– Check against delivery –
The European Union reiterates its gravest concern for the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and calls for the full respect of International Humanitarian Law by all parties.
We reiterate in particular our call for the safe, unimpeded and continued humanitarian access of humanitarian aid and workers to and throughout Gaza. Aid needs to reach those in need in a safe manner and through all necessary means. Thousands of lives are at stake!
We continue to urge the parties to cooperate with the UN, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and other humanitarian partners in this regard. The EU also takes note of the binding provisional measures order rendered by the International Court of Justice on 26 January 2024, which requires Israel “to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” for Palestinians in Gaza.
We further reiterate the importance of ensuring the protection of all civilians at all times, in line with international humanitarian law. In this context, we urge to exercise maximum restraint to ensure their protection. The fundamental IHL principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution must be complied with in all military action.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza also requires an urgent mobilisation of donors. The EU has stepped up and we call on others to do the same. On 1 March, the EU has decided to allocate an additional EUR 68 million to support the Palestinian population across the region to be implemented through international partners. This comes in addition to the EUR 82 million of aid to be implemented through UNRWA in 2024, bringing the total to EUR 150 million. The EU will proceed to paying EUR 50 million of the UNWRA envelope this week.
Furthermore, the EU has allocated EUR 125 million of humanitarian aid for Palestinians for 2024. The first EUR 16 million have been mobilised for food, medical and non-food items, shelter, as well as education and psycho-social support to civilians in Gaza.
We welcome the UN’s Office for Internal Oversight Services investigation to shed light into the serious allegations against UNRWA staff. Furthermore, we commend the UN for establishing an independent Review Group led by Catherine Colonna to assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations.
The EU is clear on UNRWA’s role: it is intrinsically part of getting that desperately needed aid to the people in Gaza. It is the backbone of any effective humanitarian response in Gaza and a main humanitarian lifeline for the Palestinian children, women and men that are dependent on life-saving assistance.
But as Commissioner-General Lazzarini wrote in his letter of 22 February and repeated here today, UNRWA is in serious danger of not being able to deliver on its mandate. In the context of severe food insecurity with one quarter of the population a step away from famine, over a million Palestinians forcibly displaced, and continued hostilities, UNRWA is more needed than ever to deliver for the Palestinians in Gaza as well as to deliver assistance and social services in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
As a long-standing humanitarian donor, the EU will continue to cooperate closely with the UN, including UNRWA, and humanitarian partners in the region, in line with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.
Thank you.
Source: Press and information team of the Delegation to the UN in New York