[ad_1]
115E CONGRES
2D SESSION
HR 6451
Initiated by MP Doug Lamborn (CO-05)
TO BILL
Establishing US Policy on Contributions
] to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in
Middle East, and for other purposes
That it be promulgated by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States
United States of America in Congress,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. [19459004Thisfollowsbelowthereinaccordingtothetitle"—–Actede2018"
SEC. 2. RESULTS
The Congress notes the following: (1)
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (1945-19004) was founded in 1949 by the United Nations General Assembly. Resolution 302, at the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1945-19004, aims to alleviate the conditions of famine and distress among
Palestinian refugees from this conflict.
(2) According to the UNRWA Consolidated Eligibility and Registration
Instructions (CERI), Palestinian refugees are "persons whose normal residence was Palestine during the period of June 1, 1946 May 15, 1948 and
who lost their homes and livelihoods. as a result of the 1945 conflict
.
(3) Beginning in the 1950s, UNRWA changed the conditions of eligibility to
being a Palestinian refugee among the internally displaced in 1948, which is inconsistent with the situation. original. definition of ag ency. This change considerably
inflated the number of so-called refugees and subsequently the number of
individuals who are eligible to receive benefits from UNRWA. UNRWA clbad
persons eligible for benefits as Palestinian refugees, including, but not
descendants of Palestinian refugees from Palestine, including
legally adopted children, several generations
removed from the conflict,
(4) This clbadification process is inconsistent with the clbadification of all other
refugees in the world, including the definition used by
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR) and the laws concerning
refugees in the United States. Due to UNRWA's unique definition of a refugee
the number of Palestinian refugees increased exponentially during
years, from about 600,000 in 1949 to 5,300,000 today. On the other hand
the number of refugees from other conflicts decreased considerably
thanks to UNHCR
(5) Instead of resettling Palestinian refugees displaced as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948, UNRWA helps those whom they define
as Palestinian refugees until there is a solution that they deem acceptable to the Israeli conflict -Palestinian
. This policy does not help to resettle the 1949
refugees but maintains a population of refugees in perpetuity
(6) The United States is the largest donor to UNRWA since its inception,
and contribute disproportionately to the Palestinians. refugees in
comparison with other refugees in the world. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
addressed some 65 000 000
internally displaced persons, employing just over 10 000 people and having a budget of 7 $ 700,000,000 in 2017. UNRWA, which claims to work on behalf of more than 5,300,000 Palestinian refugees, has more than 30,000 employees and a budget of $ [1,490,000] for 2016.
(7) UNRWA has a humanitarian worker for about 170 refugees, 40 times the allocation
of humanitarian workers to non-Palestinian refugees by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(8) UNRWA facilities were used to launch terrorist attacks against
Israel, and UNRWA employees frequently faced credible accusations of
working with terrorist groups such as the Hamas, inter alia:
(A) On 16 July 2014, UNRWA reported having found 20 missiles in a Gaza school, probably placed there by Hamas, then returned them to the relevant authorities in Gaza, territory controlled by Hamas.
(B) UNRWA reported having found missiles again in their schools on July 22. ,
2014 and July 29, 2014. (C)
On July 30, 2014, three IDF soldiers were killed in an explosion
in a UNRWA trapped health clinic, which sheltered
the opening of one of the underground tunnels of Hamas. . 3. MEANING OF CONGRESS
Congress considers that –
(1) the United States should […] support UNRWA only to the extent necessary to accomplish its
purpose of resettling refugees the Arab-Israeli conflict
of 1948;
(B) make contributions to UNRWA in proportion to the number of refugees
that it helps to meet the United States refugee definition; and
(C) continue to badist other populations in need through international aid and development badistance
including Palestinians in the West Bank
Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria
(2) the Secretary of State should determine and provide to
UNRWA a voluntary contribution of an amount which brings the same proportion
to the total contribution requested from United States as the proportion of
refugees from the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948 who meet the conditions
described in Section 4 (a) for the entire population supported by UNRWA programs
;
(3) amounts made available to the Secretary of State that are withheld
UNRWA, in accordance with the determination described in subsection (2)
should rather be made available of the United States Administrator
Agency for International Development for providing badistance to others
p oppression in need in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria; and
(4) pursuant to the prohibition under Section 301 (c) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 USC 2221 (c)), the Act. United States Assistance
must not be a refugee who is following a military training
as a member of the Palestine Liberation Army or who is part of
an organization engaged in acts of terrorism.
SEC. 4. STATEMENTS OF POLICY RELATING TO CRITERIA FOR THE RECOGNITION OF REFUGEE STATUS
(a) CRITERIA FOR THE RECOGNITION OF THE REFUGEE STATUS OF UNRWA.-This will be the policy
of the United States, as far as Regarding the recognition of the refugee status of
persons receiving badistance through UNRWA, that a Palestinian refugee is a person
or the spouse or l '# 39, a minor child of a person
(1) residing between June 1946 and May 1948, in the area
controlled by Great Britain between 1922 and 1948 known as Mandatory Palestine
(2) who was personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict
; and
(3) who did not accept an offer of legal status of residence, citizenship,
or any other permanent status change in another country
(b) COHERENCE WITH L & # US ELIGIBILITY FOR REFUGEE STATUS.
applying the criteria set forth in paragraph (a) with respect to refugees
under UNRWA, US policy will be consistent with the refugee definition of section 101a ) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 USC 1101 (a)) and the conditions of admissibility for refugee status
under this Act, that-
(1) the status of derived refugee can not be extended to the spouse or minor
child of such a refugee; and
(2) a foreigner who has been firmly resettled in a country can not
retain refugee status.
Source link
