UNRIC Library Backgrounder: Gaza

UN Entities

• United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): http://www.unrwa.org/
• Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO): https://unsco.unmissions.org/
• United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Division for Palestinian Rights: https://dppa.un.org/en/palestinian-rights
• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – Occupied Palestinian Territory: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/MenaRegion/Pages/PSIndex.aspx
• Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/CountriesMandates/PS/Pages/SRPalestine.aspx
• Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – Occupied Palestinian Territory: http://www.ochaopt.org/
  • ReliefWeb – Occupied Palestinian Territory: http://reliefweb.int/country/pse
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People: http://www.ps.undp.org/
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – State of Palestine: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/oPt.html
• World Food Programme (WFP) – State of Palestine: http://www1.wfp.org/countries/state-palestine
• World Health Organization (WHO)
  • Occupied Palestinian territory: http://www.emro.who.int/countries/pse/index.html
  • Humantarian Health Action – occupied Palestinian territory: http://www.who.int/hac/crises/international/wbgs/en/

Meetings of UN Bodies

• Tenth Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly – Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory:
  http://www.un.org/en/ga/sessions/emergency10th.shtml
• Security Council Meetings on the Middle East situation, including the Palestinian question
  • 2020 meetings – meeting records, press releases and resolutions:
    http://research.un.org/en/docs/sc/quick/meetings/2020
  • 2019 meetings – meeting records, press releases and resolutions:
    http://research.un.org/en/docs/sc/quick/meetings/2019
  • Earlier years:
    http://research.un.org/en/docs/sc/quick/meetings
• Human Rights Council
  • 28th Special Session on the deteriorating situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem – 18 May 2018: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SpecialSessions/Pages/SpecialSessions.aspx
  • 21st special session on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem – 23 July 2014: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SpecialSessions/Session21/Pages/21stSpecialSession.aspx
  • United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SpecialSessions/Session9/Pages/FactFindingMission.aspx
  • 12th Special Session of the Human Rights Council: “The human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and East Jerusalem – 15 and 16 October 2009: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SpecialSessions/Session12/Pages/12thSpecialSession.aspx
  • 9th Special Session on the “The Grave Violations of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including the recent aggression in the occupied Gaza Strip” – 9 January 2009: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SpecialSessions/Session9/Pages/9thSpecialSession.aspx
  • 6th Special Session on human rights violations emanating from Israeli military incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the recent ones in occupied Gaza and West Bank town of Nablus, Geneva, 23-24 January 2008: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SpecialSessions/Session6/Pages/6thSpecialSession.aspx
  • 3rd Special session on Israeli military incursions in Occupied Palestinian Territory, 15 November 2006: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/SpecialSessions/Session3/Pages/3rdSpecialSession.aspx

Selected Statements and Speeches by UN Officials

• Statements by António Guterres, UN Secretary-General:
  https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/secretary-generals-speeches
• Statements & Opinion Editorials by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
  http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/NewsSearch.aspx?PTID=HC&NTID=STM
  http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/NewsSearch.aspx?PTID=HC&NTID=OED
• Statements by Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights on Palestinian territories occupied since 1967:
  http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/NewsSearch.aspx?MID=SR_Palestine
• Statements and speeches by Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
  http://www.unocha.org/media-centre/statements-ercusg
• Statements by Christian Saunders, Acting Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA):
  https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements?id=9
• Statements by Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process:
  https://unsco.unmissions.org/special-coordinator-statements-0

UN Databases

• UNISPAL – UN Information System on the Question of Palestine
  https://www.un.org/unispal/data-collection/
  The United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine (UNISPAL) was established and is being developed by the Division for Palestinian Rights in response to successive General Assembly mandates. The main collection contains the texts of current and historical United Nations material concerning the question of Palestine and other issues related to the Middle East situation and the search for peace. UNISPAL contains the English texts with a growing number in the other official UN languages.

Further Information

• UN News Focus: Middle East
  https://news.un.org/en/focus/middle-east
• Middle East Quartet Statements
  https://unsco.unmissions.org/mideast-quartet
  
• Clarification on UNRWA schools in Gaza (31 July 2014):
  http://blogs.un.org/blog/2014/07/31/clarification-on-unrwa-schools-in-gaza/
• Humanitarian updates about the emergency in Gaza (30 July 2014):
  http://blogs.un.org/blog/2014/07/30/humanitarian-updates-about-the-emergency-in-gaza/
• Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident (September 2011):
  http://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/middle_east/Gaza_Flotilla_Panel_Report.pdf

Non-UN Sources

• Security Council Report – Israel/Palestine
  http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/israelpalestine/
• The New Humanitarian (formerly “IRIN News”) – Palestine:
  http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/middle-east-and-north-africa/palestine