UNRWA – Annual report of the Commissioner-General

REPORT

OF THE COMMISSIONER-GENERAL

OF THE UNITED NATIONS

RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY

FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES

IN THE NEAR EAST

______________

1 July 1990 – 30 June 1991

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]

[9 October 1991]

CONTENTS

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

26 September 1991

Sir,

I have the honor to submit to the General Assembly my annual report on the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East for the period 1 July 1990 to 30 June 1991, in compliance with the request in paragraph 21 of resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949  and with paragraph 8 of resolution 1315 (XIII) of 12 December 1958.

In the introduction (chap. I), I have concentrated largely upon-the impact on the lives of the Palestine refugees in UNRWA's area of operations of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the ensuing Gulf crisis and war, and its, aftermath. While events in the Gulf dominated international attention, clashes, confrontations and Israeli countermeasures continued in the West Bank and Gaza Strip throughout the reporting period. At the same time, Lebanon was emerging slowly from a long civil war. The Agency continued to function under difficult circumstances, with emergency programmes for the fourth successive year in three of its five fields of operation.

Chapter II provides an overview of major developments in the Agency's three main programmes of education, health and relief and social services, while summaries of activities in each of the five fields are contained in chapters III to VI. The emergency operations and reconstruction programme in Lebanon are set out in chapter IV. The Agency's programme of extraordinary measures in the occupied territory to meet humanitarian needs created by the intifadah and countermeasures taken by the Israeli authorities is dealt with in chapter VI, as is the expanded programme of assistance established in 1988, which aims principally to improve the conditions under which refugees live in the camps in the West Bank and Gaza. Those additional programmes have been funded by contributions from UNRWA's major donors and other countries.

As I point out in the introduction, the Agency's financial condition is relatively healthy in 1991. There is, however, never any room for complacency on this matter, especially since, at the time of writing, events in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world seem likely to generate many claims upon limited donor funds in 1992 and beyond. A significant change will be made next year to UNRWA's financial and budgetary procedures. The Agency will move to a biennial budgetary cycle in order to reduce the workload, bring the Agency in line with most of the United Nations system and facilitate planning and efficient use of resources.

Legal matters are dealt with in chapter VII, while the two annexes contain statistical tables and charts illustrating the composition of the Palestine refugee population in the area of operations and the Agency's main programmes, and references to documents of the General Assembly and other United Nations bodies related to UNRWA. In order to provide the General Assembly with the most up-to-date information in conformity with previous practice, budget estimates for 1992 and other financial data will be presented in an addendum to the present report in early October.

This report was examined in draft form by the members of UNRWA's Advisory Commission, which met at Amman on 26 September, and their comments have been given careful attention in the preparation of the I final text. The Advisory Commission's views are set out in the Chairman's letter of 26 September, a copy of which appears hereafter.

Once again I have deemed it appropriate to maintain the practice of showing my report in draft form to representatives of the Government of Israel and to give consideration to their comments in view of the fact that a major part of the Agency's operations takes place in the territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

Accept, Sir, the assurances of my highest consideration.

(Signed) Ilter TURKMEN

Commissioner-General

LETTER DATED 26 SEPTEMBER 1991 FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE

ADVISORY COMMISSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND

FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST

ADDRESSED TO THE COMMISSIONER-GENERAL

Dear Mr. Turkmen,

During its regular meeting on 26 September 1991, the Advisory Commission of UNRWA considered the draft report of the Commissioner-General on the Agency's activities during the period 1 July 1990 to 30 June 1991, which is to be submitted to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session. The Commission also examined a draft version of UNRWA's biennial budget for 1992-1993.

The Advisory Commission is convinced that at this especially sensitive time in the region, UNRWA's services and assistance in the area of health, education and relief and social services as well as emergency aid, are more indispensable than ever for a population facing ongoing hardship owing to the continuation of the Israel occupation and the Gulf war and its aftermath.

The Advisory Commission is fully aware that the Agency has to respond to a further deterioration of the socio-economic situation resulting, among other things, from the loss of income from the Gulf as well as a sharp reduction in exports from the occupied territories and receding employment opportunities. In addition to the emergency assistance to the refugees and evacuees during the outbreak of hostilities, the Agency is now tackling an expanded programme of income-generation in order to create employment and generate life-sustaining income. The Advisory Commission is persuaded that this pragmatic and creative approach on the part of the Agency in the use of the resources at its disposal is the most useful in the present circumstances. Consequently, it urges all Member States and other donors to contribute generously to the regular programmes as well as the emergency operations and new activities of the Agency, especially in the light of the increasing difficulties faced by the Palestinian population.

The Advisory Commission notes that UNRWA will move to a biennial budgetary cycle as at 1992-1993, which will place the Agency in line with most of the United Nations system and increase efficiency. The Advisory Commission welcomes every effort in adjusting to new developments in the best possible way. The first priority should be the efficient use of resources and transparency in financial management of the Agency. The Commission also acknowledges the need for great flexibility for UNRWA in assessing its staffing requirements, in particular in the context of the repeated emergencies with which the Agency has been confronted since 1976.

The Advisory Commission, after studying the budget with attention, acknowledges its main orientations and approves the document. It recommends that it should be sent to the General Assembly for final adoption.

The Advisory Commission expresses satisfaction over the improving situation in Lebanon, which allows the Agency to pursue its activities with greater efficiency despite the difficult task of dealing with new problems of unemployment and housing for the displaced, which will require substantial additional resources in the near future.

The large influx of displaced Palestinians from Kuwait into Jordan also poses serious problems for both the Government of Jordan and the Agency, The Advisory Commission calls on Member States and other donors to assist Jordan and UNRWA in providing services to the displaced population.

The Advisory Commission notes with appreciation the efforts of the Governments of the host countries in facilitating the operations of UNRWA, as well as the Governments' activities, contributions and assistance on behalf of the Palestine refugees.

The Advisory Commission remains concerned that, despite calls for an end to interferences with UNRWA operations by the Government authorities described in your report, these difficulties have increased during the period. This can only add to the suffering of the population concerned and lessen the ability of Agency operations to alleviate them. The Commission therefore urges the authorities mentioned above to respect fully the Agency's legal status as a United Nations agency and to extend to it all necessary assistance, both regarding its regular and emergency activities without any hindrance.

The Commission is convinced that general assistance extended in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, providing an element of protection to a population confronted with extremely precarious living conditions, is a task of utmost importance, which the Agency should continue to fulfil in conformity with appropriate General Assembly resolutions.

The  members of the Advisory Commission thank the Secretary-General for his continuous and unwavering support for UNRWA. They also wish to express their appreciation, Mr. Commissioner-General, for the extent of your commitment in this post you have been occupying only recently, as well as of the entire UNRWA staff, more disposed than ever to face the new challenges stemming from the developments that will, hopefully, lead to a lasting peace in the region.

Signed) Mervat TALAWY

Chairman

Mr. Ilter Turkmen

Commissioner-General

  United Nations Relief and Works Agency

  for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

I.   INTRODUCTION

1. In March 1991, I joined the United Nations Relief and works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as its tenth Commissioner-General. By that time, the Agency had been in existence for 41 years and was carrying out the fifteenth extension of its mandate.  The spectrum of services required of the Agency had never been so broad since its establishment by the General Assembly under resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949. When it commenced operation's in May 1950, the Agency was required to provide services to approximately three quarters of a million Palestinians who had become refugees as a result of the 1948 Israeli-Arab conflict. By the end of the period covered by the present report, the number of refugees registered with UNRWA had grown to 2.5 million to whom the Agency provided education, health relief and social services and general assistance through and work of 632 schools, 104 health centres and points and numerous other installations.  The environment in which the Agency delivered these services was particularly difficult in three of the five fields, with the uprising or intifadah continuing in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Lebanon emerging slowly from a long civil war.

2. The year under review provided a reminder, if any were necessary, of the unpredictability of events in the Middle East. It began with attention focused upon the intifadah in the occupied territory and the evolving situation in Lebanon. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990 distracted the world community from those and other matters and dominated international attention thereafter. The repercussions of the Gulf war seemed likely to be felt in the region for many years to come.

3. The Gulf crisis affected UNRWA in a number of ways. In the months following the invasion, the Agency was part of the international effort to provide emergency assistance to the hundreds of thousands of evacuees who fled into Jordan. After the outbreak of hostilities, the Agency took emergency measures to alleviate  the  suffering  caused  by the imposition of a lengthy comprehensive curfew on  the  West Bank and Gaza Strip by, inter alia, distributing food to the entire refugee population and to needy non-refugees. In the aftermath of the war, the Agency had to respond to a situation in which the socio-economic condition of Palestinians, especially in the occupied territory, had deteriorated sharply. Moreover, the Agency was gravely concerned about the situation of Palestinians remaining in Kuwait and was taking steps to assess their needs.

