“Suspending funding to UNRWA means putting the lives of 5.9 million people at risk.” Thus the Italian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) grouped in the AOI and CINI networks, the Platform of Italian CSOs in the Middle East and Mediterranean, Amnesty International, Assopace Palestina express “strong concern for the heavy humanitarian crisis that has been known to be perpetrating in Gaza for over 100 days, now also aggravated by the suspension by many countries including Italy, of the funds intended for the United Nations agency UNRWA, which since 1949 has been providing assistance to Palestinian refugees: today 5.9 million people in the occupied Palestinian territories , Jordan, Lebanon and Syria”.
In these territories UNRWA manages 58 refugee camps, with 706 schools attended by over 543,000 girls and boys; 140 health centers that carry out 7 million basic medical visits every year, to which are added 113 service centers for women, without taking into account the economic support initiatives for families. UNRWA employees number approximately 30,000.
Suspending funds to UNRWA means “collectively punishing and endangering the lives of 5.9 million people who already live in conditions of extreme vulnerability, including – obviously – the inhabitants of Gaza (2.3 million people), whose lives are at risk risk every day due to the incessant Israeli bombings, the artillery shelling of the troops who invaded the Strip and because of the hunger and diseases caused by the terrible hygienic conditions in which they find themselves living after the destruction of the Strip, which began last October, and the numerous evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army forced over 85% of the population to leave their homes and find refuge, mainly within the UNRWA structures. Without funds, humanitarian assistance in Gaza will collapse with very serious consequences for the fundamental human rights of its inhabitants”. (continued)
Israel's accusations against some employees do not justify this action
The accusations made by Israel against some UNRWA employees “do not constitute a sufficient reason to suspend funding to the Agency. Even if the accusations were found to be true, the Agency could not be held collectively responsible for the acts committed by some of its employees. We believe, however, that the measures promptly adopted by UNRWA against the 12 employees who were accused by Israel of having participated in the massacre perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October testify to the firmness and transparency of a serious organization it is reliable”.
At the same time, the associations maintain, “we remember that 152 UNRWA staff members lost their lives under the Israeli bombs launched on the civilian population of Gaza, while trying to carry out their work, in addition to the fact that 147 of its structures were hit and damaged.”
UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in Gaza and its provision of humanitarian assistance cannot be replaced by any other agency. If funding suspensions are not lifted, we will see a complete collapse of the already limited humanitarian response in Gaza. Since the bombing began, UNRWA personnel have continued to work in almost impossible circumstances to provide food, vaccinations and clean water. (continued)
Obligation to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid
Countries that suspend funding risk further depriving Palestinians not only of Gaza but of the entire region of food, water, medical assistance and supplies, education and protection, becoming complicit in the deaths of many people.
Confirming the need and obligation to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza is also the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued on 26 January 2024 (South Africa-Israel) in response to South Africa's request to initiate proceedings against Israel, accused of violating the Genocide Convention for its actions in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. “The ruling recognizes the plausibility that Israel is committing acts that constitute genocide under the Convention (para. 54) and recognizes that there exists a real and imminent risk of irreparable harm to the rights protected by the Convention (para. 74). The provisional measures ordered include: abstention from any further acts that may constitute genocide; prevention and punishment of incitement to genocide; consent humanitarian assistance; the prevention of destruction and preservation of evidence; the submission to the Court, within one month, of a report detailing the measures taken to implement the sentence. These provisional measures are binding on Israel. In light of this, all states have a general obligation to ensure that genocide is not committed, and in particular the 153 states party to the Genocide Convention, including Italy, have an obligation to ensure the implementation of the provisional measures and to employ all means reasonably available to prevent genocide”.
Therefore, the choice to suspend funds to UNRWA could constitute “a violation of Italy's obligations to prevent genocide. We therefore reiterate the invitation to our government: to do everything in its power to ensure that the to a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible; to do everything to ensure that humanitarian assistance to Gaza can be carried out in the most appropriate ways and times in order to save as many lives as possible in the shortest possible time; to lift the suspension of funds allocated to UNRWA, in line with its obligations to prevent the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, given that the direct consequence of this suspension is the reduction of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population, and that this consequence conflicts with a of the precautionary measures established by the ruling of the International Court of Justice”.
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