BACKGROUNDER No. 2997 | MARCH 5, 2015 Time to Reconsider U.S. Support of UNRWA Brett D. Schaefer and James Phillips Abstract The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees Key Points in the Near East (UNRWA) was established more than 60 years ago as a temporary initiative to address the needs of Palestinian refu- n The United Nations Relief gees and to facilitate their resettlement and/or repatriation. It has and Works Agency for Pales- become a permanent institution providing services to multiple gen- tine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established more erations of Palestinians, of whom a large majority live outside refu- than 60 years as a temporary gee camps, enjoy citizenship in other countries, or reside in the Pal- initiative to address the needs estinian-governed territories. Despite the presence of and activities of Palestinian refugees and to funded through UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee problem has only facilitate their resettlement and/ grown larger, in part due to UNRWA’s expanding definition of refu- or repatriation. gee. The U.S. should encourage reform and replacement of UNRWA n It has become a permanent to facilitate its original purpose. institution providing health, education, and other social he Palestinian Authority (PA), which was created by the Oslo services to multiple generations Tpeace process, has turned its back on negotiations with Israel of Palestinians. and sought to pressure and delegitimize the Jewish state through n UNRWA’s ties to Hamas and the United Nations. Palestinian efforts to secure a one-sided Secu- other Palestinian radical ele- rity Council resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal to the bor- ments taint its neutrality and ders that existed before the 1967 Arab–Israeli War are opposed by make it vulnerable to misuse by Palestinians seeking to use the the United States, which correctly sees them as incompatible and U.N. system against Israel. harmful to negotiating a peace accord. The Obama Administration should not only block efforts to n This is clearly contrary to America’s stated goal of peaceful bypass direct Israeli–Palestinian negotiations, the only genuine resolution of the Israeli–Palestin- path to peace, but also seek to prevent the United Nations from ian conflict. being exploited to advance these efforts. One egregious example is n the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees The U.S. should encourage reform and replacement of in the Near East (UNRWA), whose facilities were used by Hamas UNRWA to facilitate its original purpose of ending the refugee This paper, in its entirety, can be found at http://report.heritage.org/bg2997 status of Palestinians as must The Heritage Foundation occur as part of any final Israeli– 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Palestinian peace agreement. Washington, DC 20002 (202) 546-4400 | heritage.org Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress. BACKGROUNDER | NO. 2997 MARCH 5, 2015 in 2014 to house missiles—Hamas has launched trol of parts of the territory originally allocated to thousands of rockets against Israeli civilians—and the Palestinians. Following the conflict, more than tunnels that were used to launch strikes into Israe- 600,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from li territory. these Israeli-controlled territories. UNRWA has existed for more than 60 years as a To address this massive refugee crisis, the U.N. temporary initiative to address the needs of Pales- General Assembly passed Resolution 194 (III) to tinian refugees from the 1948 Israeli–Arab conflict establish a Conciliation Commission for Palestine and to facilitate their resettlement and/or repatria- to assume the functions of the U.N. mediator on Pal- tion. It has evolved into a permanent institution pro- estine, supervise U.N. control of specified religious viding services to multiple generations of Palestin- sites, facilitate economic development of the area, ian “refugees,” of whom a large majority live outside and resolve the refugee situation. Specifically, para- refugee camps, enjoy citizenship in other countries, graph 11 stated that the General Assembly: or reside in the Palestinian-governed West Bank and Gaza Strip. Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to The reality is that UNRWA obstructs its original their homes and live at peace with their neigh- mission of resolving the Palestinian refugee prob- bours should be permitted to do so at the earliest lem. Worse, by encouraging the Palestinian fixation practicable date, and that compensation should on their “right to return” to Israel, UNRWA impedes be paid for the property of those choosing not negotiations for a permanent peace agreement. The to return and for loss of or damage to property U.S. should withhold its contributions until UNRWA which, under principles of international law or in implements critical reforms. The medium-term U.S. equity, should be made good by the Governments goal should