ELEANOR HALL: Some Israeli groups have stepped up their attack on the United Nations by accusing it of funding people who are not
genuine Palestinian refugees.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides education, health and other programs for around 5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
But now there's a push by pro-Israeli groups to change the definition of refugee so that only those Palestinians who were personally
affected by the creation of Israel in 1948 can qualify for aid.
Middle East correspondent Anne Barker reports.
(Sounds from inside a school)
ANNE BARKER: Palestinian children recite the English alphabet at a United Nations run school at Bethlehem in the West Bank.
About 800 kids attend this school, most are from the nearby Aida refugee camp which was set up after Israel's creation in 1948.
(Sound of a teacher speaking)
The UN Relief and Works Agency established in 1949 runs schools like this all over the West Bank and Gaza, as part of its mandate to care
for several million Palestinian refugees in the region.
But not one of these children in Bethlehem of course was even alive in 1948.
And some right wing pro-Israel groups and individuals in both Israel and abroad believe the UN, by including descendants as refugees, is merely perpetuating the Palestinian refugee problem.
DAVID BEDEIN: Of the 5 million Arabs who are registered with UNRWA, our agency has been looking to see how many are actually refugees and we come up with a figure of about 30,000 - the rest are descendants of refugees, second, third and fourth generation, and that's
hardly to be considered a refugee.
And for the second, third and fourth generation, the UN agency should be helping them get on with their lives, and not to plan every
moment of their lives how they're going to reclaim what they lost in 1948.
ANNE BARKER: David Bedein represents the Israel Resource News Agency - a far right lobby group in Jerusalem.
He says the UN should narrow its definition of refugee to include only those Palestinians personally affected in 1948.
And he also supports an amendment moved by the US Senate appropriations committee*(see editor's note) last month which would force Washington to reveal how many Palestinians assisted by UNRWA are indeed 1948 refugees and how many are just descendants.
He says other donors including Australia should be doing the same with their funding.
DAVID BEDEIN: The issue is the fact that it's given without conditions. The fact that the UNRWA facilities is also more or less a military operation, helping the people, encouraging the people in the camps to basically carry out a military operation to liberate all of Palestine and that's integrated into the books, into every part of the curriculum and it doesn't seem that that would be appropriate for a humanitarian agency to engage in such activities.* (see editor’s note below).
ANNE BARKER: David Bedein also questions the UN policy of using Palestinian Authority textbooks in its schools, saying that on occasion it's meant the UN is teaching from books that incite violence against Israel.
It's a claim UNRWA though denies.
Chris Gunness is UNRWA's spokesman in Jerusalem.
CHRIS GUNNESS: Where there are problems found with any books there is a system in place. Any international organisation going into any country has to work with the system that is there. Oslo has given us this system. It's the best we've got and we have to work within that.
ANNE BARKER: And Chris Gunness denies the UN in any way is perpetuating the refugee problem by including descendants as Palestinian refugees.
CHRIS GUNNESS: It's the failure of the political parties to resolve the refugee issue that perpetuates it, not a humanitarian organisation which is mandated by the world community to help them and give them human development.
ANNE BARKER: But why not narrow the definition of refugees to be those people who were displaced or forced out of their homes in 1948? Why does it have to include their descendants over generations?
CHRIS GUNNESS: That is how refugees are defined, whether it is UNHCR dealing with Afghan refugees in Pakistan through the decades, or UNHCR dealing with Cambodian refugees in Thailand. It's the general assembly that signs off on these definitions. We simply implement the mandate that we're given by the general assembly.
ELEANOR HALL: That is Chris Gunness from the UN Relief and Works Agency speaking to our Middle East correspondent Anne Barker.
*EDITOR’S NOTES:
EDITOR’S NOTE: (13 July, 2012): The claim that UNRWA is “more or less a military operation” was not put to the agency for a response in
the original story. UNRWA strongly rejects claims its facilities are effectively military operations. It says neutrality is central to its mission,
and that is “underpinned by internal and external oversight and auditing. Moreover, we report regularly on all the above to our donors, including the United States, who conduct their own regular reviews. The support for the work of UNRWA from the governments of the US
and Israel speaks for itself.”
The original broadcast item also incorrectly referred to the US Senate having passed a resolution. It was in fact moved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The transcript has been amended.
The full story...
Israeli groups want change to definition of refugee
Anne Barker reported this story on Thursday, June 7, 2012 12:18:00
