Interview
Unrwa: “This campaign must also be understood as a form of collective punishment of the agency”
The controversy surrounding Unrwa does not weaken. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees has been in turmoil since it announced on Friday January 26 that it had dismissed nine of its employees, accused by Israel of having participated in the October 7 attacks. Several countries, led by the United States, have announced the suspension of their funding to this agency pending the conclusions of an investigation. The case broke just after the International Court of Justice issued its opinion on Gaza, saying there was a risk of genocide and ordering that more humanitarian aid be allowed to reach the besieged enclave. Johann Soufi, former director of the UNRWA legal office in the Gaza Strip, in any case makes the connection. Interview.
Food aid provided by Unrwa to Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, this Sunday, January 28, 2024, while the agency is at the center of the news. AFP - -
By: Guilhem Delteil Follow
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RFI: The announcement of UNRWA sanctions against its employees came on Friday, based on information transmitted to UNRWA by Israel. Friday was also the day the International Court of Justice issued its provisional measures in the face of the risk of genocide in Gaza. Is this coincidence a coincidence of timing?
Johann Soufi:
I think we need to do more than wonder about this coincidence. It should be noted and noted that the day there is a decision which judicially recognizes the risk of genocide in Gaza, well, there is this counter-fire which is lit for, I have the impression, a in some way, create a diversion and bring into the public debate a subject other than that of the crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA is the frequent target of criticism from Israel and this has been numerous since the attacks of October 7 and the start of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Yes, but because they are part of a broader political project, which is to remove as much as possible, or even deport, part or all of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. And as several Israeli officials have said, this project necessarily involves the neutralization or disappearance of UNRWA. These attacks, which have increased tenfold in recent weeks, are clearly part of this political project.
I totally think that today it is part of a dual strategy. The first is to discredit an institution which, until now, was the main source of information for the international media, since there is no press agency authorized to enter or international investigators authorized to return to the Gaza Strip.
Also, I think that the fact that the International Court of Justice, in its order, used so extensively the statements of the agency and its commissioner general played an important role in the decision to attack in such a way, perhaps this time definitive, at Unrwa. And so yes, I have absolutely no doubt that this campaign must also be understood as a form of collective punishment of the agency and an attempt to deter the agency.
How can we understand these suspensions of funding from signatory states to the Genocide Convention and the order issued by the ICJ on Friday
? Can states fulfill their obligations while suspending their funding of the main humanitarian operator in Gaza
?
I consider that today, the responsibility of these States is engaged even beyond a symbolic, moral or political responsibility. Indeed, the 1948 Convention requires all States to prevent genocide when there is a real and serious risk. Today, when we look at the terms of the order of the International Court of Justice which identifies in particular this risk of genocide in the disastrous humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, a threat to the physical integrity of the Gazan population, in this context, the fact of suspending this aid seems to me to be a potential violation of the obligations of these States with regard to the 1948 Convention.
So they are in violation of international law?
Yes, that's my feeling.
What control mechanisms exist regarding employees within Unrwa?
Unrwa has 13,000 employees, all of whom are subject to audits. First of all, checks on the CV, etc., but also against their criminal record. I also remind you that Israel and the Palestinian Authority have a list of all UN employees, which normally allows these entities to declare suspicions or concerns about the profile of certain employees.
And
a posteriori
, when breaches of the UNRWA code of conduct or offenses of a potentially criminal nature are reported, well, there are investigation and sanction mechanisms; independent investigation within the agency, and sanctions which are often, when the facts are established, extremely severe, including dismissals. And when the facts are of a criminal nature, referral to national authorities for legal proceedings. So, both before and
after
the events that could constitute crimes or at least offenses, there are mechanisms that exist.
There is moreover – at least for me when I worked for Unwra, but it is very recent – zero tolerance for all acts which relate to violence, incitement to violence or behavior, for example moral or sexual harassment. I personally had to lead sanctions cases against employees who, for example, had been accused of posting content on Facebook that was contrary to UNRWA regulations. I therefore have absolutely no doubt that the agency is determined, when it has credible information, to immediately sanction its employees.
To rereadThe UN agency Unrwa caught in the conflict around Gaza
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