Remarks by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini at the Opening of the UNRWA-EU Gaza Photo Exhibition

Brussels

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to join Mayor Philippe Close and Commissioner Hadja Lahbib to open this exhibition featuring the extraordinary work of UNRWA photographers in Gaza.

I am especially grateful to Commissioner Lahbib and DG ECHO for collaborating on this exhibition and for their steadfast political and financial support to Palestine Refugees and UNRWA.

Last year, ECHO contributed 26.2 million EUR towards emergency assistance across UNRWA's fields of operation.

This contribution, together with that of the Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, make the European Union UNRWA's largest and most reliable partner.

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For more than two years, my colleagues in Gaza have borne witness to the horrors visited upon some two million people - half of them children.

Through relentless bombardment, repeated displacement, and the loss of their own families, they have painstakingly documented - in photographs, videos and written testimony - the campaign to decimate Gaza and erase its people.

Their vital work entails enormous risks, as evidenced by the targeted killing of journalists amid a continuing ban on independent international media entering Gaza.

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The suffering captured in the photographs exhibited here today is not a thing of the past.

Even as we enter a new phase of the peace plan, Gaza's battered population has found little respite.

They still lack adequate shelter, nutrition and sanitation.

They still lack sufficient access to healthcare and education.

They are still unable to find and bury their dead.

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For decades, UNRWA has helped the people of Gaza to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of violence and destruction.

And contrary to pernicious disinformation, we continue to do so today.

UNRWA currently delivers approximately 40% of all primary healthcare in Gaza, providing up to 18,000 medical consultations each day.

We support public health through immunization campaigns, nutrition screenings and water quality testing.

Our water wells, desalination systems, and waste management services benefit hundreds of thousands of people.

We conduct in-person learning for some 60,000 children, and support nearly 300,000 children through online learning platforms.

The video we watched reminds me of my first visit to Rafah after the war began.

Thousands of people were sheltering in UNRWA schools.

In one school, I met a little girl, the same age as my own children.

She pleaded with me for a sip of water and a piece of bread.

The school where she used to learn and play had become a frightening, chaotic place.

Education has always been a source of tremendous pride for Palestinians - it is the only asset from which they have not, until now, been dispossessed.

It should be our collective priority to bring children in Gaza back to learning, to address trauma, foster hope, and prevent radicalization.

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UNRWA's expertise, capacity, and deep reserves of community trust are essential for Gaza's recovery and a political path forward in the occupied Palestinian territory.

However, the Agency's ability to operate is seriously undermined by fierce political and legislative attacks.

More than 380 colleagues have been killed in Gaza, and most of our premises have been damaged or destroyed.

Our supplies are barred from entering the enclave and international staff have effectively been expelled from Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Last month, the Israeli authorities passed new legislation to cut water and electricity to UNRWA premises in occupied East Jerusalem.

They also stormed and demolished UNRWA's headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah, which was subsequently set on fire and looted.

These actions undermine the massive investment of the international community, including the European Union, in the human development and rights of Palestine Refugees over the last 75 years.

They are also gross violations of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.

I reiterate my call for accountability and a robust international response in defense of the rules-based order and our shared commitment to Palestine Refugees.

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The devastating impact of the political attacks on UNRWA is compounded by a grave financial crisis.

It has forced the Agency to reduce its health and education services by 20% this year, not only in the occupied Palestinian territory, but also in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

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It is impossible to overstate the criticality of the political and financial support provided to UNRWA by the European Union.

Without this support, it would be impossible for the Agency to continue delivering essential services.

Faced with prolonged political crises and profound insecurity, the women, children and men featured in this exhibition - and millions more like them - are increasingly turning to UNRWA for protection and assistance.

The Agency relies, in turn, on the solidarity and support of our European partners.

Today, we are at a critical juncture for Palestine Refugees and the question of Palestine.

I appeal to EU Member States, and the public, to sustain UNRWA so we can continue providing public-like services within a political framework, until these services can be delivered by empowered and prepared Palestinian institutions.

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I spoke earlier about the suffering manifested in the photographs of this exhibition.

Indeed, grief and loss have spared no one in Gaza.

But there is also hope - especially in the children, who still smile for a photograph and are so eager to return to learning and play.

I hope that this exhibition will convey how much is at stake, and serve as an urgent call to action in support of Palestine Refugees and UNRWA.

Thank you.