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File photo of Catherine Colonna, Chair of the Independent Review Group on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has received the interim findings of an independent panel conducting an assessment of UNRWA, the UN agency that assists Palestinians, his office said on Wednesday in a note to correspondents.
The review follows serious allegations regarding the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff in the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas, which are being investigated by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).
The independent review group presented the interim report findings and recommendations to the Secretary-General on Tuesday.
“It has found that UNRWA has in place a significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the Humanitarian Principle of neutrality, and the group has also identified critical areas that still need to be addressed,” the note said.
The review group will now develop concrete and realistic recommendations on how to address these critical areas to strengthen and improve the agency.
The Secretary-General will officially receive the interim report later on Wednesday. The final version will be presented on 20 April and will be made public.
Mr. Guterres appointed the panel in February, in consultation with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
It is led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, working with three research organizations in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
