UN chief appoints independent panel to assess UNRWA
Al Jazeera
Panel to be led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who will work with European research organisations.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the creation of an independent panel to assess the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The aid agency has been under fire over accusations by Israel that 12 of its staff members were involved in the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.
More than a dozen countries – including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Sweden – have suspended funding to the agency.
The independent panel will be led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who will work with three European research organisations, the UN said in a statement.
The goal of the investigation is to “assess whether the agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made”.