4. The intifadah continued throughout the reporting period, entering its fourth year in early December. As in previous years, its intensity varied, with periods of relative quiet punctuated by violent confrontations and high casualties. The Israeli security forces continued to apply harsh measures, and reports of violations of human rights were widespread. Between 1 July 1990 and 30 June 1991, 32 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 125 in the West Bank. Almost 14,000 sought emergency medical attention in local hospitals and UNRWA health centres, suffering from beatings, tear-gas inhalation and rubber-bullet or live ammunition wounds. These figures, while disturbing, were lower than in the preceding year, when 91 were killed in Gaza and 164 in the West Bank, and more than 23,000 sought emergency medical attention suffering from various types of injuries. By 30 June 1991, 988 Palestinians had been killed and more than 70,000 injured since the outbreak of the uprising on 9 December 1987. Large numbers of Palestinians were arrested and detained, often without charge or trial. By the end of June, it was estimated that 14,000 persons from the occupied territory were detained by the Israeli authorities, approximately 9,000 in military detention centres and 5,000 in prisons. Included in the 14,000 were 64 UNRWA staff members. There were frequent complaints about conditions and ill-treatment and a hunger strike that began on 23 June 1991 to protest against conditions at Nafha prison in the Negev desert quickly spread to other prisons and detention centres in Israel and the occupied territory.

5. One of the most tragic events of the reporting period took place in the Haram al-Sharif on 8 October 1990 when 17 Palestinians were killed and more than 150 wounded in clashes with the Israeli security forces. This led, inter alia, to the adoption by the Security Council on i2 October 1990 of resolution 672 (1990), which condemned the actions of the Israeli security forces. Having received the report of the Secretary-General on ways and means of ensuring the safety and protection of Palestinian civilians under Israeli occupation submitted in accordance with that resolution, 1/ the Council on 20 December 1990 adopted resolution 681 (1990).  In paragraph 7 of the resolution, the Council requested the Secretary-General to monitor and observe the situation regarding Palestinian civilians under Israeli occupation and to keep the Security Council regularly informed. The Secretary-General asked UNRWA to provide him with information. The first of those reports, which were to be produced every four months, was submitted to the Council in April 1991. 2/

6. At the outset of hostilities in the Gulf, the Israeli authorities, invoking heightened security concerns, imposed a comprehensive curfew on the Gaza Strip and large portions of the West Bank. Socio-economic conditions in the occupied territory – already seriously affected by three years of the intifadah, loss of remittances from the Persian Gulf and a drop in local income – became critical. In response to that situation, UNRWA distributed food to all needy families, including non-refugees. In Gaza this meant approximately 135,000 families and in the West Bank 160,000. Another consequence of the Gulf war and the resulting curfews was that the education system in the occupied territory was brought to a standstill for most of January and February. The extent to which the education of Palestinian youth had suffered in recent years – in the occupied territory as a result of the curfews, strikes and closure orders relating to the intifadah, and in Lebanon as a result of the various rounds of fighting – was a source for great concern. The efforts of the Agency to assess the impact of those disruptions and to take remedial action are described elsewhere in the present report. In spite of the difficult prevailing circumstances, health services were maintained throughout the period under review and further progress was made in upgrading the emergency medical care system.

7. After more than three years of the intifadah and Israeli response and compounded by the outcome of the Gulf war, the lack of concrete results aggravated the frustration of the Palestinian community. At the same time there was an expression of concern at social and political fragmentation. The killing of alleged collaborators continued, with 83 Palestinians in Gaza and 41 in the West Bank being killed in the year ending on 30 June.

8. During the reporting period, loss of earnings and remittances from the Gulf, reduction of domestic and export revenue and increased security measures dramatically aggravated unemployment and weakened still further the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and Gaza. In an attempt to address some of the resulting problems, UNRWA decided to expand the scope and volume of its existing income-generating activities, embarking on a programme of investment in small and medium enterprises and related economic infrastructure and stepping up job creation through its own construction programmes. To assist this endeavor, the Agency decided to recruit an international technical expert to plan, implement and evaluate the programme, and to train local entrepreneurs And Palestinian staff to run it. In addition, two senior Palestinian economists were engaged as consultants. It was also hoped that the planned introduction of new courses and strengthening of existing ones in the Agency's vocational-training centres would make a contribution to UNRWA's intensified involvement in-skills training, job creation and income-generation.

9. Some encouragement was derived from the announced intention of the Israeli authorities to adopt a more liberal attitude towards economic development in the occupied territory, although at time of writing it was too early to assess the impact of any change of policy. At the same time, the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements was accelerated in both the West Bank and Gaza. Between 9 March and 9 April in the West Bank alone, an estimated 68,000 dunums of land were expropriated or surveyed for expropriation by the Israeli authorities. Other Israeli measures – such as allocation of more water to settlers than to Palestinians and the punitive uprooting of olive and citrus trees – inflicted further damage on the fragile economy of the occupied territory.

10. Most significant among the security measures mentioned earlier was the tightening of control of the movement of Palestinians within the occupied territory and to Israel and foreign destinations. The new pass system was devised in November 1990 but implemented on a large scale only after the end of the Gulf war. Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza required a travel pass to enter Israel or East Jerusalem. The influence of the new system extended to all facets of Palestinian life, especially with regard to access to Jerusalem, which remained the economic and cultural hub and religious focus of the West Bank and housed most of the important Palestinian professional institutions, organizations and medical facilities. The pass system split the West Bank and tended to isolate East Jerusalem since it was all but impossible to travel from the south of the West Bank to the north without passing through the city. The occupied territory was, therefore, effectively divided into four areas: northern West Bank, East Jerusalem, southern West Bank and Gaza.

11. Before leaving the subject of the occupied territory, I am compelled to emphasize the difficulties faced by the Agency in operating there. I was concerned in particular about the safety of staff and the integrity of installations. These matters are taken up in detail in paragraphs 94 to 101 of the present report. Suffice it to say here that staff, both area and international, faced frequent harassment by the Israeli security forces and, from time to time, threats and attacks by some elements in the Palestinian population. Area staff members were frequently arrested and detained, often without charge or trial, and two were deported from the Gaza Strip to south Lebanon. Violation of UNRWA premises by the Israeli security forces and misuse of those premises by certain local elements both remained serious problems.

12. The year under review witnessed rather more encouraging developments in Lebanon. In August 1990, the Field Office, which for security reasons had been divided between Siblin and Bar Elias in the Beqa'a Valley, was returned to Beirut. From October 1990, there were concerted attempts to establish governmental authority in the greater Beirut area. By the summer of 1991, the Government was seeking to extend its authority throughout the country. This entailed, inter alia, disarming the various militias. At the end of June, the Lebanese army moved into the Sidon area where a number of Palestine refugee camps were situated. Some heavy fighting ensued in which at least 50 persons died and between 100 and 200 were injured. By the first week of July, the Palestinian militias had agreed to hand over their heavy and medium weapons, and the army was preparing to move further south into the Tyre area. An estimated 364 shelters were damaged or destroyed in Mieh Mieh and Ein el-Hilweh camps and an Agency school was occupied by the Lebanese army at Burj el-Shemali.

13. At the time of writing, the security situation in Lebanon appeared better than it had been for many years. The process of re-establishing governmental authority and order allowed the Agency to exercise a greater degree of control over its operations. Nevertheless, as long as the foreign hostage problem remained unresolved, the mobility of international staff was attended by a degree of risk. On the operational side, the extent to which the education of children had suffered during 15 years of civil war was a cause for grave concern, which the Agency was taking steps to assess and address. It was to be hoped that Palestinians would share in the benefits of the general improvement of the situation in Lebanon. However, the return to normality required UNRWA to address a number of pressing issues, including high unemployment and the need-to find homes for up to 7,000 Palestinian squatter families likely to be displaced by the return of property owners.

14. When the first wave of evacuees from Iraq and Kuwait passed through Jordan in August and September 1990, UNRWA took an active part in the international relief effort. At the transit camp established at the international exhibition centre in Amman, UNRWA set up a health clinic and provided daily food rations to the evacuees at the request of the Government of Jordan. Food was also provided to evacuees at the Andalus reception point near Amman airport and logistic support, mainly transport, was provided to the Government of Jordan, United Nations bodies and non-governmental organizations. In addition, UNRWA assisted in establishing proper sanitary facilities at a number of reception points in Jordan, provided health teams in Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic to assist evacuees and made loans of food commodities to a number of national and international humanitarian agencies. Between August 1990 and March 1991, approximately 250,000 persons holding Jordanian passports arrived in Jordan, of whom the majority were of Palestinian origin. Many of them were registered refugees. The Agency absorbed about 2,500 additional children in its schools in Jordan. After the end of the war, there was a gradual return to normality in Jordan. However, the economy, already weak prior to the Gulf crisis, was by then in a serious state. Prices of basic commodities rose substantially and unemployment was high.

