UNRWA Press conference 31 March 2026

[Other language spoken]

Welcome to the press conference of Philippe Ladarini, the Commissioner General of UNRWA.

[Other language spoken]

I would like to thank Mr Ladarini so very much.

He is a friend of the Geneva Press Corps and he has accepted to give us the last press conference of his tenure.

So I'd like to thank him very much, say how privileged we've been to work with him all these years.

And I'd like to give him the floor now for introductory remarks and then we will open the floor to questions.

[Other language spoken]

I should have known this, in fact.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you so much, Alessandra.

And thank you all for joining the press briefing today and also for the interest you have constantly shown in Palestinian refugees and in the agency I was leading.

Anwar, later this morning after this press conference, I will be briefing member states on the immense challenges facing the agency.

As you know, earlier this month I wrote to the President of the General Assembly that Olwa is nearing the end of its viability.

I also recalled in this letter how in December 2023 I reported the killing of 130 personnel and predicted the killing of many mores.

But at that time I did not imagine that the number of colleagues killed would tripled, now reaching more than 390.

Many others have sustained life changing injuries or have been arbitrarily detained and tortured.

Hundreds of onward premises in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

Israeli authority are also increasingly pressuring UN entities to stop working with the agency.

You also know that the Parliament of Israel has adopted legislation to to end the Agency's presence in occupied E Jerusalem.

Armed police forcibly shut our school and health facilities, and local authorities cut electricity and water to on premises.

The UNRWA headquarters in Sharjah was seized, looted and set on fire, with senior Israeli official celebrating the destruction in widely published video footage.

We even had a deputy mayor of Jerusalem who called for UNRWA personnel to be annihilated.

These attacks are unprecedented in the eight years history of the United Nations.

They violate international law as recognised by the International Court of Justice and erode the United Nation Charter.

A well orchestrated disinformation campaign continues.

It alleges agency wide neutrality breaches an assert that our operation have been replaced in Gaza where UNWA remains as of today a major provider of primary healthcare, education, clean water, sanitation and hygiene.

The purpose of this unsubstantiated and malicious claims is to justify actions against UNWAR and to undermine Member States support.

We are now seeing similar claims being made against other UN entities and international NGOs assisting Palestinian Palestinian in Gaza.

I cannot stress enough that the attacks against UNRWA are not about neutrality or operationality.

Rather they seek to undermine the agency to weaken Palestinians right within final status issues in the Israel Palestine conflict.

[Other language spoken]

UNWA does not have a political mandate, but it is intrinsic to protecting Palestinian rights in final statute determination through its direct provision of public like services and through its registration of refugees and archives documenting documenting their historical displacement.

In April 2025, to help Member State to respond to Unrwa's challenges, the Secretary General commissioned A strategic assessment.

It concluded that UNRWA is key to regional peace and security but faces collapse.

The assessment urged member states to reinforce support to Unrwa's operation or to support a transition for the provision of its essential public like services.

Despite the Secretary General appeal to for urgent action, there have been no follow up in in November 2025, at the General's Assembly Force Committee meeting on renewing Onwal's mandate, I underlined that it would be insufficient to extend the mandate without also providing adequate political and financial support on December 5th, 2025.

Last December, the mandate as you know was renewed for three years, but Onwal's situation has only worsened since then.

Since 2019, the agency operates with a negative cash flow.

Following years of chronic on the funding.

The suspension of funding in 2024 by two major donors, including the agency largest contributor, left a gapping horn in our finances.

This direct financial situation was compounded by a 90% drop in funding provided by Arab states between 2024 and 2025.

Significant austerity measure implemented last year have not been enough to address the cash flow shortfall and it pains me because I have been compelled to reduce service delivery hours and therefore salaries for most of our local staff by 20% and without significant new funding, additional painful measure will be required this year.

Today, on what remains the largest, best established, most cost effective UN human turn and development presence in the region, I have urged Member States to leverage onwards workforce and expertise in Gaza as key asset for the successful implementation of Security Council Resolution 2803A.

Disorderly collapse of the Agency would fuel insecurity, placing the full responsibility for delivering services to Palestinian refugees in the OPT on Israel as the occupying power and placing an enormous burden on Lebanon, Syria and Jordan as host countries.

So reflecting on the past 2 1/2 years, I'm appalled that despite Unrwa's Christian rule, the Agency has not been adequately protected by the international community.

The abject failure to muster an effective multilateral and international law based response to the war in Gaza has set the stage for a war outside the bounds of international law that is now spreading across and beyond the Middle East.

It has normalised disdain for the rules based international order.

