United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

Introduction to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), organization created in 1949 by the United Nations (UN) to serve the nutrition, health, and education needs of Palestinians displaced by the Israeli-Arab War of 1948-1949 (see Palestine). Established as a temporary agency, the UNRWA acquired semipermanent status as the state of Israel grew and prospered and Arab nations refused to grant permanent status to Palestinian refugees living within their borders. The UNRWA does not limit its work to Palestinians exiled in refugee camps, but extends assistance to Palestinians and their descendants worldwide.

The role of the UNRWA has broadened following every crisis in the Middle East. After the Seven-Day War between Israel and Arab nations in 1967, it served a greater range and number of displaced persons throughout the region. Two decades later, during the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza territories, the UNRWA became more involved in the lives of Palestinians living in these territories, as the distinction between refugees and nonrefugees blurred.

The UNRWA focuses on providing education and training opportunities to Palestinians. The goal of its efforts is to create a more self-sufficient population, capable of sustaining itself either in the Middle East or elsewhere. With technical assistance from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the agency oversees more than 600 elementary and preparatory schools for more than 400,000 refugee children. The UNRWA also runs vocational schools, technical training centers and teacher training programs, as well as health clinics and centers, rehabilitation centers, and women’s social service centers.

The UNRWA has more than 20,000 employees, almost all of them Palestinian. A $100 million Peace Implementation Program, established in the wake of the Arab-Israeli peace accords in 1993, awards grants and loans to emerging small businesses in the region. This program has become an integral part of the UNRWA’s mission to help Palestinians become more self-reliant as they move toward self-rule.

The greatest challenge facing the UNRWA is preparation for its own dissolution. After nearly 50 years of “temporary” existence, UNRWA officials recognize the need to begin the process of shifting responsibility for the functions the agency has typically performed, to the fledgling Palestinian government.” (1)

Resources

See Also

• International Organization
• Foreign Relations
• Organization
• United Nations
• United Nations System

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

UNRWA – United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

Further Reading

• A concise encyclopedia of the United Nations (including United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, H Volger, KA Annan -2010)
• The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations (TG Weiss – 2007)
• International Law: A Dictionary (including United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Boczek, Boleslaw Adam -2005)