Yesterday, the Commissioner General of UNRWA pinned a new tweet on X praising his UNRWA colleagues as the “true heroes” as they continue to “put on their UN vest and go to work every day.”
UNRWA’s senior management rushed to post many videos and statements on social media praising the dedication of UNRWA Palestinian local staff who have remained committed to their communities.
UNRWA’s local staff in Palestine are undoubtedly the true heroes.
However, the narrative of UNRWA senior management does not accurately depict the situation.
The harsh reality is that UNRWA Palestinian staff were left with no choice. Just like Israel imposed a total blockade of Gaza, UNRWA senior management confined their entire 13000 Palestinian local staff to stay in the North of Gaza.
They neglected to protect them from the indiscriminate bombing, leaving them without a place to hide or a means of escape.
During the first days of the war, a few international staff quickly fled Gaza, leaving behind some 13000 staff with no information, no support, no directives, no nothing…
All 13000 Gaza staff received only one message from the Acting Deputy Commissioner General. It read,
‘In these extremely unprecedented and tough times, this is to enable staff to make appropriate decisions in the circumstances. We pray for everyone’s safety at this time.”
Pray?
This is how UNRWA senior management treated the 13000 Palestinian local staff.
They prayed.
And this is what transpired next.
Amal (name changed), an UNRWA teacher, rushed to leave her home from Jabaliya with her two kids and husband and moved without any protection to the south. She couldn’t find a place to shelter because the shelters were overcrowded and unsafe. She tried to contact UNRWA headquarters, but no one answered her. Finding no place to shelter, she slept on the streets with her family, on the pavement, and the roads.
Khaled (name changed), a social worker, received a WhatsApp message from a relative working with another UN organization informing him that his organization was relocating local staff to the South. Khaled rushed to contact his supervisor, but his supervisor was nowhere to be found. He called another UNRWA international official who shockingly told him that “he was only responsible for international UNRWA staff safety and security and not the Palestinian ones and that he was too busy to be bothered.” That night, Khaled’s house was bombed, and he died with his wife and kids in the rubble of their own home.
Alaa’ (name changed), a nurse wanted to move to the Khan Younes Training Center. According to what she heard, other UN agencies designated the center as relatively secure and the UN gave its coordinates to the Israeli side as a refuge for local staff. The journey from the North to the South was dangerous, and Israel was bombarding those fleeing on the main Salaheddin road in Gaza. Alaa’ reached out to her Director (an UNRWA international staff) to request transportation in an armored UN vehicle to the KYTC. The International Director stated that she could not assist her, and that taxis were still functioning, transporting civilians to the border. Alaa and her children took the dangerous Salaheddin road on their own. When they reached their destination later that day, she observed the International Director alone inside the UNRWA armored vehicle with ample room beside her.
Suha (name changed) and her four children left Gaza and headed towards the south. She attempted to reach out to UNRWA headquarters in search of guidance, but senior management did not give the Palestinian staff in Gaza any hotline number to call. She found no place to stay, so she hid under a tree and tied a blanket to her children’s hands to keep them together.
Throughout the war, UNRWA Palestinian staff were left alone by senior management. Their bravery in navigating alone without any advice, directive, or support during this war is heroic.
However, it came at a significant price.
All other UN agencies operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories included their Palestinian local staff under the UNDSS security arrangements and provided a designated safe haven and safe transportation except UNRWA Palestinian staff.
All other UN agencies operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have completed a headcount for their local staff, except for UNRWA Palestinian staff.
To date, there is no headcount of Palestinian staff at UNRWA.
The headcount for the UNRWA international staff was, however, completed. Most of them work from home abroad while receiving a daily subsistence allowance.
The number of UNRWA Palestinian staff who were killed has now reached 126, and that number is likely to go up. Many of these staff members lost their lives, along with their entire families and dependents. Many of them are still under the rubble.
It is imperative to investigate the unacceptable failures of senior management in planning for the security and safety of Palestinian staff.
The lack of emergency preparedness in an emergency-designated duty station is astounding. UNRWA Palestinian local staff were left with no protection, no directives, and no support.
Praising them on social media as “real heroes” is not sufficient.
The Secretary-General is responsible for fulfilling the rights of UNRWA Palestinian staff under the rules.
1- The UNRWA Palestinian staff are entitled to danger pay:
This allowance is payable as a monthly sum currently at 1640 USD per month to internationally-recruited and locally recruited staff whenever staff are present Gaza, whether or not they report to duty. Currently, UNRWA has only paid danger pay to its international staff, but not to its local staff in Palestine.
