The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which has been running schools and basic health care services in Gaza for decades, has so far survived calls for its abolition, but its long-term future remains far from certain without the full support of the United States.
The editorial board met this week with Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner general, and he was blunt about the agency’s challenges, which include the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and a funding shortfall that emerged after Israel accused a dozen of UNRWA’s 30,000 employees of being involved in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks.
An independent review commissioned by the United Nations, released on Monday, made several recommendations about reforms to the agency. It also found that Israel has not provided evidence to support its accusations of wide links between UNRWA and terrorist groups. (The report did not address the dozen accused UNRWA employees; 10 were fired after the accusations were made, and two had died.)
The United States and several other countries suspended their funding from UNRWA, and, while other countries, including Germany, the second-largest donor, have since restored their contributions, the U.S. will not resume its funding until March 2025 at the earliest. The State Department has said it is still reviewing the report.
Lazzarini said private donors have made up much of that shortfall, allowing UNRWA to continue its work, but the funding gap remains a significant worry relative to the need.
He has managed to secure the agency’s budget through June, he said, but the second half of the year is uncertain. “I know that we won’t be able to count on the U.S. contribution,” he said. “So obviously it brings the agency closer to the edge of financial collapse.”
There are other U.N. agencies and international aid organizations, including the World Food Program and UNHCR, that could address humanitarian needs in Gaza. But UNRWA serves another function: It provides “state-like” services, paying the salaries for teachers, health workers and other civil servants. To hand over those public services, “we would need a functioning administration,” Lazzarini said, and it is unclear who could assume that responsibility.
UNRWA, he said, is open to working with a revitalized Palestinian Authority, a possibility the United States has supported. But until the Palestinian Authority or another governing body takes shape, UNRWA plays a necessary role. Without it, the situation in Gaza after the conflict ends could be dangerously unstable. Six months into this conflict, “the day after” may seem like a distant prospect, but in the meantime, it is in no one’s interest to hobble one of the few remaining stabilizing forces in Gaza.
A correction was made on
April 28, 2024
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An earlier version of this post misstated the name of UNRWA. It is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, not the United Nations Refugee and Welfare Agency.
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