Support for the Mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

A/RES/ES-10/25View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 5 Illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, published in 2024.

What subjects does this mandate have?

9 subjects

Financing Gaza Strip Humanitarian Assistance International Obligations Israel Laws and Regulations Middle East Situation Palestine Question Territories Occupied by Israel

What’s in this document?

31 operative paragraphs

Affirms its full support for the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East in all of its fields of operation, namely Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arabic Republic and the Occupied Palestinian Territory;

Deplores the legislation adopted by the Israeli Knesset on 28 October 2024, and calls upon the Israeli Government to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of the Agency and uphold its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip, including the provision of sorely needed basic services to the civilian population;

Reaffirms the necessity for the continuation of the work of the Agency and the importance of its unimpeded operation and provision of services, including emergency assistance, for the well-being, protection and human development of the Palestine refugees and for the stability of the region, pending the just resolution of the question of the Palestine refugees in line with the relevant resolutions;

Stresses that, at a time of heightened conflict and instability in the Middle East, the Agency continues to play an indispensable role in ameliorating the plight of the more than 6 million Palestine refugees registered with the Agency and in providing a crucial measure of stability in the region, including by mitigating the consequences of alarming trends and severe crises in the Agency’s areas of operation, including increasing violence, marginalization and poverty;

Expresses its appreciation for the tireless efforts of the Commissioner-General and the staff of the Agency in all fields of operation in fulfilment of the mandate of the Agency and respect for the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, particularly in the light of the dire humanitarian conditions, instability and unprecedented crises faced during the past year;

Commends the Agency for its extraordinary efforts, in cooperation with other United Nations agencies on the ground, to provide emergency humanitarian assistance, including shelter, food and medical aid, to refugees and affected civilians during periods of crisis and conflict, and recognizes its exemplary capacity to mobilize in emergency situations while continuously carrying out its core human development programmes, particularly its education programme;

Emphasizes in particular that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East remains the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza, and affirms that no organization can replace or substitute the Agency’s capacity and mandate to serve Palestine refugees and civilians in urgent need of life-saving humanitarian assistance;

Underscores in this regard the critical role also to be played by the Agency in implementing urgently needed recovery and stabilization efforts in a post-ceasefire period in the Gaza Strip, considering its personnel capacity, operational agility, network of facilities, decades of proven humanitarian and human development expertise and cost-effective operations in comparison to other organizations;

Strongly warns against any attempts to dismantle or diminish the operations and mandate of the Agency, recognizing that any interruption or suspension of its work would have severe humanitarian consequences for millions of Palestine refugees who depend on the Agency’s services and also implications for the region;

Deplores breaches of the inviolability of United Nations premises, the failure to accord the property and assets of the Organization immunity, the failure to protect United Nations personnel, premises and property and any disruption caused to Agency operations by such violations;

Demands that all parties act, in accordance with international law and the relevant resolutions, to enable the Agency to carry out its mandate, as adopted by the General Assembly, in all fields of operation, with full respect for the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, and respect international humanitarian law obligations, including the protection of United Nations and humanitarian facilities;

Also demands that Israel respect the mandate of the Agency and its privileges and immunities and act forthwith to enable its operations to proceed without impediment or restriction in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, including, inter alia, to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip in accordance with the mandate of the Agency and to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe;

Reiterates its demand that Israel comply without delay with all its legal obligations under international law, including, inter alia, to take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, in full cooperation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care, to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip;

Calls upon Israel to abide by Articles 100, 104 and 105 of the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations in all aspects and to ensure the safety of the personnel of the Agency, the protection of its installations and the safeguarding of the security of its facilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, at all times, to comply with international humanitarian law, and to cease obstructing the movement and access of the staff, vehicles and supplies of the Agency and levying taxes, extra fees and charges on the Agency;

Underscores the imperative of reparations, in accordance with international law, for all losses, damage and destruction sustained by the Agency in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and calls upon the Secretary-General to undertake the necessary assessments to this end;

