The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

Performance evidence

Overview

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is a United Nations organisation responsible for direct service provision to Palestine refugees, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA’s mission is enshrined in its temporary mandate that dates back to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 IV of 8 December 1949. The Agency began operations on 1 May 1950. UNRWA’s mandate is periodically extended for periods of three years, most recently until 2026. UNRWA’s comparative advantage is enshrined in its mandate.

UNRWA’s activities are focused on the direct delivery to eligible persons of basic education, primary health care, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, microfinance, protection and emergency assistance, including in situations of armed conflict. UNRWA does not have a mandate to administer refugee camps, nor to protect the physical security of Palestine refugees. On 31 December 2022, UNRWA had registered 6.65 million eligible persons, an increase of eight percent compared with 2018. Of these, 38 per cent are in Jordan, 26 per cent in the Gaza Strip, 17 per cent in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), 10 per cent in Syria, and 8 per cent in Lebanon. The differences in terms of number of eligible persons and their needs differs substantially between and within the five areas of operations. Of the 6.65 million eligible persons registered, approximately 2.5 million receive UNRWA assistance.

Performance rating summary

UNRWA organisational performance wheel 2024 — Organisational performance

Key findings

UNRWA’s unique and valuable contribution to regional and local stability.
The Agency’s proven ability to consistently deliver quality services to a growing number of eligible beneficiaries under increasingly difficult conditions.
Proven adaptive capacity to deliver services in worsening conditions (e.g., COVID-19).
Committed staff with robust contextual understanding.
Improvements during the assessment timeframe in several functional areas: evaluation and oversight; planning and reporting; and external outreach (to donors, UN).

Considering the value of developing a more tailored organisational structure, combined with greater delegation of authority to the field and strengthened accountability.
Improving/replacing UNRWA’s physical infrastructure and assets and bolstering digitalisation of work processes and systems, as outlined in the Capital Investment Plan.
Strengthening performance in cross cutting policy areas, including gender equality and environmental sustainability.
Matching capacity in vital back-office functions – which are essential for organisational effectiveness - with the ambitions and requirements of the Agency and its donors. This includes strengthening management and oversight, enterprise risk management, PSEAH, ethics, evaluation and human resource management.
Continue to strengthen organisational culture to support effective service delivery in areas including communication, performance monitoring, use of needs assessments, resource mobilisation scenario planning and a culture of learning and adapting.