Addressing a UN committee meeting on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), a leading Vatican diplomat said that support for the agency “is very important because it sustains the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who otherwise would have no other source of help.”
“The Holy See deplores the attacks on UNRWA facilities, including offices, schools and hospitals,” Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said on November 13. “Such facilities, together with places of worship must remain inviolable spaces that provide protection and care for civilians.”
Several nations suspended funding of the agency following accusations of links between some employees and the October 2023 attack on Israel. Archbishop Caccia said:
The Holy See considers it vital that the work of UNRWA remains firmly rooted in the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. These principles must also guide the recruitment, administration and activities of local staff.