UNRWA

UNRWA

John Lindsay, who was apparently the top lawyer at UNRWA from 2002-2007, isn't exactly the type of person you'd expect to find at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Still, someone had the inspired idea of hosting him, and the result seems to have been worth the effort. He has recently published a paper about what UNRWA does and what it could do better. I have so far only read the first few pages, in between other more pressing activities, but it certainly seems an item we need to be looking at (p. xi):

The most important change, the one mostrequired and least subject to rational disagreement,is the removal of citizens from recognized states—persons who have the oxymoronic status of “citizenrefugees”—from UNRWA’s jurisdiction. This wouldapply to the vast majority of Palestinian “refugees”in Jordan, as well as to some in Lebanon. If a Palestinianstate were created in Gaza and/or the WestBank, such a change would affect Palestinian refugeesin those areas. Meanwhile, for those who are stilldefined as refugees, UNRWA’s move toward greateremphasis on need-based assistance, as opposed tostatus-as-refugee-based assistance, should be accelerated.No justification exists for millions of dollarsin humanitarian aid going to those who can affordto pay for UNRWA services. In addition, UNRWAshould make the following operational changes: haltits one-sided political statements and limit itself tocomments on humanitarian issues; take additionalsteps to ensure the agency is not employing or providingbenefits to terrorists and criminals; and allowthe UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO), or some other neutral entity, toprovide balanced and discrimination-free textbooksfor UNRWA schools.

With the above changes, UNRWA would be betteraligned with what should be its ultimate objectives.For the Palestinians it serves, this means ending theirrefugee status and returning, after nearly sixty years, towhat most of them so desperately seek: normal lives.

According to Haaretz, the report is predictably raising hackles at UNRWA itself:

An UNRWA spokesman slammed the report, accusing the author of bias and a failure to employ a sufficiently wide range of sources.

"The agency is disappointed by the findings of the study, found it to be tendentious and partial, and regrets in particular the narrow range of sources used," Andrew Whitley, director of the UNRWA representative office at UN headquarters in New York, said.

"The study ignores the context in which UNRWA operates and the tight line the agency walks due to various pressures," Whitley said. "Someone reading this paper with no background would assume that the Israeli government was a benign actor. No mention is made of the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."

Here's a proposed translation: Lindsay doesn't realize we're beholden to the Arab version of the story ("various pressures"), and his starting point isn't that Israel is the source of all evil. Sniff.

If I ever find the time I'll read and report, but now you know it's there, feel free not to wait for me. Go ahead, by all means.

takem from : Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)