UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in consultation with the UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, announced the formation of an independent panel to assess the UN agency's neutrality and respond to allegations of serious breaches.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) came under fire over Israeli accusations that 12 staff members were involved in the Hamas attack on Oct. 07.
However, Lazzarini informed Asharq Al-Awsat before these Israeli allegations that he intended to form a review committee on the work of the Agency.
Guterres said in a statement that the review will be led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who will work with three research organizations: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, the Chr—Michelsen Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
The Review Group will begin its work on Feb. 14 and is expected to submit an interim report to the Secretary-General in late March, with a final report expected to be completed by late April. The final report will be made public.
Guterres stated that the Review Group's terms of reference are to identify the mechanisms and procedures that the Agency currently has in place to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations or information indicating that the principle may have been breached.
It will ascertain how "those mechanisms and procedures have, or have not, been implemented in practice and whether every practicable effort has been made to apply them to their full potential, taking into account the particular operational, political, and security environment in which the Agency works."
The Group will also assess the adequacy of those mechanisms and procedures and whether "they are fit for purpose, including about the management of risks and taking into account the particular operational, political and security context in which the Agency works."
The terms of reference also include providing recommendations for the "improvement and strengthening, if necessary, of the mechanisms and procedures that are currently in place or for the creation of new and alternative mechanisms and procedures that would be better fit for purpose, taking into account the particular operational, political and security context in which the Agency works."
Guterres referred to the Israeli accusations, saying they come at a time when UNRWA is working under "extremely challenging conditions to deliver life-saving assistance to the 2 million people in the Gaza Strip who depend on it for their survival amidst one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world."
The independent external review will take place in parallel with an investigation currently underway by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) into the allegations against UNRWA.
The cooperation of the Israeli authorities, who made these allegations, will be critical to the investigation's success, said Guterres.
Israel welcomes committee
Israel welcomed the formation of the Group. Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X: "We will submit all evidence highlighting UNRWA's ties to terrorism and its harmful effects on regional stability."
"It is imperative that this committee brings the truth to light," he added.
The Times of Israel newspaper said on Monday Katz confirmed to his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne that Israel is working to find alternatives to UNRWA in the Gaza Strip.
The daily quoted the Foreign Ministry's readout as saying that Katz also asks Sejourne to pressure Qatar for evidence that medications reached hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper had previously reported that Israel began planning to end UNRWA's role in Gaza and replace it with alternative organizations, led by the World Food Program (WFP).
The newspaper reported that countries that had stopped funding UNRWA had already started increasing the WFP budget, according to the Arab World News Agency.
