17 May 2024<\/p>\n
UN experts expressed disappointment today that some States have yet to reinstate funding weeks after an independent review showed a lack of evidence for partiality claims against the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe independent review ordered by the UN Secretary-General, following an increase of allegations since the onset of the military assault on Gaza in October 2023, has shown that the claim that significant numbers of UNRWA employees have ties with \u2018terrorist organisations\u2019 remains unsubstantiated,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n
They welcomed the review\u2019s conclusions that UNRWA has a very developed approach to neutrality, with effective control mechanisms to address neutrality concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis indicates that UNRWA has yet again been targeted politically at critical moments\u2014raising serious questions about accountability for the damage inflicted both on UNRWA and on the Palestinians in Gaza that the agency serves,\u201d said the experts, recalling that other UN humanitarian and human rights bodies and mechanisms, including independent experts, have been subject to verbal and other attacks on their integrity and impartiality in the past several months.<\/p>\n
The experts said decisions by various States to pause funds for UNRWA, following fallacious allegations that several staff were involved in the 7 October attacks in Israel, have already severely curtailed the agency\u2019s operations in Gaza. No other entity has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe back the European Union\u2019s call for those international donors holding out to resume funding to UNRWA,\u201d they said. States should fully reinstate funding without delay.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognise UNRWA\u2019s determination to implement its mandate under unprecedented and enormous risks,\u201d the experts said. \u201c189 UNRWA staff have been killed in Israeli bombardments since 7 October 2023\u2014the highest number of UN staff killed in any conflict since the UN\u2019s founding in 1945.\u201d<\/p>\n
Multiple UNRWA facilities have been targeted, besieged and demolished by the Israeli military, in apparent violation of the principle of the inviolability of UN premises, the experts said. \u201cAt this existential time for millions of Palestinians in Gaza, who are enduring famine coupled with unfathomable humanitarian conditions, UN operations and facilities must be protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experts warn that 1.7 million people are internally displaced, mostly women and 600,000 children in the Rafah area alone, and they need food assistance, shelter, healthcare, education, water, sanitation and hygiene.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is imperative that once funding to UNRWA is reinstated to the fullest, UNRWA be fully recognised and protected both as a subsidiary body of the Â鶹APP General Assembly, epitomising among others the permanent responsibility of the Â鶹APP toward the Question of Palestine, and for its pivotal role in many areas of life of Palestinian refugees,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The experts<\/strong>:\u00a0Francesca Albanese<\/strong>,\u00a0UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967<\/a>;\u00a0Dorothy Estrada Tanck (Chair), Laura Nyirinkindi (Vice-Chair), Claudia Flores, Ivana Krsti\u0107 and Haina Lu,<\/strong>\u00a0Working group on discrimination against women and girls<\/a>;\u00a0Jose Francisco Cal\u00ed Tzay<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples<\/a>; Bernard Duhaime,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence<\/a>; Ms Ashwini K.P.<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance<\/a>;\u00a0Ms. Gina Romero<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association;<\/a>\u00a0George Katrougalos<\/strong>,\u00a0Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order;<\/a>\u00a0Pedro Arrojo-Agudo<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation<\/a>;\u00a0Elisa Morgera,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change<\/a>;\u00a0Nicolas Levrat,<\/strong>\u00a0Special Rapporteur on Minority issues<\/a>;\u00a0Farida Shaheed<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the right to education<\/a>;\u00a0Mary Lawlor<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders<\/a>; Tlaleng Mofokeng<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health<\/a>;\u00a0Margaret Satterthwaite<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers<\/a>;\u00a0Cecilia M Bailliet<\/strong>,\u00a0Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity<\/a>;\u00a0Alexandra Xanthaki<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights<\/a>;\u00a0Olivier De Schutter<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights<\/a>;\u00a0Claudia Mahler<\/strong>,\u00a0Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons<\/a>;\u00a0Attiya Waris<\/strong>,\u00a0Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights<\/a>;\u00a0Ben Saul<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism<\/a>.\u00a0Paula Gaviria Betancur<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons<\/a>.\u00a0Michael Fakhri<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on the right to food<\/a>;\u00a0Tomoya Obokata<\/strong>, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences<\/a>;\u00a0Reem Alsalem<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences<\/a>;\u00a0Irene Khan<\/strong>,\u00a0Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"