Context:
Why have Western countries paused its funding amid Gaza war for UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA):
- Founded in 1949 under United Nations Programme.
- Subsidiary programme of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
- Objective – To provide aid to Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes during wars.
- Headquarters – Amman, Jordan and Gaza, Palestinian Authority
- Operational areas – Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan — countries where the refugees took shelter after their expulsion.
- Areas of assistance – education, health, relief and social services, microfinance and emergency assistance
- Funding –
- Almost entirely by voluntary contributions by donor states like the US.
- Gets a limited subsidy from the UN, which is used only for administrative costs.
- Beneficiaries – around 5.9 million Palestine refugees among them most are descendants of original refugees accessing the agency’s services.
The Report from Associated Press stated that in Gaza, where some 85% of the enclave’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes after the latest Israel-Hamas conflict, over 1 million are sheltering in UNRWA schools and other facilities.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
- Main policy-making organ of the Organization.
- Comprising all Member States
- Objective – a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter of the United Nations.
- Each of the 193 Member States of the United Nations has an equal vote.
- Makes key decisions for the UN, including:
- Appointing the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council
- Electing the non-permanent members of the Security Council
- Approving the UN budget
- Meets in regular sessions from September to December each year, and thereafter as required.
- Sitting arrangements in the General Assembly Hall change for each session.
- During the 78th Session (2023-2024), North Macedonia will occupy the first seat in the Hall, including in the Main Committees (followed by all the other countries, in English alphabetical order).
Read more about: United Nation Security Council (UNSC)
Source: Indian Express
Previous Year Question
‘Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres)’, often in the news, is
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Prelims]
(a) a division of World Health Organization
(b) a non-governmental international organization
(c) an inter-governmental agency sponsored by European Union
(d) a specialized agency of the United Nations
Answer: (b)
