The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has reaffirmed its strict adherence to UN humanitarian values and zero tolerance for hate speech and incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence. 

UNRWA said while it takes seriously its responsibility to educate over half a million Palestine refugee girls and boys, it also explicitly incorporates human rights education into its school curricula through its Human Rights, Conflict Resolution, and Tolerance (HRCRT) education.

In 2021, UNRWA went further, launching a centralized, online learning platform where teaching materials, thoroughly vetted in a three-step process, are posted. The platform provides a safe, accessible, and centrally monitored system to access instructional materials customized across grade, subject, and host country.

A recently released report makes allegations regarding UNRWA educational materials purportedly used by the Agency in Gaza that do not comply with UN values. UNRWA said the materials in question are published on a non-UNRWA website.

“We note the allegations in question originate with a detractor organization whose methodologies and goals were questioned in a rigorous 2021 academic review funded by the European Union”, said the Agency. “UNRWA takes every allegation seriously and is reviewing the contents of the report.”

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.7 million Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA across its five fields of operation. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.