UNRWA
UNRWA logo
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| Abbreviation | UNRWA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 8 December 1949 |
| Purpose | Humanitarian |
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Region served
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West Asia |
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Commissioner-General
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Pierre Krähenbühl |
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Parent organization
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United Nations |
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Budget
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US$1.93 billion (2010–2011) |
| Website | www.unrwa.org |
Created in December 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a relief and human development agency, originally intended to provide jobs on public works projects and direct relief for 652,000 Arab Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the fighting that followed the termination of the British mandate over the region of Palestine.
It also provided relief to Jewish and Arab Palestine refugees inside the state of Israel following the 1948 conflict until the Israeli government took over responsibility for Jewish refugees in 1952. 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 2017.
Today, UNRWA provides education, health care, and social services to the 5 million registered Palestine refugees from the 1948 and 1967 wars, a number which includes all their descendants. Aid is provided to Palestinian refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as those in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
UNRWA is the only agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region or conflict and is separate from UNHCR. Formed in 1950, UNHCR is the main UN refugee agency, which is responsible for aiding other refugees all over the world. Unlike UNRWA, 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 when possible. UNRWA allows refugee status to be inherited by descendants.
Main articles
1948 Palestinian exodus
1947–48 civil war
1948 Arab–Israeli War
1948 Palestine war
Causes of the exodus
Nakba Day
Palestinian refugee
Palestine refugee camps
Palestinian right of return
Palestinian return to Israel
Present absentee
Transfer Committee
Resolution 194
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Wikipedia