Catherine Harding’s Post

ABOLISH UNRWA by: John Bolton Former US Ambassador to the UN and National Security Advisor to the President The world undoubtedly was startled to learn that staffers of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency participated in Hamas’s barbaric Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pledged a full investigation, and several countries, including the United States, suspended funding to UNRWA. Washington should demand far more than just further revelations about UNRWA involvement in Oct. 7’s tragic events. The larger, more complex truth about UNRWA is its decades long performance less as a U.N. agency and more as a bulwark of Palestinian resistance to reality, especially in the Gaza Strip. This larger UNRWA history has contributed significantly to making Palestinians a pariah people, unwanted even by fellow Arabs. And it is UNRWA, along with Hamas, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Palestinian Authority, that embodies the myth of Palestinians’ perpetual refugee status until Israel disappears. UNRWA has been a witting participant in weaponizing the Palestinian people against Israel, ultimately to their own severe detriment. The answer to the UNRWA problem requires abolishing and dismantling the agency and its philosophy, which runs contrary to international refugee principles derived after World War II. Until the treatment of Palestinians, particularly Gazans, comes into conformity with the more humane approach institutionalized by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, there is little long-term hope that Palestinians will be de-weaponized. Basic UNHCR doctrine originated in the post-1945 mass movements of refugees and displaced persons. Its two main goals are providing protection and assistance for refugees. One form of protection, highly difficult but critical to attempt, is isolating refugees from the politics of the violent conflicts that made them refugees to begin with. UNRWA does the opposite, fanning the flames of discontent even in its basic education programs and cooperating closely with Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. On assistance, UNHCR worries not only about refugees’ immediate needs but also their long-term prospects, either returning to their original homes or resettlement elsewhere. This, too, is dramatically different from UNRWA’s uniform focus on the “right of return” to Israeli territory. UNHCR believes refugees should either return to their country of origin or, if that is impossible for whatever reason, be resettled in third countries.  Please see full article at: https://lnkd.in/d2HSRd7g

🇵🇰🇺🇳🇦🇫 ~ U.N. agencies are warning that Pakistan’s planned expulsion of more than a million “undocumented” foreign nationals risks triggering a human rights catastrophe. The UN is appealing to Pakistani authorities to suspend these deportations as the November 1 deadline is today for the deportation of 1.4 million Afghan nationals to Afghanistan where many will likely be at grave risk of human rights violations. “We are very worried that those who are deported face a whole host of human rights violations including torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, severe discrimination, and lack of access to basic economic and social needs,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. She said women are of particular concern as the de facto Taliban rulers “have attempted to completely erase them from any public presence in society — from the workplace, from schools, from even public parks.” The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, reports Pakistan currently is hosting 3.7 million Afghan refugees, 700,000 of whom fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. It says about 1.7 million are deemed to be in Pakistan illegally, with little legal protection or means to get asylum. Pakistan says Afghans who are registered as refugees do not have to worry about being deported. It says only those people, regardless of nationality, who are in the country illegally will be returned to their home countries. Source: Voice of America Video was uploaded to a Pakistan channel I’ve started to monitor.

Is #UNRWA part of the problem, not part of the cure? UNRWA is the ONLY UN body dedicated to a specific refugee population, while every other refugee in the world has to share the services and the budget of the UNHCR. UNRWA is also the only body that defines refugee status as everlasting, to be passed down through the generations. Every other #refugee is only granted that status for themselves, not for their descendents, which pressures the UN to find speedy and stable solutions to resettle them. Therefore, even before UNRWA employees, vehicles and facilities were proven ( not "alleged") to be involved in the October 7 massacre (and connected to Hamas long before the war), the organization was in an obvious conflict of self-interest to perpetuate the refugee status of Palestinians ad infinitum. On its own website, UNRWA itself boasts (CAPS are mine) : "UNRWA is UNIQUE in terms of its long-standing commitment to ONE GROUP of refugees. It has contributed to the welfare and human development of FOUR GENERATIONS of Palestine refugees, defined as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 War.” The DESCENDANTS of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, are also eligible for registration. UNRWA services are available to all those living in its areas of operations who meet this definition, who are registered with the Agency and who need assistance. When the Agency began operations in 1950, IT WAS RESPONDING TO THE NEEDS OF ABOUT 750,000 Palestine refugees. TODAY, SOME 5.9 million Palestine refugees ARE ELIGIBLE for UNRWA services." If the Palestinians can ever be declared to be settled in the countries they currently live in across the Arab world and globally, then UNRWA's vast and powerful financial apparatus and employment network will vanish. The billions of dollars in funding that has increased as the population continues to grow, will not be available to be siphoned off for bribes, corruption and terrorist activities. UNRWA is a dangerous, outdated organization that is riddled with corruption and ideoligically opposed to a long-term resolution to settle the descendents of the original 750,000 Palestinian refugees. It must be disbanded, and perhaps even its refugees should be considered equal to all other refugees and served by UNHCR with the same rights as everyone else. If you consider that a shocking suggestion, then ask yourself why only the 750,000 Arab refugees from a 1948 war, are unique, as UNRWA seems to think, in modern history. #humanrights

Human rights groups urge action to protect Sudanese refugees, especially women and girls in Ethiopia, according to the 1951 Refugee Convention on non-refoulment. We recall that the Human Rights Council’s failure to renew the critical mandate on Ethiopia in October 2023, particularly in light of the investigation’s findings of the acute risk of ongoing and further atrocity crimes, demonstrates further the impact of the Council’s blind spots where mounting human rights violations remain ignored. We call on: - Ethiopian authorities to immediately investigate the alleged attacks and protect these refugees from local armed groups and respect the Ethiopian government’s international commitments to protect refugees. - UN agencies such as the UNHCR and IOM to provide protection, and humanitarian support for refugees and help them find permanent and safe solutions. - The international community to immediately take action to protect these refugees, especially women and girls, according to the 1951 Refugee Convention on non-refoulment. Read the full statement here: https://lnkd.in/eY2BpX9c

🌍 There are nearly 110 million forcibly displaced people in the world today as conflicts in Ukraine, South Sudan and Syria continue. As the refugee crisis continues to grow, so does the spread of rhetoric and false information regarding refugees. Politicians and media push false arguments about refugees, arguing that they are an economic burden, that they choose to migrate and that they seek to live in wealthy countries like the UK or the USA. It is important that we stop this false rhetoric before it is able to spread fear regarding refugees. Take a look at our new article on the biggest myths regarding refugees 👇 https://lnkd.in/eCMxJGxe #RefugeesWelcome #Myths #FakeNews #Conflict #Crisis 

When I joined USA for UNHCR less than 2.5 years ago, 89.3 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide. Today, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, released the #GlobalTrends report, estimating the number of displaced people to be 120 million - a 43% increase in such a short time. For context, 1 out of every 69 people have now experienced displacement - fleeing war, violence, and persecution. 💔 I encourage you to read articles like the one linked here, learn more about how the global refugee crisis impacts us all, and consider what you can do to be an advocate for displaced people and the policies and cultural contexts that impact their lives.

'The worst effects of these ration cuts are yet to be seen.' Refugees in Uganda are turning to increasingly desperate measures to support themselves and their families following drastic reductions in humanitarian aid, yet our research suggests the worst effects of these cuts are yet to be seen as refugee social networks buckle under pressure to fill the gaps left by aid agencies. Uganda's open-border policies and refugee self-reliance model have earned international acclaim, but a surge in refugee numbers