2- The UNRWA Palestinian staff are entitled to payment of daily subsistence allowance (DSA):
Under the UNDSS security policies, UNRWA staff should have been relocated to either the Khan Yunis Training Center or a designated safe haven in the south. The Director of Human Resources should have authorized payment of DSA for an initial period of 30 days. He has not done so. The daily rate of DSA in Gaza is currently 168 USD. This entitles each UNRWA local staff member to receive 5040 USD for the first month of the war. Instead, the Commissioner-General has granted permission to disburse 300 USD/month to each staff member. On the other hand, UNRWA international staff have been paid daily DSA even though they have been working remotely from outside Gaza in the comfort of their own homes.
3- The families of the UNRWA Palestinian staff are entitled to compensation under the Malicious Act Insurance Policy (M.A.I.P):
Under the MAIP, the families of the 126 deceased UNRWA Palestinian staff are now entitled to a total amount of approximately 15 million USD. Each bereaved family is entitled to receive roughly 120,000 USD. The bereaved families have not received a single penny from UNRWA senior management.
During the recent UNRWA Advisory Commission on November 21, the UNRWA Commissioner-General stated that UNRWA had obligations towards the host governments that it intended to fulfill. He asserted that he heard the call for action and supported it.
Unfortunately, the M.A.I.P policy cannot be applied retroactively since it is conditional on several measures such as compliance with security directives.
The Director of Human Resources and senior management must be held accountable for failing to inform the Palestinian staff of the applicable policies and excluding them from MAIP coverage.
Nothing but discrimination, incompetence, and disregard for the lives of Palestinian local staff…
In the meantime, there is a lack of transparency regarding the OCHA 1.2 billion humanitarian appeal for Gaza.
Neither OCHA nor the UN has published any figures on the total funds received so far. Yesterday, a journalist asked the SG Spokesperson about the total funds received so far, but the spokesperson was unable to provide an answer.
You can get an idea from the transcripts of the noon highlights:
Question: Okay. I’m going to ask two updates. First one, sorry. First one is the appeal… the OCHA appeal, the 1.2 billion humanitarian appeal. How does that work?
Spokesman: I don’t have the numbers with me, but as I’ve told you, I think, Dezhi, the…
Question: I tried. I even donated, but I still cannot find the figure.
Spokesman: Okay. Then we will help you find where your money went.
Question: Thank you. Yeah. Really…
Spokesman: I won’t ask you how much you donated, but we do appreciate your donation. [laughter]
Laughter.
Mr. Spokesman, I can help you figure out the places where this money sometimes goes amiss. At times, it struggles to find its way, which is towards the Palestinian refugees.
Sometimes, like in the aftermath of the 2014 Gaza war and the ensuing Emergency Appeal, when generous donors responded swiftly, the emergency funds went amiss. Part of this money was used by an UNRWA international staff member posted in Gaza to build a gym because he wanted to maintain his shape while working in a complex duty station.
There was no oversight internally or externally for how the Emergency Appeal Funds were drawn upon. Part of these funds have not gone to their destined beneficiaries: the Palestinian people.
A third of UNRWA budget is funded by the US Administration, which in turn has significant leverage on senior appointments, operations, and oversight. There are those who may question why KSA and other GCC major donors have reduced their funding for UNRWA. Despite their desire to insist on political motives, the fact is that these countries have repeatedly requested expense monitoring reports and have not received any. As a result, they reduced their funding.
UNRWA’s survival and relevance are more crucial today than ever before.
In order to fulfill its mandate, UNRWA needs to be accountable to the Palestinian refugees and to the Palestinian staff. In addition, it must decrease its reliance on US funds and strive to regain the trust of Arab and other donors.
Establishing an independent oversight mechanism and board is the only way to achieve that. The host governments and representatives of donor countries must have independent experts sitting on these boards, reviewing, inspecting, and reporting to donors.
For this to happen, there must be accountability first. UNRWA Palestinian staff have the right to receive answers and for their rights to be respected and fulfilled.
I ask the Secretary-General to establish an independent external inquiry commission to investigate the failure of UNRWA senior management to include UNRWA Palestinian staff under the UNDSS Security Policies and the M.A.I.P.
I ask the Secretary-General to publish daily updated figures for the OCHA Emergency Appeal for Gaza.
I ask the Secretary-General to compensate the families of the deceased UNRWA staff by paying them 15 million compensation from the OCHA emergency appeal fund.
I call on UNRWA Commissioner-General to pay the local staff of UNRWA their entitlements to danger pay.
I call on UNRWA Commissioner-General to pay the local staff their entitlements to DSA.
I ask the Secretary-General to uphold the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination.
Today, November 29th marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people.
This day serves as a reminder that approximately 6 million Palestinian refugees are still dispersed throughout the region. The recent Gaza war resulted in the forced displacement of over one million Palestinians and the death of thousands of children, women, and men.
Mr. Secretary-General, the Palestinian staff of the UN are also Palestinian refugees.
The United Nations must not discriminate against its own Palestinian staff and must act swiftly to fulfill its obligations towards them.
