DFID's Support for Palestine Refugees Through UNRWA

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DFID's Support for Palestine Refugees Through UNRWA DFID’s Support for Palestine Refugees through UNRWA Report 27 – September 2013 Contents Executive Summary page 1 1 Introduction page 2 2 Findings page 8 Objectives page 8 Delivery page 11 Impact page 16 Learning page 20 3 Conclusions and Recommendations page 23 Annex page 26 Abbreviations page 35 The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) is the independent body responsible for scrutinising UK aid. We focus on maximising the effectiveness of the UK aid budget for intended beneficiaries and on delivering value for money for UK taxpayers. We carry out independent reviews of aid programmes and of issues affecting the delivery of UK aid. We publish transparent, impartial and objective reports to provide evidence and clear recommendations to support UK Government decision-making and to strengthen the accountability of the aid programme. Our reports are written to be accessible to a general readership and we use a simple ‘traffic light’ system to report our judgement on each programme or topic we review. Green: The programme performs well overall against ICAI’s criteria for effectiveness and value for G money. Some improvements are needed. Green-Amber: The programme performs relatively well overall against ICAI’s criteria for G A effectiveness and value for money. Improvements should be made. Amber-Red: The programme performs relatively poorly overall against ICAI’s criteria for A R effectiveness and value for money. Significant improvements should be made. Red: The programme performs poorly overall against ICAI’s criteria for effectiveness and value for R money. Immediate and major changes need to be made. Executive Summary The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) DFID is engaging well with UNRWA to attempt to was established in response to the refugee crisis caused address the financial shortfall but DFID now needs to by the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. promote greater clarity in UNRWA’s objectives and to UNRWA was mandated to provide humanitarian relief ensure that value for money becomes a top priority. and employment for Palestine refugees. Today, UNRWA Impact Assessment: Green-Amber provides support to 4.9 million refugees in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. The Department for DFID, through UNRWA, brings real benefits, notably in International Development (DFID) is UNRWA’s fourth the health and education sectors. The dedication of largest donor, contributing £173.2 million in the period UNRWA staff (mostly refugees) is instrumental in 2008-12. This review assesses the impact that DFID’s achieving these positive results, despite the challenges of support has on Palestine refugees and the effectiveness the environment in which they work. Overall, the services of DFID’s engagement with UNRWA. The review delivered by UNRWA help to ensure that the situation of focusses on UNRWA’s provision of health, education and the Palestine refugees does not add to regional social support to refugees in all locations, except Syria. instability. Poverty reduction programmes, however, delivered through cash and food transfers, now Overall Assessment: Green-Amber demonstrate only minimal impact. DFID’s support to UNRWA is an effective way of Learning Assessment: Green-Amber supporting both organisations’ twin aims of improving the human development outcomes of Palestine refugees and DFID has been central to the establishment and use of a of contributing to regional stability. UNRWA is delivering monitoring and evaluation function within UNRWA. DFID a good standard of basic public services in a challenging has also actively encouraged the use of lessons learnt environment. DFID is driving UNRWA to improve the from its Palestine programme but it has not done enough impact of its services. Until a regional political settlement to ensure the sharing of knowledge between UNRWA’s is reached, UNRWA’s role is central to ensuring that field offices. Overall, the level of co-operation between Palestine refugees can access basic services. There is, DFID and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was however, a real risk to the sustainability of this model, very impressive, although this was not consistent in all caused by the growing gap between demand for and locations. UNRWA has consistently applied international supply of UNRWA services. To ensure sustainability, best practice to the design of service reforms. At the critical decisions must be made urgently and the pace of operational level, however, UNRWA has encountered reform accelerated. At present, however, it is not clear obstacles in putting its learning into practice. whether UNRWA is in a position to do this. Unless Recommendations profound changes are made, the Green-Amber rating, Recommendation 1: DFID should carry out an urgent which is based on performance over the last five years, is assessment to determine the level and nature of support at risk of falling to a far lower level. UNRWA will require, to enable it to address effectively Objectives Assessment: Green-Amber the challenge of reform and the widening gap between DFID and UNRWA have shared objectives that are well the demand for and supply of UNRWA services. The articulated: improved human development and greater assessment should be conducted in close consultation regional stability. UNRWA’s objectives, however, need with UNRWA, other donors and host governments and greater clarity at the operational level. DFID has a strong authorities and provide a significant input into the and beneficial influence on UNRWA’s strategy and plays upcoming Medium Term Strategy process for 2016-21. a lead role in ensuring co-ordination of support to Recommendation 2: DFID should use its influential UNRWA. DFID has, however, allocated low levels of position to urge donors and hosts to provide unified technical assistance and staffing resources to UNRWA’s political, technical and operational support to drive reform programme, which may limit its role, as a leading UNRWA’s reform activities. DFID should provide donor, in promoting reform. substantive support to the implementation of reform in Delivery Assessment: Green-Amber the priority areas within UNRWA’s poverty alleviation, health and education programmes. DFID’s staff members engage well with UNRWA at the Recommendation 3: DFID should encourage UNRWA strategic level to promote efficiency, results and planning. to engage more actively and to communicate more UNRWA delivers basic services in an efficient manner in effectively with refugees as part of the reform process. comparison with other regional providers. UNRWA is, DFID should consider providing technical support in this however, increasingly unable to meet refugees’ area. demands. Ineffective communication about reform, moreover, has resulted in a failure to address the strong resistance to change amongst refugees and staff unions. 1 1 Introduction 1.1 This review assesses the effectiveness and value The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for money of the support given by the Department Since its inception, UNRWA has performed a vital and for International Development (DFID) to Palestine 1 central role, evolving to become a quasi-state body for refugees. The support is delivered through the Palestine refugees United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). UNRWA is a United Nations (UN) body, 1.4 As a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, more established in 1949 in the wake of the 1948 Arab- than 700,000 Palestine refugees fled into Israeli conflict in the Middle East to assist Palestine neighbouring countries and territories.3 In response refugees. This review examines the impact that to this humanitarian crisis, the international DFID’s support, through UNRWA, has had on the community passed a resolution in 1949, at the lives of Palestine refugees over the period 2008-13 United Nations General Assembly, to establish and it examines the effectiveness of DFID’s current UNRWA.4 In 1950, UNRWA began operations to engagement with UNRWA. Originally there were provide immediate humanitarian relief for Palestine 700,000 Palestine refugees. There are now 4.9 refugees and to provide them with work. million and the number continues to grow. The 1.5 UNRWA confers refugee status, not only on the review focusses on the core UNRWA services of original 1948 Palestine refugees, but also on their health, education and social support to refugees in descendants. This differs from the definition of a all locations in which UNRWA operates, except refugee, later adopted by the United Nations High Syria, where services have been disrupted by the Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and accepted present crisis. internationally for other refugee groups. As a 1.2 The UK Government, through DFID, makes consequence, of the approximately five million substantial contributions to UNRWA and has people now registered by UNRWA as Palestine consistently provided a high level of support.2 It is refugees, only a very small number (the remaining likely that UNRWA will continue to provide services original refugee caseload) would be refugees if the and protection to Palestine refugees and will UNHCR definition applied. The different definition continue to require support from the international acknowledges the unique nature of the Palestine community, including DFID, until the Middle East refugee situation and, in particular, the on-going Peace Process has resolved the political issues. Middle East Peace Process, where a solution for The recent resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace refugees is recognised as one of the
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