"The UN’s Quiet Betrayal: Palestinian Staff Who Fled Gaza Face Job Termination"

This article exposes disturbing news within the United Nations’ humanitarian agencies: the World Food Programme (#WFP), the World Health Organization (#WHO), and #UNICEF are preparing to terminate the contracts of #Palestinian staff who fled #Gaza for safety. These staff members, who at great personal expense relocated to escape the intensifying conflict in #Gaza, have continued to fulfill their roles remotely, demonstrating utmost commitment to their missions. Yet, in an unprecedented move, WFP, WHO, and UNICEF are demanding that these employees return to a war-torn Gaza or face job termination. This decision not only threatens the lives of Palestinian staff but also reveals a troubling double standard in the UN’s duty of care, as telecommuting privileges afforded to international staff in safe locations are denied to those in crisis zones.

In response to this pressing issue, I have formally addressed a letter (https://shorturl.at/Wpnz7) to the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, Ms. Cindy McCain, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Ms. Catherine Russell, urging them to halt the termination of Palestinian staff who have fled Gaza for their safety. I encourage you to share this letter widely and, if possible, send your own message to these leaders to amplify the call for a just and compassionate response to protect these dedicated colleagues.

As UN staff and advocates of humanitarian values, we have a duty to stand with our colleagues facing unjust decisions. By reading this article, raising awareness, and calling for an immediate halt to the termination of these Palestinian staff, you can help protect those who risk everything to serve. 

In a shocking turn, the #WorldFoodProgramme (#WFP), #WorldHealthOrganization (#WHO), and #UNICEF have made a quiet yet devastating decision: to terminate the contracts of their Palestinian staff members who managed to escape Gaza. 

These are the people who, at their own expense and against all odds, sought safety outside the war zone, yet remain dedicated to their work and the humanitarian missions of these organizations. Now, WFP, WHO, and UNICEF are demanding they return to Gaza—a war torn region with decimated infrastructure and a collapsing health system—or face the end of their employment.

This is not just a policy decision; it is a direct threat to the lives of the very people these organizations are meant to protect. Instructing staff to return under such conditions, while withholding the telecommuting options freely available to staff in safer locations, exposes a troubling double standard in the UN system’s duty of care.

The World Food Programme has 12 national staff members who work in Gaza. The 12 staff have self-relocated themselves outside Gaza. Each staff member paid $5,000, plus an additional $5,000 per dependent, to secure safety for themselves and their families.

Now living in precarious conditions, they rely solely on their modest salaries. Remarkably, , these staff members have continued to telecommute and fulfill their duties under intensely challenging circumstances.

In the face of the escalating violence in Gaza, particularly in the north, one might expect these humanitarian agencies to support and protect their displaced staff.

Instead, WFP has moved to terminate the contracts of these 12 staff members. UNICEF is preparing to follow suit with its 13 Palestinian staff, and the World Health Organization (WHO) plans to do the same for roughly 10 additional Palestinian personnel.

Yes, you read that correctly.

According to our sources, WFP has already conducted discreet meetings with affected staff, instructing them to return to Gaza before the year’s end, effectively ending their telecommuting arrangements.

Last we heard, Gaza is a war zone, its infrastructure obliterated, its civilian population struggling to survive amidst scarce medical and humanitarian resources.

How, then, can these organizations demand that their Palestinian staff return to such conditions, with the threat of contract termination, if they do not comply?

Consider this: in Geneva, a headquarters duty station classified as "A" (non-hazardous), with no active conflict: more than 50% of staff are allowed to telecommute.

Geneva employees enjoy top-tier medical insurance, offices overlooking Lake Leman, and work in the prestigious Palais des Nations. General Service staff in Geneva earn no less than $8,000 a month.

Yet WFP, WHO, and UNICEF see fit to terminate some 30 Palestinian staff who risked everything to escape the violence in Gaza.

For Palestinian staff, apparently, telecommuting is not an option. 

This approach starkly contradicts the principles of humanitarian aid and the duty of care these organizations claim to uphold. 

Recently, WFP held a virtual meeting informing staff that if they do not return to Gaza by the end of December, they will be placed on special leave without pay and their contracts will not be renewed upon expiry. This approach seems almost Machiavellian, designed to avoid paying termination indemnities by letting contracts run their course instead.

While WFP, UNICEF, and WHO appear eager to terminate their Palestinian staff contracts, they are also rapidly issuing temporary surge contracts to international staff, bringing them to the Rafah border—where, reportedly, there is little they can contribute.

The difference?

These newly recruited staff are mostly from the Global North; they are not Palestinian. 

Asking Palestinian local staff to return to Gaza amidst an escalating conflict represents a direct threat to their safety, blatantly violating the organization’s duty of care—a principle meant to apply to all staff, not just internationals.

Many of these Palestinian staff members have lost their homes and are already in dire financial straits. Cutting off their last source of income would be devastating for them and their families.

Most of these staff have served WFP, UNICEF, and WHO loyally for over fifteen years. Is this how the Secretary-General intends to reward Gaza’s Palestinian staff who have upheld the values of these organizations, even in the face of personal danger?