15. In relation to the dramatic events elsewhere, operations ran quite smoothly in the Syrian Arab Republic. The agreement reached with the Government on home visits to refugees by Agency social workers resulted in substantial benefits in the relief and social services programme. As always, a number of difficulties continued to affect the Agency's activities, although these were, in comparison with the problems elsewhere in the area of operations, of a relatively minor nature.  Many school buildings were inadequate or dilapidated and a substantial amount of construction was required to bring them up to an acceptable standard. Discussions were continuing with the Government on the status of Jaramana camp where construction of the airport road and a new municipal sewage line was being planned.

16. As in previous years, the Secretary-General provided unwavering support to the Agency during difficult times. The Agency was also privileged to receive the President of the General Assembly on a visit to the, occupied territory and Jordan in January 1991. UNRWA continued to attach high importance to inter-agency cooperation in responding to the economic and social needs of the Palestinian people. An inter-agency bulletin on United Nations activities in the occupied territory was produced at regular intervals and a third informal inter-agency meeting on the same subject was planned for autumn 1991.

17. In addition to responding to the dramatic and immediate needs arising from events in the Middle East, UNRWA made every effort to ensure that operations were carried out with maximum efficiency and minimum bureaucracy. To that end, it was agreed to move to a biennial budgetary cycle with effect from 1992-1993. This would reduce the workload, bring the Agency in line with most of the United Nations system and facilitate planning and efficient use of resources.

18. The Agency's financial condition was relatively healthy in 1991. There was, however, no room for complacency since events in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world seemed likely to generate claims to limited donor funds in 1992 and beyond. In this regard it was disappointing that UNRWA's efforts received significant financial support mainly from one section of the international community. In 1990, only 24 countries contributed more than $100,000. Broadening the Agency's donor base was therefore a major priority.

19. It was also decided to give more attention to longer-range strategic planning. While UNRWA was conscious of its status as a temporary organization, it was also mindful of the fact that the future growth of the Palestine refugee population and their basic social and economic needs had to be anticipated and planned for in a more systematic fashion. The Agency was developing more comprehensive information on the current size and population growth rates of the registered refugee community in each field and estimating the longer-range requirements for services and installations, including the replacement of aging facilities, environmental infrastructure and staffing needs. The results of those longer-term reviews were to be discussed with donors, host Governments and the Advisory Commission in projecting future Agency financial needs and priorities.

20. The Palestine refugee population registered with UNRWA totaled 2,519,000 in June 1991. The overall population growth rate of about 3 per cent-per year was among the highest in the world. Of particular concern was the estimated growth rate of 3.5-4.0 per cent among registered refugees in Gaza, which was already struggling with extremely overcrowded conditions in the refugee camps. At this rate of growth, the refugee population in Gaza would double in less than 20 years. The registered refugee population in the West Bank was also growing rapidly at rates slightly above 3 per cent per year, producing even more pressure to provide employment for new workers. Similar problems could also be anticipated in the other fields.

21. The belief that the end of the Gulf war would present a major opportunity for a more general Middle East peace had not at the time of writing led to practical results, although hopes remained alive that a peace conference would be convened later in the year. The major issues remained the same and it had yet to be seen whether the settlement of the Palestine question was closer than it had been before the Gulf crisis began.  Nevertheless, the Palestinian attitude of compromise and flexibility regarding a solution in accordance with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) was still strong. Combined with the demographic realities mentioned above, this seemed perhaps to require some deep thinking about the political and philosophical concepts underlying UNRWA activities. In particular, it was clear that the Agency's present level of services could not be maintained, far less improved, without increased contributions to keep pace with the rapid growth in the refugee population. The manner in which these issues were to be addressed was one which raised questions of political appreciation and consideration that the Agency could not answer on its own and required the attention of the international community.

II.  GENERAL DEVELOPMENTS IN AGENCY PROGRAMMES

A.  Education

22. Education remained UNRWA’s largest programme. The Agency provided general education, vocational and technical, training, teacher training and university scholarships for higher education (see annex I, tables 5 to 7). The programme followed the curricula of the host Governments and was operated with the technical assistance of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In spite of unusually difficult circumstances in the year under review, including problems arising from the Gulf crisis, the programme continued to provide basic services. It accommodated approximately 3,5,00 new Palestine refugee pupils who were forced to flee from some Gulf countries as a result of the crisis. It continued, through extra-budgetary contributions, to carry forward a construction programme to replace dilapidated or inadequate school premises, although construction could not keep pace with need. It succeeded in introducing new semi- professional courses in physiotherapy, computer science and electronics at Agency training centres, to widen the professional horizons of Palestine refugee students. At year’s end, over 365,500 children in grades 1-9 (grades 1-10 in Lebanon) were served, as were over 5,100 young adults who were trained in vocational trades, technical and semi-professional fields, or as school teachers. In addition, over 640 deserving students were awarded university scholarships.

23. The implementation of the programme required perseverance. A lack of adequate classrooms necessitated the scheduling of more than 77.5 per cent of general education classes in double shifts. Double shifting meant that two groups of students had to use a school building on any given day, one group in the morning and one in the afternoon, allowing neither group the opportunity for extracurricular activities or for academic preparation time. Budgetary resources for school construction were used in 1990/91 to avoid triple shifting, as well as to prevent overcrowding and to replace inadequate premises. In the occupied territory of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, many construction projects were held up in prolonged review by the occupation authorities. At the same time, pupils in the occupied territory sustained a significant loss of school time for the fourth year in a row. By the end of June 1991, over 40 per cent of school days had been lost, owing to curfews, disturbances, military closures and strikes. Through Agency negotiations with the occupation authorities, the school year in the West Bank and Gaza was extended to the end of June 1991, which provided only partial compensation.

24. To help counter the grave loss of educational services, the professional staff at UNRWA Headquarters Branch (Amman) and in the West Bank and Gaza fields developed and produced self-learning materials land audio-visual aids that were distributed to students, often in their own homes. In 1990, education staff also administered achievement tests to all grade levels in the occupied territory. Preliminary results disclosed a detrimental effect on the performance of students, especially the younger children, and in subjects such as mathematics and science at all levels. Some intensive or compensatory measures were taken on the basis of the achievement tests. Interruptions also affected the territory's four vocational and teacher training centres, which had undergone prolonged closures in 1988, 1989 and early 1990. As part of the general curfew, the four centres were closed for most of January and February 1991, and were to continue to operate during vacations to make up for lost time. Graduates of the centres unfortunately continued to face the prospect of curtailed employment opportunities in the region, owing to ramifications of the Gulf crisis.

25. Educational planning in 1990/91 dealt not only with such issues as school construction and school closures, but also with curricular and staff training requirements. Plans were developed for substantial improvement of the Agency's general education programme in the Jordan and West Bank fields. These changes were necessitated by comprehensive reforms in the education system of the host Government of Jordan and held considerable financial implications for the Agency. The changes included the addition of a tenth year of general education, the hiring of additional teachers to teach an increased number of classroom periods and the upgrading of the qualifications of all teachers to the first university level. Indeed each of the five fields had its own programme improvement needs, which were identified in their biennial work plans for 1992 and 1993, drafted during the reporting year. Those priorities put a severe strain on the regular Agency budget. Most education programme initiatives at that point had to be funded by extra-budgetary contributions from Governments, regional agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private individuals. While the Agency was grateful for, the contributions it received, such donations were not sufficient to meet the most urgent requirements of the programme within a reasonable period of time.

B.  Health

26. The Agency's health programme provided primary health care in the form of medical care services, health protection and promotion services, environmental health services in camps and nutrition and supplementary feeding to vulnerable population groups. Its prime objective was to meet the basic health needs of the refugee population in accordance with the humanitarian policies of the United Nations and the basic principles of the World Health Organization (WHO). The demand on UNRWA health care services continued to be high in all fields owing to rapid inflation, the increased cost of medical care and worsening socio-economic conditions prevailing in the occupied territory and Lebanon, which were compounded by the Gulf crisis.

27. In order to find solutions to the operational and managerial difficulties encountered in health centres, UNRWA further expanded the application of patient-flow analysis in coordination with WHO and the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta (CDC). UNRWA intended to use the results obtained from that operational research to improve staff utilization and reorganize general clinic and maternal and child health services by introducing an appropriate appointment system that could be expanded after thorough appraisal of the trial. During the reporting period, the Agency also developed new strategies for control of non-communicable diseases and management of nutritional disorders, including a programme for control of diabetes mellitus in coordination with WHO, a programme for management of iron-deficiency anemia among children and women of reproductive age and of growth- retardation in children. Arrangements were made to ensure implementation of the new strategies beginning in 1991, including provision of necessary laboratory support and essential supplies.

