UNRWA’s statement on tagline
24 July 2011
Over recent weeks, UNRWA has observed with concern the reactions from refugee communities, host authorities and others to the tagline “The UN Agency for Palestine Refugees”.
This tagline was introduced as one of several initiatives aiming to provide a platform for engaging new potential donors and the general public in donor countries who are not familiar with UNRWA and its work. There was no change in the Agency‘s name or the nature of its mission. Despite our efforts to explain this, strong, public reactions continued, distracting from the Agency’s ability to focus on daily operational challenges.
Having carefully weighed available options and consulted with stakeholders, it has been decided that “The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East” will be the only words to appear in UNRWA’s logo. This decision will be reflected on the website as soon as technicians can redesign it accordingly.
The well-being of Palestine refugees is the reason for UNRWA’s existence and remains the driving force behind everything the Agency does, including our efforts to project UNRWA as a modern, forward-looking, and vibrant Agency. These efforts will continue in the hope that they will contribute to enhancing the resources needed to make our operations more sustainable.
UNRWA will remain receptive to the views and concerns of the refugees it serves. We will continue to be steadfast in the discharge of our mandate until a just and lasting solution is found to the plight of Palestine refugees.
UNRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the UNRWA programme budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall. UNRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agency’s programme budget. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals. UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.4 million Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA across its five fields of operation. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.
