UNRWA criticised by rights group for sacking 9 employees over ‘role’ in 7 October

A refugee rights group has condemned UNRWA’s decision to sack nine employees over their alleged role in the 7 October cross-border incursion from Gaza. The Lebanon- based Association 302 to Defend Refugees’ Rights described the UNRWA decision as a “dangerous precedent”, adding that it violates the legal presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Believing that the decision was “politically motivated” under Israeli pressure on the UNRWA Commissioner-General, the group called on Philippe Lazzarini to “immediately retract his arbitrary decision that distorts the image of the agency’s work and the UN, its values and principles.”

The UN announced on Monday the completion of an investigation by its Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) into allegations made by Israel against UNRWA staff members following events on 7 October last year, reported Anadolu. UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters that, “In one case, no evidence was obtained by OIOS to support the allegations of the staff member’s involvement, while in nine other cases, the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient to support [allegations of] the staff members’ involvement.”

The spokesman added that in respect of these 10 cases, “appropriate measures will be taken in due course, in conformity with UNRWA Regulations and Rules.”

For the remaining nine staff members, said Haq, the OIOS “indicated that they may have been involved in the armed attacks on 7 October.” He said that the employment of those individuals will be terminated.

The journalists sought clarification about the term “may have been” and asked about the evidence. The UNRWA spokesman said that the although the OIOS could not independently authenticate most of the information provided to it, “The agency has sufficient information in order to take the actions that we’re taking, which is to say the termination of [the employment of] these nine individuals.”

He also noted that if the allegations are “authenticated and corroborated,” the nine UNRWA staff may face sanctions according to agency rules. Asked whether OIOS investigators spoke to the accused staff members, Haq said that they did not due to “safety and security concerns”.

The OIOS investigation was not a “criminal investigation,” said Haq, which prompted one journalist to ask why UNRWA would fire its staff “if it’s not a criminal investigation and if you don’t have enough evidence.”“For nine people, the evidence was sufficient to conclude that they may have been involved in the 7th of October attacks,” the spokesman repeated.

In April, a report by an independent review group led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna noted the absence of supporting evidence for Israel’s terror-link allegations against UNRWA staff. The agency has been hindered from doing its job since January, when Israel accused a handful of its 13,000 employees in Gaza of being involved in the Hamas attack on the occupation state. At least 18 donor countries cut off funding to the agency, and its aid work for Gaza’s famine-stricken population has suffered as a result.

UNRWA was created by the UN General Assembly more than 70 years ago to assist Palestinians who were forcibly displaced from their land during the 1948 Nakba. The agency provides crucial support to millions of Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Israel has been campaigning for years to have the agency closed down.

READ: ‘Grim milestone’: Nearly 200 UNRWA workers killed in Gaza, says UNRWA chief