United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established by the General Assembly (GA res. 302 (IV)) on 8 December 1949, following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, to carry out direct relief and works programmes for Palestine refugees.  The Agency began operations on 1 May 1950. In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee situation, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2014.