REPORT
OF THE COMMISSIONER-GENERAL
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY
FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES
IN THE NEAR EAST
______________
1 July 1982 – 30 June 1983
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OFFICIAL RECORDS: THIRTY-EIGHTH SESSION
SUPPLEMENT No. 13 (A/38/13)
UNITED NATIONS
New York, 1983
NOTE
Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document.
In the present report, the term "West Bank" refers to the occupied West Bank of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the term "Jordan refers to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan excluding the occupied West Bank, wherever it is necessary to differentiate between these two Fields of the Agency's area of operations.
[Original: Arabic/English/French]
[16 September 1983]
CONTENTS
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Page |
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Letter of transmittal ……………………………………………… Letter from the Chairman of the Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to the Commissioner-General …………………………. FOREWORD BY OLOF RYDBECK, COMMISSIONER-GENERAL OF UNRWA ……………….. |
vi viii x |
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REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER-GENERAL …………………………. |
1 – 202 |
1 |
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I. |
EMERGENCY OPERATION IN LEBANON ……………………….. |
1 – 45 |
1 |
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A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. |
Emergency relief measures ………………………… Restoration of regular services …………………… Continuing need for emergency relief ………………. Rehousing the refugees …………………………… Repair of UNRWA installations …………………….. The first phase of reconstruction …………………. Protection of the refugees ……………………….. Co-ordination of the relief effort ………………… Evaluation of the emergency operation ……………… |
6 – 11 12 – 15 16 17 – 27 28 – 30 31 – 34 35 – 37 38 – 40 41 – 45 |
2 3 4 4 6 7 7 8 8 |
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II. |
REGULAR OPERATIONS OF THE AGENCY ……………………… |
46 – 173 |
10 |
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A. |
Education and training services …………………… |
46 – 67 |
10 |
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1. 2. 3. 4. |
General education ……………………………. Vocational and technical education …………….. Teacher training …………………………….. University scholarships ………………………. |
48 – 56 57 – 60 61 – 65 66 – 67 |
10 12 13 14 |
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B. |
Health services …………………………………. |
68 – 113 |
15 |
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. |
Emergency health care in Lebanon ………………. Curative medical care ………………………… Control of communicable diseases ………………. Maternal and child health care ………………… Nursing services …………………………….. Environmental health …………………………. Nutrition, including supplementary feeding ……… Medical and paramedical education and training ….. |
69 – 71 72 – 78 79 – 83 84 – 95 95 96 – 104 105 – 109 110 – 113 |
15 16 17 17 19 19 20 21 |
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C. |
Relief services ………………………………….. |
114 – 142 |
22 |
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1. 2. 3. 4. |
Eligibility and registration ………………….. Rations …………………………………….. Camps and shelters …………………………… Welfare …………………………………….. |
119 – 121 122 – 127 128 – 137 138 – 142 |
23 23 25 27 |
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D. |
Personnel and administrative matters ………………. |
143 – 155 |
28 |
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. |
Location of UNRWA Headquarters ………………… Joint Inspection Unit study …………………… Changes in the staffing table …………………. Implementation of ICSC common system job classification master standards ……………….. Pay administration for locally recruited staff ….. Staff-management consultations ………………… Sex discrimination …………………………… Staff development and training ………………… |
143 144 145 – 149 150 151 152 153 – 154 155 |
28 28 28 30 30 31 31 31 |
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E. |
Legal matters ……………………………………. |
156 – 173 |
32 |
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1. 2. 3. 4. |
Agency staff ………………………………… Agency services and premises ………………….. Demolition of refugee housing …………………. Claims against Governments ……………………. |
156 – 163 164 – 170 171 172 – 173 |
32 33 34 35 |
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III. |
FINANCING UNRWA OPERATIONS …………………………… |
171 – 202 |
36 |
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A. B. C. D. E. F. G. |
Regular financial operations 1982 …………………. Financing the Lebanon emergency relief operation 1982 and 1983 …………………………………… Lebanon emergency reconstruction programme, phase I….. Revised regular budget for 1983 …………………… Proposed regular budget for 1984 ………………….. Summary of regular budget estimates, 1983 and 1984 ….. Funding the regular budget, 1983 and 1984 ………….. |
174 175 – 176 177 178 – 180 181 – 196 197 198 – 202 |
36 36 37 38 39 42 46 |
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Annexes |
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I. II. |
Statistical information ………………………………………… Pertinent records of the General Assembly and other United Nations bodies ……………………………………………………….. |
48 77 |
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
26 August 1983
Sir,
I have the honor to submit my annual report to the General Assembly on the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for the period 1 July 1982 to 30 June 1983, in compliance with the request in paragraph 21 of resolution 302 (IV of 8 December 1949 and paragraph 8 of resolution 1315 (XIII) of 12 December 1958.
In the foreword to the report, I have drawn attention to the concerns which have most preoccupied the Agency over the past year. Foremost among them, has been the situation in Lebanon, which has necessitated an emergency relief and reconstruction operation to meet the needs of some 177,500 Palestine refugee victims of the hostilities and to restore the Agency’s own infrastructure damaged or destroyed during the fighting. The need for emergency relief continues, and the reconstruction programme will take several years to complete.
I have referred also in the foreword to the worrying situation in the occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; to the implementation of the decisions to phase out the general ration programme and to issue individual registration cards to registered refugees in place of the former family cards; and to the Agency's financial outlook.
If 1983 has been without a major financial crisis threatening the continuation of priority programmes, it is very largely because of the fortuitous circumstance of cash received this year against prior years' pledges, but used to fund the 1983 budget. Contributions strictly applicable to this year's programmes are, at the time of writing, significantly below those pledged for 1982; and the outlook for next year is far from encouraging. My efforts to secure Additional resources, especially cash, have continued to take up the greater part of my time, and I look to Member States of the United Nations for their fullest support of these efforts, both financially and diplomatically.
Chapter I of the report gives a detailed account of the Lebanon emergency operation. Chapter II reports on the regular education, health and relief operations and the support services. The third chapter treats the financing of these operations and presents the proposed budget for 1984, for consideration by the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session.
The two annexes supply statistical information on UNRWA programmes and finances and references to the pertinent records of the General Assembly and other United Nations bodies.
In preparing the final text of the report, I have consulted the UNRWA Advisory Commission, which met on 25 August 1983 to consider the draft, and have taken into careful account the views expressed by members. The consensus of the Advisory Commission is expressed in the Chairman's letter to me of 25 August, of which I enclose a copy.
I have also considered it appropriate to maintain the practice of showing the draft to representatives of the Government of Israel and to consider their comments, given that a major part of the Agency’s operations is conducted in areas occupied by Israel in 1967 and thereafter.
Accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.
(Signed) 0lof RYDBECK
Commissioner-General
The President of the General Assembly
United Nations
New York
LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ADVISORY COMMISSION OF THE UNITED
NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE
NEAR EAST TO THE COMMISSIONER-GENERAL
25 August 1983
Dear Mr. Rydbeck,
At its meeting in Vienna today, the Advisory Commission of UNRWA considered the draft report on the Agency's operation's during the period 1 July 1982-30 June 1983, which you intend to submit to the United Nations General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session.
The Commission recognizes with sadness and great concern that the continued turmoil in Lebanon, resulting from the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, necessitates an extension of the Agency's emergency relief operation initiated 14 months ago to assist tens of thousands of destitute Palestine refugees. It supports your intention to provide this additional help throughout the coming winter, while hoping that by the spring of 1984 the situation will have sufficiently improved for the emergency relief to be phased out. In this respect, the Commission welcomes the decision of the Government of Lebanon to permit the reconstruction of UNRWA facilities and refugee housing within the camp boundaries, and notes that the Agency plans to undertake this work over two or more phases. It takes note of your appeal for $13 million for the first phase and encourages United Nations Member States to respond to that appeal. The Committee notes, too, the problem of assuring sufficient accommodation for the homeless and hopes that a satisfactory solution can soon be found.
The Commission shares profoundly your concern for the vulnerability of Palestine refugee civilians and the need to assure their physical and legal protection. It is appreciative of your efforts to "report, to warn and to make representations to the authorities responsible". The Commission requests you to continue to consult the United Nations Secretary-General on this subject.
The Commission is gravely perturbed by the continuing disruptions to the Agency's operations in the occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and particularly by contraventions of the formal agreement governing the exercise there by UNRWA of the mandate entrusted to it by the General Assembly.
The Commission notes with satisfaction the fruitful co-operation between you and the Governments of the Arab States hosting the Palestine refugees in the interest of the Agency and the refugees and thanks those Governments for the direct and indirect services which they provide to the refugees. And the Commission thanks all Governments, organizations and individuals who have participated in maintaining the services.
The Commission recognizes the restraints of resources available to the Agency to carry out the tasks with which it is charged. The Commission appeals to all United Nations Member
States to contribute to a generous and equitable effort to assure the necessary funding to permit the continuation of programmes whose value is acknowledged by the entire international community, and to enable the Agency to improve those services most needed by the refugees and to implement General Assembly resolution 37/120 F. The Commission is grateful for the response to the General Assembly decision of March 1982 calling for donations in cash rather than in kind.
The Commission reaffirms its conviction that the services provided by UNRWA contribute towards the attainment of peace and stability in the Near East and that these services should therefore, be continued until the question, of Palestine is resolved, in accordance with United Nations resolutions.
The Commission welcomes the completion of the study of UNRWA by the Joint Inspection Unit and looks forward to the publication of the Unit's report.
Recalling the General Assembly resolutions requesting you to reunify your headquarters in its former site, Beirut, as soon as practicable, the Commission asks that you keep this in mind as a matter of priority.
The Commission thanks the United Nations Secretary-General for his support and the efforts which he personally exerts to facilitate the Agency's mission.
The Commission wishes to express deep appreciation to you and your staff for your devotion to the tasks with which you have been entrusted. The Commission pays its respects to the memory of those members of your staff who lost their lives in Lebanon over the past year.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) Yasushi MIYAZAWA
Chairman
of the Advisory Commission
FOREWORD
BY OLOF RYBECK, C0MMISSIONER-GENERAL OF UNRWA
The Lebanon emergency
1. Throughout the period under review, the situation in Lebanon following the Israeli invasion of 6 June 1982 has attracted much of the efforts and resources of UNRWA. The Agency's aim has been to restore as soon as far as possible in the circumstances some degree of normality to the lives of many thousands of Palestine refugees whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged, who had been displaced, or whose menfolk were missing through death, departure or detention. A massive programme of food distribution was undertaken and was still continuing at the end of the reporting period. Indeed, it is expected that such support will be required at least until the spring of 1984 because of the economic plight of most of the registered Palestine refugees in Lebanon. The mounting of this relief programme was facilitated by use of the stocks of foodstuffs and other supplies held in UNRWA warehouses in Lebanon and by mobilizing supplies from the neighbouring fields of the Syrian Arab Republic, the West Bank and Gaza.
2. UNRWA was also able to re-establish its own health services rapidly, despite the physical destruction or damage to many of its clinics and other installations. Preventive health measures and sanitary precautions ensured that there were no outbreaks of epidemics among the refugees. The destruction caused by the fighting and the elimination of the former extensive medical facilities in south Lebanon and Beirut of the Palestine Red Crescent Society caused serious gaps, which threw an increased load on the UNRWA health services. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and voluntary agencies from a number of countries also helped to fill the gap, although it, is still far from closed.
3. For social and humanitarian reasons, the Agency attached special importance to getting children back to school as soon as possible. Despite the losses suffered through destruction and severe damage to UNRWA schools and the occupation of many of them by refugees in the early months, good progress was made in re-activating the school system and, by the end of December 1982, 82 out of 85 UNRWA schools in Lebanon were already operating with over 31,000 school children in attendance. This figure was only about 4,000 lower than the enrolment in the previous school year.
4. The need of the Palestine refugees in Lebanon that the Agency has found most difficult to meet has been that of housing. The destruction of refugee houses in the camps in south Lebanon and in Beirut was on a massive scale and much property occupied by Palestinians outside the camps was also destroyed or damaged in the fighting or subsequently. It was not until 1 October that the Lebanese Government gave the Agency permission to clear the devastated camps and to erect tents for the homeless Palestine refugees, and the work of clearance was begun at once. Initially, tents were erected in the cleared sections of camps in the south, but these were not acceptable to the refugees, who burned a number of them. In November, tents, cash grants and/or building materials were given to homeless refugees in the south and Beirut to help their rehabilitation in the camps. On 1 March, the Lebanese Government informed the UNRWA Lebanon Field Office that the Agency was authorized to reconstruct the camps to the condition in which they had been before June 1982. The Prime Minister of Lebanon confirmed to me on 16 May that this was official Government policy. By the end of the reporting period remarkable progress had been made, mainly as a result of the enterprise shown by the refugees themselves in rebuilding or repairing houses within the camp limits. There remained, however, serious problem of inadequate accommodation, since land was not available to the Agency for new construction to house those who had not been able to establish themselves in the camps.
5. The most serious problem for the Palestine refugees, especially in Beirut and south Lebanon, was that of personal security. The killing of hundreds of the civilian population of the Sabra and Shatila districts of south Beirut in September held grave implications for the security of all Palestinians in Lebanon. Palestinian families were exposed to the hostility of sections of the Lebanese population, and many of them were at the same time deprived of such protection as might have been given by their menfolk. Threats And violence against Palestinians living in the Saida area especially became frequent towards the end of January, and the number of reported killings rose alarmingly. Many Palestinian families living outside the camps in south Lebanon were intimidated into leaving their homes. In Beirut, the presence of the military observers of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization as well as the multinational force contributed to the restoration of some feeling of security in the camps. In south Lebanon to the extent that there was a presence or proximity of patrols of the Israeli army, this had the same desirable effect in the camps. However, most of the victims lived outside the camps and their protection by the security forces in the area was more difficult.
6. In February, I brought the attention of the Lebanese and Israeli Governments, as well as other Governments concerned, to the dangers to the security of Palestine refugees in Lebanon and urged that adequate measures should be taken for their protection. For several weeks an improvement was observed. But the incidence of violence mounted again in May, and I was constrained to make further representations to the Governments of Israel and Lebanon in June. The situation remains extremely grave. The clashes in the Beqa'a Valley and north Lebanon in May and June have also claimed refugee lives, and I have appealed to the Palestine Liberation Organization to remove the risk to civilians.
7. The responsibility for the protection of the civilian population lies with the territorial sovereign or, in the case of occupied territory, the occupying Power. I have nevertheless considered it to be a clear moral duty for the Agency to assist in ensuring the safety of the Palestine refugee's in Lebanon. The only means at the disposal of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA and the UNRWA Field Director in Lebanon is, however, to report, to warn and to make representations to the authorities responsible. This we have done frequently.
8. During the period under review, the Israeli army has held some thousands of persons in a detention centre at Ansar in south Lebanon. (According to the records of ICRC, in July 1982 they numbered about 9,000, in June 1983 about 5,000, three quarters of them Palestinians.) Among them were more than 200 UNRWA staff members, 90 of whom were still detained without charge at 30 June. At the same date, the Lebanese authorities had arrested 45 UNRWA staff members, of whom 16 were still detained without charge. Access has been granted to some of the staff detained by the Lebanese authorities. UNRWA has made frequent representations to the Israeli authorities in south Lebanon and to the Israeli Government asking for access to detained staff members and for information on the reasons for their arrest; but these requests have so far been denied. The Secretary-General has also written concerning the detained UNRWA employees to the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, who replied on 13 June 1983 that the detainees at Ansar camp were being held there on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities and that hone of the UNRWA employees among them were detained for any reason connected with the conduct of their duties as UNRWA staff members. It is, however, for UNRWA itself to determine the relevance of the charges made against its staff to their official duties. The Agency will continue to assert its rights under the Charter of the United Nations and the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.
9. The emergency relief programmes the Agency has had to undertake in Lebanon following the Israeli invasion have inevitably added to costs. Shortly after the invasion, I issued an appeal to Governments and non-governmental organizations for
$39 million, based on initial estimates. The revised estimate of emergency relief expenditure from June 1982 to July 1983, was $52.75 million. The receipt of generous donations from Governments the European community, other United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, drawing-down of the existing UNRWA stocks of foodstuffs and materials enabled the Agency almost to cover this expenditure. The balance of about $l million is being funded from the Agency's regular income.
10. Some 185,000 refugees, of whom about 30,000 are completely destitute, will need welfare assistance at least until the spring of 1984. I have approached potential donors among Governments and non-governmental organizations for foodstuffs and, for the destitute, blankets.
11. Quite separately from the relief assistance, I issued an appeal in June 1983 for $13 million to cover the estimated cost of an initial phase of emergency reconstruction of UNRWA installations, camp infrastructure and refugee housing. To the extent that special contributions are pledged, the work will be carried out in the remainder of 1983 and the first months of 1984. The amount of this appeal is. relatively modest, since it includes no provision for the rebuilding of a refugee camp as a whole. If it became feasible in the future to reconstruct the Nabatieh camp in south Lebanon, deserted by the refugees since its destruction in 1974, this alone would cost over $7 million at today's prices.
12. A tribute is due to the UNRWA staff in Lebanon, both international and locally recruited (almost entirely Palestinian), who have maintained or restored UNRWA services in Lebanon under the most difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions since the Israeli invasion of June 1982. Ten of the Palestinian staff were killed during the hostilities and many were displaced, rendered homeless or detained by, the Israeli army.
Situation in the occupied territories
13. Although the operation in Lebanon has been the major preoccupation of UNRWA during the period under review, conditions in the occupied territories, particularly in the West Bank, have also been the cause of deep concern to the Agency. The period has again been marked by numerous disturbances by Palestinians and Israeli settlers and by security measures taken by the Israeli army. The political and military events in the Near East have unavoidably had repercussions among the civilian population of the occupied territories. The continued establishment of new Israeli settlements in increasing numbers in the West Bank has further deeply disturbed the Palestinians and led to clashes with them. Demonstrations by Palestinians, often accompanied by stone-throwing and other forms of violence, have caused the occupation authorities to close UNRWA schools and training centres and to impose curfews on refugee camps. The longest of these curfews were at Jalazone from 8 to 30 March 1983 and at Dheisheh from 9 to 23 March 1983. Though UNRWA has generally been able with the co-operation of the Israeli authorities to maintain minimum essential services to camp inhabitants under curfew, the distress caused by prolonged curfews to the inhabitants is intense. Clashes between groups of Palestinians and members of the Israeli security forces have been followed by the entry of troops into the three UNRWA training centres in the West Bank. There have been many instances of the harassment of Palestine refugees by armed Israeli settlers. The UNRWA Field Office has made every effort to limit the interruptions to Agency services and to secure the reopening of training centres and schools when these have been closed. As long as the tension in the occupied territories remains at a high pitch, it must be feared that incidents involving UNRWA programmes and staff will continue to occur. The Agency will continue to do its utmost to maintain services to the refugees in the West Bank in spite of these difficulties.
14. In my previous annual report, I regrettably had to record Israeli interference with UNRWA building activities in Gaza. This issue remains unresolved and creates serious problems. As in other fields, UNRWA is normally engaged in a programme of repair of its installations and essential new construction. The Israeli civil
administration in Gaza continues to interfere even with minor construction projects by the Agency in camps and has caused work already started on projects to be halted. Discussions continue with the Israeli authorities in the hope of overcoming this obstruction, which in the Agency’s view is in clear contravention of the agreement concluded between the State of Israel and UNRWA by exchange of letters on 14 June 1967 (the Michelmore-Comay Agreement).
The distribution of rations
15. The general distribution of foodstuffs to eligible refugees was suspended in September 1982 in all fields with the exception of Lebanon, where because of the emergency situation, the distribution of rations was continued and in fact increased in terms of both the number of recipients and the quantities of foodstuffs distributed. Before this time the general ration was being distributed to about 830,000 refugees, less than half the number registered with the Agency. Former recipients protested against the cancellation of the basic ration programme, which was interpreted by many as a sign of the abandonment of the Palestinians by the international community.
16. This major change in UNRWA programmes was undertaken in order to divert available resources to the highest priority programmes, education and health, and after the General Assembly had taken its decision 36/462 of 16 March 1982, which called upon Governments and organizations making contributions, in kind to UNRWA either to give cash instead or to allow UNRWA to sell the contributions for cash. This decision was obviously intended to provide for greater flexibility in the use of available resources and to ensure the continuation of the priority programmes. I had intended to phase out the general distribution of rations over the remainder of 1982, but I decided to bring the date forward to September so as to conserve stocks of foodstuffs in the Agency's warehouses for, use in the Lebanon emergency. While most of the former 830,000 recipients of the general ration – which, in any case, had sunk to a merely token quantity – have been deprived of this small economic subvention, the Agency is maintaining its welfare programmes in all five fields and plans to improve them. Destitute families have been identified and registered as such, and they are in receipt of foodstuffs and other forms of support, although these are still very modest.
17. At its thirty-seventh session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 37/120 F, which called upon Governments to meet the needs of UNRWA by contributing to the Agency's income, and requested the Commissioner-General to resume as soon as possible the interrupted general ration distribution to the Palestine refugees in all fields. Before it would be possible to devote resources to the resumption of the general ration distribution, the Agency must be able to cover its financial needs for the education and health programmes and for its welfare programmes for the poorest section of the refugee community. In recent years, the Agency has had no assurance that it would even be able to keep all its schools open until the end of the year, and arrears of essential repair and construction of schools, clinics and other installations have become more and more serious.
