The Swiss Pierre Krähenbühl, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA), resigned "with immediate effect" after being accused of abuse of power by an internal investigation, the UN spokesman announced Wednesday.

The sudden resignation, a few hours after being suspended from office by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, occurs when the UN General Assembly is expected to renew the mandate of the UNWRA for three years, despite opposition of the United States and Israel. These two countries consider that this agency has no reason to exist in its current form.

"The UNRWA General Commissioner (United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees), Pierre Krähenbühl, informed the Secretary General [Guterres] that he was resigning," Stéphane Dujarric said in his daily press conference.

The UN had announced shortly before Wednesday the suspension of the Swiss and the appointment of a manager to manage the agency, Christian Saunders, pending a new commissioner general.

"The secretary general reaffirms his support for UNRWA for his excellent work, key to the welfare of Palestinian refugees," Dujarric said.

"It is vital at this time that member states and other partners remain involved in UNRWA and the services it provides," the UN spokesman added: "It is also essential for the international community to support the crucial work done by the agency. in the fields of health, education and humanitarian aid, a source of stability in a volatile region. "

Confirmed Abuses

At the end of July, a report from the UNRWA ethics department, sent to the UN secretary general, indicated mismanagement and abuse of power committed by a small group of senior officials, mostly expatriates, who allegedly raided the mechanisms of UN control.

AFP obtained a copy of the report, which described as "credible and corroborated" the serious ethical abuses committed by senior leaders, including Krähenbühl.

Among the accusations included in the document were "inappropriate sexual acts, nepotism, reprisals, discrimination and other abuses of authority, (committed) for personal purposes, to suppress legitimate differences of opinion."

"I have rejected these accusations from the beginning and continue to do so," Krähenbühl later told RTS Swiss television .

"I can clearly tell you that there is no case of corruption, fraud or mismanagement of funds received from donors," he said, adding that any personal relationship with a colleague "was confirmed as non-existent by the internal report."

In describing an atmosphere of "hyperpolarization," Krahenbuhl said he resigned to give the organization the necessary "psychological shock."

According to the report, Krähenbühl allegedly maintained a relationship with his senior advisor, appointed in 2015 after an "extremely fast" selection process.

Preliminary results of the investigation "exclude" any "fraud" or "misappropriation of funds" by Krähenbühl, but found "management problems," said a statement issued Wednesday by Guterres, announcing the administrative suspension of the Swiss.

"The management problems concern the General Commissioner specifically," UNRWA acknowledged.

Late resignation

For some UN officials, Krähenbühl's resignation is late and comes at a delicate time, as the refugee agency has been fighting since 2018 to compensate for the suspension of payments of the member who makes the greatest contribution of all: United States .

UNRWA provides assistance to millions of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Territories.

Israel and the United States oppose the ability of Palestinians to be able to transfer refugee status to their children, as they want to reduce the number of people receiving help from that agency, which Palestinians denounce as a violation of their rights.

In 2018, the United States ended its annual financial assistance to the UNRWA of 300 million dollars. Israel said Wednesday that the UNRWA model "is not durable" and the international community must seek an alternative to channel aid to the Palestinians.

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