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New York: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has renewed his full commitment to defending the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), stressing the importance of its fundamental role in support of Palestinian refugees.
Guterres, through his Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, renewed his call for UNRWA's vital work to be fully funded.
UNRWA recently warned that about 1.98 million people in the Gaza Strip, representing 94 percent of its population, need urgent assistance to secure shelter and non-food items.
In 1949, the UN General Assembly established UNRWA and mandated it to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestinian refugees pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA operates in the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
UNRWA helps Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, infrastructure and camp improvement, and microfinance, in addition to emergency assistance.
