UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES (UNRWA)

About:

• Establishment:
  • It was established in 1949, following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.
    
    
  • In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2020.
    
    
  
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Services: It provides education, health care, and social services to the population it supports.
  
  
• Regions covered:
  • Aid is provided in five areas of operation: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem;
    
    
  • Aid for Palestinian refugees outside these five areas is provided by UNHCR.
    
    
  
  
  
• Funding: 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.
  
  

UNRWA vs UNHCR:

UNRWA is separate from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the main UN refugee agency, which was created in 1950.

• Region covered:
  • UNRWA is the only UN agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region.
    
    
  • UNHCR is responsible for aiding other refugees all over the world.
    
    
  
  
  
• Refugee status:
  • UNRWA allows refugee status to be inherited by some descendants.
    
    
  • UNHCR has a specific mandate to aid its refugees to eliminate their refugee status by local integration in current country, resettlement in a third country or repatriation.