La UNRWA en Gaza y Cisjordania. 70 años de estrategias de humanitarismo y desarrollo para los refugiados de Palestina

Abstract

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 and it began operations in May 1950. For 70 years UNRWA has carried out programmes and actions ranging from an initial focus on relief and public works to a strategy of human development and human rights protection in its five areas of operation: Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. This article describes —based on an analysis of UNRWA reports and files— the evolution of the Agency's relief, social services and emergency programmes in Gaza and the West Bank from its inception to the present day. The paper also analyses how the Agency has responded to the challenges and threats derived from the Israel-Palestine conflict, with the aim of understanding –from a historical perspective– how, despite the continuous tensions to which it is subject, the Agency has become an essential instrument of the international community’s efforts in the areas of relief, development and the protection of the Palestinian population.