It has been almost a month since the Israeli Knesset voted to ban UNRWA from operating in the Palestinian territory of Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli authorities have made progress in its implementation, despite widespread condemnation from the international community and some of Israel’s allies.
The United Nations itself denounced the move, saying it would have “devastating consequences” as it is the main agency providing aid to Gaza. Although the ban on UNRWA will undoubtedly amplify the suffering of Palestinians, it also constitutes a spectacular goal for Israel.
Indeed, it will elevate the two and a half million Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank to a new level of international protection under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), whose preferred solution for situations of refugees is voluntary. repatriation: the right of return.
This is the exact opposite of what the Knesset in general, and Israel’s far-right cabinet in particular, hoped to achieve when they set out to destroy UNRWA. Intoxicated by their own power and proud of their military victory in Gaza, they worked under the ill-informed illusion that if they prevented UNRWA from operating, the refugees it serves could be excluded from the peace process; their history, their identity, their rights and their historical demands have been erased from the discourse.
But Israel is about to learn that 6.8 million people – the number registered with UNRWA – cannot be vaporized so easily, despite Washington’s political support and Israeli military might.
Under Article 1D of the 1951 Refugee Convention, once these refugees cease to benefit from the services of UNRWA, they are legally entitled to protection under the Convention, as well as to protection granted by UNHCR. The second sentence of the article makes it explicit. “When this protection or assistance has ceased for any reason, without the situation of these persons being definitively settled in accordance with the relevant resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, these persons are ipso facto entitled to the benefits of this Convention. .”
In other words, if Knesset legislation is implemented and UNRWA is prevented from providing services, Palestinian refugees – in the absence of a just and lasting solution, which is more distant than ever – will fall then under the Refugee Convention and UNHCR mandate. .
This is confirmed in the guidelines published by UNHCR in 2017, paragraph 29 of which emphasizes that “when it is established that UNRWA protection or assistance has ceased (…) the Palestinian refugee has automatically or “ipso facto “right to the benefits of the 1951 Convention.”
Not only is this the case for today’s Palestinian refugees, but future generations who register with UNRWA in the absence of a resolution regarding their refugee status will also fall under the comprehensive protection mandate. highest offered by the Refugee Convention. Basically, according to UNHCR guidelines, refugees are registered along male and female lines. UNRWA limits this to the male line only, so under UNHCR the number of Palestinian refugees will likely increase more quickly than under UNRWA.
In the meantime, UNRWA, to the extent possible, will continue to update its refugee registration records. Heroically, the agency removed thousands of hard copies of key registration documents dating back to 1948 from its Gaza headquarters during the current fighting, as well as from the West Bank to Amman. Thanks to the dedication of UNRWA staff, the agency’s registration database is now fully digitized and stored in secure cyberspaces across the world.
Preserving this backbone of refugee culture and identity will be a source of collective comfort for a dispersed people facing what UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese calls “colonial erasure.” Particularly because it is now impossible for Israel to destroy this precious database, which will be of crucial importance if the refugees decide to claim their right to return, restitution and compensation from Israel, to which they have right under international law, as the United Nations general affirmed. Assembly Resolution 194.
Although this is not immediately feasible, UNRWA’s now fully digitized database maintains a permanent record.
Looking to the future, it is an abrogation of humanitarian leadership to say, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has done, that in the absence of UNRWA, it is the sole responsibility of occupying power, Israel, to provide services to Palestinian refugees.
This is particularly flagrant at a time when this power is engaged in what the International Court of Justice considers to be a plausible genocide and when its Prime Minister and its Minister of Defense are facing arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court. for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including resorting to starvation. as a weapon of war, persecution and other inhumane acts.
It is particularly sad to see Mr. Guterres invoking the responsibilities of the occupying power given that before becoming Secretary-General, he served for 10 years as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and would be fully aware of the protections enshrined by Article 1D of the Convention. 1951 Convention.
Additionally, it would be helpful to see strong public advocacy on this issue from the current UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, who, prior to taking this position, served as Deputy Commissioner General and then Commissioner General of UNRWA. Mr. Grandi’s unwavering commitment to the cause of Palestinian refugees is well known.
At this crucial moment, senior UN leaders must firmly reassure the Palestinians, for whom the UN bears historic responsibility, that their rights will be protected and that they will have equal status in terms of the right of return, alongside tens of millions of people around the world. world, many of whom are also intergenerational refugees.
As UNRWA faces an existential threat and the refugees it serves face “colonial erasure,” I call on the United Nations General Assembly, responsible for UNRWA’s mandate, to return the question to the Security Council as a matter of urgency.
I also urge Mr. Guterres to exercise his powers under Article 99 of the United Nations Charter and demand that the Security Council act to protect UNRWA and fulfill its mandated responsibility to maintain the international peace and security.
If Israel succeeds in abolishing UNRWA, it would undoubtedly be a painful loss for the Palestinians. But this will not erase the question of Palestinian refugees. The end of UNRWA will actually open an even stronger chapter for the Palestinian right of return, as their protection moves from a relatively small regional United Nations entity to a global organization that has long championed the right of return in “protracted refugee situations”.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.
