UNRWA boss Lazzarini to step down in March 2026

Philippe Lazzarini has overseen UNRWA since 2020. Keystone-SDA

Philippe Lazzarini will step down as head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) at the end of his term in March, he announced on Thursday. The Swiss national has lived through the UN agency's most turbulent period.

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“My term ends at the end of March. I’ve had two terms. I think that’s enough. And I also think there can be life beyond the United Nations,” he told the Swiss Press Club in Geneva on Thursday evening. Lazzarini said he would not seek a new term as head of UNRWA.

Until then, the 61-year-old from Neuchâtel will continue to “do what is necessary” to meet the expectations of the thousands of UNRWA employees who continue their commitment in the field. Nearly 350 of them have been killed since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas in Israel and Israeli reprisals in the Gaza Strip.

UNRWA boss since 2020

Lazzarini has overseen UNRWA since 2020 and has witnessed the unfolding disaster in Gaza firsthand on the ground. Since October 2023, he has advocated for the Palestinian population, some of whom, especially in Gaza, depend on UNRWA. On Thursday, he denounced the plight of children who are already severely malnourished and, in his words, condemned to death if Israel’s plans for reconquest are realised.

“We have a population that is extremely weakened. We thought we had already described everything about Gaza. We had described hell on earth in Gaza. But indeed, if this scenario were to unfold, even if we talk about the evacuation of people from Gaza to the south, many will no longer even have the strength to be able to move,” he said.

His second term has been particularly difficult. In addition to the numerous employees killed in Gaza and some accused of being members of Hamas, UNRWA’s neutrality has been called into question.

Some 15 countries have cut or reduced their funding, including Switzerland. Lazzarini has also faced attacks in the media and demands for his resignation from Israel, which has restricted his visas.

His career in humanitarian work and conflict resolution has included work for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) various UN agencies, but his mission at the head of UNRWA was undoubtedly the most exposed.

‘Tough job’

Carlo Sommaruga, a Social Democrat Senator, told Swiss public radio, RTS, that he was surprised by Lazzarini’s departure, even though it was to be expected.

“This is something that was expected, given that the position of Commissioner-General at UNRWA is an extremely difficult one, because it is the subject of personal attacks, institutional attacks from Israel and from the United States. And the stakes, naturally, wear people down,” he said.

“I simply hope that the United Nations will now be able to appoint someone of the calibre of Mr Lazzarini, or even of his predecessor, who also had to leave under pressure from Israel and the United States,” said Sommaruga.

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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