Photo stories: UNRWA at 60

Leaders from around the world gather at UN Headquarters in New York to honour the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Here, UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Koning AbuZayd (right) hosts an event while Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan (second from left) and Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro (third from left) look on. September 2009. UN Photo

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established in December 1949 to provide humanitarian assistance in the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. On 7 March 1950, UN Secretary-General Trygve Lie (right) announces appointment of Major-General Howard Kennedy (Canada) as Director of UNRWA. United Nations, Lake Success, New York (USA). UN Photo

UNRWA is a humanitarian and human development agency providing education, health care, social services, micro-credit and emergency relief to over four million registered refugees living in Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. On a beach near Gaza, refugees unload bags of flour provided by UNRWA. May 1957. UN Photo

A group of first-graders in an UNRWA-run school in Lebanon. UNRWA is the main provider of basic services to some 4.6 million registered Palestinian refugees in the Middle East. Its programmes support the poorest refugee families who are unable to meet their own basic needs and facilitates longer-term social and economic development for refugees and their communities. 1959. UN Photo

A young refugee works on sand casting in an UNRWA-run vocational training programme under the supervision of an instructor. Funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from donors, UNRWA has been providing basic programmes to promote human development and self-reliance of refugees since the 1950s. May 1957. UN Photo

Young women perfect their skills at an UNRWA sewing centre in Amman, Jordan. The Agency's microfinance department aims to promote economic development and to alleviate poverty among Palestinian refugees. By mid-2008, the department financed over 150,000 enterprise, consumer and housing loans to clients in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan and Syria. 1961. UN Photo

A doctor examines a patient at an UNRWA health clinic, Jabaliya refugee camp. Since its establishment, the agency has been the main health-care provider for the Palestine refugee population. Currently, some 4,200 health workers provide health care to refugees in 134 centres. 1998. UN Photo

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (second from right) prepares to enter UNRWA's headquarters building, which was bombed during the fighting between Israeli troops and members of Hamas. "We must do more," he said. "Nothing short of a massive international effort is now required to support, and insist on, a resolution of this conflict." Gaza. January 2009. UN Photo

A warehouse facility at UNRWA Headquarters damaged during fighting in January 2009. UNRWA said the warehouse held food and medicine to be dispatched to its health and food distribution centres. "The humanitarian plight of the people continues to necessitate our efforts here, we have to keep going notwithstanding the dangers and risks," said UNRWA's Gaza Director of Operations, John Ging. UN Photo

Children of Gaza achieve new Guinness World Record, flying the largest number of kites simultaneously (3,170) in an event organized by UNRWA. "This shows what the children of Gaza can do. They would be world record breakers in so many ways if they lived in an environment that gave them the freedom to reach their full potential," said UNRWA's Commissioner General, Karen AbuZayd. 30 July 2009. UNRWA