Page "United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East" Paragraph 0

Created in December 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East ( UNRWA ) is a relief and human development agency, originally intended to provide jobs on public works projects and direct relief for 652, 000 Arabs who fled from Israel during the fighting that followed the end of the British mandate over Palestine.

Today it provides education, health care, social services and emergency aid to 5 million Palestinian refugees from the 1948 and 1967 wars and their descendents.

The agency provides aid to the refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as those in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

It is the only agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region or conflict.

It is separate from UNHCR, ( 1950 ), the UN Refugee Agency, which is the only other UN agency aiding refugees, dedicated to aiding all refugees in the world.