Informal meeting of the plenary to hear a briefing on UNRWA, 79th session

Ambassador Harold Agyeman
Ghana’s Representative to the United Nations
General Assembly, United Nations HQ
November 06 2024

INFORMAL PLENARY MEETING OF THE  UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Briefing on the united nations relief and works agency

I thank you, President, for convening this informal plenary meeting of the General Assembly. I also thank Philippe Lazzarine for his briefing.

For 74 years, and since the 1948 war, this Assembly has kept faith with the refugees of Palestine, whose normal place of residence, prior to their displacement, was Palestine. Today, by the State act of the occupying power, that commitment has been placed at risk for many and Agency’s services to Palestinian refugees in the areas of education, healthcare, relief and social services blunted by the intention to implement a withdrawal of cooperation.

For Ghana, this forced state of affairs cannot be acceptable and the role of UNRWA must be sustained in support of its indispensable role for Palestinian refugees, for as long as the Palestinian refugee problem remains unresolved.

We share in the strong concerns expressed by the Secretary-General in his correspondence to the Israeli government and foresee that the attempt to obstruct UNRWA would have devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees, especially those in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

While the withdrawal of cooperation by the State of Israel with UNRWA is said to apply within its sovereign territory, we remain unconvinced of any justifiable grounds for such a decision. It cannot be right that the whole organisation of UNRWA which for many years has carried out necessary and vital work in accordance with the mandate of this Organisation would be smeared with allegations based on the affiliation of some personnel of the organisation to Hamas and its militant and violent activities. To accept such an argumentation would be to accept that the actions of any national of any State should every time be deemed as State responsibility. We however urge UNRWA to continue to strengthen its integrity systems.

Mr. President,
It is regrettable that from the early days of UNRWA when the occupying power was a cooperative partner, we have arrived at this turn of events. In the face of the systematic decimation of the facilities of UNRWA in Gaza as well as the unprecedented killing of 239 UNRWA personnel since 7th October 2023, the latest attempt by the Israeli government appears to strongly suggest a final solution to dismantle any remaining pillar of hope for the present concerns and prospective sustainable future of the Palestinian people. We urge the government of the Occupying Power to choose a different path as this course of action runs contrary to the clear views of the international community on how Palestinian refugees should be treated.

Also, we must perforce remind the occupying power of its existing obligations under international law, including for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, inclusive of East Jerusalem. We note in this regard that under international law, relevant resolutions of the United Nations, and by the judicial decisions of the International Court of Justice, the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem does not constitute a part of the sovereign realms of the State of Israel.

In closing, Ghana reiterates its support for the full, unhindered and unfette

red implementation of the mandate of UNRWA and salute the efforts of its staff. In light of the present challenges, we call for an unambiguous response by this Assembly in a manner that supports, politically and financially, the objectives of UNRWA on behalf of the Palestinian refugees.

Ghana holds that the resolution of the question of the refugees of Palestine cannot be resolved through unilateral measures or actions and is inextricably linked to the Palestinian question. We therefore reiterate our call for an immediate and unconditional cessation of the present hostilities, the release of all the remaining 101 hostages, the unhindered facilitation of humanitarian assistance at scale, and, subsequently, the reactivation of dialogue for a political horizon and the achievement of the two-State solution.

I thank you, President.