9 Syria currently hosts approximately 438,000 Palestinian refugees, not including the 120,000 who have left Syria since the start of the Syria crisis in 2011.The country counts nine official refugee camps for Palestinians, in addition to three unofficial camps. As part of the ongoing conflict, Palestinians have suffered from a depletion of resources, destruction of infrastructure, and limited livelihood opportunities. See “Where We Work - Syria,” UNRWA, https://www.unrwa. org/where-we-work/Syria, accessed May 22, 2020. 10 UNRWA Health Department Annual Report 2018 (UNRWA: Jerusalem, 2019), https://www. unrwa.org/sites/default/files/content/resources/anuual_report_2018_final_low-2.pdf; Jad Chaaban et al., Survey on the Socioeconomic Status of Palestine Refugees in Lebanon (Beirut: American University of Beirut and UNRWA, 2016), https://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/files/content/resources/survey_ on_the_economic_status_of_palestine_refugees_in_lebanon_2015.pdf; Insights Into the SocioEconomic Conditions of Palestinian Refugees in Jordan (UNRWA: Amman, 2013) Michael Lynk, UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967 on the situation in Gaza on 19 March 2020, https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/ DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25728&LangID=E; Health Conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, And in the Occupied Syrian Golan (Geneva: WHO, 2018), https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA71/A71_27-en. pdf. 11 See, e.g., Insights Into the Socio-Economic Conditions of Palestinian Refugees in Jordan (UNRWA: Amman, 2013), https://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/files/insights_into_the_socioeconomic_conditions_of_palestinian_refugees_in_jordan.pdf; and Alduraidi and Waters, “HealthRelated Quality of Life of Palestinian Refugees Inside and Outside Camps in Jordan;” Chaaban et al., Survey on the Socioeconomic Status of Palestine Refugees in Lebanon, 190. 12 94. See, e.g., Chaaban et al., Survey on the Socioeconomic Status of Palestine Refugees in Lebanon, 13 Ibid., 104. 14 UNRWA Health Department Annual Report 2018, 19-20; For more info, see Gloria Paolucci et. al, “Hospitalisation coverage by UNRWA in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, and the West Bank: a comparative snapshot analysis,” The Lancet 393, no. 38 (March 2019) 15 See, e.g., Chaaban et al., Survey on the Socioeconomic Status of Palestine Refugees in Lebanon, 96; Åge A. Tiltnes and Huafeng Zhang, Progress, challenges, diversity Insights into the socio-economic conditions of Palestinian refugees in Jordan (Oslo: Fafo, 2013), https://www.unrwa.org/sites/default/ files/insights_into_the_socio-economic_conditions_of_palestinian_refugees_in_jordan.pdf; Akiko Kitamura et al., “Health and dignity of Palestine refugees at stake: a need for international response to sustain crucial life services at UNRWA,” Health Policy 392, no. 10165 (December 2018): 27362744. 16 The international protection of Palestinian refugees is rooted in the mandate of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the now de facto inoperative United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine Refugees (UNCCP): both predate the establishment of UNHCR and the 1951 Refugee Convention. Over time, lacking a durable solution to the Palestinian refugees, UNRWA has strived to strengthen its protection functions so as to meet critical human rights needs of Palestinian refugees. The situation remains difficult and ways to strengthen such UNRWA’s function should be pursued. See Albanese and Takkenberng, Palestinian Refugees in International Law. However, and especially following the 2018 decision of the United States to cut funding to UNRWA, the Agency has faced increasing challenges to preserve the scope of its programmes and services, including its work in the area for protection. For more information see UNRWA Annual Operational Report 2018 (Amman: UNRWA, 2019), https://www. unrwa.org/resources/reports/annual-operational-report-2018. 13