Philippe Lazzarini

This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.Philippe Lazzarini (born 1964) is a Swiss-Italian humanitarian who has been serving as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since 2020.

On 24 April 2015, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced[3] the Lazzarini's appointment as his Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, where he also served as Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, succeeding Ross Mountain; in this capacity, he worked under the leadership of successive Special Coordinators Sigrid Kaag (2015-2017), Pernille Dahler Kardel (2017-2019) and Ján Kubiš (2019-2020).

In 2020, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced Lazzarini's appointment as the new Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

[8] Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Lazzarini sent two letters to the United Nations General Assembly President on 7 December 2023 and 22 February 2024.

He briefed the UN Security Council on the "unprecedented humanitarian crisis" in the Gaza Strip and "attacks against UNRWA" on 30 October 2023 and 17 April 2024.