Israeli authorities have not provided any supporting evidence to back-up accusations of UNRWA staff having participated in terrorist organisations according to an independent review.
An Independent Review Group led by Catherine Colonna, former French Foreign Minister, says that Israeli authorities have not not responded to repeated requests for “the names and supporting evidence that would enable UNRWA to open an investigation.”
Three Nordic research centers
In addition to Ms. Colonna, the Swedish Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, the Norwegian Chr Michelsen Institute, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights participated in the review.
The UN Secretary General António Guterres appointed the review group and he has accepted the recommendations from the Colonna report.
“Moving forward, the Secretary-General appeals to all stakeholders to actively support Unrwa, as it is a lifeline for Palestine refugees in the region,” the UN chief spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said in a statement.
Neutrality of UNRWA
Catherine Colonna and the three Nordic research institutes were asked to make an assessment of the neutrality of UNRWA, the UN Palestine refugee agency.
This followed allegations made by the Government of Israel in January 2024 that some UNRWA staff may have participated in the 7 October 2023 terror attacks on Israel. The UN Secretary-General also activated a separate investigation by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) to determine the veracity of these allegations.
According to the report despite “a robust framework”, “neutrality-related issues persist.”
“They include instances of staff publicly expressing political views, host-country textbooks with problematic content being used in some UNRWA schools, and politicized staff unions making threats against UNRWA management and causing operational disruptions.”
The Review identified several measures to help UNRWA address its neutrality challenges in eight critical areas, including engagement with donors, governance, management and internal oversight structures, neutrality of staff and behaviour, installations, education, staff unions and a strengthened partnership with UN agencies.
UNRWA: irreplaceable
According to the report UNRWA remains pivotal in providing life-saving humanitarian aid and essential social services, particularly in health and education, to Palestinian refugees.
“As such, UNRWA is irreplaceable and indispensable to Palestinians’ human and economic development. In addition, many view UNRWA as a humanitarian lifeline.”
For full report see here.
