UNRWA - maintainer of the status quo
27 December 2023
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has spent 75 years supporting “the relief and human development” of 5.6 million registered Palestinian refugees. However, it has also maintained Palestinians’ status as “refugees in eternity”, preventing them from resettling out of refugee camps. They have also worked closely with Hamas, the government of Gaza elected by Palestinians in 2006, and in doing so, have arguably supported Palestinian terrorism.
Fast forward to today, and UNRWA’s refugees have become unwitting pawns in a geopolitical struggle, operating under the slogan of an armed struggle for the right of return. This situation not only perpetuates a cycle of violence but also jeopardizes the well-being of over five million residents living as “refugees for perpetuity” in 59 UNRWA “temporary” camps.
Recognizing the urgency for change, Member of the Israel Knesset Parliament, Sharren Haskel, a native of Canada, has initiated a Task Force for UNRWA Policy Change. Scheduled to launch on January 2, 2024, this task force aims to unite parliamentarians and conscientious individuals globally to address the root causes of violence stemming from 75 years of what Dr. Lasch termed the “UNRWA denial of dignity” to an entire refugee population.
The call for an overhaul of UNRWA is not just a response to the current conflict but an acknowledgment of the need for a fundamental shift in policy. MK Haskel’s task force represents a step towards a more just and dignified future for those living within UNRWA’s sphere of influence. The world now watches as efforts to reform this institution unfold, with the hope of quelling the flames of violence and fostering a genuine path to peace and prosperity for the affected population. Israel Behind The News [emphasis added]
UNRWA was founded in 1949 to solve the problem of the Palestinian refugees, some 700,000 at the time, defined as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.” Today, however, not only has UNRWA not solved the problem, but it claims that it is now responsible for more than 5 million Palestinian refugees.
How could something so anomalous happen? Simply by changing the rules. Contrary to the UN’s own definition of a refugee, UNRWA extended the status first to third-generation descendants and then to all descendants of Palestine refugee males, regardless of whether they had been granted citizenship elsewhere. With so many people to “care” for, no wonder UNRWA became one of the largest UN organizations, with a staff of almost 30,000 and a budget of about $1.2 billion.
In 2019, a report about the ethics of UNRWA (“sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination” etc.) infuriated the Swiss government so much that it suspended its funding of the organization. However, in 2018, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis hit the nail on the head when he said that if once UNRWA was supposed to provide a solution, it has become part of the problem. As long as Palestinians live in refugee camps, he said, they want to return to the homes they had left in 1948. “By supporting the UNRWA, we keep the conflict alive. It’s a perverse logic.” Boston Globe [emphasis added]
Improving the lives of Palestinians in the Middle East requires reducing the role of UNRWA, which has failed to do more than keep Palestinians living as refugees. In addition, as noted previously, Palestinians must end their association with terrorism and must establish new leadership.
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