18. Despite the financial stringency under which UNRWA traditionally operates, the Agency is making certain improvements to which reference is made in the sections of the report on education and health. In the sphere of social welfare, the need is for improved measures to support the families living in need rather than for a general handout.
UNRWA registration cards
19. To try to overcome the fear of many refugees that the cessation of the general ration distribution would somehow deprive them of their recognition by the international community as Palestine refugees, with certain rights acknowledged in resolutions of the General Assembly, the Agency decided to, introduce new registration cards to each registered refugee. The existing registration cards are held by the bead of each family, thus causing inconvenience to individual family members who might need to produce the card at different places at the same time. The preparatory work for the introduction of the new cards had been completed by the end of the period under review and it is expected that all persons registered with UNRWA who request a registration card will receive it by June. 1984. The decision to issue individual registration cards to Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA was taken prior to the passing of General Assembly resolution 37/120 I, which requests the Secretary-General in co-operation with the Commissioner-General of UNRWA to issue, identification cards to all Palestine refugees, and their descendants, and the procedure is independent of any action to be taken by the Secretary-General in pursuance of that resolution.
Financial outlook of UNRWA
20. The financing of the regular programmes of UNRWA remains a matter of deep concern. Chiefly because of inflation and the growing school population costs have increased from year to year while income has lagged behind. Actual expenditure in 1982 was $182.9 million, while income was $181.9 million, resulting in an excess of expenditure over income of $1 million. This near balance of expenditure and income was only achieved by paring the 1982 budgeted expenditure of $233.5 million. The revised net estimated cash expenditure in the 1983 budget is $194.4 million (against a total revised budget of $207.5 million and in 1984 it is estimated at $216.7 million (against a total budget of $233 million). These 1983 and 1984 estimates of net expenditure exclude the Agency's liabilities for staff separation benefits and repatriation costs, which are not funded, although they represent a contingent liability in the statement of expenditure. Income in 1983 will have to rise by about $12.5 million compared with 1982 if the cash balances of the Agency are not further to be drawn down. In 1984, income will have to exceed that of 1982 by about $36 million if an excess of expenditure over income is to be avoided.
21. In 1983, the forecast of income ($165.9 million) is favourable, principally because of the decision by the European Community and other donors to substitute cash for their donations in kind for the general ration distribution. The Community’s conversion is worth about, $15 million per annum to the Agency in cash for the education programme, and this amount in respect of the 1982 donation was received in April 1983. Moreover, whereas donations from the European Community have in the past normally been received about one year in arrears, the simplification of procedures following the partial change from donations in kind to, cash is expected to lead to the receipt of another tranche of about $15 million in cash from the Community for the 1983 year during the course of 1983. This has led me to decide to implement the entire revised budget for 1983, in so far as the money can now be spent during the current year. Large building contracts, for instance for schools, will necessarily run over into 1984.
22. However, this favourable and very unusual situation of the Agency in 1983 is entirely fortuitous and will not be repeated in 1984. Even in 1983 the Agency went through a cash-flow crisis in April, when for some time it seemed doubtful whether the cash available would be sufficient to meet the wages bill at the end of the month.
23. This statement of income and expenditure refers only to the regular programmes and takes no account of the expenditure on the Lebanese emergency situation, which represents an additional drain on the Agency's resources to the extent that emergency programmes are not fully covered by the proceeds of the special appeals which I issued in June 1982 and June 1983.
24. UNRWA will again face a grave financial situation in 1984, unless income keeps pace with the increasing estimates of essential expenditure. As I have indicated, the relatively favourable cash situation this year is due to exceptional circumstances which will not be repeated in 1984. The Agency's programmes represent an element of continuity and security in an area of dangerous instability. If they were put in jeopardy by a failure of income to meet essential needs in 1984 and thereafter, the interruption to services would instead inject another major element of destabilization into an already troubled part of the world. I appeal to the international community, through the General Assembly of the United Nations, to make it possible for the Agency to continue to perform its humanitarian and political task until a solution to the Palestine problem is found, in accordance with United Nations resolutions.
(Signed) Olof RYDBECK
REPORT OF THE COMMISSI0NER-GENERAL
CHAPTER I
EMERGENCY OPERATION IN LEBANON
1. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon on 6 June 1982 and the turmoil which ensued not only necessitated an emergency operation to assist the Palestine refugees whose lives were shattered, at a cost of millions of dollars and challenging all of the resources of UNRWA; it also largely undid the Agency's work of 30 years in Lebanon and transformed the environment in which UNRWA carries out its mandate in ways, that had repercussions well beyond that field.
2. The situation in the first three months following the invasion and the Agency’s response to it are chronicled in detail in a special report of the Commissioner-General to the General Assembly (A/37/479 of 28 September 1982). The report was supplemented by the statements of the Commissioner-General to the Special Political Committee of the General Assembly on 9 and 18 November 1982 (A/SPC/37/SR.24 and A/SPC/37/SR.32) which reviewed developments between the end of August and mid-November. The paragraphs that follow summarize the events of the year as a whole. Additional information is given in the Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly in accordance with Assembly resolution 37/120 J of 16 December 1982 (A/38/420).
3. Of the 239,000 Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, some 198,000 were living in the areas most directly affected by the hostilities – Beirut and the surrounding mountains, Saida and Tyre – together with an indeterminate number who were not registered. It was in these areas, too, that most of the Agency's schools, health centres and other facilities were located. Unable to reach Beirut (as they had in the wake of the previous Israeli Invasion in March 1978) because the roads were cut, many fled from south Lebanon to the Beqa'a Valley and some thence to north Lebanon or the Syrian Arab Republic. The UNRWA emergency programmes were extended to all Palestine refugees in need of assistance who could be identified, regardless of whether or not they were registered with the Agency. Originally planned to cater for an estimated 175,000 affected refugees, in one form or another they have reached some 177,500 persons:62,100 in the Beirut area, 52,600 in the Saida area, 46,460 in the, Tyre area, 4,100 in the Beqa’a Valley, 4,400 in north Lebanon and 7,900 in the Syrian Arab Republic. The Commissioner-General's decision not to distinguish between registered and non-registered was endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 37/120 H of 16 December 1982. Nevertheless, the number of non-registered refugees who have sought and received assistance has not exceeded 7 200.
4. Within a short time of the invasion, west Beirut, the base for UNRWA operations in Lebanon, was isolated and remained under virtual siege until mid-August. The Lebanon, Field Office was thereby restricted in its ability to conduct the relief effort elsewhere in the country, and the Field Offices in the West Bank and the Syrian Arab Republic played a crucial operational and logistics role in south Lebanon and in the north and Beqa’a Valley respectively. While operational control from Beirut was re-established in the late autumn, the Lebanon field still relies on its neighbours for many of its supplies and for most communications with the Beqa’a Valley.
5. It was initially envisaged that emergency relief would be required at most for six months, but it quickly, became apparent that rehabilitation of the refugees would take very much longer. Indeed, a more limited form of help still continues to be necessary and will be given throughout the coming winter, at least until March 1984. Repairs to the UNRWA installations that were damaged in the fighting and to refugee housing have made good progress, but the Agency can only now embark on the reconstruction of those buildings which were destroyed and of camp infrastructure.
A. Emergency relief measures
6. By 1 July, when the period of this report commences, the distribution of in emergency assistance to the displaced refugees was already well under way. Improvised distribution points were quickly established in west Beirut from June with the help of student volunteers from the American University of Beirut, the Beirut University College and the Haigazian College. By the end of June, five convoys of supplies had reached Saida from Beirut. Clearance was obtained from the Israeli authorities on 22 June for a reconnaissance team, led by the Director of UNRWA Operations in the West Bank, to assess the needs in Saida and, Tyre and the first of a long line of convoys entered south Lebanon from Jerusalem on 1 July. The Israeli authorities co-operated by facilitating the border crossings and by waiving port dues and other taxes on shipments destined for south Lebanon. The UNRWA Field Office in Damascus had become the base from which relief supplies were distributed to Beirut and to the displaced refugees in the area around Tripoli and the Beqa’a Valley, as well as to those who had reached the Syrian Arab Republic itself. The relief assistance consisted of food rations, household items and clothing, medical care and sanitation.
7. An emergency ration was established which aimed to provide around 2,000 calories per person daily. The components in any one distribution varied somewhat according to the availability of supplies. But by the end of June 1983 the Agency had issued 16,424 tons of flour, 2,272 tons of rice, 1,805 tons of sugar, 1,342 tons of cooking oil, 1,029 tons of milk, 3,314,000 tins of corned beef, 4,600,000 tins of sardines, 1,560,000 tins of tomato paste, 399 tons of jam and 715 tons of olives. This ration was maintained for all the displaced refugees throughout the winter. From 1 April, it was reduced to 1,600 calories per person daily, except for some 28,500 registered refugees who were identified as destitute, who continue to receive a ration containing some 2,000 calories.
8. The Agency had hoped, to be, able to phase out food assistance after the winter of 1982/1983 except for the issues to 28,500 "special hardship cases". But, although food is plentiful on the local market, it has greatly increased in price and relatively few of the displaced refugees dispose of the means to purchase a satisfactorily balanced diet. Provision of staple items releases the refugees' own cash for fruit, vegetables and other essential fresh foodstuffs (see also paras. 123-125).
9. For Palestinian youngsters, the rations were augmented by the daily meals, served from the supplementary feeding centres or mobile units, which were extended beyond the normal age limit of 6 years to include anyone up to 15 years.
10. A wide variety of other items were also distributed, many of them donated in kind, including blankets, mattresses, towels, soap, kitchen kits, jerrycans, plastic bowls, garbage bags, primus stoves and kerosene. Over the winter months, new and second-hand warm clothing was also issued, and summer clothing later on to the destitute.
11. An urgent priority in the early weeks following the invasion was the provision of water, medical supplies and treatment, and sanitation. In west Beirut, the first of these was especially critical during periods when water and electricity supplies were cut off by the Israeli Defense Force. By early August, there was imminent danger of epidemics because of inadequate potable water. It was avoided by the superhuman effort of a UNICEF engineer to deliver water to west Beirut, assisted by UNRWA supplies of for the water tankers and chlorination of water supplies by UNRWA health teams. Elsewhere in Lebanon, the incidence of disease was contained by delivery of water, temporary sanitary facilities and mobile medical care, especially among displaced refugees who were living out in the open or squatting amidst the rubble of their homes, in garages, shop fronts and the like. Nowhere Lebanon in, fact, was an, epidemic reported (see also paras. and 70).
B. Restoration of regular services
12. The gradual reactivation of UNRWA education, health and welfare programmes is described in chapter II of the present report. It was hindered by the damage to many installations, by the occupation of others by the homeless and by difficulties in reassembling the staff responsible for them. Nevertheless, the experience in Lebanon underlined the fact that one of the strengths of UNRWA lies in its infrastructure of schools, clinics and welfare centres and the teams operating them and by the late autumn repairs were well under way and services had largely been restored.
13. The health programme was placed under particular pressure in south Lebanon, where the network of clinics and hospitals run by the Palestine Red Crescent Society had formerly provided important services which are no longer available. To cope with the increased demand, the staffing has been strengthened by an expatriate nursing officer, six medical officers, practical nurses and auxiliary workers. Agreements were concluded with an additional hospital in each of Beirut, Baalbeck, Saida and Tyre, on a fee-for- service basis. The UNIFIL hospital at Nakoura is accepting patients who require orthopedic surgery. A rehabilitation centre has been established under UNRWA auspices in Tyre by the Norwegian Refugee Council to treat the physically handicapped. And an agreement was signed in June 1983 between UNRWA and the International Rescue Committee of the United States for the establishment of a 12-bed intermediate health care unit in Saida, to which patients can be referred for diagnostic investigation and treatment over not more than 48 hours (see also para. 76).
14. The schools in Lebanon were less than a month away from the scheduled date for the commencement of the summer vacation when the invasion began. The start of the 1982/83 school year was delayed by varying periods in different parts of the country according to the time necessary to vacate or repair premises. But by the end of October, more than half of the schools were already back at work; 82 of the 85 had reopened by the end of 1982 and the rest followed, although nine schools were operating on triple shift in Beirut and Saida, and makeshift classrooms had been set up in 15 marquee tents in the Ein-el-Hilweh camp in Saida. By the beginning of 1983, 32,642 children had returned to school, compared with an enrolment of 35,366 in the 1981/82 school year. The problem of teachers displaced or detained was partially resolved by cross-transfers between schools and engaging temporarily newly graduated teacher trainees from the Siblin Training Centre. That centre reopened its doors in mid-October and had admitted 478 students by the end of March (see also paras. 51 and 58).
15. The destitution among the displaced refugees, particularly in families where a woman has been widowed or has otherwise been deprived of her husband's support because of his detention or flight, has necessitated an expanded welfare programme. Efforts to accelerate the investigation of hardships and arrangements for assistance have been helped by the addition of several staff, including three Norwegian welfare workers temporarily assigned to south Lebanon. A very serious problem is the shortage of work opportunities for the able-bodied adults, men and women. The employment provided by Palestinian organizations and enterprises has disappeared with the collapse of the PLO infrastructure in Beirut and south Lebanon, and the pensions and other social welfare benefits formerly distributed by the PLO there are no longer available. The occupations within the Lebanese economy open to Palestinians have been restricted by the Government since the beginning of 1983. The problem is of a magnitude beyond the scope of UNRWA, but a modest effort to identify and subsequently provide for income-generating projects in south Lebanon was launched at the end of the reporting period, with the assistance of the Norwegian People's Relief Association.
C. Continuing need for emergency relief
16. Emergency relief will continue to be needed by the Palestine refugees in Lebanon at least through the coming winter. The Agency plans to issue foodstuffs to up to 185,000 refugees and to provide additional assistance, including blankets, to some 30,000. The supplies to furnish this programme are, being sought from Governments and non-governmental organizations.
D. Re-housing the refugees
17. Of the 239,000 refugees registered in Lebanon at the outbreak of war in June
1982, about half were living in camps. In the eight camps in the Beirut, Saida and Tyre areas – according to the best estimates of the engineers in charge of clearing the camps – 57 per cent of refugee homes were destroyed and 36 per cent damaged in aerial bombardment, ground fighting or subsequent bulldozing, affecting almost 73,500 persons or 90 per cent of the camp population in these areas. Worst hit was the Ein-el-Hilweh camp in Saida, where 80 per cent of the houses were destroyed and the other 20 per cent damaged.
18. Re-housing these refugees has presented the Agency with a succession of major problems and, although temporary solutions have been found, many refugees are still unsatisfactorily accommodated.
19. In July 1982, when it seemed that tents, however inadequate, offered the only feasible alternative until the practical and political obstacles in the way of rebuilding solid housing could be overcome, UNRWA placed orders for tents and sought clearance from the Israeli authorities to import them into south Lebanon. The Agency hoped that it would be possible to erect these on open sites in the vicinity of the camps, and to provide there the essential temporary infrastructure of water supplies, sanitation and roads. This would have permitted the systematic clearance of the old camp sites from the rubble of demolished housing (as well as unexploded bombs and shells) and the rebuilding of the townships. But when the request was answered, on 2 August, the Agency was informed by the Israeli Government that it was the joint position of themselves and the Government of Lebanon that, although tents would be permitted, they could be erected only on the sites of the old camps. The first consignment of tents was received in September. At the beginning of October, the Israeli Government informed the Agency that they would have on objection to the erection of tents outside the existing camp.
20. The task of clearing these camp sites was formidable, an assessment confirmed by the team of engineers sent to Lebanon by the Government of Sweden at the request of UNRWA in the second week of September. Moreover, the Lebanese insisted that the Agency should take no action before the new Government of President Gemayel came into office. On 1 October, the Commissioner-General was given official acquiescence to the plan, and work commenced the following Monday, 4 October, with the services of Lebanese contractors and British and Swedish engineers under UNRWA supervision. The Israeli Army cleared unexploded materiel from the camps.
21. So far as was possible, those refugee houses and Agency installations that had not been damaged beyond repair were left standing. This further complicated the clearing operation, particularly in the most congested camps, and it was frequently necessary to abandon mechanized removal of debris and resort to laborers with pick-axes and barrows. Nevertheless, the task was largely completed by the end of December, including the laying of temporary water-supply networks, repair and provision of sanitary facilities and roadbeds.
22. The intention in the Saida and Tyre camps was to divide the cleared areas into plots of 100 square meters, allot one plot per family and give each family one, two or three tents (according to their numbers) together with a tiled base and low concrete- block retaining wall to each tent. The plan was frustrated by uncontrolled land-grabbing by some families, which UNRWA was powerless to prevent in the absence of assistance from the authorities, and by the refusal of the damp inhabitants to accept tented accommodation. Tent bases were wrecked and tents burned in well-publicized demonstrations of this refusal. Many of the refugees evidently believed that prefabricated shelters, of which the Israeli authorities at this time offered several hundred, would be made available to them free of charge. (Apart from 13 prefabs so far received from voluntary organizations in Israel in the summer of 1983 and erected for schoolrooms in Ein-el-Hilweh, this offer has not materialized. Prefabricated housing was briefly offered for sale in Saida by Israeli firms at subsidized prices, but found no buyers.)
23. The Agency’s response to this setback in November was to offer refugees in the Saida and Tyre camps cash grants sufficient to cover the cost of tiled bases and concrete-block retaining walls) together with the tents. Encouraged by the absence of interference from either the Lebanese Government or the Israeli forces, the refugees embarked on a self-help programme to repair and in some cases rebuild their homes. The grant was augmented in some cases by donations of cement from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. By the spring of 1983, only in Ein-el-Hilweh, where the destruction had been so massive, and in Rashidieh had most families not provided accommodation for themselves in this way in both cases many of the men were missing or were being detained by the Israeli forces.
24. A similar scheme was mounted at Beirut, where smaller cash grants were supplemented by I building materials (cement, cement blocks, wooden roof joists and zinc sheets). The destitute were to some extent assisted further by cash grants from voluntary agencies enabling them to hire labor and purchase a door, two windows and a latrine. By the end of February, much of the housing in the Beirut camps had been repaired or reconstructed, but since March work has been obstructed by the Lebanese gendarmerie, acting on the fear of the Government that the refugees would use the opportunity to improve their accommodation beyond the standard obtaining before the invasion, contrary to official policy (see para. 31). The Lebanon Field Office is negotiating with the department concerned in the Ministry of the Interior in an effort to resolve this problem.
25. By the end of June 1983, cash grants and/or building material had so far been issued to 13,256 families in the Beirut, Saida and Tyre areas, at a value of $8.02 million.
26. In the Beqa'a Valley, displaced refugees crowded into the Wavel camp, where the density of the existing housing prevented the erection of tents. UNRWA received a private offer of land for a new camp site, but the location would have imposed
environmental and economic problems of such severity for the refugees that the Agency was obliged to decline it. In north Lebanon and Syria, displace refugees, have found accommodation mainly with relatives or friends, although a few families accepted the offer of tents in camps in the Tripoli area. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic initially planned that an emergency camp should be established on 4.5 dunums of land that it provided adjacent to the existing camp at Khan Dannoun, but after UNRWA had prepared the site the land was withdrawn.
27. While this activity has both had an important practical value and boosted the morale of the refugee community, it still leaves many refugees unsatisfactorily housed. Assistance has been given only to those who were already living in the camps in accordance with the policy of the Government of Lebanon. But about half of the refugees were not camp residents. Those who had been displaced in earlier hostilities were frequently squatting in property many of whose owners have taken action, often violent, to reclaim it. Others have been intimidated into leaving apartments they lawfully rented or even owned. Large numbers of these newly uprooted families have crowded into the Saida and Tyre camps, adding to an already serious congestion. Unless additional land can be made available, they will not be properly accommodated.
E. Repair of UNRWA installations
28. Many of the facilities of UNRWA itself in the camps were also damaged or destroyed directly by military action or indirectly during occupation by displaced refugees. The extent of the damage is assessed in the Secretary-General's report to the General Assembly in compliance with Assembly resolution 37/120 J (A/38/420).
29. Emergency repairs to schools, health centres and other buildings that were less seriously damaged have been completed in the Beirut area and are virtually accomplished or well advanced in south Lebanon. Furniture and equipment lost from these facilities is being replaced, and services have been largely restored. But much destruction necessitates major rebuilding.
30. The Lebanon Field Office itself, the administrative headquarters of the Agency's operations in Lebanon, was extensively damaged in the shelling of Beirut and files and records were lost. In January, the office moved to a building formerly occupied by the Economic Commission for Western Asia.
F. The first phase of reconstruction
31. In March 1983, the department concerned with Palestinian refugee affairs in the Lebanese Ministry of the Interior informed the UNRWA Field Director in Lebanon that there would be no objection to the Agency’s reconstructing the refugee camps to the state they were in before June 1982, nor to the rebuilding of the Nabatieh camp near Tyre, which had been destroyed in an Israeli air-raid in 1974. The Prime Minister of Lebanon confirmed to the Commissioner-General on 16 May that this was now the official policy of the Government.
