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| In January 2009, Lindsay published a 65-page critique of the organization, regarding its history, conduct, and involvement within the ].<ref name="fixing)">James G. Lindsay (2009), , Policy Focus #91, Washington Institute for near East Policy, january 2009</ref> He was interviewed by the '']'', and refers to the accusations that the UNRWA has given funds to the families of Palestinian ] and has allowed its schools to be used "as launching pads for rocket attacks against Israel." He believes the UNRWA hostile and political stance towards Israel violates the organizations "function" of "humanitarian assistance." <ref>New Jersey Jewish Standard, February 6 2009</ref> | In January 2009, Lindsay published a 65-page critique of the organization, regarding its history, conduct, and involvement within the ].<ref name="fixing)">James G. Lindsay (2009), , Policy Focus #91, Washington Institute for near East Policy, january 2009</ref> He was interviewed by the '']'', and refers to the accusations that the UNRWA has given funds to the families of Palestinian ] and has allowed its schools to be used "as launching pads for rocket attacks against Israel." He believes the UNRWA hostile and political stance towards Israel violates the organizations "function" of "humanitarian assistance." <ref>New Jersey Jewish Standard, February 6 2009</ref> | ||
| In the report, Lindsay refers to ], former Commissioner-General to the UNRWA, who in 2004 said, "I am sure there are ] members on the UNRWA payroll and I don't see that as a crime. Hamas as a political organization does not mean that every member is a ] and we do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another." <ref> |
In the report, Lindsay refers to ], former Commissioner-General to the UNRWA, who in 2004 said, "I am sure there are ] members on the UNRWA payroll and I don't see that as a crime. Hamas as a political organization does not mean that every member is a ] and we do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another." <ref>], ''Fixing UNRWA: Repairing the UN's Troubled System of Aid to Palestinian Refugees,'' page 41</ref> | ||
| According to the '']'', Lindsay appears concerned about the lack of accountability within the organization.<ref name="ties"/> According to Lindsay, "Over the course of its long history, UNRWA has rarely been the subject of comprehensive external evaluation, and virtually nothing has been written on the organization's strategy and operations by a senior staff member with knowledge of how UNRWA actually works."<ref name="exec"></ref> Of Aid to Palestinian Refugees Lindsay further comments on the Hamas involvement within the organization, "UNRWA has taken very few steps to detect and eliminate terrorists from the ranks of its staff or its beneficiaries, and no steps at all to prevent members of terrorist organizations such as Hamas from joining its staff."<ref name="ties" /> | According to the '']'', Lindsay appears concerned about the lack of accountability within the organization.<ref name="ties"/> According to Lindsay, "Over the course of its long history, UNRWA has rarely been the subject of comprehensive external evaluation, and virtually nothing has been written on the organization's strategy and operations by a senior staff member with knowledge of how UNRWA actually works."<ref name="exec"></ref> Of Aid to Palestinian Refugees Lindsay further comments on the Hamas involvement within the organization, "UNRWA has taken very few steps to detect and eliminate terrorists from the ranks of its staff or its beneficiaries, and no steps at all to prevent members of terrorist organizations such as Hamas from joining its staff."<ref name="ties" /> | ||
Revision as of 06:29, 24 April 2009
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James G. Lindsay is an American attorney specializing in security and international relations. For twenty years he worked in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, with assignments in the Internal Security, Appellate and Asset Forfeiture Sections. Between 1985 and 1994, he was seconded to the Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai, as the force counsel for legal and treaty affairs. In 2000, he retired from the Justice Department to join the UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza. He was the legal advisor and general counsel for the UNRWA from 2002 to 2007. He oversaw all legal activities, from aid contracts to relations with Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Authority.
Lindsay is currently an Aufzien fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, focusing on Palestinian refugee issues and UN humanitarian assistance.
Military service and education
Lindsay served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1970. He earned a juris doctorate from the University of Missouri School of Law and a master's degree in Southeast Asian history from the University of Hawaii.
Opinion of the UNRWA
In January 2009, Lindsay published a 65-page critique of the organization, regarding its history, conduct, and involvement within the Palestinian Territories. He was interviewed by the Jewish Standard, and refers to the accusations that the UNRWA has given funds to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers and has allowed its schools to be used "as launching pads for rocket attacks against Israel." He believes the UNRWA hostile and political stance towards Israel violates the organizations "function" of "humanitarian assistance."
