Lars Løkke Rasmussen, regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza: We will not stop supporting UNRWA – but there are demands

According to DR, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen stated that Denmark still plans to donate the planned $105 million in the spring, at a time when several countries have suspended their aid to the UNRWA agency. However, Lars Løkke Rasmussen stated that “this donation will not be without demands to rebuild trust in the organization. If you cut off UNRWA’s legs, you accelerate the humanitarian conflict.”.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen insists that UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, will receive 105 million Danish kroner from Denmark next March, according to the previously agreed plan, the source said.

DR reported that since 12 UNRWA employees were accused of participating in the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 of last year, several countries, including Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, have suspended their support for the organization.

According to the source, Løkke Rasmussen stated, “It’s very easy to say it’s just 12 rotten apples in a basket of 30,000 employees. There may be more to show. He says it’s about making some organizational changes that ensure we have full confidence that the organization will adhere to its UN mandate and act impartially… I was shocked because it appears that 12 employees of the organization actively contributed to the horrific terrorist attack of October 7. But UNRWA is the organization in Gaza that has the opportunity to ensure a decent life for the civilian population. We’re talking about water, health clinics, and the possibility of vaccinating children. It’s a catastrophic situation in Gaza, and if you cut off UNRWA’s legs, you accelerate the humanitarian crisis. It’s absolutely terrible, but we don’t usually have a principle of collective punishment. And when Denmark didn’t withdraw aid, it was largely due to the conditions in Gaza.”.

Peter Hansen, the former head of UNRWA, agrees that withdrawing support from the organization would have dire consequences, saying on DR's Genstart podcast: “It’s a catastrophe for two million people living on the brink of starvation, constantly fleeing heavy bombardment. They have lost all the necessities of life.”

A warning sign for UNRWA

Lars Løkke Rasmussen believes that the suspension of aid by several countries is a political signal, and explained to DR that “the countries that have temporarily stopped their support are the countries that have already paid their money for 2024. So, temporarily stopping something that has been done has no effect on the ground, but it is like raising a warning finger, which is almost the same thing we are doing.”.

United Nations reports indicate that there are approximately 1.9 million displaced people due to the war in Gaza, many of whom have settled in camps or abandoned buildings, according to the source.

In a recent article published in Jyllands-Posten, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, in collaboration with Minister for Development Cooperation Dan Jørgensen, elaborated on their three-stage plan for UNRWA's future: First, UNRWA's management should support an internal investigation into the organization. Second, the organization should be made more robust and efficient, and an investigation should be conducted into whether parts of the effort could be delegated to others, so that UNRWA is not the sole actor on the ground. The final step is for the Palestinian Authority itself to be able to care for the civilian population through a two-state solution – but with the UN serving as the backbone for establishing the necessary social structures, as reported in the DR article.

Collective punishment is not the way forward.

“It is absolutely terrible, but now we do not usually have the principle of collective punishment. We are talking about an organization with about 30,000 employees, 13,000 of whom are in Gaza.”.

According to Lars Løkke Rasmussen, citing the source

“No one is guilty until proven innocent.”

Peter Hansen also emphasizes that collective punishment of UNRWA is not the way forward and stresses that it “goes beyond a very large group of innocent people.”.

An investigation has been launched to determine whether the 12 employees were involved in the attack on October 7. Peter Hansen is withholding information regarding the allegations until the investigation is complete.

• You must take all these accusations very seriously. The consequences could be absolutely terrible, catastrophic, and disproportionate to two million people being subjected to collective punishment.

But why didn't you take these allegations seriously when the UN reviewed the documents and chose to expel the staff? (Question from DR website)

• I haven't seen the UN's comments and investigation. Of course, these allegations must be taken seriously and investigated. There must be a full trial to determine the responsibilities of these individuals if they did this. But I can't help but reiterate the fact that no one is guilty until proven innocent, Peter Hansen replied.

This isn't the first time Peter Hansen has found himself in a position where Israel accuses UNRWA. In fact, it also happened when he was head of the organization, according to the Genstart podcast on DR.