32. A comprehensive programme of reconstruction of UNRWA installations, camp infrastructure and refugee housing will take several year's to implement. The Agency has announced its plans to embark on a first phase, which could be implemented within a matter of months, given the funding and the Commissioner-General, on 24 June, launched an appeal for the $13 million projected cost (see para. 177 for a summary of projected costs). The programme includes construction and re-equipment of schools, clinics, milk and feeding centres, stores and distribution centres and camp services offices; the replacement of paths, roads and surface-water drains in camps in south, Lebanon and the Beqa’a Valley and electricity networks in these and the Beirut camps.
33. The programme also provides for cash assistance to some 3,200 destitute families living in or adjacent to the Beirut, Tyre and Saida camps, to supplement the grants they received under the emergency relief programme sufficiently to permit repair or replacement of an additional room. In the Wavel camp in the Beqa’a Valley, shortage of land does not permit this form of self-help programme, and the Agency therefore proposes to construct extensions to existing buildings to accommodate multiple family units.
34. The Nabatieh camp has not been included in the first phase of the programme because of local opposition to the project. Discussions are continuing, however, and it is hoped that the second phase will include this camp together with the schools and camp infrastructure, which will still have to be restored.
G. Protection of the refugees
35. The massacre of several hundred Palestinians and other civilians in the Sabra and Shatila districts of south Beirut in mid-September 1982 dramatically highlighted the vulnerability of the Palestine refugees. In his foreword to the present report (paras. 5 to 7), the Commissioner-General discusses the problem of assuring their security, the limited means at the Agency's disposal, and the action he has taken.
36. Despite the representations made by the Commissioner-General, supported by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Governments with a direct interest in the area, the level of violence in south Lebanon has not abated. In the three months (April to June) since additional security measures were taken by the Israeli forces in south Lebanon, the UNRWA Field office has reported 21 murders, the disappearance of 4 refugees, the eviction (often at gun-point) of 42 refugees, 45 other incidents of harassment, 15 explosions and 22 arrests. The Agency assumes that this list is not exhaustive. In most instances, the violence was perpetrated by unidentified armed men.
37. Although the situation in Beirut and south Lebanon has been at the forefront of attention and anxiety, the Agency is, also fearful for the safety of non-combatant Palestine refugees living in the Beqa'a Valley and north Lebanon, where sporadic clashes over several months and the factional fighting from June 1983 among Palestinian forces and their supporters have put at risk the lives of the inhabitants of the Wavel camp and those camps which are close to the town of Tripoli. UNRWA has expressed its deep concern to the representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization and by public statements.
H. Co-ordination of the relief effort
38. As the paragraph's at the beginning of this section have already partially described, the Lebanon Field Office was far from alone in the conduct of the emergency operation. In Lebanon itself, the south was for several months effectively separated from Beirut and the operation there was co-ordinated by international staff seconded from posts elsewhere; while operations in the Beqa’a and north Lebanon were run by an officer who depended considerably on the support of the Damascus Field Office. Other fields were involved in the reallocation and transport to Lebanon of stocks of foodstuffs and other supplies. The Agency's headquarters in Vienna was the focal point for the control of the entire relief effort, for securing the necessary resources from donor Governments and others, and for much of the associated public information activity. Because of the fragmentation of the operation in Lebanon, UNRWA headquarters also served for many weeks as the communications link between the various sectors of the Lebanon field.
39. UNRWA assistance to the Palestine refugees was also co-ordinated with other United Nations organizations involved in Lebanon. The Lebanese Government made it quite clear early on that the responsibility for co-ordination of the relief effort was to be divided between the Government's Higher Relief Committee for the Lebanese and UNRWA for the Palestinians. Because of shared concerns, UNRWA remained in contact with the Higher Relief Committee, the United Nations Co-ordinator of Relief to Lebanon, ICRC, UNICEF, UNDRO and others. The assistance given to the Palestine refugees by some of these organizations through UNRWA is recorded in annex I below (table 13 (b)). However, the extent to which the contact was possible was limited by difficulties in communications. UNRWA remained during the siege and thereafter in the western sector of Beirut, with the Palestine refugees, while others who did not have the same operational need to be there moved to safer quarters on the eastern side.
40. UNRWA is deeply grateful to all those who donated generously in response to the emergency appeal. Particular mention should be made, though, of the valuable assistance of non-governmental organizations, who were not only able to supplement the UNRWA efforts to assist the refugees by flexible direct response to specific needs encountered on the ground, but who provided expatriate expertise to strengthen the Agency's international staffing (see also para. 146).
I. Evaluation of the emergency operation
41. UNRWA has many times in the past 33 years been called upon to respond to crises, in the Palestine refugee community provoked by hostilities in the Near East, at the same time as it has endeavored to maintain the quasi-governmental infrastructure of its regular programmes. But of all the emergency operations which the Agency has been engaged in, this most recent one in Lebanon has in many ways been the most difficult, because of the political and military complexities.
42. The challenges to the resources and response capability of UNRWA have been immense, and the Agency has considered it important to conduct a rigorous internal evaluation of its performance; the structures through which the operation was organized; the forms of assistance that were delivered; co-ordination, communications, reporting and information functions, and so on. The lessons to be learned from this assessment will be a valuable basis for contingency planning against the unlooked for, but unfortunately by no means impossible, event that a future crisis will place similar demands on the organization.
43. Several lessons are already being applied. It is quite clear that the Agency's international staffing must be strengthened, that the pruning of past years to achieve economies has rebounded to the serious disadvantage of the operations. The locally- recruited Palestinian staff are the backbone of the organization in "normal" situations, and very many of them have performed indispensable roles outstandingly in Lebanon over the past year. But they are themselves members of the community which is at once embroiled in and victimized by the tensions and conflicts of the Near East. The Agency has decided to increase forthwith the normal strength of the international staff in each Field office from five to six. There have been other economies that have proved expensive in a crisis, and UNRWA has now set about improving its communications facilities, within and between its fields and from the fields to Headquarters, and augmenting somewhat the capacity of its transport fleet, which was inadequate to meet the demands placed on it in respect of both numbers of vehicles and their age and condition. However, it must be borne in mind that UNRWA is organized and staffed for its regular programmes of education, health and welfare. In an emergency it must adapt its existing resources to meet the immediate need. It does not have the financial means to set up large-scale standby facilities.
44. Another exercise in evaluation that UNRWA has welcomed was conducted at a meeting on 9 and 10 June, co-sponsored by the Agency and International Council of Voluntary Agencies, on the latter's initiative when the co-operation between UNRWA and non-governmental organizations engaged in assisting the Palestine refugees was reviewed in the light of the experience in Lebanon over the past year.
45. Ironically, through the tragedy in Lebanon there is today greater understanding not only of the plight of the Palestine refugees but of the role UNRWA is mandated by the General Assembly to perform in the Near East. The international community is a key partner in the success or otherwise of the endeavors of UNRWA, through the resources and support it provides for the Agency's programmes, whether in an emergency situation or the day-to-day tasks described in the following chapter.
CHAPTER II
REGULAR OPERATIONS OF THE AGENCY
A. Education and training services
46. Under an agreement between UNRWA and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the latter is responsible for the professional aspects of the education programme, which includes general education at elementary and preparatory (lower secondary) levels in Agency schools, vocational and teacher training at Agency centres and a university scholarship programme. Many refugee children continue their education at the upper-secondary level in government or private schools. In 1982, expenditure on education and training amounted to $110.5 million and accounted for 60.4 per cent of the Agency's total expenditure.
47. In addition, the Agency provided some pre-school education, youth activities and adult training in crafts and medical and paramedical education and training, described elsewhere in this report.
1. General education
48. In 1982/83 as in previous years, the largest single Agency activity was general education. In October 1982, a total of 336,207 pupils, 2,179 less than in 1981/82, were enrolled in the 651 Agency elementary and preparatory schools in Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, served by a teaching force of 9,858. (The reduction in enrolment is largely explained by the displacement of refugees in and from Lebanon (see para. 14).) A further 92,403 refugee pupils were known to be enrolled in-government and private elementary and secondary schools in the same areas, and approximately 44,842 non-eligible children were in Agency schools (see note c to table 3 of annex I). The education staff in each field is headed by a locally-recruited Field Education Officer, working under the professional guidance of the Director of Education and of the specialist staff of the Department of Education at Headquarters.
49. Double shifts in schools, which continues to be a problem because of the Agency's lack of funds for school construction on the scale required, were necessary in 493 schools, 75.7 per cent of the total during 1982/83. It was possible to avoid turning children away from school only through operating double shifts and the construction of some additional classrooms.
50. Lack of funds for capital expenditure generally limited school construction to the minimum necessary to prevent triple shifts and to replace the most unsatisfactory school premises. But during 1982/83, over all fields, 18 prefabricated classrooms,
31 standard class and administration rooms and 14 special-purpose rooms were completed, while 45 standard class and administration rooms, 6 prefabricated classrooms and 7 special-purpose rooms were under construction. Some of this work was made possible by special contributions, which also provided funds for school furniture and other equipment. In addition, under community-help schemes, six classrooms and two special- purpose rooms were constructed, and one classroom and six special-purpose rooms were under construction.
51. In Lebanon, the Israeli invasion of June 1982 forced the closure of schools before the end of the 1981/82 school year. Only in north Lebanon and in some instances in the Tyre area were they able to resume as scheduled, on 11 September. Elsewhere the reopening of individual schools depended on how quickly damaged premises could be repaired or alternative accommodation found for the homeless who occupied school buildings. Beirut schools and the rest in the Tyre area recommenced in October and November, followed by schools in the Beqa’a and later the Saida area. By the end of 1982, a large measure of normality had been restored despite continuing disturbances. In January 1983, the school population reached its highest level since the outbreak of the fighting, but thereafter number dropped again slightly. Some pupils left to rejoin their displaced parents abroad, others were themselves displaced to Syria and a further group entered private schools. Enrolment in Agency schools in Lebanon totaled 32,642 refugee pupils, 23,217 of whom were in the elementary and 9,425 in the preparatory cycle. Of the 85 schools, comprising 652 elementary and 288 preparatory class sections with a total of 1,229 teachers, 48 schools with 492 class sections operated on double shift and nine schools, with 81 class sections operated on triple shift. Prescribed textbooks for Agency schools in Lebanon totaled 195, all but one of which have been approved by UNESCO (see also para. 14).
52. In the Syrian Arab Republic, UNRWA schools started the year on 18 September and operated satisfactorily throughout the year. A total of 1,020 displaced refugee pupils from Lebanon attended Agency schools in Syria. In all 49,639 pupils attended the 70 elementary schools and 44 preparatory schools, comprising 1,247 class sections served by 1,468 teachers. Ninety-six of these schools, involving 1,119 class sections and 45 059 pupils, operated on double shift. Moreover financial restrictions have severely limited improvements to the state of leased premises or replacement of unsuitable buildings. Some schools occupy buildings in imminent danger of collapse, which are constantly monitored. In one instance, two classrooms were evacuated because of concern for pupils' safety; a wall of one of these subsequently collapsed. However, plans have been drawn up for the replacement of the more decrepit schools, particularly in the Damascus area, and by the end of the reporting period the Government of Syria had provided two plots of land for this purpose. In addition, one complete school was built in the Yarmouk area of Damascus to avoid triple shifts; and one school building had been completed in Homs camp and a second started, in a phased replacement of inferior premises. Of the 115 textbooks currently prescribed for schools in Syria, 70 have been approved by UNESC0.
53. In Jordan, the 213 Agency schools recommenced on 11 September and operated normally throughout the year, except for a three-day vacation given at the end of March to avoid possible disturbances on 30 March, Land Day. The total enrolment was 133,729 in the elementary and preparatory cycles, comprising 3,313 class sections served by 3,756 teachers. Double shifts were necessary in 198 schools, involving 3,115 class sections and 126,328 pupils. The total number of textbooks prescribed in Jordan was 142, of which 104 have been approved by UNESCO. The Jordan field has embarked on school construction projects valued at approximately $2 million.
54. In the West Bank, Agency schools started the school year on 3 October, more than a month behind schedule because of the prevailing political situation, particularly the repercussions from the invasion of Lebanon. Outbreaks of violence affected some schools in November. From March onwards, widespread disturbances continued for the remainder of the school year, with serious impact on the operation of the schools. In particular, during periods of curfew (see para. 164), schools were closed, and it was often several days after the lifting of a curfew that attendance returned to normal. An outbreak of sickness in March among girls attending Government schools, which widely provoked fear and hysteria, did not spread to pupils in UNRWA schools. The Agency none the less deemed it prudent to close some schools in Jenin, Askar and Nablus for several days. They were closed again by the Israeli authorities, from 4 April but allowed to reopen on 8 April, although the closure of other schools was extended by the authorities until 19 April. Enrolment in the 98 Agency schools in the West Bank totaled 39,568 pupils, in 781 elementary and 325 preparatory class sections served by 1,267 teachers. Fifty-two schools with 609 class sections and 22,523 pupils operated on double shift. Construction began of a new girls’ school at Sourif, and a central library designed to serve the Kalandia camp complex of schools was completed. The 142 textbooks prescribed for Jordan are also the prescribed textbooks for the West Bank. Of the 104 approved by UNESCO, the Israeli authorities have refused import permits for 9.
55. In the Gaza Strip, the Agency schools commenced on 1 September and operated normally until March, with some minor scattered disturbances in October and November. Because of the disturbed conditions prevailing in March and April, the school vacation started two days early on 16 March and the reopening was postponed for one day, in an attempt to calm the situation. Enrolment totaled 80,629 pupils in 141 schools, comprising 1,293 elementary and 454 preparatory class sections with a teaching force of 2,138. There were double shifts in 90 schools, involving 1,094 class sections with 50,803 pupils. It is particularly, noteworthy that the refugee community An the Gaza Strip has participated in the re-roofing of some 200 classrooms; building of covered pathways adjacent to school buildings; conversion of six classrooms into science laboratories; conversion of six old sheds into libraries or for other educational purposes; and construction of one classroom, one administrative unit for a head teacher and staff and several school shops. The total number of textbooks prescribed by the Egyptian Ministry of Education was 105; of these UNESCO has approved 65, of which the occupying authorities have permitted the importation of 56 and disallowed the importation of 9.
56. Of some 4,350 registered refugees stranded on the Egyptian side of the newly established border between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai, over 1,100 were of elementary and preparatory school age. As a temporary measure until the situation of these refugees is resolved, a government school building has continued to be made available to UNRWA, and Agency teachers who are still in that area are providing schooling to these children.
2. Vocational and technical education
57. The number of training places available to Palestine refugees in the vocational and technical courses conducted in UNRWA training centres showed a further modest increase of 80, bringing the training capacity to 3,948. Details of the capacity of the Agency training centres in 1982/83, by trade group centre and sex, are given in table 4 of annex I. In addition, the Agency sponsored the vocational training of 34 refugees in private institutions.
58. The Siblin Training Centre in Lebanon was seriously affected by the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Equipment and material were looted in June and squatters subsequently occupied the centre for a time in July. In August, work started on inventories of the looted items, some of which were subsequently replaced with funds contributed for the emergency operation but for none of which as the Agency so far received compensation. Second-year students, who eventually numbered 226, started to return to the Centre in mid-October and on 4 February a new intake of 252 first-year trainees commenced studies, although few have ventured, to travel to Siblin from north, Lebanon or the Beqa'a. After a long period of sporadic disruptions at the Centre, culminating in difficulties reported by the Commissioner-General to the General Assembly in November 1982 (see A/SPC/37/SR/24, paras. 11-13), the Agency has re-asserted its authority over this institution, whose rehabilitation is making substantial progress.
59. The centres in the West Bank were particularly affected by disturbances and demonstrations in 1982 and 1983. The Kalandia Vocational Training Centre and the Ramallah Women's Training Centre in the West Bank were both closed by the occupying authorities for extended periods, in the wake of demonstrations (see para. 165).
60. Work opportunities for graduates of the Agency’s vocation training centres – excluding the Siblin Training Centre, for which employment figures are incomplete because of the crisis in Lebanon – continue to be good, as is shown by the figures of 1,246 employed, representing 85 per cent of the 1981/82 graduates. There is a continuing high-demand for places in the Agency's centres from eligible Palestine refugees, but not more than 20 per cent of the qualified applicants can be accepted for lack of facilities. There is a continuing ample justification for a large-scale expansion of the programme, particularly to provide opportunities for women. But, given the Agency's present financial resources, only a limited expansion has been possible, with the assistance of a grant from the OPEC Fund.
3. Teacher training
61. The teacher-training programme aims primarily at providing qualified teachers for UNRWA Schools. The Agency training centres accept Palestine refugee candidates who have successfully completed 12 years of general schooling, and prepare them through a two-year professional training programme to teach at the elementary school level. Graduates of these centres are given priority for Agency-appointments. If further teachers are needed, the Agency employs university or high-school graduates, who usually lack professional qualification. The Agency arranges basic in-service teacher-training courses for such under-qualified teachers through the Institute of Education, which forms part of the Department's Teacher and Higher Education Division. At the beginning of April 1983, the enrolment in the Institute’s in-service courses was 902, of whom 107 were in the basic two-year course for unqualified elementary teachers, 289 in specialized courses for unqualified preparatory teachers, 229 in courses designed to meet curricular changes, 52 in courses for key education personnel and 225 in refresher and ad hoc courses. In October 1982, 32 trainees graduated from the basic two-year course and 167 trainees from the specialized two-year preparatory courses. Those 199 graduates were recognized by UNRWA as professionally qualified teachers and were graded accordingly.
62. Pre-service teacher training continued to be provided at four Agency centres – one in Amman, two in Ramallah (West Bank), and one in Siblin (Lebanon). Enrolment totaled 1,291, 631 males and 660 females. Operations at the Amman Training Centre were satisfactory, but teacher-training at the West Bank centres and in Lebanon suffered interruptions as a result of the political/military situation in the region, just as did the vocational training courses. At the training centres, as at the schools, making up for lost time has presented a very serious problem. Extensions to the academic year may no longer suffice for an adequate compensation programme to assure minimum training standards (see also para. 164).
63. Towards the end of 1982, the Jordanian Ministry of Education issued another new set of revised syllabuses, which are now being followed by the Agency's teacher- training centres at Amman and Ramallah. At the end of the 1982/83 school year, the second year trainees at the Amman Training Centre will sit for the General
Comprehensive Examination to be conducted by the Jordanian Government for the third time in Jordan. Of the 269 second-year teacher trainees of the Amman Training Centre who sat for the second General Comprehensive Examination in July 1982, 214 (79 per cent) passed. Second-year trainees at the two Ramallah centres will have the option of sitting for this to be held in the West Bank in 1983 for the first time. There has been considerable resistance to it in the West Bank, however, and the Agency suspended training at all three centres there from 11 December until 15 January, in the face of protest strikes. Trainees were allowed to resume their studies after they and their guardians gave an undertaking that they would pursue them seriously and it was agreed that the decision whether to take the examination rested with each trainee individually.
64. At the end of the 1981/82 training year, 640 teacher trainees (334 men and 306 women) graduated from the pre-service teacher-training centres. By 30 June 1983, 164 of them were employed in Agency schools and 268 were known to have found employment outside the Agency. Excluding the Siblin Training Centre in Lebanon, for which employment figures are incomplete, 74 per cent of the 1981/82 graduates are known to be employed.
65. The Education Development Unit in Damascus moved to a new location where, at the end of October, it started to function as an Education Development Centre. The Unit in Beirut (which resumed its activities at the end of March), is now in the process of being relocated and upgraded to a centre. The centres, initiated in Jordan and the Gaza Strip in 1974 and now established in all fields, continued in co-ordination with the Institute of Education their efforts to improve the quality of education provided by UNRWA schools in their respective fields. They do this by providing facilities for in-service training courses and by engaging in the process of curriculum enrichment. Fourteen senior Palestinian education staff members were awarded fellowships for overseas study aimed at improving their professional competence; of these, ten were awarded by UNESCO, three by UNRWA and one by a voluntary organization.
4. University scholarships
66. During the academic year 1982/83, UNRWA awarded 349 scholarships to Palestine refugees for study at Arab universities, of which 272 were continuing scholarships and 77 were new-awards. The UNRWA scholarships, partly funded from special contributions, are awarded for one year, but are renewable from year to year for the duration of the course of study, provided the student passes the end-of-year university examinations and is promoted to the next stage of his course (see annex I, table 5).
67. In its resolution 37/120 D of 16 December 1982, the General Assembly appealed, inter alia, to all Member State's and United Nations agencies to make special allocations, scholarships and grants to Palestine refugees and requested UNRWA to receive, hold in trust and award them. The Secretary-General's report to the Assembly (document A/38/149) will describe the response in detail.
B. Health Services
68. Preventive and curative medical care services were provided at 98 UNRWA health units and, by special arrangement at one voluntary agency and 22 government clinics. Other health services were subsidized by UNRWA at government, university and private health institutes. Lack of resources has impaired the Agency's capacity to replace sub-standard buildings or extend facilities. However, a new health sub-centre was erected in the Gaza Strip and a health centre in Hebron town in the West Bank. In the Syrian Arab Republic, work has begun on a new clinic at Ein-el-Tal, outside Aleppo town, and the contract has been let for another clinic, in the Dera’a camp, also in the Syrian Arab Republic, funded by the Danish Refugee Council.
1. Emergency health care in Lebanon
69. An account of the emergency relief measures in Lebanon is given in chapter I, but the following summarizes the health provisions.
