Press Release

Statement by United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lynn Hastings

05 May 2022

On 4 May 2022, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected the petitions against eviction orders of the residents of Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank. The decision affects over one thousand Palestinians including 500 children in the occupied West Bank and allows for the eviction of the residents. As all domestic legal remedies have been exhausted, the community is now unprotected and at risk of imminent displacement.

Any such evictions resulting in displacement could amount to a forcible transfer, contrary to resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and international law. I reiterate the calls of the United Nations Secretary-General on Israel to cease demolitions and evictions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in line with its obligations under international law.

English

Lynn Hastings

Deputy Special Coordinator, UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator

hastingsl@un.org

UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Ms. Lynn Hastings as Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, where she will also serve as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Ms. Hastings brings to this position over twenty years of experience in humanitarian affairs, development coordination and political affairs. Since 2018 she has served as Deputy Director in the Operations and Advocacy Division of OCHA in New York. Previously, she was Senior Adviser in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) (2014-2018), Country Director for Pakistan in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) (2011-2014) and Chief of Staff in the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) (2003-2011). Ms. Hastings has also served as United Nations representative to the Office of the Middle East Quartet Envoy for the Gaza Disengagement, and in senior roles in the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and East Timor, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Prior to joining the United Nations, she practiced law in the private sector and conducted legal research for the International Commission of Jurists. Born in Canada, Ms. Hastings holds a Master of Laws from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Windsor as well as a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Windsor in Canada.