The list of countries that suspend their funding to the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) grows due to suspicions that a dozen of its thousands of workers participated in the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7 in Israel. The last to join this Monday were Austria and the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), while the UN agency warns that it will not be able to continue its operations beyond the end of February.
"The accusations that UNRWA personnel were involved in the brutal Hamas terrorist attack of October 7 are deeply shocking and extremely disturbing," the Foreign Ministry has argued about that decision, already taken previously by other countries, such as the United States, Germany (first and second financier of the agency in 2022) or Japan.
In a statement, the Ministry demanded that UNRWA and the UN "carry out a complete, rapid and exhaustive investigation of the accusations," and announced that it is suspending payments to that agency until those circumstances have been clarified.
"The United Nations must be above criticism, also in the interest of its own credibility. Those possibly involved in the terrorist attack of October 7 must be held accountable," the note states.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry indicates that since last October 7 it has contributed 13 million euros to "relieve the enormous humanitarian suffering" in Gaza, where the Israeli Army continues its punitive actions in which more than 26,000 people have already died. , according to the Strip Government, controlled by Hamas.
Austria's contribution to UNRWA is divided into annual aid of around 400,000 euros and another three million for a health project, according to data provided by the APA news agency.
For their part, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have suspended funding to the UN agency pending the investigation. The foreign ministers of the three countries announced their decision on the social network X late Sunday and early Monday.
"We will rely on the UN investigation to determine its veracity. Latvia suspends its annual payment until its conclusion," stressed Latvian diplomacy. However, he considered it "essential for UNRWA to continue its work to save lives." The Lithuanian Foreign Minister announced that "in coordination with its partners, Lithuania is suspending additional funding for UNRWA until the end of a thorough investigation into these allegations." For his part, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna called for "a quick and thorough investigation into these accusations." The Baltic countries have largely supported Israel, both diplomatically and in the public eye.
Faced with a growing number of countries cutting their funding, UNRWA warned on Monday that it will not be able to continue its operations in Gaza and across the region beyond the end of February if the situation is not reversed. "If funding is not resumed, UNRWA will not be able to continue its services and operations across the region, including Gaza, beyond the end of February," an agency spokesperson said.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, called this Sunday for funding to the agency to be resumed and assured that the UN is taking "quick action following the extremely serious accusations." "These alleged abhorrent acts must have consequences. But it is necessary to meet the humanitarian needs of the desperate populations that UNRWA serves," the Portuguese leader said in a statement.
Guterres' communication ensures that "of the 12 people involved, nine were immediately identified and fired by the Commissioner General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini; the death of one is confirmed and the identity of the other two is being clarified."
Guterres emphasizes that two million civilians in Gaza "depend on critical aid from UNRWA for their daily survival," but the agency's current funding will not allow it to "meet all requirements to support them in February."
Meanwhile, countries like Spain have stated that they will continue donating to the agency. The Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has assured that the government will not modify its relationship with UNRWA "although we are closely monitoring the internal investigation and the results it may yield due to the actions of a dozen people out of around 30,000" who work. for this UN agency, Albares stressed.
Spain was the seventh donor in 2022 and made voluntary contributions to UNRWA worth 18.5 million euros in 2023, including 10 million approved last December, following the decision to triple cooperation and humanitarian aid to Palestine.
On Friday, UNRWA announced the expulsion and opening of an immediate investigation of several members of the organization for their alleged participation in the attack on October 7.
Shortly after, the United States announced that it was suspending funding to this UN agency, a step that other countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Japan also took over the weekend.
Within the EU, there has been division between partners. Thus, countries such as Italy, the Netherlands and Germany have announced that they will not contribute more funds to UNRWA, while France has said that it will not do so for the moment, although it did not plan any disbursement soon. In contrast, Ireland has made it clear that it has no intention of stopping funding this UN agency.
For its part, the European Commission (EC), which is one of the largest donors of humanitarian and development aid to the Palestinians of Gaza, stated this Monday that it will make the next decisions on the financing it dedicates to UNRWA in light of the investigation announced by the UN and the measures it adopts. Currently, no additional funding is planned for UNRWA until the end of February.
The EC made it clear that humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank will continue without interruption through partner organizations.
Brussels welcomed the information provided so far by the agency, as well as the start of the investigation.
Furthermore, he hoped that UNWRA would agree to carry out an audit carried out by independent external experts appointed by the EU, focused on the evaluation of the control systems necessary to prevent the possible involvement of its personnel in terrorist activities.
He also hoped that the internal investigations department would be strengthened and that an examination of all agency personnel would begin as soon as possible to confirm that they did not participate in the attacks.
UNRWA has 30,000 employees, 13,000 of them in the Gaza Strip alone.
