UNRWA’s Director for Europe, Marta Lorenzo, told EUROPE, on Tuesday 13 February that the EU’s financial support, expected by the end of February, was a “political signal” to the Palestinians in the region and to the host countries.
“The signal that the European Union will send for the political process and for any future transition in Gaza”, she explained after a hearing at the European Parliament.
As UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini had done earlier in the month, Ms Lorenzo pointed out that the UN agency would be short of funds by the end of the month. Sixteen donors have suspended their support, which, according to Mr Lazzarini, amounts to 450 million dollars.
“By the end of February, we will have run out of funding, not only for the emergency response in Gaza, but also to maintain our basic services throughout the region. So, from the beginning of March, we will enter a phase of negative cash flow, which means that we will have no money in our bank accounts to be able to pay salaries, suppliers, etc. So, de facto, this will mean that we won’t be able to run our operations”, warned the director.
Ms Lorenzo pointed out that two million people were dependent on humanitarian aid in Gaza, where UNRWA was playing “the role of coordinator on behalf of the entire international community, so that (its) infrastructure, (its) staff and (its) logistics can provide aid. De facto, the humanitarian operation will collapse”, she warned.
“More than 28,000 people have been killed, and there are many displaced people, many of whom are seeking protection in our shelters”, said Ms Lorenzo. In Gaza, of the 13,000 employees, 3,000 are still working, 156 have been killed and schools have been turned into shelters, where up to 650 people share a single toilet.
The lack of funds will be felt beyond Gaza, as 250,000 children in the region benefit from UNRWA education, which also provides medical care for patients suffering from cancer or chronic illness.
Returning to the three conditions set by the European Commission – an audit of recruitment within the UN agency, the strengthening of the internal control mechanism and the vetting of UNRWA staff, Ms Lorenzo claimed that this was possible and that UNRWA had no problems in this respect. “We are happy to strengthen our internal control systems”, she explained, adding that the UN agency had already done so, but that more could always be done.
While the High Representative of the Union had stated on Monday 12 February that the audit had to be launched before the end of February for the funds to be disbursed, Ms Lorenzo said that it would not be completed by the end of the month, as these measures “take time”. “We therefore hope that the Commission will agree that the launch of all these processes will trigger the disbursement of the €82 million”, added the director.
As far as vetting is concerned, Ms Lorenzo pointed out that it was carried out twice a year by the Agency and that the list of personnel was shared annually with the host countries and Israel, the last time being in May 2023. In front of the MEPs, she reminded them that UNRWA had no police force or intelligence services to find out what was happening to its employees outside working hours.
For his part, the Director-General of the Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Gert Jan Koopman, said that UNRWA had already been evaluated on several occasions by the EU, but that the allegations made against members of the agency showed that it needed to be looked at again. “It is perfectly normal for the (EU) budget to be protected by stricter controls without hindering the disbursement of sums”, he added.
Asked about possible divisions between members of the European Commission over support for the Palestinians, Ms Lorenzo called on them to think of civilians first. “This is not the time for divisions. It’s the time to think about people. It’s time to put people at the centre and think about how we can be most effective and efficient in delivering assistance to those who need it”, she stressed.
And while some MEPs have accused the UN agency of being infiltrated by terrorists – according to them, more than 10% of its staff are members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad – Ms Lorenzo stressed that UNRWA has a policy of non-contact with Hamas, but that it coordinates on technical issues when necessary, as Hamas has been in power in Gaza since 2007.
Referring to the measures put in place, the director questioned what more needed to be done. “What else can you do to ensure that, in a very small piece of land like the Gaza Strip, completely isolated from the rest of the world, where you can only hire people from that place, you minimise breaches of neutrality? I would say that we have done our best to ensure that we apply the highest standards of neutrality”, she explained. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)