United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
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What is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)?
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was created in 1949 by the UN General Assembly to provide aid to Palestinians who lost their homes and livelihoods during the Arab-Israeli wars following the creation of Israel in 1948.
Beginning in 1950, UNRWA provides services in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. These include camps, food, schools and vocational training, and health clinics. Originally, 500,000 Palestinians qualified for aid, but by the early 2020s, there were almost six million registered Palestinian refugees. Financed by voluntary contributions from member governments, UNRWA was initially designed as a temporary agency, but its mandate is renewed every three years.
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Why was UNRWA created?
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was created in December 1949 by the UN General Assembly to aid Palestinian refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods during the Arab-Israeli wars following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
Beginning operations in 1950, UNRWA was originally headquartered in Beirut but was moved to Vienna in 1978. Following the conclusion of the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s, the General Assembly moved the agency to the Gaza Strip in 1996 to demonstrate the General Assembly’s commitment to the Arab-Israeli peace process.
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Who does UNRWA help?
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was created in 1949 by the UN General Assembly to provide aid to Palestinian refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods during the Arab-Israeli wars following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
Initially, around 500,000 Palestinians qualified for aid. By the early 2020s, this number had grown to almost six million registered Palestinian refugees, including descendants of the original refugees. UNRWA provides essential services such as camps, food, clothing, schools, vocational training, and health clinics. These services are available in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
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What kinds of services does UNRWA provide?
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was formed in 1949 to aid Palestinians who lost their homes and livelihoods during the Arab-Israeli wars. The UN agency started operations in 1950 and offers services in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.
UNRWA provides education, health care, and relief services, including camps, vocational training, schools, health clinics, food, and clothing. In 1951, UNRWA ran elementary and secondary schools in the camps that taught over 40,000 students.
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Where does UNRWA operate?
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) operates in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Established in 1949, it provides essential services such as camps, food, education, and healthcare. Originally designed as a temporary agency, UNRWA's mandate is continuously renewed by the General Assembly.
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How has UNRWA’s role changed over time?
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was created in 1949 to provide aid to Palestinians who lost their homes and livelihoods during the Arab-Israeli wars.
Initially intended as a temporary agency, UNRWA's mandate has been renewed continuously. Starting in 1950, it offered relief, health, and education services. Originally serving around 500,000 Palestinians, by the early 2020s, it was supporting almost six million registered Palestinian refugees, including descendants of the original refugees.
In recent years, UNRWA has faced scrutiny over alleged corruption and neutrality issues. Allegations surfaced in 2024 regarding staff involvement in attacks on Israel, leading to funding pauses from member states. An independent UN review acknowledged the need for enhanced neutrality and accountability.
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United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), subsidiary agency created by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1949 to provide relief, health, and education services for Palestinians who lost both their homes and their means of livelihood during the Arab-Israeli wars following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Beginning operations in 1950, UNRWA was originally headquartered in Beirut but was moved to Vienna in 1978. Following the conclusion of the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s, the General Assembly moved the agency to the Gaza Strip in 1996 to demonstrate the General Assembly’s commitment to the Arab-Israeli peace process. UNRWA’s member states are Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey (Türkiye), the United Kingdom, the United States, and several Arab states; the Palestinian Authority (PA) has observer status.
Approximately 500,000 Palestinians originally qualified for relief, but by the early 2020s there were almost six million registered Palestinian refugees, including the descendants of the original refugees. As the largest UN operation in the Middle East and one of the biggest employers in the region—with service operations in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip—UNRWA provides camps, food, clothing, schools, vocational training, and health clinics, often working in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
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UNRWA is financed by voluntary contributions of member governments. Like its predecessor organization, the UN Relief for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA was originally designed as a temporary agency, though its mandate has been continuously renewed every three years by the General Assembly. 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.
In the 21st century UNRWA came under scrutiny over claims of corruption and insufficient oversight over the neutrality of its operations. In January 2024, during the Israel-Hamas War, Israel said that 12 UNRWA staff members had taken part in the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and that almost 200 others were operatives of Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The allegations prompted 16 member states to pause funding for the agency. A review of UNRWA by independent UN investigators, released in April, concluded that the agency had “a more developed approach to neutrality than other similar UN or NGO entities” and that Israel had not expressed concerns about any UNRWA staff members on lists that UNRWA had provided Israel annually between 2012 and 2023. The report nevertheless recommended that the agency do more to strengthen trust with donor states, “assume more accountability for staff neutrality” regarding employees’ public expression of their personal political views, and set strict standards on the content allowed in host-country textbooks used in UNRWA-funded schools. In October, despite growing international controversy over Israel’s strict constraints on aid entering the war-devastated Gaza Strip, the Israeli Knesset voted to designate UNRWA a terrorist organization and ban it from operating in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, effective in early 2025.