UNRWA investigation: History shows United Nations incapable of investigating itself, experts say

"The United Nations' plan to investigate 12 United Nations Relief and Works Agency workers for participating in the Hamas massacre of 1,200 people in October, including the murders of over 30 Americans, got off to a rocky start because its inquiries are allegedly infected with severe incompetence, anti-Israel bias and corruption...

‘On the investigation into the alleged involvement of 12 UNRWA employees in the (Oct. 7 terror attacks) in Israel, as soon as UNRWA was told of this information by the Israel Foreign Ministry, the leadership of the agency took the swift action of terminating those involved,’ Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. secretary-general, told Fox News Digital.

Yet there are big question marks over the U.N.’s ability to investigate itself. The problem conjures the famous Latin phrase, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? It is generally translated as ‘Who will guard the guards themselves?’

‘The investigation will be done by the U.N.’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (akin to an inspector general in a U.S. government department),’ Dujarric told Fox News Digital. ‘Should criminal behavior be found, it could be referred to the appropriate national law enforcement entity...

Peter Gallo, an international lawyer and former Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigator at the U.N., told Fox News Digital his former employer ‘is as independent as my left kidney.’

Gallo, who has submitted testimony to the U.S. Congress about alleged U.N. corruption, criminality and mismanagement, described a case of the UN’s OIOS allegedly sweeping a massive medical fraud case under the rug in connection with Hamas’ ally, Hezbollah...

Edward Flaherty, an American lawyer who has represented whistleblowers throughout the U.N. system based in Geneva, Switzerland, told Fox News Digital that, in his years of experience, ‘OIOS and any internal investigation services of all the international organizations are not fit for purpose. They ultimately report to the executive, so are not independent and will never investigate the senior ranks for wrongdoing unless greenlighted by the executive — built-in protection.

‘They operate like Stalin's secret police chief, Lavrentiy Beria, ‘Show me the man, and I’ll find you a crime.' The only way to fix UN/IO investigations is to lift the immunity and let national police forces carry out investigations of serious misconduct or the misconduct of the investigators.’...

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, cast doubt on the integrity of the U.N. investigations.

‘What we have here is the usual U.N. concept of problem-solving — smoke and mirrors,’ she told Fox News Digital. ‘There will be two ‘parallel’ so-called investigations on UNRWA, one in which the U.N. investigates itself, and the other put together ‘in consultation with the UNRWA commissioner-general’ — the U.N. person in charge of the massive corruption himself.’

Bayefsky said the ‘description of the ‘independent’ review focuses on taking a look at ‘mechanisms’ and ‘procedures’ on ‘neutrality.’ That’s U.N.-speak for avoiding the rot at the heart of the matter. Which is systemic antisemitism throughout the UNRWA-run education system and a decades-long record of contributing to more racist intolerance and violence, rather than ending it.

‘Maybe that’s why the secretary-general’s ‘new and improved’ UNRWA investigation lists a group of Scandinavian consultants — and not the country on the front lines paying the heaviest price for UNRWA’s dangerous record — Israel.’..."