Just International

Protecting and Ensuring UNRWA’s Presence and Services is the Obligation of All States

By BADIL

Yesterday, the Israeli Knesset quickly and decisively passed two legislations that will result in the end of UNRWA’s existence and operations in Mandatory Palestine, including in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). These new laws are the most recent component of the Israeli regime’s dismantlement campaign against UNRWA, which will be followed by its replacement with other non-mandated agencies and international organizations. For decades, the Israeli regime has been flouting its responsibilities as a UN member state with no consequence; so it should come as no surprise that it has now officially outlawed UNRWA’s presence and services in Mandatory Palestine. UNRWA’s presence and services, particularly in the midst of the Israeli genocide are not only essential to save lives but are the right of Palestinian refugees until they return. Therefore, it is also not a surprise that with these laws, the Israeli regime gets closer to its ultimate goal: the elimination of the Palestinian refugee issue. Individually and collectively, UN member states have obligations to take every practical measure to protect UNRWA and ensure its ability to fulfill its mandate, now and until Palestinian refugees return – that includes enabling all of UNRWA’s services in all its areas of operation – regardless of the passing of the two new Israeli laws.

The first law, titled “Bill for the Cessation of UNRWA Activities,” having taken effect on 7 October 2024, prohibits any direct or indirect contact between Israeli officials and UNRWA. This law unilaterally terminates the 1967 provisional agreement between the Israeli colonial-apartheid regime and UNRWA, in which it agreed to protect UNRWA personnel and facilities, ensure freedom of movement, and provide “[e]xemptions from customs duties, taxes and charges on importation of supplies, goods and equipment.” Given that the Israeli regime controls all aid and services entering the West Bank and Gaza, this law means that UNRWA will be unable to coordinate its humanitarian missions or operations in these areas. Additionally, it will impede the work of UNRWA’s international personnel, who will no longer have international immunities or the permits/visas needed to enter and move in Palestine.

The second law, titled “Bill for the Cessation of UNRWA Activities in the Territory of the State of Israel,” stipulates that UNRWA “shall not operate any representation, provide services, or conduct any activities, directly or indirectly, within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel.” Consequently, this means the closure of UNRWA’s headquarters in Jerusalem, which the Israeli regime annexed in 1967, and the termination of all its operations, further restricting the Agency’s ability to coordinate essential services and aid in the oPt within a three month period. This is collective punishment and constitutes states’ complicity amid the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, where UNRWA is a lifeline to Palestinians, and the only mandated and most capable organization to do so. Disabling UNRWA also violates the prohibition of starvation as a method of warfare contained in the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute.

Further, the newly passed Israeli laws are in blatant violation of international law because they contradict once more the ICJ provisional measures of March 2024, which reiterated the Israeli regime’s obligation to cooperate with the UN, and to take all the necessary measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli regime’s membership to the UN in May 1949 stipulated that it would respect the UN Charter, and implement pertinent UN resolutions. UNRWA’s existence constitutes States’ adherence to the UN Charter, including States’ obligations to ensure the establishment of a legal framework to allow the UN to fulfill its functions and purposes (Art. 104), to provide the UN with the necessary immunity and privileges required for the organization to function (Art. 105), as well as the obligation to assist UN bodies in their actions taken in accordance with the Charter (Art. 2 para 5). This encompasses all UN resolutions on the rights of the Palestinian people, including UNGA Resolution 302 (1949) establishing UNRWA.

Ignoring these obligations and many others, the Israeli regime has been in violation of its UN membership and the Charter of the UN since its inception. Furthermore, since 1968, the Israeli regime has denied access to the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories. For decades UN special procedures have been repeatedly denied access to the oPt and have been unable to properly fulfill their mandates. The Israeli regime has even blocked access to high-ranking UN personnel such as UNRWA’s Commissioner-General and the UN Secretary-General, as its genocide is ongoing, without the bat of an eye from UN member states. The Israeli regime has deliberately targeted UN facilities and personnel in the Gaza Strip as well as Lebanon, resulting in the highest UN staff death toll in history.

The existence of UNRWA and the provision of its services, is not just about delivering humanitarian aid and alleviating the suffering of Palestinian refugees, nor is it a tool to bring “stability” in the region. UNRWA reflects the responsibility of the international community’s lack of action and their contribution to the 1948 Nakba, which led to the creation of the Palestinian refugee and internally displaced population. This population, having lost the protection of the UNCCP and excluded from the protection of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, today account for 66 percent of the Palestinian people, numbering 9.17 million worldwide. UNRWA – the only UN agency that is able to provide the minimum part of international protection – is required to deliver aid and services to Palestinian refugees until UN member states enforce UNGA Resolution 194 (1948). A core element of that is ensuring the elimination of Palestinian refugee issue and the path to that elimination is the dismantlement and replacement of UNRWA. Therefore, the Israeli regime’s long history of targeting UNRWA is engrained in the root causes and the pillars of forced displacement and transfer, colonization and apartheid.

In 1969, the UN Security Council (UNSC) passed Resolution 269 against South Africa’s occupation of Namibia, condemning the apartheid regime for its refusal to comply with UNSC and for its “persistent defiance of the authority of the UN.” Yet, today, there has been barely any response from UN member states aside from weak condemnations that reiterate powerful western states’ continued support, including blanket international impunity and legitimacy, and complicity for the Israeli colonial-apartheid regime.

As such, the UN, especially the  General Assembly and Security Council, and all member states hold the obligation to protect Palestinian refugees through the protection of UNRWA. Individually and collectively, UN member states are obligated to:

  • Impose the full spectrum of sanctions, political, economic and military, on the Israeli regime for its ongoing genocide and Ongoing Nakba
  • At the very minimum, states must impose political sanctions in the form of revoking bilateral diplomatic privileges such as the presence of representative embassies and missions, as well as reciprocal visa agreements.
  • Impose an immediate and permanent ceasefire that includes the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
  • Proceed with measures to revoke the Israeli regime’s privileges as a UN member state, including rejecting its delegation’s credentials at the General Assembly, excluding it from participation in all international organizations and conferences under the auspices of the United Nations, and revoking its status as a member state as the consequences for its blatant, historic and systematic utter disregard for its responsibilities under the UN Charter and fulfillment of its membership criteria.

29 October 2024

Source: badil.org

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