YouSaid · the spoken record

Kriihenbiihl

lines on the record: 24
first: 2014-07-31
most recent: 2019-05-22
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Therefore, it is with great determination that we will uphold the integrity of this organization, use and work with the immense generosity and support of States Members that trust our work, and seek and continue to engage in dialogue both with the United States, Israel and other parties on aspects of critical review that we are always and have always been prepared to look into. The integrity with which we approach such situations is a matter of public record, and we have received widespread recognition for it. I apologize that I took a little bit longer than intended. I remain available for any further elements that members might require during the informal consultations.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“When two of our staff members were elected to positions two years ago and allegations emerged that they had been elected to positions in Hamas, we not only immediately investigated the matter, but as soon as we found the truth we dismissed them. They did not leave of their own accord. When, the same year, during repair work carried out by UNRWA under our schools, we discovered that tunnels had been dug by Hamas, we not only condemned Hamas publicly for that, but we also sealed the tunnels by injecting cement into them, which is fairly extraordinary in terms of the measures of the robustness of what humanitarian organizations are prepared to do in a conflict environment where its staff is at risk every single day, not because we invented the mandate, but because we were tasked by the General Assembly.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“I can simply not accept that the efforts that UNRWA undertakes every single day, in one of the most - if not the most - polarized contexts on the planet, to preserve the integrity, dignity and neutrality of its operations be questioned in that manner. I reject it robustly, and the Permanent Representative knows it because we have had such conversations before. During the war in 2014, UNRWA discovered weapons components in some of its schools during the conflict. We found that out. We informed the parties - Israel and the Palestinian Authority. We informed the world and condemned the fact that those weapons components had been found.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“Both UNRWA and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recognize descendants as refugees on that basis - a practice that has been widely accepted in the international community, including both donors and refugee-hosting countries. Palestine refugees are not distinct from those of any other protracted refugee situation, such as those from Afghanistan or Somalia, for example, where there are multiple generations of refugees considered by UNHCR to be refugees and supported as such. As I have said, protracted refugee situations are the result of the failure to find political solutions to the underlying political crisis. Let me now just briefly address the comments that were made by the Permanent Representative of Israel concerning UNRWA's neutrality.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“Given the attempt to delegitimize our actions with general statements about the nature and definition of refugeehood in ways that I have really never come across in terms of the misrepresentations of actual situations, let me talk and address the question of the definition of "descendants". It is well known to the members of the Council and General Assembly - and, therefore, I repeat it here with great clarity - that under international law and the principle of family unity, the children of refugees and their descendants are also considered refugees until a durable solution is found.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“The way in which UNRWA was mandated has to be recalled here. The question addressed to me as to how long it should continue was not addressed to the right entity. It is the responsibility of the General Assembly to answer that question because, when we were tasked, we were not a self-created organization that one day decided that this would be an important issue to address. We are an organization mandated by the General Assembly and, until a decision is made that that should change, we will continue with resolve, determination, pride and humility to implement the mandate that we were given.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“The Permanent Representative of Israel addressed a question to me specifically, so I will just take a few minutes to address some of the points he made. The question that was specifically addressed was: For how long? Indeed, I return the question - for how long? - because it was never the intention of any member of the General Assembly, and most certainly never the intention of anyone in UNRWA, to see the organization in existence and operation for as long as it has been. Once again, our ongoing activities are the illustration of two things, one of which is positive in terms of what can be done with regard to investing in the capabilities, the aspirations and the hopes of a long-term refugee community and, the other of which, as I said, is the abysmal failure in political terms to bring about a solution.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“I think that it is very clear that the responsibility for the protracted nature of Palestinian refugeehood, the increasing number of refugees and the growth in needs lies squarely and clearly with the parties themselves and the international community, in particular because of the lack of will sometimes or, at other times, the utter inability of the political actors to once and for all bring about a solution in political terms to that long-standing crisis, which everybody in the region - Israelis, Palestinians and others - deserve and have deserved for very long. The suggestion that one could simply deflect attention from the political responsibilities and somehow make a humanitarian organization responsible for the unresolved crisis is therefore something that I believe to be misguided and certainly unhelpful.