By year’s end, said Peter Hansen at a 17 September 2001 Center luncheon, more than half of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza will live below the “poverty threshold.” Hansen, Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), added that the Palestinian refugee population—a group that faces some of the worst economic difficulties—is growing by 3.5 percent each year. Thus, this problem “is growing with demographic predictability.”

Hansen explained that UNRWA’s financial constraints limit the assistance it can provide to the nearly 4 million Palestinian refugees it serves. For example, in the 1970s, UNRWA had $200 to spend per year per refugee. Now, UNRWA has less than $70 per year per refugee. Despite their restrictions, Hansen contended, “Our services are very important for refugees” not only because of the agency’s concrete assistance, but UNRWA also provides an international “symbol that the world cares” about Palestinian refugees.

Hansen said that although most people argue that UNRWA is a humanitarian organization, not a political one, “you cannot make such a watertight division.” He explained that “our work is political in the sense that if it did not exist,” the political situation in the region would worsen. According to top Jordanian officials, “this is a question of national security and survival as far as Jordan is concerned,” considering Palestinian refugees comprise one-third of Jordan’s population.

Turning to the specifics of UNRWA’s work, Hansen focused on educational and health care programs, which comprise 85 percent of the agencyÕs budget. There are 500,000 children in its schools, and tens of thousands of individuals in its job training programs. Hansen is “very pleased” that every year, students from “UNRWA schools are the ones scoring highest” on standardized exams.

As for UNRWA’s health care program, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director for the Asia and North Africa regions said that “UNRWA is the only institution … where the primary health care program of WHO has ever been implemented in full.” Moreover, “it has results that make it the most effective health program anywhere in the world.” Still, Hansen said, it is difficult “to keep up these results” given UNRWA’s financial restrictions.

UNRWA reports directly to the UN General Assembly, which is the Agency’s governing body and the one that approves the agency’s budget. However, the funding of the budget is from voluntary contributions. The only part of UNRWA’s budget that is covered by the UN’s regular budget is the cost of international staff. In the year 2000, UNRWA had a budgetary deficit of $40 million and based on this year’s expected income against a budget of $311 million, it faces a deficit of $31 million for 2001. There is no level of assessment to govern voluntary contributions to UNRWA’s budget, yet many countries contribute several times the value of an assessed contribution based on capacity to pay. While Israel does not contribute toward UNRWA, the agency argues that at least the Israeli authorities should not impose fees on humanitarian shipments meant for needy refugees.

Israel’s restrictions on movement and punitive measures affecting the entire population in the West Bank and Gaza have resulted in a “significant worsening” of the situation there. Hansen said that to any humanitarian observer, the “systematic destruction” of people’s houses, fruit trees, and vegetable gardens, is “deeply disturbing.” In the Gaza Strip alone, at least 380 families have lost their shelters which have been destroyed by Israeli forces. UNRWA has provided assistance to these families and has appealed to Israel to find other ways of dealing with Palestinian gunmen than by “erasing” people’s homes. In addition to affecting and restricting the movement of refugees and other residents in Gaza and the West Bank, Israeli measures and restrictions on movement have affected UNRWA’s own work and operations with staff unable to get to work and commodities stuck in warehouses. On three separate occasions, soldiers at Israeli checkpoints stopped Hansen and prevented him at gunpoint from proceeding. In the latest incident, two Israeli tank cannons were directed at him and soldiers shouted “get back or we are going to shoot you.” “If this happens to me,” Hansen said, “imagine what happens to other UNRWA staff.”

Psychological problems among Palestinians have been growing as a result of the intensified conflict. UNRWA has begun providing psychological counseling for traumatized children “for the first time.” In addition, with the large number of deaths, damage to Palestinian infrastructure, and closures, the poverty level is “clearly not sustainable.” UNRWA has responded by providing emergency services such as food aid and job training. It is providing food aid to 130,000 families in Gaza, or 75 percent of the population, and 70,000 families in the West Bank.

Although food aid and emergency employment programs are both crucial, Hansen highlighted three areas in which employment programs provide greater long-term benefits. First, employment assistance improves the local infrastructure and keeps assets in the refugee camps. Second, this type of program “respects the dignity of people” and supports them as they provide for themselves. Third, rather than importing food from other countries and undermining the local economy, employment programs help to build long-term stability.

Hansen also explained that although some argue that their work creates dependency, “nothing could be farther from the truth.” UNRWA programs build human potential. For example, mirco-financing projects have “made refugees capable of making their own way.” Unfortunately, given the current climate, these projects have been severely hindered.

Hansen hopes that ultimately, Israel and the Palestinians will renew peace negotiations. UNRWA is trying to minimize suffering, but its work is only a “band-aid” for the short term. For long-term stability, peace is needed. Hansen also contended that one cannot simply tell the Palestinian refugees to settle elsewhere, as this would not address the “existential [issues] that they face as Palestinians.” They are “extremely attached to their land.” Time has not lessened this attachment, only made it stronger.

The above text is based on remarks delivered on 17 September 2001 by Peter Hansen, Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the Palestine Center or The Jerusalem Fund. This “For the Record” was written by Publications Manager Wendy Lehman; it may be used without permission but with proper attribution to the Palestine Center.

This information first appeared in For the Record No. 83, 21 September 2001.