UNRWA — UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
Established by UN General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) in December 1949, UNRWA provides education, health care, and relief to millions of registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and Gaza.
UNRWA — the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East — was established by UN General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 and began operations in 1950, following the displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians in 1948. Its mandate has been renewed by the General Assembly ever since.
UNRWA provides education, health care, relief and social services, and emergency aid to nearly six million registered Palestine refugees across five fields of operation: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. It runs one of the largest school systems in the Middle East and is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
Why it matters
- The principal UN body serving Palestine refugees, and the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza.
- Its schools and clinics have served generations of refugees pending a just and durable solution to their plight.
- Its registration records form a unique documentary archive of Palestinian displacement since 1948.
Key resources
Cited work
The summary above is written by FALASTEEN.AI. The document itself is published by UNRWA and is linked here in full.