Appointed by the Secretary-Common in early February following Israeli allegations that 12 UNRWA workers have been concerned within the Hamas-led terror assaults in Israel in October, the group additionally goals to fulfill Palestinian Authority officers and will request a go to to Gaza, mentioned its chair, former French former minister Catherine Colonna, who spoke exterior the Security Council after assembly with the UN Secretary-Common.
“My objective is to ship a report that’s rigorous and proof primarily based…and to do our greatest so we might help UNRWA ship beneath the mandate given [to it] by the Common Meeting,” she mentioned.
The group started its work on 13 February and expects to have an interim report by late March, Ms. Colonna mentioned, noting that its position consists of clarifying the method in place on the UN company to make sure neutrality and the way it’s applied.
Working since 1949, UNRWA now serves nearly six million Palestine refugees within the West Financial institution, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and in besieged Gaza, the place many Palestinians urgently rely upon the company for help amid Israel’s continued navy offensive in response to the October assaults.
The continuing warfare in Gaza has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians, displaced a couple of million and has restricted humanitarian help from coming into the enclave, which now faces extreme starvation, in response to a joint appeal from UN company chiefs issued on Thursday morning.
Neutrality ‘have to be revered’
The objective of this “very delicate” mission is “to seek out the methods and means to see that UNRWA does all the things it will possibly to make sure neutrality, which is likely one of the primary ideas of the company and a precept that’s tough to respect within the circumstances – however have to be revered”, Ms. Colonna mentioned.
She mentioned the group intends to situation suggestions in its last report, which is predicted on 20 April.
Ms. Colonna is working with a staff from three analysis organizations: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden; Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway; and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
They’re tasked with assessing how its mechanisms and procedures have, or haven’t, been applied in follow and whether or not each practicable effort has been made to use them to their full potential, contemplating the actual operational, political and safety atmosphere through which the company works.
A last report will likely be made public.
