YouSaid · the spoken record

Lazzarini

lines on the record: 38
first: 2021-05-27
most recent: 2023-10-30
sittings or episodes: 3
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

“UNRWA has received generous contributions towards its initial flash appeal, but without a fully funded core budget, we cannot pay salaries and deliver. Finally, in these dark times, we must not lose sight of our humanity. Our empathy should apply to all — Palestinians, Israelis, Jews, Christians and Muslims. The rules of war must be followed by all parties, at all times, in all places. Civilians must be protected, hostages released, and a genuine humanitarian response facilitated. An immediate humanitarian ceasefire has become a matter of life and death for millions. The present and future of Palestinians and Israelis depend on it. I urge all Member States to change the trajectory of this crisis and work towards a genuine political solution, before it is too late.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“First, there must be strict adherence to international humanitarian law. That means that civilians and civilian infrastructure, including United Nations premises, schools, hospitals, places of worship and shelters hosting civilians, must be protected all over the Gaza Strip — north and south — at all times. That is not an option, but an obligation. Secondly, we need a safe, unimpeded, substantial and continuous flow of humanitarian aid, including fuel, into the Gaza Strip and across it. For that, we need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Thirdly, UNRWA still needs funds. We have the necessary and largest presence on the ground. We can deliver if we have the means and the resources, including the funding to pay the staff on the frontlines.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“While a lot of the focus is on Gaza, I would like to reiterate that another crisis is unfolding in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The United Nations has been sounding the alarm for months about the increased violence. Palestinian fatalities this year are the highest since the United Nations started to keep records in 2005. At least 115 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October, including 33 children. The movement restrictions imposed across the West Bank are affecting our services, including schools and health centres. Meanwhile, the situation on the Israel-Lebanon border is getting worse, with regular exchanges of fire and civilian casualties reported. In conclusion, I am very worried about the potential spillover of this conflict beyond Gaza unless the following is enforced.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“Today Gazans feel that they are not treated as other civilians are. Most of them feel trapped in a war they have nothing to do with. They feel that the world is equating all of them to Hamas. That is dangerous, and we know that all too well from previous conflicts and crises. An entire population is being de-humanized. The atrocities of Hamas do not absolve the State of Israel from its obligations under international humanitarian law. Every war has rules, and this one is no exception. Hannah Arendt said that the death of human empathy is one of the first and most revealing signs of a culture that is about to fall into barbarity. More than ever, Gazans deserve our empathy. Its absence will deepen the polarization in the region and further push away any prospect for peace.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“They are distributing the little fuel that we have left to hospitals, bakeries and shelters. My UNRWA colleagues are the only glimmer of hope for the entire Gaza Strip — a ray of light as humankind sinks into its darkest hour. But they are running out of fuel, water, food and medicine and will soon be unable to operate. Let me be clear — the handful of convoys being allowed through Rafah is nothing compared to the needs of more than 2 million people trapped in Gaza. The system in place to allow aid into Gaza is geared to fail unless there is political will to make the flow of supplies meaningful, matching the unprecedented humanitarian needs. Gaza has more than 2 million people, half of whom are children. Gazans are vibrant, educated people who aspire to have normal lives, families, children, education and dreams of a better future.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“Most of those who are alive have lost relatives, friends or neighbours and are now displaced, like the majority of Gazans. Many of my own colleagues are now living, sleeping and working in UNRWA shelters. Yet they are showing exceptional dedication to United Nations values. No words can do justice to the thousands of UNRWA staff members who continue to work tirelessly to support their communities. They are teachers, doctors, social workers, engineers and support staff. They are mothers and fathers. If they were not in Gaza, they might be your neighbours or friends. They are operating 150 UNRWA shelters. They are keeping one third of our health centres open and running 80 mobile health teams. They are supporting the entry of humanitarian convoys and the storage and distribution of aid.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“Any further breakdown in civil order will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for us, the largest United Nations agency in Gaza, to continue operating. It will also make it impossible to bring in convoys. I say this in full awareness of the fact that UNRWA is the last remaining lifeline for the Palestinian people in Gaza. UNRWA is calling on members of the Security Council for support. I have lost 64 colleagues in just over three weeks. The most recent tragic death happened two hours ago. Samir, our head of security and safety in the middle region, was killed, along with his wife and eight children. That is the largest number of United Nations aid workers killed in a conflict in such a short time. My 13,000 colleagues in Gaza are from a community of 1.7 million Palestine refugees out of 2.2 million residents in the Gaza Strip.