The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said that the agency, its employees and millions of Palestinian refugees are going through a critical time, calling on UN member states to work to prevent the implementation of the Israeli ban on its work and to continue funding the agency.

“In clear defiance of the UN Charter, General Assembly and Security Council resolutions and binding orders from the International Court of Justice, the State of Israel is unilaterally acting to change the established parameters for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Lazzarini said in his speech before the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. “It is up to the General Assembly, not individual member states, to change the agency’s mandate.”

Lazzarini pointed to the Israeli Knesset’s adoption last month of legislation banning UNRWA operations in the occupied Palestinian territory within three months. He said that its implementation would have disastrous consequences, and “in Gaza, dismantling UNRWA would lead to the collapse of the UN humanitarian response, which relies heavily on UNRWA’s infrastructure.”

Lazzarini stressed that dismantling the agency would not end the refugee status of the Palestinians, which would continue separately from the agency, but he warned that this would greatly harm the lives and future of the Palestinians.

The UN official spoke about the unique mandate given to UNRWA by the UN General Assembly, to directly provide what amounts to public government services, including education for more than half a million children, and primary health care. UNRWA also provides human development services to Palestine refugees in the absence of a Palestinian state.

UNRWA also provides humanitarian assistance to all those in need. Today, UNRWA has become a victim of the war in Gaza, with at least 243 of its staff killed, others detained and reported torture. More than two-thirds of UNRWA buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.

According to Lazzarini, in addition to being targeted inside the occupied Palestinian territory, UNRWA is being subjected to a fierce global disinformation campaign. He said that "intense pressure from the Israeli government and groups linked to it has targeted parliaments and governments in countries that donate to UNRWA."

He stressed "the need for UNRWA to gradually complete its mandate within the framework of a political solution and to hand over its services in the occupied Palestinian territory to an empowered Palestinian administration."

Lazzarini also called on Member States to continue funding UNRWA and not to withhold or divert funding based on the belief that the Agency cannot continue its work, and to use all legal and political tools to ensure the preservation of the rules-based international order.