unwra's new Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi’s inaugural letter to staff

"The challenge before us is enormous and complex, however the priorities are clear. We shall strive to provide the best possible services to the refugees in accordance with the four human development goals outlined in our Medium Term Strategy. We shall continue to advocate forcefully for the rights, plights, aspirations and hopes of Palestine refugees. We shall be resolute in our call to listen to, and include, refugees in the context of the peace process, to ensure that their unique interests and rights, as set forth in UN resolutions, are fully understood. We shall further advance the reform of the organisation, to make it better, more modern, and more efficient in delivering improved services to refugees. It is also urgent and imperative that we address the Agency’s chronic shortage of resources by working with host and donor governments to ensure that funding is sufficient and predictable, so that the quality of services we provide to refugees can significantly improve and our staff are adequately remunerated.

Colleagues,

I need not tell you how difficult this period is for the Palestinian people. We are all painfully aware of the counterproductive policies collectively punishing the people of the Gaza Strip; conscious decisions that have caused untold suffering and a dramatic deterioration in the lives of the population, in contravention of international law. One of my key priorities will be to continue to advocate strongly on behalf of the 1.5 million Gazans, and to do so not only until the end of the blockade and the occupation, but also until a just and lasting solution to the plight of the refugees is achieved."

http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=548

Commissioner-General’s inaugural letter to staff