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“The streets of Gaza are now overflowing with sewage, which will cause a massive health hazard very soon. In the latest blow, the communications blackout over the weekend has aggravated people’s panic and distress. The blackout meant that people could not communicate with their loved ones inside Gaza in order to know who was dead and who was alive. They no longer knew whether they would receive bread from UNRWA. They felt abandoned and cut off from the rest of the world. The communication blackout has accelerated a breakdown of civil order. Panic has pushed thousands of desperate people to head to the UNRWA warehouses and distribution centres where we store the food and other supplies we started receiving via Egypt last week.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“Almost 70 per cent of those reported killed are children and women. Save the Children reported yesterday that almost 3,200 children have been killed in Gaza in just three weeks. That is more than the total number of children who have been killed annually across the world’s conflict zones since 2019. That cannot be termed collateral damage. Churches, mosques, hospitals and UNRWA facilities, including those sheltering displaced people, have not been spared. Too many people have been killed and injured while seeking safety in places protected under international humanitarian law. The current siege imposed on Gaza is collective punishment. The two weeks of full siege, followed by a trickle of aid last week, have meant that basic services are crumbling, medicine is running out, food and water are running out and fuel is running out.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“The civilians who have remained in the north are now receiving evacuation notices from the Israeli forces, urging them to go south to receive scarce humanitarian assistance. But many, including pregnant women, people with disabilities, the sick and the wounded, cannot move. What has happened and is continuing to happen is forced displacement. More than 670,000 displaced people are now in overcrowded schools and buildings run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). They are living in appalling, unsanitary conditions, with limited food and water, sleeping on the floor without mattresses or outside in the open. Hunger and despair are turning to anger against the international community — and in Gaza the international community is better known as UNRWA.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“Mr. Lazzarini: The past three weeks have been horrific. Almost everyone in Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory and the broader region is in mourning. The horrific attacks by Hamas in Israel on 7 October were shocking. The Israeli forces’ relentless bombardments of the Gaza Strip are shocking. The level of destruction is unprecedented and the human tragedy unfolding under our watch is unbearable. One million people, half the population of Gaza, have been pushed from the north of the Gaza Strip towards the south in the space of three weeks. However, the south has not been spared from the bombardment, and a significant number of people have been killed there. I have said it many times, and I will say it again — no place in Gaza is safe.”
2023-10-30 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9462 (2023) · source
“I appeal to all Member States to mobilize politically and financially to support UNRWA and to continue working towards a political solution that will benefit the region and its peoples.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“Hosts and refugees fear that it may lead to weakening UNRWA and, with time, dismantling it altogether. Failing to reconcile those demands will make the General Assembly mandate more and more impossible to implement. Our ability to fulfil the General Assembly mandate lies with Member States and with their political will to fully fund our core budget. I appeal today to Member States that have reduced their funding to reconsider the impact of their decision on the region’s stability. I appeal to those that have changed their political and foreign policy dynamics in the region to continue to be part of the success stories of UNRWA’s education. In a few weeks, the extension of the UNRWA mandate will be put to the General Assembly for approval.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“The impact of predictable services on the safety of refugees and on regional stability should suffice to convince every Member State to commit funding to UNRWA in line with the resolutions they adopt. Instead, the Agency continues to be under three sources of intense pressure: first, the commitment of the General Assembly to upholding the rights of Palestine refugees and its instruction to UNRWA to deliver a number of public-like services until a just and lasting solution is found; secondly, the lack of sufficient funding from Member States with which to implement the mandate and the unpredictability of most of the funding; and lastly, the objection to any perceived change in the way services are delivered. Any such change is seen as an attempt to encroach on the rights of the refugees.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“For Palestine refugees, UNRWA remains the last standing pillar of the commitment of the international community to their rights to a dignified life and to a just and lasting solution. When they see us delaying salaries, decreasing the quality of the services and unable to respond to increasing needs, they understand that the support of the international community to their plight is fading. Despair and a sense of abandonment are growing in the refugee camps. Despair is a threat to mental well- being. Despair is a threat to peace and stability. It is hard to believe that the lack of sufficient resources results solely from financial constraints.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“What is at stake is this: quality and principled education for over half a million girls and boys; access to health care for around 2 million Palestine refugees and a social safety net for around 400,000 of the poorest among the poor; psychosocial support for hundreds of thousands of children; job opportunities for the youth in Gaza and elsewhere; and emergency food and cash assistance for over 2 million Palestine refugees across the region to meet their humanitarian needs. What is at stake is simply the sense of normality and hope that our services bring to Palestine refugees. A major aspect of the role of UNRWA in regional stability stems precisely from the predictability of its high-quality services.