(Witness): Appreciates the UNRWA Commissioner's Visit to Lebanon and Calls on Him to Fulfill the Demands of Palestinian Refugees
The Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness) appreciates the visit of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Mr. "Philippe Lazzarini", to Lebanon, which began on 27/5/2024, and his close briefing about Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, especially considering the world's preoccupation with the crimes of genocide committed by the occupation in Gaza. We hope that the visit will contribute effectively to improving the conditions of Palestinian refugees and Palestinian refugees from Syria.
UNRWA is the lung through which Palestinian refugees as well as Palestinian refugees from Syria to Lebanon breathe considering the difficult circumstances that Lebanon is going through, which reflects significantly on them, exacerbating poverty and unemployment rates among them, which exceeded 85%. We hope that this visit will achieve the following:
1-Ensuring the continuity and improvement of UNRWA services to Palestine refugees in Lebanon and the need to provide them with job opportunities.
2 - Work to improve the amount of family support for refugees and increase the number of beneficiaries and not reduce them with justifications for lack or freezing funding.
3-Increase the amounts of cash and shelter allowance provided to Palestinian refugees from Syria to Lebanon, especially since they are prevented from working.
4-Improving medical services at the primary health care level and providing high-quality medicines in UNRWA clinics.
5-Increasing health coverage at the second and third levels in private hospitals and increasing the coverage of medical supplies, especially since UNRWA contracts with hospitals in cash dollars and can impose its conditions in contracting.
6-Provide protection for staff in various sectors of UNRWA services and not to succumb to Israeli and other extortions and allegations under the pretext of neutrality.
7-Reversing the arbitrary decisions of the Director-General of UNRWA in Lebanon and the Commissioner-General against Professors Fatah Sharif and Raif Ahmed because of their national affiliation.
8-Allowing freedom of expression among employees, which is guaranteed to them by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its article 19, especially that UNRWA is part of this international system and must abide by and respect it.
9- The need for the UNRWA administration in Lebanon to reverse its decision to stop the restoration and rehabilitation of the collapsed houses, which were estimated at about 5,500 houses, according to the UNRWA spokesperson in Lebanon, Mrs. Huda Al-Samra (on 10/4/2022 with the United Nations News Agency).
10- The need to dialogue with the Lebanese official authorities to remove the obstacles that still hinder the completion of the reconstruction of the remaining parts of Nahr al-Bared camp, and the construction of the sea dam on the beach of Rashidieh camp and overcome these obstacles.
The Palestinian Association for Human Rights (witness)
Beirut on 27/5/2024