UNRWA Fails to Implement Reforms, UN Watch Report Claims
A new report by the organization UN Watch alleges that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has failed to implement meaningful reforms since the outbreak of the war, despite claiming to have completed 41 out of 50 recommendations. The report, titled "UNRWA Reform Scorecard," examined the implementation of recommendations from an independent review group led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. This review was commissioned by UN Secretary-General António Guterres following the involvement of UNRWA staff in the October 7th attacks and the subsequent suspension of $450 million in donor funding.
UN Watch's analysis suggests that UNRWA has largely measured bureaucratic activity rather than substantive change, with a maximum of 13 recommendations fully completed. Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, stated that the agency marked recommendations as complete without actual enforcement, allowing staff to remain affiliated with terror groups, continuing hostile content in schools, and enabling Hamas-controlled unions to obstruct neutrality and discipline measures.
The report details flaws in UNRWA's reporting methods, including redefining "completion" using a "minimum viable product" methodology that classifies a recommendation as finished after achieving only a primary functional target, even if full implementation is pending. Furthermore, UNRWA lacks a verified system for vetting staff for Hamas membership, relying primarily on the UN Security Council's sanctions list, which omits Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
External investigations have continued to uncover issues missed by UNRWA's internal systems. In June 2026, the Inspector General of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) referred 108 current and former employees for investigation or suspension due to alleged ties to the October 7th massacre or Hamas's military wing. Shortly after, UNRWA dismissed 70 employees in Gaza based on a security assessment, though it maintained this did not confirm suspicions against them. The agency also closed reforms concerning employee unions that were never implemented, classifying them as complete based solely on drafting without union adoption.
In education, UNRWA measures progress through administrative procedures like audits and training sessions. However, reports from IMPACT-se for 2025-2026 on curricula used in UNRWA schools still reveal antisemitism, glorification of terror, and incitement. The report concludes that UNRWA's problems stem from a deep structural failure related to its mandate and workforce composition, rather than mere bureaucratic flaws. UN Watch urges donor nations to demand independent verification of aid delivery through entities not linked to terror or political activity, rather than relying on UNRWA's self-reported completion data.