28. In collaboration with WHO's Global Programme on AIDS, an assessment of blood transfusion services in non-governmental hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza fields was carried out and a short-term plan of action for HIV/AIDS prevention and control in the occupied territory developed. Subsequently, WHO provided funds for implementation of the plan of action with special emphasis on epidemiological surveillance, staff training and improved blood safety measures. Implementation started with the provision of supplies of HIV rapid test kits to West Bank and Gaza non-governmental hospitals through UNRWA, and training of blood technologists. In view of the noticeable increase in mental health disorders among Palestinians, especially children, in the occupied territory as a result of the stress of the intifadah and Israeli counter-measures, worsening socio-economic conditions, unemployment, forced family separations and physical violence inflicted on the population, two modest mental health projects were started, one in coordination with the Community Mental Health programme, Gaza, and another in coordination with WHO in the West Bank.

29. One of UNRWA's major achievements during the reporting period was the progress attained in upgrading the capacity of the emergency medical care system at the primary level in Gaza and the West Bank by training of health personnel and provision of emergency kits for basic life-support and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation to all UNRWA health centres. Ambulances and surgical equipment were also provided to all health centres. These improvements, which were based on the recommendations of a WHO team that carried out a needs assessment in 1989, enabled the health care system to cope with the heavy casualty toll of injured persons, stabilization of cases-prior to evacuation to hospitals and resuscitation of seriously wounded persons.

30. WHO carried out a reassessment of the Agency's oral health programme in all five fields in April and May 1991 to assess. the progress achieved since the last review in 1986. Meanwhile, expansion of dental care services in all fields by the establishment of additional teams and provision of equipment and mobile units was implemented according to the approved plans.

31. UNRWA attempts to bring the level of water supply, liquid waste disposal and general sanitation in camps, especially in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, nearer to international standards and its plans to integrate camp environmental health infrastructure with municipal systems continued to be hampered by lack of comprehensive technical planning and co-ordination, as well as by inadequate funding to implement such major development projects. None the less, some progress was attained in this respect during the reporting period as outlined under the relevant sections on each field in the present report.

32. In the light of the findings of the nutrition survey conducted in all fields during May and June 1990 in coordination with WHO and CDC, the high-cost, low-impact midday meal programme for preschool and school children was replaced by a dry ration programme for all beneficiaries registered in the old programme, which meant that they were provided with monthly dry rations consisting mainly of flour, oil, sugar and corned beef, equal to the calorific value of the former cooked midday meals. The savings achieved as a result of reducing the operating costs were allocated to other pressing primary health care improvements, with special emphasis on implementation of the newly introduced health strategies and construction and expansion of additional health facilities.

C.  Relief And social services

33. During the period under review, increasingly heavy demands were placed on the Agency as a result of the Gulf crisis and socio-economic effects, particular in the occupied territory. The mission of the relief and social services programme continued to support those Palestine refugees who suffered the greatest socio-economic disadvantages, and to facilitate their self-reliance. Direct material and financial aid was provided to those refugee families without a male adult medically fit to earn an income and without other identifiable means of financial support. In emergencies, this aid was extended to affected communities, refugee and non-refugee, as a temporary relief measure. Some 7.5 per cent of the, refugee population Agency-wide received assistance under, the “special hardship” programme. As was to be expected, given the political and economic conditions, the highest proportions were to be found in Gaza and Lebanon (approximately 13 per cent) and the lowest in Jordan (3.25 per cent), although there, as in the other fields, economic recession and the loss of remittances as a consequence of the Gulf crisis increased demand for this form of aid. The intent of the special hardship programme is to assist the most needy families by assuring minimum standards of nutrition, shelter and clothing, and by intervening with cash grants in case of a particular family crisis. The value of the aid was about $120 per person annually, most of it received as donations in kind. A challenge that had always faced the Agency, but was of special concern when there were emergency programmes in three of the five fields, was to ensure that direct relief not only met essential needs but was limited to that supporting the community without undermining fragile local economies or inhibiting Palestinian initiative.

34. At the, same time as providing direct relief, the Agency promoted initiatives aimed at the longer-term improvement of the social and economic status of disadvantaged refugees and their communities, without prejudice to their rights recognized in General Assembly resolutions to return to their homes or receive compensation for their losses, and within the constraints imposed by political circumstances. The key component of the programme was income-generation and related skill-training. A major economic development strategy was beyond the, Agency's capability, and UNRWA income-generating initiatives on behalf of the Palestine refugees evolved in the context of developmental social welfare policies directed towards the poorest and those unable to compete in the open labor market, aiming at individual and family self-reliance. The Agency's objectives were to enable more disadvantaged refugees, including women, young people and the disabled, to earn an income, by offering skill-training courses and promoting small-scale income-generating enterprises. Those enterprises were funded with loans or grants.

35. It was decided in early 1991 that UNRWA should expand its existing income-generating activities in both scope, and volume through a wider-ranging programme of investment in small and medium enterprises, related economic infrastructure and technical assistance to create employment for Palestinians, principally in the occupied territory and Jordan, but also in Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic. To this end, a fund-raising campaign was launched. An international technical expert was to be engaged to develop the methodology and substance of such an investment, programme, identifying and supporting enterprises and training Palestinian staff to sustain the programme over the longer term. In addition, two senior Palestinian economists were engaged in the occupied territory to advise, inter alia, on the economic context within which the programme would fit.

III.  JORDAN

A.  Education

36. In Jordan, the operation of the 196 UNRWA schools was normal throughout the 1990/91 school year. Construction included, two new schools in Waqqas and Wadi Seer to replace unsatisfactory rented premises and two in Baqa'a and Jerash camps to replace prefabricated premises. Agency schooling in Jordan nevertheless suffered from overcrowding and dilapidated, prefabricated premises, as well as a high percentage of unsuitable rented schools. Over 92.5 per cent of classes were double-shifted. Classes were also overcrowded owing to natural population growth, lack of funds for construction, non-availability of suitable plots of land and the influx of new refugees. Approximately 2,500 eligible Palestine refugee children returning to Jordan from Gulf countries during the recent crisis were accommodated in Agency schools in the Jordan field.

37. During the reporting year, plans were developed to deal with proposed and costly reforms of the Agency's educational programme. These reforms were necessitated by the fact that the host Government of Jordan had extensively reformed its own educational system, the curricula of which were followed by UNRWA schools. Reforms aimed at substantially improving the programme included the extension of compulsory education from 9 to 10 years. UNRWA received welcome cooperation from the Government of Jordan and was allowed until 1992/93 to implement the introduction of the tenth year into its system, whereas Jordanian government schools began implementation in 1989/90. Another feature of the reforms with considerable financial implications for UNRWA was the increase in the number of weekly periods for certain academic subjects in grades 1 to 10. This reform, scheduled to be implemented in phases over a four-year period beginning in 1991/92, would entail the hiring of additional teachers to cope with a substantially increased number of weekly periods per grade. New curricula and textbooks were also required. An additional reform required all teachers to upgrade their qualifications to the first university degree level by 1997.

38. The Amman and Wadi Seer Training Centres operated normally through the reporting year, offering training in 26 subjects to over 1,100 students. At the Amman Training Centre, training was provided not only in vocational subjects, but also in post-secondary semi-professional subjects, including courses leading to qualification as assistant pharmacist and paramedical laboratory technician and in business and office practice and business administration, dental hygiene and hairdressing. In addition, 300 places were provided for pre-service teacher training. At the Wadi Seer Training Centre, courses were offered in the mechanical, electrical and building trades, as well as in a range of technical and semi-professional courses. In the general comprehensive examination held in mid-1990 for community colleges in Jordan, students from the two centres performed outstandingly, with results of 92 per cent pass rate for Amman Training Centre and 89 per cent for Wadi Seer. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of the Gulf war, graduates of the training centres were experiencing difficulty in finding employment either in the Gulf or in Jordan itself.

B.  Health

39. Primary health care services were provided to approximately 852,000 Palestine refugees through a network of 18 health centres, 17 mother and child health clinics, 13 dental clinics, 11 laboratories, 8 specialist clinics, 12 diabetes clinics and 6 hypertension clinics. In addition, the Agency assisted evacuees from the Gulf by establishing an emergency clinic, environmental health facilities and supplementary feeding services at their temporary accommodation areas.

40. To improve accessibility to services, two new mother and child health centres in Amman New Camp and Jabal Nuzha were completed. Services in the Jordan Valley were reorganized by establishment of an additional team and provision of appropriate facilities. In addition, works for construction and expansion of three health premises were in progress. An improved scheme for reimbursement of hospitalization expenses incurred by refugees was implemented effective January 1991 to replace the former arrangement of subsidizing a limited number of beds at private hospitals.

41. As part of the joint campaign sponsored by WHO, the University of Jordan and the Ministry of Health, a vaccination campaign against Hepatitis B was started at the UNRWA health centre in Baqa'a camp, with supplies donated by the University of Jordan. Consistent with the principle of cooperation with local municipalities, the Agency concluded agreements with two municipalities for removal of solid waste from Talbieh, Jerash and Suf camps. Meanwhile, the second phase of the project for connection of special hardship family shelters and Agency installations to sewerage systems was completed in Baqa'a and Irbid camps.

