UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in consultation with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, appointed an independent review group, led by the former French foreign minister, to investigate UNRWA.
According to the UN Secretariat's announcement published today (Monday), the group will assess whether the agency is doing everything it can to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious violations when they are raised.
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The review will be led by Catherine Colonna, the former foreign minister of France, who will work with three research organizations: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, Chr.
The Michelsen Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
The review group will begin its work on February 14, 2024 and is expected to submit an interim report to the Secretary-General at the end of March 2024, with a final report expected to be completed by the end of April 2024. This review is a response to UNRWA's Commissioner General Lazarini's request earlier this year .
Further in the secretary general's statement, it was stated that the duties of the audit group are: to identify the mechanisms and procedures that the agency currently has in place to ensure neutrality and to respond to accusations or information indicating that the principle has been violated. To find out how these mechanisms and procedures were or were not implemented in practice and whether every possible effort was made to implement them to their full potential, taking into account the particular operational, political and security environment in which the agency operates.
UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, photo: Reuters
Assess the adequacy of those mechanisms and procedures, and whether they are fit for purpose, including in relation to risk management and considering the particular operational, political and security context in which the agency operates.
To offer recommendations to improve and strengthen, if necessary, the mechanisms and procedures that exist today or to create new and alternative mechanisms and procedures that will be more suitable for the purpose, taking into account the operational, political and security context in which the agency operates.
The Secretary-General points out that these accusations come at a time when UNRWA, the largest UN organization in the region, is working under extremely challenging conditions to provide life-saving aid to the two million people in the Gaza Strip who depend on it for survival amid one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world.
A UNRA worker in the Gaza Strip, photo: E.P
This independent external review will take place in parallel with the ongoing investigation by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) into allegations of the involvement of 12 UNRWA personnel in the October 7 attacks.
The cooperation of the Israeli authorities, who made these accusations, will be critical to the success of the investigation.
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