Delivered by: Ms. Katrín María Timonen
Adviser, Permanent Delegation of Iceland to UNESCO
Item 4.28, Resolution 43 C/61: Supporting the continuity of UNRWA's educational activities in the occupied Palestinian territory
43rd General Conference of UNESCO
Samarkand, 3 November 2025

Thank you, Madame Chair.

We thank Madame ADG Giannini for the presentation of this report and welcome the adoption by consensus.

Iceland is a longstanding contributor to UNRWA and has repeatedly voiced its concerns over Israeli legislation against the Agency. In January this year, the Government of Iceland decided to make an early disbursement of its annual contribution to UNRWA, as a symbol of unwavering support for the Agency.

We remain gravely concerned about the enormous scale of destruction, the education institutions, educators and learners affected, and the loss of learning of hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza and in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel, like all parties, must uphold the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and we highlight in particular the right to education. This includes ensuring that Palestinian children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, can attend school - notably by allowing UNRWA to reopen its schools in East Jerusalem.

Any reconstruction plan for Gaza must guarantee education for its 660,000 school-age children. Currently, UNRWA remains the only actor with the capacity to deliver this at scale. Continued support from UNESCO is essential to strengthening UNRWA’s educational programs, which serve over half a million Palestine refugee children across the Middle East. UNRWA plays a critical role of providing education and psychosocial support to children in Gaza.

We reiterate the importance of UNRWA in protecting childhood, fostering hope and livelihood opportunities for Palestine refugees, and building resilience in one of the world’s most protracted humanitarian crises. We continue to encourage UNESCO’s future plans to conduct on-site assessment of the damage to educational institutions and support habilitation plans.

Iceland fully and continuously supports UNESCO’s mandate as the custodian of SDG 4 on education, and we urge the Organization to continue its crucial commitment in providing expertise, delivering services to, and ensuring that all Palestine refugee children and youth have access to inclusive and equitable, quality education.

Thank you.