be to eliminate the organization and or authorities responsible; shift responsibility for actual Palestinian refugees to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refu- Instructs the Conciliation Commission to facili- gees (UNHCR). tate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the UNRWA Origins and Mission payment of compensation, and to maintain close Following World War II, the U.N. General Assem- relations with the Director of the United Nations bly adopted Resolution 181 (II), which endorsed the Relief for Palestine Refugees and, through him, division of the British Mandate of Palestine into with the appropriate organs and agencies of the independent Jewish and Arab states. The Palestin- United Nations.2 ian Arabs refused to support this division, result- ing in internal conflict between Jewish and Arab To address the short-term needs of the refugees, groups. When Israel declared its independence on the General Assembly established UNRWA with May 14, 1948, and was quickly recognized by the Resolution 302 (IV) in December 1949 to carry out United States, the new nation was invaded by armed humanitarian relief and work programs for Palestin- forces from five Arab nations (Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, ian refugees from the 1948 Arab–Israeli conflict and Saudi Arabia, and Syria) in support of the Palestin- to “consult with the interested Near Eastern Govern- ian Arabs, who opposed the establishment of Israel.1 ments concerning measures to be taken by them pre- Israeli forces repelled the invasion, keeping the area paratory to the time when international assistance for allocated to it in Resolution 181 (II) and taking con- relief and works projects is no longer available.”3 Res- 1. U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, “The Arab–Israeli War of 1948,” https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/arab-israeli-war (accessed February 11, 2015). 2. This resolution is the source of Palestinian claims that the U.N. endorsed the “right of return” of Palestinians to Israel. However, it expresses no preference between repatriation and resettlement and payment of compensation. U.N. General Assembly, “Palestine—Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator,” A/RES/194 (III), December 11, 1948, http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/C758572B78D1CD0085256BCF0077E51A (accessed February 11, 2015). 3. U.N. General Assembly, “Assistance to Palestinian Refugees,” A/RES/302 (IV), December 8, 1949, http://unispal.un.org/unispal.nsf/0/AF5F909791DE7FB0852560E500687282 (accessed February 11, 2015). 2 BACKGROUNDER | NO. 2997 MARCH 5, 2015 olution 302 (IV) makes clear that UNRWA’s mandate is provided through voluntary contributions. The would be short-term and reiterated this through the U.S. is the largest single-state donor to UNRWA, need for expeditious resolution of the refugee issue providing $294 million (24 percent of UNRWA con- through repatriation or resettlement by referencing tributions) to support the regular and non-regular paragraph 11 of Resolution 194 (III). In the words of budgets in 2013.7 Cumulatively, the U.S. has provid- former U.N. Secretary-General Trygve Lie, ed roughly $4.9 billion in contributions to UNRWA since 1950.8 Despite this generous support, the U.S. [T]he refugees will lead an independent life in has been unable to address a number of concerns countries which have given them shelter. With about UNRWA’s mandate, operations, and impact. the exception of the “hard core” cases, the refu- Relative Inefficiency. While UNRWA focuses gees will no longer be maintained by an interna- on Palestinian refugees in five countries and territo- tional organization as they are at present. They ries, the rest of the world’s refugees are considered will be integrated in the economic system of the the responsibility of the U.N. High Commissioner countries of asylum and will themselves provide for Refugees (UNHCR). UNHCR was established by for their own needs and those of their families.4 a General Assembly resolution in 1950 and charged with providing international protection to refugees Six decades later, UNRWA has made little prog- and “seeking permanent solutions for the problem ress and provides support and services to 5.09 mil- of refugees by assisting governments and, subject lion refugees (5.49 million registered persons) in to the approval of the governments concerned, pri- Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank and Gaza vate organizations to facilitate the voluntary repa- Strip.5 Indeed, UNRWA now downplays its origi- triation of such refugees, or their assimilation within nal purpose of resettling Palestinian refugees and, new national communities.”9 Like UNRWA, UNHCR instead, identifies its mission as a development and receives some resources from the U.N. regular budget, social services provider to Palestinians, focusing on but voluntary contributions provide most of its fund- “primary and vocational education, primary health ing. The U.S.