UNRWA Commissioner General Philip Lazzarini urged “to remain firm in our commitment to human rights and the well-being of the Palestinian refugees.”
Lazzarini presented his annual report on the work of UNRWA to the Fourth Committee, the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, expressing the hope that the discussion would lead to recognition of the indispensable role of UNRWA and an overwhelming majority in favor of an extension of the Agency’s mandate for another three years.
He explained that the past year had been a difficult one for Palestinian refugees across the region, with growing challenges in realizing their fundamental rights, noting that “there is enormous pressure on UNRWA to do more, but the financial situation limits its work, making it unable to support a society that has hit rock bottom.”
“Palestinian refugees look forward to the reaffirmed support and solidarity of the international community in the General Assembly. They are waiting for a sign of hope and a message that they have not been abandoned,” he said, adding: exacerbated by the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the war in Ukraine on employment, prices and rising inflation … the poverty of the Palestinian refugees combined with no political process and no hope for a better future, fuels misery, despair and anger.”
Source: UN News.