At Virtual Briefing, UNRWA Officials Discussed Lebanon War Pressures, Response to Personnel Allegations
Washington, DC — On Wednesday, officials from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and Oxfam joined a virtual briefing hosted by Demand Progress, Oxfam, the Friends Committee on National Legislation and Rep. André Carson (D-IN). The speakers discussed UNRWA’s vital role in the region, the devastating human toll of suspending U.S. funding to the agency, the role the recent Lebanon war is having on relief operations and steps the agency has taken to ensure transparency and accountability.
Roland Friedrich, deputy director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank, discussed efforts the agency has taken to address allegations lodged against certain staffers:
“There is an action plan that was adopted by the agencies, supported by a range of donors financially. It has a number of key priorities that we work on every day. That includes strengthening internal oversight mechanisms, ethics, investigations, action points on neutrality, violations when it comes to personnel, when it comes to installations, a review of the curriculum,” Friedrich said. “The system we have in place to ensure neutrality of staff installations is a solid one.”
Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, explained why UNRWA is so important, particularly in light of the recent invasion of Lebanon:
“From what we hear from our colleagues in Lebanon, their presence is the difference between chaos and coordinated relief because they provide the infrastructure that allows us INGOs that are much smaller to operate in a highly volatile environment,” Khalidi said. “So again, in Lebanon, the escalation of violence will worsen, displacing even more people and pushing already vulnerable communities to the breaking point.”
The briefing comes on the heels of the introduction of the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act (HR 9649), which would end the current pause on funds for the agency and allow it to provide desperately needed education, health care and social support services across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. More than a hundred civil society groups also sent a letter urging President Joe Biden to support the bill.
“The U.S. has traditionally served as the largest financial contributor of UNRWA,” said Rep. André Carson, a leading sponsor of the bill. “Now, as every other country has resumed funding for this vital organization, it’s past time we do the same. Providing basic food, water, health, and shelter needs should not be controversial. Our UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act will provide a lifeline to countless innocent, suffering families – something every Member of Congress should support.”
During the virtual briefing, William Deere, director of UNRWA’s Washington Representative Office, called on the U.S. to join other nations in resuming funding UNRWA’s crucial work:
“It is heartening to see the response of so many members to co-sponsoring this UNRWA restoration act,” said Deere. “The act, and the letter to President Biden from over a hundred civil society actors is asking the question: 16 nations paused their support to UNRWA, 15 have returned. It is time for the United States to join those 15 nations.”
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