Full statement delivered by H.E. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the UN at the UNSC meeting on the briefing on the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA)
Madame President,
Thank you for convening this meeting in response to the request from the delegation of Jordan. Allow me to acknowledge the presence of the distinguished Ministers and other high-level officials in today’s meeting and to also thank CommissionerGeneral Lazzarini for the valuable information provided.
At the outset, Guyana expresses its deepest appreciation to Commissioner-General Lazzarini and his staff for their dedicated efforts amidst the most trying circumstances, and to commiserate with them on the loss of 178 of their colleagues who were killed in service to the Palestinian people.
Madame President,
Guyana is deeply concerned about the circumstances under which UNRWA is forced to carry out its operations in the Gaza Strip. We have taken note that several UNRWA premises, including schools, health centres and aid distribution centres, have been directly hit by munitions used in the conflict. It is troubling that these incidents have occurred although the Agency has complied with the requirements to provide the coordinates of all its premises to the parties to the conflict through the UN humanitarian notification system. The indiscriminate targeting of these premises has resulted in the killing of both UNRWA personnel and civilians who sought shelter in these facilities. Guyana emphasizes the obligation of all parties to comply with international law, including provisions related to the inviolability of UN premises. In this context, we call for full accountability for the violations that have taken place since the start of the current cycle of violence on 7 October. There should be no impunity for such brazen disregard of international law.
Madame President,
Guyana is equally concerned by the ongoing campaign to discredit and dismantle UNRWA. The Agency has been maligned and some staff members accused of being involved in the attack of October 7, without any credible evidence being provided to substantiate these accusations. Questions have also been raised about the Agency’s neutrality. While it is the right of any Member State to voice concerns about the operation of any UN agency, Guyana underscores that there is also a concomitant responsibility to ensure that those concerns are substantiated. It is simply unacceptable to put forward accusations without providing credible supporting evidence. In the case of UNRWA, these accusations have led to very costly consequences for ordinary Palestinian civilians. Several Member States decided to cease their funding to the Agency at a time when the population in Gaza is faced with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis owing to ongoing hostilities by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). These decisions were also taken against the backdrop of persistent funding shortfalls which continue to affect the Agency’s ability to effectively carry out its mandate. While acknowledging that several countries have resumed their funding to UNRWA, Guyana calls on others, in the name of humanity, to reverse their decisions to suspend funding. We look forward to the final report in a few days from the independent review group.
Allow me to also address the claim from the Israeli side that the UN is unable to deal with the volume of aid that is available for distribution in Gaza. Aid distribution in a war zone is not a simple matter. It involves a number of critical parts that must all function well. For example, inspection processes must be agile. From all reports, these are slow and unpredictable. UN agencies like UNRWA have the capacity but they have no control over deliberate impediments. We call again for a ceasefire and for the removal of these impediments.
Madame President,
UNRWA’s indispensable existence for the last 75 years is a reminder that the international community has not yet delivered justice to the Palestinian people. Its mandate is therefore important to the broader objective of achieving the two-state solution. Offering critical services to Palestinians made refugees by the Nakba of 1948 is a key part of delivering justice to them and although more than seven decades have passed, we must never lose sight of the quest for ultimate justice in the achievement of a permanent resolution.
UNRWA has been a lifeline to the 5.9 million Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It continues to provide critical services in education, healthcare, infrastructure and other areas all aimed at ensuring that Palestinians can live with some semblance of dignity while continuing the quest to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination. There is simply no other organization that can replace or substitute the tremendous capacity of UNRWA or manage the sheer scale of its operations. It is our collective responsibility as United Nations Member States to uphold the mandate created in 1949 when UNRWA was established. I hasten to add here that this mandate was not meant to be a permanent one, neither should it have lasted this long. But any attempts to dismantle UNRWA should simultaneously align with delivering justice for the Palestinians. It is only then that UNRWA will no longer be required – when a thriving State of Palestine is created, living side by side, in peace, with the State of Israel. We will have an opportunity shortly to help Palestinians take an important step in that direction.
In conclusion, Guyana urges all Council members to be proactive in their efforts to keep UNRWA’s doors open, and to keep its operations effective and predictable.
I thank you, Madame President.
