UK Foreign Office to face legal challenge over defunding UNRWA

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - A legal challenge is set to be launched against the British Foreign Office for its decision to suspend funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), a UK advocacy group said Tuesday.

In a statement, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) said "a pre-action letter" has been issued to the Foreign Office about the legal challenge that has been launched by Bindmans LLP on behalf of a British-Palestinian man in a desperate bid to protect his family, who are UNRWA-registered refugees.

The ICJP noted that it provided evidence and financially supported the complaint.

"This legal challenge alleges that this was decided illogically and without due consideration of evidence, of international obligations, or of FCDO decision-making frameworks," the statement noted, referring to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Recalling that the UK had suspended funding to UNRWA in January, it added that the claimant is seeking the withdrawal of this decision and the restoration of funding to UNRWA.

"A judicial review will be launched if the government does not announce the restoration of UNRWA funding by Tuesday, 2nd April 2024," it said.

Several countries have suspended funding to UNRWA following Israeli accusations in January that 12 of the agency's thousands of employees took part in the Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel.

The agency is investigating the claims but has warned that cutting off funding risks a catastrophe.

Some countries including Sweden and Canada later revised their decision and resumed funding to the agency amid the crippling humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.

According to the complaint, the government’s decision may violate its international obligations, "possibly making it complicit" in Israel’s apparent breaches of the Genocide Convention and Common Article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

It is also alleged that the decision taken runs contrary to the Foreign Office's Strategy for International Development and its International Humanitarian Framework.

The statement mentioned that the client’s parents, resident in Jabalia refugee camp, Northern Gaza are completely reliant on UNRWA aid, and the client’s family have already reported major shortages of food, water, and essentials.

"Given the catastrophic situation in Gaza, including an impending, man-made famine, the ongoing decision to cease funding to UNRWA is not only morally wrong but flies in the face of that strategy," said Alice Hardy, Partner at Bindmans with conduct of the case.

"The government must restore funding immediately, if it doesn’t wish to be complicit in the thousands of deaths by hunger and thirst which are, terribly, very likely to occur in the months to come," said ICJP Senior Public Affairs Officer Jonathan Purcell.