UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act

UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act

This bill makes changes to U.S. foreign policy in matters concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

For purposes of this policy, the bill defines Palestinian refugee as a person who (1) resided from June 1946 to May 1948 in Mandatory Palestine (a region controlled by Britain until 1948), (2) was personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, and (3) has not accepted citizenship or other permanent adjustment in status in another country. Furthermore, under U.S. policy, derivative refugee status may only extend to the spouse or minor child of such a Palestinian refugee.

The bill withholds U.S. funding for the UNRWA unless the Department of State makes certifications concerning the UNRWA's staff, partners, and funding. Specifically, the State Department must certify that neither UNRWA staff and partners nor its funding and facilities are affiliated with terrorism or engaged in the dissemination of certain rhetoric, such as calling for the destruction of Israel or describing Israelis as occupiers or settlers. Additionally, the State Department must certify that the UNRWA is subject to comprehensive independent financial audits and is unaffiliated with any financial institutions that the United States considers to be complicit in money laundering or terror financing.

The State Department must also implement a plan to encourage other countries to align their activities and efforts regarding the UNRWA with U.S. policy objectives, including the phaseout of the UNRWA by resettling Palestinian refugees outside of Israel.