Statement by
Mr. Yonatri Rilmania
Member of the Indonesian Delegation
before Special Political and Decolonization Committee
(Fourth Committee)
On
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East
New York, 3 November 2003
Mr. Chairman,
Permit me to begin by expressing our deep appreciation to Mr. Peter
Hansen, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, for his comprehensive and
valuable report. We recognize that information for his report is
often gathered in very difficult, sometimes dangerous circumstances,
and this makes them even more valuable and demanding of our acknowledgement
and respect.
In my view, one cannot even contemplate a report of this nature
without acknowledging and reiterating also the very important work
of the men and women that work for the Agency. Their sacrifice,
dedication and commitment are a shining example within the United
Nations system, and deserve the commendation of this Committee,
and indeed the entire membership of the United Nations.
Of particular mention, in this connection" is the death of
six UNRWA members of staff in addition to 64 others that were detained
by Israeli authorities. The Agency's project manager was killed
in a clearly-marked UNRWA compound by an Israeli sniper bullet in
Jenin while arranging the evacuation of his staff as a result of
an Israeli military operation. The United Nations owes these men
and women a debt of gratitude. My delegation extends its deep condolence
to the agency, and to the bereaved families.
Mr. Chairman,
The report before us outlines, unfortunately, the same tragic situation
as in previous years. It describes a continuing deterioration in
the political, economic and social situation, and a deep humanitarian
crisis that is growing even worse in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Poverty and unemployment continue to spread rapidly. Health conditions
are becoming worse, more and more Palestinian children are suffering
from malnutrition.
The report makes clear the detrimental responsibility for the crisis
of Israel's construction of the separation wall, external and internal
closures, curfews, and closed military zones in the Gaza Strip and
West Bank. In addition to all this, it is significant that Palestinians
continue to have their homes willfully demolished. In other words,
the living conditions of Palestinians across the board have continued
to worsen, and their ability to improve their situation is similarly
bad.
Mr. Chairman,
We are pleased to note that despite these problems, the Agency has
continued to implement its regular programme of providing education,
health, social services and microcredit assistance to Palestinian
refugees in five operational fields, as well as pursuing its organizational
reform.
Given the sacrifice, dedication and commitment of the Agency's staff,
my delegation is of the view that the l2, 000 strong local staff
of the Agency in the Palestinian territory deserves consideration
for hazard pay. Danger is often present in their line of work, and
tragedy, as we saw in the past year, is sometimes not far off. We
urge the Secretariat to speed up efforts to correct this anomaly.
Thank you.
