The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the Nakba,the 1948 Palestine War,and subsequent conflicts,as well as their descendants,including legally adopted children. As of 2019,more than 5.6 million Palestinians are registered with UNRWA as refugees.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations related organization working in the field of migration. The organization implements operational assistance programmes for migrants,including internally displaced persons,refugees,and migrant workers.
Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine,and their descendants,who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–1949 Palestine war and the Six-Day War. Most Palestinian refugees live in or near 68 Palestinian refugee camps across Jordan,Lebanon,Syria,the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 2019 more than 5.6 million Palestinian refugees were registered with the United Nations.
An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees,although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.
Peter Hansen,a Danish national,was commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from 1996 to 2005.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG),previously the United Nations Development Group (UNDG),is a consortium of 36 United Nations funds,programmes,specialized agencies,departments and offices that play a role in development. It was created by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in order to improve the effectiveness of United Nations development activities at the country level.
Issues relating to the State of Palestine and aspects of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict occupy continuous debates,resolutions,and resources at the United Nations. Since its founding in 1948,the United Nations Security Council,as of January 2010,has adopted 79 resolutions directly related to the Arab–Israeli conflict.
John Ging,an Irish national,was appointed as Director of the Operational Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York in February 2011. He oversaw the management of all OCHA field operations worldwide. On behalf of the Emergency Relief Coordinator,he was the day-to-day focal point for supporting Humanitarian Coordinators. Ging was also the lead adviser to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs on operational decision-making.
There are multiple humanitarian,medical,economic,and industrial effects of the 2008–2009 Gaza War which started with the Israeli air strikes on 27 December 2008 and ended on 18 January with a cease-fire implemented unilaterally by Israel,and later the same day by Hamas and other Palestinian factions. The cease-fire followed twenty-two days of bombardment by land,sea and air which left over 1,300 Palestinians dead and over 5,000 injured,and the death of 13 Israelis. The United Nations Development Programme warned that there will be long-term consequences of the attacks on Gaza because the livelihoods and assets of tens of thousands of Gaza civilians have been affected.
Ross Stewart Mountain has spent most of his career in the service of the United Nations working on humanitarian,recovery,development and peacekeeping operations in Asia,Africa,the Middle East,the Caribbean,and the Pacific as well as assignments based in Geneva,Switzerland promoting non-governmental action and managing UN humanitarian operations.
Filippo Grandi is an Italian diplomat and United Nations official,currently serving as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He previously served as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan.
Bo Schack is a Danish lawyer. On 5 January 2010 he was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General in the Central African Republic. This appointment is in addition to the nominations in October 2009 as the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator,as well as UNDP Resident Representative in the country. Since 1985 he has been working for United Nations primarily in the humanitarian field.
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is an inter-agency forum of United Nations and non-UN humanitarian partners founded in 1991 to strengthen humanitarian assistance. The overall objective of the IASC is to improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected populations. The Committee was established following UN General Assembly Resolution 46/182 and resolution 48/57 confirmed that it should be the primary method for inter-agency coordination. The committee is chaired by the Emergency Relief Coordinator.
Sir Charles James Petrie,6th Baronet,OBE is a United Nations diplomat. A former investment banker and management consultant,he then worked for the United Nations,before going independent.
Michael Keating is the executive director of the European Institute of Peace,an independent conflict resolution organisation based in Brussels,with activities in fifteen countries in Africa,the Middle East,Eastern Europe,Central Asia,and Latin America. He was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM),from January 2016 until September 2018.
Marta Ruedas is a United Nations civil servant who has worked in many countries around the world,initially with the United Nations Development Programme,including Bolivia,Kyrgyzstan,the Republic of Georgia,Nepal,Mongolia and Mexico,as well as at its headquarters in New York. The organization assists countries in reaching their targets in economic and social development. In 2015 she was the Country Director of the UNDP in Kabul,Afghanistan.
Ugochi (Ugo) Daniels is the IOM's Deputy Director General of Operations,taking office on September 1,2021.
Anita Kiki Gbeho is a Ghanaian United Nations official who is the Deputy Special Representative in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and Resident Coordinator in South Sudan since 8 December 2023.
In early 2024,Israel made a series of allegations against United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),including that a number of its Gaza Strip staff had participated in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel,and that hundreds of them were members of militant groups. The allegations led to aid cuts to the organization,most of which were later reversed with the exception of the United States,the organization's largest donor,after inquiries found the membership claims to be unsubstantiated. The claims of participation in the attacks are being investigated,some already dismissed for lack of evidence. UNRWA,which for decades had faced Israeli allegations surrounding its neutrality,is the largest relief organization in the Gaza Strip that is undergoing a humanitarian crisis during the Israel-Hamas war.
