The National Human Rights Commission, which includes Lebanon’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (NHRC-CPT), expresses its strongest condemnation and categorical rejection of recent legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset that bans the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This decision sets a dangerous and unprecedented course, one likely to have devastating consequences for millions of Palestinian refugees who have depended on UNRWA for access to essential services, particularly in the critical areas of health and education. These services are lifelines not only for those in Palestine but also for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and other host nations that have sheltered hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees for decades.
The NHRC-CPT underscores the complete illegality of these Israeli measures, describing them as an outright attack on United Nations institutions and their founding principles, as well as a flagrant violation of international law, established norms, and key treaties, including the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. This legislation also contradicts specific UN General Assembly resolutions, especially Resolution 302, adopted in 1949, which created UNRWA in direct response to the Palestinian refugee crisis. This founding mandate reflected an enduring international commitment to assist and protect Palestinian refugees, a responsibility that remains unfulfilled given the failure to implement Resolution 194, which guarantees their right of return.
The NHRC-CPT further asserts that the Israeli decision constitutes a clear and troubling violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2730 of 2024, which obligates the occupying state to respect and protect UN institutions and humanitarian personnel.
Highlighting the severe legal, political, and humanitarian risks posed by these actions, NHRC-CPT warns that the occupation’s measures endanger the Palestinian refugee issue at large, pointing to Israel’s evident intentions, as the “occupying power,” to weaken and dismantle UNRWA. These intentions are being pursued at a time when Palestinian communities, particularly in Gaza, are in dire need of the agency’s support. In Gaza alone, over 65% of the population depends on UNRWA’s healthcare and education services, with most residents relying on humanitarian assistance to survive amid escalating violence and deprivation. By banning UNRWA, Israel threatens the continuity of these vital services, jeopardizing the only major humanitarian organization capable of delivering extensive aid in Gaza.
The NHRC-CPT strongly reaffirms that UNRWA remains irreplaceable in its mandate and in the services it provides, both in Palestine and in the broader region where Palestinian refugees reside. It cautions against any efforts to shift UNRWA’s responsibilities to other entities, which could disrupt the fragile support structure sustaining countless Palestinian families. The Commission calls upon UN member states to recognize the profound, long-term impact that Israel’s decision may have on the integrity and effectiveness of UN institutions.
In light of this, the NHRC-CPT urges the international community to reject Israel’s decision and to take decisive measures to reverse it, underscoring the legal and moral obligations owed to Palestinian refugees and Gaza’s beleaguered residents. These populations endure relentless policies of marginalization and deprivation at the hands of the Israeli occupation. The Commission calls on UN member states to defend UNRWA actively by providing sustained political, legal, and financial support for its operations in Palestine, Lebanon, and other host nations with significant Palestinian refugee populations. Additionally, it appeals for continued and robust funding to ensure UNRWA’s work endures and to stand in firm opposition to Israeli policies that target and undermine this essential agency.
