ESCWA Observes the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Beirut, 1 December 2020 (ESCWA) —ESCWA held two virtual events on 1 December 2020 in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People: an official ceremony and a public webinar on Palestinians and international aid.

During the official ceremony, ESCWA Executive Secretary Rola Dashti delivered a message from the UN Secretary-General on this Day, which reaffirmed the need to stop armed conflict and commit to the implementation of peaceful solutions in Palestine and the region, calling on the international community to renew its commitment towards the Palestinian People.

The statement of ESCWA, delivered by Deputy Executive Secretary Mounir Tabet, highlighted the breaches of international law committed by the Israel and the deteriorating conditions of the Palestinian health sector, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The official ceremony also featured statements by the Foreign Affairs Minister of Palestine Riyad Al-Maliki and the Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs and Tourism Ramzi Al-Moucharafieh.

Al-Maliki renewed his call to the international community to end the Israeli occupation and to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their quest for freedom and attainment of their full rights.

For his part, Al-Moucharafieh said that Lebanon was and still is appealing to the international community to endorse the right of the Palestinian people to establish an independent Palestinian state. He also called for efforts to be made towards an alteration across the scope of work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from relief-humanitarian to empowering-developmental.

The public webinar was held in collaboration with Al Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, where participants discussed prospects of development under the Gaza blockade and the deteriorating living conditions of the Palestinian people. They also stressed the need to maintain a long-term humanitarian and structural planning as the only viable ways out of the current situation.