UNITED
NATIONS AGENCY FOR PALESTINIAN REFUGEES - INTERNATIONAL
News:
UNRWA: Key UN Gaza aid
agency runs into diplomatic storm
What's
in the news?
●
Its Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees, or UNRWA, was founded in 1949, working in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria,
Lebanon and Jordan, caring for the 700,000 Palestinians who were forced or fled
from their homes with the creation of the state of Israel.
United
Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
(UNRWA):
●
It is a UN agency that supports the relief
and human development of Palestinian refugees.
●
It was established in 1949 when nearly three-quarters of a million Palestinians became
refugees in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab- Israeli war.
Mandate:
●
To support
Palestinian refugees and their patrilineal descendants who fled or were
expelled from their homes during the 1948 Palestine War and 1967 Six-Day War.
●
UNRWA was originally designed as a temporary agency, though its mandate has
been continuously renewed every three years by the General Assembly.
Headquarters:
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It was originally headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, but was moved to Vienna, Austria, in 1978.
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In 1996 the General Assembly moved the
agency to the Gaza Strip to
demonstrate the Assembly’s commitment to the Arab-Israeli peace process.
Chief
Officer:
●
Its chief officer, the
commissioner-general - the only leader of a UN agency to report directly to the
General Assembly is appointed by the UN secretary-general with the approval of
an Advisory Commission.
Services
Provided:
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Its services encompass education, health care, relief and social
services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency
assistance, including in times of armed conflict.
Fields
of Operations:
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It provides services in its five fields of operations - Jordan,
Lebanon, Syria, Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East of Jerusalem.
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UNRWA is unique in that it delivers
services directly to its beneficiaries.
Funding:
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It is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member
States.
●
It also receives some funding from the
Regular Budget of the United Nations.
●
It reports
only to the UN General Assembly.