Surprise, surprise, Israel lied and lied about UNRWA's bias

Israel is trying to destroy UNRWA so that more Palestinians will die. The findings of an investigation into their neutrality counters Israeli propaganda.

This is a repost of UNRWA’s statement in response to the independent investigation clearing them of bias in their operations in Palestine and related refugee camps. There is a separate investigation into the claims of UNRWA being Hamas ‘terrorists’.

There is a link to download the report but let’s start with a quick video translation for imperialists.

INRODUCTION TO UNRWA

UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency’s area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.

UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.

STATEMENT FROM UNRWA

“UNRWA welcomes the findings and recommendations of the independent review [found at the bottom of this page] on the Agency’s adherence to the humanitarian principle of neutrality.  

“UNRWA is firmly dedicated to applying UN values and humanitarian principles. The recommendations in this report will further strengthen our efforts and response during one of the most difficult moments in the history of the Palestinian people.

“The report confirms that UNRWA has established – over many years - policies, mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the principle of neutrality. The report confirms that the Agency has systems to address allegations of neutrality breaches, including through disciplinary sanctions.  It also confirms that between 2022 and 2024, the Agency reviewed all external allegations and opened investigations when evidence of misconduct was present.  

“Safeguarding the neutrality of the Agency is central to our ability to continue saving lives and contributing to the human development of Palestine Refugees in the Gaza Strip as it faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, and in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. 

“The report recognizes the complexity of UNRWA’s mandate within a highly political context.  It makes a series of recommendations that the Agency commits to act upon, namely in the areas relating to engagement with donors, governance, management and internal oversight, neutrality of staff and installations, education, staff unions and enhanced cooperation with UN Agencies.  

“UNRWA commits to working on expanding internal oversight, and engage with partners, including donors, host countries, other UN agencies in constructive ways towards the common goal of increasing impact and adherence to humanitarian principles.

“UNRWA will continue to strive towards providing equitable and quality education, regularly reviewing and improving the content of its education programme to ensure that it adheres to values that contribute to peace, tolerance and human rights. 

“UNRWA is developing an action plan, with a timeline and budget to take forward the report’s recommendations. Implementing some of the recommendations will require extensive engagement with staff and partners, including member states, hosts and donor countries. The Agency looks forward to cooperating with all concerned stakeholders to implement the recommendations.

FINAL REPORT FOR THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL 

Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality

Monday, April 22, 2024

Executive summary

An Independent Review Group on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was appointed by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, in consultation with the UNRWA Commissioner-General, on 5 February 2024. The Group was created to assess whether UNRWA is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious neutrality breaches when they are made, taking into account the […] context in which it has to work, especially in Gaza,1 and to make recommendations for UNRWA to improve and strengthen in this area, if necessary.

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, which, if proven true, would be horrifying in addition to being a grave violation of their obligations towards the Organization.

Download Report