The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, says it welcomes the findings and recommendations of the independent review on the agency’s adherence to the humanitarian principle of neutrality.
In a statement, the head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, says that the report confirms that UNRWA has established, over many years, policies, mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the principle of neutrality.
He added that safeguarding the neutrality of the agency is central to its ability to continue saving lives and contributing to the human development of Palestine Refugees in the Gaza Strip as it faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, and in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
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He also stated that the agency is developing an action plan with a timeline and budget to implement the report’s recommendations.
An independent panel released its much-awaited report on Monday about UNRWA, providing 50 recommendations and noting that Israeli authorities have yet to provide proof of their claims that UN staff are involved with terrorist organisations.
According to the UN, the final report found that UNRWA, established by the General Assembly in 1949, has extensive tools in place to ensure it remains unbiased in its work and routinely provides Israel with employee lists, and the Israeli Government has not informed UNRWA of any concerns relating to any UNRWA staff based on these staff lists since 2011.
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