The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was fired earlier this week after an investigation appeared to confirm allegations of mismanagement. UNRWA is funded by the Canadian government.
Pierre Krahenbuhl stands accused of attempting to further his mistress’s career within the UN agency. Swiss media reported earlier this year that Krahenbuhl used their government’s contributions to the agency to pay for his mistress’s travel expenses from 2015 to 2018.
Krahenbuhl was accused earlier this year of “abuses of authority for personal gain, to suppress legitimate dissent and to otherwise achieve their personal objectives.”
UNRWA is a United Nations organization created to give humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
However, UNRWA has been a scandal-ridden organization. The agency has been accused of multiple instances of aiding the terror group Hamas.
In one incident, one UNRWA employee was found to be smuggling weapons to Hamas. In another incident, Hamas was found to be storing rockets in a UNRWA-run school.
Krahenbuhl completely denies any wrongdoing in the agency’s most recent scandal.
“I have rejected these allegations from the start and will continue to do so,” he told Swiss media.
“There is no corruption, fraud or mismanagement of aid.”
The United States, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands have all suspended funding for UNRWA, as a result of the mismanagement allegations in the UN agency.
Canada, on the other hand, appears to still be committed to supporting the maligned agency.
Since taking office, the Trudeau government has committed $110 million to the UNRWA.
In August, the Canadian government said they are following the situation and will follow the recommendations of the United Nations. Global Affairs Canada has not commented in the wake of the recent findings.
A UNRWA spokeswoman said that the agency now has an $89 million funding gap it will need to fill by the end of the year.
Briton Christian Saunders was named as Krahenbuhl’s replacement as Chief of UNRWA shortly after an internal investigation’s preliminary findings were finished.