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“At the same time, I want to say here, repeating something that I said in the course of last year, that while recognizing that fact - in other words, that it is a voluntary and purely sovereign decision whether Member States support or not humanitarian organizations such as UNRWA - I unreservedly reject the accompanying narrative and the suggestions that the UNRWA model is "irredeemably flawed".”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“I would like to briefly react to some of the remarks that were made by the representative of the United States in relation to UNRWA. When the original decision of the United States to cut funding to UNRWA was announced in early 2018, as those present can imagine, it was a matter of deep regret and disappointment at my level and the level of the Agency because it affected one of the most robust and rewarding partnerships in the history of humanitarian and development work. At the same time, of course, we are extremely conscious that the decision of a Member State to contribute or not, and if so at what level, to funding humanitarian organizations is a voluntary and entirely sovereign decision, ofwhich we need to take note.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“The meeting, otherwise known as the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the Announcement of Voluntary Contributions to UNRWA, is an annual feature in the calendar. The particular week of 24 June was identified in December 2018, and any suggestion of ulterior motives in the decision about the date would be mistaken. The pledging conference fulfils a very important role in seeking - at a very critical juncture in the year, in particular just before the summer - to mobilize additional resources that are needed to keep our different activities running, installations open and community served. We therefore appeal, as several of the participants highlighted, for renewed engagement and strong additional commitments to be announced at that moment. We would be very grateful for that.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“Mr. Kriihenbiihl: I thank you for this opportunity, Madam President. I am especially grateful for the outstanding and repeated expressions of support and trust offered by numerous members of the Security Council present at today's meeting. It is extremely important both for Palestinian refugees and the staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to have such very strong expressions of trust and confidence in the work, results and contributions of the organization to regional stability and human dignity. I will first address the question that was raised by the Permanent Representative of Germany regarding the pledging conference.”
2019-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8532 (2019) · source
“In other words, a ceasefire, while immediately required to save lives, is not enough. It is not conceivable to simply return to the situation existing before the conflict. Notwithstanding Israel's legitimate security concerns, the illegal blockade of Gaza must be lifted. This small territory is home to 1.8 million people, who face the prospect of its becoming unlivable in a matter of only a few years unless urgent steps are taken by the international community to enable the development of Gaza and ensure security for all in the region. UNRWA, faithful to its mandate, will remain steadfast in its commitment and operations, whether during this terrible emergency or in the recovery phase once the fighting has ceased. But much more is required to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“As I have stated on previous visits to Gaza, the rocket firing on Israeli cities and endangering Israeli civilians is unacceptable and must cease. We all aspire to seeing a Middle East in which its peoples share common interests, a stake in each others' well-being, and a commitment - as the Secretary- General recently said - to peace, justice and security for all in the region. That cannot happen under the conditions of military occupation and those caused by the pitiless conflict now unfolding. It is past the time for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to be agreed by the parties as called for by the Council in its recent statement (S/PRST/2014/13). Allow me also to add my voice to those calling for the redress of the underlying conditions that fuel the conflict and the violence that repeats itself in full view of the world.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“In view of the foregoing facts and of the shelling affecting UNRWA schools on six occasions, I believe that the population is at a precipice and I appeal to the international community to take the steps necessary to address this extreme situation. Should further large scale displacements indeed occur, the occupying Power, under international humanitarian law, will have to assume direct responsibility for assisting these people. The new reality being created before our eyes in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel is not sustainable under any circumstances. The humanitarian and political costs grow by the day with each death and injury, with the continuing destruction of infrastructure vital to the life of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and with the continuing violations of international law.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“Our ability to mitigate the situation is of course heavily restricted by ongoing hostilities. We are gravely concerned about the situation. We are also gravely concerned about any possible additional displacement that will drive up the numbers in our shelters. With as many as 2,500 displaced persons residing in schools and an average of 80 people to a classroom, we have exceeded the tolerable limit we can accommodate. It is therefore with alarm that I have received accounts of new instructions from the Israeli military to Palestinians to evacuate the Zeitoun area of Gaza City and areas in the vicinity of Khan Younis.