and works programs” to Palestinian refugees.365 The Agency has never been underpinned by a specific statute; its mandate derives instead from relevant UNGA and UNSC resolutions and requests addressed to it. Consequently, its mandate is characterized by several ambiguities. UNRWA provides assistance only to registered “Palestine refugees” (and their descendants) that fall under the Agency’s definition, that is: “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948conflict”.366 In order to be eligible to receive UNRWA’s services, refugees need to be present in one of its five geographical areas of operation, namely Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and must be in need of assistance. To date, UNRWA provides services to registered Palestinian refugees through five main programs: education, health, relief and social services, microfinance, and emergency assistance. It also provides refugee camps with infrastructure and basic improvements and carries out specific emergency response programs where necessary (as in the case of Palestinian refugees displaced by the Syrian conflict, or those in the Gaza Strip). All projects are funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States. UNRWA maintains the only existing database of 1948 Palestinian refugees and issues them registration cards. UNRWA’s database is unsystematic and statistically incomplete, in that it excludes Palestinian refugees that fall outside the Agency’s definition, it nevertheless includes invaluable information about 5.7 million refugees and their families. It is important to note that UNRWA’s mandate was originally intended to be short-term.367 However, it has been repeatedly renewed every three years and has been expanded slightly over the years to include legal protections, although these are very limited and specific. During the first six years of its operation, UNRWA initiated programs aimed at reintegrating refugees into the economic life of the region through resettlement, following the recommendations of the UNCCP’s Economic Survey Mission, and on account of the political influence of UNRWA’s main donors, who favored such an approach368 However, due to strained financial resources and strong opposition of Arab states and refugees to resettlement, the project was soon abandoned. In 1959, the UN Secretary-General 365 UNGA Res 302 (IV) (n 318). UNRWA, Palestine Refugees (n 205). Additionally, there are unregistered groups entitled to receive UNRWA’s humanitarian assistance such as persons displaced as a result of 1967 hostilities. See UNGA Res 2252 (ES-V) (n 205). 367 UNGA Res 302 (IV) (n 318), art 6. 368 UNRWA, ‘Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East’ (30 June 1951) UN Doc A/1905; see also Jaber Suleiman, ‘The Ongoing UNRWA Crisis: Context, Dimensions, Prospects and Responses’ (2018) 6 Policy Dialogue Series – Lebanese Palestinian Relations, 8-9 [hereinafter Suleiman, The Ongoing UNRWA Crisis] <http://www.badil.org/phocadownloadpap/badil-new/ resources/docs/individuals/unrwa-crisis-lebanon-en.pdf> accessed 3 October 2022. 366 78