70. From the end of June, health staff in the south were able to offer limited services to displaced refugees who had sought shelter in schools and other buildings. Health centres started functioning from the end of July, providing maternal and child health, care (MCH) services to all Palestinian women and children. In Beirut, a mobile health team began operating from the middle of June among displaced families from the south. The team was later re-deployed, partly to establish a new clinic in the Agency's base warehouse and partly, as a mobile unit, to carry out mass immunization among children and to monitor communicable diseases. By the beginning of September the health centres in Beirut were able to resume operation. Health services in north Lebanon and the Beqa’a Valley, which were disrupted for only brief periods, were extended to cater 'for displaced families from the south and Beirut. To meet the increased demand for medical care throughout the country, services were strengthened and additional hospital beds were subsidized in the locations to which the refugees were displaced.
71. UNRWA staff assisted the UNICEF effort to distribute drinking water to west Beirut while it was under siege, by chlorinating the supplies and providing the petrol for the water tankers. Garbage collection And cleaning of sanitary facilities were also carried out in west Beirut whenever possible. But the most challenging environmental health task for the Agency was the formulation and implementation of an emergency programme for the rehabilitation of basic sanitation services in all refugee camps that were affected by the war. The short-term phase of the programme – the removal of accumulated debris and refuse, partial repair of water and drainage systems, provision of potable water and other sanitary facilities to displaced refugees who had taken temporary shelter in school buildings and elsewhere, and the control of heavy fly and rodent infestation – was completed during the latter half of 1982. The longer-term phase repair or reconstruction of damaged or destroyed houses, provision of water, latrines and rehabilitation of the infrastructure of the affected camps to the pre-war level is in progress.
2. Curative medical care
72. Curative services, both in-patient and out-patient, were provided at about the same levels as in previous years. Their delivery was disrupted following the Israeli invasion in Lebanon and frequently interrupted by disturbances in the West Bank. Some basic health services were provided to the refugees (almost 5,000) stranded on the Egyptian side of the border between the Sinai and the Gaza Strip, by Gaza field health, staff living there helped by, frequent visits of supervisory staff from the Field office and occasional visits from headquarters Health Department staff. (Statistical data in respect of the out-patient care directly provided by the Agency are shown in annex I, table 6.)
73. The Agency operates 26 dental clinics and continues to strengthen its specialist clinics, where patients with degenerative and chronic diseases are seen by appointment and proper follow-up is ensured. A new dental unit was completed in the Gaza Strip.
74. Laboratory facilities and equipment were further improved, in part with the financial help of UNICEF. The Agency administers three central laboratories in Gaza, Amman and Jerusalem, and 23 clinical laboratories at its larger health centres where simple tests are carried out in Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic, subsidized private laboratories provide the services normally performed by an UNRWA central laboratory.
75. UNRWA continues to administer a small cottage hospital of 36 beds in Qalqiliya (West Bank); nine camp maternity wards, the majority in the Gaza Strip; and, jointly with the Public Health Department in Gaza, a tuberculosis hospital with a complement of 70 beds in Bureij camp. The Agency also subsidizes the necessary in-patient care facilities in government and private hospitals. The daily average number of hospital beds made available to refugee patients during the year was 1,432 (as shown in annex I, table 6). The continually rising cost of medical care services entailed substantial increases in almost all the subsidies paid by UNRWA, particularly for emergency in-patient care for refugees in south Lebanon and the Beqa’a valley. In addition to their use of the subsidized facilities, an undetermined number of refugee patients independently seek admission to government hospitals at nominal cost.
76. In Jordan, the ministry of Health continued to collect fees from refugee patients referred to its hospitals by Agency medical officers. The Agency's scheme to refund the cost of hospitalization at government hospitals to those who are members of destitute families or to whom the cost causes financial hardship has, on the whole, not been accepted either by the refugee community or the Government of Jordan, and relatively few refugee patients have taken advantage of it. Discussions with the Government on ways of improving hospitalization of refugees in Jordan are planned. In the Gaza strip, a similar refund scheme for refugee patients hospitalized in government institutions in Gaza or Israel is well established.
77. There is a persistent shortage of hospital beds in Lebanon, since many of the hospitals are still inaccessible to Palestine refugees. Consequently, a large number of cases, continue to be referred to the Medical Centre of the American University of Beirut, to the Makassed Hospital and to private hospitals at Saida, Tyre and Ba’albeck at a relatively high cost. Many refugee patients, on their own initiative, seek admission to institutions run by voluntary agencies.
78. The Agency provides to a limited extent for the medical rehabilitation of crippled children in specialized institutions, as well as for the fitting of orthopedic devices. Contributions from voluntary agencies usually help to meet the cost of appliances. A new rehabilitation clinic was established at Tyre with the assistance of the Norwegian Refugee Council, to treat war injuries and polio victims.
3. Control of communicable diseases
79. Prevention and control of communicable diseases are among the main concerns of the Agency's Department of Health. An expanded programme of immunization forms an integral part of the maternal and child health services. Infants and young children attending the clinics are protected against tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, poliomyelitis and measles in all fields and also against typhoid fever in the Syrian Arab Republic. Reinforcing doses of vaccines are given to children on admission to school.
80. Among the control measures of public health importance are the improvement of environmental conditions, emphasis on personal and food hygiene through health education activities, particularly in schools and health centres, and the administration of specific chemotherapy and chemoprophylaxis. Close co-operation is maintained with the government health authorities in disease surveillance and control. No epidemics were reported among refugees in Lebanon in spite of the disruption to health services there following the Israeli invasion, owing largely to effective preventive measures.
81. Five cases of cholera occurred among a single refugee family in Beach camp in the Gaza Strip. They all received treatment and were cured. Four cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis were reported in the West Bank, mostly in the Jericho area, and one in the Syrian Arab Republic.
82. The following diseases showed a decrease in incidence compared with, the period of the previous report: chicken-pox, cholera, conjunctivitis diarrhoeal diseases, measles, trachoma, tuberculosis and whooping cough; while an increase was observed in the reported cases of typhoid fever, infectious hepatitis and influenza. There was no significant change in the incidence of other communicable, diseases. (Further details are given in the annual report of the Director of Health.)
83. The Agency operates a comprehensive tuberculosis control programme, including case detection, hospital and domiciliary treatment and follow-up of cases and their contacts. The incidence of respiratory tuberculosis has for several years been about one case in 10,000 of the population eligible for health services.
4. Maternal and child health care
84. Maternal and child health care is provided in most UNRWA health centres, supported by specialist and hospital referral services. A number of government institutions and voluntary agencies supplement Agency services, especially at Amman, Damascus and Jerusalem. Data on maternal and child health services are presented in table 6 of annex I.
85. Pre-natal care included regular health supervision and the issue of extra rations and iron-folate tablets. Approximately half the number of deliveries reported took place at home, attended by Agency-supervised dayahs (traditional birth attendants). An increased number of deliveries took place in hospitals, especially in urban areas. In Gaza, where UNRWA operates six maternity centres (in addition to one in the Syrian Arab Republic and two in the West Bank), rather more deliveries took place in the government hospital than in the Agency's maternity centres and one third were at home.
86. Family-planning services continued to be provide in seven clinics in Gaza. Three more such clinics were established in the Syrian Arab Republic, in co-operation with the Syrian Ministry of Health and one in Jordan, making a total of four in the Syrian Arab Republic and three in Jordan.
87. Regular health supervision was provided in child health clinics for children up to three years of age and for special cases up to five years of age. Immunization was given against the six diseases included in the expanded programme of immunization. A review of the national child-immunization programme in Jordan was carried out, and included the refugee camps in the Amman area. The review showed that the immunization coverage in the camps was good. The nutrition of children was promoted through educational activities in child health clinics, an a through the provision of nutritionally-balanced meals at feeding centres. Dry milk was distributed to all children from six months to three years of age.
88. All health centres continued to offer early and effective treatment with oral rehydration salts to children suffering from diarrhea. An interim report was prepared on the effectiveness of oral rehydration salts in the treatment of diarrhea in early, childhood, based on a study conducted in Gaza. Children in need of special attention and care were treated in the nutrition/rehabilitation clinics which are an integral part of the child health clinics in all five-fields.
89. To follow up the evaluation of the nutrition/rehabilitation clinics in the West Bank, a World Health Organization consultant visited Gaza and the West Bank to initiate a study of risk factors connected with pre-natal and infant mortality, West Bank staff completed a retrospective study and both Gaza and the West Bank are now engaged in the collection of data for the prospective study. Two mini-computers were donated by WHO for use in the analysis of the findings.
90. School health services were provided by health centres and special school health teams for children in UNRWA elementary and preparatory schools (see annex I, table 6).
91. Children entering school for the first time were medically examined and the necessary health care was given in health centres and through referral to specialists. Immunization against tuberculosis, diphtheria and tetanus was given to school children in all fields. An oral health survey was carried out in the Jordan, West Bank and Gaza fields by a WHO consultant team. A plan to develop dental care services for the entire refugee community was subsequently drawn up, to be implemented gradually over a period of three years. Children particularly will benefit from this improvement.
92. It has become a matter of urgency also to improve the sanitary facilities in many of the Agency's schools. Committees at field level carried out surveys of school sanitation and proposed programmes of reconstruction and renovation of school latrines.
93. An assessment of the school health programme was carried out by a WHO consultant. Reorganization of the services was first discussed at a special Field Health Officers’ meeting in 1982. A plan was then developed, which has been approved in principle and will be implemented at the beginning of the school year 1983/84.
94. In each field, a team of health education workers promoted the health education programme in collaboration with other Agency staff in health centres, schools, welfare centres and camp communities. Health exhibitions on selected topics were organized by the Field Offices on the theme "Health for all by the year 2000: the count-down has begun". World Health Day was celebrated Agency-wide with exhibition and meetings. A new Health Educator at Headquarters was appointed in January 1983. The planned reorganization of the school health programme will place special emphasis on health education in schools. An experimental summer course in health education for selected teachers is currently being developed and will take place in the Lebanon, Jordan and Gaza fields.
5. Nursing services
95. Nursing/midwifery personnel continue to carry a large share of the work-load in the delivery of the Agency’s health services. Registered nurses midwives, auxiliaries and traditional birth attendants participate in the preventive and curative programmes in health and supplementary feeding centres, schools and in the community, and in research and surveys carried out in the fields.
6. Environmental health
96. With the continued co-operation of host Governments, local councils and municipalities, the Agency provided basic community sanitation services in camps, comprising provision of adequate quantities of potable water, sanitary disposal of water drainage of storm water, latrine facilities and control of insect and rodent vectors of disease. A total of 722,470 refugees and displaced persons living in camps or, in the case of Lebanon, obliged to take refuge temporarily in different locations benefited from these services. As in preceding years, there was some improvement in the sanitary conditions in a number of camps, mainly through the self-help efforts of the communities concerned.
97. The Agency provided subsidies in cash or kind to self-help schemes, which included repair or reconstruction of houses devastated by the fighting in Lebanon. Refugee communities paved pathways, constructed surface drains, laid sewer lines (where feasible) and made further improvements to water supplies. The programme benefited seven camps in Lebanon, nine camps in the Syrian Arab Republic, five in Jordan, nine in the West Bank and seven in Gaza. Further financial support is needed, particularly for a family latrine reconstruction programme envisaged for south Lebanon.
98. In collaboration with the Government of Jordan, indoor water taps are being provided to refugee houses in the Baqa’a, Talbieh, Jabal Hussein and Amman New camps. Similar water projects are being executed in the Ramadan camp in the Syrian Arab Republic with the support of the General Authority for Palestine Arab Refugees and in the Khan Dannoun and Ein-el-Tal camps by the Syrian Government itself. A water augmentation scheme providing indoor taps to all refugee houses has been successfully completed in the Nahr-el-Bared camp in Lebanon. In the West Bank refugees have built an elevated water reservoir at the Nur Shams camp to improve the water distribution system. Additional public water points have been installed in the Husn and Marka camps in Jordan. A new water distribution network constructed by the Israeli authorities in the Nuseirat, Maghazi and Bureij camps (see para.171 of last year's report) 1/ is not yet fully operable, particularly in Maghazi where requests from the community for connections have been slow.
99. Aside from the ongoing task of ensuring adequate surface drainage facilities in a number of camps, sewerage networks were improved, by the installation of additional sewer lines in three camp in the Syrian Arab Republic and two camps in Jordan. The municipality of Amman continues to provide sewer connections to refugee houses in the Jabal Hussein and Amman New camps.
100. In the West Bank, the sewage disposal problem at the Ramallah Men's Teacher Training Centre has been resolved by connecting the Centre with a regional sewerage system. A similar plan is being considered for the Ramallah Women's Training Centre.
101. In the Gaza Strip, UNRWA entered into an agreement with the Rafah Municipality under which the Agency is participating financially in a sewage disposal scheme that includes drainage of a hazardous waste-water pool in the Rafah camp. Using special contributions, the Agency will subsidize the scheme by up to $250,000 in the first temporary phase and up to a further $150,000 for the completed project.
102. Refuse collection and disposal facilities continued to be improved. Four pew refuse trucks were procured (through a special donation) for the Lebanon field. in Jordan, the Ein-el-Basha Municipality has started removing the refuse from the Baqa’a camp on the basis of an agreement recently negotiated by the Agency. Similar contractual arrangements are under negotiation for the Irbid, Marka and Zarqa camps with the respective municipalities. In the West Bank, two incinerators were built at Fawwar and Dheisheh camps for sanitary disposal of garbage.
103. The problem of a shortage of trained sanitarians in the West Bank and Gaza fields is being resolved through a three-pronged approach: the WHO Fellowship programme, training of sub-professional health workers (with emphasis on environmental health) at the University of Bethlehem and a planned B.Sc. degree course in sanitary sciences at the Arab College of Medical Sciences at Al-Bireh in the West Bank.
104. The Agency's sanitation staff, in collaboration with the municipality concerned, are carrying out rodent control activities and periodic insecticide spraying campaigns in the Jericho area of the West Bank as a part of a cutaneous leishmaniasis control programme initiated during 1981.
7. Nutrition, including supplementary feeding
105. The supervision, protection and promotion of the nutritional state of the refugees in general and that of the most vulnerable. groups in particular are among the main objectives of the UNRWA health programme. These groups include infants, pre-school and elementary school children, pregnant and nursing mothers, non-hospitalized tuberculosis patients and members of destitute families. The data collected through routine surveillance of the growth development of children attending the Child health clinics showed that the nutritional condition of the refugees was well maintained. Cases with third-degree malnutrition have virtually disappeared while second-degree cases are very rare now.
106. The Agency's supplementary feeding programme provides midday meals and monthly distribution of milk powder and extra rations to selected groups. At the 90 UNRWA supplementary feeding centres and four voluntary agency centres, nutritionally balanced midday meals are served six days a week to children up to the age of six, all of whom are eligible to receive them, and on medical grounds to older children, sick adults and the destitute. In Lebanon, authority was given to issue midday meals, on an open basis, to children up to the age of 15 years.
107. A special high-protein high-calorie diet is also available daily to infant's and children suffering from diarrhea and malnutrition. Vitamin A and D capsules are issued with the meals. Whole and skim milk are distributed in dry form to non-breast-fed infants up to six months and to all children from 6 to 36 months attending the child health clinics. Almost 65,000 children benefited from this programme (see annex I, table 7). In order to improve the standard of hygiene of the milk distribution operation, the Agency has installed three milk-bagging machines.
108. In Jordan, as in previous years, the Agency provided, on behalf of the Government and against reimbursement, milk and midday meals for persons displaced in 1967 (other than UNRWA-registered refugees) who live in camps.
109. In the Syrian Arab Republic, the authorities handed over to UNRWA a newly- constructed supplementary feeding centre in the Yarmouk area of Damascus as a replacement of one that had been demolished as part of a civic improvement scheme.
8. Medical and paramedical education and training
110. The Agency maintained and further developed its programme of education and training in the field of health.
111. In 1982/83, 131 refugee students held UNRWA medical University scholarships (see annex I, table 5) and 212 refugee trainees were enrolled in courses for laboratory technicians, public health inspectors and assistant pharmacists in Agency training centres. Of these, 23 university students and 90 trainees either successfully completed their courses of study or were expected to pass their qualifying examinations.
112. Scholarships for basic nursing education are funded from donations received from voluntary agencies for the purpose. While the need for nursing staff in UNRWA is very great, the Agency has no means of providing nursing training itself and relies entirely on outside sources. It is becoming more and more difficult to fill vacant posts with properly qualified staff.
113. Intensive in-service training was carried out by the Department of Health for its own staff in the various disciplines of the programme. Within the framework of a WHO-sponsored training and fellowship programme for health personnel, two fellowships were granted by the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) in the academic year 1982/83: one to a medical officer from the West Bank to attend a post-graduate training course of 17 months' duration in maternal and child health in London; and the other to a graduate nurse from Gaza to attend a one-year course in public health nursing at Cairo. WHO/ERO granted short-term fellowships to two groups of health personnel who attended training courses in diarrhoeal diseases: the first group received their training at Alexandria, Egypt, from 20 to 29 April 1983, and included three medical officers (two from the Syrian Arab Republic and one from Jordan) and two registered nurses from the Syrian Arab Republic; the second group received their training at Lahore, Pakistan, from 16 May 1983, and included four medical officers (three from Lebanon and one from Jordan) one graduate nurse on a WHO fellowship successfully completed a one-year teacher-training programme (diploma course) in Bahrain in 1982. Two medical officers who were on study leave in 1981/82 successfully completed their studies for a Master's degree in pediatrics. Two senior staff nurses (one each from Jordan and the Gaza Strip) completed a one-year post-basic midwifery training course at Amman in 1983, and one registered nurse from Jordan is following a similar course of training at Amman in the academic year 1983/84. Eighteen registered refugee students, of whom eight were sponsored by UNRWA, successfully completed an 18-month basic midwifery training course at the UNRWA/Swedish Health Centre in Gaza in 1982.
C. Relief services
114. The Agency's relief services comprise assistance to the destitute, including the provision of basic food commodities, blankets, clothing, shelter repair or reconstruction, cash grants and welfare case-work; and, for all eligible refugees, the organization of youth and women’s activities, adult training courses and rehabilitation of the disabled. In addition, a small measure of humanitarian assistance is still provided for persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 war.
115. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982 and the subsequent movements of the refugee population, the damage and destruction to property and facilities and the resulting unemployment among refugees have necessitated a greatly increased
relief operation in Lebanon, which is described in chapter I of the present report.
116. In the West Bank, the relief services continued to be interrupted by local unrest. During the period under review, two refugees have been reported killed and five wounded in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers and armed Israeli civilians.
117. As a consequence of the re-establishment of the border between the Sinai and the Gaza Strip in 1982, on the return of the Sinai to the Egyptian Government by the Israeli Government, some 4,350 refugees have been stranded in a housing project in the Egyptian sector of Rafah, where they bad built or purchased homes. The majority are now unemployed and living in hardship, and are deprived of access to the full range of UNRWA services. Through the co-operation of the Egyptian and Israeli Governments, temporary arrangements have been made to distribute food rations to them as well as to provide some schooling and health care; but these cannot continue indefinitely. UNRWA understands that it has been agreed between Egypt and Israel that these refugees should be relocated in the Gaza strip and the Agency is anxious to see this agreement implemented.
118. At the request of the Jordanian Government, and in accordance with General Assembly resolution 2252, (ES-V) of 4 July 1967 (and subsequent resolutions up to and including 37/120 B) requesting the Agency to provide humanitarian assistance, as far as practicable, on an emergency basis and as a temporary measure to persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 hostilities but who were not registered with UNRWA as refugees, the Agency has continued to distribute rations in Jordan on behalf of the Government to some 193,500 such persons, and to provide schooling, supplementary feeding, milk, and medical, sanitation and other camp services to those residing in the post-1967 refugee camps. The Government reimburses the Agency for the cost of supplies used in the supplementary feeding and milk programmes and the cost of distributing basic rations to displaced persons.
1. Eligibility and registration
119. The number of refugees registered with the Agency on 30 June 1983 was 1,957,061, which, compared with 1,925,726 on 30 June 1982, represents an increase of 1.63 per cent. The eligibility of refugees for Agency services is continually monitored to the extent, possible.
120. With the elimination of the basic ration programme (see para. 123), the Agency was able to simplify the registration system. Since 1 May 1983, there have been only two categories of registration, one category for those registered refugees eligible for all Agency services and one category for those who are eligible for very few services, instead of the previous eight categories and subcategories.
121. The Agency has decided to provide all registered persons with individual registration cards. Previously, registration cards listing the members of a family were issued to the head of the family only. This meant that only one family member at a time could be in possession of the card, resulting in inconvenience on occasions when more than one family member needed to identify themselves as registered refugees simultaneously but in different places. It is planned to issue the new registration cards in the coming months, and it is hoped that all registered persons who request one will receive it before the end of June 1984.
2. Rations
122. In its decision 36/462 of 16 March 1982, the General Assembly, inter alia, called upon Governments and organizations making contributions in kind to UNRWA either to give cash instead or to allow UNRWA to sell the contributions for cash. The Agency would continue to solicit contributions of foodstuffs sufficient to meet the needs of the hardship cases, the supplementary feeding programme and catering at the residential vocational and teacher-training centres; but the basic ration programme, which offered only a token food supplement mostly to persons who, anyway, were not hardship cases, had the lowest priority among the Agency's programmes and could be phased out, if cash resources were correspondingly increased for higher priority services.
