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<\/a>On His Way Out, UNRWA Chief Faces Calls for Criminal Probe Into Hamas Infiltration<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\nCorey Walker<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n UN Watch<\/strong>, a\u00a0<\/span>prominent watchdog organization critical of the United Nations, has called on Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres to waive the legal immunity of outgoing UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, arguing that the longtime UN official should face criminal investigation over allegations that he enabled\u00a0<\/span>an agency increasingly infiltrated by\u00a0<\/span>Hamas.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The request, submitted Tuesday\u00a0<\/span>by UN Watch, comes as Lazzarini\u00a0<\/span>concludes his tenure leading the United\u00a0<\/span>Nations Relief and Works Agency for\u00a0<\/span>Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), a\u00a0<\/span>controversial humanitarian organization\u00a0<\/span>that has faced mounting scrutiny since\u00a0<\/span>Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n I<\/span>n a formal legal letter invoking\u00a0<\/span>Section 20 of the Convention on the\u00a0<\/span>Privileges and Immunities of the United\u00a0<\/span>Nations, UN Watch argues that immunity\u00a0<\/span>exists to protect the interests of the\u00a0<\/span>UN rather than individual officials and\u00a0<\/span>should be waived when it could obstruct\u00a0<\/span>justice.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cFor years, we repeatedly\u00a0<\/span>warned Mr. Lazzarini that Hamas had\u00a0<\/span>deeply infiltrated UNRWA,\u201d UN Watch\u00a0<\/span>Executive Director Hillel Neuer said in\u00a0<\/span>a statement. The organization said it\u00a0<\/span>provided UN officials with\u00a0<\/span>documentation alleging that numerous\u00a0<\/span>UNRWA employees \u2014 including teachers,\u00a0<\/span>school administrators and labor union\u00a0<\/span>leaders \u2014 maintained ties to Hamas,\u00a0<\/span>which the US, EU and other Western\u00a0<\/span>governments designate as a terrorist\u00a0<\/span>organization.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n UN Watch alleges that\u00a0<\/span>despite those warnings, Lazzarini\u00a0<\/span>continued to oversee an agency whose\u00a0<\/span>personnel and facilities were exploited\u00a0<\/span>by Hamas and other militant groups\u00a0<\/span>operating in Gaza. The organization\u00a0<\/span>contends that these actions warrant\u00a0<\/span>investigation for possible complicity\u00a0<\/span>in terrorism, war crimes and crimes\u00a0<\/span>against humanity, while emphasizing\u00a0<\/span>that any determination of criminal\u00a0<\/span>liability would ultimately be made by\u00a0<\/span>competent judicial authorities.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe\u00a0<\/span>provided detailed evidence identifying\u00a0<\/span>Hamas-affiliated teachers, school\u00a0<\/span>principals, union leaders, and other\u00a0<\/span>employees,\u201d Neuer said. \u201cWe documented\u00a0<\/span>repeated meetings between senior UNRWA\u00a0<\/span>officials \u2014 including Mr. Lazzarini\u00a0<\/span>himself \u2014 and leaders of Hamas and\u00a0<\/span>other terrorist organizations. Yet he\u00a0<\/span>continued to assure governments that\u00a0<\/span>UNRWA\u2019s neutrality mechanisms were\u00a0<\/span>effective while overseeing an agency\u00a0<\/span>whose personnel, facilities, and\u00a0<\/span>resources were being exploited by\u00a0<\/span>terrorist groups.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The allegations add\u00a0<\/span>to a broader debate over UNRWA\u2019s role\u00a0<\/span>in Gaza. Since the Oct. 7 attacks,\u00a0<\/span>Israeli officials have repeatedly\u00a0<\/span>argued that Hamas embedded itself\u00a0<\/span>within the agency\u2019s infrastructure,\u00a0<\/span>accusing some employees of\u00a0<\/span>participating directly in the assault\u00a0<\/span>and others of maintaining longstanding\u00a0<\/span>affiliations with the militant group.\u00a0<\/span>Israel has also said Hamas used\u00a0<\/span>facilities associated with UNRWA for\u00a0<\/span>military purposes, allegations that\u00a0<\/span>have intensified calls within Israel\u00a0<\/span>and among some Western lawmakers for\u00a0<\/span>major reforms or the agency\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>replacement.