UNRWA Reiterates its Zero Tolerance Policy Toward Hate-Speech

Yesterday, as the world gathered at UN Headquarters in support of the humanitarian and human development mission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on behalf of Palestine refugees, a well-known politically motivated organization once again deliberately attempted to delegitimize the work of the Agency. UNRWA is an agency fully committed to upholding United Nations (UN) principles and values and has a zero tolerance to hate speech and incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence.

Even as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told member states that, “Investing in UNRWA means investing in stability for the region,” the Agency found itself reiterating – yet again – that it takes all allegations of employee misconduct seriously, and is already looking at these newly levelled charges, noting that they had not been shared with UNRWA prior to being made public.

The Agency’s legal framework provides a process to investigate and act on potential cases of hate speech, incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence, in line with the UN values and principles. Should misconduct be found, UNRWA will take disciplinary action and, as always, the Agency’s Advisory Commission of hosts and donors will be kept informed as the process unfolds.