Daniel Pipes and Steven J. Rosen: Lessening UNRWA's Damage To Israel

The following by Daniel Pipes and Steven J. Rosen is reposted with permission.

Lessening UNRWA's Damage

by Steven J. Rosen and Daniel Pipes
The Jerusalem Post
July 10, 2012

http://www.danielpipes.org/11583/unrwa-damage

.

Critics of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the organization tasked with oversight of Palestine refugees, have tended to focus on its sins. Its camps are havens for terrorists. Its bureaucracy is bloated and its payroll includes radicals. Its schools teach incitement. Its registration rolls reek with fraud. Its policies encourage a mentality of victimhood.

Chart: Comparing How UN Helps Refugees vs 'Palestinian' Refugees

Though both the UNHCR and UNRWA both are supposed to help resolve refugee issues, there is a world of difference between them.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) describes itself as follows on its website:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. It also has a mandate to help stateless people.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) describes itself this way:

UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) provides assistance, protection and advocacy for some 5 million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territory, pending a solution to their plight.

UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states.

Here is a chart comparing UNWRA and Pal Refugees with UNHCR and every other refugee population.
The chart comes from The Center for Near East Policy Research, LTD

Among the points of interest--

Number of refugees served
UNRWA: 4.7 million
UNHCR: 15.4 million (plus 800,000 awaiting refugee status and 12 million stateless or w/o refugee status)

Budget
UNRWA: $1 billion
UNHCR: $3.3 billion

Countries Served
UNRWA: 5
UNHCR: 123

UNRWA Spokesperson Refuses To Answer Charge It Is Responsible For Perpetuating The Palestinian Refugee Crisis

When asked to respond to Danny Ayalon's video about the truth behind the Palestinian refugees, the UNRWA Spokesperson refused to address the charge that the UNRWA is responsible for perpetuating the Palestinian refugee crisis:

Question: I just wanted to ask a question about comments that were made by Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Daniel Ayalon, before the Human Rights High Commissioner for Refugees’ ministerial event in Geneva last week. He basically said that the cause of the Palestinian refugee issue was not so much the dispossession of the majority of Palestinians from their homeland by Jewish militias during the 1948 war and refusal of Israel to enable their right to return under resolution 194. He said rather that it was the establishment of UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] which has perpetuated the refugee status by applying unique criteria to it. And I just wonder whether either the Secretary-General or UNRWA has made any response to this statement.