C.  Relief and social services

42. The Gulf crisis had severe effects on Jordan, with hundreds of thousands of evacuees, many of them Palestinian, flowing into the country from Kuwait, Iraq and other Gulf States. The Agency assisted extensively in the provision of aid and expertise during the evacuation process. The impact of the Gulf crisis and the United Nations embargo on Iraq on the economy of Jordan and consequently on Palestinians living there was serious and resulted in rising unemployment. The demand for material assistance continued to increase as more people fell below the poverty line. By the end of the reporting period approximately 31,000 refugees were registered in the special hardship assistance programme, representing 3.25 per cent of the refugee population. Substantially larger funding was provided for the repair or reconstruction of the shelters of special hardship families.

43. By the end of June 1991, 140 previously destitute families were benefiting from Agency self-support grants and technical follow-up, enabling them to run small income- generating enterprises from their homes or from rented premises. Project development officers identified 16 income-generating enterprises to which loans were granted. During the year, a revolving loan programme was introduced in cooperation with an international non-governmental organization, aimed at providing larger-scale opportunities in the business sector.

44. Women's programmes continued to expand, with 14 centres in operation, involving 1,150 participants. Skill-training courses were conducted in domestic plumbing and electricity, dress-making, machine-knitting, artificial flower-making, hairdressing and typing, as well as the traditional embroidery and sewing courses attended by 240 young women. The wool-spinning project, initiated in Jerash camp in the preceding year, employed 44 women.

45. A fifth centre was added to the Agency-sponsored community centres for the disabled in Jordan at Waqqas in the northern part of the Jordan Valley, a deprived area, which because of its comparative inaccessibility, benefited to only a minimal extent from UNRWA services. The Jordan field was the front-runner in the facilitation of community-based rehabilitation for the mentally retarded and physically disabled, and the five active centres attracted much external interest. Disabled young women were enrolled in skill-training courses alongside other women at the various women's programme centres. Community attitudes to the disabled were changing from fear and shame to acceptance and pride.

IV.  LEBANON

A.  Education

46. During the 1990/91 school year in Lebanon, the 77 UNRWA schools operated relatively smoothly, with far fewer disruptions than in the previous year. By the end of June, less than 7 per cent of school days had been lost, the schools most affected being in the Sidon and Tyre areas. Although UNRWA schools had fewer double-shifted classes than in the other four fields, the percentage was still, significant. In 1990/91, 67 per cent of elementary classes were double-shifted, as were 34 per cent of preparatory classes. School construction projects included the completion of a, building in Ein el-Hilweh camp, housing three schools comprising 43 rooms to replace dilapidated facilities.

47. The Siblin Training Centre operated normally during most of the academic year with only minor interruptions, offering 13 vocational and technical courses, covering the mechanical, metal, electrical, electronic, building and construction trades. The Centre also offered six semi-professional courses. Those included business and office practice, and courses leading to qualification as paramedical laboratory technician, public health inspector, architectural draughtsman, construction technician and industrial electronics technician. Training places were provided to over 600 students, including nearly 100 women. Although the Centre was given considerable financial support for re-equipping courses in 1987 following a three-year closure, much still needed to be done to update equipment and extend and improve the workshops.

48. A total of 132 teachers and head teachers out of nearly 1,200 in the field were enrolled in in-service training courses during the reporting year, to upgrade their qualifications, meet curricular changes, update their teaching methodology or develop their competence in management and administration.

B.  Health

49. Primary health care services were provided to approximately 261,000 Palestine refugees in Lebanon through a network of 22 health centres, 6 laboratories, 8 dental clinics, 5 specialist clinics, 11 diabetes clinics and 10 hypertension clinics. An outbreak of cholera-like disease with a high fatality rate was reported in the northern area of the country. Although none of the cases could be bacteriologically confirmed as caused by Vibrio cholerae, all epidemic and preventive measures were reinforced in the field. The episode further highlighted the need for major improvements in camp sanitation infrastructure and more intensive health education to control disease transmission.

50. Some improvement to the poor environmental health conditions was achieved through the rehabilitation of water supply systems that were damaged during the various rounds of fighting in Dbayeh, Rashidieh, Ein el-Kilweh and Burj el-Barajneh camps. A pipeline was installed to feed the new water reservoir built by UNICEF in Rashidieh camp. In addition, construction of a sewer line connecting the north-west part of Burj el-Barajneh camp to the municipal sewer was completed and works for replacement of the internal sewerage system, in Ein el-Hilweh camp were in progress. Realizing that needs far exceeded those limited improvements, UNRWA requested the services of a WHO consultant who carried out a general assessment of water supply and liquid waste disposal in refugee camps during May and June 1991, with recommendations for immediate and medium-term development plans for improving the sanitation infrastructure.

51. During the reporting period, difficulties were encountered in maintaining expenditure on hospital services within the approved budget allotment owing to repeated claims from private hospitals to increase the fees paid to them by UNRWA.

C.  Relief and social services

52. In Lebanon, the impact of the Gulf crisis added to an already difficult socio- economic situation. Emergency distributions of food aid continued to segments of the refugee population, including families displaced by internal fighting or Israeli aerial incursions. At the end of the reporting period more than 35,000 refugees were registered in the special hardship assistance programme, representing 13.13 per cent of the refugee population. Assistance to improve housing was given priority under the emergency programme. In Dbayeh camp, families received cash payments and cement to repair or renovate their shelters, which were damaged by fighting in 1989/90.

53. The Agency continued its efforts to establish income-generating schemes. Self-support grants were given to 34 more families, thus raising to 137 the number of families assisted in this manner. Six women from special hardship families were employed in a sewing production unit run by a local non-governmental organization in Beirut, with financial assistance from UNRWA and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and a further six were working in a similar unit in El-Buss camp, Tyre, run by a local non-governmental organization with assistance from UNRWA.

54. The first Agency-sponsored community rehabilitation centre for the disabled was to open in Nahr el-Bared camp, Tripoli, in the coming year. Initially, it would look after some 20-25 disabled children. The large number of disabled children and adults was one legacy of 15 years of conflict in Lebanon and the Agency was endeavoring to add to the many initiatives being taken by local and international non-governmental organizations. International Day for the Disabled was celebrated on 14 March by an open day attended by 250 disabled persons and their families. In August 1990, a two-week summer camp for 150 orphans and disabled children was held at Siblin Training Centre in coordination with a non-governmental organization.

D.  Emergency operations and reconstruction

55. The first quarter of the reporting period in Lebanon was characterized by factional fighting involving Palestinians, as well as by inter-Palestinian fighting. In the latter, 80 deaths and 280 injuries were reported. Up to 10,000 refugees fled from and subsequently returned to Ein el-Hilweh camp. The clashes continued at reduced intensity through the last quarter of 1990 and into early 1991 Israeli air raids took place throughout the year. Towards the end of the period under review, however, there was a diminution of violence as the Lebanese Government increasingly extended its authority into areas previously under the-control of armed groups.

56. UNRWA emergency programmes continued to assist those Palestinians most affected by the violence and socio-economic instability. Additional health services, primarily increases in hospitalization subsidies for 1991, were budgeted at about $400,000. The cash assistance programme for displaced refugees continued through 1990 and was to continue throughout 1991 at a budgeted cost of $240,000.

57. The shelter repair programme to assist refugees whose shelters had been damaged or destroyed slowed considerably as refugees did not return to Shatila camp in the numbers expected. During the reporting period, 353 shelters in Dbayeh and Shatila camps were repaired at a cost of $234,000. The total emergency budget for Lebanon for 1991 was planned at just over $6 million, of which about $2 million was for the issue of food commodities. At the end of the reporting period, a distribution of food to more than 200,000 Palestinians was about to start. In continuation of Agency practice, emergency services in Lebanon were provided not merely to registered refugees but to all needy Palestinians, as well as needy Lebanese living in proximity to poor Palestinians.

V.  SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

A.  Education

58. During the 1990/91 school year, the Agency's schools in the Syrian Arab Republic, with 57,000 pupils, operated normally and without interruption. Pupils of UNRWA schools continued to achieve a higher success rate in preparatory level examinations than pupils from other schools. Nevertheless, many UNRWA school premises, remained inadequate and overcrowded and often lacked proper sanitation facilities. In 1990/91, 95.5 per cent of elementary schools operated on double shift, as did 86.7 per cent of preparatory or combined elementary/preparatory schools. A number of construction projects were undertaken during the reporting year, including 15 schoolrooms to avoid triple shifting and one new school at Douma comprising 11 rooms. A sustained programme of construction over several years was needed, but the Agency continued to experience difficulty securing funds to carry out the programme at the desired speed.

59. The Damascus Training Centre, operated smoothly, providing more than 770 training places. Courses were offered in the mechanical, metal, electrical, electronics, building and construction trades. A new course in office machine mechanics was introduced in the 1990/91 school year. In addition, post-secondary semi-professional courses were offered leading to qualification as assistant pharmacist, paramedical laboratory technician, architectural draughtsman, quantity surveyor, construction technician and industrial electronics technician, and in business and office practice. The centre also established a computer laboratory to enrich the semi-professional courses, and installed a language laboratory to improve the English and Arabic language skills of the trainees.

