Luxembourg remains committed to the UNRWA despite concerns over alleged Hamas links among agency workers, as stated by Minister Xavier Bettel, who emphasised the lack of viable alternatives for humanitarian aid in Palestinian territories.
It is "crystal clear" that we need the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Xavier Bettel, the Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, said in the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday. Several MPs, including Franz Fayot from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), Laurent Moser fom the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), and Fernand Kartheiser from the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR), had enquired about Luxembourg's position vis-à-vis the UN agency after it fired a number of employees accused of having participated in the Hamas' attack on 7 October.
Kartheiser cited a recent article from the Wall Street Journal, which alleges that 10% of UNRWA workers have links to Hamas. As a result of the accusations, a number of countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany, and Finland, have frozen all further aid to the UN agency.
€9.6 million committed to the UNRWA in 2023
For the time being, the Luxembourg government does not intend on changing its financial aid to the UNRWA, but has also decided not to increase it. In 2023, the Grand Duchy committed €9.6 million to the agency, Minister Bettel confirmed upon request from RTL. Of those funds, an estimated €1.6 million were used in the context of the war in Gaza.
The agreement between the Luxembourg government and the UN agency stipulates that the Grand Duchy invests a minimum of €5 million annually between 2022 and 2024. These funds are used to support projects in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, meaning they cover all of the objectives of the UNRWA, the Ministry emphasised.
No viable alternatives, says Bettel
The Ministry further warned that a sudden and complete halt of support to the UNRWA, which is in charge of running the main provisions for the people living on Palestinian territory, would only exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the region. The 30,000 people currently working for the UN agency are not to be lumped together, but those found guilty of collaborating with Hamas in the context of the 7 October attacks should nevertheless be brought to justice, authorities note.
Confronted with the question of misused funds, the Ministry stressed that every recipient of Luxembourgish aid is subjected to the same procedures and standards to guarantee "efficient and transparent" usage.
On Tuesday, Minister Bettel explained to the Chamber that he does not see an alternative way or organisation to support the civilian population in the region. He elaborated that the agency is considered a temporary solution and that its role has to be reaffirmed every three years, "as nobody else is capable to take over the work that the UNRWA is currently doing."
At present, over a million refugees in Gaza alone depend on the UNRWA to access food.
