Targeting UNRWA is 'attack on the General Assembly', Turkiye's UN envoy says
November 6, 2024
Ahmet Yildiz, Permanent Representative of Turkiye to the United Nations (UN) speaks during the first day of UN General Assembly’s emergency special session on Palestine at United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States on September 17, 2024 [Selçuk Acar/Anadolu Agency]
Turkiye’s envoy to the UN, Ahmet Yildiz, on Wednesday denounced Israel’s ban on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), stressing that it “must be viewed as an attack on the General Assembly itself”, Anadolu Agency reports.
Emphasizing the aid agency’s critical role in providing essential support to Palestinian refugees, Yildiz said at a UN General Assembly session that “UNRWA has been a lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees” since its establishment in 1949.
Yildiz condemned Israel’s actions, including recent Israeli legislation banning the Agency, which he described as “a direct and imminent threat” to UNRWA’s operations, particularly in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
“These measures violate Israel’s obligations under the UN Charter, the convention on the privileges and immunities of UN, the International Court of Justice’s provision rulings on genocide prevention in Gaza, the General Assembly’s mandate for UNRWA and other binding international legal commitments,” he said.
He also condemned attacks on UNRWA staff and facilities, calling them “unacceptable”.
Israel has repeatedly equated UNRWA staff with Hamas members in efforts to discredit them, providing no proof of the claims, while lobbying hard to have UNRWA closed as it is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate to look after the basic needs of Palestinian refugees. If the agency no longer exists, argues Israel, then the refugee issue must no longer exist, and the legitimate right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land will be unnecessary. Israel has denied that right of return since the late 1940s, even though its own membership of the UN was made conditional upon Palestinian refugees being allowed to return to their homes and land.
“An attack on UNRWA must be viewed as an attack on the General Assembly itself,” he said, adding that “it is now incumbent upon us as member states to stand firmly against any attempts to dismantle UNRWA, a body established by a UN General Assembly resolution and crucial to achieving justice and peace to Palestinian refugees.”
Yildiz reaffirmed Turkiye’s continued support of UNRWA’s work, both politically and financially, as the Chair of the UNRWA financing working group.