UNRWA, founded as a humanitarian agency, has subordinated its role as a service provider to a political agenda:

  • It is the only UN agency dedicated exclusively to one group of refugees and establishes its own unique and expansive standards.

As a result, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, who would not be counted as refugees anywhere else in the world (including descendants of refugees) are registered by UNRWA as refugees.

  • It is predicated upon the notion of the ìright of returnîó a right that in fact does not exist within international law.

As a result, it maintains a policy of keeping the refugees in a temporary situation until they can return to homes and villages in Israel left more than half a century ago (the vast majority of which no longer exist).

It will not work to find realistic solutions to the plight of the refugees and will not consider resettlement as an option. Instead, it reinforces the goal of return with a number of practices within its 59 UNRWA refugee camps.

 

Inside UNRWA: Special Investigative Report