Esteemed President of the General Assembly, Secretary-General, Commissioner-General, excellencies, colleagues,

Let me first start by expressing Germany’s appreciation for the work carried out by UNRWA and its staff and express, like other speakers before me, my deepest condolences, respect and appreciation for those and their families who lost their lives in this service. Germany has been a steadfast supporter of UNRWA’s important work for Palestinian refugees in all country contexts: Lebanon, Syria, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Jordan. Underlining our support, in March, the German Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) and the German Federal Foreign Office announced new funding of €45 million for UNRWA in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank.

Additionally, that is two weeks ago, Foreign Minister Baerbock announced €10 million in new funding for UNRWA during her recent visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 25 June. In addition, she announced €14 million for WFP and NGOs for their lifesaving work in Gaza. In Beirut, Foreign Minister Baerbock announced €18 million in humanitarian assistance for IDPs, Syrian refugees and their Lebanese host communities.

This adds to Germany’s significant humanitarian diplomatic efforts and humanitarian assistance to help alleviate the tremendous suffering in Gaza. Our humanitarian aid now stands at €313 million since 2023 and we are committed to continue our efforts. During Foreign Minister Baerbock’s ten visits to the region since 7 October 2023, she repeatedly called for humanitarian assistance to be scaled up and distributed to the civilian population in Gaza immediately and without any obstructions. We reiterate the urgency of full, rapid, safe and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance at scale for Palestinians in need and of allowing and facilitating humanitarian workers and international organizations to operate effectively inside Gaza. A sustainable deconfliction system is of crucial importance. UNRWA and other UN organizations must be enabled to completely fulfil their mandates.

UNRWA plays a vital role in meeting the basic needs of the people in Gaza. UNRWA remains an important partner for other international organizations that rely on UNRWA’s operative structures.

In a context of enormous challenges, Germany remains supportive of UNRWA’s work. We very much welcome that UNRWA is fully committed to implementing the recommendations of the Colonna report and urge UNRWA to continue its efforts in this regard. These reforms and their thorough implementation at all ranks and in all fields of operation are necessary to provide a stable, sustainable basis for UNRWA’s role and the execution of their mandate and the future. Neutrality is key in all fields of operations and we expect further improvements. This is why we take also the new allegations concerning the neutrality of UNRWA’s staff brought forward by Israel this week very seriously. And we trust and we expect, of course, UNRWA to immediately take all necessary measures for a thorough investigation and to make sure that there is no place for extremism, hatred, terrorism in the organization.

We are looking forward to seeing continued progress in the implementation of the High Level Action Plan and to continuing the constructive dialogue we are having with UNRWA’s leadership.

Continued dialogue will be very important as there are many challenges ahead. We especially call on non-traditional donors to provide financial support. We also welcome that UNRWA announced to build on and extend partnerships with other UN agencies and partners in the region in order to keep delivering on its mandate. We encourage UNRWA to intensify those efforts.

UNRWA’s mandate is closely linked to the prospect of a true political perspective. Germany firmly believes in two States, Israel and Palestine, for two peoples in the Middle East. We fully support Palestinians’ right to self-determination. Every child, every family deserves to live in peace, prosperity and in dignity. That is why Germany has been working towards a two-state solution for years. We will relentlessly continue to do so.

Thank you.