US Attacks on UN Palestinian Refugee Agency Taking a Toll
June 13, 2019
Unless UNWRA can secure at least $60 million by the end of this month, food aid
for over a million Palestine refugees seems uncertain, reports Charlotte Munns.
By Charlotte Munns
at the United Nations
Inter Press Service
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East (UNRWA) has been forced to justify its existence at the United Nations
ahead of a pledging conference later this month.
UNRWA came under fire by Jason Greenblatt, U.S. special envoy for international
negotiations, at a Security Council meeting late last month.
Greenblatt while visiting Gaza periphery area in 2017. (U.S. Embassy Jerusalem
via Flickr)
Last week, UNRWA held a press conference at the UN in an attempt to raise
awareness — and funds for their work. The organization supports around 74
percent of Gaza’s population, and also has major operations in the West Bank
and Jordan, where millions of Palestine refugees reside. The agency provides
food aid, social services, education and infrastructure.
UNRWA requires $1.2 billion to fund all its operations in the coming year.
However, fears have been raised regarding their ability to do so. Unless the
agency is able to secure at least $60 million by the end of this month, its
ability to provide food aid to over a million Palestine refugees seems
uncertain.
The agency is funded predominantly by UN member states, the European Union and
regional governments. These sources contribute 93 percent of funds. Private
individuals and non-governmental sources contributed over $17 million in 2018.
School Openings Uncertain
Schmale defending UNRWA at UN last week. (UN Web TV)
Matthias Schmale, director of UNRWA operations in Gaza, noted at the press
conference last week, “right now, strictly financially speaking, we don’t have
the money to guarantee the opening of schools in the fall.”
These financial concerns have largely arisen following the United States’
refusal to continue funding the organization. Greenblatt justified Trump’s
decision to the Security Council last month.
“The UNRWA model has failed the Palestinian people,” he said, describing the
agency as an “irredeemably flawed operation” and a “band-aid” solution.
Instead, he proposed an integration of the Agency’s services into government
and non-governmental organisations’ structures.
In his explanation of the United States’ decision, he reaffirmed the country’s
support of Israel, stating “the United States will always stand with Israel.”
This prompted criticism that the decision to cease funding UNRWA was a
political move, rather than for issues with the agency’s functioning.
Peter Mulrean, director of UNRWA’s Representative Office in New York, said in a
statement to IPS that “UNRWA regrets the U.S. decision to stop funding UNRWA
after decades of being the Agency’s single largest donor and strong partner.”
However, he refused to speculate on the motives behind that decision.
Greenblatt claimed the politicization of UNRWA, despite its intended
neutrality, meant “year after year, Palestinians in refugee camps were not
given the opportunity to build any future; they were misled and used as
political pawns and commodities instead of being treated as human beings.”
In his response, Mulrean said: “UNRWA is a UN humanitarian Agency that has no
political role in Palestine or anywhere else.”
UN Security Council chamber. (Dano via Flickr)
Questioned About Hamas
Despite this, UNRWA was asked at the press conference to respond to claims its
members have involvement with Hamas after weapons were found stored in a
school, and tunnels were located beneath multiple UNRWA educational buildings.
The Agency noted its officials reported all such incidents, and measures were
taken to remove the weapons and close the tunnels.
Criticism of UNRWA seems at odds with the Security Council’s stance on the
agency.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said in a press
briefing last week, “the Secretary General has been speaking on support of
UNRWA for a long time,” adding, “his position remains unchanged, that he very
much feels that UNRWA is a stabilizing force in the region through the
education services it provides, through the health services, and through the
support services.”
At the Security Council meeting last month it was only the United States and
Israel that spoke against UNRWA. All other 14 member states reaffirmed their
support for the agency.
UNRWA building shelled by Israeli army, Jan. 15, 2009.
(ISM Palestine, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons)
“That is a reflection of the broad support UNRWA enjoys in the international
community,” Mulrean told IPS.
Despite this, UNRWA has for years struggled to meet its budget. Last year,
around 42 countries and institutions increased their contributions to erase an
unprecedented deficit of $446 million.
Greenblatt noted the United States was frequently called upon to fill budget
gaps. Having pledged around $6 billion to the organization over the course of
its existence, he reaffirmed his government’s refusal to continue to do so.
Instead, the United States has called for a conference in Bahrain — June 25-26
— to discuss possible solutions to the Palestine refugee crisis. Many see this
as compensation for withdrawing funding for UNRWA.
While Mulrean refused to take a formal position on the upcoming conference in
Bahrain, he did say that UNRWA doesn’t see this as in competition with the
agency’s work.
UNRWA has fought Greenblatt’s criticism before the press in order to garner
support for its mandate. Within a context of escalating violence in Gaza – some
saying the worst since 2014 – and ever- increasing numbers of Palestine
refugees, the agency continues to seek funding from member states so as to
continue its operations in the coming year.
“This is our reality,” Mulrean said, “we have schools to run, we have clinics
to run, we have people to feed.”
This article is from Inter Press Service and republished with permission.
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