What This Bill Does
This bill stops the United States from giving money to UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) unless specific conditions are met. The Secretary of State must certify in writing that UNRWA meets certain standards before any U.S. funding can be provided.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of State, Congress, UNRWA officials and employees, UNRWA partner organizations, financial institutions that work with UNRWA, and Palestinians receiving assistance from UNRWA.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of State must verify through background checks that no UNRWA official, employee, consultant, contractor, or representative is a member of or affiliated with a foreign terrorist organization, or has engaged in terrorist activity (Sec. 3)
• The Secretary must confirm that UNRWA officials and employees have not spread anti-American, anti-Israel, or antisemitic speech, including calling for Israel's destruction, denying Israel's right to exist, or supporting boycotts against Israel (Sec. 3)
• UNRWA schools and facilities cannot be used by terrorist organizations for activities like training, fundraising, weapons storage, or accessing tunnel networks (Sec. 3)
• Educational materials used in UNRWA schools cannot contain antisemitic, anti-American, or anti-Israel content (Sec. 3)
• U.S. contributions to UNRWA cannot exceed the highest contribution made by any League of Arab States member country in that year (Sec. 3)
• The Secretary of State must submit a yearly report to Congress describing actions taken to encourage other countries to withhold UNRWA funding and to phase out UNRWA operations (Sec. 4)
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the United States cannot provide funding to UNRWA or any successor organization unless the Secretary of State submits a written certification meeting all the conditions listed above. Any certification expires after 180 days and must be renewed. The Secretary must notify Congress if a certification becomes false or invalid.
Important Definitions
• **Palestinian refugee**: A person who lived in the region Britain controlled between 1922-1948 called Mandatory Palestine (between June 1946 and May 1948), was personally displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, and has not accepted permanent legal status or citizenship elsewhere (Sec. 2)
• **Derivative refugee status**: Can only extend to the spouse or minor child of a Palestinian refugee (Sec. 2)
• **Antisemitic**: Uses the definition adopted May 26, 2016 by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, including the examples of antisemitism they identified at that time (Sec. 3)
• **Foreign terrorist organization**: An organization designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the Secretary of State (Sec. 3)
• **Boycott of, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel (BDS)**: The meaning given in section 909(f)(1) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Sec. 3)
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1102
To withhold United States contributions to the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 17, 2023
Mr. ROY (for himself, Mr. BABIN, Mr. STEUBE, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. MCCLIN-
TOCK, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. PERRY, Mr.
WEBER of Texas, Ms. MACE, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. DAVIDSON, Mr. SANTOS,
Mr. EZELL, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. JOHNSON of
Ohio, Mr. SELF, Mr. POSEY, Mr. KUSTOFF, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr.
MOORE of Alabama, Mr. OGLES, and Mrs. CAMMACK) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
To withhold United States contributions to the United Na-
tions Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East (UNRWA), and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘UNRWA Account-
4
ability and Transparency Act’’.
5
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2
•HR 1102 IH
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
1
(a) PALESTINIAN REFUGEE DEFINED.—It shall be
2
the policy of the United States, in matters concerning the
3
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
4
Refugees in the Near East (referred to in this Act as
5
‘‘UNRWA’’), which operates in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan,
6
the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, to define a Pales-
7
tinian refugee as a person who—
8
(1) resided, between June 1946 and May 1948,
9
in the region controlled by Britain between 1922
10
and 1948 that was known as Mandatory Palestine;
11
(2) was personally displaced as a result of the
12
1948 Arab-Israeli conflict; and
13
(3) has not accepted an offer of legal residency
14
status, citizenship, or other permanent adjustment
15
in status in another country or territory.
16
(b) LIMITATIONS
ON REFUGEE
AND DERIVATIVE
17
REFUGEE STATUS.—In applying the definition under sub-
18
section (a) with respect to refugees receiving assistance
19
from UNRWA, it shall be the policy of the United States,
20
consistent with the definition of refugee in section
21
101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
22
U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)) and the requirements for eligibility
23
for refugee status under section 207 of such Act (8 U.S.C.
24
1157), that—
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3
•HR 1102 IH
(1) derivative refugee status may only be ex-
1
tended to the spouse or a minor child of a Pales-
2
tinian refugee; and
3
(2) an alien who is firmly resettled in any coun-
4
try is not eligible to retain refugee status.
5
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNRWA.
