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In Lebanon, UNRWA is vital for a majority of Palestinian refugees
Since 1948, Lebanon has welcomed hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees spread across twelve camps throughout the territory. Some 490,000 people are registered in the registers of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees, Unrwa, but the real figure is believed to be lower given that deaths and permanent departures abroad are not reported. The UN agency estimates their number at 250,000 to which must be added more than 30,000 Palestinians who have fled Syria. In Lebanon, more than in other host countries, a large majority of Palestinian refugees depend on UNRWA for their survival.
In the courtyard of an Unrwa school in the port city of Sidon, southern Lebanon, in September 2023. AP - Mohammad Zaatari
By: Paul Khalifeh Follow
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From our correspondent in Beirut
This particular situation is due to the protectionist, even discriminatory, laws adopted by the Lebanese authorities in matters of employment. For more than seven decades, the labor market was hermetically closed to Palestinian refugees who were not allowed to practice more than 70 professions. These measures were dictated by the fear of a permanent settlement of the Palestinians, the majority of whom are Muslims, in a country where confessional balances are almost obsessive.
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Restrictions on Palestinian employment were, however, eased in 2021. The Minister of Labor issued a decree that year allowing Palestinians to work in union-organized professions, such as medicine, law, trades engineering and tourism-related jobs. But most professional orders have still not modified their statutes to be able to accommodate non-Lebanese. Furthermore, the minister's decision has not been transformed into law, meaning that Palestinian work remains precarious.
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Unrwa meets a significant part of vital needs
These harsh provisions explain the high level of unemployment and the poverty rate which reaches 80% among Palestinian refugees. UNRWA therefore meets a significant part of the vital needs of this population, particularly in terms of education, health and the fight against poverty. Unwra operates 27 medical centers which provide nearly a million consultations per year. The UN Agency also administers 64 schools which welcome 40,000 students from the fourth generation of refugees. Unrwa also provides financial aid worth tens of millions of dollars to thousands of families and takes care of the maintenance and rehabilitation of certain infrastructure in the camps, such as alleys and water supply.
The creation of UNRWA and its main missions
UNRWA was created at the end of December 1949 by the UN General Assembly after the first Arab-Israeli conflict which broke out following the creation of Israel in May 1948. Its mandate is to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees registered in the agency's area of operations,
"pending a just and lasting solution to their situation".
More than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled their lands between April and August 1948 at the time of Israel's creation, according to the UN. These people, as well as their descendants, have the status of refugees. UNRWA becomes the sole guarantor by default of their international status and intervenes in the Palestinian territories, but also in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Some 5.9 million Palestinians are registered with the agency and can benefit from services that include education, health care, social services, camps, as well as emergency assistance, including during of armed conflict. More than 540,000 children study in UNRWA schools. There are a total of around sixty refugee camps managed by the UN agency, including nineteen in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
In the Gaza Strip, where Hamas took power in 2007, the humanitarian situation was already critical before the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement. According to UN data dating from August 2023, 63% of residents then suffered from food insecurity and depended on international aid and more than 80% lived below the poverty line. Of the 30,000 people employed by the agency, 13,000 work in the Gaza Strip, spread across more than 300 facilities across an area of 365 square kilometers, according to the organization's website.
The UN agency is financed largely by voluntary contributions from States. In 2022, for example, funds from the UN regular budget and contributions from other UN entities amounted to $44.6 million. The top five donors are the United States, Germany, the European Union, Sweden and Norway.
The UNRWA camps. © RFI
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