B.  Health

60. Primary health care services were provided to about 253,000 Palestine refugees through a network of 22 health centres, 10 laboratories, 7 dental clinics, 1 specialist clinic and 19 diabetes clinics. In addition, medical teams were temporarily deployed during the Gulf war in two emergency camps near the border with Iraq.

61. A new health centre in Lattakia and a mother and child health centre in Yarmouk were constructed and in operation during the year. The contractual agreements with eight private hospitals where UNRWA subsidized beds at the official government rates were maintained at revised higher rates.

C.  Relief and social services

62. The Gulf crisis, coupled with a rise in unemployment and a fall in opportunities for Palestinians elsewhere in the Arab world resulted in an increase in the number of refugee families applying for special hardship status. Fortunately, a modus operandi for permitting UNRWA social workers to visit refugees in their homes was eventually agreed between the Syrian Government and the Agency. This arrangement produced immediate results and allowed the implementation of a new ration ceiling to replace that frozen in 1989. At the same time the Shelter rehabilitation programme was restarted, with 36 shelters expected to be completed in 1991. At the end of the reporting period, more than 15,500 refugees were registered in the special hardship assistance programme, representing 5.49 per cent of the refugee population.

63. The ability to make home visits considerably enhanced opportunities for Agency social workers to improve the quality and scope of services provided. By 30 June 1991, self- support grants had been made to a total of 57 families, 10 of whom received grants in the preceding year. The total amount expended in grants as $162,986. Training initiatives undertaken in the second half of 1990 and early 1991 included course in the techniques of human contact, social welfare and-income-generation.

64. Nine women's programme centres were in operation with 986 participants, 260 of whom were trainees in the Agency's sewing and embroidery courses. One distinctive feature of the women's programme in the Syrian Arab Republic was the number of refugee women, mainly in the Damascus area, who volunteered for literacy classes. Some 350 women of all ages were involved in this activity. There were also a number of skill-training courses for some 400 women in artificial flower-making, hand and machine knitting, hairdressing, embroidery, typing, home economics and English language.

65. The first Agency-sponsored community rehabilitation centre for the disabled in the Syrian Arab Republic opened in Nairab camp, Aleppo, in October 1990, and cared for 12 mentally retarded children. Other initiatives to assist the disabled included a field-wide survey to identify the number and types of disability in relation to available institutions and to assess future needs. A number of social-workers were trained in early detection of disability.

IV.  OCCUPIED TERRITORY

A.  West Bank

1.  Education

66. The 98 UNRWA schools in the West Bank, with more than 40,500 pupils, suffered severe disruption during the reporting period. By the end of June 1991, 40 per cent of the school days of the academic year 1990/91 had been lost because of prolonged curfews, military closures, strikes and other factors. From mid-January through February, closures were virtually continuous owing to the general curfew. Some schools were affected in particular, including five schools in Tulkarm that were closed by the authorities for most of the reporting period. After negotiations with the occupation authorities, UNRWA schools in the West Bank were granted permission to extend the school year until the end of June 1991, to compensate partially for the loss of education. The Agency's request to end the school year into July was refused. The five Tulkarm schools, however, were permitted to operate until 15 August and were to implement a summer activities plan.

67. To help counter the loss of school time, UNRWA developed self-learning materials that were distributed to students, often in their own-homes. Another alternative method being pursued was the development of audio-visual materials for distance education, however, the Agency required considerable funding to supplement existing production facilities. In 1990, UNRWA administered achievement tests in the West Bank to determine the impact of prolonged interruption of education and school closure on pupils. Preliminary results disclosed a detrimental effect on all students, especially in the lower grades, and in subjects such as mathematics and science. Remedial measures were taken on the basis of an analysis of the test results.

68. Schools in the West Bank remained overcrowded. This stemmed from natural population growth and non-availability of suitable sites. Some rented schools in the West Bank were unsuitable and dilapidated and required replacement. Half of the schools operated in double shifts. In the reporting year, construction projects to help address that situation included new schools at Ya'bad and Arrabeh. A new classroom was built at Balata Girls School to avoid triple shifting.

69. The three Agency training centres in the West Bank, two in Ramallah and one in Kalandia, provided 1,020 places for vocational and technical training. Courses covered the mechanical, metal, electrical, electronic, building and construction trades. In addition, courses in nutrition and home management, and clothing and hairdressing were offered at the Ramallah Women's Training Centre. All three centres also offered post-secondary, semi- professional courses covering the paramedical, construction, electronics, commercial and home and institutional management fields. A new course in nursing was introduced at the Ramallah Women's Training Centre, and office machine mechanics and auto-electrician courses were started at Kalandia. In addition, the two centres at Ramallah provided 550 places for students preparing to be school teachers. Instruction at the centres was disrupted by closure for most of January and February owing to the general curfew and by periodic interruptions. The first semester ended several months late in June. Training was scheduled to continue through and beyond the summer of 1991 to complete the second semester.

2.  Health

70. In addition to the regular health services provided to approximately 325,000 Palestine refugees in the West Bank through a network of 33 health centres and points, 9 dental clinics, 12 laboratories, 2 specialist clinics and 11 diabetes clinics, UNRWA established 5 physiotherapy clinics and 15 emergency clinics. However, services were disrupted on several occasions owing to the situation prevailing in the field. UNRWA's agreement with Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem was revised, increasing the number of subsidized, beds from 106 in 1990 to 112 in 1991, out of which UNRWA was to pay for 110 beds at revised rates and a non-governmental organization would contribute the funds for two beds.

71. A memorandum of agreement was concluded between WHO and UNRWA on a mental health project effective May 1991 for one year. The objectives of the project included reduction of the prevalence of mental health problems among children by treatment, dissemination of information and training of UNRWA medical staff, social workers and teachers to improve their knowledge of psycho-pathology and skill in dealing with associated problems.

72. In coordination with the public health authorities in West Bank, UNRWA participated in an anti-measles immunization campaign for preschool and school children.

73. Construction of an internal sewerage network was completed in Am'ari camp with the ultimate objective of connecting the camp's sewers to the municipal system. At the time of writing, the scheme had not been put into operation owing to new demands being made by the local authorities.  In addition, the first phase of a similar project was completed in Dheisheh camp, part of a comprehensive regional scheme comprising the towns of Bethlehem and Beit Jala and Dheisheh, Aida and Beit Jibrin camps.

3.  Relief and social services

74. Throughout the occupied territory, there remained a need for direct emergency relief and a demand and opportunity for longer-term development and socio-economic and welfare programmes. In the West Bank, 7.92 per cent of all UNRWA registered refugees were receiving direct relief under the special hardship programme by the end of June 1991. This arose from a combination of socio-economic factors including the loss of remittances from the Gulf and additional restrictions on Palestinians working inside Israel. A general food distribution started in the West Bank on 22 February 1991 and was completed, in spite of interruptions, shortly after the end of the reporting period. The delay in starting the distribution was caused by the initial reluctance of the Israeli authorities in having the Agency be seen to distribute international food aid to non-refugees and by difficulties in coordination. Problems in obtaining curfew passes for area staff from the occupation authorities were also an obstacle, not only for this programme but for most operational activities.

75.  The West Bank benefited from the income-generating initiatives described elsewhere, although during the first two months of 1991 many of the projects were affected by the curfew.  Preliminary reports indicated that most would survive, some with rescheduling o repayments and that only one – a greenhouse in the West Bank demolished by the Israeli authorities and its water well destroyed – had collapsed. An analysis of the impact of the programme in raising real levels of income and creating job opportunities was to be carried out in the autumn of 1991. Efforts were also in hand in the West Bank to organize community rehabilitation centres for the disabled, where basic rehabilitation therapy was given by specially trained volunteers from the local community. Those centres were dependent on local community and non-governmental funding. The first such centre was opened in late 1990 in Jericho with assistance from a non-governmental organization and a second was planned for Fawwar camp.

B.  Gaza Strip

1.  Education

76. UNRWA's 149 schools in the Gaza Strip suffered from severe disruption in education, during the reporting year. One school, under the authority of the Gaza field but located in Canada camp on the Egyptian side of the international border, functioned normally. By the end of June 1991, 41 per cent of school days had been lost as a result of prolonged curfews, military closures, strikes and other factors. For most of January and February, all schools were closed owing to the general curfew, and while most schools reopened in March, some were still subjected to individual closures. After lengthy negotiations with the occupation authorities, UNRWA schools in Gaza were granted permission to remain open until the end of June 1991 to compensate partially for the loss of education. The Agency's request to extend the school year into July was denied.

77. In Gaza as in the West Bank, UNRWA developed self-learning materials to help offset the interruption of regular classroom activities. The materials were distributed widely, often to students' homes. In 1990, the Agency administered achievement tests to all grade levels in UNRWA schools to try to assess the impact of the chronic school closures, which had begun in 1988. Preliminary results disclosed a detrimental effect on all students, particularly in the lower grades, and in subjects such as mathematics and science.

