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Attacks on UNRWA primarily politically motivated: Lazzarini
We have spoken to Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the UNRWA, about the work of the agency for Palestinian refugees. His comments below have been lightly edited for flow and brevity.
Al Jazeera: How would you describe the difference between the UNRWA as it is now and what the agency was like before the war on Gaza began
Philippe Lazzarini: UNRWA before the war was an agency which was investing in the human development of the Palestinian refugees.
UNRWA was a real lifeline of the Palestinian refugees in Gaza. We had about 300,000 girls and boys in our schools, we were providing education at the primary and secondary level, we had vocational training, we were offering job opportunities to a number of Palestinians – basically the agency was a glimpse of hope for the Palestinians.
Today, we are in a lifesaving mode, we are trying to adapt to this catastrophe.
Gaza has been flattened down into a rubble. It has basically been the war of all the extremes, with the number of people who have been killed and injured. It has been a war on children, Gaza has become a graveyard, in fact, for the Palestinians in general.
Today people have nothing else than to struggle daily to stay alive – they struggle against diseases and they struggle to find some food.
Al Jazeera: Israel has made allegations against some UNRWA staff and the agency itself. What kind of impact has that had on the organisation’s worldwide image?
Lazzarini: It has a huge reputational impact but fortunately the agency has taken bold measures from day one. An investigation has taken place and has concluded. We also had a review of all our internal management systems, which concluded that we are more robust than any other agency in the region.
Basically it shows that the agency is capable to deal with neutrality issues; that, in reality, the attacks on the agency are primarily politically motivated.
Al Jazeera: How much of an impact have these allegations had in terms of the money that the UNRWA needs to raise in order to be able to operate? Is there a change in the willingness of countries around the world to supply money?
Lazzarini: There is definitely a change, donors need to be constantly reassured.
I think the seriousness of UNRWA to implement the recommendations of the review by Catherine Colonna, the former minister of foreign affairs of France, has also helped donors to reinforce their confidence in the agency.
Today, there is only one country which has suspended and frozen its contribution to the agency.
Al Jazeera: More than 220 UN aid workers have been killed since the start of the war. UNRWA of course relies heavily on local staff with local knowledge and local sources to be able to operate. How difficult is it, given the circumstances that UNRWA has found itself not just in Gaza, but also in the occupied West Bank and now in Lebanon, to recruit people with that very vital local knowledge?
Lazzarini: Sadly, the number of our staff killed today stands at 226. There is no day without an increase of staff being killed and this is the sad reality.
It is also true that our staff share the same daily life and destiny with the rest of the population.
One of the strengths of the organisation is that our staff come from the community we are assisting and protecting.
This is one of the reasons why, despite the extraordinarily dangerous environment, despite the fact that staff premises and operations have been targeted, we are still able to continue to provide lifesaving assistance to the community.
Al Jazeera: Israel seems determined to either sideline UNRWA or have it shut down altogether. If UNRWA didn’t exist, what effect would that have on the lives of Palestinians not only in Gaza but in other parts of the region as well?
Lazzarini: It would be a total disaster. It would first mean the sacrifice of one million children below the age of 18 in the Gaza Strip, denying them education in the future and this would certainly sow the seeds for more resentment and extremism.
But politically, if Israel got rid of an organisation like ours in this region, that would mean that any other country anywhere else in the world could do the same with a UN agency.
And I believe this would open a Pandora’s box. It’s very dangerous and it would further weaken our common, I would say, multilateral instrument that we inherited after World War II.
‘Very hard not to conclude’ Israel deliberately killing Gaza journalists
At least 175 media workers have been killed in Gaza in the past year – a figure described as an “absolutely shocking level of loss of life” by Tim Dawson of the International Federation of Journalists.
“The toll paid by journalists in Gaza is something the world has no prior experience of. Well over 10 percent of journalists in Gaza have lost their lives since this conflict began,” Dawson told Al Jazeera.
In past conflict zones, the average death rate for infantry soldiers was 5 percent, he noted, adding the figure for US Marines killed in Vietnam was less than 5 percent.
In Israel’s killing of Gaza’s media workers it’s “very hard not to conclude” these were deliberate actions, said Dawson.
“What is most important now is for the International Criminal Court to intensify its investigation … What we need is judicial review of the evidence and a holding to account, where necessary, of those who perpetrated war crimes.”
