The UN recommends that UNWRA improve its neutrality in the selection of personnel

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which Israel accuses of colluding with Hamas, must improve its impartiality in the selection and behavior of its personnel, as well as the use of its facilities and vehicles, according to the report commissioned by the UN to enhance its functioning.

Before the report’s release, Secretary General António Guterres issued a statement expressing his acceptance of the specific recommendations outlined in the report. He then entrusted the agency’s commissioner general, Phillipe Lazzarini, with preparing an action plan to implement these recommendations.

The report, which was made public on Monday, was prepared by an ad hoc commission chaired by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. This commission was formed after Israel accused twelve UNRWA agents of participating in terrorist attacks alongside Hamas in October.

Nonetheless, the report indirectly emphasized that the agency is indispensable for the Palestinians’ human and economic development, thereby challenging Israel’s call for its termination.

During a press conference, Colonna clarified that her commission was not responsible for verifying the specific case of the twelve accused UNRWA agents. Another investigation led by the UN Department of Internal Affairs is handling that. Colonna further stated that she has not seen any evidence supporting Israel’s accusations.

The Colonna report’s recommendations aim to address neutrality concerns within UNRWA. These concerns include the “increasing politicization among its staff,” the exploitation of its facilities and resources for political or military purposes, the presence of “anti-Semitic content” in some school textbooks, and the misuse of unions by employees to exert pressure on management.

Specific recommendations include increasing the number of international (non-Palestinian) personnel in middle management positions, promoting gender diversity, enhancing collaboration with other UN agencies, facilitating regular meetings between management and staff, and undergoing periodic reviews at UN headquarters in New York or Geneva.

Upon the report’s release, the Israeli government once again criticized UNRWA, reiterating long-standing accusations, such as claiming that 2,135 agency agents are members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad.

In response to Israel’s accusations in January, 16 donor countries, including major contributors, suspended their funding, causing the agency to suddenly lose $450 million. Since then, most countries have resumed funding, but countries like the United Kingdom and France awaited the release of the Colonna report before doing so.

The United States, historically the largest donor, completely halted funding and Congress subsequently prohibited its resumption until at least March of next year.