“There’s no doubt that I have mixed emotions today,” he says. “Bitterness, because I have been on the front lines of extraordinary violations of international law over the past two years, witnessing atrocities, attacks against the United Nations; sadness, because so many of our allies have been killed – nearly 400 in two years – on a scale never seen in the entire history of the United Nations.
“But, there is also some pride, because in the last two years, I have seen how our staff… have been exceptionally committed to trying to alleviate the suffering in so many of their own communities“.
Air strikes continue on Gaza. (file)
after 7th October
In addition to being the face of an organization that has been constantly criticized and accused online of collaborating with Hamas fighters in Gaza, the 62-year-old Swiss national has witnessed the devastating impact of Israel’s war on the people of the enclave and her agency, which was hit by Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel in October 2023.
High-level UN investigation into allegations UNRWA Of the 19 staff members accused of involvement in terrorist attacks, one case was found to lack any supporting evidence and nine others lacked sufficient evidence to indicate involvement.
In the remaining nine cases, evidence indicated that UNRWA staff may have been involved in the 7 October attacks, at which point the agency announced they would be dismissed.
Today, as the suffering and deaths continue in the Gaza Strip, one encounter that took place in Gaza early in the conflict is particularly hard to forget, despite Mr. Lazzarini’s many years of working in conflict situations around the world from Angola to Iraq and Somalia to South Sudan.
Hungry with human eyes
“This was a young girl I met in Rafa four weeks after the war and already I had seen her with empty eyes begging for a sip of water, a loaf of bread in the school where she used to be a student. So, school (should) be a place of joy and education has become a place of suffering and refuge for these young girls. And I have to say, I am troubled by this.”
And although today there is a ceasefire between Hamas fighters and Israel in Gaza, it “in name only“, he insists, adding that people are still being killed because they don’t know where the changing border is between them and the Israeli army.
“It’s nothing but just sadness,” he adds. “We may have reversed the tide of hunger in Gaza, but nothing else. People are still living in the debrisStill waiting for hours to get clean water. They are fighting the disease and struggling.”
Children waiting to be served hot food at a community kitchen in Gaza.
no real option
Amid such pain, Mr. Lazzarini rejected suggestions that another body could replace UNRWA. “You have no current options in Gaza,” he insists.UNRWA is the only organization with the manpower, expertise and community trust to deliver public health and education services.. There are no other NGOs or UN organizations. But we also know that the Palestinian Authority is not prepared to take over these services.
In addition to the attacks on UNRWA staff and hundreds of agency buildings in Gaza, its ability to provide key services in Gaza and beyond has been It is severely limited by lack of financial support from the international community. To coincide with the three-year extension of its mandate passed by the UN General Assembly last December.
running on Empty
Despite austerity measures – including a reduction in services and a 20 per cent pay cut for most local staff – Mr Lazzarini warned General Assembly President UNRWA “will soon cease to be viable” without hard cash, it still maintains. But political support is also invaluable, and not just for his agency’s survival, he points out.
“The attacks on UNRWA are no exception; they cannot be dealt with alone. If we tolerate this for an agency like ours, others will follow. And that is exactly what happened in Gaza: Infiltration by Hamas has been pointed at UN agencies to justify action against them…and now we hear exactly the same story, We see the same pattern being applied in Lebanon“
UNRWA teams continue to provide medical services in Gaza City.
Israel’s ‘silent war’ on the West Bank
The dire situation for Palestinians facing increasing attacks from Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, far from Gaza, has also highlighted the “silent war” taking place there in “complete impunity”, Mr Lazzarini added.
In January, Israeli bulldozers moved into the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem and proceeded to demolish buildings there, as an Israeli flag was raised over the UN compound – a move the global organization strongly condemned as a violation of international law.
“When we talk, you know, about respect for international law, we’ve seen this blatant disregard and disregard – the fact that everything has been conducted without respect for the law of war – Now the conflict has been allowed to spread into Iran, which has no justification for starting a war on such a large scale that could affect the entire region.” UNRWA chief says.
Due to the continuing increase in violence, families have fled their homes in the West Bank. (file)
‘extreme pressure’
Despite the global turmoil going on around the world, Mr Lazzarini appears relaxed in Geneva. He could easily be mistaken for a visitor in his wax coat, suede shoes, jacket and tie, but clothes are probably the last thing on his mind.
Acknowledging that he has faced “immense pressure” from attacks against himself and UNRWA over the past two years, the UN’s top diplomat cited his family’s support as one of the main reasons he has been able to continue working.
”I haven’t been there for the last two years,” he says with conviction that once he leaves UNRWA, his plans include playing ‘catch-up’ to get his wife and children back, while also writing about his experiences at the top of a UN agency whose future is at the mercy of geopolitics.
