NEW YORK: The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini has emphasized the agency's vital role as "the custodian of Palestinian refugees' identity and history."
In a statement published on UNRWA's platform on X, Lazzarini affirmed that family records of Palestinian refugees have been preserved and archived over the past 75 years.
He noted that thanks to the efforts of UNRWA teams, thousands of archival files from Gaza and the West Bank were transferred to a secure location and digitised.
Lazzarini stressed that safeguarding these records is essential for protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees under international law.
He further underscored the urgent need for a peaceful diplomatic solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including a definitive resolution of the plight of Palestinian refugees.