by Tovah Lazaroff
The Biden administration did not reject a UN General Assembly Resolution granting Palestinian refugees the right to return to Israel.
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas delivers a speech remotely to the UN General Assembly on September 24, 2021.
(photo credit: JOHN ANGELILLO/POOL/REUTERS)
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The Biden administration abstained – but did not reject – a General Assembly
resolution affirming the right of return for Palestinian refugees to
sovereign Israel as part of a broad text in support of the UN Relief and
Works Agency (UNRWA).
In
doing so, it broke with the voting pattern on Israel set by former US
president Donald Trump in which all such texts received an automatic no
vote.
The Obama
administration, however, had traditionally abstained from this
particular text, which comes annually before the General Assembly.
“This
year, the United States returns to a position of abstention on the text
‘Assistance to Palestine Refugees,’” American Deputy Ambassador Richard
Mills told the assembly’s Fourth Committee late Tuesday afternoon.
He
spoke as the committee gave initial approval to six anti-Israel and
pro-Palestinian draft resolutions that will come up later this year at
the General Assembly plenum for a final vote.
A screenshot of the results of the UN General Assembly vote on funding UNRWA. (credit: TOVAH LAZAROFF)Three of those texts affirmed the work of the UNRWA, which services 5.7 million Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
That 1948 text was written for the then "situation in Palestine."
It
"resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live
at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the
earliest practicable date.
"And
compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to
return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of
international law or in equity."
It
is invoked by the Palestinian Authority and Arab countries, such as
those who wrote the 2021 resolution on "Assistance to Palestinian
Refugees" to support a call for the right of return.
Of the three UNRWA texts, the resolution titled "Assistance to Palestinian Refugees" is considered to be the most benign.
Canada
similarly abstained on the text called Assistance to the Palestinian
People, while Australia supported it. The US and Canada joined Israel in
rejecting the other two resolutions on UNRWA. Australia abstained on
one of those and rejected the other.
The
European Union supported all three UNRWA texts. Only Israel totally
opposed the text Assistance to Palestinian Refugees, which passed 160-1,
with nine abstentions.
The
other countries that abstained on the Assistance to Palestinian
Refugees resolution were Cameroon, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia,
Nauru, Palau, Papa New Guinea and Uruguay.
The
Trump administration had opposed UNRWA and cut US funding to the
organization. Both the Trump administration and Israel have charged that
textbooks used in the agency’s schools are antisemitic and incite
against Israel.
They
opposed the UNRWA policy of applying refugee status to the descendants
of Palestinians who fled their homes in 1948, a move that they explain
creates an ever-increasing population of refugees.
Prior to Tuesday’s vote, an Israeli representative spoke out against UNRWA at the Fourth Committee meeting.
“We
cannot stand idly by when a UN humanitarian agency promotes a political
agenda under the guise of true assistance,” the Israel representative
said.
“UNRWA must
be accountable for the hateful indoctrination of children in its
classrooms. It must put an end to the spreading of antisemitic lies by
its employees, and it must show a genuine commitment to transparency and
accountability,” the Israeli representative said.
She added that UNRWA resources and infrastructure must not be hijacked by Hamas in conducting acts of terror.
Israel
has also opposed the right of return for Palestinians to sovereign
Israel, a move that it argues would destroy the country’s identity as
the ethnic-national homeland for the Jewish people. It has explained
that in a two-state resolution to the conflict, Palestinians would have a
right of return solely to a Palestinian state, much like Jews would
have a right of return solely to Israel.
The Biden administration, however, has restored US funding and support for UNRWA.
“As
many members know, under President Biden, the United States announced
it would restore its financial support to UNRWA, which we do believe is a
vital lifeline to millions of Palestinians across the region,” Mills
told the General Assembly.
“Since
April, the US government has provided more than $318 million to UNRWA
in fiscal year 2021, including critical support for education, health
and social services benefiting millions of Palestinian refugees
registered with UNRWA,” he said.
The
US, he said, has noted that some changes were made to the text of the
resolutions on the agency “that reflect our priorities in line with
strengthening UNRWA,” adding that “the United States will continue to
work with UNRWA, work to strengthen the agency’s accountability, its
transparency, and its consistency with UN principles.”
Mills
called on UN member states to support the agency financially, noting
that many of those who voted in favor of the three UNRWA resolutions
were not willing to spend money on the organization.
“I
would also like to take a moment to point out the overwhelming support
from member states for these resolutions voted here today, compared with
the relatively few member states that financially support UNRWA,” he
said.
“In light of
the agency’s urgent shortfall, the United States urges member states to
support UNRWA’s services for Palestinian refugees not only in word but
in action – and to do so on an expedited basis,” Mills said.
The
resolutions were voted on in advance of a donor pledging conference for
UNRWA scheduled to take place in Belgium on November 16.
The
Fourth Committee also approved three other resolutions on Israel,
including one that called for it to relinquish its sovereignty over the
Golan Heights it captured from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981. To
date, only the US has recognized Israeli sovereignty on the Golan.
The
Golan resolution passed 144-2, with 22 abstentions. Israel and the
United States opposed the resolution, and the European Union supported
it. Canada and Australia were among those that abstained.
A
fifth resolution that condemned Israeli settlement activity and Israeli
sovereignty over east Jerusalem passed 142-7, with 16 abstentions.
Those countries that opposed it were Israel, the United States, Canada,
Hungary, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Nauru. The text also took
Israel to task for settler violence and IDF demolition of Palestinian
homes.
The final
resolution was on the work of the special committee to investigate
Israeli practices affecting human rights of the Palestinian people. It
lacked majority support, but was still approved, 77-17, with 74
abstentions. Those who opposed it were Australia, Austria, Brazil,
Canada, Columbia, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Israel,
the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Philippines, Slovenia, the
United Kingdom and the United States.
None of the EU member nations supported the text.
The
resolutions are part of a package of close to 20 annual resolutions
against Israel the General Assembly is set to approve before the end of
the year.
The
Israeli representative told the General Assembly that these texts were
“disproportionate, one-sided and rooted in bias against” her country.
“Israel is the only country – the only country – that is subject to such systematic discrimination in the UN,” she added.
Mills, whose country opposed five of the texts, also charged that the UN is biased against Israel.
“We are disappointed that member states continue to disproportionately single out Israel” he said.
The Palestinian representative, in contrast, thanked the Fourth Committee for its support.
“Adoption
of these resolutions again by overwhelming majority reaffirms the
international community’s abiding positions on these core issues and
renews a significant message of solidarity to the Palestinian people,”
she said.
“Such
broad support is also the clearest answer to the false and libelous
statement made in this committee by the Israeli representative against
UNRWA and the hostility directed against the special committee.”
Tovah Lazaroff
Source: https://www.jpost.com/international/us-changes-its-un-vote-from-no-to-abstention-on-unrwa-affirmation-684542
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