Back to Contents relief agency, the United Nations Relief for Palestinian Refugees (UNRPR) [...] This was followed by UN Resolution 194, which resolved that ‘refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date’ and created the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP) ‘to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and payment of compensation’ [...] The temporary relief agency was replaced in 1949 by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) [...] The function of this new body was to carry out ‘direct relief and works programmes’ in order to ‘prevent conditions of starvation and distress … and to further conditions of peace and stability’. UNCCP remained responsible for achieving what is now commonly referred to as a ‘durable solution’ for the refugees. But it became increasingly clear that repatriation was not going to happen and funding for UNCCP was eventually terminated.” (Source: Colin Yeo, “Refugee Law”, 26 April 2022, chapter 6, p. 194) In this letter dated 22 September 2021 addressed to UNHCR, UNRWA described the UNRWA mandate and services: “[…] UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) was established on 8 December 1949 by resolution 302 (IV) of the United Nations General Assembly to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestine refugees following their displacement and dispossession as a result of the 1948 ArabIsraeli conflict. In the absence of a just and durable solution to their plight, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA’s mandate, most recently by resolution 74/83 “Assistance to Palestine refugees” of 13 December 2019 extending it until June 2023. While UNRWA’s mandate focuses on Palestine refugees, it also extends to other persons of concern to UNRWA who are ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER WITH THE Agency for the receipt of services as per the Agency regulatory framework and eligibility criteria contained in the UNRWA Consolidated Eligibility and Registration Instructions (“CERI”) of 2009, including, among others, “non-registered persons displaced as a result of the 1967 and subsequent hostilities’’. Today, approximately 5.7 million women, children and men are registered with the Agency as Palestine refugees. A further approximately 700,000 persons are also registered with the Agency as eligible to receive services only. UNRWA’s field operations are Jordan, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza. The Agency does not have a mandate to operate outside of its five fields, and therefore, other than maintaining regional representative offices, does not have offices anywhere else. UNRWA pursues its mission within its five fields of operations through the provision of humanitarian assistance and mandated services. UNRWA mandate services are concerned with: • • • • • Basic education, Primary health care, Relief and social services, Infrastructure and camp improvement, and microcredit, and, Emergency assistance, including in situations of armed conflict. UNRWA basic education and primary health services are available on a principle of universality, whilst eligible criteria are applied to other types of assistance, including vocational and technical training, hospitalisation, social safety net programmes, and emergency relief. […] The Agency contributes to the protection of Palestine refugees both through its service delivery and by advocating for their rights with relevant stakeholders. UNRWA does not have a mandate to seek durable solutions for Palestine refugees. UNRWA does not manage refugee camps and is not responsible for protecting the physical safety or security of Palestine refugees or maintaining law and order in UNRWA’s five fields of operations. The Agency cannot guarantee any individual’s physical security. Ensuring the physical security of Palestine refugees residing in any of UNRWA’s five fields is the responsibility of the respective host state or authority. […] Registrations with UNRWA based on the CERI criteria does not confer any legal status, nor does it operate as a form of personal identification, proof of nationality or lack thereof. […] Operating within a resource-constrained environment, and reliant on voluntary funding, UNRWA allocates its limited resources among the services provided to Palestine refugees, prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable. The level of services that UNRWA is able to provide depends on the Agency’s funding situation, which is largely dependent on voluntary contributions by States, and may not correspond to the needs of Palestine refugees. The Agency’s funding 2. History of UNRWA and its mandate 25