The attack on United Nation personnel and premises in the OPT must not go unanswered.

We cannot allow impunity to further undermine the United Nation and the future of multilateral action.

The question Member States must answer are clear, and which I will raise again today.

Are they going to stand up for just political solution for the OPT and for Palestinian refugees?

Are they going to stand up for international law as called for by the International Court of Justice?

Are they going to stand up for the United Nations, including for UNRWA on one?

The wider United Nations system can do a lot and have done a lot, but we need the support of Member State if we are to succeed.

If Member State cannot find the consensus for collective action, the consequences will be catastrophic for a generation or more.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Philippe.

Thank you so much for this introductory remarks.

And before I open the floor to questions, I'd like to also introduce Kristel Eunice, who is the new, well, not SUNU anymore, Director of the UNRWA office here in Geneva, an office which has been opened recently so that you meet Kristel and she will be there also to answer your questions, support your work.

So I'll open the floor to question now who would like to start.

[Other language spoken]

I had a question about the future of Unruh itself.

It was created as a a temporary agency initially.

I'm just wondering if the the mandate itself of UNDRA should potentially change since we've we're getting to serve what you yourself has described potentially a collapse is there.

Do you think that perhaps there may be more of a future if UNDRA becomes potentially a, a development agency as opposed to providing for just the, the Palestinian refugees?

[Other language spoken]

I think on the way forward I I have been quite explicit recently again with the Member States and in my letter to the GA where basically I'm calling for the agency to retrieve its temporary nature and to be part of, to be part of the solution within a political process.

I have requested that the Agency, I would say workforce expertise, Community Trust, be considered as a asset for the implementation of Resolution 28 or 3.

That we safeguard the operational space, that critical services continue to be delivered.

While at the same time the Agency would also be involved in building the future Palestinian institution, which at the end of a political process would become in fact the recipient of the Agency activities.

I don't think that the solution in the future is to create another agency or development agency, by the way, unwise, primarily focusing on the human development of the Palestinian refugees and otherwise within the broader UN system.

We have in fact UNDP, for example, as a key development UN agencies.

So what what what basically I'm calling for is let's retrieve the temporary nurture.

But for that we need a genuine political process.

And for that we need a genuine commitment that we will building up future Palestinian institution being empowered to take over.

[Other language spoken]

Thanks for doing this briefing, and it's nice to see you again.

I was wondering first, the Israeli parliament yesterday approved a bill allowing for the execution of Palestinians, specifically in the West Bank.

You're convicted of terror charges for deadly attacks.

So I'm wondering, you know, how you see that your reaction to that and how you see that in the broader context.

And you're mentioning the, the, the possible collapse of of UNERWA.

I'm wondering how, how quickly you think that could could actually happen if, if there isn't a swift reaction.

[Other language spoken]

You, you know, the first part of the question, of course, like many other have been absolutely appalled by this object alone, which I really hope would be rejected by the Supreme Court.

I think I'm, I'm not aware of democratic countries reinstating this penalty.

We are more used to having countries abolishing this penalties.

And in top of that, this would be an extraordinary discriminatory law because it's it would basically target only one category of the population.

On your second question, it all depends on, I think, how fast will be the implementation of the peace plan when it comes to Gaza.

We have seen that, you know, entering into stage 2 has been stalled over the last few weeks.

The situation in Gaza has been overshadowed by the war right now in Iran.

But the real question is when will, when will this start?

And with this, this framework, how, what will be the given space to an agency like ours?

As of today, what I can say is that against all odds, the agency has expanded its activities in Gaza, especially when it comes to public health and in public health, it's Primary Health, vaccination campaign, access to clean water, waste management to prevent commonly common disease.

And we have also focused a lot on education.

I believe that this should be a common top priorities to bring back into learning environment the hundreds of thousands girls and boys currently living in the rubble and being deeply traumatised.

Now the agency has after all the austerity measure of last year plus the decision taken to reduce the volume of it activities by 20%.

We have now a visibility which would need the agency up to September.

Meanwhile, I you know, the, the engagement with the member States to support the agency and here we, we have to be clear, the objective is to keep sustained access to critical services for the population.

Somehow we as an agency have to enter into a transitional mindset and ensure that we have a soft landing.

And for having a soft landing that means a proper future recipient.

So somehow the future of the agency is very much intertwined with the future of what the political solution will will be in in the coming in the coming months or coming years.

It's very difficult to predict a timing because it all depends on who will step in or who will drop.

In fact, the support of of the agency.

