Attachments
1. Overview of current mandate, status and funding
1.1. Background and mandate
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established by a resolution of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 8 December 19491 and began its operations on 1 May 1950. The Agency is mandated to provide assistance to Palestine refugees who are registered with UNRWA and reside within its areas of operation: the Gaza Strip, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.2 As per its mandate, UNRWA provides humanitarian assistance and contributes to the protection of Palestine refugees by delivering essential services, mainly in the areas of basic education, primary health care, relief and social services, microcredit, and emergency assistance, including in situations of armed conflict.
The designation of ‘Palestine refugees’ assisted by UNRWA is based on a definition adopted in 1952, which refers to persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine between 1 June 1946 and 15 May 1948 and who lost both their home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict, as well as their descendants through the male line.
In addition to this group, the UN General Assembly has mandated UNRWA to provide services on an emergency and temporary basis to other persons within its fields of operation who require humanitarian assistance. This includes individuals currently displaced and in urgent need of continued support due to the 1967 conflict and subsequent hostilities. These persons are not registered as Palestine refugees.
Any changes to UNRWA’s mandate, to the definition of Palestine refugees, or the categories of persons the Agency is mandated to serve can only be made by the UN General Assembly.7 On 5 December 2025, UNGA extended UNRWA’s mandate until 30 June 2029.