The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question: Briefing on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Tomorrow morning (17 January), Security Council members are expected to hold closed consultations on “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question” (MEPQ). Algeria requested the meeting to discuss the situation of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini is the expected briefer.
It seems that Algeria’s meeting request was prompted by the approaching expiration of the three-month period for the entry into force of two laws on UNRWA passed by the Israeli Knesset (parliament) on 28 October 2024. One piece of legislation prohibits Israeli officials from having contact with UNRWA or anyone acting on its behalf. The other, as cited in a 9 December 2024 letter by Secretary-General António Guterres, says that UNRWA “shall not operate any representative office, provide any services or carry out any activities, directly or indirectly, within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel”, a reference which Israel apparently interprets as including the territory of East Jerusalem, that Israel has occupied since 1967, where UNRWA’s West Bank field office is based. (For background on the legislation, see the brief on the MEPQ in our November 2024 Monthly Forecast.)
Senior UN officials, including Guterres and Lazzarini, have on several occasions underscored that, if implemented, the laws will prevent UNRWA from carrying out its mandate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), with devastating consequences for Palestine refugees. At tomorrow’s meeting, Lazzarini is likely to reiterate these concerns. He might echo some of the key messages of his 15 January statement delivered at the third meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution and warn against dismantling UNRWA without a framework for a political process leading to a two-state solution. (The Global Alliance is a multilateral initiative spearheaded by Norway, Saudi Arabia, and the EU focused on facilitating the realisation of the two-state solution.) Among other issues raised in that statement, Lazzarini highlighted some of the anticipated consequences of the implementation of the two laws adopted by the Knesset, noting that measures forbidding any contact with UNRWA would “effectively end” deconfliction for safe movement in Gaza. These measures would also make it impossible for international staff to obtain visas to work in the OPT, which would leave UNRWA’s local staff having to provide assistance and services in an environment where they face “considerable personal risk”.
Tomorrow, Council members are likely to express concern at how the legislation is likely to affect UNRWA’s ability to fulfil its mandate in the OPT. Members are expected to seek an update from Lazzarini about possible plans by UNRWA and the UN system to mitigate the anticipated fallout of the implementation of the laws. Among other things, Council members may be interested in Lazzarini’s assessment of the expected impact of the laws on the implementation of the prospective ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas announced on 15 January, including the daily delivery of 600 shipments of humanitarian aid reportedly stipulated in the agreement. (At the time of writing, the Israeli government was expected to vote on approving the ceasefire agreement tomorrow.)
Council members might also seek an update on whether the UN has received information from Israel about how it intends to enforce the laws. On 8 January, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric said that, while the UN has been in contact with Israel on this issue, it does not have “any real clarity on how the laws will be applied”. Answering a question on 14 January on whether the UN had by then received any relevant information, Dujarric responded that the UN continues “to seek full clarification” on how the laws will be implemented.
At tomorrow’s meeting, Lazzarini is likely to call on the Security Council to protect UNRWA’s mandate in the context of the transition period following the entry into effect of the ceasefire in Gaza. He might also discuss some options for measures that could potentially mitigate the effects of the legislation. At the same time, he is likely to underscore that none of these measures can be a substitute for UNRWA’s pivotal role in the humanitarian response in Gaza or fulfil its mandate of providing support to Palestine refugees until Palestinian institutions can take over the Agency’s functions. Lazzarini might draw attention to the scale of the assistance activities that UNRWA has been carrying out in Gaza, such as providing shelters for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons, and its key role in education and as the largest provider of primary healthcare. In this respect, Lazzarini said in his 15 January statement that 660,000 girls and boys have lost over two years of learning in Gaza and stressed that, “[a]bsent a full-fledged State, only UNRWA has the capacity to bring these children back to learning”.
Following the legislation’s enactment, Israel notified the UN on 3 November 2024 of the withdrawal of its request to UNRWA to continue its assistance to Palestine refugees contained in the 14 June 1967 “Exchange of letters constituting a provisional agreement concerning assistance to Palestine Refugees”. Tomorrow, Lazzarini may restate the UN’s position as outlined in the Secretary-General’s 9 December 2024 letter that, should UNRWA be forced to cease its activities, it would fall on Israel to “ensure that the range of services and assistance which UNRWA has been providing are provided in accordance with its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law”. He may further stress the continuing applicability to UNRWA of the terms of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN.
Most Council members have frequently expressed support for UNRWA and its essential role in the humanitarian response in Gaza during Security Council meetings on the MEPQ and are likely to do so again tomorrow. On 30 October 2024, Council members issued a press statement expressing grave concern over the Knesset legislation, emphasising UNRWA’s “vital role” and affirming that “no organization can replace or substitute UNRWA’s capacity and mandate”. The press statement also noted the April 2024 report of the independent review led by former French Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna on how UNRWA upholds neutrality principles, welcomed the Agency’s commitment to implement the report’s recommendations, and called for “their accelerated implementation, in line with UNRWA’s commitment to the principle of neutrality”.
With the exception of the US, which cast a negative vote, all other current Council members voted in favour of a resolution on UNRWA (A/RES/ES-10/25) adopted on 11 December 2024 during the resumed Tenth Emergency Special Session (ESS) of the General Assembly. The ESS resolution deplored the legislation and demanded that Israel enable UNRWA’s operations to proceed without impediment or restriction. The resolution received 159 votes in favour, nine votes against, and 11 abstentions.
In a recent opinion piece, Lazzarini noted that while attempts by Israel to dismantle UNRWA “have been met with public condemnation and outrage”, that has “largely petered out into political inertia”. Tomorrow, while stressing the importance of expression of support for UNRWA, Lazzarini may urge Council members to take concrete actions to safeguard UNRWA and its capacity to effectively carry out its mandate in the OPT.