Kirk Amendment To Investigate Number of Refugees
United States Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) created an amendment to the fiscal 2013 State Department and foreign operations appropriations bill that would require the State Department to report on how many of the millions of people currently supported by UNRWA are actually people who were physically displaced from their homes who lived in the area between June 1946 to May 1948 or fled, and how many are descendants of original refugees. Kirk's spokesperson Kate Dickens explained that the purpose was not to affect U.S. policy on UNRWA or cut funding to UNRWA, but rather to create more transparency within the organization. The amendment was accepted by the Senate. The official language is as follows:
The Committee directs the Secretary of State to submit a report to the Committee not later than one year after enactment of this act, indicating -
(a)the approximate number of people who, in the past year, have received UNRWA services -
(1)whose place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who were displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict; and
(2)who are descendants of persons described in subparagraph (1);
(b)the extent to which the provision of such services to such persons furthers the security interests of the United States and of other United States allies in the Middle East; and
(c)the methodology and challenges in preparing each report.
Read more about this topic: United Nations Relief And Works Agency For Palestine Refugees In The Near East
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