123. The need to conserve food stocks in order to provide aid to the refugee victims of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon accelerated this development, and from September 1982 the Agency ceased to distribute the basic ration everywhere except to beneficiaries in Lebanon.
124. The number of persons receiving emergency rations as a result of the situation in Lebanon fluctuated during the period from June to December 1982 because of the continual movement of the displaced population and the difficulties of transporting supplies and making the distribution. The situation stabilized in 1983, and the number of persons receiving the emergency ration is now established at about 178,000, of whom some 7,200 are Palestinians not registered with the Agency and approximately 7,900 have found refuge in the Syrian Arab Republic.
125. Until March 1983, the emergency ration provided just over 2,000 calories per person per day. From 1 April, it was reduced to just over 1,600 calories per person per day for all recipients except those identified as in special need, some 28,500 persons who continue to receive 2,000 calories per day. Due to the continuing unsettled situation in Lebanon and the lack of employment opportunities for Palestinians living there, the Agency has decided to continue to provide the emergency ration at least until March 1984.
126. Food rations continue to be distributed to the hardship cases, which include widows, orphans, the aged, the physically and mentally handicapped and the chronically sick. They are also provided with blankets, clothing, token cash grants, assistance in the repair or reconstruction of shelters and preferential access to vocational and teacher training. Needy persons must apply for this assistance, which is given after verification (and periodic re-verification) by Agency staff that this family has quite inadequate means. The level of Agency support still leaves hardship-case families dependent on relatives and neighbours. Following the cessation of the general ration distribution, the Agency made a public commitment to develop its assistance to the destitute, but whether it will be able to make that commitment good depends considerably on the availability of additional resources.
127. The programme of assistance to hardship cases began in east Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the summer of 1978 and was introduced in Lebanon in 1981. In the Syrian Arab Republic, it has now been possible to establish the programme, from June 1983. At the end of that month, 89,110 destitute persons Agency-wide were benefiting from this assistance. In 1982, persons registered as hardship cases received, by field, the following:
|
Field |
Flour |
Rice |
Sugar |
Cooking oil |
Burghol |
Skim milk powder |
||
|
(Kilogrammes per annum) |
||||||||
|
Gaza West Bank Jordan Lebanon |
124.75 83.00 120.00
44.00 |
8.00 3.00 6.00 – |
12.00 6.40 10.80 4.00 |
9.00 4.50 9.00 3.00 |
0.50 – 1.00 – |
– – 2.00 – |
||
Following the cessation of the basic ration programme, there has been a significant and steady increase in the number of applications for this assistance.
3. Camps and shelters
128. The population of the 51 camps established before 1967 increased from 557,198 to 564,604. In the 10 post-1967 camps (six in east Jordan and four in the Syrian Arab Republic) accommodating refugees displaced as a result of the 1967 hostilities, the population also showed an increase from 165,272 last year to 168,667 at present. The number of registered refugees living in camps represented 35.O6 per cent of the registered refugee population, varying from 55.06 per cent in the Gaza Strip and 51.48 per cent in Lebanon to only 28.15 per cent in the West Bank, because of the continuing presence in east Jordan of many former West Bank refugees who fled the West Bank in 1967-1969 and are not permitted by the Government of Israel to return. UNRWA provides services to Palestine refugees whether they live in camps or not.
129. The camps were constructed on government land or in private land made available (with one or two minor exceptions) by the host Governments, which remained responsible for the maintenance of law and order and similar governmental functions as part of their normal responsibilities towards the population within their borders. It is desirable to distinguish between three categories of buildings in camps: installations constructed or rented by the Agency (for example schools, clinics and stores), which are in the possession of the Agency and used by it for the purpose indicated; shelters (huts) constructed by the Agency, which are the dwellings of and in the possession of refugees, who have maintained them in repair and in many cases added to and improved them; and houses and other buildings constructed and occupied or otherwise used by refugees (or others), for some of which the Agency might at most have given some assistance at the time they were constructed. It should be noted, too, that some camps contain large numbers of persons who are not registered refugees or even registered camp inhabitants. The camps established on the edges of towns have in the course of time tended to merge with the towns and to be indistinguishable from other parts of them.
130. Absolutely essential maintenance of Agency buildings and installations continued to be carried out, but much important maintenance work (for example, external painting, and repair of roads) was not executed because of lack of funds. This deferral adds to the problems in the following financial year, when the maintenance required might well be more serious and costs have risen.
131. The Agency assisted 239 families registered as special hardship cases in repairing or reconstructing their camp shelters during 1982 at a cost of $67,966.
132. Many self-help projects were completed, with the Agency contributing part of the cost and the refugee communities, municipalities or other local sources contributing the remainder in the form of labor, materials or cash. The Governments of Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic carried out various work for the improvement of living conditions and facilities in the camps.
133. Following the agreement between Israel and Egypt on the re-establishment of the border between the Sinai and the Gaza Strip, 764 rooms in the border zone housing 258 families (1,613 persons) have been demolished by, or on the order of, the Israeli occupation authorities. Compensation has been paid to all the families whose shelters were demolished, and they have all taken advantage of the Israeli offer of plots of land in a housing project developed by the authorities.
134. Details of the housing situation of refugees whose shelters were demolished by the Israeli occupation authorities in the Gaza Strip in 1971 are given in the Secretary-General's report to the General Assembly (A/38/418). Some of these refugees are among those who have moved into new housing in projects developed by the Israeli authorities. Other refugees have voluntarily purchased plots of land in these housing developments and built their own homes. But the Agency is concerned that many families are still living in unsatisfactory conditions, some of them in real hardship. The Agency is continuing to pursue these cases with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the year under review, according to UNRWA records, 655 refugee families (4,102 persons) moved into homes built on land they bad purchased or received as compensation. The Agency acknowledges that the accommodation provided in the projects is superior to the shelters in which these families were formerly living. But the overall shortage of housing for refugees. In the Gaza Strip persists, partly because families moving from camps into the housing projects are required by the Israeli authorities, as a pre-condition, to demolish the rooms they previously occupied. In the year under review, 863 rooms were demolished for this reason, in addition to rooms forcibly demolished along the border with the Sinai (see para. 133), and were therefore not available to alleviate over-crowded conditions in the camps. A programme to replace unsuitable and dilapidated, ex-army barracks housing 381 families in the Gaza Strip by more suitable accommodation commenced in 1980. One hundred and twenty-two families have so far been re-housed under this programme, which was funded initially by the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation. OXFAM has contributed funds towards a similar
though smaller programme in the Syrian Arab Republic.
135. The Israeli authorities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip continued to demolish refugee shelters in the camps as, a punitive, measure. During the period under review the shelters of 14 families, comprising 118 persons, were demolished in accordance with this policy.
136. Much distress has been caused to the refugee population, particularly the aged and the very young, by the frequent curfews imposed by the Israeli authorities on camps in the West Bank, and by, the harassment and attacks to which they have been subjected, by armed Israeli civilians there. Some hardship has also been caused to the inhabitants of several camps by the Israeli authorities constructing barricades at the main entrances. Emergency arrangements were made with the Israeli authorities for a few key UNRWA personnel to assure at least the minimum essential services (such as ensuring water flow, garbage collection, supplementary feeding, health services and ration distribution to hardship cases) during periods of curfew (see also para. 164).
137. A report on the camps in the Tyre, Saida and Beirut areas of Lebanon, which were all damaged to a greater or lesser extent during the Israeli invasion, is given in paragraphs 17 to 27 above. Eighty per cent of the Ein-el-Hilweh camp was destroyed while very little damage was sustained in them Mai Mia camp. The work of clearing the damaged areas in the camps, providing basic water supplies and sanitary facilities and preparing road beds was almost, complete by the end of December, 1982. Families in the Beirut camps were provided with building materials, and cash to repair or rebuild their shelters. Families in the Saida and Tyre camps whose shelters, were destroyed, were given tents and cash to construct tiled floors and low concrete-block walls to render the tents more habitable and those whose shelters were damaged were given cash grants. On 16 May 1983, the Lebanese Prime Minister confirmed to the Commissioner-General that the Agency was authorized to reconstruct all affected camps to the condition they were in before the invasion. The Agency plans to give additional cash assistance to destitute or adjacent to the camps, whose shelters were damaged or destroyed, to enable them to repair or rebuild them. Damaged UNRWA installations have been repaired and the Agency plans to rebuild those of its premises which were destroyed, complete the laying of roads and improve the water and sanitation facilities.
4. Welfare
138. The number of families registered with UNRWA as hardship cases totaled 23,449, comprising 89,110 persons. Small cash grants totaling $171,340 were given to 58,842 persons, while assistance in other forms was given to 95,949 persons. Welfare workers helped solve individual and family problems through counseling and 91 guidance. Prosthetic devices were issued to 508 persons, while 57 destitute persons, 132 aged persons and 24 orphans were placed in institutions, mainly free of charge. Voluntary agencies donated 73 tons of used clothing to UNRWA for distribution to refugee welfare cases.
139. Pre-school activities for children are directed to the particular needs of the three- to six-year-olds and aimed at developing their potential through play periods supervised by trained-teachers of the 51 centres serving 4,450 children, the American Friends Service Committee obtained funding for 15 UNRWA-operated centres in the Gaza Strip and the Holy Land Christian Mission financed and operated seven in the West Bank the remaining centres were financed either by local groups or other voluntary agencies.
140. Youth activities were carried out in co-operation with the World Alliance of Young Men's Christian Associations in 37 refugee camps and 14,119 young refugees participated. There were 1,182 boys under 16 years of age who participated in self-improvement projects and recreational programmes. Twelve self-help projects
were completed in camps by the members of youth activities centres. In the West Bank, six of the centres were closed by the occupation authorities, three of them throughout the reporting period (see para. 166). But at other centres in this field there has been increased interest in the programme. In the Nur Shams camp, the refugee youngsters completed the construction of a new centre, which is now in use, and a similar self-help project is in progress in Arroub camp.
141. Activities for women are carried on during the afternoons in 14 centres operated by the Agency. The object of this programme is to give refugee girls and women living in camps a chance to develop skills that will help them to raise their standard of living. The Agency also organizes training activities outside schools to equip with basic skills young refugees who would not otherwise receive vocational training or further education. These activities include 33 sewing centres for 866 refugee women and girls and, in the West Bank, three carpentry centres where 44 young refugees attend a one-year course. Special training was provided for 137 disabled refugee children to integrate them into the life of their community; 59 of them attended the centre for the Blind in Gaza, which is operated for refugees by the Agency and financed by the Pontifical mission for Palestine, and the others were trained at similar specialized institutions in the area.
142. A pilot project started with the co-operation and financial support of OXFAM during the International Year of Disabled Persons, with the aim of showing a camp community in Jordan how the disabled can be assisted in the community by the community, has been making slow but steady progress.
D. Personnel and administrative matters
1. Location of UNRWA headquarters
143. The General Assembly reiterated at its thirty-seventh session its request that UNRWA headquarters "should be relocated to its former site within its area of operations as soon as practicable" (para. 3 of resolution 37/120 K of 16 December 1982). The Commissioner-General fully supports this request and has every intention of complying with it, recognizing the desirability of reducing the distance between his main headquarters, at present at Vienna, and the five Field Offices. Unfortunately, the situation in the Middle East remains volatile and it is not possible to determine when it might become feasible to reunite headquarters at Beirut.
2. Joint Inspection Unit study
144. In its decision 36/462 of 16 March 1982, the General Assembly, inter alia, "requested the Joint Inspection Unit to carry out a comprehensive review of the Agency's organization, budget and operations with a view to assisting the Commissioner- General to make the most effective and economical use of the limited funds available to the Agency". The inspectors held discussions at UNRWA headquarters at Vienna and visited all five fields preparatory to drafting their report, which is due to be presented to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session.
3. Changes in the staffing table
145. Over the year there was a net increase of 46 posts in the staffing table:
|
30 June 1982 |
30 June 1983 |
|||||
|
(a) |
International posts |
|||||
|
(i) (ii) (iii) |
UNRWA UNESCO (filled on non-reimbursable loan) WHO (filled on non- reimbursable loan) |
95 21 a/ 5 |
110 21 a/ 5 |
|||
|
Sub-total |
121 |
136 |
||||
|
(b) |
Local posts |
17 162 b/ |
17 193 b/ |
|||
|
Total |
17 283 ====== |
17 329 ====== |
||||
__________
a/ Including one post reimbursed by the Japanese Government.
b/ See annex I, table 8, for details of the distribution of local posts.
The number of staff actually in service increased by three:
|
30 June 1982 |
30 June 1983 |
||||||
|
(a) |
International staff |
||||||
|
(i) |
UNRWA Male Female |
93 81 12 |
102 83 19 |
||||
|
(ii) |
UNESCO Male Female |
11 9 2 |
18 16 2 |
||||
|
(iii) |
WHO Male Female |
5 3 2 |
5 3 2 |
||||
|
(b) (c) |
Local staff Male Female Total staff Male Female |
16 668 10 957 5 711 16 777 11 050 5 727 |
16 655 10 890 5 765 16 780 10 992 5 788 |
||||
146. The increase in the number of international posts over the past 12 months (see the first table in para. 145) is due entirely to the emergency situation in Lebanon, which required a temporary expatriate reinforcement. The 15 posts have been filled by short-term recruitment, 4 of them funded from the Agency's budget and 11 by non-governmental organizations (the Norwegian People's Relief Association, the Norwegian Refugee Council, OXFAM, Radda Barnen, Redd Barna and the United Kingdom Save the Children Fund). The posts (and their incumbents) will gradually be phased out as operations in Lebanon return to normal.
147. The Agency's experience in Lebanon has convinced the Commissioner-General of the need to strengthen the international staffing in all five Field offices to assure proper international surveillance. Five additional P-3 international posts are being established from 1 July 1983, bringing the, normal complement of international staff to six in each Field office.
148. At the end of the reporting period, all posts of WHO staff on non-reimbursable loan were occupied and the number of vacancies among the UNESCO posts bad been reduced from 10 (at the beginning of the period) to 3.
149. The normal increase in the number of local posts (primarily additional teachers to accommodate the growth in the school population) was partly offset by the abolition of over 130 posts as the result of the phasing-out of the basic ration programme. Additional posts are expected to be eliminated during the coming year, as further simplifications in relief service procedures are implemented. Staff members who occupied these posts (locally-recruited Palestine refugees) are gradually being absorbed into vacant positions.
4. Implementation of ICSC common system job
classification master standards
150. Implementation of the job classification standards set by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) for international posts has been delayed because of queries raised by the International Staff Association (ISA). Discussions have been held between ISA and the Administration, and it is now expected that grade determinations based on the standards will be made for all posts during the second half of 1983. The Commissioner-General has decided to implement the results with effect from 1 January 1984. The additional cost is estimated at approximately $85,000 per year.
5. Pay administration for locally recruited staff
151. A comprehensive pay survey was conducted by ICSC in Jordan for non-teaching staff and remuneration has been increased by an average of 24 per cent. The teaching staff in that field were also expected to agree to having their remuneration determined in line with prevailing rates in the local market. Pay surveys have been scheduled in the Syrian Arab Republic and the occupied territories during the next reporting period. In accordance with the interim adjustment procedures, increases in remuneration, in the form of cost-of-living allowances, have been authorized during the reporting period as follows:
|
Lebanon Syrian Arab Republic Jordan a/ West Bank Gaza Vienna |
Percentage increase 18.5 4.9 – 14.1 – 4.1 |
Estimated annual cost (US dollars) 2 500 000 500 000 – 1 400 000 – 150 000 |
|||
____________
a/ Survey of remuneration recently completed, therefore no interim increase indicated.
6. Staff management consultations
152. Following extensive discussions between the representatives of the locally- recruited staff and the Administration, a new Memorandum of Agreement was signed, which, inter alia, improves disability benefits, annual and maternity leave entitlements and education assistance. It also calls for a detailed study to be made of social security systems in the area of operations, to determine what modifications to the Agency’s separation benefits package might be appropriate to satisfy the principle of maintaining overall conditions of service with reference to those provided by other employers in the local labor markets. The study is being carried out by the consulting actuaries to the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund.
7. Sex discrimination
153. Despite the desire to increase the proportion of female staff members at all levels, the results are still disappointing. Their proportion to the total staff complement at the end of the last four reporting periods was:
|
1980 |
1981 |
1982 |
1983 |
||||
|
(Percentage as at 30 June each year) |
|||||||
|
International Local |
12.6 33.5 |
14.4 34.3 |
14.8 34.3 |
18.4 34.6 |
|||
Details for 1983 are set out in table 9 of annex I.
154. For lack of funds, it has still not been possible to remove from the area (local) staff regulations, rules and personnel directives those dependency allowance provisions which result in inequitable treatment of female staff members by comparison with their male colleagues. The estimated cost ($1.4 million) is included in the 1984 budget estimates, but implementation will depend on funds becoming available for the purpose.
8. Staff development and training
155. Formal in-service training is provided to teaching and medical staff of the Departments of Education and Health and to welfare staff in the Department of Relief Services. Staff members at large are also encouraged to work for higher academic and professional qualifications, financial assistance being provided in some cases in the form of scholarships as well as special leave with pay. In the past, however, mainly due to financial and staffing constraints, the Agency has been unable to devote sufficient resources to identify precise training needs for staff members in the General Service categories as well as to meet identified needs. Now, increasingly greater attention is being given to this area, both at headquarters and in the Field Offices. The evaluation of training requirements formulation of programmes their implementation and review are at various stages of development. Emphasis is being given to induction and orientation courses, basic academic (or remedial education), language and refresher training.
E. Legal matters
1. Agency staff
156. The number of staff members arrested and detained without charge or trial in the period under review is given in the table below:
|
Arrested and released without charge or trial Charged, tried and sentenced Still detained without charge at 30 June 1983 |
Gaza 5 2 3 |
West Bank 15 1 1 |
Jordan – – – |
Syrian Arab Republic – – 1 |
Lebanon a/ 29 – 15 |
____________
a/ In addition, more than 200 staff members were arrested and detained in south Lebanon by the Israeli Defense Force, 89 of whom were still detained without charge at 30 June 1983.
157. The reporting period has seen a substantial increase in the number of staff members arrested and detained without charge or trial. The Agency's difficulties in obtaining adequate and timely information from the Governments or other authorities concerned on the reasons for the arrest and detention of its staff have been correspondingly aggravated. In the absence of sufficient information, the Agency is unable to ascertain whether the staff member's official functions are involved, bearing in mind his rights and duties flowing from the United Nations charter, the 1946 convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and UNRWA’s pertinent staff regulations and rules.
158. The increase in the arrests and detention of staff members is essentially due to action taken by the Israeli forces now in south Lebanon. The Agency has urged the Israeli authorities to release these staff members. It has also, without success, repeatedly asked for specific information on the reasons for their arrests and for immediate access to them. The Commissioner-General has taken up the matter at meetings in Israel with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and UNRWA officials have pursued the matter both with the Israeli forces in south Lebanon and the Israeli authorities in Jerusalem. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 37/236 of 21 December 1982, the Secretary-General wrote to the Permanent Representative of Israel, reinforcing and requesting action by the Israeli Government in accordance with the terms of the resolution. From its replies, it would appear that the Government of Israel has taken the position that it may determine unilaterally what constitutes an official or unofficial act of a United Nations official, whereas it is for the organization itself to consider the relevance of charges made against its staff members and to determine if any official act is involved. The Secretary-General has expressed his deepest concern and has requested the Government of Israel to reconsider its position.
159. The Agency has continued to take up in other fields the cases of detention of its staff by the Governments concerned. It is glad to report that the Government of Lebanon has now allowed access by Agency officials to a few of the staff members detained by the Lebanese authorities.
160. The matter of securing first-arrival privileges for expatriate staff members In Jordan (referred to in para. 179 of last year's report) 1/ was taken up again, but without any progress being made.
161. The restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on the duty travel to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of two international staff member and a locally-recruited staff member (reported in para. 180 of last year’s report) 1/ still continue. In the Syrian Arab Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has since December withheld exit and re-entry visas from the United Nations laissez-passers of locally-recruited Syrian and Palestinian staff who reside in the Syrian Arab Republic and are required to travel on official Agency business. The matter is being pursued with the Syrian authorities.
162. The interrogation of staff members during and after UNRWA office hours by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has continued unabated. In the Gaza Strip, some staff members have been summoned for interrogation daily for several consecutive days. The interrogations usually relate to offences allegedly committed by the children or other family members of the staff member concerned. The Agency has taken up all these cases with the authorities, as appropriate. In some instances in the Gaza Strip, staff members have been required by the Israeli authorities to serve as guards in Government schools. The Agency views this practice with great concern and has asked the authorities to discontinue it, as UNRWA staff members should not be subject to orders of this kind.
163. UNRWA has also urged the Israeli forces in south Lebanon to ensure protection to the Agency in the area, as on more than one occasion Agency staff members at work in UNRWA premises have been manhandled by members of so-called "Social Humanitarian Committees".
2. Agency services and premises
164. Agency operations in the West Bank have been adversely affected by curfews which have been imposed on the grounds of unrest, including demonstrations and incidents of stone-throwing. Curfews were imposed from time to time on several camps for varying periods, the longest being at Jalazone, from 8 to 30 March, and at Dheisheh, from 9 to 23 March 1983. In the Gaza Strip, a curfew was imposed for two days in the Jabalia camp following demonstrations on 30 March 1983. With varying degrees of success, arrangements were made with the Israeli military authorities for the provision of at least the minimum essential camp services during curfew periods in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Camps and Agency installations in the West Bank have been subjected to harassment by armed Israeli civilians.
