Former French minister to assess UN agency hit by significant funding cuts
Former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna is to lead a review of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after persistent criticism of the organisation from Israel.
UNRWA commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini announced the review last month, before Israel alleged that 12 of the agency’s employees had taken part in the October 7 Hamas attacks.
The review has taken on added urgency since the allegations, which prompted nine major donors to suspend funding, putting the UNRWA’s operations in jeopardy.
During her review, Ms Colonna will assess whether the agency is “doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made”, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.
Work will begin next Wednesday, with a final report to be made public in April.
Ms Colonna is widely viewed in France as a solid diplomat, despite having lost her cabinet post to Stephane Sejourne in last month’s government reshuffle.
A spokeswoman for former French president Jacques Chirac from 1994 to 2005, Ms Colonna has held several high-profile diplomatic posts abroad, including as ambassador to Italy and Britain.
As foreign minister, however, she was described by French media as “inaudible” compared to the charismatic President Emmanuel Macron, who is heavily invested in foreign affairs, and her efforts to de-escalate tension in the Middle East have been overshadowed by other leading French politicians, such as special envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian, another former foreign minister.
Daily Le Monde said Ms Colonna was “irritated” by a letter signed by French ambassadors in the region, who warned against what they saw as France’s pro-Israel stance on the war in Gaza.
Mr Macron’s proposal to set up an international coalition to fight Hamas was widely derided by the French diplomatic corps and regional partners. The President voiced this idea without consulting Ms Colonna, Le
Monde reported, signalling a lack of communication between the Foreign Ministry and the Elysee Palace.
However, Paris has adopted a unique position on the conflict among its western partners, one that is not perceived as either excessively pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian.
By choosing a French diplomat to lead the UNRWA review process, the UN may have been aiming to send a signal of even-handedness, as the issue becomes increasingly controversial.