The UNWRA: an aid organization for some, a Hamas supporter for others – an overview Initiative for a new federal constitution does not materialize

Who is UNWRA?

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNWRA for short, is a United Nations (UN) aid agency for Palestinian refugees in the Middle East. In 1949, the UN General Assembly established UNWRA to support Palestinian refugees driven from their homes as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.

Today, UNWRA is one of the United Nations’ largest aid agencies, with more than 30,000 employees. They are deployed in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The head office is located in Amman and Gaza. The majority of their employees are local Palestinians.

What is your job?

When the UNWRA was established, the UN General Assembly mandated it “to implement, in cooperation with local authorities, direct relief and employment programs” for persons “ordinarily resident in Palestine between 1 June 1946 and 15 May 1948 ‘. and lost both their homes and livelihoods as a result of the 1948 war.

This mandate applies until a just and lasting solution is found between the parties to the conflict, Israel and Palestine, in the conflict area. UNWRA has been providing humanitarian assistance, protection and support to registered Palestinians for 74 years.

It manages schools, provides the population with food, medicine and medical infrastructure, provides emergency aid and ensures that refugee settlements are as safe and functioning as possible.

According to the UNWRA, almost 6 million people in its area of ​​operations now depend on its assistance. In 1950, when UNWRA began its mission, there were still 750,000 people. This difference arises from the fact that the refugee status of Palestinians is passed on from generation to generation. This means that UNWRA’s expenditure to provide everyone with its services is constantly increasing.

Why is UNWRA being criticized?

In the past, right-wing circles in particular have repeatedly accused UNRWA of making the integration of displaced Palestinians into their current living areas impossible with its efforts. This is because the organization openly advocates the “right of return” of all Palestinians. This also applies to the descendants of those who were expelled from their homeland in 1948. It does not recognize the resettlement of the Palestinian population in their current habitat as a solution to the conflict in the Middle East.

However, criticism of the organization goes even further: an investigation by the Geneva-based NGO ‘UN Watch’ revealed in March 2023 that the UNWRA uses teachers in its schools who glorify or even glorify Hamas terrorists as martyrs in the classroom calling for to violence against Jews.

Others accuse UNWRA of using teaching materials in its schools that, for example, deny the historical connection between Jews and the land on which Israel now stands, or that wipe Israel off the map. In addition, the UNWRA is accused of allowing Hamas fighters to hide in its buildings.

Who funds UNWRA?

The UNWRA receives part of its resources directly from the UN budget, mainly to cover international personnel costs. However, the remaining costs are almost exclusively covered by UN member states through voluntary contributions. Including Switzerland. It allocates approximately 20 million francs to the UNWRA every year, as the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) writes on its website.

In 2022, Switzerland will rank ninth among UNWRA’s largest donors in an international comparison. The “main sponsor” of the aid organization is the US with more than 300 million dollars. Germany is in second place with donations worth $202 million, and the EU is in third place with $114.2 million.

Arab states contribute relatively little financially to the UNWRA. Saudi Arabia contributed $27 million to the aid organization last year, putting it eighth in the rankings among donors. Kuwait and Qatar rank 19th and 20th. UNWRA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini – a Swiss citizen by the way – told swissinfo in April this year: “Solidarity with the Palestinians is great, but at the same time funding has decreased.”

Lazzarini suggested at the time that this was evidence of the geopolitical shift in the region. Some Arab states wanted to improve their relations with Israel. The result is declining support for Palestinian refugees.

What does Switzerland think about UNWRA?

In 2018, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis visited a UNWRA refugee camp in Jordan. Afterwards, in an interview with CH Media, Cassis openly wondered whether UNWRA is “part of the solution or part of the problem.” So whether the aid organization is preventing a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East. Cassis received a lot of criticism for this. The statement was said to contradict Switzerland's official position in the Middle East conflict.

Switzerland's payments to UNWRA continue to flow in to this day. There was only a brief respite in 2019, when Swiss diplomat Pierre Krähenbühl had to leave the post of UNWRA Commissioner General after being accused of mismanagement.

The Federal Council already approved the contributions to UNWRA for 2023 and 2024 in December 2022. He will probably stick to this decision. At the extraordinary media conference on Monday, Cassis said the UNWRA was “not without its faults”. But there is simply no alternative to that at the moment.

No other organization is currently in a position to support Palestinians in the way that UNWRA can. Switzerland also has “good evidence” to ensure its contributions are used correctly.

What is UNWRA doing in the current situation?

Despite the recent escalation, UNWRA remains present in the conflict area. However, the aid agency had to move its operations center and international staff in Gaza to the south of the Gaza Strip, UNWRA said in a press release on Friday. Only in this way can the country continue its humanitarian measures.

Israel has destroyed several buildings in airstrikes in recent days. The UNWRA condemns this approach: “These are UN facilities. They must be protected at all times and never attacked in accordance with international humanitarian law.” In the statement, UNWRA called on Israel to protect all civilians in UNWRA shelters, including schools.