Red Cross: We will not replace UNRWA in Gaza

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Director Pierre Krahenbuhl said yesterday that there can be no replacement for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip and the Red Cross cannot take on its duties.

He told the Swiss newspaper Le Temps: “We have completely different mandates.”

UNRWA’s mandate “comes from the UN General Assembly, the ICRC’s from the Geneva Convention. The ICRC cannot take over UNRWA’s mandate,” he added.

This comes as Israel, as its ally the US, have been calling for UNRWA to cease operation and be replaced by other international organisations. However, a report prepared by an independent UN-commissioned group concluded that UNRWA is essential for the Palestinians and cannot be replaced.

Israel has long lobbied to have UNRWA closed as it is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate to look after the basic needs of Palestinian refugees. If the agency no longer exists, argues Israel, then the refugee issue must no longer exist, and the legitimate right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land will be unnecessary. Israel has denied that right of return since the late 1940s, even though its own membership of the UN was made conditional upon Palestinian refugees being allowed to return to their homes and land.

READ: UNRWA will exist until Palestine becomes a full-fledged state: Chief