We are extremely exposed to, you know, also domestic political dynamic, which will after that dictate if a country will keep increase or stop the support of the agency.

[Other language spoken]

Respected A pique legends Juan fete a role and programme is on over the two processes politics, for example, or called the der Nerzane unabated threat reactive not totally discussion the global alliance for the two state solution initiative money par like Mr robbian in the habit.

Saudi Declaration of the New York Donna Francois as the project is the successor of US party to the politics.

On on his relation on on their own no no cap on their own politics person to have near effective more than pay donate Europe who present the contribution bilateral sell the Commission tradition and more yeah, you commissioners general venal the rapper may passion more you know those exception don't don't.

I want to find the day Whisker nomination, Vietra lessee or successor.

And York, Emma Farge, Reuters Good morning, Commissioner General, 2 questions, please.

I would like to hear your reading of why Stage 2 is taking so long and what it means for the lives of Palestinians, people who still can't get the supplies they need to rebuild their lives.

And secondly, given the scale of loss for UNRWA in Gaza, 390 at least you said, do you think the UN should have a, a special memorial to commemorate those people?

I was thinking of the Canal Hotel in 2003 where there's a memorial and there were far fewer people killed.

Have you made any efforts in that regard?

[Other language spoken]

Why is the Palestinian community, which has been designated two months ago, is still not in Gaza?

I don't know this, you know, for the time being what, what, what we know is that very little has been implemented so far when it comes to issues related to rule, rule and rule and order, security deployment of, you know, super supervisory forces.

But what does it mean for the people in Gaza?

I mean, more misery, no doubt about this.

We talk about a ceasefire, which seems to be a ceasefire by name.

More than six hundred, 650 people have been killed.

The daily secretary incident.

People are still living in the rubble in Gaza.

They're still queuing hours every day to have access to proper clean water.

There is very little prospect to rejoice in Gaza today, so it's it remains extremely grim and the more the implementation of the next stage will be stalled, the more desperate people in Gaza will be.

We should also never forget that Gaza was already overcrowded before and today the entire population is kept in half Gaza Strip.

We have this new yellow line, which I mean, it's supposed to be a temporary, but as we know in the region, whatever starts temporary has a tendency to last.

And question is how long will it last?

When it comes to the second question, there haven't been yet.

There have been discussion about the memorial, but it has not yet taken shape per SE.

There have been quite a number of discussion also about putting in place a fact finding, a high level fact finding committee to identify what happened and responsibilities.

Because we are talking about an extraordinary high number of staff having been killed and we are talking about an extraordinary high percentage of a premises having been damaged and completely destroyed in, in in Gaza.

Part of the reason why this has not operationalised yet is because there is still an ongoing conflict.

And on the conflict, you know the number continue to increase.

Then we haven't agreed yet on where such a memorial should be located or not located.

Canal Hotel was a one event.

[Other language spoken]

So it's I would say the the, the thoughts and the thinking are slightly different.

But but the short answer is yes, it is being discussed, but it has not been yet finalised.

Thank you very much, Isabel.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for this press conference, for the clarity, for the audience, because sometimes it's difficult to understand how within this hostile environment, Umrah can be still being, as you said, the major provider of health education and other basic services with a law that prohibits its its work, the attacks, the looting of their installations and others.

So how, how it works that you can still be in this this so important major provider in, in this environment and in the middle of of that prohibition of its work.

Secondly, you said, I think maybe I am wrong, but you did you say that the Arab countries decrease their contributions to UNRWA.

If it's that, could you explain this please?

And if can you also talk a little bit about the situation in West Bank, which is very, very serious, very grave.

So please thank you.

Let let me start with the West Bank.

It it is true that the situation is on the reported some people are talking about, you know kind of a silence war unfolding set of violence goes unabated in total impunity.

We have seen acceleration of settlement activities security operation have led over the last year to one of the biggest displacement of population since 1967.

So the, the situation there is an atmosphere of fear and angst prevailing, prevailing in, in in the West Bank with basically checkpoints having mushroomed all over the the territory when it comes to Gaza, That's a good question.

But we have to go back to the nature of the activity of the agency.

It is true that on one hand, Israel and others would like to say Anwar has been replaced.

[Other language spoken]

Because if you look at through the lens of food assistance in Gaza, it is true that envoy is not bringing convoys into Gaza anymore because we are prevented.

We are prevented for more than 18 months.

But the activities we are providing primarily are public like services, our services.

So our resources, what we provide to the population is primarily expertise either through the health, public health system or through education.

So in Gaza, we still have today 100,500 staff who all are from the community, live with the community and they are nurses and they will remain nurse whether supplies coming, whether food supply is coming in or not.