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“The Agency has also experienced more than once how a change in domestic politics can suspend support overnight. Consequently, and despite immense outreach efforts, funding has stagnated over the last decade, forcing us to operate year after year with a shortfall of around $100 million. Until last year, the funding gap was managed through cost control, austerity and carry- over of large liabilities from one year to the next. But today we have no financial reserve. We have reached the limit of austerity and cost-control measures. Today UNRWA is facing an existential threat.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“While we are acutely aware that we operate in a politically charged environment, we have made unparalleled investments in promoting United Nations values and UNESCO standards across our programmes and through staff attitudes. Today our collective achievements are at risk. For the past decade, the chronic underfunding of our programme budget has made it increasingly challenging for the Agency to fulfil the mandate given it by the General Assembly. Shifting geopolitical priorities, changing regional dynamics and the emergence of new humanitarian crises have deprioritized the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Coordinated campaigns to delegitimize UNRWA with a view to eroding the rights of Palestine refugees are increasing in frequency and in maliciousness.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“Success stories are everywhere, from Ghada, who is the first woman technician in renewable energy in Gaza, to Bara’a, who joined a medical research team in Spain that is making groundbreaking progress in the fight against pancreatic cancer. Today children and young people must be able to perform and compete in an increasingly digitalized world. UNRWA is committed to giving Palestine refugees that ability. Our information technology hub in Gaza serves the entire United Nations system and provides jobs for over 120 young women and men. We reached gender parity in our schools a long time ago, and our 700 schools across the region comprise the only public-like educational institution to have rolled out a comprehensive human rights curriculum.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“The psychosocial support that Palestine refugee children receive is key to their mental well-being and essential for their ability to learn, and the quality of the education that UNRWA students receive is praised by such reputable validators as the British Council, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Bank. On average, they outperform their peers by one year of learning. In Syria, nearly 95 per cent of UNRWA students passed their national exams this year. Rama, from Yarmouk refugee camp, achieved the highest scores despite prolonged displacement and repeated power cuts.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“With the support of Member States, the Agency has contributed to one of the most successful human development stories in the region. From educating over 2 million Palestine refugee girls and boys, to universal infant vaccination and reduced maternal mortality that exceeds global standards, there is a lot for which we can all be proud. During armed conflicts, the Security Council’s support has enabled UNRWA to provide shelter and protection and helped rebuild destroyed neighbourhoods and communities.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“Protests and acts of violence directed against UNRWA are, at times, forcing my colleagues to close our installations. Illegal emigration of Palestine refugees is rising. In Jordan, the pandemic left deep scars on the labour market. Unemployment is soaring, particularly for females and young people. Child labour and early marriage are reportedly on the rise. Despite those challenging operating environments, UNRWA remains the lifeline for one of the most underprivileged and desperate communities in the region. Going to school, getting health services or receiving a food parcel are, for many Palestine refugees, their only sources of normality. They look to UNRWA for that normality. For over 70 years, UNRWA has been a source of opportunity and hope for a better future for generations of Palestine refugees.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“Nearly half of UNRWA students suffer from trauma and need special assistance to cope with the repeated cycles of violence and the economic hardship in which their families live. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, political, economic and security conditions are deteriorating as Palestine refugees experience high levels of dispossession, violence and insecurity. In Syria, after 11 years of conflict, the most destitute families are returning to live amid the rubble of their destroyed homes as they can no longer afford rent. Children who returned to demolished camps, such as Yarmouk or Ein Al-Tal, walk near unexploded ordnance to take UNRWA buses to school. In Lebanon, the pressure on the Agency to do more to address the impact of the economic and financial crisis on the Palestine refugee community is becoming unbearable.”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“Mr. Lazzarini: Let me first express my sincere appreciation to the presidency for giving me the opportunity to address the Security Council today. Since my previous briefing to the Council in May 2021 (see S/PV.8782), the situation of Palestinian refugees has further deteriorated. More than 80 per cent of Palestine refugees in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza live below the poverty line. In Gaza, the escalation of violence earlier this month was a stark reminder that war and violence can erupt anytime in the absence of a genuine and comprehensive effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some 60 Palestine refugee families lost their homes, and 17 children were killed, 8 of whom were students in schools operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).”
