per cent of Palestine refugees in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza live below the poverty line”, said Lazzarini.
“In Gaza, the escalation of violence earlier this month was a stark reminder that war and violence can erupt anytime in the absence of a genuine and comprehensive effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, he said. “Sixty Palestine refugee families lost their homes. Seventeen children were killed. Eight were students in UNRWA schools”.
Lazzarini also warned that “nearly half of UNRWA students suffer from trauma and need special assistance to cope with the repeated cycles of violence and the economic hardship that their families live in”.
“In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, political, economic and security conditions are deteriorating as Palestine refugees experience high levels of dispossession, violence and insecurity”, he said.
“In Syria, after 11 years of conflict, the most destitute families are returning to live amid the rubble of their destroyed homes as they can no longer afford rent”, Lazzarini told the Security Council. “Children who returned to demolished camps such as Yarmouk or Ein el Tal walk near unexploded ordnances to take UNRWA buses to school”.
“In Lebanon, the pressure on the Agency to do more to address the impact of the economic and financial crisis on the Palestine refugee community is becoming unbearable”, the statement proceeded.
“In Jordan, the pandemic left deep scars on the labor market. Unemployment is soaring, particularly for females and young people. Child labor and early marriage are reportedly on the rise”, UNRWA chief further stated.
Lazzarni warned that “for the past decade, the chronic underfunding of our program budget has made it increasingly challenging for the Agency to fulfil the mandate given by the General Assembly”.
He warned that “coordinated campaigns to delegitimize UNRWA with a view to erode the rights of Palestine refugees are increasing in frequency and in maliciousness”.
Lazzarini appealed to Member States who have reduced their funding to reconsider the impact of their decision on the region’s stability and to mobilize politically and financially to support UNRWA and continue working towards a political solution that will benefit desperate Palestinian refugees and the region.
