Countries deliver statement in support of UNRWA, says Israeli ban violates international law
A group of 16 countries has expressed support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), delivering a joint statement at Tuesday’s UN Security Council open debate, saying that if Israel were to implement new legislation banning UNRWA, it would “clearly be in violation of international law”.
The statement was delivered by Algeria, Belgium, Brazil, Guyana, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain and the State of Palestine – the core members of the “Shared Commitments” group supporting UNRWA at the UN.
“We deplore the measures being taken by Israel against UNRWA, including the legislation adopted by the Israeli Parliament,” said the statement.
It added that the move risks collapsing “the entire humanitarian response in Gaza which rests on UNRWA’s infrastructure”.
Amnesty says Israel’s UNRWA ban ‘amounts to criminalization of humanitarian aid’
Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary-general, has called on the international community to quickly condemn the Israeli laws and urge the country’s government to repeal them.
“This unconscionable law is an outright attack on the rights of Palestinian refugees. It is clearly designed to make it impossible for the agency to operate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by forcing the closure of the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem and ending visas for its staff,” she said in a statement.
“It amounts to the criminalization of humanitarian aid and will worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.”
Callamard added that the ban “flies in the face of” the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) orders on Israel to ensure sufficient humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
“This appalling, inhumane law will only exacerbate the suffering of Palestinians, who have endured unimaginable hardship and whose need for global support is greater than ever,” she said.
Palestinians search for missing people under the rubble of the destroyed UNRWA-run al-Jaouni school following an Israeli air strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza, September 11
UNRWA chief calls on the UN General Assembly to intervene over Israel’s ban
Philippe Lazzarini has written to the president of the UN General Assembly calling for “decisive intervention” to help the UNRWA carry out its mandate in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The Knesset’s laws forbidding Israeli officials from contact with UNRWA and banning the agency’s operations in Israeli-controlled territory risk the collapse of the UNRWA’s operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, posing “dire consequences for international peace and security”, he wrote.
“Today, even as we look into the faces of children in Gaza, some of whom we know will die tomorrow, the rules-based international order is crumbling in a repetition of the horrors that led to the establishment of the United Nations, and in violation of commitments to prevent their recurrence,” he said.
“The attacks on UNRWA are an integral part of this disintegration,” he wrote.
“Under such untenable conditions, I seek Member States’ support, commensurate with the gravity of the situation and risks, to ensure the Agency’s ability to fully implement the mandate conferred by the General Assembly,” he added.
