A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE UNRWA-USA FRAMEWORK FOR COOPERATION (2021-2022) REGARDING PALESTINIAN REFUGEES

Abstract

Recently, issues related to Palestinian refugees have been diminishing in support due to multiple attempts made by the United States and Israel, which include measures to restrict the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). These attempts escalated when former US President Donald Trump announced a complete suspension of funding for the UNRWA in 2018, plunging the Agency into an unusual financial crisis that harmed the assistance to refugees in its operation areas. However, the current US President Joe Biden announced his intention to resume funding for the UNRWA and, in July 2021, signed a cooperation framework known as "framework agreement" but its terms and details were widely rejected by the Palestinians and the general public because of political and security reasons. According to the Agreement, individuals receiving military training under the UNRWA programmes are not eligible for UNRWA health or educational assistance. The framework agreement between the US and the UNRWA tries to change UNRWA's operating mandate without the authorisation of the United Nations General Assembly. Therefore, this article follows a doctrinal analytical approach to both the framework agreement and the UNRWA's operational mandate. It also critically appraises this Agreement in light of international humanitarian law and verifies its impact on the human rights of both beneficiaries and UNRWA workers, including rights to education and freedom of speech. This article concludes that the Agreement violates the norms of public international law by switching the Agency's missions and avoiding the need for an important decision-making process.