#头条创作挑战赛#
These eight countries have now joined the United States in announcing a moratorium on contributions to the United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency, UNRWA. They are: Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom.
Israel's bombing of Gaza has caused a humanitarian catastrophe
UNRWA, the UN agency responsible for Palestine refugees, shared posts highlighting UNRWA's humanitarian role in Gaza: "More than 2 million people depend on UNRWA for their survival", "some 1 million displaced people are being sheltered, including in school buildings, and food and other assistance are being provided", and the agency also highlighted that "93 per cent of displaced families in the southern provinces of Gaza report insufficient food consumption." People are desperate, and hunger is plaguing everyone. ”
A post shared by UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees
The Israeli side accused some UNRWA staff of being involved in the Hamas attack and demanded that the agency conduct a thorough investigation and rectification. Israel also claimed that UNRWA's teaching materials and curricula contained "hatred and incitement" and demanded that the Agency cease using them.
UNRWA denied Israel's allegations, stating that its staff had adhered to the principle of United Nations neutrality and had not been involved in any political or military activities. UNRWA also stated that its educational programmes were in line with United Nations standards and values and that no message of hatred or violence was disseminated.
UNRWA distributed food
However, the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries suspended their financial support for UNRWA immediately after Israel's accusations. They expressed the need to ensure transparency and accountability in UNRWA, as well as its relationship with Hamas.
UNRWA was alarmed by the suspension of funding and threatened humanitarian work in Gaza
The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, expressed regret over the country's decision, saying it would have a serious impact on the 2 million Palestine refugees in the Gaza Strip. He said that UNRWA was the "lifeline" of the Gaza Strip, providing essential humanitarian services to the refugees and that cutting off that lifeline was a "collective punishment".
Cutting off this lifeline is a form of "collective punishment"
The UNRWA head referred to "collective punishment" as the practice of imposing severe penalties or punishments on a group of persons for the conduct of one or more persons. This practice violates the principles of international human rights law and international humanitarian law and is considered unfair and unjustified. For example, Israel's blockade and demolition of Palestinians have been described as collective punishment by UN human rights experts. Collective punishment not only causes suffering for innocent people, but also exacerbates tension and violence. Behind these four words is the life and death of millions of people! This is what a responsible major country does?!