They will continue to provide daily consultation for primary healthcare.

So that's the reason why our colleagues, against all odds have been able in fact to expand their activities in Gaza despite all all the constraint we are confronted with.

You, you heard correctly.

Yes, I the contribution of the Arab state between 24 and 25 have significantly dropped by 90%.

We had a very generous peak in 2024, end of 2324.

Part of it is being explained by the fact that the agency cannot bring supply into Gaza and usually Arab state with funding either to construction of schools or healthcare centre or human turn, urgent human turn response in Gaza.

So a lot of logistic and indeed the agency is spending much less when it comes to this type of activities and traditionally the Arab countries were not supporting the regular budget of the agency.

There are historical reason behind it, but I also believe that between 2425 and today, the reluctance to translate the political support into resources while the agencies confronted to existential threat might also be related to the broader, you know, political environment we are all in today.

We have an US administration which has clearly stopped and ended the supporter to the agency and the other countries.

I'm wondering if it is a good idea or not to be seen as supporting the agency.

Thank you very much.

I'd seen another hand.

You have a follow up, Paula, could you, could you describe a little bit the potential footholds that the Israeli approved aid aid groups have now in in Gaza?

And then I was just wondering if Miss Yunus can explain a little bit the role that's that you have here in Geneva, what what you're doing, please?

[Other language spoken]

There are a number of eight groups that Israel has approved a very short list apparently.

And I was just wondering what to what degree they they are present in, in Gaza.

I, I cannot comment on that because I don't know which list you are referring to and with into this list.

But what I can tell you is that none of these NGOs has a capacity to substitute to the absence of functioning public services, whether previous PA activities or the providing, you know, accredited schooling to 100 of 1000 girls and boys in the Gaza Strip.

And again, if, if the question is related about the future of the agency, there is a very simple answer.

Let's generally commit to a political solution and to building up empowered and capacitated future Palestinian institution.

And that's the way we will resolve.

[Other language spoken]

Sorry, sorry.

Do you want me to respond to the Yeah, please on the on the part of Geneva?

Yes, thank you very much.

Very quickly, the office in Geneva is meant to be a representation and a humanitarian diplomacy really office for UNRWA here.

We have been subjected in the past couple of years to major campaigns of disinformation and have found it very important to engage with Member states, different stakeholders, the humanitarian community here, the Human Rights Council, etcetera, to really discuss the role.

The key role, as the Commissioner General has mentioned, that UNRWA continues to play in the OPT itself, including through our 11,500 staff in Gaza, 4500 staff in the West Bank and of course our role with Palestine refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

It's also essential for us to be part of the discussions around the humanitarian reset and the future of the humanitarian and and development multilateral role that the UN is playing.

Gaza has been at the forefront of discussions on the relevance of international humanitarian law and on the future of multilateralism.

And UNRWA has a very unique voice and and perspective on this that we felt is very important to convey in Geneva.

[Other language spoken]

And we are happy to have you with us.

Sorry.

I've said two and I've got three hands now.

[Other language spoken]

Nick coming, Bruce to the New York Times.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for the briefing.

[Other language spoken]

And you're referring to the possibility of some kind of inquiry into the circumstances of the death of this very extraordinarily high number of UN people, nearly 400.

Where where does that sit at the moment?

At what level of support has it got?

Would that come out of the SGS office?

Would that come from OHCHR?

Would that come from the Commission of inquiry on OPT?

How do you see that being pursued?

Because, I mean, yeah, nearly 400 people killed.

It's difficult to see how the UN can let that pass without some form of response.

[Other language spoken]

I the short answer, I don't know about where this where we stand with this when it comes to OHHR or the Commission of inquiry.

I primarily had this discussion with the SG officer, but also with the Member States in New York.

It has also been regularly in my call to member of the Secretary Council or to the GAIII believe that we need to have a panel, A Commission, high level panel of experts to look into indeed the the killing, but not the killing of our staff, not just on war, but of the UN because there have been other colleagues who have been also killed.

And we have to look also into the extraordinary large scale destruction of the agency or UN premises in in Gaza.

Question is when is the right time to start this?

As you know, everything in this context is polarised and, and, and, and, and, and of course, the more time goes, the more difficult the task for the Commission will be in the future.

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, Reuters, Emma, if I'm allowed one more.

[Other language spoken]

It's sort of related to Jeremy's question about leadership of UNRAG going forward.

And I understand you have a number two from the United States and that this is somewhat of a tradition within the organisation.