In the report, Lindsay refers to Peter Hansen, former Commissioner-General to the UNRWA, who in 2004 said, "I am sure there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll and I don't see that as a crime. Hamas as a political organization does not mean that every member is a militant and we do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another."
According to the Jerusalem Post, Lindsay appears concerned about the lack of accountability within the organization. According to Lindsay, "Over the course of its long history, UNRWA has rarely been the subject of comprehensive external evaluation, and virtually nothing has been written on the organization's strategy and operations by a senior staff member with knowledge of how UNRWA actually works." Of Aid to Palestinian Refugees Lindsay further comments on the Hamas involvement within the organization, "UNRWA has taken very few steps to detect and eliminate terrorists from the ranks of its staff or its beneficiaries, and no steps at all to prevent members of terrorist organizations such as Hamas from joining its staff."
Lindsay has also expressed concern about the United States relationship with the organization: "The United States, despite funding nearly 75 percent of UNRWA’s initial budget and remaining its largest single country donor, has mostly failed to make UNRWA reflect U.S. foreign policy objectives. UNRWA initially served U.S. humanitarian purposes, but in later years often clashed with U.S. policies." Even though the US was the UNRWA's largest donor, it "did not support the the right of Palestinian return to within Israel's pre-1967 border." He believes that as the largest donor, "the US should do more to push for changes within UNRWA, including a return to a needs-based operation."
The majority of Lindsay's report however focused on operational suggestions to de-politicize and change the organization's mission and to reduce the list of 4.5 million refugees. In Jordan, where 2 million Palestinian refugees live, all but 167,000 have citizenship, and are fully eligible for government services including education and health care. Lindsay says, "To continue to call citizens of recognized states refugees is suspect and suggests that the agency's continued existence is due at least in part to political purposes, even though UNRWA was not designed as a political organization." He continues, "The decision to allow for a growing refugee population had become a political statement that fostered and supported the Palestinian demand to return to Israel,
Lindsay also offers suggestions to improve the conditions of the organization: "UNRWA should halt its one-sided political statements and limit itself to comments on humanitarian issues; take additional steps to ensure the agency is not employing or providing benefits to terrorists and criminals; and allow the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), or some other neutral entity, to provide balanced and discrimination-free textbooks for UNRWA schools."
UNRWA response
Chris Gunness, the Jerusalem spokesman for the UNRWA, said that the report "makes selective use of source material and fails to paint a truthful portrait of UNRWA and its operations today and does not detail the organizations three year process of reform. For all these reasons, UNRWA rejects the article and its findings and is preparing a detailed response to it."
In an rejoinder approved by the United Nations, Dr. Maya Rosenfeld, a research fellow of Harry S. Truman Research Institute at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, criticizes the report: "We argue that Lindsay's recommendations stem from the prejudiced political stand of the author with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Palestinian refugee problem rather than from a research-based evaluation of UNRWA's performance in the past and present." She adds, "The attack against UNRWA appears to be led and conducted by ultra-right wing oriented research centers and media agencies in Israel and by their counterpart pro-Israel foundations and lobby organizations in the US, and is addressed primarily to the US administration."
References
- ^ Biography - Washington Institute
- Biography -ICJS Research
- Fixing UNRWA: Repairing the UN's Troubled System of Aid to Palestinian Refugees - About The Author
- James G. Lindsay (2009), Fixing UNRWA: Repairing the UN's Troubled System of Aid to Palestinian Refugees, Policy Focus #91, Washington Institute for near East Policy, january 2009
- Rothman: UNRWA a ‘launching pad for rocket attacksNew Jersey Jewish Standard, February 6 2009
- James G. Lindsay, Fixing UNRWA: Repairing the UN's Troubled System of Aid to Palestinian Refugees, page 41
- ^ Jerusalem Post, 31 January 2009, 'UNRWA staff not tested for terror ties'
- ^ Executive Summary from Fixing UNRWA Cite error: The named reference "exec" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- United Nations rejoinder