Statement of UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini to the United Nations General Assembly

Mit der UNRWA-Delegation am 15.10.2024 in der Deutsch-Arabischen Gesellschaft (DAG). An dem Treffen nahmen teil DAG-Generalsekretär Harald Moritz Bock, DAG-Vize-Präsident Bassam Helou, Vertretung von DAG-Ehrenpräsidenten Dr-Ing. Ernst J. Trapp mit UNRWA-Generalkommissar Philippe Lazzarini, Direktorin der Europäischen Vertretung der UNRWA Marta Lorenzo, Senior Donor Relations Officer von UNRWA-Lorenzo Rilasciati, und Johannes Gunesch, Berater von UNRWA.

Mr. President,

Excellencies, 

I am addressing you at UNRWA’s darkest hour: https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/statement-unrwa-commissioner-general-philippe-lazzarini-united-nations-general-assembly

UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency’s area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.

UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. 

Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.

UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.