I'm wondering, do you think that the US should keep this number 2 role going forward given the status of its current funding?

This is obviously an institutional question for you, but it applies across the UN system.

[Other language spoken]

Just for the sake of clarification, my number 2 for the four first year was first a Norwegian, then French citizen and we created a second ASG post within the organisation which has been endorsed by the 5th committee two years ago.

And that's when a second number two, Antonio de Mayo became responsible of the entire operation support of the agency.

I don't think that this should be questioned.

I don't see why it's not it's it has not been a recruitment imposed by by a given member state at all.

And last, yes, please, Nina, thank you.

Sorry, in your introduction, you, you were talking about how the international community has, has stood by and and allowed this to happen.

I'm wondering why you think that is why, why is it been possible for the international community to let Aun agency be attacked in the way it has been?

And do you think that this has laid the groundwork or do you see any connection with the impunity perhaps that we're we're seeing now in a broader in the broader Middle East?

[Other language spoken]

I, I mean, just to start with the latter, yes, I do believe that there is no Gaza exception and the extraordinary level of impunity that we have tolerated in the context of Gaza now is spreading.

First, you know, first we had on robbing attacked, then we had other UN agencies, then we had other INGOS, then when we kill health workers or journalists, they're always labelled being Hamas.

Today they're labelled being Hezbollah in Lebanon.

So each time we accepted the fact that there is a justification or a licence to kill in Gaza, we have seen unfolding for two years atrocities to the extent that it has given the feeling that this war had no rules.

All possible red lines have been crushed and there have never ever been any consequence, whether diplomatic, political, economic, legal, nothing.

So we have even seen openly, you know, soldier taking selfies and destroying UN premises or humiliating civilian with total joy and circulating in the social media and it has never really triggered any proper reaction.

Yes, we had a lot of indignation.

I think symbolically also what happened at the headquarter in Shah Jahar in East Jerusalem is extraordinary outrageous.

You have a member of the government, member of the parliament, storming a United Nation compound, enjoying all the privileged immunities of a diplomatic mission of the United Nation, and they are just jubilating in front of the camera and even disputing who should take credit of this blattened violation.

And all this has only triggered some words of condemnation, nothing else.

But it is also a context where we are used to that.

But if we accept it today with UNRWA, there is no reason why another UN agency will not be targeted at a given time or another diplomatic mission, whether in is Jerusalem or elsewhere.

So yes, there, I mean, you know, there is quite a lot of disappointment with the with this inaction or passivity.

Why so?

Possibly because it is one of the most divisive polarising context we have seen that the horrible massacre of October 7th have not only traumatised Israel but reverberated in Europe and across the world and the conflict also and and the response also has reverberated the the same way.

But wherever we go, we have the feeling that the government somehow are also paralysed because of their the division of their own, I would say domestic constituencies that the only explanation I can give, but also maybe an absence of proper courage and leadership might also explain this.

Maybe the answer is short.

Did you have any contact with leaders of the so-called piece of board for the to see what is the you said before?

What is the, the, the, the, the, the role of Umbra in the context that they imagine?

It all depends on what you have in mind.

When we talk about the Board of Peace, yes, we are in contact with a number of its members, since we have a number of countries having joined the Board of Peace, and many countries are from the region.

So we are constantly in fact in contact with them.

And we have also the technical committee, the Palestinian technical Committee, which has been put in place in Cairo, with whom we are also in regular contact.

Do we have contact with every level?

Not really.

But we, we have ways to engage with a member of the Board of peace, like to apologise.

There have been people waiting on the platform, but we really have to close here.

And I'm sorry for, for that, that I'm, I'm, I'm sure you would be able to continue working, especially with Crystal here in Geneva.

So let's conclude this press conference.

I would like to say thank you very much, Philippe.

We have been blessed with your input, your constant presence in Geneva, your contribution to our media activities, which has been really fantastic.

I, I would really like to thank you so very much for this.

[Other language spoken]

We are ready to work with your successor, of course, but I have to say we, I will miss you.

We will all miss your humanity and, and your and your incredible knowledge and contribution to this incredibly difficult cause in a moment where your agency has been particularly targeted.

So thank you and the UN.

So thank you very, very much for all of this and we wish you the very, very best for your future.

[Other language spoken]

Come back, visit us from time to time.

We will continue working with your successor and with Kristen.

I've sent the journalist your e-mail, Kristen in the chat so we they will be able to continue this conversation.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you all for following this press conference.

All the very best.

And I'll see you in 5 minutes for the press conference, for the press briefing.

[Other language spoken]