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UN / UNRWA INDEPENDENT REVIEW GROUP
STORY: UN / UNRWA INDEPENDENT REVIEW GROUP
TRT: 03:46
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 FEBRUARY 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
05 FEBRUARY 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Dujarric at the podium
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The Secretary-General, in consultation with Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, this morning appointed an independent Review Group to assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches that have been made.”
4. Wide shot, briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The review will be led by Catherine Colonna, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, who will work with three research organizations: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Sweden, the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights. The Review Group will begin its work on 14 February and is expected to submit an interim report to the Secretary-General by late March, with a final report expected to be completed by late April. The final report will be made public. The review is in response to a request made by UNRWA Commissioner-General Lazzarini earlier this year in January.”
6. Wide shot, Dujarric at the podium
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The Review Group’s terms of reference are: One, to identify the mechanisms and procedures that the Agency currently has in place to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations or information indicating that the principle may have been breached; Two, to ascertain how those mechanisms and procedures have, or have not, been implemented in practice and whether every practicable effort has been made to apply them to their full potential, taking into account the particular operational, political and security environment in which UNRWA operates; Third, to assess the adequacy of those mechanisms and procedures and whether they are fit for purpose, including in relation to the management of risks and taking into account the particular operational, political and security context in which the Agency works; and, Fourth, to make recommendations for the improvement and strengthening, if necessary, of the mechanisms and procedures that are currently in place or for the creation of new and alternative mechanisms and procedures that would be better fit for purpose, taking into account, obviously, the operational, political environment in which UNRWA operates.”
8. Med shot, journalist speaking
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The Secretary-General notes that these accusations come at a time when UNRWA, the largest UN organization in the region, is working under extremely challenging conditions to deliver life-saving assistance to the 2 million men women and children in the Gaza Strip who depend on it for their survival amidst one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world.”
10. Med shot, briefing room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, United Nations:
“This independent external review will take place in parallel with an investigation currently underway by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), which is looking into allegations of the involvement of 12 UNRWA personnel in the 7 October attacks. The cooperation of the Israeli authorities, who made these allegations, will be critical to the success of the investigation.”
12. Wide shot, briefing room
The Secretary-General, in consultation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, has appointed an independent Review Group 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, a UN spokesperson said.
Speaking today (05 Feb) in New York, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said that the review will be led by Catherine Colonna, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, “who will work with three research organizations: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.”
Dujarric continued, “The Review Group will begin its work on 14 February and is expected to submit an interim report to the Secretary-General by late March, with a final report expected to be completed by late April. With the final report completed by late April.”
The spokesperson noted that this review is in response to a request made by UNRWA Commissioner-General Lazzarini earlier this year.
According to Dujaric, the Review Group’s terms of reference are, "One, to identify the mechanisms and procedures that the Agency currently has in place to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations or information indicating that the principle may have been breached; Two, to ascertain how those mechanisms and procedures have, or have not, been implemented in practice and whether every practicable effort has been made to apply them to their full potential, taking into account the particular operational, political and security environment in which UNRWA operates.”
He continued, “Third, to assess the adequacy of those mechanisms and procedures and whether they are fit for purpose, including in relation to the management of risks and taking into account the particular operational, political and security context in which the Agency works.”
“Fourth, to make recommendations for the improvement and strengthening, if necessary, of the mechanisms and procedures that are currently in place or for the creation of new and alternative mechanisms and procedures that would be better fit for purpose, taking into account, obviously, the operational, political environment in which UNRWA operates,” added Dujarric.
“The Secretary-General notes that these accusations come at a time when UNRWA, the largest UN organization in the region, is working under extremely challenging conditions to deliver life-saving assistance to the 2 million people in the Gaza Strip who depend on it for their survival amidst one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world,” Dujarric said.
He added, “this independent external review will take place in parallel with an investigation currently underway by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), which is looking into allegations of the involvement of 12 UNRWA personnel in the 7 October attacks. The cooperation of the Israeli authorities, who made these allegations, will be critical to the success of the investigation.”
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