S. 431: UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act

This bill makes changes to U.S. foreign policy in matters concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

For purposes of this policy, the bill defines Palestinian refugee as a person who (1) resided from June 1946 to May 1948 in Mandatory Palestine (a region controlled by Britain until 1948), (2) was personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, and (3) has not accepted citizenship or other permanent adjustment in status in another country. Furthermore, under U.S. policy, derivative refugee status may only extend to the spouse or minor child of such a Palestinian refugee.

The bill withholds U.S. funding for the UNRWA unless the Department of State makes certifications concerning the UNRWA's staff, partners, and funding. Specifically, the State Department must certify that neither UNRWA staff and partners nor its funding and facilities are affiliated with terrorism or disseminating certain rhetoric, such as calling for the destruction of Israel or describing Israelis as occupiers or settlers. Additionally, the State Department must certify that the UNRWA is (1) subject to comprehensive independent financial audits, and (2) not affiliated with any financial institutions complicit in money laundering or terror financing.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.