Meeting with the Commissioner General of UNRWA

On Friday, May 14, a meeting was hosted at Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Madrid with Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner General of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ).

The event, introduced by Pedro Martínez-Avial, the General Director of Casa Árabe, was attended by the Ambassadors of Palestine, Jordan and the Arab League, as well as representatives of the academic community, political parties and the specialized press.

The meeting addressed the extreme challenges faced by Palestinian refugees as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the impoverishment of this population, which has been exacerbated by decades of a blockade, and above all in light of the current crisis, producing extreme violence and resulting damage to two UNRWA schools.

Lazzarini spoke of the severe financial crisis endured by the Agency as of 2018, posing an existential threat by late 2020, and about how the reinstatement of the US as a donor, under the new Biden administration, will provide a bit of respite despite the $150 million shortfall UNRWA still faces. He also expressed concern about the smear campaigns surrounding its educational programs within European parliaments and the US Congress.  

Nevertheless, the Commissioner General pointed out that the lessons learned as a result of Covid-19 have shown that the modus operandi can be adjusted, and that the UNRWA’s strength lies in the fact that its employees originate from within the Palestinian community, thus contributing to the agility delivery of services. As for the future, there are opportunities to modernize its services and take better advantage of digital platforms. This fall, a conference will foreseeably be hosted by the governments of Jordan and Sweden to seek new support for balance in terms of the financial burden required.

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, are majorly dependent upon the UNRWA’s services, and therefore 2021 will bring clear challenges for the Agency, including a lack of funding for national Covid-19 vaccination campaigns, as well as efforts to continue to protect the mandate and rights of Palestine refugees.