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Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

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Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East A/74/13 United Nations Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East 1 January–31 December 2018 General Assembly Official Records Seventy-fourth Session Supplement No. 13 A/7 4 /13 General Assembly A/74/13 Official Records Seventy-fourth Session Supplement No. 13 Report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East 1 January–31 December 2018 United Nations • New York, 2019 Note Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. ISSN 0082-8386 [23 August 2019] Contents Page Letters of transmittal ............................................................ 4 Letter dated 23 August 2019 from the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East addressed to the President of the General Assembly .............................................................. 4 Letter dated 18 June 2019 from the Chair of the Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East addressed to the Commissioner-General of the Agency .............................................. 6 Chapter I. Contextual overview ............................................................ 9 A. Political, economic and security developments................................... 9 B. Operational and organizational developments .................................... 13 C. Legal matters .............................................................. 15 D. Financial overview ......................................................... 20 II. Subprogramme review ........................................................... 25 A. Subprogramme 1 ........................................................... 25 B. Subprogramme 2 ........................................................... 26 C. Subprogramme 3 ........................................................... 27 D. Subprogramme 4 ........................................................... 29 E. Subprogramme 5 ........................................................... 31 19-14419 3/32 Letters of transmittal Letter dated 23 August 2019 from the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East addressed to the President of the General Assembly In 2019, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) continues to face serious challenges on many fronts. A decision by the Agency’s largest bilateral donor to reduce its contribution by $300 million in 2018 confronted the Agency with an existential crisis. In response, the extraordinary mobilization of support by a broad range of donors brought a shortfall of $446 million down to zero by December 2018, allowing the Agency to preserve its operations throughout the year. We have called on UNRWA partners to provide the same level of financial contributions in 2019 in order to ensure a continuation of UNRWA essential services in support of a population of some 5.4 million Palestine refugees. For the Agency’s part, we are maintaining a regime of financial discipline that has resulted in cost savings of approximately $500 million over the past five years. This year, our partners and the Agency’s own internal measures will be needed to compensate for the additional loss of $60 million from the United States of America, effectively ending all United States funding to UNRWA in 2019. Owing to efforts by the Agency and its partners, UNRWA has been able to keep its schools open, its clinics staffed and its vital assistance to the most vulnerable refugees flowing. This has not been easy. Financial constraints test the limits of providing quality assistance, an inevitable consequence when we have 50 students per classroom and 100 patient visits daily per doctor. The operating environment for UNRWA programmes and activities is also extremely challenging across its five fields of operation. The socioeconomic conditions of refugees have deteriorated in most areas. In the Syrian Arab Republic, the situation remains precarious, with most Palestine refugees there, as well as Palestine refugees from the Syrian Arab Republic in Jordan and Lebanon, still relying on UNRWA for their most basic needs. In Gaza, tensions remain high, after several cycles of violence across the Gaza perimeter and more than a year of protests there, in which hundreds of Palestinians were killed and thousands wounded; 13 UNRWA students were killed and 284 wounded. The devastating economic situation leaves nearly 1 million refugees in Gaza dependent on UNRWA for food. In the West Bank, Israeli settlements continue to expand, coinciding with an increase in evictions and the demolition of homes of Palestinians. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have taken some steps that challenge UNRWA operations in East Jerusalem, following an announcement by the Jerusalem municipality of a plan to terminate UNRWA service provision there. I wish to express my profound appreciation to both host and donor Governments for their continued support for UNRWA and its mandate. UNRWA made significant strides in expanding and diversifying its donor base in 2018, with 42 countries becoming new donors or increasing their contributions. UNRWA now enjoys 27 multi-year agreements with donor countries, up from 22 in 2017, which increases the 4/32 19-14419 predictability of funding and aligns with Member State commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit. At the pledging conference held in New York on 26 June 2019, Member States generously pledged $110 million. UNRWA continues to pursue new sources of funding as well, including through its own digital campaigns seeking individual funding, and in collaboration with authorities in various countries that support Islamic giving. We welcome the important decision by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on 2 March 2019 to establish a waqf endowment fund on behalf of UNRWA at the Islamic Development Bank. Despite all of these efforts, the Agency’s financial shortfall as at the date of this letter stands at $151 million. It is imperative that the remaining shortfall be bridged as quickly as possible to enable us to sustain operations and continue implementing our mandate by addressing the dire situation on the ground. Given the difficulties that Palestine refugees face daily, it is no surprise that deep despair has taken hold in many quarters, with a dramatic increase in psychosocial trauma. Against this backdrop, in delivering essential assistance to these refugees, UNRWA addresses individual needs and provides a sense of hope and a foundation for a better future. This represents a significant contribution to stability in all five fields of operation. I recently announced that UNRWA schools in all five fields would open on time for the 2019/20 school year. The education we provide in over 700 schools represents in many ways the heart and soul of what UNRWA stands for: investing in human capital and development. Our students show determination every morning as they make their way to school, especially those having to cross checkpoints or living in areas of conflict or under occupation. In UNRWA schools, they acquire knowledge and skills and, just as importantly, they nurture dreams and pursue opportunities for healthy and productive lives. More than half a million girls and boys make the most of this precious opportunity to gain a quality education. It is the greatest investment that the international community can make in the future of a society. UNRWA was established to provide essential services to Palestine refugees, thereby protecting a vulnerable population and supporting their human development while they await a just and lasting solution to their plight. In the absence of such a solution, UNRWA contributes to regional stability, playing an indispensable humanitarian role that is recognized by the international community on whose support it continues to rely for the implementation of its mandate. (Signed) Pierre Krähenbühl Commissioner-General 19-14419 5/32 Letter dated 18 June 2019 from the Chair of the Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East addressed to the Commissioner-General of the Agency* At its regular session, held at the Dead Sea on 17 and 18 June 2019, the Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) considered your annual report on UNRWA activities and operations, covering the period from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018, to be submitted to the General Assembly at its forthcoming session. The Commission strongly commends UNRWA for its determined effort to fulfil its duties, in accordance with its mandate, to deliver necessary and essential services within its education, health, and relief and social services programmes for some 5.4 million currently registered Palestine refugees in the UNRWA fields of operation, despite the existential crisis faced in 2018. Palestine refugees affected by displacement and its consequences for more than 70 years continue to need the Agency’s steadfast assistance. The Commission reaffirms that the role played by UNRWA is vital until a just and lasting solution for the Palestine refugees is reached in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions (General Assembly resolutions
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