165. The Israeli military authorities entered the three Agency training centres in the West Bank when demonstrations took place at or near the centres. Two of the centres were closed by the authorities: the Kalandia Vocational Training Centre from 14 February to 14 April 1983, and the Ramallah Women's Training Centre from 29 November to 20 December 1982 and again from 26 March to 26 April 1983.
166. Youth activities centres at Kalandia, Dheisheh, Fawwar and Balata in the West Bank, reported as closed in last year's report. (para. 59), 1/ are still closed, although the Balata centre was allowed to reopen briefly from 15 to 24 February. The Tulkarem centre was closed from 29 October until 17 May, and the centre at Aida has been closed since 11 March. Discussions continue with the Israeli authorities to have all these centres reopened, but the Agency has been informed that this is not yet possible for security reasons.
167. In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli authorities continue to impose restrictions (see paras. 72 to 74 and 184 of last year’s report) 1/ on new construction by the Agency in refugee camps, contrary to the undertakings of the Israeli Government under the Michelmore-Comay Agreement of 1967. Two more major projects have been blocked as a result (in one case, after building had commenced), despite appropriate co-ordination with the authorities, and the repair of a dilapidated wall was also stopped after work had begun. The Agency has protested these actions and opposed the imposition of such new restrictions. Attempts to reach a modus vivendi with the Israeli authorities which would overcome these difficulties had not proved successful by the end of the reporting period. Apart from the question of principle and the frustration to the Agency's operations, the cancellation of contracts obliged UNRWA to make financial compensation to the contractors.
168. The investigations carried out by the Agency in connection with its Training Centre at Siblin revealed that unknown to the Agency's senior officials, Palestinian military personnel had made unauthorized use of the Centre during a period of about two years prior to 1982 to provide the students with some basic military training, which was clearly incompatible with the Agency’s status and functions. Disciplinary action has been taken against the Agency officials responsible for such contraventions of UNRWA regulations and rules. The Israeli military who entered the Centre premises in June 1982 removed heavy machines such as lathes, which were fixed to the floor of the Centre workshop. The Israeli authorities have undertaken to return the equipment and the matter is being pursued with them by the Agency.
169. In south Lebanon the Israeli forces continue to occupy an UNRWA school building, despite repeated assurances that the building would be vacated. Neither has it been possible for the Agency to have full use of land available to it in the Ein-el-Hilweh camp in south Lebanon for the housing of refugees, because of objections raised by the Israeli Defense Force. These and other matters are being pursued.
170. As projected in paragraph 167 of last year’s reports, 1/ the damage caused to Agency property following the Israeli-military action in Lebanon has been assessed. Particulars may be found in the Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly pursuant to paragraph 7 of resolution 37/120 J of 16 December 1982 (A/38/420).
3. Demolition of refugee housing
171. In the year under review, the Israeli authorities in the Gaza Strip demolished on punitive grounds the housing of 12 families, individual members of whom were alleged to have committed security offences. As a result some 94 persons lost their homes and 43 rooms were destroyed, of which 20 were Agency-built or Agency-assisted. In addition, at the end of June 1983, these authorities began demolition of refugee-built shelters on the perimeter of Beach camp in the Gaza Strip, an account of which is given in the Secretary-General's report on Palestine refugees in the Gaza Strip (A/38/418). The Israeli authorities also demolished on punitive grounds two refugee shelters in the West Bank, one of which was Agency-built. The demolition caused damage to adjacent Agency-built and privately-built housing and to a water-point. The Agency has lodged protest against these demolition's pointing out that such action, amounting to collective punishment, is contrary to the obligations of Israel under international law. Claims for compensation have also been lodged but have not been met. The Agency has several times taken up with the Israeli authorities in the West Bank the reconstruction of houses demolished on punitive grounds, but has been told that a decision has been deferred because of unrest in the area.
4. Claims against Governments
172. The Government of Israel is still examining claims filed in 1969, about which it has been reminded by the UNRWA Field Office at Jerusalem on the occasion of other more recent claims.
173. Various claims are still pending against the Government of Jordan, also, and the Agency hopes that the Government will agree to discussions shortly.
CHAPTER III
FINANCING UNRWA OPERATIONS
A. Regular financial operations 1982
174. The following is a summary of the Agency's income and expenditure related to the 1982 regular budget: 2/
|
Thousands of US dollars |
|||||||
|
Income |
|||||||
|
Governments Intergovernmental organizations United Nations agencies Non-governmental sources Miscellaneous Exchange adjustments Total income |
143 391 25 280 6 878 3 041 4 995 (1 708) |
181 877 |
|||||
|
Expenditure |
|||||||
|
Education services Health services Relief services Other costs |
Recurrent 104 641 32 587 30 443 293 |
Non-recurrent 4 833 1 355 876 6 827 |
Total 110 474 33 942 31 319 7 120 |
||||
|
Total expenditure |
168 964 |
13 891 |
182 855 |
||||
|
Excess of expenditure over income |
978 |
||||||
B. Financing the Lebanon emergency relief operation 1982-1983
175. The emergency relief operation in Lebanon has been budgeted and accounted for separately from the Agency's regular programmes. The following is a summary of the financing of the operation over the first 13 months, June 1982-June 1983: 3/
|
June-December 1982 |
January-June 1983 |
Total |
||||
|
(Thousands of US dollars) |
||||||
|
Appeals |
||||||
|
June 1983 November 1982 (revised) |
39 000 21 500 |
– 21 900 |
39 000 43 400 |
|||
|
Income in response to appeals |
||||||
|
Governments Intergovernmental organizations United Nations agencies Non-governmental sources Total income |
31 628 3 173 2 217 5 168 42 186 |
|||||
|
Expenditure |
||||||
|
June-December 1982 January-June 1983 Total expenditure |
20 638 32 112 52 750 ====== |
|||||
The shortfall in income has initially been met by diversion of stocks and cash from the Agency's regular programmes.
176. The continuing severe hardship among many refugees affected by the turmoil in Lebanon necessitates the continuation of emergency relief at least through the coming winter until March 1984, when the situation will again be reviewed. The Agency is budgeting for the following requirements:
|
Thousands of US dollars |
|||||
|
Foodstuffs Blankets |
8 960 150 |
||||
|
Total |
9 100 ===== |
Requests for special contributions to meet these needs have been addressed to regular contributors believed to be in a position to assist. A financial statement will be included in the annual report for 1983-1984.
C. Lebanon emergency reconstruction programme, phase I
177. On 24 June 1983, the Commissioner-General launched an appeal for funds to permit in Lebanon the reconstruction of Agency installations and camp infrastructure and to enable refugees living in camps and the immediate environs to rehabilitate their housing. In this phase, only work which the Agency could commence immediately and could reasonably hope to complete over the coming months has been included. The following is a summary of the budget which formed the basis of the appeal:
|
Thousands of US dollars |
|||||
|
Refugee housing |
|||||
|
Cash assistance to 3,200 destitute families (special hardship cases) in or adjacent to Beirut, Saida and Tyre camps Additional accomodation, Wavel camp |
5 702 1 310 |
||||
|
Camp infrastructure |
|||||
|
Electricity network – camps in Beirut, Saida, Tyre and Beqa'a areas Paths, roads and surface-water drains (two- to three-year programme) – Ein-el-Hilweh, Rashidieh, Burj el Shemali, El Buss and Wavel camps |
654 1 965 |
||||
|
Reconstruction of UNRWA installations (in whole or part) |
|||||
|
Clinics – Ein-el-Hilweh, Rashidieh Milk and feeding centres – Ein-el-Hilweh, El Buss Welfare and sewing centres – Ein-el-Hilweh Stores and distribution centres – Ein-el-Hilweh, Burj el Shemali, El Buss Camps services offices – Rashidieh, El Buss |
64 101 25 96 48 |
||||
|
Schools (two-year programme) |
– Ein-el-Hilweh – Rashidieh – El Buss – Shatila |
1 450 305 38 405 |
|||
|
Equipment for reconstructed UNRWA installations |
|||||
|
Schools Other facilities |
360 18 |
||||
|
Sub-total |
12 541 |
||||
|
Allowance for contingencies |
459 |
||||
|
Total |
13 000 |
||||
Implementation of this programme will be possible only as and when special contributions are pledged.
D. Revised regular budget for 1983
178. The original budget estimates for 1983 were presented in chapter IV of the 1981- 1982 annual report. 1/ As of June 1983, those estimates have been revised from $271.4 million to $207.5 million, a net decrease of $63.9 million.
179. The decrease results most notably from the decision in September 1982 to phase out the basic ration programme except for the issues still being made in Lebanon. In 1983, the consequent savings are $32.4 million. In addition, an updating of estimated staff cost increases has reduced the budget by $34 million; and there have been miscellaneous savings across the board of $5.6 million mainly attributable to the imposition of minimum growth restrictions and favourable exchange rates between the United States dollar in which the Agency’s programmes are budgeted and the local currencies in which most local expenditures are made.
180. These reductions are partially offset by additional provisions of an estimated $5 million to meet increases in other relief services, including assistance to the destitute; $1.9 million for projects not previously included but for which specially earmarked funds were received; and $1.2 million for the initial issue of individual registration cards Agency-wide.
E. Proposed regular budget for 1984
181. The budget proposed for the regular programmes of UNRWA in 1984 is $233 million, an increase of $25.5 million (approximately 12.5 per cent). Of this increase costs represent $19.3 million and non-recurrent costs $6.2 million. 4/
182. The budget proposed for recurrent expenditure in 1984 is $201.4 million, compared with $182.1 million for 1983. The increase of $19.3 million provides principally for the following: normal programme increases ($1.1 million, mainly for education services as a result of the natural growth in school population); normal salary increments ($3.2 million); higher staff costs due to continued inflation ($12.5 million); provision for improvements in-services ($0.8 million); continued inflation in non-staff costs ($1.7 million, including a provision for increases in hospital subsidies).
183. The budget proposed for non-recurrent expenditure is $314.6 million, compared with a provision of $25.4 million in the budget for 1983. It provides for the following: replacement of unserviceable vehicles and equipment ($1.4 million); classrooms for additional pupils ($0.6 million); urgently needed capital replacements and improvements, particularly in education, shelter, medical and environmental sanitation facilities ($16.6 million); and for increases in the provisions for local staff separation benefits and repatriation costs ($13.0 million) (see also para. 194).
184. The provision for increased staff costs calls for a word of explanation. The greater part of the Agency's assistance to the refugees takes the form of personal services, particularly those provided by teachers and health workers. Staff cost's therefore constitute by far the largest item of expenditure in the Agency's budget (some 72 per cent in 1983 and an estimated 73 per cent in 1984). Consequently, the effects of high inflation on staff costs have a marked impact on the total budget.
185. This apart, the Agency foresees an increase in the number of staff members, mainly to provide the additional teachers and supervisors required to cater for the natural growth in the school population.
186. In 1984, education services will account for approximately 65 per cent of the total budget, compared with 19 per cent for health services, 10 per cent for relief services and 6 per cent for other costs. (Comparable figures for the 1983 budget are 63 per cent for education services, 20 per cent for health services, 10 per cent for relief services and 6 per cent for other costs.)
187. The recurrent budget for education services provides for continuation of the Agency’s general education programme and the vocational, technical and pre-service teacher-training courses conducted in Agency centres, including provision for natural growth in these, programmes. Some vocational training outside UNRWA centres and other minor activities are also budgeted for under education services, as are scholarships at universities in or near the Agency's area of operations. The budget for non-recurrent costs includes provision for construction and equipment of classrooms to replace unsuitable premises and to avoid triple-shifting, additional multi-purpose rooms, school, libraries and science laboratories; extraordinary maintenance and structural repairs to older schools and other buildings; and capital improvements at Agency training centres.
188. The proposed budget for health services, which incorporates the medical care, supplementary feeding and environmental sanitation programmes, includes provision for the basic needs of a slightly larger refugee population in 1984. The objective has always been that the Agency’s health services should not fall below the level of those provided by the Governments of the host countries for their own citizens. With the rapid increase in hospital costs and in the cost of supplies, utilities and staff required for the health centres of UNRWA itself, the Agency continues to find it extremely difficult to achieve this objective. The environmental sanitation programme provides only for the minimum requirements considered necessary to maintain essential community sanitation and water-supply services at reasonably safe levels in camps inhabited by refugees.
189. Increased staff and other health services costs will be due essentially to inflation, as there will only be a minimal increase in the number of staff members required. Provision is made for the essential replacement of equipment in medical, supplementary feeding and camp sanitation installations, and highly desirable improvements in facilities (including sewage disposal and water-supply systems and construction of health centres and supplementary feeding centres). Camp sanitation improvement schemes also include self-help projects in which the refugee beneficiaries participate substantially alongside the Agency.
190. In the budget for relief services, comprising shelter, assistance to the destitute and welfare programmes, provision has been made for the continuation of services in 1984 at the same level as in 1983. Recurrent costs are therefore expected to be only marginally higher than in the previous year, again attributable to increased staff costs. If resources were sufficient, the Agency would as a matter of priority improve assistance to the destitute, which is now quite inadequate.
191. The estimates for non-recurrent relief costs provide mainly for improvements in housing, road maintenance and improvements, replacement of essential equipment, sewing centre renovations and Agency contributions to self-help projects.
192. Under common costs, provision is made for the overall support services and overhead activities which directly and indirectly serve the operational programmes; these costs are categorized under three main headings as follows:
(a) Supply and transport services, covering the procurement, control and warehousing of supplies and equipment, port operations, and passenger and freight transport within the Agency's area of operations;
(b) Other internal services covering personnel and administrative services; translation, legal, financial and data-processing services; internal and external audit services; technical (architectural and engineering) services; and protective services;
(c) General administration, covering general administration services at Agency headquarters at Vienna and Amman, in the five Field offices (including subordinate area and camp services offices), the Liaison Offices in New York and Cairo, and the public information services.
193. The summary tables of the budget estimates, which follow paragraph 197 below, reflect the allocation of common costs to the three main categories of Agency services: education, health and relief. Such an allocation is to some extent a matter of discretion; but the percentages applied have been evolved and re-tested periodically on the basis of a detailed study of all Agency operations in all offices, from which they have been extracted as weighted averages. In view of the cessation of the basic ration programme in 1982, it is now appropriate to revise these percentages, and the changes indicated by a recent review are incorporated in these budget estimates.
194. Other costs in the 1984 budget are estimated at approximately $1.9 million more than in 1983, the net result of an increase of $3.1 million in the one-time adjustment of local staff separation cost provisions, partly offset by not having to repeat the one-time provision of $1.2 million for the issue of individual registration cards incorporated in the 1983 budget. The $1.4 million in recurrent costs is to remove sex discrimination in family allowances. The estimate of $13 million for non-recurrent costs is to cover adjustments in the provision for local staff separation costs necessitated by increased remuneration ($9.7 million, comprising increased cost-of-living allowances. ($4.1 million and cost of incorporation of a part of cost-of-living allowances into salaries ($5.6 million)) an increase in the provision for termination indemnities for local staff in the event of closure of the Agency ($3 million); and an increase in the provision for the eventual repatriation of local staff transferred, to Vienna and Amman from Beirut ($0.25 million).
195. Attention must be drawn to an under-provision in the budget. For budgetary purposes, the Agency assumed in the past that in the event of an orderly turnover of its responsibilities to Governments or other organizations, nearly half of its local staff of approximately 17,000 would be offered suitable continued employment in that case, in accordance with the Agency's staff rules, only the remaining 50 per cent or so would be entitled to receive a termination indemnity (or retirement benefit) for loss of employment. Prior to 1980, provision was made in the Agency's accrued liabilities for only that number. However, in the event of an abrupt suspension of the Agency's operations, for lack of income or any other cause, all local staff would be entitled to receive a separation benefit (termination indemnity or retirement benefit). Because it now appears to the Agency that it would be only provident to make higher provision for such an eventuality, the estimates for the 1983 budget and for the proposed 1984 budget both include $3 million under "other costs", in implementation of the Agency's plan to establish the necessary provision for the liability, which is currently $61 million and increasing at the rate of $300,000 monthly. If these installments are maintained, the total provision should match the full liability by the end of 1984. In view of this burden on the financial viability of UNRWA, the Commissioner-General advocated, during the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly, that the liability for separation benefits in the event of mass redundancies should be placed on the regular budget of the United Nations. The Commissioner-General's suggestion was not adopted at that time, but the question has since been raised again in the context of the report issued by the Joint Inspection Unit (A/38/143).
196. Attention must also be drawn to the existence of certain material liabilities which are not incorporated in the budget estimates. They are as follows:
(a) The cost of improvements in staff separation benefits expected as a result of review by the International Civil Service Commission of comparisons with the outside market, a liability estimated at $10 million to $15 million for the one-time increase in existing accrued benefits and an increase of approximately $0.6 million per annum in the normal annual growth of this cost thereafter;
(b) Provision for the purchase of annuities for the dependent spouses of staff members who die in service, at a cost not yet determined but which could be $3 million for existing cases.
F. Summary of regular budget estimates, 1983 and 1984
197. The following tables present in summary form the budget estimates for the 1984 regular programmes together with comparative data on the revised budget for 1983. Table A shows the estimates of recurrent costs, table B the estimates of non-recurrent costs and table C the estimates of, total costs.
Table A
Recurrent costs
(Thousands of United States dollars)
|
1984 proposed budget_ |
1983 revised budget_ |
|||||
|
I. Education services |
||||||
|
General education Vocational and professional training Share of common costs from part IV |
106 119 15 479 13 877 |
94 794 13 073 12 684 |
||||
|
Total |
135 475 |
120 551 |
||||
|
II. Health services |
||||||
|
Medical services Supplementary feeding Environmental sanitation Share of common costs from part IV |
16 976 11 607 7 021 7 441 |
15 627 11 198 6 395 6 810 |
||||
|
Total |
43 045 |
40 030 |
||||
|
III. Relief services |
||||||
|
Special hardship assistance Relief and welfare services Shelter Share of common costs from part IV |
10 515 3 951 505 6 564 |
10 231 3 448 476 5 999 |
||||
|
Total |
21 535 |
20 154 |
||||
|
IV. Common costs |
||||||
|
Supply and transport services Other internal services General administration |
8 564 13 997 5 321 |
7 935 12 447 5 111 |
||||
|
Costs allocated to programmes |
Total |
27 883 (27 883) |
25 493 (25 493) |
|||
|
V. Other costs |
||||||
|
Provision for realignment of family allowances Adjustment in provision for local staff separation costs necessitated by increased remuneration Adjustment in provision for termination indemnities for local staff in event of closure of the Agency Adjustment in provision for repatriation of local staff Total |
1 400 – – – 1 400 |
1 400 – – – 1 400 |
||||
|
Grand Total |
201 455 ======= |
182 135 ======= |
||||
|
Table B Non-recurrent costs (Thousands of United States dollars) |
||||||
|
I. Education services |
1984 proposed budget_ |
1983 revised budget_ |
||||
|
General education Vocational and professional training Share of common costs from part IV |
13 362 1 477 341 |
8 424 2 059 489 |
||||
|
Total |
15 180 |
10 972 |
||||
|
II. Health services |
||||||
|
Medical services Supplementary feeding Environmental sanitation Share of common costs from part IV |
683 215 990 187 |
709 32 1 238 267 |
||||
|
Total |
2 075 |
2 246 |
||||
|
III. Relief services |
||||||
|
Special hardship assistance Relief and welfare services Shelter Share of common costs from part IV |
347 424 384 173 |
65 258 490 237 |
||||
|
Total |
1 328 |
1 050 |
||||
|
IV. Common costs |
||||||
|
Supply and transport services Other internal services General administration |
405 286 10 |
444 317 232 |
||||
|
Costs allocated to programmes |
Total |
701 (701) |
993 ( 993) |
|||
|
V. Other costs |
||||||
|
Adjustment in provision for local staff separation costs necessitated by increased remuneration Adjustment in provision for termination indemnities for local staff in event of closure of the Agency Adjustment in provision for repatriation of local staff Issue of individual registration cards Total |
9 712 3 000 250 – 12 962 |
6 640 3 000 250 1 200 11 090 |
||||
|
Grand Total |
31 545 ======= |
25 358 ======= |
||||
|
Table C Total costs (Thousands of United States dollars) |
||||||
|
1984 proposed budget_ |
1983 revised budget_ |
|||||
|
I. Education services |
||||||
|
General education Vocational and professional training Share of common costs from part IV |
119 481 16 956 14 218 |
103 218 15 132 13 173 |
||||
|
Total |
150 655 |
131 523 |
||||
|
II. Health services |
||||||
|
Medical services Supplementary feeding Environmental sanitation Share of common costs from part IV |
17 659 11 822 8 011 7 628 |
16 336 11 230 7 633 7 077 |
||||
|
Total |
45 120 |
42 276 |
||||
|
III. Relief services |
||||||
|
Basic rations Shelter Special hardship assistance Share of common costs from part IV |
10 862 4 375 889 6 737 |
10 296 3 706 966 6 236 |
||||
|
Total |
22 863 |
21 204 |
||||
|
IV. Common costs |
||||||
|
Supply and transport services Other internal services General administration |
8 969 14 283 5 331 |
8 379 12 764 5 343 |
||||
|
Costs allocated to programmes |
Total |
28 583 (28 583) |
26 486 (26 486) |
|||
|
V. Other costs |
||||||
|
Provision for realignment of family allowances Adjustment in provision for local staff separation costs necessitated by increased remuneration Adjustment in provision for termination indemnities for local staff in event of closure of the Agency Adjustment in provision for repatriation of local staff Issue of individual registration cards Total Grand Total |
1 400 9 712 3 000 250 – 14 362 233 000 ======= |
1 400 6 640 3 000 250 1 200 12 490 207 493 ======= |
||||
G. Funding the regular budget, 1983 and 1984
l99. The UNRWA budget is made up of expenditure in cash and kind which relates to current operations and growth in certain contingent liabilities on which expenditure can be deferred so long as their is no mass separation o staff. These liabilities (which are discussed in para. 195) amount to $13.1 million in 1983 and $16.3 million in 1984, but they are not funded by cash reserves. They are a burden on the UNRWA budget in a situation where the Agency is not fully assured of the resources to meet its current requirements. If major savings on any programme had to be made, involving the termination of numbers of staff members, then the liability would have to be funded with cash. That contingency would have to be taken into account in determining the date by which the programme would have to cease operation, thus bringing forward the date of cessation by several months and reducing the period in which to raise additional funds.
