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STORY: UN / UNRWA HUMANITARIAN PROTECTION
TRT: 05:09
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 26 JULY 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN Headquarters
26 JULY 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonia Marie De Meo, Deputy Commissioner-General for Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA):
“On July 22nd, Israel’s parliament approved in first reading three draft legislative bills related to UNRWA: one seeking to ban UNRWA operations in occupied East Jerusalem; a second seeking to revoke UN privileges and immunities afforded to UNRWA since 1949; and a third designating UNRWA a terrorist organization.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonia Marie De Meo, Deputy Commissioner-General for Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA):
“These bills make a travesty of the multilateral responsibilities of Member States. They erode the very foundations of international law and multilateral norms.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonia Marie De Meo, Deputy Commissioner-General for Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA):
“If these bills pass – which could happen as early as next week – the ramifications will be dire and immediate: They will put all UNRWA staff and the General Assembly mandate in direct danger. And while UNRWA will face the impacts today, make no mistake: the entire UN system around the world will feel the impacts tomorrow. We cannot afford this to become a new standard for future humanitarian operations in conflict zones across the world.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonia Marie De Meo, Deputy Commissioner-General for Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA):
“Together we must push back against calls to dismantle the Agency. UNRWA is targeted because of its role in safeguarding the rights of Palestine Refugees, and because it embodies the international community’s commitment to a just and lasting political solution. UNRWA exists because a political solution does not. It exists because a Palestinian State that can deliver public services in its place does not.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonia Marie De Meo, Deputy Commissioner-General for Operational Support, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA):
“UNRWA must continue providing services until a political solution is at hand. There is no credible alternative to UNRWA in Gaza and across the region. We need political and financial support now more than ever to continue in our vital task of serving one of the most vulnerable communities in the world. And we hope that this Council will speak out in one voice against attacks – legislative or otherwise – on the Agency.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“UNRWA has been shouldering the burden of this crisis. The campaign against UNRWA, attacks against its premises, and legislative efforts to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization to end its operations – are utterly unacceptable and endanger our operations.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“Today the UN is not in a position to provide the necessary assistance to the people in Gaza, let alone to scale up, unless specific factors are in place. The enabling factors required for humanitarian operations are not new. First and foremost, we need protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure including protection of all humanitarian staff and assets.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Muhannad Hadi, Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, United Nations:
“The United Nations, and our partners in Gaza, will never give up. We will continue to provide desperately needed assistance. But we need a safe enabling environment to do so.”
18. Wide shot, Security Council
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Palestine:
“Humanitarians in Palestine are trying to deliver on their noble mission in impossible circumstances and at the peril of their life. Our support should match their courage. UNRWA remains under attack. The baseless and shameless terrorism charge against a UN humanitarian agency are no longer a talking point but a license to kill.”
20. Wide shot, Security Council
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Gilad Erdan, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Israel:
“Where is the meeting demanding the return of our hostages? Without their immediate and unconditional release, there is no hope for peace and security. When the brutalities of Iran and its proxies are dismissed, Israel must take its future into its own hands. We will continue to carry out the necessary operations to defeat Hamas, along with anyone who attack attacks our citizens.”
22. Wide shot, Security Council
The Security Council met today (26 Jul) to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the legislation in the Israeli Knesset concerning the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Antonia Marie de Meo, the Deputy Commissioner General of UNRWA, noted the ongoing review by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) of the allegations made against UNRWA.
De Meo said UNRWA is targeted because of its role in safeguarding Palestinian refugees.
She said that UNRWA must continue to provide services until a credible solution for Israel and Palestine is at hand.
She warned that the bills before the Knesset on UNRWA make “a travesty of the multilateral responsibilities of Member States. They erode the very foundations of international law and multilateral norms.”
If these bills pass, she said, they will put all UNRWA staff and the Agency’s General Assembly mandate in direct danger.
Muhannad Hadi, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator dealing with the Palestinian territories, said that UNRWA has been shouldering the burden of this crisis.
The campaign against UNRWA, attacks against its premises, and legislative efforts to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization to end its operations are “utterly unacceptable and endanger our operations,” he said.
He reiterated, “The United Nations and our partners in Gaza, will never give up. We will continue to provide desperately needed assistance. But we need a safe enabling environment to do so.”
Also addressing the Council, Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations, said, “Humanitarians in Palestine are trying to deliver on their noble mission in impossible circumstances and at the peril of their life. Our support should match their courage. UNRWA remains under attack. The baseless and shameless terrorism charge against a UN humanitarian agency are no longer a talking point but a license to kill.”
Gilad Erdan, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, said, “Where is the meeting demanding the return of our hostages? Without their immediate and unconditional release, there is no hope for peace and security. When the brutalities of Iran and its proxies are dismissed, Israel must take its future into its own hands. We will continue to carry out the necessary operations to defeat Hamas, along with anyone who attack attacks our citizens.”
