A Palestinian man rides a motorcycle past the logistics base of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 30, 2019. /VCG Photo
The Netherlands suspended its contribution to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees Wednesday, pending the outcome of a probe into alleged mismanagement and abuses of authority by the agency's top management.
The Dutch decision comes a day after a similar move by Switzerland, which said it would suspend additional contributions.
UN investigators have opened an inquiry after an internal report alleged "serious ethical abuses" at the highest level at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
The report by the UNRWA's ethics department, a copy of which has been seen by AFP, said senior management at the agency engaged in "sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination and other abuses of authority, for personal gain, to suppress legitimate dissent, and to otherwise achieve their personal objectives."
As one of the agency's main European donors, the Netherlands "expressed... its great concern and asked for clarification," the Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Sigrid Kaag, France's foreign trade and development cooperation minister, "has decided to put this year's contribution on hold until we have received a satisfactory response from the UN in New York," the statement said.
The Dutch government "is also in consultation with other donors," the ministry said, without giving further details. The Netherlands is the UNRWA's fourth-largest EU donor country and planned to contribute 13 million euros (14.4 million U.S. dollars) this year.
Palestinian students sit in a classroom at a school administered by the UNRWA in Beirut, Lebanon, September 3, 2018. /VCG Photo
On Tuesday, the Swiss foreign ministry said it had already made its annual contribution of 22.3 million Swiss francs (22.5 million U.S. dollars) to the UNRWA but that it was "suspending any additional contributions" to the agency – already in crisis due to U.S. funding cuts – pending the findings of UN investigators.
Switzerland "attaches particular importance to good governance of international organizations," the ministry said.
The ethics report paints a picture of a small number of mostly foreign senior leaders centralizing power and influence while disregarding UN checks and balances.
The document describes "credible and corroborated" allegations of serious ethical abuses, including some involving its head Pierre Krahenbuhl.
The UNRWA has declined to comment in detail on the report while the UN probe is ongoing.
In a statement to AFP, the agency however said it was cooperating fully with the investigation. Meanwhile, Krahenbuhl said, "If the current investigation... were to present findings that require corrective measures or other management actions, we will not hesitate to make them."
The UNRWA was set up after more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled their land during the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel.
It provides vital schooling and medical services to millions of impoverished refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinian territories.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in May called the UNRWA "part of the problem" in the Middle East, citing that it fueled an "unrealistic" hope of return after 70 years of exile among Palestinians.
The ethics report was sent to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in December. UN investigators have since visited the UNRWA's offices in Jerusalem and Amman, collecting information related to the allegations, sources familiar with the matter said.
Copyright © 2018 CGTN. Beijing ICP prepared NO.16065310-3
Copyright © 2018 CGTN. Beijing ICP prepared NO.16065310-3