Recommendation 22

HM Government Acknowledged

Agree Allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel are appalling, which is why the UK took decisive action to pause future funding to UNRWA in line with the United States, Canada, Australia, the EU, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The UN launched two independent investigations, one by the UN Office for Internal Oversight Services into the specific allegations, and one led by Catherine Colonna, to review UNRWA’s neutrality procedures and policies. The UN OIOS has completed an interim report of its investigation into the incident, and Catherine Colonna has published her final report into the neutrality of UNRWA. The report made fifty recommendations in eight different areas for improvements. The UN Secretary General welcomed the report and accepted the recommendations. UNRWA Commissioner General Lazzarini accepted the recommendations and committed to implement them in full. The UK recognises that UNRWA has a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza and the region. We recognise the operational and logistical role UNRWA plays on the ground and that it provides important distribution capacity for other agencies. We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it, including through other UN agencies and British charities. Our decision to pause future funding to UNRWA has had no impact on the UK’s contribution to the humanitarian response. We will set out our position on future funding to UNRWA following careful consideration of the final report, UNRWA’s response and the ongoing OIOS investigation into the allegations.