UNRWA and the Funding Crisis

Led by Jørgen Jensehaugen

Mar 2022 –

Palestinians inspect the remains of a house was targeted in an Israeli air strike, in beach refugee camp west Gaza City July 12, 2014. Photo: Photo: UN Photo/Shareef Sarhan

The UN agency dealing with the Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has long been in a state of crisis. Through various sub-projects we have mapped out the dilemmas the agency faces and the various propositions discussed regarding its future.

The UN agency dealing with the Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has long been in a state of crisis. This is both due to its chronic underfunding and the political pressures on the agency and the refugees it represents. In this project we investigate the various contexts UNRWA engages in, both on the ground in the Middle East, amongst the funding states and within the UN system. Through various sub-projects we have mapped out the dilemmas the agency faces and the various propositions discussed regarding its future.

12/12/2022
Scenarios for UNRWA and the way forward. New report out

A CMI report co-authored by PRIO researcher Jørgen Jensehaugen takes stock of the UNRWA, its role and way forward in context of a funding crisis.

11/02/2022
UNRWA’s Philippe Lazzarini Debates Palestinian Refugees at PRIO

What is the current status of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)? What are its main challenges? What types of scenarios can we envision for UNRWA's future?These were some of the questions discussed today when the PRIO Middle East Centre and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a roundtable with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.

Jørgen Jensehaugen (2023)
I påvente av to sammenbrudd