Created in December 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a relief and human development agency, originally intended to provide jobs on public works projects and direct relief for 652,000 Arab Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the fighting that followed the end of the British mandate over the region of Palestine.

It also provided relief to Jewish and Arab Palestine refugees inside the state of Israel following the 1948 conflict until the Israeli government took over responsibility for Jewish refugees in 1952.

In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2017.

Today, UNRWA provides education, health care and social services to the 5 million registered Palestine refugees from the 1948 and 1967 wars, a number which includes all their descendants. Aid is provided to Palestinian refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as those in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.