Swiss diplomat tapped to lead UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recommends Philippe Lazzarini to head UNRWA after former chief steps down following misconduct probe
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has recommended a Swiss expert in humanitarian affairs to lead the UN agency responsible for aiding Palestinian refugees, a UN source said Wednesday.
Guterres’ pick for the sensitive UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) post, Philippe Lazzarini, has served as the UN coordinator in Lebanon for the past five years.
He has deep experience in humanitarian relief work in conflict zones, including Somalia, Iraq, Angola and the Palestinian territories.
Lazzarini also held positions with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East.
If approved by the agency’s advisory board, Lazzarini would follow Pierre Krahenbuhl, another Swiss national, who resigned as UNRWA director in November 2019 amid accusations of mismanagement.
Krahenbuhl himself was alleged to have been romantically involved with a colleague appointed in 2015 to a newly created role of senior adviser after an “extreme fast-track” process.
Founded in 1949, UNRWA runs schools and provides aid to millions of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza.
The United States ended its annual $300 million contribution to UNRWA in 2018.
US President Donald Trump’s administration, along with Israel, accuses UNRWA of perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by extending refugee status to millions of descendants of Palestinians who fled or were forced out of homes in today’s Israel at the time of the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948, rather than limiting refugee status only to the original refugees as is the norm with most refugee populations worldwide.
The Times of Israel Community.