"... Sixty-four years into the exile of the Palestine refugees, UNRWA’s mandate is unchanged and remains clear: you and other United Nations Member States have asked and continue to ask UNRWA to assist the refugees until a just solution is found. We continue to do this in a political and economic climate that produces profound challenges.
The protraction of the refugee issue, however, like other “final status issues”, is trapped in a stagnating peace process, and this increases pressure around the refugee question in the public domain.
Efforts to dilute and to change definitions of refugees put great pressure on UNRWA, on host countries, and on donors supporting UNRWA. Even more importantly, they create huge anxiety in a population whose stability and security are essential to a region that continues to experience volatility — volatility which, in turn, contributes to the climate of uncertainty in which Palestine refugees live. Today, therefore, my first request to you — as our advisory body — is to reconfirm your support for UNRWA’s role and mandate. This support, today, is more important than ever.
The 45-year Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the continuing blockade of Gaza, the illegal but relentless settlement expansion, are destroying the ability of Palestinians to build a productive and peaceful future.
What has been called the “Arab Spring” has created space and opportunity for expressions of civil and political rights, but it has also confronted us with challenges and dangers.
Political upheavals or unrest have created tensions in or near all of UNRWA’s fields of operation.
Refugees, in addition to the heavy burden of protracted and unresolved exile, are facing the challenges of political, social and economic change.
If UNRWA were to reduce its humanitarian and human development support in this situation, it would have highly unpredictable consequences, and with uncertainty comes danger....READ MORE
Commissioner-General’s opening statement to UNRWA Advisory Commission, June 2012
18 June 2012
Dead Sea, Jordan
Delivered by Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi at the 2012 meeting of the UNRWA Advisory Commission.
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