By Serife Cetin
NEW YORK (AA) - Türkiye's deputy permanent representative to the UN expressed strong support Monday for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA.
"For almost 75 years, UNRWA has been providing assistance and protection to Palestine refugees. This assistance is essential and indispensable. It entails the possibility of a life in dignity. It saves lives,” Asli Guven told the General Assembly.
"We commend the heroic efforts by the UNRWA personnel who are making the ultimate sacrifice in their honorable mission,” she added.
Guven said that since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, more than 150 UNRWA premises have been hit and more than 160 UNRWA personnel have been killed.
"That was followed by allegations of wrongdoing towards several individuals among the 30,000 employees of UNRWA. The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and an independent review group immediately seized on the matter.
"Yet to this day, credible evidence has yet to be presented to substantiate these allegations," Guven said, adding the suspension of funding to UNRWA by some donors "can hardly be justified and remains a matter of deep concern."
Israeli authorities accused some UNRWA employees in Gaza of taking part in the Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas on Israel. Several countries have suspended funding for the agency, which was established in 1949 to help Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. The agency said it terminated contracts with the employees following the allegations.
"As the platform representing the wider membership and the consciousness of the international community, the General Assembly cannot abandon UNRWA, nor can it leave the Palestine refugees to their own devices.
"Türkiye, as the chair of the working group on the financing of UNRWA, will continue to support the invaluable work of the agency. We call on all parties to support UNRWA," Guven added.
She also thanked UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini for his efforts to realize its mandate under extremely dire circumstances.
*Writing by Diyar Guldogan from Washington, D.C.