UN seeks immunity for UNRWA employees complicit in Oct. 7 massacre - Channel 12 report

[moniss]

39. It was reported that the individuals

that were felt to have a link to 10/7 were terminated some time ago. The initial claim in January was against 12 employees and UNRWA immediately terminated the 10 who were still alive. The UN has investigated and determined in August that others who were felt to have participated, 9 additional, would be terminated. They noted the difficulties in trying to independently verify some of the information regarding one person. Much of that is because of an inability to access the information used as the basis for the allegations.

So to give the idea that the UN flipped the finger regarding all of these accused employees is not accurate. I would further note that your description of them as war criminals is yours alone and not a legal one. The ICC has determined that the Hamas leaders be charged with war crimes and a request for warrants has been made for the ones still alive. The ICC also determined that a couple of other leaders also are charged with war crimes. Those warrants have also been sought and the ones accused have recently filed legal papers to shield themselves. But if we at this point are going to hold the "foot soldiers" in one case to a label of war criminal then at this point so must the foot soldiers of the other leaders bear the label. That application is a matter of process and logic regardless of feelings, emotions or justifications one way or the other.

I agree with you regarding the UN and the international community failing many times to hold to it's principles and to hold members and the agencies to account. A major problem has always been selective application of principles and follow through. This has been demonstrated over and over again through many decades by various member countries refusing to comply with the work of agencies and with member countries refusing to comply over and over with decades of Security Council Resolutions. Many times agencies are hamstrung by members refusing to cooperate and instead of completion of work to make assessments on how to proceed we are left with back and forth recrimination.

My suggestion has always been expulsion of members who chronically abuse the institution and also openly fail to uphold the principles of the organization. However others disagree with that approach and feel that the loss of engagement with those who chronically abuse what they had agreed to abide by would be a larger negative. I'm not so sure.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1152841