199. Deducting these "deferred cash costs" from the Agency's budget in 1983 and 1984 would leave a net expenditure to be funded of the following:
|
Total budget estimates |
"Deferred cash costs" |
Net current requirements |
|||
|
(Millions of US dollars) |
|||||
|
1983 (revised) 1984 |
207.5 233.0 |
13.1 16.3 |
194.4 216.7 |
||
200. A further important factor determining the Agency's capacity to meet its current liabilities is the level of the cash balance at any time. The monthly cash outlay on the regular programme at present averages, $14 million, and is expected to reach $17 million in 1984. (This leaves aside the monthly cash requirement for the emergency programme in Lebanon.) As at 30 June 1983, the Agency had received only 38.4 per cent of income pledged for 1983 and had been on the verge of a cash crisis on several occasions during the six months to June, most critically in April 1983 when it was not until the last moment that sufficient cash was made available to meet the month's payroll.
201. Income for 1983 so far pledged or reasonably expected (on the basis of the past level of regular contributions from traditional donor Governments who had not yet announced a pledge by 30 June) totals $165.9 million for 1983, made up as follows:
|
Thousands of US dollars |
|||||
|
Governments Inter-governmental organizations United Nations organizations Non-governmental organizations Miscellaneous Total |
126 711 25 598 7 647 3 912 2 000 165 868 |
||||
202. The cost of UNRWA international staff is covered by the United Nations regular budget; WHO and UNESCO bear the cost of their staff on loan to UNRWA. The total of these funded staff costs is $7.6 million in 1983 and $7.8 million In 1984. The
balance of UNRWA budgeted expenditure in 1983 is estimated at $199.8 million and in 1984 it $225.2 million. 5/ This is the level at which UNRWA must appeal to the international community for voluntary contributions in order to continue its programmes at existing levels.
Notes
1/ Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/37/13).
2/ UNRWA accounts for 1982, together with the corresponding report of the Board of Auditors, will be submitted to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session (see Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 5C (A/38/5/Add.3)). In the present report, further details are given in annex I, tables 10-12.
3/ Further details are contained in annex I, tables 13 (a) and (b).
4/ Recurrent costs include salaries, supplies, rents, subsidies and other costs incurred on a regularly recurring basis. Non-recurrent costs include construction and equipment and other items not regularly incurred, which, if necessary, can be deferred in most cases for a certain time without giving rise to immediate difficulty. They are also to a certain extent a function of special contributions. Recurrent costs, on the other band, are a measure of the Agency's basic programmes, which it cannot easily reduce, even in the short run.
5/ See, however, para. 199 (and related para. 195) for amount by which this could be further reduced if UNRWA did not have to budget for the contingent liability of staff separation costs.
ANNEX I
Statistical information*
Table
1. Number of registered persons (as at 30 June each year)
2. Distribution of registered population (as at 30 June 1983)
Chart 1: Age distribution of Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA
(as at 31 December 1982
3. Distribution of refugee pupils receiving education in UNRWA schools
(as at end October 1982)
Chart 2: Growth of UNRWA school population, elementary and preparatory cycles, 1950-1983
4. Training places in UNRWA training centres (academic year 1982/83)
5. University scholarship holders by faculty and country of study
(academic year 1982/83)
6. Medical care services (as at 30 June 1983)
Chart 3: Communicable diseases Agency-wide, 1967-1982
7. Number of beneficiaries of UNRWA food aid programmes (1 July 1982-
30 June 1983)
8. Distribution of area and international posts (as at 30 June 1983)
9. International and locally-recruited staff
10. Summary statement of income and expenditure (1 May 1950-31 December 1983)
11. Detailed statement of income, 1 May 1950-31 December 1983
_________
* Further statistical information on UNRWA education and health programmes is given in the following UNRWA publications:
(a) UNRWA-UNESCO Department of Education Statistical Yearbook, 1981-1982.
(b) Annual Report of the Director of Health, 1982.
For more detailed information on the financing of the Agency's programmes, see the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 1982 and Report of the Board of Auditors (Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-eighth Session Supplement No. 5C (38/5/Add.3).
12. Statement of income from non-governmental sources for the year ended
31 December 1982
13. Lebanon emergency relief programme (1 June 1982-30 June 1983)
(a) Statement of budgeted expenditure
(b) Detailed statement of income
14. Direct Government assistance to Palestine refugees (1 July 1981-
30 June 1983)
Table 1
Number of registered persons a/
(as at 30 June each year)
|
Field |
1950 |
1955 |
1960 |
1965 |
1970 |
1975 |
1980 |
1983 |
|
Lebanon Syrian Arab Republic Jordan West Bank Gaza Strip |
127 600 82 194 506 200 – 198 227 |
100 820 88 330 502 135 – 214 701 |
136 561 115 043 613 743 – 255 542 |
159 810 135 971 688 089 – 296 953 |
175 958 158 717 506 038 272 692 311 814 |
196 855 184 042 625 857 292 922 333 031 |
226 554 209 362 716 372 324 035 367 995 |
244 434 226 438 759 166 344 474 382 549 |
|
Total |
960 021 b/ |
905 986 |
1 120 889 |
1 280 823 |
1 425 219 |
1 623 707 |
1 844 318 |
1 957 061 |
a/ These statistics are based on the Agency's registration records, which do not necessarily reflect the to factors such as unreported births and deaths and false and duplicate registrations. The population accurately owing Agency presumes that the number of registered persons present in the area of UNRWA operations is less than the registered population.
b/ This total includes 45,800 persons receiving relief in Israel who were the responsibility of UNRWA until June 1952.
Table 2
Distribution of registered population
(as at 30 June 1983)
|
Field |
Population |
Number of camps |
Total camp population a/ |
Registered persons not in camps |
Percentage of registered population not in camps |
|
Lebanon Syrian Arab Republic Jordan West Bank Gaza Strip |
244 434 226 438 759 166 344 474 382 549 |
13 10 10 20 8 |
125 833 70 405 237 541 88 867 210 625 |
118 601 158 843 564 313 257 156 171 924 |
48.52 70.16 74.33 74.65 44.94 |
|
Total |
1 957 061 |
61 |
733 271 |
1 270 837 |
64.94 |
a/ The total camp population is made up as follows:
686,224 registered persons;
33,129 persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 hostilities and subsequent fighting in the Jordan Valley in early 1968 who are not registered with the Agency (see para. 118);
13,918 persons who are neither registered persons nor displaced persons.
Table 3
Distribution of refugee pupils receiving education in UNRWA schools a/
(as at end October 1982 b/)
|
Field |
Number of UNRWA schools |
Number of teachers |
Number of pupils in elementary classes c/ |
Number of pupils in preparatory classes c/ |
Total number of refugee pupils |
|||||
|
Boys |
Girls |
Total |
Boys |
Girls |
Total |
|||||
|
Lebanon Syrian Arab Republic Jordan West Bank Gaza Strip |
85 114 213 98 141 |
1 229 1 468 3 756 1 267 2 138 |
11 580 17 609 47 875 13 290 31 701 |
11 637 16 604 45 951 15 114 28 241 |
23 217 34 213 93 826 28 404 59 942 |
4 514 8 263 21 423 5 435 10 877 |
4 911 7 163 18 480 5 729 9 810 |
9 425 15 426 39 903 11 164 20 687 |
32 642 d/ 49 639 d/ 133 729 39 568 80 629 e/ |
|
|
Total |
651 |
9 858 |
122 055 |
117 547 |
239 602 |
50 512 |
46 093 |
96 605 |
336 207 |
|
a/ Excluding 92,403 refugee pupils attending elementary, preparatory and secondary government and private schools.
b/ Except for Lebanon, where, because of the damage and occupation of premises, the schools re-opened for the new school year at different dates. (Enrolment in the Beirut and Beqa'a areas reached its highest level in November 1982, the north Lebanon area in January 1983, and the Saida and Tyre areas in February 1983).
c/ Including non-eligible children attending UNRWA schools, who now number 44,842. Of these, 11,538 are registered children in the Gaza Strip, where all refugee children have always been regarded in practice as eligible for education services.
d/ 1,021 refugee pupils displaced from Lebanon are at present attending UNRWA schools in the Syrian Arab Republic.
e/ In addition, 1,500 refugee children attend 15 pre-school centres served by 51 teachers.
Table 4
Training places in UNRWA training centres
(academic year 1982/83)
|
Lebanon |
Syrian Arab Republic |
Jordan |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
Total M F |
Grand Total |
|||||||||||||||
|
Siblin Training Centre M F |
Damascus Vocational Training Centre M F |
Amman Training Centre M F |
Wadi Seer Training Centre M F |
Kalandia Vocational Training Centre M F |
Ramallah Women's Training Centre M F |
Ramallah Men's Teacher Training Centre M F |
Gaza Voca- tional Training Centre M F |
||||||||||||||
|
A. |
Vocational and technical education 1. Post- preparatory level a/ 2. Post- secondary level b/ |
480 139 |
– 93 |
541 136 |
3 40 |
– – |
32 140 |
576 209 |
– 83 |
312 192 |
– – |
– – |
120 248 |
– – |
– – |
604 – |
– – |
2 513 676 |
155 604 |
2 668 1 280 |
|
|
Total |
619 |
93 |
677 |
43 |
– |
172 |
785 |
83 |
504 |
– |
– |
368 |
– |
– |
604 |
– |
3 189 |
759 |
3 948 |
||
|
B. |
Pre-service teacher training |
250 |
90 |
– |
– |
300 |
250 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
300 |
350 |
– |
– |
– |
670 |
640 |
1 310 |
|
|
Grand Total |
639 |
183 |
677 |
43 |
300 |
422 |
785 |
83 |
504 |
– |
– |
668 |
350 |
– |
604 |
– |
3 859 |
1 399 |
5 258 |
||
a/ Courses are offered in metal, electrical and building trades.
b/ Courses are offered in technical, commercial and paramedical fields.
Table 5
University scholarship_holders by faculty and country of study
(academic year 1982/83)
|
Faculty |
Lebanon |
Syrian Arab Republic |
Jordan |
West Bank |
Egypt |
Others a/ |
Total |
Grand Total |
||||||||
|
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
M |
F |
|||
|
Engineering Medical and para-medical Arts and sciences |
17 – 1 |
2 2 3 |
16 54 2 |
4 25 1 |
95 21 2 |
5 9 9 |
28 – 2 |
6 – 2 |
15 13 3 |
– 3 1 |
4 3 – |
– 1 – |
175 91 10 |
17 40 16 |
192 131 26 |
|
|
Total |
18 |
7 |
72 |
30 |
118 |
33 |
30 |
8 |
31 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
276 |
73 |
349 |
|
Note: In addition, during 1982/83, a total of six scholarships (five from the Federal Republic of Germany and one from WIPO) were awarded to refugees in response to an appeal by the General Assembly in its resolution 37/120 D of 16 December 1982. These scholarships were tenable outside the area of operations.
a/ Other countries were: Iraq (one female and two male students), Saudi Arabia (two male students), Sudan (one male student) and Turkey (two male students.)
Table 6
Medical care services
(as at 30 June 1983)
|
Type of Service |
Lebanon |
Syrian Arab Rep. |
Jordan |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
Agency- wide |
|||||
|
A. |
Out-patient care |
||||||||||
|
1. |
Curative Services |
||||||||||
|
No. of patients No. of clinic attendances: Medical treatments a/ Dental treatment |
145 743 457 820 15 544 |
99 335 411 462 20 991 |
253 933 863 152 35 386 |
97 470 628 387 10 624 |
110 549 1 037 811 21 317 |
707 030 3 398 634 112 862 |
|||||
|
2. |
Maternal and child health care |
||||||||||
|
Pregnant women (Average attendance) Children below 3 years (Average attendance) b/ School entrants examined Routine immunizations |
610 8 129 3 480 32 404 |
715 10 305 5 773 45 136 |
2 363 31 681 12 817 93 035 |
1 527 14 101 4 686 44 581 |
4 230 28 280 5 413 107 770 |
9 445 92 496 32 169 322 926 |
|||||
|
B. |
In-patient care |
||||||||||
|
Hospital beds available No. of patients admitted Annual patient days per 1,000 population ratio |
240 11 990 260 |
79 2 936 76 |
252 840 14 |
284 12 370 287 |
577 27 413 298 |
1 432 55 549 150 |
|||||
a/ Includes attendance for medical consultations, injections, dressings and skin and eye treatment.
b/ Consultations are monthly for age group 0-1 year; bi-monthly for age group 1-2 years, and tri-monthly for age group 2-3 years.
Table 7
Number of beneficiaries of UNRWA food aid programmes a/
(1 July 1982-30 June 1983)
|
Lebanon |
Syrian Arab Republic |
Jordan |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
Total |
||||
|
A. |
Supplementary feeding |
||||||||
|
1. 2. 3. |
Mid-day meal for beneficiaries below 15 years Milk programme for beneficiaries below 3 years Extra dry rations |
6 634 4 630 |
5 445 8 903 |
6 913 20 453 |
8 164 9 530 |
7 663 21 469 |
34 819 64 985 |
||
|
(i) (ii) |
pregnant and nursing women TB out-patients |
698 17 |
2 770 18 |
5 372 118 |
4 772 112 |
10 735 172 |
24 347 437 |
||
|
B. |
Basic ration programme b/ |
– c/ |
98 118 |
305 912 |
127 473 |
201 332 |
732 835 |
||
|
C. D. |
Special hardship programme d/ Emergency rations e/ |
28 347 157 500 |
8 875 8 000 |
13 065 – |
16 519 – |
20 393 – |
87 199 155 500 |
||
a/ The figures in this table are average monthly numbers, except for the mid-day meal programme, which is an average daily number.
b/ The basic ration programme ceased on 1 September 1982, in Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and on 1 November 1982 in Jordan.
c/ Not reported.
d/ As at 30 June 1983.
e/ Distributed in Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic to refugees displaced by the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982. The figures shown are an average for distributions over the year. In the immediate aftermath of the invasion, issues reached a peak of 183,554.
Table 8
Distribution of local and international posts
(as at 30 June 1983)
|
EDUCATION SERVICES |
Head- quarters (Vienna) |
Head- quarters (Amman) |
Lebanon |
Syrian Arab Republic |
Jordan |
West Bank |
Gaza Strip |
Total |
|||||||||
|
A a/ |
I b/ |
A |
I |
A |
I |
A |
I |
A |
I |
A |
I |
A |
I |
A |
I |
||
|
General Teaching Manual Sub-total |
8 2 – 10 |
2 – – 2 |
34 15 – 49 |
21 – – 21 |
40 1 570 160 1 572 |
1 – – 1 |
34.5 1 570 156 1 760.5 |
– – – – |
81 3 959 351 4 391 |
1 – – 1 |
64 1 435 203 1 702 |
2 – – 2 |
24 2 292 217 2 533 |
1 – – 1 |
285.5 10 645 1 087 12 017.5 |
28 – – 28 |
|
|
HEALTH SERVICES |
|
||||||||||||||||
|
General Manual Sub-total |
13 – 13 |
2 – 2 |
3 – 3 |
3 – 3 |
158.5 305 463.5 |
4 – 4 |
163.5 231 394.5 |
– – – |
264 509 773 |
– – – |
214.5 363 577.5 |
– – – |
230 532 762 |
– – – |
1 046.5 1 940 2 986.5 |
9 – 9 |
|
|
RELIEF SERVICES |
|||||||||||||||||
|
General Teaching Manual Sub-total |
– – – – |
2 – – 2 |
6 – – 6 |
– – – – |
29.5 3 – 32.5 |
5 – – 5 |
32.5 6 2 40.5 |
1 – – 1 |
59 4 – 63 |
1 – – 1 |
59.5 13 – 72.5 |
1 – – 1 |
60 24 4 88 |
1 – – 1 |
246.5 50 6 302.5 |
11 – – 11 |
|
|
COMMON COSTS |
|||||||||||||||||
|
General Manual Sub-total |
177 – 177 |
61 – 61 |
14 2 16 |
– – – |
226.5 69 295.5 |
8 – 8 |
186 47 233 |
3 – 3 |
217.5 76 293.5 |
4 – 4 |
212.5 123 335.5 |
8 – 8 |
201c/ 129 330 |
4 – 4 |
1 234.5 142 1 680.5 |
88 – 88 |
|
|
OTHER COSTS General Manual Sub-total |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
– – – |
18.5 19 37.5 |
– – – |
7.5 7 14.5 |
– – – |
21.5 75 96.5 |
– – – |
8.5 15 23.5 |
– – – |
8 26 34 |
– – – |
64 142 206 |
– – – |
|
|
TOTAL |
200 |
67 |
74 |
24 |
2 401 |
18 |
2 443 |
4 |
5 617 |
6 |
2 711 |
11 |
3 744 |
6 |
17 193 |
136 |
|
a/ Area; filled by local recruitment.
b/ International; filled by recruitment by UNRWA, UNESCO or WHO.
c/ Includes 3 posts in Cairo Office.
Table 9
International and locally-recruited staff
(as at 30 June 1983)
A. Internationally-recruited staff
|
UNRWA |
UNESCO |
WHO |
TOTAL |
||||||||||
|
M |
F |
Female as & of total |
M |
F |
Female as & of total |
M |
F |
Female as & of total |
M |
F |
Female as & of total |
||
|
USG D-1 and above P-4 – P-5 P-1 – P-3 GS-4 – GS-7 |
1 11 53 13 5 |
– – 1 10 8 |
– – 1.9 43.5 61.5 |
– 1 14 1 – |
– 1 2 – – |
– – 12.5 – – |
– 1 2 – – |
– – 2 – – |
– – 50.0 – – |
1 13 69 14 5 |
– – 5 10 8 |
– – 6.8 41.7 61.5 |
|
|
Total |
83 |
19 |
18.6 |
16 |
2 |
11.1 |
3 |
2 |
40.0 |
102 |
23 |
18.4 |
|
B. Locally-recruited staff a/
|
Male |
Female |
Female as % of total |
|||||
|
Grades 14 and above Grades 7-13 Grades 1-6 |
278 6 116 4 496 |
28 3 997 1 740 |
9.2 39.5 27.6 |
||||
|
Total |
10 890 |
5 765 |
34.6 |
_____________
a/ Note on grades of locally-recruited staff: This system of grading is specific to UNRWA For comparison purposes, posts established at grade 14 and above may be roughly equated with international Professional appointments; posts established at grades 5-13 roughly compare with General Service appointments; and grades 1-4 are Manual Worker posts.
Table 10
Summary statement of income and expenditure a/
(1 May 1950-31 December 1983)
(United States dollars)
|
Income |
Expenditure |
Excess (shortage)of income over expenditure |
|||||
|
Contributions by Governments |
Other income |
Total income |
|||||
|
1 May 1950 to 31 Dec. 1975 1 January to 31 Dec. 1976 1 January to 31 Dec. 1977 1 January to 31 Dec. 1978 1 January to 31 Dec. 1979 1 January to 31 Dec. 1980 1 January to 31 Dec. 1981 1 January to 31 Dec. 1982 f/ 1 January to 31 Dec. 1983 f/g/ |
1 050 682 075 112 261 271b/ 114 109 995c/ 122 338 708 138 639 249d/ 166 930 874e/ 171 385 733 168 494 448 152 155 000 |
50 094 419 8 457 398 8 868 471 8 165 993 13 549 278 17 638 122 19 536 730e/ 13 382 724 14 234 000 |
1 100 776 494 120 718 669b/ 122 978 466 130 504 701 152 188 527d/ 184 568 996 190 922 463 181 877 172 166 389 000 |
1 099 427 470 114 774 837 126 771 889 132 111 444 158 871 622 183 677 394 182 854 940 207 493 000 |
1 349 924 5 943 832 (3 793 423) (1 606 743) (6 683 095) 891 602 10 193 595 (977 768) (41 104 000)h |
||
|
Total |
2 196 997 353 |
153 927 135 |
2 350 924 488 |
2 386 711 464 |
|||
a/ The figures in this table reflect, for each year, the income and expenditure (including commitments) applicable to the budget for that year, regardless of when the income was received (except as indicated in footnotes b and d below) or the expenditure incurred. The accumulated figures for the period 1 May 1950-31 December 1975 are provided for record purposes.
b/ Includes $6 million pledged for 1976 but too late to be reflected in the Agency's audited accounts for that year.
c/ Excludes $6 million (see b above) reflected in the Agency's audited accounts for 1977.
d/ Includes $6,044,034 pledged for 1979 but too late to be reflected in the Agency's audited accounts for that year.
e/ Excludes the late pledge for 1979 (see d above) recorded in the Agency's audited accounts for 1980 as $6,035,215 (representing the value of the commodities actually received against the $6,044,034 pledged).
f/ Excludes Lebanon emergency relief programmes.
g/ Income as estimated, expenditure as budgeted.
h/ This will be the position if budgeted expenditure is fully implemented and no additional income is received.
