MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 30th January 2024
- A Crime against humanity committed by the Australian Government in stopping aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza
- IPAN urgently calls for this decision to be reversed and the funding restored
- Over two million people in Gaza depend on the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for survival
- One quarter of people in Gaza face starvation
The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) is deeply concerned by the Australian government’s decision to cease financial aid to the UNRWA, the United Nations body responsible for funding the essential day to day needs of a significant proportion of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
“This decision by the Australian Government will contribute to the starvation, denial of health care and education for the people of Gaza – and mainly affect children and elderly people, the sick, wounded and dying”, stated Ms Margaret Reynolds, IPAN Spokesperson.
“IPAN and our members and supporters disassociate ourselves from this decision by the government. We will not be associated with a crime against humanity, which this action undoubtedly is, and we urgently call for this decision to be reversed and the funding restored”, stated Ms Reynolds.
The explanation for the callous cutting of humanitarian funding was based on information from an advisor to the Israeli government, Mark Regev, who claimed that some UNRWA teachers had ‘openly celebrated’ the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and that an Israeli hostage said she had been held in the house of someone who worked for the UNRWA. A government decision of such significance requires a far greater base of evidence than this.
The UNRWA has taken appropriate steps to address the allegations by terminating the contracts of some UNRWA staff, to protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying that the UNRWA and the people they serve should not be penalized by the withholding of funding.
“The Australian Government decision shows a lack of humanity and exposes its abject subservience to Israel and the United States in making a knee jerk reaction to the allegations which are being appropriately addressed by the UNRWA”, stated Ms Reynolds.
Former NZ PM Helen Clark this morning criticised the Australian government for its decision, emphasising ‘This isn’t the time to suspend funding to UN’s largest relief & development agency in Gaza’ and has said Australia should stick to its three-year funding agreement with UNRWA.
“Australia should have the courage to follow other countries like Norway and Ireland who focused on the importance of supporting the vital role of the UNRWA and distinguishing this from what individual UNRWA employees may have done”, stated Ms Reynolds.
For Media Interviews: Ms Margaret Reynolds 0418 181 843
Media Liaison: Jonathan Pilbrow 0403 611 815
Bio: Margaret Reynolds first joined the Australian Peace movement as a young mother concerned about conscription introduced to provide troops for the Vietnam War in the 1970s. Margaret has campaigned against the nuclear arms race and wars led by the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq. Margaret is National President of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Co Patron for Labor Against War and a member of IPAN. Margaret was Queensland Labor Senator for 16 years and served as a Minister in the Hawke Government.