6
Section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
7
(22 U.S.C. 2221) is amended to read as follows:
8
‘‘(c) WITHHOLDING.—
9
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
10
‘‘(A) ANTI-SEMITIC.—The term ‘anti-Se-
11
mitic’—
12
‘‘(i) has the meaning adopted on May
13
26, 2016, by the International Holocaust
14
Remembrance Alliance as the non-legally
15
binding working definition of antisemitism;
16
and
17
‘‘(ii) includes the contemporary exam-
18
ples of antisemitism in public life, the
19
media, schools, the workplace, and in the
20
religious sphere identified on such date by
21
the International Holocaust Remembrance
22
Alliance.
23
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4
•HR 1102 IH
‘‘(B) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COM-
1
MITTEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional
2
committees’ means—
3
‘‘(i) the Committee on Foreign Rela-
4
tions of the Senate;
5
‘‘(ii) the Committee on Appropriations
6
of the Senate;
7
‘‘(iii) the Committee on Foreign Af-
8
fairs of the House of Representatives; and
9
‘‘(iv) the Committee on Appropria-
10
tions of the House of Representatives.
11
‘‘(C) BOYCOTT
OF, DIVESTMENT
FROM,
12
AND
SANCTIONS
AGAINST
ISRAEL.—The term
13
‘boycott of, divestment from, and sanctions
14
against Israel’ has the meaning given to such
15
term in section 909(f)(1) of the Trade Facilita-
16
tion and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19
17
U.S.C. 4452(f)(1)).
18
‘‘(D)
FOREIGN
TERRORIST
ORGANIZA-
19
TION.—The term ‘foreign terrorist organization’
20
means an organization designated as a foreign
21
terrorist organization by the Secretary of State
22
in accordance with section 219(a) of the Immi-
23
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)).
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5
•HR 1102 IH
‘‘(E)
UNRWA.—The
term
‘UNRWA’
1
means the United Nations Relief and Works
2
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
3
East.
4
‘‘(2)
CERTIFICATION.—Notwithstanding
any
5
other provision of law, the United States may not
6
provide contributions to UNRWA, to any successor
7
or related entity, or to the regular budget of the
8
United Nations for the support of UNRWA or a
9
successor entity (through staff positions provided by
10
the United Nations Secretariat or otherwise) unless
11
the Secretary of State submits a written certification
12
to the appropriate congressional committees that—
13
‘‘(A) no official, employee, consultant, con-
14
tractor, subcontractor, representative, affiliate
15
of UNRWA, an UNRWA partner organization,
16
or an UNRWA contracting entity pursuant to
17
completion of a thorough vetting and back-
18
ground check process—
19
‘‘(i) is a member of, is affiliated with,
20
or has any ties to a foreign terrorist orga-
21
nization, including Hamas and Hezbollah;
22
‘‘(ii) has advocated, planned, spon-
23
sored, or engaged in any terrorist activity;
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6
•HR 1102 IH
‘‘(iii) has propagated or disseminated
1
anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic
2
rhetoric, incitement, or propaganda, in-
3
cluding—
4
‘‘(I) calling for or encouraging
5
the destruction of Israel;
6
‘‘(II) failing to recognize Israel’s
7
right to exist;
8
‘‘(III) showing maps without
9
Israel;
10
‘‘(IV) describing Israelis as ‘occu-
11
piers’ or ‘settlers’;
12
‘‘(V) advocating, endorsing, or
13
expressing support for violence, ha-
14
tred, jihad, martyrdom, or terrorism,
15
glorifying, honoring, or otherwise me-
16
morializing any person or group that
17
has advocated, sponsored, or com-
18
mitted acts of terrorism, or providing
19
material support to terrorists or their
20
families;
21
‘‘(VI) expressing support for boy-
22
cott of, divestment from, and sanc-
23
tions against Israel (commonly re-
24
ferred to as ‘BDS’);
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7
•HR 1102 IH
‘‘(VII) claiming or advocating for
1
a ‘right of return’ of refugees into
2
Israel;
3
‘‘(VIII) ignoring, denying, or not
4
recognizing the historic connection of
5
the Jewish people to the land of
6
Israel; and
7
‘‘(IX) calling for violence against
8
Americans; or
9
‘‘(iv) has used any UNRWA re-
10
sources, including publications, websites, or
11
social media platforms, to propagate or
12
disseminate anti-American, anti-Israel, or
13
anti-Semitic rhetoric, incitement, or propa-
14
ganda, including with respect to any of the
15
matters
described
in
subclauses
(I)
16
through (IX) of clause (iii);
17
‘‘(B) no UNRWA school, hospital, clinic,
18
facility, or other infrastructure or resource is
19
being used by a foreign terrorist organization or
20
any member thereof—
21
‘‘(i) for terrorist activities, such as op-
22
erations, planning, training, recruitment,
23
fundraising,
indoctrination,
communica-
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8
•HR 1102 IH
tions, sanctuary, storage of weapons or
1
other materials; or
2
‘‘(ii) as an access point to any under-
3
ground tunnel network, or any other ter-
4
rorist-related purposes;
5
‘‘(C) UNRWA is subject to comprehensive