Table 11
Detailed statement of income
(l May 1950 – 31 December 1983)
(United States dollars)
I. Contributions from Governments
|
Contributor |
For the period 1 May 1950 to 31 December 1981 |
1982 |
1983 a/ |
Grand Total |
|||
|
Cash |
In kind and associated cash b/ |
Total |
|||||
|
Argentina Australia Austria Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belgium Benin Bolivia Brazil Burma Canada Central African Empire Chile China Congo Cuba Cyprus Democratic Kampuchea Democratic Yemen Denmark Dominican Republic Egypt El Salvador Ethiopia Finland France Gambia Gaza authorities Germany, Federal Rep. of Ghana Greece Guinea Haiti Holy See Honduras Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kuwait Lao People's Democratic Rep. Lebanon Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Monaco Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Niger Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Philippines Portugal Qatar Republic of Korea Romania San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Thailand Togo Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United Republic of Cameroon United States of America Upper Volta Uruguay Venezuela Viet Nam Yemen Yugoslavia Zaire Zimbabwe Sundry Governments through the World Refugee Year Stamp Plan |
173 000 8 470 191 1 066 221 500 163 867 1 000 12 048 450 1 653 5 000 105 009 9 546 62 924 612 2 198 24 500 203 279c/ 4 717 5 000 16 003 7 141 750 20 870 009 6 000 5 525 656 500 38 500 3 206 741 33 141 020 30 2 405 040 59 914 499 90 980 878 498 1 000 7 000 125 465 2 500 173 939 511 890 305 268 312 047 9 957 229 1 728 970 10 626 285 5 366 833 37 370 58 654 344 5 800 626 13 062 860 4 687 1 776 396 86 500 15 316 100 497 006 6 526 280 68 785 1 500 7 112 543 14 932 153 132 13 234 857 344 18 046 016 3 773 032 4 920 124 240 26 401 973 255 000 906 025 2 500 47 750 12 000 2 770 728 68 500 5 693 12 083 52 431 172 3 988 – 26 746 20 000 9 476 133 22 767 205 020 2 000 660 86 524 548 27 969 675 3 106 456 171 045 1 000 35 252 121 332 285 759 5 455 927d/ 192 851 452 5 408 933 364 592 1 887 5 000 15 000 42 000 2 000 908 700 21 500 39 200 238 211 |
6 700 902 045 190 250 500 15 000 1 000 1 301 304 854 – 10 000 – 6 487 309 – 4 000 50 000 – – 2 260 – – 2 526 244 – 7 299 – – 297 291 1 639 693 – 100 148 5 635 649 – 40 000 – – 2 500 – 17 500 21 459 8 000 30 000 500 000 165 120 336 706 1 402 069 – 11 468 085 754 326 2 100 000 – 59 605 5 000 1 250 000 7 557 2 650 – 5 000 2 000 988 – – 5 035 822 49 565 2 297 077 80 195 – – 5 710 463 25 000 17 086 1 000 6 000 10 000 600 000 5 000 – 2 002 6 200 000 1 868 1 500 – 3 000 1 000 000 1 000 6 027 – – 10 413 870 4 304 045 177 693 15 640 1 445 4 976 11 223 20 000 800 000 7 211 000 1 410 67 000 000 1 445 – 10 000 5 000 2 000 25 000 – – – |
13 000 1 268 000 132 000 1 000 15 000 1 000 375 000 1 000 – 10 000 1 000 3 438 000 – 5 000 50 000 – – 2 260 – – 3 079 000 – 7 000 – – 316 000 1 018 000 – – 3 668 000 – 50 000 – – 13 000 – 10 000 – 18 000 30 000 500 000 313 000 – 1 368 000 3 000 8 000 000 – 1 100 000 – – 5 000 1 347 000 8 000 3 000 – 5 000 1 000 1 000 – – 3 000 1 000 38 000 2 246 000 79 000 – – 6 964 000 25 000 16 000 1 000 6 000 15 000 100 000 5 000 – 3 000 1 200 000 5 000 1 000 – 3 000 1 000 000 – 6 000 – – 8 006 000 802 000 – 16 000 2 000 2 000 10 000 20 000 300 000 7 862 000 1 000 67 000 000 2 000 – 10 000 5 000 2 000 – – 7 000 – |
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 184 000 – 98 000 – – – – – – – – 15 000 – – – – 259 000 – – – 827 000 – – 67 000 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 2 000 – – – – 3 741 000 134 000 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 25 000 – – – |
13 000 1 268 000 132 000 1 000 15 000 1 000 375 000 1 000 – 10 000 1 000 3 438 000 – 5 000 50 000 – – 2 000 – – 3 079 000 – 7 000 – – 316 000 1 202 000 – 98 000 3 668 000 – 50 000 – – 13 000 – 10 000 15 000 18 000 30 000 500 000 313 000 259 000 1 368 000 3 000 8 000 000 827 000 1 100 000 – 67 000 5 000 1 347 000 8 000 3 000 – 5 000 1 000 1 000 – – 3 000 1 000 38 000 2 246 000 79 000 – – 6 964 000 25 000 16 000 1 000 6 000 15 000 100 000 5 000 – 3 000 1 200 000 5 000 1 000 – 3 000 1 000 000 2 000 6 000 – – 8 006 000 4 543 000 134 000 16 000 2 000 2 000 10 000 20 000 300 000 7 862 000 1 000 67 000 000 2 000 – 10 000 5 000 2 000 25 000 – 7 000 – |
192 700 10 640 236 1 388 471 2 000 193 867 3 000 13 724 754 3 507 5 000 125 009 10 546 72 849 921 2 198 33 500 303 279 4 717 5 000 20 263 7 141 750 26 475 253 6 000 5 539 955 500 38 500 3 820 032 35 982 713 30 2 603 188 69 218 148 90 980 968 498 1 000 7 000 140 465 2 500 201 439 548 349 331 268 372 047 10 957 229 2 207 090 11 221 991 8 136 902 40 376 78 122 429 7 381 952 16 262 860 4 687 1 903 001 96 500 17 913 100 512 563 12 176 280 78 785 4 500 9 100 543 14 932 161 167 15 056 944 909 22 589 093 3 940 227 4 920 124 240 39 076 436 305 000 939 111 4 500 59 750 37 000 3 470 728 78 500 5 693 17 085 59 831 172 10 856 2 500 26 746 26 000 11 476 133 25 767 217 047 2 000 660 104 944 418 36 816 720 3 418 149 202 685 4 445 42 228 142 555 325 759 6 555 927 207 924 452 7 818 1 067 364 592 5 332 5 000 35 000 52 000 6 000 958 700 21 500 46 200 238 211 |
|
|
Sub-total |
1 702 572 703 |
143 391 498 |
121 939 000 |
5 352 000 |
127 291 000 |
1 973 255 201 |
|
|
II. Contributions from intergovernmental organizations |
|||||||
|
European Community OPEC Fund |
172 085 371 2 233 386 |
25 102 950 177 064 |
18 310 000 1 313 000 |
6 554 000 – |
24 864 000 1 313 000 |
222 052 321 3 723 450 |
|
|
Subtotal |
174 318 757 |
25 280 014 |
19 623 000 |
6 554 000 |
26 177 000 |
225 775 771 |
|
|
III. Contributions by United Nations agencies |
|||||||
|
United Nations United Nations Children's Fund United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Org. United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine World Food Programme World Health Organization Sub-total |
29 755 581 30 000 13 795 222 300 1 650 866e/ 3 259 915 48 491 884 |
5 664 204 – 815 279 – – 398 150 6 877 633 |
6 250 000 – – – – – 6 250 000 |
– – 815 000 – – 376 000 1 191 000 |
6 250 000 – 815 000 – – 376 000 7 441 000 |
41 669 785 30 000 15 425 501 300 1 650 866 4 034 065 62 810 517 |
|
|
IV. Income from other sources |
|||||||
|
Non-governmental sources Miscellaneous income and exchange adjustments Sub-total |
31 534 797 44 050 344 75 585 141 |
3 040 931 3 287 096 6 328 027 |
3 360 000 2 000 000 5 360 000 |
120 000 – 120 000 |
3 480 000 2 000 000 5 480 000 |
38 055 728 49 337 440 87 393 168 |
|
|
V. Summary of income from all sources |
|||||||
|
Governments Intergovernmental organizations United Nations agencies Other sources Pledges not paid and subsequently written off |
1 702 572 703 174 318 757 48 491 884 75 585 141 1 689 831 |
143 381 498 25 280 014 6 877 633 6 328 027 – |
121 939 000 19 623 000 6 250 000 5 360 000 – |
5 352 000 6 554 000 1 191 000 120 000 – |
127 291 000 26 177 000 7 441 000 5 480 000 – |
1 973 255 201 225 775 771 62 810 517 87 393 168 1 689 831 |
|
|
TOTAL INCOME |
2 002 658 316 |
181 877 172 |
137 839 000 |
53 648 000 |
166 389 000 |
2 350 924 488 |
|
a/ The figures represent confirmed and expected pledges, rounded off in thousands of
dollars.
b/ Commodities at donor's valuation.
c/ Received up to 24 October 1971. By resolution 2758 (XXVI) of 25 October 1971, the General Assembly, inter alia, decided “to restore all its rights to the People's Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-Shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it”.
d/ Includes contributions made by Abu Dhabi before being part of United Arab Emirates.
e/ Special contributions to the Government of Jordan (in 1971) and the Syrian Arab Republic (in 1977) for the benefit of the Palestine refugees, for which UNRWA acted as executing agent. As these contributions were used for purposes budgeted for by UNRWA, they have been included in the Agency's income and expenditure accounts.
Table 12
Statement of income from non-governmental sources
for the year ended 31 December 1982
(United States dollars)
|
Contributor |
Amount |
||||
|
American Friends Service Committee ARAMC0, Saudi Arabia Australians Care for Refugees (AUSTCARE) Canadian Save the Children Fund CARITAS, Swiss and German Aid Holy Land Christian Mission International International Educational Foundation, USA Joint Jordanian-Palestinian Fund New Zealand Association for International Relief, Rehabilitation and Development (CORSO) Inc. Norwegian Refugee Council OXFAM, United Kingdom Pontifical Mission for Palestine Redd Barna, Norway Save the Children Fund, United Kingdom Swedish Save the Children Federation (Radda Harnen) World Vision International, USA Other donors |
397 978 220 000 18 899 62 898 5 000 36 000 45 000 1 322 491 30 000 219 876 28 359 155 376 80 305 7 720 214 914 20 000 176 115 |
||||
|
Total |
3 040 931 ========= |
||||
Table 13 (a)
Statement of budgeted expenditure for the
Lebanon Emergency Relief programme
(1 June 1982-30 June 1983)
(Thousands of US dollars)
|
Relief assistance |
||||||
|
Flour Rice Sugar Oil Skim milk Corned beef Sardines Tomato paste Jam Olives Clothing Blankets Soap Kitchen kits Towel Mattresses Garbage bags |
7 560 958 1 210 3 002 3 137 2 291
1 625 770 622 996
750 1 530 261 454 273 291 28 |
18 158 4 013 3 587 |
||||
|
Health care |
||||||
|
Sanitation Supplementary feeding Medical services |
448 2 224 1 109 |
3 781 |
||||
|
Camps (shelter) |
||||||
|
Infrastructure Tents Cash grants |
1 341 2 717 12 530
|
16 588 |
||||
|
Education services |
||||||
|
Repairs to buildings Furniture, equipment and supplies Other costs |
2 185 2 416 313 |
4 914 |
||||
|
Other costs |
||||||
|
Support staff costs Transport costs |
785 924 |
1 709 |
||||
|
Total |
52 750 ====== |
|||||
Table 13 (b)
Detailed statement of income for the
Lebanon Emergency Relief Programme
(1 June 1982-30 June 1983)
(United States dollars)
I. Contributions from Governments
|
Contributor |
Cash |
In kind and associated cash |
Total |
||
|
Argentina Australia Austria Canada China Denmark Egypt Finland France Germany, Federal Republic of Greece Iceland India Italy Netherlands New Zealand Norway Saudi Arabia Senegal Sweden Switzerland Thailand United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United States of America Yugoslavia |
– 575 445 34 818 758 120 20 000 1 032 041 50 000 531 124 407 056 392 157 5 000 18 200 19 890 335 000 650 523 17 984 584 163 2 915 452 5 000 1 353 357 211 966 1 000 – 16 500 000 – |
25 000 – – – – – – – 407 056 – 145 000 – – 2 560 000 – – – – – 294 610 322 067 – 1 850 274 7 813 |
25 000 575 445 34 818 758 120 20 000 1 032 041 50 000 531 124 407 056 392 157 150 000 18 200 19 890 2 895 000 650 523 17 984 584 163 2 915 452 5 000 1 647 967 534 033 1 000 1 850 274 16 500 000 7 813 |
||
|
Subtotal |
26 011 249 |
5 611 820 |
31 623 060 |
||
|
II. Contribution from intergovernmental organization |
|||||
|
European Community |
88 000 |
3 084 892 |
3 172 892 |
||
|
III. Contributions from United Nations agencies |
|||||
|
United Nations Children's Fund Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator through World Health Organization World Health Organization |
– – – – |
252 638 1 075 148 882 363 6 800 |
252 638 1 075 148 882 363 6 800 |
||
|
Subtotal |
2 216 949 |
2 216 949 |
|||
|
IV. Contributions from non-governmental sources |
|||||
|
American Corporate Aid for Lebanon Inc. American Friends Service Committee American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc. American Near East Refugee Aid Inc. (ANERA) The Arab Israeli Charitable Committee of Galilee Austrian Airlines Austrian Volkshilfe CARITAS, Italy Charitable sources, Kuwait Charity institutions sponsored by Palestine Liberation Organization Christian Aid, United Kingdom Finnish Refugee Council Help the Aged, United Kingdom International Committee of the Red Cross Lutheran World Federation Lutheran World Relief Inc., New York Middle East Council of Churches and Mennonite Central Committee Norwegian Refugee Council OXFAM, Belgium OXFAM, United Kingdom Palestine Liberation Organization Redd Barna, Norway Save the Children Fund, United Kingdom Swedish Save the Children Federation (Radda Barnen) UNRWA Staff members Vienna International Center Staff World Vision International, USA Other donors |
– – – 25 000 – – – 70 000 – – 60 036 – – – – – – 100 576 – 139 951 – – – – 64 751 – 28 000 4 540 |
50 000 22 165 162 357 – 47 662 44 248 47 172 – 80 000 274 085 – 21 112 38 859 451 260 128 227 152 259 6 291 377 428 66 255 207 682 1 325 936 48 399 67 041 816 218 64 571 9 050 230 908 1 255 |
50 000 22 165 162 357 25 000 47 662 44 248 47 172 70 000 80 000 274 085 60 036 21 112 38 859 451 260 128 227 152 259 6 291 478 004 66 255 347 633 1 325 936 48 399 67 041 816 218 64 571 9 050 258 908 1 795 |
||
|
Subtotal |
492 674 |
4 675 869 |
5 168 543 |
||
|
V. Summary of income |
|||||
|
Governments Intergovernmental organizations United Nations agencies Non-governmental sources |
26 016 240 88 000 – 492 674 |
5 611 820 3 084 892 2 216 949 4 675 869 |
31 628 060 3 172 892 2 216 949 5 168 543 |
||
|
TOTAL INCOME |
26 596 914 |
15 589 530 |
42 186 444 |
||
Table 14
Direct Government assistance to Palestine refugees a/
(1 July 1982-30 June 1983)
Note. All data in the table below are shown as reported by the Governments concerned and are expressed in United States dollars (computed by applying the Agency's accounting rates of exchange, which are based on official or free market rates, as appropriate).
|
Egypt |
Israel |
Jordan |
Lebanon |
Syrian Arab Republic |
||
|
Education services Social welfare services Medical services Housing Security services Miscellaneous services Administrative costs |
61 106 000 3 146 000 c/ d/ – d/ 151 606 000 |
10 638 000 1 426 333 6 359 000 2 526 000 e/ e/ 3 387 000 |
26 990 587 1 846 080 1 474 300 2 666 560 4 487 000 6 754 177 4 512 640 |
|||
|
Total |
215 858 000 |
24 336 000 |
48 731 344 |
|||
a/ This assistance was rendered direct to the refugees, in addition to contributions to UNRWA (see table 11).
b/ Figures not received.
c/ Medical services are included in social welfare services.
d/ Housing and miscellaneous services are included in administrative costs.
e/ Security and miscellaneous services are included in administrative costs.
ANNEX II
Pertinent records of the General Assembly and other
United Nations bodies a/
1. General Assembly resolutions
|
Resolution No. 194 (III) 212 (III) 302 (IV) 393 (V) 513 (VI) 614 (VIII) 720 (VIII) 818 (IX) 916 (X) 1018 (XI) 1191 (XII) 1315 (XIII) 1456 (XIV) 1604 (XV) 1725 (XVI) 1856 (XVII) 1912 (XVIII) 2002 (XIX) 2052 (XX) 2154 (XXI) 2252 (ES-V) 2341 (XXII) |
Date of adoption 11 December 1948 19 November 1948 8 December 1949 2 December 1950 26 January 1952 6 November 1952 27 November 1953 4 December 1954 3 December 1955 28 February 1957 12 December 1957 12 December 1958 9 December 1959 21 April 1961 20 December 1961 20 December 1962 3 December 1963 10 February 1965 15 December 1965 17 November 1966 4 July 1967 19 December 1967 |
Resolution No. 2452 (XXIII) 2535 (XXIV) 2656 (XXV) 2672 (XXV) 2728 (XXV) 2791 (XXVI) 2792 A to E (XXVI) 2963 A to F (XXVII) 2964 (XXVII) 3089 A to E (XXVIII) 3090 (XXVIII) 3330 (XXIX) 3331 (XXIX) 3410 (XXX) 31/15 A to E 32/90 A to F 33/112 A to F 34/52 A to F 35/13 A to F 36/146 A to H 37/120 A to K |
Date of adoption 19 December 1968 10 December 1969 7 December 1970 8 December 1970 15 December 1970 6 December 1971 6 December 1971 13 December 1972 13 December 1972 7 December 1973 7 December 1973 17 December 1974 17 December 1974 8 December 1975 24 November l976 13 December 1977 18 December 1978 23 November 1979 3 November 1980 16 December 1981 16 December 1982 |
2. General Assembly decision
Decision number Date of adoption
36/462 16 March 1982
3. Reports of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA
1981: Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/36/13 and Corr.1)
1982: Ibid., Thirty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/37/13)
Ibid., Thirty-seventh Session, Annexes, agenda item 65, document A/37/479 (special report).
4. Reports of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA
1981: Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-sixth Session, Annexes, agenda item 60, document A/36/615.
1982: Ibid., Thirty-sixth Session, Annexes, Agenda item 60, document A/36/866 (special report)
Ibid., Thirty-seventh Session, Annexes, Agenda item 65, document A/37/591.
5. Reports of the Secretary-General
1981: Report of the Secretary-General in pursuance of resolution. 35/13 B of 13 November 1980 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-sixth Session, Annexes agenda item 60, document A/36/385 and Add.1 (Offers of scholarships and grants for higher education for Palestine refugees)).
Report of the Secretary-General in pursuance of resolution 35/13 H of 3 November 1980 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-sixth Session, Annexes, agenda item 60, document A/36/558 (Population and refugees displaced since 1967)).
Report of the Secretary-General in pursuance of resolution 35/13 F of 3 November 1980 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-sixth Session, Annexes, agenda item 60, document-A/36/559 (Palestine refugees in the Gaza Strip))
1982: Report of the Secretary-General in pursuance of resolution 36/146 A of
16 December 1981 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-seventh Session, Annexes, agenda item 65, document A/37/425 and Corr.1 (Palestine refugees in the Gaza Strip)).
Report of the Secretary-General in pursuance of resolution 36/146 B of 16 December 1981 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-seventh Session,Annexes, agenda item 65, document A/37/426 (Population and refugees displaced since 1967)).
Report of the Secretary-General in pursuance of resolution 36/146 H of
16 December 1981 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-seventh Session, Annexes, agenda item 65, document A/37/427 (Offers of scholarships and grants for higher education for Palestine refugees)).
__________
a/ Further information on pertinent reports and other documents of the General Assembly and other United Nations bodies concerning UNRWA can be found in the document UNRWA at the United Nations 1948-1983, available from the UNRWA Public Information Division.
—–
Document symbol: A/38/13 (SUPP)
Document Type: Annual report, Report
Document Sources: General Assembly, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 30/06/1983
Document Type: Annual report, Report
Document Sources: General Assembly, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 30/06/1983