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Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza.

Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, will represent the Secretary-General at the Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza. She will deliver his remarks at the official opening ceremony.

The Deputy Secretary-General is expected to stress that we must demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law and that the delivery of humanitarian aid must be predictable and sustained.

10:00 – 10:30  Official Opening Ceremony

Opening remarks

H.E. Dr. Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates of the Arab Republic of Egypt

H.E. Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations

H.E. Dr. Mohammad Mustafa, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine

H.E. Ayman Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

10:35 – 11:00  Remarks by co-conveners

Ms. Sigrid Kaag, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza

Mr. Philippe Lazzarini, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

Mr. Muhannad Hadi, Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on behalf of UNOCHA

11:05 – 11:25  Presentation of Needs and Requirements

Dr. Amal Emam, Acting CEO of the Egyptian Red Crescent

Dr. Younis Alkhateeb, President of the Palestinian Red Crescent

Watch the Cairo Ministerial Conference to Enhance the Humanitarian Response in Gaza

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Commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2024.

Watch the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2024.

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Observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2024 at UNHQ.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is observed by the United Nations on or around 29 November each year, in accordance with General Assembly mandates contained in resolutions 32/40 B of 2 December 1977, 34/65 D of 12 December 1979, and subsequent resolutions adopted under agenda item "Question of Palestine."  

Watch the Observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2024!

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International legal responsibilities for preventing genocide, holding perpetrators of war crimes accountable, and for ending the unlawful occupation of Palestine.

Briefing convened by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP).

Watch the International legal responsibilities for preventing genocide, holding perpetrators of war crimes accountable, and for ending the unlawful occupation of Palestine!

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Ministerial Meeting entitled "The Situation in Gaza and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution as a Path to a Just and Comprehensive Peace".

This meeting aims to discuss concrete measures to implement the two-state solution, in view of the Arab Peace Initiative and the relevant United Nations resolutions, as well as the end of all hostilities, respect for international law, and addressing the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and beyond.

Watch the Ministerial Meeting entitled "The Situation in Gaza and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution as a Path to a Just and Comprehensive Peace"!

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Ministerial Meeting for Key Partners in Support of UNRWA.

On the margins of the 79th United Nations General Assembly high-level segment, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Kingdom of Sweden will host a Ministerial meeting on the vital role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza, the West Bank and the region.

Watch the Ministerial Meeting for Key Partners in Support of UNRWA!

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418th Meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

Consideration and adoption of the draft annual report of the Committee to the General Assembly 2024 document, A/79/35.

Watch the 418th Meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People!

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2024 Commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba "1948-2024: The Ongoing Palestinian Nakba".

Panel discussion entitled "1948-2024: The Ongoing Palestinian Nakba" convened by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP).

Watch the 2024 Commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba "1948-2024: The Ongoing Palestinian Nakba"

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416th Meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

Watch the 416th Meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

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Expressing Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

"Let us reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the Palestinian people in their quest to achieve their inalienable rights and build a future of peace, justice, security, and dignity." United Nations Secretary-General on the International Day of Solidarity with the palestinian people 2021.

Obervance at UNHQ.

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Support to shelter reconstruction and repair works.

Since its establishment, UNRWA has always taken action to mitigate the effects of emergencies on the lives of Palestine refugees.  In 2021, over 1.7 million persons received life-saving humanitarian assistance from UNRWA, funded through the Agency’s Emergency Appeals. This included 1 million persons in Gaza, close to half a million Palestine refugees affected by the conflict in Syria (including 45,000 who fled to Lebanon and Jordan) and Palestine refugees in Lebanon most impacted by the current crisis there. In addition, in May 2021, UNRWA issued a Humanitarian and Early Recovery Appeal to address the additional needs created by the May 2021 hostilities in Gaza and the increased tensions in the West Bank for the period May to December 2021. 

The operational context in which the Agency works is challenging, ranging from relative stability in some host countries to more complex environments, including armed conflict, repeated cycle of hostilities in Gaza and Syria, socio-economic crisis in Lebanon and a protracted protection crisis in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. UNRWA works in close coordination with UN country teams in host countries to develop contingency and emergency response plans through all phases of a crisis, i.e. prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.  

The ongoing conflict in Syria has become one of the most serious challenges UNRWA has faced in its seven decades of working with Palestine refugees. After eleven years of conflict, the household resilience and coping capacities of the 438,000 Palestine refugees currently estimated to remain in the country have been severely undermined and poverty is near universal. Two-thirds of Palestine refugees have been displaced at least once since the beginning of the conflict, and 40 per cent remained displaced within Syria and are confronted with additional hardship and persistent humanitarian needs. Over the past two years, vulnerabilities have increased due to the overlapping impacts of the current economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Many of the Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS) who have fled Syria and are currently in Lebanon (29,000 PRS) and Jordan (19,000 PRS), continue to face a marginalized and precarious existence due to their uncertain legal status. In Lebanon, all Palestine refugees have been confronted with increased hardship since the onset of an economic crisis in October 2019, which has caused loss of livelihood and a spike in prices including of the most basic commodities, leaving many unable to meet their most basic needs. In both Lebanon and Jordan, the COVID-19 pandemic has further compounded existing vulnerabilities, pushing more families into poverty and hardship. 

