UN Secretary-General António Guterres tasks veteran diplomat Ian Martin with leading a strategic review of UNRWA’s operations.
The United Nations has appointed a senior British diplomat to lead a comprehensive evaluation of the UN agency responsible for assisting “Palestinian refugees”, amid escalating political pressure and financial uncertainty, AFP reported on Tuesday.
Secretary-General António Guterres named Ian Martin of the United Kingdom to carry out a strategic review of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The review aims to examine the complex political, financial, and security challenges confronting the organization.
“We’re trying to see how in this very complex environment, UNRWA can best deliver for the Palestine refugees it serves. For the communities it serves, they deserve to be assisted by an organization, by an UNRWA that can work in the best possible manner,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric during a press briefing, as quoted by AFP.
The strategic assessment is part of a broader reform initiative under the UN80 framework, introduced last month to address the severe financial stress impacting various UN bodies. UNRWA, however, has been singled out for this specific review due to its operational significance in Gaza.
“This is not about reexamining UNRWA’s mandate,” Dujarric emphasized. “We will see how UNRWA can better operate and better serve the communities that rely on it.”
Martin, a seasoned diplomat educated at Cambridge and Harvard, has held prior UN assignments in conflict zones such as Libya, Somalia, Timor-Leste, Nepal, Eritrea, Rwanda, and Haiti. His experience in navigating complex humanitarian and political crises is expected to guide the agency’s strategic path forward.
The UN’s move comes amid continuing tensions between Israel and UNRWA, which has long been criticized for its cooperation with Hamas. That criticism has increased since Israel revealed a year ago that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
It then presented a dossier showing that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered.
Following the Israeli revelations, Guterres announced the creation of a review group, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, to look into the Israeli allegations.
The group, which released its report last April, said it found neutrality-related issues” in UNRWA but also claimed that Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations.
More recently, Emily Damari, a former Hamas hostage who was freed after 470 days in captivity, said that she was held at an UNRWA facility while in captivity.