2022-08-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9116 (2022) · source
“It also means living in peace, not fearful of the next conflict. Together, we must ensure that the sense of normalcy and stability remains in the lives of Palestinian refugees through a strong UNRWA.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“Thirdly, to prevent further escalation of tensions in West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, forced evictions and administrative demolitions contrary to international law should end. Fourthly, humanitarian and reconstruction efforts should be fully funded, and efforts to scale up the availability of COVID-19 vaccines should be supported. In conclusion, no one has asked to remain a refugee for seven decades. Every Palestinian refugee I meet wants a normal life, including the right to live without fear and without discrimination. Like all people, they have an equal right to the enjoyment of their human rights in accordance with international law, which means that children can play and go to school, parents can protect and take care of their children, and young people have dreams.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“Putting on hold the political track by containing the conflict should not be an option anymore. In conclusion, I would like to share the following recommendations for Council members’ consideration. First — and we heard this from the Special Coordinator — we need to break the Sisyphean approach to the post-conflict response in Gaza, which is a response limited to humanitarian and recovery assistance, will not prevent the next round of conflict. The recovery phase needs to be accompanied by a genuine political track aimed at lifting the blockade on people, goods and trade, in line with resolution 1860 (2009). Secondly, I echo the Special Coordinator’s call for perpetrators of violations of international law on all sides to be held accountable and swiftly brought to justice.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“UNRWA is an agency that advocates refugee rights in accordance with international law, including relevant United Nations resolutions. Those who believe that, by undermining the reputation of the legitimacy of the Agency, they can somehow erase the Palestinian refugee issue, are fooling themselves. Not only is it discriminatory to erase or ignore history, but such erasure is also based on misinformation and the denial of established fact. Palestinian refugees derive their status and rights from international law, the same law that strives to promote peace and equality. By seeking to weaken UNRWA, those who attack it only weaken the prospects for peace. Last week was a stark reminder that war and violence persists in the absence of genuine and comprehensive efforts aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“It is one of the most cost-effective investments that Member States can make. It is an investment in human beings and in the human development of Palestinian refugees. It is an investment in the values and principles of the United Nations. Our pedagogy, based on the United Nation values of human rights and tolerance, promote a sense of purpose. This year alone, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Bank and the British Council all acknowledged the excellence of an UNRWA education. The education we provide is an antidote to the widespread violence, hatred and intolerance spreading in the region. Weakening UNRWA will only fuel existing division. I am asking Member States to stand by the Agency and support UNRWA from repeated political attacks that seek to undermine its role and its mandate.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“Until there is a political solution to this conflict, including a just and lasting solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees, only a strong UNRWA can bring a sense of normalcy into refugees’ lives. That sense of normalcy can contribute to the quest for peace and stability. But with a strong UNRWA, young Palestinian refugees, girls and boys alike, can go very far thanks to quality education. Loay Elbasyouni, one of the engineers behind the American helicopter that went to Mars, is a former student of an UNRWA school in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. He went from Gaza to NASA. That is how far our students can go when they are empowered. Like their peers elsewhere, they have unlimited potential. A strong UNRWA requires predictable and sufficient funding for adequate planning and delivery of services.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“In Lebanon, nearly the entire population in the camps lives under the poverty line. During my last visit I saw hopelessness growing. I met a young Palestinian refugee who said he constantly asked himself whether he would die from COVID-19, from hunger or from trying to cross the Mediterranean on a dinghy. During my last visit to Syria, I saw children in school uniforms emerging from the rubble of the Yarmouk camp to jump on an UNRWA bus. Their families had come to live amid debris because they could no longer afford to pay rent. In Jordan, despite relative stability, the pandemic dealt a huge blow to the economy. Again, the most vulnerable — Palestinian refugees, especially those who have fled from Syria — are hit hardest.