17 March 2025, Brussels
Excellencies,
As the future of Syria takes shape, UNRWA - the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees - remains a lifeline for a highly vulnerable community: Palestine Refugees in Syria, and those who fled to Jordan and Lebanon.
In an inclusive Syria, the rights of all people, including Palestine Refugees, must be protected.
UNRWA stands ready to work with Syrian authorities and international partners to protect Palestine Refugees' rights; enhance access to basic services; and promote better socioeconomic inclusion, in support of peace and stability.
The Agency provides essential, public-like services to more than 400,000 registered Palestine Refugees in Syria.
More than 90 per cent live under the poverty line, relying on UNRWA's emergency cash assistance to meet basic needs.
Over 50,000 girls and boys receive education in more than 100 UNRWA schools.
Our health teams provided more than a million primary healthcare consultations last year, in 22 health facilities and two mobile clinics.
To maintain our current services and accompany the political transition in Syria, UNRWA requires an urgent infusion of funding as well as clarity and a clear delineation of its role within a time-bound political process that addresses the question of Palestine.
Thank you.
UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.
UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.
UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
