The UNRWA: An aid organization for some, a Hamas supporter for others – an overview Granit Xhaka: These are the best episodes of his Nati time

Who is UNRWA?

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

Today, UNRWA 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 UNRWA was established, the UN General Assembly mandated it “to implement, in cooperation with local authorities, direct assistance and work programs” for persons “ordinarily resident in Palestine between 1 June 1946 and 15 May 1948” . 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. UNRWA 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 UNRWA, almost 6 million people in its area of ​​operations now depend on its assistance. In 1950, when UNRWA 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 UNRWA’s expenditure to provide its services to all people is constantly increasing.

Why is UNRWA 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’ shows that UNRWA employs teachers in its schools who glorify Hamas terrorists as martyrs in the classroom or even resort to violence against them by appealing to Jews.

Others accuse UNRWA 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, UNRWA is accused of allowing Hamas fighters to hide in its buildings.

Who funds UNRWA?

UNRWA 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 UNRWA every year, as the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) writes on its website.

In 2022, Switzerland will rank ninth among UNRWA’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 UNRWA. 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. UNRWA 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 UNRWA?

In 2018, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis visited an UNRWA refugee camp in Jordan. Afterwards, in an interview with CH Media, Cassis openly wondered whether UNRWA 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 UNRWA continue to flow to this day. There was only a brief respite in 2019, when Swiss diplomat Pierre Krähenbühl had to leave the post of Commissioner General of UNRWA after being accused of mismanagement.

The Federal Council already approved the contributions to UNRWA for 2023 and 2024 in December 2022. He will probably stick to this decision. At the extraordinary media conference on Monday, Cassis said UNRWA 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 the Palestinians the way UNRWA can. Switzerland also has “good evidence” to ensure its contributions are used correctly.

What is UNRWA doing in the current situation?

Despite the recent escalation, UNRWA maintains a presence in the conflict area. However, the aid agency had to move its Gaza operations center and international staff to the south of the Gaza Strip, UNRWA 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. UNRWA 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, UNRWA called on Israel to protect all civilians in UNRWA shelters, including schools.