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“We saw a major increase in Israeli security forces’ incursions, search and arrest operations, and settler violence. Of particular concern was the heavy use of live ammunition during demonstrations where Palestinian refugees were among the injured and killed. I am also concerned by the potential excessive and misuse of non-lethal weaponry, such as tear gas, in and around the narrow alleys of Palestinian refugee camps. Repeated exposure might create health challenges that derive from tear gas seeping into homes and sticking to clothes. Despair is spreading in Palestinian refugee camps beyond the occupied Palestinian territory. Despair and loss of hope makes a dangerous mix in a highly volatile region, particularly for youth, who feel increasingly disenfranchised and trapped.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“I am also concerned about a new wave of COVID-19 infections among the population in Gaza, as access to the vaccine becomes more urgent than ever. Last week, I met some members of the Sheikh Jarrah families in East Jerusalem. Mohammed Al-Kourd shared his feelings of injustice and fear — injustice because his family faces a second forced displacement, fear of the deliberate harassment of those who wish to expel him from his childhood home. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, thousands of people like Mohammed live in fear, with eviction and demolition orders pending on their homes and property. During the escalation in Gaza, not enough public attention was paid to the serious protection situation in the West Bank, which has affected Palestine, refugees and civilians alike.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“The most recent conflict is the first such conflict in 14 years. Every conflict destroys lives, buildings, basic infrastructure and sends Gaza back many years. These conflicts happen against the backdrop of an enduring blockade that, for 14 years, has crippled the economy, has led to skyrocketing unemployment and has brought Gaza’s health-care system to its knees, undermining its current capacity to respond the surge of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and meet the needs of the injured. The international humanitarian community has now shifted from emergency mode to assessing the totality of the damage done to homes, infrastructure and, most importantly, human lives. I am especially concerned about the trauma and psychosocial impact that relentless air strikes and rocket attacks have inflicted on civilians, especially children.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“I met parents who every night asked themselves whether to have all the children sleep near them or to spread them around the house. Should they all die together or should they try to save some by scattering them? An UNRWA colleague described how she discussed dinner plans with her sister on the last day of Ramadan. An hour later, the sister and her daughter were killed in an air strike. The daughter’s wedding had been planned for the following week. I met a man from the Abu Hatab family who lost 10 loved ones, including his wife and four children, when his building collapsed. He had gone out to buy food and returned to see his entire universe shattered. Days after the event, he still wonders what happened and why his only surviving child has stopped speaking. I had no answer to give him.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“Our health and sanitation workers, our social workers and engineers worked relentlessly for 11 days in what they described to me as “hell on Earth” — hell, because for 11 days there was no respite in the fighting, no humanitarian truce to allow for emergency medical assistance to the wounded, no relief for the displaced and no ability to simply get food without the risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was hell for 70,000 people who sought refuge in our schools because living under blockade left them with no other place to seek protection. It was hell because of the intensity of the relentless air strikes on densely populated areas in the heart of Gaza. Almost everyone I met described feeling terrified and traumatized.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“In Israel, 12 people, including two children were killed. All losses of innocent civilian lives are unacceptable. I extend my deep condolences to those who lost loved ones. In addition, thousands more were injured. These are not just statistics; they are civilians whose lives and dreams have been taken away. Let me pause for a moment to acknowledge and show my appreciation for my UNRWA colleagues in Gaza, who — under the leadership of Director Matthias Schmale — were on the front line to protect and assist the population. Every morning, they overcame the gripping fear and made the dangerous journey to our health centres and schools, turned into shelters, in order to help those in need. They went to work without knowing whether the families would still be alive at the end of the day.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source
“Mr. Lazzarini: Allow me to express my sincere appreciation for this opportunity to address the Security Council today. I am addressing the Council from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) headquarters in East Jerusalem, only a few hundred metres from the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where eight Palestinian refugee families face the threat of forced eviction from their homes. I am also addressing the Security Council after having spent part of the week in Gaza listening to countless stories of the tragic loss of loved ones. Following 11 days of air strikes by Israeli military forces and rocket attacks launched by Palestinian armed groups, more than 250 people were killed in Gaza, including 66 children, of whom 19 went to UNRWA schools.”
2021-05-27 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8782 (2021) · source