NEW YORK, November 4, 2009 (WAFA)- The 'success' of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the last 60 years could also be interpreted as a measure of the collective failure to resolve the political question that had led to the refugee crisis in the first place, Indonesia's representative told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) as it continued its general debate on the work of that Agency Tuesday.
The irony remained that UNRWA's continued existence as an institution was the clearest and most direct evidence that, in the past 60 years, the international community, and particularly the Security Council, should have done more to bring the Palestinian issue to an end, he said.
The fact that UNRWA, an agency instituted to provide short-term refugee support, had become a long-term Palestinian mainstay, was the clearest possible measure of how much progress had not been made in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He went on to say that Israeli determination to continue such 'obnoxious' policies as illegal settlements, construction of the separation wall and the restriction of the rights of the Palestinian people, was the greatest obstacle to the establishment of a physically viable, sovereign and independent Palestinian State, and thus, to the achievement of peace. The international community must raise its voice and rise in cooperation to ensure that Israel stopped those inhumane policies, which jeopardized negotiations and the prospects for peace.
Along those lines, Lebanon's representative said that, while UNRWA's funding shortfall was rightfully a primary concern, the international community must remain focused on eliminating the need for the Agency altogether. The issue of Palestinian refugees was a political one and not just a humanitarian concern, he added, and it must be solved through the right of the refugees to return, in accordance with the principles of international law, as a prerequisite for a comprehensive and just peace in the Middle East.
However, delegations stressed that, until such a peace could be achieved, UNRWA's mandate was still necessary. Senegal's representative said that the Palestinians' suffering, sacrifice and perseverance in the face of adversity had no parallel in contemporary history. He highlighted the brave odyssey of the Palestinians, who continued to endure a degradation that was unjustifiable and morally unacceptable. It was urgent to address UNRWA's lack of resources, and he called on all donors to ensure regular and sufficient financing for its programmes and to demonstrate solidarity in response to the refugees' needs.