78. UNRWA schooling in Gaza suffered from overcrowding and dilapidated premises, with over 69 per cent of classes double-shifted. Construction projects during the reporting year were plagued by delays stemming from the prolonged review by the local authorities (see para. 92). Construction projects undertaken in Gaza during the reporting year included 8 schoolrooms to replace unsuitable rooms at Bureij Boys Preparatory School and construction of 6 specialized rooms and 20 schoolrooms to avoid triple shifting.

79. The Gaza Training Centre provided more than 700 places during the reporting year and offered 13 two-year vocational and technical courses covering the mechanical, electrical and building trades. In 1987, the centre introduced post-secondary semi-professional courses, mainly through extra-budgetary contributions. Courses in electronics, physiotherapy and business and office practice were already in operation. The second years of the physiotherapy and business and office practice courses and the first year of the electronics course were established in 1990/91. In common with all educational institutions in the occupied territory, the Gaza Training Centre was closed during most of January and February and at various other times as a result of strikes, curfews and military orders. The Centre was closed for 132 teaching days, and was expected to operate through and, if necessary, beyond the summer vacation to complete the scholastic year.

2.  Health

80. In addition to the regular health services provided through a network of 9 health centres, 17 mother and child health clinics, 7 dental clinics, 7 laboratories, 4 specialist clinics, 9 diabetes clinics and 6 delivery centres, UNRWA established 14 emergency clinics (9 afternoon and 5 night clinics), 6 physiotherapy clinics and a 24-hour ambulance service in all refugee camps. A decision was taken by the occupation authorities to close the 70-bed Tuberculosis Hospital in Bureij camp, which was run jointly by the Public Health Directorate and UNRWA, since it was no longer needed. Patients were transferred to other general hospitals run by the Civil Administration.

81. The Agency embarked on a project for the construction, equipment and commissioning of a 200-bed general hospital, based on 6 feasibility study carried out by WHO consultants in 1989, costed at $35 million, including $20 million capital costs and $15 million operating costs for the first three years. In spite of the adverse effects of the Gulf war on funding for the project, the Agency made use of available contributions and pledges by hiring consultants to serve as project management advisers through all phases of the project and to develop a detailed design brief. In addition, UNRWA carried out thorough consultations with all providers of health care in Gaza to decide on the types of services and specialization needed. Substantial funds were still needed before the Agency could start construction. By the end of the reporting period, however, agreement had been reached with concerned parties on a site for the hospital in the south of the Strip between Rafah and Khan Younis, and the decision was taken to proceed with tendering for the architectural design.

82. In order to alleviate mental health problems among vulnerable groups, an agreement was concluded between UNRWA and the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme according to which the latter provided medical consultation to patients referred from UNRWA health centres and trained UNRWA doctors in early detection of mental and psychological disorders, with special emphasis on children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders.

3.  Relief and social services

83. At the end of June 1991, 13.02 per cent of Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA in Gaza were receiving direct relief under the special hardship programme. The loss of remittances from relatives working in the Gulf and the high numbers of male wage-earners imprisoned or disabled through intifadah-related injury contributed to increased demand for this assistance. Provision was made for an 8 per cent increase in the programme in 1991. Curfews and restrictions on movement, especially of laborers who normally worked in Israel, coupled with strikes, led to a massive loss of earnings. Of some 60,000 Gaza laborers who previously relied on daily wages in Israel, only about 30,000 were believed to be travelling there by the end of the reporting period. Hence for a fourth successive year the Agency distributed food and cash to families in need, both refugee and, to a smaller extent, non-refugee, as an emergency measure. UNRWA's programme of extraordinary measures is described below.

84. In addition to the income-generating initiatives described elsewhere, other social service programmes of particular interest were initiatives to rehabilitate the disabled. Children requiring specialist help were referred to local institutions with the necessary facilities and expertise. In Gaza, the Agency itself ran a Training Centre for the Blind, offering pre-schooling, the basic nine-year cycle of education and vocational rehabilitation.

C.  Extraordinary measures

85. With the intifadah continuing into its fourth year, the Agency's programme of extraordinary measures continued to provide additional health, relief, social services and-general assistance and protection to the registered refugee population and, in some instances, to non-refugees in need of humanitarian aid. The plan for extraordinary measures in the West Bank and Gaza for 1991 envisioned cash expenditure of more than $11.2 million and distribution of commodities worth more than $8.6 million.  Owing to the Gulf war, however, distribution of food supplies had to be greatly expanded in terms of both the amount of food and the number of recipients. UNRWA also implemented two new programmes and revised a third in response to special needs of the population and the worsening socio-economic situation, as detailed below.

86. In the health sector, the Agency continued to keep its clinics open after regular hours to provide emergency medical attention, including treatment of those injured in confrontations with the Israeli security forces; some 30 additional shifts were maintained, 5 in Gaza, from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. The staff cost to maintain these services was approximately $693,000. Some $557,000 was budgeted for emergency medical supplies; another $423,000 was planned for hospital subsidies or payments to defray medical expenses. The Agency also provided additional supplementary feeding, consisting of milk or dry rations, to more than 34,000 nutritionally at risk infants, school-age children and pregnant and nursing women.

87. Emergency relief measures included provision in the 1991 plan for payment of up to $1.2 million in cash grants to assist families affected by, for example, the death, incarceration or disabling injury of their breadwinner, or the demolition or sealing by the authorities of their shelters. Although the Agency's ceiling for individual payments was not high, the funds assisted in helping families temporarily to weather their immediate difficulties. An additional 3,600 special hardship cases, considerably less than the number of those qualified, were to receive grants, at an expected cost of some $394,000 for food and emergency supplies such as blankets. A small number of additional social workers were employed to ensure that emergency relief aid went to those legitimately in need of assistance; staffing costs for this amounted to $100,000.

88. As a result of prolonged curfews imposed during the Gulf war and the loss of remittances from family members in the Gulf region, the entire Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza suffered severe hardship in January and February 1991. As a result, the Agency mounted a special appeal for extra in-kind and cash donations to carry out a one-time emergency food distribution for a targeted 295,000 refugee and non-refugee families. The core commodities included flour, rice, sugar and skim milk worth over $16 million. In addition, the Agency received or was pledged significant quantities of vegetable oil, pulses, tomato paste and sardines totaling more than 7,000 tons valued at an additional $6 million. To meet the increased logistics requirements, UNRWA hired laborers for distribution and provided in-kind payment to large numbers of Palestinians engaged to pack the commodities, again reducing costs.

89. As a major part of its efforts to provide a degree of protection to the residents of the occupied territory, the Agency's refugee affairs officers continued to help the civilian population to cope with the numerous daily difficulties they faced, liaising with the local Israeli authorities as appropriate and maintaining a presence at scenes of confrontation in order to decrease tensions and minimize casualties. They and the Agency's legal officers, together with locally recruited assistants, continued efforts to uphold the legal rights of the refugees and to safeguard the Agency's privileges and immunities, including the treatment of Agency staff. They also sought to cope with other problems in the delivery of Agency services, in particular the maintenance of health services and the provision of emergency food supplies, in the face of violent disturbances, the imposition of curfews and widespread restrictions on movement. A legal aid scheme was established during the reporting period.

D.  Expanded programme of assistance

90. The expanded programme of assistance to the occupied territory, established in 1988 with a target figure of $65 million, was intended to improve living conditions in the West Bank and  Gaza Strip.  Against this target, $33.6 million had teen received or pledged by 30 June 1991. The expanded programme was developed during 1988 and 1989 and covered shelter rehabilitation; improvement and expansion of health services, including construction, supplies, equipment and training; environmental sanitation; employment and income- generating activities; literacy and skills training programmes for women, including the construction and equipping of women's programme centres; improvement of Agency installations through which services were delivered; and some education projects such as scholarships.

91. During the reporting period, priority continued to be given to the rehabilitation of shelters in camps, including reconstruction, upgrading, repair and maintenance of shelters belonging to special hardship families. Progress was made in the installation and completion of those sewerage systems for which funds had been received. A number of construction projects begun in late 1989 and early 1990 were completed during the reporting period, as were a number of design and feasibility studies on environmental sanitation and related issues. An expanded physiotherapy programme was introduced, with the installation of pre-fabricated units, provision of equipment and training of Palestinian physiotherapists.

92. At reporting time, approximately 60 construction projects were under negotiation with potential donors; 10 projects, for which funds had been pledged or received were at the design and tender stage; 15 projects were under implementation; and 25 projects had been completed. By mid-1991, 17 construction projects, including a few outside the expanded programme Of assistance, for which funds were available were unable to proceed with implementation owing to difficulties introduced and new conditions imposed by the Israeli authorities.