6
financial audits by an internationally recognized
7
third party independent auditing firm that—
8
‘‘(i) is agreed upon by the Govern-
9
ment of Israel and the Palestinian Author-
10
ity; and
11
‘‘(ii) has implemented an effective sys-
12
tem of vetting and oversight to prevent the
13
use, receipt, or diversion of any UNRWA
14
resources by any foreign terrorist organiza-
15
tion or members thereof;
16
‘‘(D) no UNRWA controlled or funded fa-
17
cility, such as a school, an educational institu-
18
tion, or a summer camp, uses textbooks or
19
other educational materials that propagate or
20
disseminate anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-
21
Semitic rhetoric, incitement, or propaganda, in-
22
cluding with respect to any of the matters de-
23
scribed in subclauses (I) through (IX) of sub-
24
paragraph (A)(iii);
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9
•HR 1102 IH
‘‘(E) no recipient of UNRWA funds or
1
loans is—
2
‘‘(i) a member of, is affiliated with, or
3
has any ties to a foreign terrorist organiza-
4
tion; or
5
‘‘(ii) otherwise engaged in terrorist ac-
6
tivities; and
7
‘‘(F) UNRWA holds no accounts or other
8
affiliations with financial institutions that the
9
United States considers or believes to be
10
complicit in money laundering and terror fi-
11
nancing.
12
‘‘(3) PERIOD OF EFFECTIVENESS.—
13
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A certification de-
14
scribed in paragraph (2) shall be effective until
15
the earlier of—
16
‘‘(i) the date on which the Secretary
17
receives information rendering the certifi-
18
cation described in paragraph (2) factually
19
inaccurate; or
20
‘‘(ii) the date that is 180 days after
21
the date on which it is submitted to the
22
appropriate congressional committees.
23
‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF RENUNCIATION.—
24
If a certification becomes ineffective pursuant
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10
•HR 1102 IH
to subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall
1
promptly notify the appropriate congressional
2
committees of the reasons for renouncing or
3
failing to renew such certification.
4
‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—During any year in which a
5
certification described in paragraph (1) is in effect,
6
the United States may not contribute to UNRWA,
7
or to any successor entity, an amount that—
8
‘‘(A) is greater than the highest contribu-
9
tion to UNRWA made by a member country of
10
the League of Arab States for such year; and
11
‘‘(B) is greater (as a proportion of the
12
total UNRWA budget) than the proportion of
13
the total budget for the United Nations High
14
Commissioner for Refugees paid by the United
15
States.’’.
16
SEC. 4. REPORT.
17
(a) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMITTEES
18
DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con-
19
gressional committees’’ means—
20
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
21
Senate;
22
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the
23
Senate;
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11
•HR 1102 IH
(3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
1
House of Representatives; and
2
(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the
3
House of Representatives.
4
(b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the
5
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,
6
the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appro-
7
priate congressional committees describing the actions
8
being taken to implement a comprehensive plan for—
9
(1) encouraging other countries to adopt the
10
policy regarding Palestinian refugees that is de-
11
scribed in section 2;
12
(2) urging other countries to withhold their
13
contributions to UNRWA, to any successor or re-
14
lated entity, or to the regular budget of the United
15
Nations for the support of UNRWA or a successor
16
entity (through staff positions provided by the
17
United Nations Secretariat or otherwise) until
18
UNRWA has met the conditions listed in subpara-
19
graphs (A) through (F) of section 301(c)(2) of the
20
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section
21
3;
22
(3) working with other countries to phase out
23
UNRWA and assist Palestinians receiving UNRWA
24
services by—
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12
•HR 1102 IH
(A) integrating such Palestinians into their
1
local communities in the countries in which they
2
are residing; or
3
(B) resettling such Palestinians in coun-
4
tries other than Israel or territories controlled
5
by Israel in the West Bank in accordance with
6
international humanitarian principles; and
7
(4) ensuring that the actions described in para-
8
graph (3)—
9
(A) are being implemented in complete co-
10
ordination with, and with the support of, Israel;
11
and
12
(B) do not endanger the security of Israel
13
in any way.
14
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:34 Mar 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1102.IH
H1102
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS