Select committee: International Development Committee
Recommendation 21
Second Report - Humanitarian situation in Gaza
Published 1 Mar 2024
Paragraph 72
Addressed to Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
International Development Committee Humanitarian situation in Gaza All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
This Committee understands that the UK Government wants to see UNRWA improve its governance and then return to receiving funding for its work in Gaza. The UK Government must push for this to happen quickly, both so that UK funding continues but also that international partners are persuaded to restart their funding as well, otherwise the consequences for public services will be catastrophic, both in the Gaza Strip and in the other areas where UNRWA works, including the West Bank and refugee camps in the region.
From: International Development Committee, Second Report - Humanitarian situation in Gaza (HC 110), paragraph 72, 1 March 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 8 May 2024 (deadline 1 May 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government marks most of the Committee's recommendations as "Agree", marks three as "Partially Agree", and says it is "focussed on practical solutions that save lives".
- On land crossings and aid access, it marks the recommendation "Agree" and says it "continue[s] to press Israel" for further changes, welcoming Israel's undertaking to raise aid flows to 500 trucks a day and wanting Israel to fulfil it "as quickly as possible".
- On a reconstruction conference, it marks the recommendation "Partially Agree": it agrees the international community must consider recovery now, but is "not at this stage ready to commit to the UK hosting an international conference".
- On UNRWA, it marks the recommendation "Agree" but makes no commitment to resume funding, saying it "will set out our position on future funding" after "careful consideration" of the final report, UNRWA's response and the ongoing OIOS investigation.
- On international humanitarian law, it "Partially Agree[s]", stating that grave concerns on humanitarian access are "not sufficient to undermine our judgement that Israel is committed to comply with IHL in general".