UN Loathe to Scale Back Special Palestinian Programs and Funds
Since the ostensible point of the UN mission in Gaza is to protect the Palestinians from the Israelis who are no longer there - and since the UN itself is in such dire financial straits - one might think that the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip would be the perfect time for a little cost-cutting. One would be wrong:
As part of the new cost-cutting exercise, there is a proposal to either abolish or downsize U.N. programmes and activities relating to Palestinians.
The proposal has triggered strong protests not only from the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations but also from the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). The potential threats are against the U.N. Division for Palestinian Rights, which comes under the Department of Political Affairs, and two longstanding committees created by the General Assembly in the 1970s: the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices in the Occupied Territories…
"These programmes should remain until Israeli occupation ends," he told Annan. He also said these programmes are evaluated annually in "a democratic way" by the General Assembly. "We should not allow anyone to drive a wedge between the Secretary-General and the General Assembly," Mansour added. In response to questions directed at him, Annan assured the G77 delegates that it is "up to you to decide what should remain and what should be eliminated." "We have no intentions of putting Arab nations on the defensive," he added. "The Secretariat is not imposing anything on you."
Could it be the case that the UN's role in "protecting Palestinian rights" has very little to do with the situation on the ground or the Palestinians themselves, but is rather targeted somewhere else. We think it could be.
As part of the new cost-cutting exercise, there is a proposal to either abolish or downsize U.N. programmes and activities relating to Palestinians.
The proposal has triggered strong protests not only from the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations but also from the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). The potential threats are against the U.N. Division for Palestinian Rights, which comes under the Department of Political Affairs, and two longstanding committees created by the General Assembly in the 1970s: the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices in the Occupied Territories…
"These programmes should remain until Israeli occupation ends," he told Annan. He also said these programmes are evaluated annually in "a democratic way" by the General Assembly. "We should not allow anyone to drive a wedge between the Secretary-General and the General Assembly," Mansour added. In response to questions directed at him, Annan assured the G77 delegates that it is "up to you to decide what should remain and what should be eliminated." "We have no intentions of putting Arab nations on the defensive," he added. "The Secretariat is not imposing anything on you."
Could it be the case that the UN's role in "protecting Palestinian rights" has very little to do with the situation on the ground or the Palestinians themselves, but is rather targeted somewhere else. We think it could be.
