ICRC Chief: ‘We will not replace UNRWA in Gaza’

Amman: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Director General Pierre Krahenbuhl said on Monday that the organization will not replace the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip. He said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Le Temps that the ICRC and the UN agency had completely different missions, as UNRWA had its mandate from the United Nations General Assembly and the ICRC from the Geneva Conventions. Therefore, the ICRC will not take over UNRWA's mission, and that it had enough work to do before replacing other organizations, he added. A recent report by an independent group commissioned by the United Nations concluded that UNRWA is "indispensable and irreplaceable" for the Palestinians. Source: Jordan News Agency