UNITED NATIONS: With only two days before Israel bans operations of UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, Pakistan has warned that the move would cripple humanitarian work in war-shattered Gaza and undermine the ceasefire in the enclave.

“For over seven decades, UNRWA has been a beacon of hope for millions of Palestinian refugees across the region,” Ambassador Munir Akram, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told 15-member Security Council’s meeting convened on Tuesday to address the difficult situation that the agency is facing.

With its extensive network of schools, healthcare facilities and humanitarian services, he said UNRWA remains indispensable in providing life-saving assistance, the resumption of education for children and the provision of healthcare for the suffering Palestinians, pointing out that it would also be critical for Gaza’s reconstruction.

UNRWA’s viability and survival were being threatened by the implementation of last October’s Israeli legislation banning the agency’s activities, the Pakistani envoy said, adding that the move violates the UN Charter, international law and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

“Israel has no right as the occupying power to close down any UN facility, in particular UNRWA office, in East Jerusalem or any other UN international facility established in the Occupied Palestinian Territory under the mandate of the United Nations,” Ambassador Akram said while expressing “unwavering support” to the agency.

“Israel’s allegations against UNRWA have not been established,” he said, referring to the report by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, who was commissioned by the UN Secretary-General to look into the matter.

He said UNRWA and its “heroic” personnel have continued to operate within Gaza in the face of direct attacks against them in which 270 of them perished.

By targeting UNRWA, he said, Israel seeks to dismantle the structures that are critical to providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people but also to erode the identity of Palestinian people and the rights they possess.

Israel is obligated under Article 2(5) of the UN Charter to assist UNRWA in its work, and a General Assembly resolution further underscores this obligation and condemns Israeli measures that obstruct its operations, it was pointed out.

Opening the debate, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the Israeli legislation “makes a mockery of international law” and imposes massive constraints. “We are determined, however, to stay and deliver until it is no longer possible to do so,” he said.

On the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ambassador Akram also told the Security Council that there was no military solution to the conflict and the focus must now turn to dialogue between the parties, as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took control of Goma, the largest city in the country’s East.

“We call on Rwanda and the DRC to cease hostilities and to immediately revive the Luanda process of dialogue under the mediatory leadership of President Joao Lourenco of Angola,” he emphasised at the emergency meeting.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2025