By Holy See Mission
Statement
of the Holy See
Before the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee)
of the 67th session of the United
Nations General Assembly
on item 52:
United Nations Relief and Works Agency
for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
New York, 6 November 2012
Mr. Chairman,
My delegation having carefully
reviewed the Report of Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees on the Near East (UNRWA) as well as the
speech of the Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi delivered to the UNRWA
Advisory Commission 18 June 2012 (Dead Sea, Jordan), commends the transparency
of the reporting and the implementation of critical financial reforms needed to
meet the changing realities in the region.
The Commissioner-General has clearly
identified that recurrent conflicts in the Near East have added new problems to
the already difficult task of serving Palestine refugees in the Near East. As
resources from the international community become more limited, as the
difficult international economic situation waxes and wanes daily, the refugee
population continues to grow through natural demographics and the influx of
refugees due to the recurrent conflict of the region.
The Holy See, also present with UNRWA
in the region, must confront these same realities through its charitable
organizations, which must educate the youth, provide medical care within
numerous hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation facilities for the injured. Care
must be given to the homeless whose homes have been destroyed, families
provided for when wage earners are either killed, imprisoned, or become
unemployed. Facilities for those traumatized by incessant war and political
upheavals must also be provided. Generous Catholic Donor agencies from the
United States, Germany, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United
Kingdom and many other countries are providing funds for their humanitarian
services.
Transnational agencies under the
auspices of the Holy See, such as the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, the
Catholic Near East Welfare Association, the
Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, the Knights and Dames
of Malta, just to name a few, work alongside UNRWA in the host countries for
the welfare of Palestine refugees.
Mr.
Chairman,
The concerns of the Commissioner-General Grandi, as
reflected in his reports, are our concerns as well. The needs of the refugees
grow as resources become more limited as the international financial crisis
continues to play out. My delegation shares the premise advanced by the
Commissioner-General that the uncertainty of the future for the refugees at
this time sows seeds of the possible radicalization of the young. For education
to promote hope for the future, peace must return to the region. The Peace
Process has stagnated badly and the international community needs to renew its
firm commitment to resolving the Israeli-Palestine issue now sixty-four years old.
During his recent visit to one of the UNRWA’s host
countries, Lebanon, 15-17 September 2012, His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI,
spoke very clearly of the need for peace in the region. He stated:
“[T]he first priority is to do all we
can to halt the violence and to open up a
real possibility of staying together for the future. What can we do against
war? Of course, we can always
spread the message of peace so we can make it clear that violence never solves
problems and we can build up the forces of peace... I also believe that there
must be an end to the importation of arms: without which, war would not continue. Instead of
importing weapons, which is a grave sin, we should
import ideas of peace and creativity.”
The Quartet must renew its efforts to
restore peace to the region so that the works of UNRWA could cease and that the
humanitarian works of the Holy See would not be for refugees, but for citizens
of a viable and stable polity of peoples.
In the hope that the problems caused
by the many conflicts of the region will finally be resolved by negotiation and
dialogue, my delegation further underlines that a lasting solution must include
the status of the Holy City of Jerusalem. The Holy See renews its support for
“internationally guaranteed provisions to ensure the freedom of religion and of
conscience of its inhabitants, as well as permanent, free and unhindered access
to the Holy Places by the faithful of all religions and nationalities”
(A/RES/ES-10/12).
Finally, we renew our call to the
international community to facilitate significant negotiation between the
conflicting parties. Only with a just and lasting peace - not imposed, but
secured through negotiation and reasonable compromise - will the legitimate
aspirations of all the peoples of the Holy Land be fulfilled.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman
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