Primarily based on an examination of the United Nations Reduction and Works Company’s screening procedures, code of ethics, administration construction, employees coaching and different practices, the unbiased evaluate group concluded that the company has “established and up to date a major variety of insurance policies, mechanisms and procedures” to uphold neutrality in recent times however is in want of essential reforms.
“Within the absence of a political resolution between Israel and the Palestinians, UNRWA stays pivotal in offering lifesaving humanitarian help and important social companies, notably in well being and training, to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Financial institution,” the report mentioned.
The U.N. Normal Meeting established UNRWA in 1949 to assist Palestinians who fled or have been expelled from their properties throughout the creation of the state of Israel. Greater than seven a long time later, UNRWA continues to manage government-like companies for greater than 5 million folks throughout Gaza, the West Financial institution, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
The findings launched Monday will largely come as a reduction to the embattled company, which was pitched into an existential disaster in January after Israel alleged {that a} dozen of its 13,000 workers in Gaza participated within the Oct. 7 Hamas-led assaults, and that the company was broadly infiltrated by Hamas and different militant teams.
Sixteen main donors, together with america, suspended funding value about $450 million, practically half of UNRWA’s finances for the 12 months. UNRWA Commissioner Normal Philippe Lazzarini instantly fired the employees members in query — an indication, he mentioned, of how significantly the company took the allegations. However Israel — lengthy against an company that it sees as perpetuating the Palestinian refugee subject and stoking antisemitism — referred to as for UNRWA to be disbanded.
Israeli Protection Minister Yoav Gallant mentioned in February, with out offering proof, that Israel had intelligence indicating that a further 30 UNRWA employees participated within the Oct. 7 assault and that 12 % of UNRWA’s employees within the Gaza Strip have been affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a smaller Islamist group within the Gaza Strip.
United Nations Secretary Normal António Guterres commissioned the unbiased evaluate group that month “to evaluate whether or not the Company is doing all the pieces inside its energy to make sure neutrality and to reply to allegations of significant breaches when they’re made.”
The physique, led by former French overseas minister Catherine Colonna and a trio of Scandinavian analysis establishments, didn’t look at the accusations that some UNRWA workers took half within the Oct. 7 assaults; these claims are being probed individually by investigators from the U.N. Workplace of Inner Oversight Companies, which is anticipated to launch its personal report later this 12 months.
In some methods, this was the higher-stakes investigation: A number of main donors, together with Germany and the UK, have mentioned the restoration of their funding to the company rests on assessments of its neutrality.
The group spoke with greater than 200 folks, together with senior UNRWA leaders throughout the area and officers from donor states, host international locations, Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt, throughout its nine-week evaluate.
Its ultimate report outlined quite a lot of measures, together with employees coaching and investigation procedures, that the company has taken to keep up neutrality and self-discipline workers who violate humanitarian rules. It additionally mentioned UNRWA has mechanisms in place to forestall its amenities from being misused for political or navy functions, although it referred to as for extra common inspections.
On employees vetting, the report mentioned UNRWA shares employees lists yearly with host international locations and with Israel for East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Financial institution. The USA additionally receives the lists upon request. These states are then accountable for elevating any pink flags — however Israel had not finished so since 2011, the report mentioned.
The Israeli overseas ministry knowledgeable the group that it had obtained employees lists with out Palestinian identification numbers earlier than March 2024.
“On the idea of the March 2024 listing, which contained Palestinian ID numbers, Israel made public claims {that a} vital variety of UNRWA workers are members of terrorist organizations,” the report mentioned. “Nevertheless, Israel has but to offer supporting proof of this.”
UNRWA at present screens all associates biannually in opposition to the U.N. sanctions listing. However the sanctions roster is “restricted to a small variety of people, and UNRWA lacks the assist of intelligence companies to undertake environment friendly and complete vetting.”
UNRWA has already agreed to offer donors with lists of its workers, together with ID card info, each quarter. The report referred to as on host international locations and Israel to display employees and share proof of any regarding findings.
The group additionally examined Israeli allegations that UNRWA-run faculties depend on academic supplies that deny Israel’s proper to exist and glorify violence resistance. Colonna’s group mentioned UNRWA has taken steps to purge politicized materials from Palestinian Authority textbooks, noting {that a} evaluate final 12 months discovered a “small fraction” of textbook pages comprise objectionable content material.
