The United Nations marked its 78th birthday on Tuesday, but had little cause for celebration. UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees, warned of an increasingly desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza, with fuel for desalination and electricity generation plants almost exhausted. On the same day, Israel called for António Guterres to resign over his remarks on the Israel-Hamas war, and accused him of “blood libel”.
An immense institution affords the man at its head very limited power. His role is to mobilise resources, via UN agencies, and to use his platform as a pulpit. In his second term, Mr Guterres has become blunter, issuing clarion calls on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the climate emergency. But the challenges that he and the institution face are mounting – and are both underscored and exacerbated by the current crisis. UNRWA cannot do its job when relentless bombardment has killed 35 of its staff – as well as more than 6,500 others in Gaza, according to the Palestinian ministry of health – and when only a trickle of aid is getting through. Mr Guterres cannot do his job when member states tear him down.