Despite considerable challenges, the Agency continues to provide Palestine refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan affected by crises, with emergency relief, health, protection, education in emergencies and environmental health services. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNRWA integrated special measures within its existing emergency programmes, adjusting essential services to the challenges of the pandemic, and introduced new interventions to meet additional needs. 

More details about the 2022 emergency programmes of the Agency in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan are available here. 

The humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) also remains critical and has deteriorated as a result of the May 2021 escalation of hostilities in Gaza, the deteriorating security situation in the West Bank and the protracted consequences of the blockade, occupation and COVID-19.  

In the Gaza Strip, Palestine refugees are struggling with the humanitarian consequences of the 15-year air, land and sea blockade, which continues to cause high levels of food insecurity, poverty and joblessness. Repeated cycles of violence and escalations in hostilities further add to the current despair and hopelessness experienced by many Palestine refugees, taking a heavy toll on their mental health and psychosocial wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic has put an enormous strain on an already degraded health system and has increased poverty and vulnerability. 

In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the lives of Palestine refugees continue to be affected by the socioeconomic and protection-related effects of the occupation, including restricted access to land, services, property, markets and job opportunities. Military operations conducted by Israeli forces in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, increased in 2021 negatively impacting the lives of Palestine refugees; these operations, often involving the use of live ammunition and tear gas, result in casualties, serious psychosocial impacts and damage to land and property. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the public health system and economy in the West Bank and large numbers of Palestine refugees have lost their livelihoods due to the pandemic. 

In response to mounting humanitarian needs, UNRWA continues to provide emergency relief assistance (primarily in the form of food assistance in Gaza, and cash and food in the West Bank), emergency health, education, mental health and psychosocial support, protection and environmental health services.

 Through its 2022 Emergency Appeal, UNRWA will also continue its support to refugee families in Gaza whose homes were badly damaged/destroyed in the May 2021 hostilities, through the provision of Transitional Shelter Cash Assistance (TSCA) and support to shelter reconstruction and repair works. COVID-19 special measures will continue to be integrated in the emergency interventions of the Agency. More details about the Agency 2022 oPt emergency programming are available here. 

Underfunding of UNRWA emergency appeals undermines the Agency’s ability to provide vital assistance to Palestine refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan as well as in the oPt. On some occasions, the Agency has been forced to scale down and/or suspend a number of interventions, with negative consequences on the humanitarian situation and well-being of Palestine refugees. Ensuring predictable and sufficient funding to UNRWA emergency operations is essential to maintain the provision of humanitarian assistance and basic services to Palestine refugees. 

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Encourage Member States to continue to give the widest support and publicity to the observance of the Day of Solidarity.

Special meeting in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2021.

In 1977, the General Assembly called for the annual observance of 29 November as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (resolution 32/40 B). On that day, in 1947, the Assembly adopted the resolution on the partition of Palestine (resolution 181 (II))

In resolution 60/37 of 1 December 2005, the United Nations eneral Assmebly Assembly requested the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and the Division for Palestinian Rights, as part of the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November, to continue to organize an annual exhibit on Palestinian rights or a cultural event in cooperation with the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the UN.

The resolution on the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People also encourages Member States to continue to give the widest support and publicity to the observance of the Day of Solidarity.

Related Sites and Documents

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Ensure that the civilian population in the Gaza Strip received food, medicines and other humanitarian necessities.

During the Israeli operation in Gaza:

37,159 tons of humanitarian aid on 1503 trucks were transferred via the Kerem Shalom and Karni crossings (food, medication and medical supplies)

1,535,750 liters of heavy duty diesel for the Gaza power station

234 tons of gas for domestic use

188,000 liters of diesel for UNRWA vehicles and needs

3,896 tons of grain, on 98 trucks were transferred via the Karni conveyor belt

20 ambulances were donated by the governments of Turkey and Jordan, and 10 ambulances transferred to the Gaza Strip by the ICRC in order to meet the needs of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society

449 dual nationals were evacuated via the Erez Crossing

68 chronically ill people and their escorts made their way from Gaza to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan

37 employees of international organizations and medical staff entered Gaza via the Erez Crossing

A forward medical clinic was established at Erez by Magen David Adom

Numerous medical movements took place via Rafah, including at least 25 ambulances

- Daily updates of humanitarian aid

Hamas abuse of the humanitarian effort:

Use of ambulances to mobilize terrorists

Terrorist tunnel aimed at disrupting the Nahal Oz and Karni crossings

Launching and firing from the immediate vicinity of international installations (UNRWA hospitals etc.)

Launching and shooting from within populated areas, schools and homes

Terrorist activities formulated and carried out from mosques, including storage of rockets

Abuse of the humanitarian recess to launch increased amount of rockets

Prevention of medical evacuation of Palestinians to Israel

Summary of humanitarian aid to Gaza 

Humanitarian aid to Gaza during IDF operation.

