Thread by @HillelNeuer

On Saturday, the Independent Review into UNRWA's terror ties will release its report. Donors will then decide if to reinstate funding. Just one problem: the entire investigation is rigged. Let's do a deep dive into who the UN picked, and how they admit it's to “provide cover”: 🧵

2/ Let's start with the inquiry chair. UNRWA chief Lazzarini promised to name an “independent entity.” In the end, he chose recently retired French foreign minister Catherine Colonna—just weeks after Lazzarini had showered praise on her, and she on UNRWA.unwatch.org/unrwa-chief-to…

@MinColonna @UNLazzarini 3/ Note: when on January 13th Catherine Colonna pledged to UNRWA chief Lazzarini “full support for your work,” which she hailed as “more useful than ever,” this was already 3 days after the world learned that 3,000 UNRWA teachers belonged to a group praising the Hamas massacre.

@MinColonna @UNLazzarini 4/ Colonna was a cheerleader for UNRWA. In June, she “reaffirmed France’s support,” saying UNRWA's action is “essential” & “contributes to the region’s stability.” She hailed its “education.” How can she now investigate our repeated warnings that UNRWA teachers promote terrorism?

@MinColonna @UNLazzarini 5/ The feelings were mutual. UNRWA hailed “strong support from France” while Colonna was foreign minister. . UNRWA specifically praised Colonna and Macron “for their continued political and financial commitment alongside UNRWA”:

https://twitter.com/UNRWA/status/1673259974959460352

6/ How can Colonna impartially investigate UNRWA when, likewise, France has showered praise on this agency? See:
“UNRWA plays an important role in regional stability and remains essential,” said France when Colonna was minister. twitter.com/search?q=from%…

https://twitter.com/franceonu/status/1664727428055580672

7/ On March 4, France declared total support for “crucial” UNRWA, “an essential contributor to stability of the region,” and for years to come, its mandate “will remain relevant until a political settlement is found to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” onu.delegfrance.org/unrwa-is-at-th…

8/ How can Colonna lead an impartial review? Her lifetime serving the foreign policy of France—a major donor and board member of UNRWA—presents a material conflict of interest. Were she to find UNRWA systematically complicit with terror, she would implicate herself—and France.

9/ Any adverse findings in the Colonna Report would retrospectively cast a shadow on Colonna’s decisions and actions as Foreign Minister, where she might have overseen or endorsed French financial and political support for UNRWA.

Such findings could also cast a shadow on any decisions and actions by her predecessors and colleagues in the French foreign ministry, and in other levels and departments of the French government, who were involved in overseeing the country’s support for and oversight of UNRWA.

This situation places Ms. Colonna in a delicate position where her very recent affiliations with French governmental policies towards UNRWA could influence her current evaluative responsibilities and could lead to potential biases, consciously or subconsciously, in the review's findings.

Colonna’s ability to lead an impartial investigation into UNRWA could therefore be compromised, as her professional integrity and historical decisions, as well as those of other diplomats and elected officials in France, could be at stake depending on the outcomes of the review.

Colonna’s Conflict of Interest Violates UN Standards of Conduct

Catherine Colonna's participation in the Independent Review Group for UNRWA amounts to a gross violation of legal principles relating to conflict of interest and the requirement for impartiality in administrative and legal reviews.

1. Conflict of Interest: According to general principles of administrative law, any individual involved in a decision-making or review process should be free from any conflicts of interest that might influence their judgment. As a former French Foreign Minister, Colonna's prior involvement with policies or decisions relating to UNRWA funding could represent a conflict of interest, particularly if her actions during her tenure could be indirectly assessed as part of the review.

2. Duty of Impartiality: The duty of impartiality is fundamental in international law and administrative procedures, ensuring that decisions are made based on fairness and without bias. The UN itself emphasizes the importance of impartiality in its operations. Because Colonna’s previous role aligned with French foreign policy that is supportive of UNRWA, her impartiality in evaluating the agency is compromised.

3. United Nations Standards of Conduct: The UN has its own standards concerning the conduct of individuals who undertake roles on its behalf, which stress independence, impartiality, and integrity. These standards are meant to ensure that reviews and assessments are conducted without any undue influence from previous affiliations or potential future incentives.

Colonna's participation in and leadership of the Review Group violates these principles. Her very recent role in a government that supported UNRWA financially and politically could be seen as a direct conflict with the need for an unbiased review of the agency's conduct, infringing on the legal and ethical standards expected in such reviews.

10/ Secretary-General Guterres could have chosen from any number of prominent figures who do not have these conflicts, or prior prounouncements on the work of UNRWA. But UNRWA chose Colonna precisely because they were certain that her findings will “reassure the donors.”

11/ Now let's take a look at the three Scandinavian institutes that were named to staff Colonna's review group: @cmi_no @RWallenbergInst & @HumanRightsDK.
Are they impartial and objective when it comes to investigating how UNRWA handles allegation of its employees' terror ties?

@cmi_no @RWallenbergInst @HumanRightsDK 12/ Let's start with Norway's Chr. Michelsen Institute. Are they qualified to impartially investigate UNRWA's complicity with terrorism and other “neutrality violations”? Take a look below, and you tell me. @cmi_no

@cmi_no @RWallenbergInst @HumanRightsDK 13/ In 2022, CMI published a report on UNRWA alleging “unfounded claims” that it instigates violence at school. So CMI already concluded that claims of incitement— documented in UN Watch reports showing screenshots of UNRWA teachers calling to slaughter Jews—are “unfounded.”

@cmi_no @RWallenbergInst @HumanRightsDK 14/ The author of the report is CMI's @kjerstig_berg, who devotes her life to Palestinians and echoes UNRWA talking points. Her book, “Palestine: Facts on the Ground,” argues for a Palestinian “right of return,” which effectively means the destruction of the State of Israel.

@cmi_no @RWallenbergInst @HumanRightsDK @kjerstig_berg 15/ Must. Get. Sleep. Much more to come in this thread tomorrow!

If you can't wait, see some of the material here: unwatch.org/exposed-unrwas…