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.” https://unwatch.org/unrwa-chief-to-commission-review-into-claims-attacking-blaming-accusing-the-agency-of-collusion-with-hamas/… 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.

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.

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?

5/ The feelings were mutual. UNRWA hailed “strong support from France” while Colonna was foreign minister. https://x.com/UNRWA/status/1673259974959460352…. UNRWA specifically praised Colonna and Macron “for their continued political and financial commitment alongside UNRWA”:

6/ How can Colonna impartially investigate UNRWA when, likewise, France has showered praise on this agency? See: https://x.com/search?q=from%3Afranceonu%20l%27unrwa&src=typed_query&f=live… “UNRWA plays an important role in regional stability and remains essential,” said France when Colonna was minister. https://x.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.” https://onu.delegfrance.org/unrwa-is-at-the-forefront-of-providing-assistance-to-the-civilians-in-gaza…

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 Bergen @Raoul Wallenberg Institute & @HumanRightsDK. Are they impartial and objective when it comes to investigating how UNRWA handles allegation of its employees' terror ties?

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 Bergen

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.”

14/ The author of the report is CMI's @Kjersti G. 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.

15/ Must. Get. Sleep. Much more to come in this thread tomorrow! If you can't wait, see some of the material here: https://unwatch.org/exposed-unrwas-rigged-independent-review/…

16/ Continuing the thread. Still on Kjersti G. Berg, the UNRWA expert at CMI, one of the three institutes running the Independent Review Group. Berg devoted her life to denying UNRWA's terror ties. After we just began to expose her bias, she deleted her account: @kjertstig_berg

17/ According to a former Norwegian foreign ministry official, CMI's Kjersti Berg used to work for UNRWA. https://panoramanyheter.no/anmeldelser-bokanmeldeldse-israel/ubehagelig-men-betimelig-om-palestina/338869… To recap: the independent group reviewing UNRWA includes an institute whose UNRWA expert is a recent employee of the agency. “Independent” indeed.

18/ Norway's foreign ministry—the sponsor of Berg's UNRWA research—sees itself as UNRWA's patron. Its director-general Leni Stenseth was just recently UNRWA's deputy commissioner. Here's Berg, second from left, on a panel with Stenseth, second from right: https://rc.mideast.prio.org/events/49

19/ As UNRWA Deputy Chief, 's Leni Stenseth met with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, “affirmed her solidarity” & called her Gaza rep Matthias Schmale’s remarks “indefensible.” He had said IDF strikes on Hamas were precise. Hamas protested—so UNRWA fired him. https://web.archive.org/web/20210603113320/https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/1485841/unrwa-official-expresses-understanding-to-sinwar…

20/ To recap: the UNRWA deputy chief who paid fealty to Yahya Sinwar runs Norway's foreign ministry which funds Kjersti Berg to write reports dismissing evidence of UNRWA terror ties as “unfounded” and now Berg's CMI group is the “independent” investigator of UNRWA's terror ties.

21/ Beyond Kjersti Berg, is CMI objective? Well, in October, 17 CMI researchers accused Israel of “apartheid”: Antonio De Lauri, Heidi Mogstad, Anwesha Dutta, Emily Hume, Lovise Aalen, Salla Turunen, Jessica Schultz, Astri Suhrke, Carmeliza Rosario... https://publicanthropologist.cmi.no/2023/10/26/statement-on-the-situation-in-palestine/…

22/ ...Iva Jelusic, Saul Mullard, Cathrine Talleraas, Liv Tønnessen, Mari Norbakk, Karine A. Jansen, Aslak Orre, Kari Telle & Elin Skaar. The CMI staff alleged “historical inequalities, injustice and violence” brought about “by Israel’s longstanding occupation” and “apartheid.”

23/ Meet the ringleader of the CMI 17: Antonio De Lauri. His journal has issued a call for papers “Speaking out against genocide” — about “Israel’s ongoing destruction of Gaza and ethnic cleansing.” He made no mention of Hamas, its atrocities, or the Israeli hostages in Gaza.

24/ On March 7, he tweeted: “President Biden, why do you support genocide in Gaza?” De Lauri has endorsed similar claims by condemned antisemite Francesca Albanese, whom he'll soon be hosting: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/international-humanitarian-studies-association_ihsaannuallecture-ihsa-annuallecture2024-activity-7184493816714776578-WgIA… By contrast, his Twitter shows he never once mentioned Hamas.

25/ Now meet Peter Lundberg, head of another key institute in UNRWA's Independent Review Group: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute. Is he an impartial investigator of UNRWA's terror ties? In November, he liked this Jan Egeland post that described critics of UNRWA as “abhorrent.”

26/ In 2014, RWI's Lundberg posted the Electronic Intifada about a “must see” debate with Chris Gunness “demolishing” a critic of UNRWA. In 2019, Lundberg posted a Gunness op-ed that attacked critics of UNRWA and argued UNRWA should do “advocacy” about Israel's injustices.