Western irresponsibility and deception in the human rights protection of Gazans

Editor's note: Kulsum Begum, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a security and strategic affairs researcher and freelance columnist. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The decision of certain Western countries to stop funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which provides millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the surrounding area with a lifeline, gravely concerns us. Despite their claims to democracy and human rights, Western nations have failed to end the conflict in Gaza, where over 26,000 Palestinians died.

Furthermore, the world community has just seen yet another act of recklessness of the West. Palestinians are desperately in need of help from the UN agency. The agency's funding has been suspended by several Western donor nations, including the U.S., UK, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Finland, Australia, Canada, and Japan, following allegations that 12 of its employees may have participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The majority of UNRWA's funding comes from voluntary donations made by UN member states, with the U.S.'s largest contribution.

Nine workers of UNRWA have already had their employment terminated, and further inquiries are ongoing. Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini is correct to characterize the funding suspension as "collective punishment" for the Palestinians in this particular situation. Almost two dozen humanitarian relief organizations denounced the U.S. and its partners' decision. Slamming the act as "irresponsible," Arab nations and the Arab League said on January 28 that it would worsen the situation for the already needy Palestinians. To maintain UNRWA's operations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Helen Clark, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, are pleading with Western nations to bring back funds to save the Gazan people from a harsh collective punishment.

The organization's significant and admirable work is not and should not be compromised by Israel's partial intelligence allegation. Israel has long maintained that it is at war with the organization and that it intends to dismantle it. Based on admissions obtained during questioning, Israeli accusations against UNRWA have not been subject to an impartial investigation. According to UNRWA, more than 150 UNRWA employees have been killed since last October by Israel's attack in Gaza. While the 13,000 workers of UNRWA provide emergency relief, social services, health, and education across the enclave's hundreds of buildings and complexes. 

However, it seems that Western nations use "wholesale collective punishment" against the Palestinian people, who are fixated on the humanitarian catastrophe, in response to such claims. Following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) preliminary finding, which ordered Israel to take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza, the U.S. and its allies decided to suspend financing. With UN resolutions requiring the delivery of humanitarian aid and emergency measures ordered by the International Court of Justice, Israel and its allies – including the U.S. and the UK – have a legal duty to prevent the hunger of Palestinians in Gaza. Nevertheless, they are starving them. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is severe, and more budget reductions would exacerbate the situation and defy the interim rulings of the ICJ.

By withholding money from UNRWA, the U.S. and its allies have shown irresponsibility and conceit towards Palestinians and the Global South, as well as contributing to war crimes and the slaughter in Gaza. It is completely nonsensical and ludicrous to penalize 13,000 employees. It seems that the United States and its allies are ready to back Israel in whatever way they can, whether it be military, diplomatic, political, or by halting supplies to Gaza. The humanitarian catastrophe is becoming worse due to the irresponsible activities of U.S.-led Western society, endangering Palestinians in Gaza.

Additionally, UNRWA budget cutbacks will affect refugees from Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Famine is one of the major effects. For innocent people caught in the crossfire of a conflict that none of them started, cutting off the money is like severing a lifeline. This is the global human rights protection deceit and irresponsibility of the West.

A funding pause would exacerbate the situation, even if a ceasefire would have prevented many of the 26,000 deaths that have occurred over the last almost four months.

In summary, the West's behavior in this matter today seems to be an effort to deflect attention away from the ICJ's decision, which is very humiliating for Israel and its Western allies, who claim that they support the norms of international law regarding genocide. All of a sudden, inquiries about UNRWA and the Palestinians are dominating Western press headlines instead of the ICJ's decision.  

Instead of decreasing assistance for UNRWA, the international community – including the West – should be increasing it. Rethinking such a punitive measure is necessary, especially in light of the insightful viewpoints that other EU members and blocs, such as Norway, Spain, Belgium, and Ireland, have maintained on the subject. Rather, the rapidity with which some Western nations have cut off financing contrasts with the international community showing their continuous unwillingness to demand an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza despite repeated efforts by other UN members to do so.  

The conflict must cease immediately for the Palestinian people. But whether or not a ceasefire is declared, the U.S., the UK, and other nations must reconsider their course of conduct given the catastrophic consequences that withholding aid at this critical juncture, when it is most needed, would have on the Palestinian people's predicament. It is the exact opposite of the destiny the people deserve.

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