Institution 302: UNRWA Is an International Responsibility That Cannot Be Disavowed and the Right of Return Does Not Expire

The Institution 302 for the Defense of Refugee Rights has affirmed that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) represents a continuing international responsibility that must not be abandoned, warning of the consequences of targeting the agency and undermining its mandate and resources for the rights of millions of Palestinian refugees, foremost among them the right of return.

In a press statement on Sunday, coinciding with the 109th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration on 2 November, the institution said the anniversary recalls a pivotal juncture in the history of the Palestinian cause and the political and humanitarian repercussions it produced, most notably the Nakba, forced displacement and the continuing tragedy of Palestinian refuge.

It explained that the refugee issue, more than a century after the declaration, remains a test of the international community’s responsibility toward the Palestinian people, who were deprived of their land and their rights, foremost among them the right of return in accordance with relevant international resolutions.

The institution stressed that UNRWA’s role is not limited to providing educational, health, relief and social services to millions of refugees, but is also an expression of the continuation of international political and legal responsibility toward their cause.

It warned that targeting the agency and undermining its mandate and resources, particularly its human resources, and taking arbitrary decisions to dismiss its staff, threatens the human and livelihood security of refugees and affects their future and rights, in addition to undermining one of the fundamental UN witnesses to the continuation of the Palestinian refugee issue.

It affirmed that ensuring UNRWA continues to carry out its tasks and providing it with the necessary funding is not only a humanitarian obligation but a necessity for protecting the dignity of refugees, safeguarding their rights and preventing their cause from being absent from the international agenda.

The institution called on the international community to provide sustainable political, moral and financial support to the agency, enable it to continue its work in accordance with its UN mandate, and assume its legal, political and humanitarian responsibilities toward Palestinian refugees.

It cautioned against dealing with the refugee issue as a relief file separate from its political and rights-based roots, or turning their suffering into a permanent reality, affirming that the passage of 109 years since the Balfour Declaration has not ended the Palestinian cause and that the rights of the Palestinian people do not expire with the passage of time.

The institution concluded its statement by affirming that UNRWA will remain, until the right of return is realized, a symbol of international responsibility and a witness to the Nakba and the continuation of the Palestinian refugee issue.