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Israel provided no evidence to independent investigators to support its allegations that staff at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were linked to "terrorist groups", a long-awaited report, released on Monday, stated.
“Israel made public claims that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organisations. However, Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence of this,” the 54-page report said.
The review of UNRWA also found that the agency has a “robust” approach to neutrality, but it added that some issues persist.
Led by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, the review was commissioned after Israel claimed that 12 UNRWA staff took part in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7.
Israel stepped up its accusations in March, saying more than 450 UNRWA staff were operatives in Gaza extremist groups.
Throughout the nine-week review an assessment of UNRWA’s neutrality was conducted with support from three Nordic research institutes. It extensively analysed the mechanisms and procedures currently in place to ensure neutrality and address potential breaches.
The team conducting the review made field visits to UNRWA facilities across several countries and conducted interviews with about 200 people.
The report found that since 2011, UNRWA has regularly shared lists of its staff with host countries Lebanon, Jordan and Syria as well as with Israel for East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank.
During meetings with Israeli officials, according to the report, it was communicated that Israel does not consider the sharing of the staff list as a screening or vetting process, but as a standard procedure for the registration of UN and diplomatic staff to ensure their privileges and immunities.
“The US also receives all lists,” the report noted.
It added that UNRWA has “a more developed approach” to neutrality compared to other similar UN groups or aid organisations.
"In the absence of a political solution between Israel and the Palestinians, UNRWA remains pivotal in providing life-saving humanitarian aid and essential social services, particularly in health and education, to Palestinian refugees," the report said.
“Despite this robust framework, neutrality-related issues persist,” it found.
These included some staff publicly expressing political views, textbooks with problematic content being used in some schools and politicised staff unions making threats against UNRWA management and disrupting operations.
On Monday the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he accepted the recommendations from the Colonna report about ways to improve the UN agency’s capacity to monitor and address neutrality issues.
“Moving forward, the Secretary General appeals to all stakeholders to actively support UNRWA, as it is a lifeline for Palestine refugees in the region,” the UN chief's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
Mr Guterres also said he has "agreed with Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini that UNRWA, with the Secretary General’s support, will establish an action plan to implement the recommendations".
The Colonna report also found that the UN agency “possesses a more developed approach to neutrality than other similar UN or NGO entities” though neutrality-related issues persist.
UNRWA has a more "developed system than other UN organisations or agencies, which is a necessity considering the very difficult environment, complex and difficult situations in which they operate and the uniqueness of their mission", Ms Colonna told reporters at the UN in New York during a press briefing.
"There's always room for improvement and some issues related to neutral databases. This is why this mission was created," she said.
Ms Colonna added that the team have found recommendations "that could be implemented, some of them very quickly", while the primary focus of the international community should be on "sustaining the organisation and its mission".
"I'm confident that implementing these measures will help UNRWA deliver on its mandate," she said.
The report recommended identifying and implementing additional ways to screen staff with regard to neutrality earlier in the hiring process, continued monitoring of staff views as expressed through social media, improving reporting, and strengthening the disciplinary process throughout the agency.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Brief scoreline:
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Porto 0
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