“Even when marginal, these points represent a grave violation of neutrality,” the report mentioned, urging UNRWA to audit the content material of studying supplies with Israeli and different authorities.
Throughout the board, lack of funding considerably hampers efforts to uphold the group’s neutrality, the group discovered.
UNRWA is exclusive within the United Nations ecosystem because it offers fundamental companies to a particular inhabitants and attracts most of its 32,000 workers from the pool of Palestinian refugees it serves. Workers are “dwelling the occupation,” which creates each worthwhile experience and challenges to making sure neutrality, Adam Bouloukos, UNRWA’s West Financial institution director, mentioned in an interview final month.
“Neutrality breaches by UNRWA personnel usually take the type of social media posts, notably following incidents of violence affecting colleagues or kin,” the report mentioned, recommending that the company do extra to create house for employees to debate traumatic occasions.
Nonetheless, company coverage — as outlined by the evaluate group — requires workers to indicate neutrality always or threat disciplinary measures. UNRWA vehemently rejects accusations it’s broadly infiltrated by Hamas or is complicit in militant exercise. It says Israel has nonetheless not offered detailed proof to again up its allegations.
The U.S. intelligence group couldn’t confirm the Israeli claims about Oct. 7 with a excessive diploma of confidence, officers advised The Put up in February.
A Washington Put up evaluation discovered that the face and automobile of a person who was captured in CCTV footage from Kibbutz Beeri on Oct. 7 dragging the limp physique of an Israeli man right into a automobile appeared to match that of Faisal Ali Musalam Naami, 45, an UNRWA social employee recognized by Israel as a participant within the assaults. In any other case, The Put up has been unable to independently confirm the Israeli allegations.
UNRWA, in the meantime, mentioned this month that Palestinian UNRWA employees in Gaza detained by the IDF had been subjected to mistreatment in Israeli custody and have been “pressured throughout interrogations to make compelled confessions in opposition to the Company.”
“The IDF acts in accordance with Israeli and worldwide regulation so as to shield the rights of the detainees held within the detention and questioning amenities,” the IDF mentioned in an announcement to The Put up.
On prime of funding challenges, the company says Israel has restricted its entry to northern Gaza and has repeatedly hit its UNRWA amenities in Gaza. Lazzarini advised the Safety Council final week that 178 UNRWA employees have been killed for the reason that begin of the conflict, and referred to as for an investigation. West Financial institution employees have confronted elevated harassment by Israeli troopers and settlers. In East Jerusalem, Israeli politicians are searching for to evict UNRWA from its headquarters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s postwar plan for Gaza, unveiled in February, envisions the dismantling of UNRWA.
“UNRWA is Hamas and Hamas is UNRWA,” Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, advised the U.N. Safety Council final week.
“Israel can’t and won’t permit UNRWA to proceed in Gaza because it did up to now,” he mentioned. “The time has come to defund UNRWA.”
Regardless of the hard-line rhetoric, some officers in Jerusalem quietly acknowledge that taking away the company within the close to future may undermine Israeli pursuits, since UNRWA offers help and companies within the West Financial institution and Gaza that Israel is loath to tackle.
Gaza is within the throes of an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, with greater than 2 million folks susceptible to famine, in keeping with the world’s prime physique for assessing meals insecurity.
UNRWA is “the spine of the humanitarian operation” in Gaza, Lazzarini advised the Safety Council final week, making a determined pitch for member states to assist an company “below huge pressure.”
Most main donors have restored funding since January. However U.S. contributions — which at $422 million in 2023 dwarfed these of the following largest donors — are on maintain till March 2025, after Republicans in Congress tacked a year-long funding ban onto a authorities spending package deal final month.
Even so, the Biden administration has continued to publicly acknowledge UNRWA’s significance to the area: U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wooden advised the Safety Council on Wednesday that it performs an “indispensable position” in Gaza.
Guterres accepted the suggestions and agreed with Lazzarini that UNRWA will “set up an motion plan” to implement them, spokesman Stéphane Dujarric mentioned in an announcement Monday.
Karen DeYoung contributed to this report.
