What was the terrible thing Lazzarini said?
He suggested that UNRWA outsource some of its functions to other UN agencies (that have consistent budgets.)
He pointed out the obvious fact that UNRWA's expenses can only go up as they keep adding new "refugees" to their rolls and never take any off, nor do they have a mechanism to take anyone off. Right now UNRWA goes begging for donations every few months because otherwise it would close down.
Palestinians went crazy, saying that this would be the first step towards UNRWA's dissolution. Why does that matter if they continue to get their services? Glad you asked:
UNRWA is “not just about the delivery of services,” said Muhammed Shehada from the Swiss-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.“As long as UNRWA is there, it’s a reminder that the international community has a responsibility to solve the issue of Palestinian refugees,” he told AFP.
UNRWA is just a symbol of keeping the Palestinian "refugee" issue alive forever, as opposed to every single other refugee issue in history.
The arguments that Palestinians are using against UNRWA allowing others to provide services are delusional. They say that this is a violation of UNGA Resolution 302 that created UNRWA to begin with, which they claim gives UNRWA exclusivity in providing services.
UNGA 302 (1950) says no such thing. In fact, it days the opposite!
18. Urges the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, the International Refugee Organization, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and other appropriate agencies and private groups and organizations, in consultation with the Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, to furnish assistance within the framework of the programme;
It also anticipates that UNRWA will only last a few years and that in the future the host countries would provide the same services UNRWA does. one of its two stated purposes in UNGA 302 is, "To consult with the interested Near Eastern Governments concerning measures to be taken by them preparatory to the time when international assistance for relief and works projects is no longer available."
As usual, the Palestinians are lying. UNRWA is not sacred and was never meant to be. It was meant to help the 1948 refugees until they were resettled and then disappear.
It isn't that asking other agencies for additional help violates UNGA 302. The very existence of UNRWA today, 42 years later, violates UNGA 302!
