In alignment with the current School of Social Science theme seminar, titled “The Politics of Migration and Displacement as a Form of Life,” the School of Social Science of the Institute for Advanced Study hosted Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, the UN agency created to provide humanitarian assistance and human development services to Palestine refugees in the Near East.
Created in 1949, UNRWA is the oldest international agency working with and for displaced persons, offering assistance to millions of people in five fields of operation. Before being appointed as the head of UNRWA in 2020, Lazzarini worked for thirty years in humanitarian assistance in conflict and post-conflict areas, including at the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the UN Development Program in South Sudan, Rwanda, Angola, Somalia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Sarajevo.