28.01.2025 Statement by Denmark at the Security Council Briefing on UNRWA
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Thank you, Mr.
President,
Let me also thank Commissioner
General Lazzarini and Secretary General Egeland for their
important and sobering briefings. And let me through you extend our
gratitude to the entire humanitarian community working selflessly to alleviate
the situation in Gaza and express
our condolences and regrets for the many humanitarians and UN workers killed.
Mr.
President,
We are just two days away
from the Israeli legislation on UNRWA coming into
effect.
As we heard today, UNRWA’s role far exceeds
the crucial humanitarian role it currently plays in Gaza.
For the past 75 years, UNRWA has
provided Palestine refugees with essential government-like
services. This included education and primary healthcare which
has aided generations of Palestine refugees in Gaza and the
West Bank including East Jerusalem, as well as the wider region.
Since Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack
against Israel, and the conflict in Gaza which followed,
UNRWA has been the lifeline for civilians in Gaza.
Under extremely difficult circumstances the
agency has kept Palestinians alive by delivering food to a
population on the verge of famine, shelter to 400,000 persons who have
been repeatedly displaced, primary healthcare for 1.6 million people,
and water to 600,000 people.
UNRWA plays a critical role
in the entire humanitarian aid operation in Gaza. Other humanitarian
organizations and UN agencies rely on it for infrastructure, for staff, common
services as well as last mile support.
Mr. President,
Without UNRWA, civilians in Gaza risk
losing a vital safety net, and Palestine refugees in
the West Bank including East Jerusalem risk losing their access to basic
services. Basic services that UNRWA has a unique mandate from the General
Assembly to deliver to Palestine refugees until a two-state
solution is realized.
We note that the Secretary General in his
letter of 8 January emphasised that “There is currently no realistic
alternative to UNRWA which could adequately provide the services and assistance
required by Palestine refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,
including East Jerusalem.”
Mr. President,
All of this is taking place in the
context of the recent ceasefire in Gaza. We welcome this long-waited ceasefire,
which must allow for acceleration of the delivery of aid, proper
medical care, emergency shelter and for a resumption of basic
services, as well as the vital clearance of unexploded ordnance
and rubble.
At this critical time, UNRWA is needed more
than ever and is equipped and ready to deliver.
As the occupying power, Israel has a clear
obligation under international humanitarian law to ensure Palestinians
have access to basic services and to ensure the protection of the civilian
population.
Regarding the allegations about the
involvement of UNRWA staff in Hamas’s horrific attack
on 7 October, we welcome the prompt follow-up by the Secretary General and
Commissioner General Lazzarini.
We welcome important steps
taken by UNRWA to implement internal reforms to ensure neutrality and the
recent update on the implementation of the Colonna recommendations in this
regard. We continue to follow the implementation closely and urge
UNRWA to show maximum care in their operations.
Mr.
President, to conclude,
Following
15 months of devastating war, the recent ceasefire finally offered hope. Hope
that hundreds of thousands of Gaza civilians could receive the help they need.
It
is therefore distressing, that it is at this critical moment, when the
international community can massively scale up its support, the Knesset laws on
UNRWA kick in.
Now
is the time to commit to lasting peace, a two-state solution, where
Palestinians and Israelis alike can live in peaceful co-existence.
Mr.
President,
We urge Israel
not to prevent UNRWA from operating in accordance with its mandate. We must
seize this moment of hope and opportunity. To let the Agency do its work, to
save lives and ensure services are provided to thousands of people in need.
Without UNRWA,
millions of Palestinians risk losing access to basic services. Without UNRWA,
the situation in the region may further destabilize, jeopardizing all the
prospects for a two-state solution.
I thank you.
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