NEW YORK
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday painted a bleak portrait of the plight of Palestinian refugees and said the international community's political failure to address the issue must not lead to a "moral failure."
Ban's remarks came at an event in New York to mark the 65th anniversary of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which, he said, "was never meant to exist this long.
"It exists because of political failure. In the absence of a just and lasting solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA has become more than an agency: It is a lifeline," he said.
The agency is providing assistance to some 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan, as well as Syria, where 18,000 refugees in the Yarmouk camp remain besieged by regime forces and Daesh.
Ban said deteriorating socioeconomic conditions in the region exacerbated the needs of the Palestinian refugee communities, dwarfing the resources available to UNRWA.
"The result is deepening pain and vulnerability for Palestine refugees," he said. "Some are resorting to desperate measures, putting their lives in the hands of unscrupulous human traffickers, in a perilous attempt to reach Europe by sea."
Gaza, which was the scene of a brutal Israeli onslaught last summer, is home to the world’s highest unemployment rate, with more than 60 percent of the young unemployed, Ban said.
"In Gaza – as anywhere else in the world – joblessness means hopelessness. We simply must do more to address this challenge,” he said.
More than 2,100 Gazans, mostly civilians, were killed and nearly 11,000 injured during seven weeks of Operation Protective Edge in July and August.
The UN says more than 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed during the offensive and the enclave's infrastructure largely wiped out in the heavy bombardment.
Opportunities for Palestinian refugees continue to be made immeasurably more difficult by blockade, bombings, siege, closures and upheaval, Ban said.
"Gaza is a powderkeg – mounting frustration and anger will surely light the fuse. Action is needed now," he added.