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n UNRWA has consistently\u00a0<\/span>rejected accusations that it knowingly\u00a0<\/span>cooperated with Hamas, saying it acts\u00a0<\/span>swiftly when credible evidence of staff\u00a0<\/span>misconduct emerges and that it operates\u00a0<\/span>under exceptionally difficult\u00a0<\/span>conditions inside Gaza. The agency has\u00a0<\/span>argued that the overwhelming majority\u00a0<\/span>of its more than 30,000 employees carry\u00a0<\/span>out humanitarian work providing food,\u00a0<\/span>education and medical care to\u00a0<\/span>Palestinian civilians.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The dispute\u00a0<\/span>comes amid continuing international\u00a0<\/span>scrutiny of UNRWA. Multiple donor\u00a0<\/span>countries, including the US,\u00a0<\/span>temporarily suspended funding in 2024\u00a0<\/span>after allegations surfaced that a\u00a0<\/span>number of employees participated in the\u00a0<\/span>Oct. 7 attack, though many later\u00a0<\/span>resumed contributions following reviews\u00a0<\/span>and additional oversight measures.\u00a0<\/span>Debate has nevertheless continued over\u00a0<\/span>whether Hamas exercised deeper\u00a0<\/span>influence over the agency than\u00a0<\/span>previously acknowledged.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Last month,\u00a0<\/span>the inspector general\u2019s office for the\u00a0<\/span>US Agency for International Development\u00a0<\/span>(USAID) revealed that it found evidence\u00a0<\/span>showing 101 current and former UNRWA\u00a0<\/span>employees also operated as Hamas\u00a0<\/span>terrorists, including within the\u00a0<\/span>group\u2019s military apparatus.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAmong the\u00a0<\/span>individuals referred were UNRWA school\u00a0<\/span>principals, teachers, security\u00a0<\/span>personnel, attendants, psychosocial\u00a0<\/span>counselors, and medical professionals,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>the USAID inspector general\u2019s office\u00a0<\/span>noted.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n UN Watch argues that waiving\u00a0<\/span>Lazzarini\u2019s immunity would demonstrate\u00a0<\/span>that senior UN officials are not beyond\u00a0<\/span>legal accountability.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe credibility\u00a0<\/span>of the United Nations depends on\u00a0<\/span>demonstrating that immunity is not a\u00a0<\/span>shield for impunity,\u201d Neuer said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The\u00a0<\/span>United Nations has not publicly\u00a0<\/span>indicated whether Guterres intends to\u00a0<\/span>consider the request. Under the\u00a0<\/span>Convention on the Privileges and\u00a0<\/span>Immunities of the United Nations, the\u00a0<\/span>secretary-general has the authority to\u00a0<\/span>waive immunity when he determines doing\u00a0<\/span>so would not prejudice the interests of\u00a0<\/span>the organization and when immunity\u00a0<\/span>would otherwise impede the course of\u00a0<\/span>justice.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion’68,<\/em> On His Way Out, UNRWA Chief Faces Calls for Criminal Probe Into Hamas Infiltration Corey Walker United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a news conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer (not seen) and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (not seen) in Vienna, Austria May 11, 2022. REUTERS\/Lisa Leutner UN Watch, a\u00a0prominent watchdog organization critical of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[33,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131873"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=131873"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131897,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131873\/revisions\/131897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=131873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=131873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=131873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![](\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/2022-06-20T220945Z_1_LYNXMPEI5J0OE_RTROPTP_4_UKRAINE-CRISIS-UN-1.jpg\")
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a news conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer (not seen) and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (not seen) in Vienna, Austria May 11, 2022. REUTERS\/Lisa Leutner<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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