United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)

Objectives

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established by General Assembly resolution No 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949 with a mandate to provide assistance to a population of 4.5 million Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza, pending a solution to the refugee issue.  In Syria, UNRWA caters to more than 450,000 Palestine refugees, providing them with education, health care, social support and microfinance opportunities.

UNRWA FUNDING:

UNRWA operations are financed almost entirely by voluntary contributions from governments. The Syria Field regular budget supporting the ongoing education, health and relief, social services activities stands at US$ 34,878 million for 2008.  The 2008 budget for special projects assistance stands at US$ 7.6 million.

PROGRAMMES:

EDUCATION:

119 double-shift schools provide nine years of basic education to over 66,000 Palestine refugee boys and girls and follow the national curriculum of the Syrian Ministry of Education. UNRWA also runs a vocational training centre in Damascus, which prepares young refugees for employment by equipping them with marketable skills.

HEALTH:

23 health centres provide primary health care including preventive care, family planning, and mother and child health care.

RELIEF & SOCIAL SERVICES:

The Agency provides support to the poorest refugee families to ensure that they have access to a minimum standard of shelter and nutrition.  The Agency also develops projects which encourage refugee self-reliance and economic initiative particularly among women, refugees with disabilities, and children.

MICROFINANCE & MICROENTERPRISE:

Since its establishment in Syria in 2003, the microfinance programme has provided micro-entrepreneurs with nearly 13,000 loans valued at more than US$ 9 million

SPECIAL PROJECTS

KHAN DANNOUN/KHAN ESHIEH WATER and SEWAGE PROJECT

Through a grant from the European Commission, UNRWA will provide new water distribution, wastewater collection systems, and paved roads in two refugee camps.  The project is linked to a large government regional water supply improvement scheme.

NEIRAB REHABILITATION PROJECT

The Neirab Rehabilitation Project, which relies on extensive community participation, is a pilot project to improve living conditions and foster human development in the Neirab Camp near Aleppo, the most congested of the refugee camps in  Syria. The NRP involves moving people out of dilapidated World II army barracks, and redesigning the old section of the camp to provide residents with adequate housing and shared spaces.

EC Employment and Education Project  

With funds from the European Commission, UNRWA is implementing a four-year project to increase the economic empowerment of Palestine refugees in Syria through vocational education and career guidance.  The project has improved the capacity of the Damascus Training Centre and has established job centres in five Palestine refugee camps.

UNRWA SYRIA PARTNERS:

Government Partner: The General Authority for Palestinian Arab Refugees (GAPAR).
UN Partners: UNICEF, UNHCR, WHO.
Overseas Partners: The Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA), the Australian Volunteers International (AVI).

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees
Mezzeh Autostrade/Beirut road intersection UN Compound (opposite old airport) Damascus, Syria Telephone: + 963 11 6133035/45 Mobile: +963 94 0888 103 Fax: +963 11 6133047 E-mail: h.mukhles@unrwa.org