Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has awarded in New York the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic to the commissioner general of the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini.
“Yesterday (Thursday), at the Permanent Mission of Spain to the United Nations, I awarded the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic to UNRWA Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini, reiterating Spain’s support for the organization,” the minister declared through his official account on the social network X.
“The work of UNRWA is crucial for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and for six million Palestinian refugees in the region,” added Albares, who was in New York to participate in an open ministerial debate of the Council of United Nations Security.
During the debate, held on Thursday, Albares asked that Palestine be admitted as “one more member” of the UN because it is “the only way to end this loop of violence.” Algeria’s proposal for Palestine to be upgraded from an observer to a full member of the United Nations was supported by thirteen of the fifteen members of the Council, but was ultimately rejected due to the United States veto.
At the same session, Lazzarini read a statement to the Security Council in which he warned against “calls for the closure of UNRWA,” which “have nothing to do with adherence to humanitarian principles” and seek to “end the status of refugees of millions of Palestinians.” “The Agency exists because there is no political solution,” he added.
On April 10, the Government approved the granting of the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic to Philippe Lazzarini at the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. “An honor for UNRWA and me to receive the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, a prestigious award from the King of Spain,” declared the commissioner general through X. “This is a recognition of the extraordinary service of our teams wherever that they are, including Gaza,” he continued. “It is a testament to the Agency’s indispensable role in providing aid, education and medical care to Palestinian refugees,” he added. “Thank you Spain for this humble recognition and for your unwavering support over the years, especially during the last very challenging period,” he concluded.
Philippe Lazzarini made a working visit to Spain on March 7, in which he was received by King Felipe VI, José Manuel Albares and the second vice president and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz.
During that meeting with Albares, the minister announced a new contribution from Spain of 20 million euros to support the organization “in its crucial humanitarian work in Gaza and meet the food, educational and health needs of almost six million Palestinian refugees in the region,” despite the decision of a group of countries to freeze their contributions after a dozen agency employees (out of a staff of 30,000) were accused of having participated in the Hamas attacks of October 7.
These twenty million join the 3.5 million approved a few days before by the Council of Ministers. According to Albares, the work of UNRWA is “irreplaceable” and, in the current context of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, it is “literally a matter of life or death for the more than two million people who live there.” For his part, Lazzarini highlighted that the new contribution of 20 million euros represents “a clear message to other countries so that they are aware of the indispensable work carried out by UNRWA and contribute to the agency again.”
Both Albares and the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, visited two UNRWA camps during their recent visits to Jordan, as part of their tours to the Middle East to address the situation in the region, and more specifically in the Gaza Strip.
