Published : 19-09-2021
On July 14, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration signed the “2021-2022 Framework for Cooperation with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The Framework includes multiple specific commitments regarding the Agency’s ability to deliver effective and efficient aid to Palestinian refugees through strengthened accountability, transparency, and consistency with UN principles, including neutrality.
The document includes signs of prejudice and partiality that strike at the foundations of the Palestinian refugee status. It stipulates that Palestinian refugees who had received military training be excluded from UN assistance under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
The Framework states that the U.S. shares concerns with UNRWA “about the threat of terrorism, including within the context of the United States’ firm commitment to counter terrorism, and conditions under section 301(c) on U.S. contributions for UNRWA”.
The document sites section 301 (c) which states that: “No contributions by the United States shall be made to (UNRWA) except on the condition that (UNRWA) take all possible measures to assure that no part of the United States contribution shall be used to furnish assistance to any refugee who is receiving military training as a member of the so-called Palestine Liberation Army or any other guerilla-type organization or who has engaged in any act of terrorism.”
The reference to section 301 (c) implicitly denies the right of Palestinian refugees who were forced into involuntary military conscription to humanitarian aid. In Syria, Palestinian refugee youths are forced to serve in pro-regime militias for a defined time-span.
The US-drafted framework seeks to depoliticize the Palestinian refugee cause as no single reference is made to the right of return or the historical context of the issue. The document rather lays utmost emphasis on the US conditions to resume funding to the UNRWA, which gives the impression of guardianship or tutelage at a time when UNRWA struggles to keep its programmes running and delivering much needed assistance to vulnerable and marginalized Palestinian refugee communities.
The agreement will also give way to ineligible parties to inspect and manipulate the agency’s data and the refugee’s personal information in favor of pro-Israel agendas.
The document states that UNRWA staff should abide by the Agency-wide approach to neutrality and should not take sides in hostilities or engage in controversies of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature. It also calls for staff members and personnel to follow the neutrality requirements including guidelines on the use of social media. Such tough, however unclear and shallowly-defined, requirements violate personal freedoms, most notably the freedom of expression and political affiliations.
On July 14, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration signed the “2021-2022 Framework for Cooperation with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The Framework includes multiple specific commitments regarding the Agency’s ability to deliver effective and efficient aid to Palestinian refugees through strengthened accountability, transparency, and consistency with UN principles, including neutrality.
The document includes signs of prejudice and partiality that strike at the foundations of the Palestinian refugee status. It stipulates that Palestinian refugees who had received military training be excluded from UN assistance under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
The Framework states that the U.S. shares concerns with UNRWA “about the threat of terrorism, including within the context of the United States’ firm commitment to counter terrorism, and conditions under section 301(c) on U.S. contributions for UNRWA”.
The document sites section 301 (c) which states that: “No contributions by the United States shall be made to (UNRWA) except on the condition that (UNRWA) take all possible measures to assure that no part of the United States contribution shall be used to furnish assistance to any refugee who is receiving military training as a member of the so-called Palestine Liberation Army or any other guerilla-type organization or who has engaged in any act of terrorism.”
The reference to section 301 (c) implicitly denies the right of Palestinian refugees who were forced into involuntary military conscription to humanitarian aid. In Syria, Palestinian refugee youths are forced to serve in pro-regime militias for a defined time-span.
The US-drafted framework seeks to depoliticize the Palestinian refugee cause as no single reference is made to the right of return or the historical context of the issue. The document rather lays utmost emphasis on the US conditions to resume funding to the UNRWA, which gives the impression of guardianship or tutelage at a time when UNRWA struggles to keep its programmes running and delivering much needed assistance to vulnerable and marginalized Palestinian refugee communities.
The agreement will also give way to ineligible parties to inspect and manipulate the agency’s data and the refugee’s personal information in favor of pro-Israel agendas.
The document states that UNRWA staff should abide by the Agency-wide approach to neutrality and should not take sides in hostilities or engage in controversies of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature. It also calls for staff members and personnel to follow the neutrality requirements including guidelines on the use of social media. Such tough, however unclear and shallowly-defined, requirements violate personal freedoms, most notably the freedom of expression and political affiliations.
