UNRWA Commissioner-General: There remains an opportunity and international responsibility to act to protect Palestinian rights

Cairo, Sept 7 (KUNA) -- The Acting Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Christian Saunders, called for international action to protect the Palestinian people and to ensure the continued operation of international institutions supporting their human rights, particularly UNRWA.

Speaking at the meeting of the 166th session of the Arab Foreign Ministers Council, which opened today, Monday, at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo, Saunders said that the opportunity has not yet closed for action to protect the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people, to support the institutions that serve them, and to preserve the possibility of achieving a just and lasting peace.

He added that the opportunity remains to act in order to respect international law, protect the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people, and sustain the institutions providing services to the Palestinian people.

He stressed that “what is required is not merely calls for aid, but taking responsibility toward the Palestinian people, their cause, and their rights,” pointing to the anxiety surrounding the future of millions of Palestinian refugees.

He considered that the decisions and steps taken at present “will largely determine the contours of this future,” noting the decline in UNRWA’s activities in the occupied Palestinian territories due to funding shortages and the escalation of practices and violations committed by the occupation authorities against the Agency’s offices and staff.

He pointed out that services provided by UNRWA in its five areas of operation have been affected, particularly health and educational services for millions of Palestinian refugees, and called for closing the funding gap in the Agency’s budget. (End) M.M.