Jordan condemns accusations to undermine UNRWA

AMMAN — Jordan on Thursday condemned efforts to undermine UNRWA, warning that attempts to delegitimise the agency, accuse it of terrorism, restrict its operations, and shut down its offices must not be met with silence.

Addressing an extraordinary session of the Arab League Council, convened at the Kingdom's request, Jordan's Ambassador to Egypt and permanent representative to the Arab League Amjad Adaileh underscored the international community’s duty to uphold international law and protect UNRWA, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Adaileh stressed that UNRWA's existence is a matter of international responsibility, rooted in humanitarian law and defended by UN resolutions.

He referred His Majesty King Abdullah's recent address at the UN General Assembly, in which the King warned that the UN and its agencies are facing an unprecedented crisis of legitimacy, marked by both symbolic and physical attacks on their authority.

"For nearly a year, the sky-blue flag flying over UN shelters and schools in Gaza has been powerless to protect innocent civilians from Israeli military bombardment. UN aid trucks sit motionless just miles away from starving Palestinians. Humanitarian workers who proudly wear the emblem of this institution are disparaged and targeted. And the rulings of the UN’s International Court of Justice are defied, its opinions disregarded," Adaileh said, citing His Majesty's address.

The diplomat noted that in recent weeks, Jordan has led diplomatic efforts to secure support for UNRWA's continued operations, including hosting a ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly in New York. 

Adaileh said that these efforts aim at rallying Arab and international support to preserve UNRWA's vital work.

He also highlighted a recent Jordanian-led draft resolution calling for collective Arab action to counter measures that could jeopardise UNRWA's legal mandate. 

The ambassador also reiterated the Kingdom's rejection for recent Israeli legislation targeting UNRWA's activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and called for taking immediate, concrete steps to protect UN agencies providing humanitarian services to Palestinians.

By cutting funding and threatening its work, these pressures are an attempt to destroy all hope for Palestinians to address the refugee issue, whose rights to return and compensation are protected under international law and UN resolutions, Adaileh said. 

"UNRWA is bound by these inalienable rights," he said, calling on the international community to defend the agency's mission and ensure that it remains an unwavering advocate for the right of Palestine refugees to justice, return and compensation.