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“I am not referring here to the tens of thousands of displaced in Gaza that have found temporary shelter with host families, only to those who are registered in UNRWA schools. We are doing everything possible to provide the displaced with items to meet their minimum needs - food, mattresses and blankets - but we are now into the fourth week of mass displacement in facilities unequipped to shelter large numbers for such a duration. Conditions are increasingly dire in the shelters. There is no water for hygiene, very few showers, and latrines are totally inadequate. Outbreak of disease is beginning, with skin infections and scabies, inter alia. There are thousands of pregnant women in our schools, deliveries are precarious, and we are sheltering newborn infants in these appalling conditions.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“UNRWA is now working with United Nations partners to improve procedures to address such violations in a manner that does not compromise the safety of staff or civilians, including UNRWA beneficiaries. It should also be said that such discoveries do not in any way justify attacks on UNRWA facilities and in particular those sheltering IDPs. UNRWA takes robust measures to closely monitor all its facilities to which it has access in an effort to prevent misuse by combatants and other parties. Allow me to turn to the most difficult challenge facing UNRWA in Gaza today. We are currently hosting over 220,000 internally displaced people, a number that has grown every day of the conflict and at an accelerated pace in the last week. That is four times higher that the peak number of displaced people during the conflict in 2008 and 2009.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“I also call on all parties to respect the sanctity of United Nations premises and exercise the highest precaution in the conduct of military operations that affect civilians in the region. That the attack on the shelter in Jabalya came only six days after a strike on the designated UNRWA emergency shelter in Beit Hanoun and caused multiple injuries and fatalities to internally displaced persons (IDPs) taking refuge there makes the call all the more urgent. There is another challenge in our field of operations to which I want to draw attention. On three occasions we have found in empty UNRWA facilities rockets belonging to armed groups in Gaza. We immediately alerted all relevant parties to their existence and we strongly condemned placement of weapons in our schools.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“I reiterate my condemnation of the attack in the strongest terms, reiterate also that it was a serious Violation of international law, and call for accountability, including through the immediate launching of a transparent investigation by Israel and for it to share its findings. We are engaged in continuous dialogue with Israel on the matter. Speaking to many inhabitants of Gaza yesterday and today I have heard the same messages time and time again: "If we are not safe in an UNRWA school, we are not safe anywhere in Gaza", they say, and they add, "the world has failed us, has failed to protect". "The protection of civilians is an expression we do not want to hear anymore", many have commented.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“The Palestinian children I saw today are not statistics. Behind every death and injury there is a story and a destiny to be respected. Yesterday, an elementary girls' school in Jabalya serving as a designated emergency shelter for displaced people received artillery strikes, which we have assessed to have been fired by the Israeli military. The precise location and coordinates of the school were conveyed on 17 occasions to the Israeli military, including a notification that the school was sheltering displaced persons. The displaced were instructed by the Israeli military to evacuate their homes and seek shelter in premises such as ours.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“I have in particular seen this morning the catastrophic human cost of this war at the paediatric ward in the main hospital in Gaza, with broken bodies that are the real - and unacceptable - consequence of an armed conflict waged with excessive - and at times disproportionate - force in densely populated urban settings. Among the many children lying in the rooms and corridors was five-month-old Yussuf who has very barely and not yet definitively survived the shelling of the UNRWA school building yesterday in Jabalya. Like many Council members, I have children of my own, and what I saw today - the terrible wounds - were devastating to me. I refer to young Yussuf because I have always refused the concept of anonymity in death and injury. Too often, reports from war zones refer to lists of numbers.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“Bob Turner, that UNRWA staff in Gaza - who number over 12,000 - are assisting its people at a time of their greatest need, and doing so at considerable risk in the prevailing context. Eight of my colleagues have now lost their lives since hostilities began. In acknowledging the sacrifice, I extend heartfelt condolences to their families. Let me not forget also to thank the rest of the United Nations family that is doing so much address the humanitarian and political dimensions of the situation. Since my arrival yesterday, I have borne witness to the tragic situation that has unfolded and been so graphically seen on television screens across the globe. I have seen extensive damage done to whole neighbourhoods and essential infrastructure.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source
“Mr. Kriihenbiihl: Allow me to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to the Security Council for the invitation and the honour to deliver a briefing from Gaza City today. In this, the second of my visits to Gaza during the current crisis, I have spent the last two days assessing the situation on the ground, the extent of the human suffering, and the state of our operations, which continue in many parts of the Gaza Strip amidst terrible conditions resulting from the conflict that erupted on 8 July. I would like, first and foremost, to express my deepest admiration to staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) who are providing a humanitarian lifeline to the people of Gaza. It is under the truly outstanding leadership of our Director of Operations, Mr.”
2014-07-31 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7232 (2014) · source