9 months ago
The Biden administration needs to see “fundamental changes” at a United Nations aid organization operating in Gaza before it resumes funding that group, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Tuesday.
After Israel alleged that several staffers at the U.N. Relief and Works Agency took part in abductions and killings during the attack, top donors including the U.S. and Germany suspended funding for the group pending an investigation.
Thomas-Greenfield’s remarks are the starkest indication to date that those funding spigots won’t be turned back on soon. They also represent the most concrete demands for structural change at UNRWA to date from someone inside the Biden administration.
"We need to look at the organization, how it operates in Gaza, how they manage their staff and to ensure that people who commit criminal acts, such as these 12 individuals, are held accountable immediately so that UNRWA can continue the essential work that it's doing,” she said after being briefed on the situation in the Middle East.
The U.S. government has givennearly $1 billion to UNRWA in the past three years, including $296 million in 2023 alone. UNRWA employs about 30,000 people worldwide, including 13,000 in Gaza alone.
A UNRWA spokesperson told Reuters that the agency wouldn’t be able to continue its work after February if funding isn’t resumed. It’s unclear how long an investigation by UNRWA into its staffers could take.
Thomas-Greenfield’s comments come as progressive lawmakers and humanitarian aid groups urge the Biden administration to resume funding immediately.
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