Ottawa, February 3, 2024

Honourable Ahmed Hussen,

Minister of International Development

Dear Minister Hussen,

I am writing to ask you for clarification on the reasons and thinking behind Canada’s decision to “suspend” its contributions to UNRWA, the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees. Canada’s decision appears to have been made hastily, in contrast to some of our other allies like Norway and Iceland.

According to the National Post, this action has been taken at the encouragement of Israel and of several lobby groups in Canada on the grounds that some UNRWA employees allegedly participated in the October 7^th attack on Israel.

Canada always proclaims adherence to international law and supports the idea of “evidence based” policy making. It seems to me that your decision falls short on both counts.

In this context, I would like to raise seven concerns with respect to Canada’s decision.

1. How do you square this decision with Canada’s responsibilities flowing from the “provisional measures” ordered by the International Court of Justice? One of those immediate measures was to increase the flow of humanitarian aid, and all signatories to the Convention on Genocide are obliged to assist. Your decision seems to fly in face of the ICJ’s decision.

• Are you aware that UNRWA is the only organization in Gaza with the current staff capable of delivering necessary food and medical aid to the starving population of Gaza? Making an increased contribution to WHO, or the International Red Cross, is a good gesture but of limited value in this emergency. Palestinians cannot eat money nor use it to perform surgery. If UNRWA is forced to shut down, any other organizations would have to recruit many of the same doctors, nurses, teachers, etc who now work for UNRWA.

• Have you or your staff seen and had time to evaluate, the Israeli evidence that ANY UNRWA employees were involved in the events of October 7^th?  How reliable is it? What exactly was their involvement? Among the thousands who entered Israel on October 7^th , were hundreds of “gawkers” who flooded out of Gaza for the first time in their lives when the fence was torn down. Was any of the “evidence” procured through torture of Palestinians captured by Israel on October 7^th. (UNRWA officials claim that Israeli told UNRWA about the accusations but did not share any actual evidence). Secretary Blinken told the media that he had not seen the evidence himself at the time of the US announcement.

• Do you think it is purely coincidental that the Israeli claim was made public on the day of the damning ICJ decision which found it plausible that Israel was committing genocide? Media reports that Israel has probably been holding this information for some time. Releasing it on January 26 seems like a blatant attempt redirect international attention away from the charges against Israel by putting a key UN agency on the defensive.

• How did the fact that the UNRWA is already the most audited, and most neutral, UN body factor into your decision? It was most recently audited for political “neutrality” by the USA in 2019. UNRWA has an extensive vetting process in hiring its staff. No evidence has been offered to support the Israeli claim that UNRWA is “overrun” by Hamas. Of course Hamas does enjoy considerable support among the Palestinian population. But the vetting process has meant that there is a lower level of Hamas presence among UNRWA employees than among the broader Gazan population.

• Did your decision take into consideration that Israel has a particular political reason to oppose UNRWA and has carried on a systematic campaign over many decades to undermine it and have it disbanded? UNRWA was created to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians who were made refugees by Israel in 1947/48. According to UN resolution 194 they have a right to return to their homes. Israel appears to hope that if it can undermine or eliminate UNRWA it can eliminate its responsibility for the Palestinian refugee issue and wipe out their internationally supported the right of return?

• What weight did you give to the fact that UNRWA’s 30,000 employees provide schooling and medical assistance to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and in the West Bank in addition to Gaza? Cutting off financial support for UNRWA will not only increase poverty in the region but contribute to regional instability.

Minister, I am concerned that a hasty decision by your government, based on pressure from certain lobby groups, will aggravate an already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, contribute to regional instability across the middle east, and damage Canada’s reputation as an evidence-based policy maker and reliable supporter of international law. It also exposes Canada to risk of prosecution for being a complice in genocide.

It would be my pleasure to provide you with any more information you might want on any of these matters. I suggest you might start by looking at this video interview with former UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness.  

Thank you in advance.

Peter Larson

Chair, Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine

end of letter

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Readers – if you want to know more

CTIP readers are encouraged to watch this excellent 36 minute interview with former UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness.

I also encourage any CTIP reader who feels the minister’s decision might have been too hasty, to send a note to him at ahmed.hussen@parl.gc.ca

Or – just forward this post to him.

Canada Talks Israel Palestine (CTIP) is the weekly newsletter of Peter Larson, Chair of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP). It aims to promote a serious discussion in Canada about Canada’s response to the complicated and emotional Israel/Palestine issue with a focus on the truth, clear analysis and human rights for all. Readers with different points of view are invited to make comment.
Want to learn more about us? Go to Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine.ca