Calls upon all parties to ensure respect for and the protection of all humanitarian personnel and United Nations and associated personnel, to respect the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence for the provision of humanitarian assistance and to respect and protect the inviolability of United Nations premises;

Calls upon the Agency to fully implement its high-level action plan for the implementation of the 50 recommendations of the Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality (Colonna Report), and welcomes the commitment affirmed by the Secretary-General and the Agency to fully implement the recommendations, and urges Member States to provide the necessary political and financial support to enable timely, effective and accelerated implementation;

Stresses the need to support the capacity of the Agency to uphold its mandate and to avert the serious humanitarian, political and security risks that would result from any interruption or suspension of its vital work;

Endorses the efforts of the Commissioner-General to continue to provide humanitarian assistance, as far as is practicable, on an emergency basis and as a temporary measure, to persons in the area who are internally displaced and in serious need of continuing assistance as a result of recent crises in the Agency’s fields of operation;

Welcomes the efforts of donors, organizations and host countries to respond to the Agency’s unprecedented financial crisis, including through generous, additional contributions, including to the Agency’s emergency appeals;

Also welcomes the Statement of Shared Commitments on UNRWA, initiated by Jordan, Kuwait and Slovenia on 22 May 2024, which expressed support for the Agency to effectively uphold the mandate conferred on the Agency by the General Assembly in all fields of operation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic;

Expresses its appreciation for the important support and cooperation provided by the host Governments to the Agency in the discharge of its duties;

Also expresses its appreciation to the Advisory Commission of the Agency, and requests it to continue its efforts and to keep the General Assembly informed of its activities;

Takes note of the report of the Working Group on the Financing of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East⁷ and the efforts to assist in ensuring the financial security of the Agency, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the necessary services and assistance to the Working Group for the conduct of its work;

⁷A/79/329.

Urges immediate efforts to address the financial and operational crises affecting the Agency due, inter alia, to rising needs and expenditures resulting from the deterioration of the socioeconomic conditions, unprecedented humanitarian crises and the conflicts and rising instability in the region and their significant negative impact on the ability of the Agency to deliver essential services to the Palestine refugees, especially in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Lebanon;

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the operations of the Agency⁸ and the conclusions and recommendations contained therein, including the proposal for an increased assessed contribution from the regular budget of the United Nations;

⁸A/71/849.

Recalls paragraph 61 of its resolution 78/252 of 22 December 2023, in which it decided to reallocate the remaining 50 per cent of resources related to executive and administrative management functions envisaged to be proposed by the Secretary-General in the 2025 budget to the 2024 budget of the Agency;

Recognizes the Agency’s extremely dire financial situation and the necessity to strengthen its capacity to respond to the increased and emerging needs related to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, as well as to further strengthen and sustain the Agency’s compliance with the recommendations of the Independent Review (Colonna Report) through increased contributions, including from the assessed regular budget of the United Nations;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit a proposal for funding requirements in the context of the proposed programme budget for 2026, in support of international staff requirements, in accordance with resolution 3331 B (XXIX) of 17 December 1974;

Appeals to States and organizations for voluntary contributions to the Agency, including multi-year funding agreements and an increase in such contributions where possible, in particular for the programme budget of the Agency, as well as for its emergency, recovery and reconstruction programmes as set out in its appeals and response plans, to support the mandate of the Agency, to alleviate its recurrent underfunding, to mitigate imminent risks to its core and emergency programming and to prevent the interruption of essential assistance to the Palestine refugees and the dire repercussions of any such interruption;

Recognizes the important and indispensable role of the Agency in its 75 years of existence and work in assisting the Palestine refugees throughout its five fields of operations and contributing to regional stability; underscores that it is irreplaceable, and stresses the importance of cooperation of all States and other United Nations bodies with the Agency to enable the effective implementation of its mandate in all fields of operation until the realization of a just solution to the question of Palestine, including for the Palestine refugees, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

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