(Bethlehem, 07 July 2026)
As
the Israeli regime's genocide in Gaza continues, alongside the mass
forcible displacement of Palestinians across the West Bank and the
systematic destruction of UNRWA's headquarters in Jerusalem and hundreds
of its installations. BADIL Resource Center and Global Palestinian
Refugee Network categorically reject recent political remarks made by
UNRWA Commissioner-General ad interim Chris Saunders at the UNRWA Pledging Conference
suggesting that UNRWA's mandate should be subordinated to externally
imposed political arrangements, including the so-called "Board of
Peace", or that its responsibilities could be transferred to host
countries or the Palestinian Authority.
At
the very moment that the Israeli regime, with the support of the United
States, is pursuing the dismantlement of UNRWA in violation of
international law, there can be no accommodation of political projects
designed to facilitate its replacement. UNRWA was established by General Assembly Resolution 302
because the international community failed to implement Palestinian
refugees' rights under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194.
Its mandate therefore remains exclusively under the authority of the
General Assembly until those rights—including return, restitution,
compensation, and reparation—are fulfilled. It cannot be transferred,
conditioned, or terminated through political arrangements.
Against this legal backdrop, the Commissioner-General ad interim's remarks that UNRWA is essential to the Board of Peace’s
activities until its services can be transferred to the Palestinian
Authority is deeply alarming. Likewise, Article 14 of the New York
Declaration, which envisages transferring UNRWA's services to the
Palestinian Authority within a two-State framework, unlawfully
subordinates the Agency's mandate to a political settlement contrary to
Resolution 194. UNRWA was established neither to facilitate
state-building nor to administer political transitions, but because
Palestinian refugees continue to be denied their internationally
protected rights.
The Board of Peace has itself made its objective unmistakably clear:
"UNRWA
has no place in the new Gaza. We are turning the page on the complex of
perpetual aid dependency and conflict. The people of Gaza deserve
better."
This
statement removes any ambiguity. The Board of Peace is the
institutional vehicle for implementing the so-called GREAT Plan. What
began in 2025 as proposals for "Humanitarian Transit Areas" has now evolved into fenced "Humanitarian Shelters"
in Rafah policed by foreign forces – while the Israeli military
consolidates its colonial control over the remainder of Gaza. These
proposals are not humanitarian measures but mechanisms for
institutionalizing forcible transfer, replacing UNRWA with externally
controlled profit-driven “aid”, and transforming refugee rights into
systems of containment, surveillance, and permanent displacement.
We
call upon the Secretary-General, UNRWA, Member States, and the United
Nations system to ensure that UNRWA’s mandate remains under the
exclusive authority of the General Assembly, in accordance with
international law and General Assembly Resolution 194, and is not
subject to political conditionality imposed by any external body,
including the BoP:
Invoke the “Uniting for Peace” mechanism
We
call upon the PLO, the Arab League, and the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation to invoke the “Uniting for Peace” mechanism by convening an
emergency special session of the General Assembly under Resolution 377,
in order to recommend collective measures in response to ongoing
violations of international law, obstruction of UN operations, and grave
breaches of peremptory norms by the Israeli regime.
Article 6 of the UN Charter
We
call upon Member States to initiate procedures under Article 6 of the
UN Charter concerning the Israeli regime for persistent and grave
violations of the Charter, and to ensure the immediate restoration of
full, unhindered operational capacity of UNRWA across the Gaza Strip and
the West Bank, including Jerusalem, in accordance with General Assembly
Resolution 302 (IV), with guaranteed protection for its facilities,
personnel, and humanitarian operations.
Guarantee UNRWA’s mandate and operational access
We call upon member states and civil society to pressure to ensure
UNRWA’s unrestricted access to Gaza and the occupied Palestinian
territory, secure its facilities and personnel, and provide sustained,
unconditional funding to enable the Agency to fulfil its mandate under
UN General Assembly Resolutions 194 and 302 without political
interference. https://badil.org/press-releases/16914.html
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