UNRWA boss Lazzarini to step down in March 2026

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. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox "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 ...