The Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness) submitted an urgent legal memorandum to several United Nations bodies, including the Office of the UN Secretary-General, the Office of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, the UN Ethics Office, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the United Nations Dispute Tribunal, and the United Nations Appeals Tribunal. The memorandum calls for the immediate reversal of the decision to dismiss four Palestinian teachers in Lebanon, including Mr. Ibrahim Merhi, whose case was directly addressed in the memorandum following his formal appeal against the decision. These dismissals were issued under the pretext of "violating the principle of neutrality.”
In the memorandum, (Witness) asserts that these dismissals were arbitrary and procedurally flawed, lacking any basis in a fair or professional investigation. The disciplinary actions were marred by serious legal and procedural irregularities, including misidentification of the accused, reliance on unauthenticated or misattributed evidence, and the improper reuse of previously closed allegations. Furthermore, no consideration was given to the humanitarian and emotional context in which some of the alleged statements were made—particularly in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.
The memorandum specifically relied on the legal appeal submitted by Mr. Ibrahim Merhi and emphasized that the dismissal of the four teachers—all of whom have long-standing service records and no prior disciplinary history—appears to have been motivated by their elected roles within the UNRWA Teachers Union. This strongly suggests that their union activities were targeted, in clear violation of workers’ rights under the UN system. Such actions contravene the ILO Conventions, UNRWA’s internal regulations, and rulings of the UN Administrative Tribunal.
(Witness) formally demands the following:
Immediate suspension of all dismissal decisions;
Establishment of an independent and impartial investigation committee with legal competence;
Reinstatement of the dismissed teachers and compensation for damages sustained;
Accountability for those responsible for procedural violations;
Urgent reforms to UNRWA’s internal disciplinary mechanisms to ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards.
(Witness) warns that allowing these unjust measures to stand without correction sends a dangerous message: that Palestinian staff members within UNRWA are vulnerable to arbitrary dismissal, denied the right to expression, and deprived of fundamental procedural safeguards. The Association further emphasized that silence by the UN system in the face of such violations undermines the very principles of justice and opens the door to the politicization of humanitarian and educational work within United Nations institutions.
The Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness)