Fact checking is key to credible reporting.
Here's a recap of events:
- In January 2024, I received verbal information about the alleged participation of 12 UNRWA staff in the horrible massacre of 7 October 2023. Additional allegations were made two months later about 7 other staff.
- If these allegations were confirmed, it would be an unspeakable betrayal of UN values and Palestine Refugees. Any crimes must be investigated and those responsible be held accountable.
- The Secretary General launched an investigation by OIOS that failed to substantiate any of the allegations. It concluded in the case of 9 staff: "the evidence provided … could, if authenticated and corroborated, provide a factual basis to conclude that the UNRWA staff member may have engaged in conduct sanctionable under the applicable UNRWA Regulations and Rules".
- Despite that the evidence was NOT corroborated or authenticated, I have decided to terminate the contracts of those staff in the interest of the Agency.
- One staff was reinstated since all recognized he was misidentified. The remaining 9 staff remain fully suspended despite no substantiation of the allegations.
- My decisions protect the interest of the Agency and the communities we assist, especially in Gaza.
- UNRWA has 13,000 staff members in Gaza. They are dedicated to serve their communities. Labeling them and making unproven accusations against them harms people's lives.
UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.
UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.
UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
