12 . MOPAN 2017-18 ASSESSMENTS . UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1. STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT This report has three chapters and three annexes. Chapter 1 introduces the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the MOPAN 3.0 assessment process. Chapter 2 presents the main findings of the assessment in relation to each performance area. Chapter 3 provides the conclusions of the assessment. Annex 1 summarises the evidence gathered against each indicator with the detailed scores. Annex 2 lists the documents used for the analysis. Finally, Annex 3 provides an overview of the results of MOPAN’s partner survey. 1.2. UNRWA AT A GLANCE Mission and mandate: UNRWA was established by United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestine refugees. Although created as a temporary agency, UNRWA has been operational for 68 years and the UN General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA’s mandate (on three-year terms), most recently extending its mandate until 30 June 2020. UNRWA is mandated to provide protection and assistance through the delivery of relief, human development and protection services to Palestine refugees registered with the Agency and to other persons eligible to receive UNRWA services, including persons displaced by the 1967 hostilities, in its five fields of operations (the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank including East Jerusalem). UNRWA is unique among UN agencies in that it delivers the vast majority of its services directly to refugees. The UN General Assembly has expressed “special commendation to the Agency for the essential role that it has played for almost seven decades since its establishment in providing vital services for the well-being, human development and protection of the Palestine refugees and the amelioration of their plight and for the stability of the region, and affirms the necessity for continuing the work of the Agency and its unimpeded operation and provision of services, pending the just resolution of the question of the Palestine refugees”.2 Governance: The UNRWA Commissioner-General has an externally focused role and is supported by the Deputy Commissioner-General, an internally focused role. The current Commissioner-General has served since March 2014. The Advisory Commission (AdCom), created in 1949, is tasked with advising and assisting the Commissioner-General in carrying out the Agency’s mandate. UNRWA does not have an executive board. The AdCom is currently comprised of 28 Members, including donor and host government representatives, and 3 Observers and meets twice a year to discuss issues of importance to UNRWA. Members and Observers meet more frequently through the Sub-Committee of the Advisory Commission, whose role includes assisting the AdCom in providing guidance and advice to the Commissioner-General. The AdCom is supported by the Advisory Commission Secretariat, which is responsible for maintaining an effective relationship between the Advisory Commission and the Agency. Organisational structure: UNRWA is one of the largest UN agencies, with more than 28 000 staff. The majority of its staff are Palestine refugees; the Agency also has 158 international staff positions funded from assessed contributions and an additional, small number of international staff funded under emergency appeals and projects or provided as complementary personnel. The staff work across the Agency’s five fields of operations. UNRWA headquarters are located in Amman, Gaza and East Jerusalem; representative offices are located in New York; Washington, DC; and Brussels, with a liaison office in Cairo. 2. UN General Assembly Resolution A/73/94, adopted 7 December 7, 2018. See https://www.un.org/unispal/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/A-RES-73-94.pdf..