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Promote the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2020 was observed on 1 December with special meetings. In the UN headquarters in New York, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, a body of the UN General Assembly promoting the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence, will convene high-level officials of Member States, the Secretary-General, intergovernmental organizations and representatives of civil society who are expected to make statements on the question of Palestine and attend the official launch of a virtual exhibit focusing on the Wall built in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which has been ruled to be illegal by the International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2004.

The exhibit explores this through the words of various advocates and public personalities, and through images from artists and human rights activists who have used the wall as a canvas to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people. 

Provisional programme:

10 a.m.-10.05 a.m. H.E. Mr. Cheikh Niang, Chairperson Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations)

10.05 a.m. – 10.10 a.m. H.E. Mr. Volkan Bozkır President of the General Assembly 10.10 a.m. – 10.15 a.m. H.E. Mr. Jerry Matthews Matjila (TBC) President of the Security Council (Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations)

10.15 a.m. – 10.20 a.m. Mr. António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations

10.20 a.m. – 10.25 a.m. H.E. Mr. Riyad Mansour Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine, reading out a message from Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine.

10.25 a.m. – 10.45 a.m. Launching of the Exhibit "The writing is on the Wall: annexation past and present" Introductory remarks and Exhibit Slideshow By H.E. Mr. Riyad Mansour

10.45 a.m. – 10.50 a.m. Introduction of Regional Organization Speakers – Chairperson

10.50 a.m. – 10.55 a.m. H.E. Ms. Fatima Kyari Mohammed Permanent Observer of the African Union, reading out a message from H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission.

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Reducing the risk of epidemics.

For over 60 years, the UNRWA Health programme has been delivering comprehensive primary health care (PHC) services, both preventive and curative, to Palestine refugees, and helping them access secondary and tertiary health care services.

UNRWA beneficiary populations are undergoing a demographic transition: People are living longer and developing different needs, particularly those related to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and chronic conditions that require lifelong care, such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer. A healthy life is a continuum of phases from infancy to old age, each of which has unique, specific needs, and our programme therefore takes a ‘life-cycle approach’ to providing its package of preventive and curative health services.

To address the changing needs of Palestine refugees, we undertook a major reform initiative in 2011. We introduced the Family Health Team (FHT) approach, based on the World Health Organization-indicated values of primary health care, in our primary health facilities (PHFs).

The FHT offers comprehensive primary health care services based on holistic care of the entire family, emphasizing long-term provider-patient relationships and ensuring person-centeredness, comprehensiveness and continuity. Moreover, the FHT helps address cross-cutting issues that impact health, such as diet and physical activity, education, gender-based violence, child protection, poverty and community development.

The UNRWA have supported the implementation of the FHT by introducing an effective appointment system, along with a health informatics platform and electronic medical records (E-Health). By 2015, we plan to roll out the FHT approach to all 140 health centres across our five fields of operations.

In addition, the UNRWA Environmental Health programme controls the quality of drinking water, provides sanitation and carries out vector and rodent control in refugee camps, thus reducing the risk of epidemics.

For more information read health programme 2021 fact sheet.

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Provide sustainable income-generation opportunities for Palestine refugees, as well as other poor or marginalised groups who live and work near them.

The UNRWA Department of Microfinance provides sustainable income-generation opportunities for Palestine refugees, as well as other poor or marginalised groups who live and work near them.

It extends credit and complementary financial services to households, entrepreneurs and small-business owners. These investments create and sustain jobs, reduce poverty and empower our clients, particularly women.

Many of the microfinance programme’s clients operate small, often informal businesses on the margins of the economy. They include fishermen, garage-owners, at-home seamstresses and vegetable stall-owners. We focus our microfinance operations on the poor urban areas where refugees often live, as these tend to be centres of commercial and industrial activity.

To create self-employment opportunities for youth between 18 and 30 years of age, the UNRWA microfinance programme also provides start-up loans for young people looking to start their own businesses.

By lending to Palestine refugees, women, youth and other marginalized clients, the microfinance department supports the UNRWA human development goal of “A Decent Standard of Living.” The department organizes its programming with the strategic objective of providing its clients with “inclusive financial services and increased access to credit and saving facilities” that can provide them with new opportunities.

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Improve the infrastructure of Palestine refugee camps, utilizing urban planning tools. 

58 recognized Palestine refugee camps dot Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 

Over the years, these camps have transformed from temporary 'tent cities' into hyper-congested masses of multi-storey buildings with narrow alleys, characterized by high concentrations of poverty and extreme overcrowding. The camps are considered to be among the densest urban environments in the world, but because camp structures were built for temporary use, over the decades the buildings have become overcrowded, critically substandard and in many cases life-threatening. 

Under international law, refugees have—as does everyone—the right to an adequate standard of living, including housing, without prejudice to other rights they enjoy as refugees.

Launched in 2007 to address the deteriorating environments of the camps, the Infrastructure and Camp Improvement programme (ICIP) operates on the premise that the spatial and environmental conditions in which Palestine refugees live cannot be divorced from their livelihood or well-being.

 Consequently, ICIP adopts an integrated, comprehensive, participatory and community-driven improvement of the built environment of Palestine refugee camps, utilizing urban planning tools.