93. In view of the deteriorating socio-economic conditions in the occupied territory, the Agency decided to expand the volume and scope of its small-scale income-generating programme of investment in small and medium enterprises and related economic infrastructure, and to step up job creation through its own construction and public works. In this connection, the Agency presented an upgrading and construction package of approximately $13 million for Gaza and $7.8 million for the West Bank to a United Nations inter-agency mission to the occupied territory in May.

VII.  LEGAL MATTERS

A.  Agency staff

94. During the period under review, the number of Staff members arrested and detained without charge or trial decreased marginally as compared with the last reporting period but still remained at a high level (see annex I, table 11).

95. UNRWA remained unable to obtain adequate and timely information on the reasons for the arrest and detention of its staff members. In the absence of such information, the Agency is unable to ascertain whether the staff member's official functions are involved, bearing in mind the individual's rights and duties under the pertinent UNRWA Staff Regulations and Rules, as well as under the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, 1946, the applicability of which has been reiterated by the various host countries and by Israel as occupying Power, in terms of the relevant bilateral agreements.

96. The treatment of staff members in detention continued to cause concern to the Agency. Staff members were subjected to beatings and various other forms of physical abuse, in particular during interrogation. In several cases, staff members – both local and international – encountered rough treatment at the hands of the local authorities in the course of their official duties. In the Gaza Strip alone, 132 instances of mistreatment of Agency staff members were recorded during the year. On 6 December 1090, following disturbances in Khan Younis camp in the Gaza Strip, an international staff member was struck by a rock thrown directly at him at close range by an Israeli border policeman: the staff member sustained a fracture of his left thumb as a result. In Kalandia camp in the West Bank, on 12 October 1990 a staff member suffered damage to his hearing as a result of being beaten by a military officer. A female Agency staff member attempting to intercede on his behalf was beaten unconscious by a soldier and suffered a perforated eardrum as a result. On 16 February 1991, a military officer in Rafah camp in the Gaza Strip beat a senior local staff member on the head and arm with a wooden club and forced him into a military jeep where he was kept for 40 minutes.

97. The Agency continued to experience difficulties in visiting detained staff members, but gained limited access to 12 staff members from the West Bank detained in prisons and detention centres, including 8 held in detention centres in Israel. The Agency also had access to 20 detained staff members from the Gaza Strip: these comprised staff detained at Gaza Central Prison, including two who were subsequently deported (see para. 94), and staff detained at the Ketziot detention centre in Israel. The Agency had no success in visiting staff in detention in the other fields.

98. The Agency continued to encounter difficulties in the movement of staff into and out of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. There were substantial delays in the clearance of staff for travel, which was refused in some cases The movement of staff within the occupied territory was again seriously affected by the frequent imposition of curfews and the designation of areas closed military zones. In the West Bank and the Gaza Strip the Israeli authorities continued to insist that local staff could move during curfews only if they had permits issued by the Civil Administration. Delays in the issue or renewal of the permits meant that the Agency's operations were impeded, in particular during the lengthy curfews imposed in January 1991 throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the period of hostilities in the Gulf. Restrictions on access to Israel and East Jerusalem imposed by the authorities on residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip also resulted in delay and impediment to the free movement of staff members.

B.  Agency services and Premises

99. The Agency recorded a total of almost 14,000 persons, including a substantial number of women and children, injured in-clashes with the Israeli security forces during the period (see annex I, table 12). UNRWA continued its efforts to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to Palestinians in the occupied territory. International staff played an important role in this regard, attempting to secure, at points of confrontation and by intervention with the Israeli authorities where appropriate, the safety and security and the legal and human rights of the refugees and helping them to cope with the day-to-day difficulties of life under occupation. In addition to the other measures of assistance provided to needy refugees detailed elsewhere in the present report, UNRWA provided financial support to those seeking legal representation. The Agency frequently had occasion to protest measures undertaken by the Israeli security forces and on many occasions requested the Israeli authorities to carry out an investigation into particularly serious incidents. In response, the Israeli authorities, on occasion, invoked considerations of military security and referred, in that context, to the Comay-Michelmore Agreement of 1967.

100. During the reporting period there were 251 incursions into Agency installations by members of the Israeli security forces in the West Bank and 367 such incursions in the Gaza Strip. At times those involved both injury to staff members and damage to Agency property. The Agency recorded 201 incidents in which health clinic premises were entered, including 153 in the Gaza Strip alone. For example, on 27 December 1990, members of the Israeli security forces entered the Agency's health centre in Jabalia camp, passing through the emergency section and the maternity ward where several women were about to give birth and fired shots from within the health centre compound at stone-throwers on the roof of a nearby mosque. An UNRWA international staff member who requested the soldiers to leave was pushed out of the compound by a military officer. Agency premises were also used for the temporary rounding-up and interrogation of local residents. While the Israeli authorities in some cases invoked considerations of security as justifying their actions, the Agency considered such actions as violations of its privileges and immunities and lodged appropriate protests. Two long-standing incursions into Agency premises mentioned in last year's annual report were not satisfactorily resolved: a military observation post on the roof of an Agency school building in Aqabat Jabr camp in the West Bank and the fencing-off by the Israeli authorities of the UNRWA Women's Programme Centre in Jabalia camp in the Gaza Strip both continued, despite frequent protests by the Agency and requests that the activity cease. 3/

101. Of particular concern were incidents in which health centres were forcibly closed, or Agency ambulance services interfered with and sometimes prevented from operating. For example, the 24-hour emergency service provided at UNRWA clinics upon commencement of the Gulf war was substantially impeded by the Israeli security forces in Tulkarm camp in the West Bank where, throughout the Gulf war, the clinic was prevented from functioning effectively except in the morning. There were occasions on which Agency ambulances were shot at and others prevented from transporting patients to clinics and hospitals.

102. The demolition of houses and camp shelters for punitive reasons continued in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Within refugee camps in the West Bank, the Israeli authorities demolished 18 rooms in 10 shelters, affecting 10 families totaling 40 persons, and sealed a further 29 rooms, affecting 9 families of a total of 80 persons. Outside the camps, some 43 additional dwellings were demolished in the West Bank for punitive reasons. Demolitions and sealings also took place in the Gaza Strip, the most serious incident occurring in Bureij camp.  Following the killing in the camp of an Israeli soldier on 20 September 1990, 63 rooms in refugee shelters housing 39 families and a total of 33 shops were demolished, either for punitive reasons or for the stated ground of road-widening. A further 46 rooms in 10 shelters housing 23 families were sealed for punitive reasons. In addition to this incident, in the Gaza Strip the Israeli authorities demolished 114 rooms in 29 shelters, affecting 64 families totaling 379 persons. A further 34 rooms in camps were sealed, affecting 17 families, or some 108 persons. The Agency protested those actions as being incompatible with articles 33 and 53 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949. The Israeli authorities continued to object to the reconstruction of demolished shelters in camps, despite earlier assurances by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs that no such objections would be raised.

103. The Israeli authorities continued to insist that Agency construction be subjected to newly instituted and detailed building regulations. A considerable amount of much-needed construction, particularly in the Gaza Strip, was for this reason blocked or subjected to lengthy delays. The Agency expressed its willingness to engage in appropriate consultation and coordination of its construction activities.

104. There were substantial delays during the year in clearing through Israeli ports a large number of items urgently needed for the Agency's official use. Although the items were eventually cleared, some of them had meanwhile been sold off by the Israeli authorities. The Agency was claiming compensation.

105. Since the announcement by the Government of Israel, described in the annual reports of 1989 and 1990, that owing to temporary budgetary constraints it could not pay clearance, warehousing and transport charges due to UNRWA under the terms of the Comay-Michelmore Agreement of 1967, the Agency continued to advance such sums, on the understanding that that state of affairs was a purely temporary measure and that eventual reimbursement by the Israeli authorities would take place. By the end of the reporting period, the amount so advanced by the Agency stood at a total of $5.95 million.

C.  Claims against Governments

106. The Agency regretted that no progress was made with regard to its various claims against Governments.

Notes

1/ Official Records of the Security Council, Forty-fourth Year, Supplement for October, November and December 1990, document S/21919.

2/ S/22472 of 9 April 1991.

3/ Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/45/13), para. 116.

ANNEX I

Statistical and financial information

Statistical and financial information

____________

* For more detailed information on the financing of the Agency's programmes, see the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 1990 and the report of the Board of Auditors (Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 5C (A/46/5/Add.3)).

Table 1.  Number of registered persons a/

(As of 30 June each year)

a/ These statistics are based on UNRWA registration records, which are updated continually.  The  number of  registered refugees present in the Agency’s area of operations, however, is almost certainly less than the population recorded. The Agency’s budgeted expenditure is based not on the registration records but on the projected number of beneficiaries of its services. In 1990/91 370,771 persons were enrolled in education or training programmes, approximately 2.1 million were eligible for health care and, as at 30 June 1991, 162,013 persons were receiving special hardship assistance.

b/ This total excludes 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 1991)

a/ It is estimated that a further 52,000 persons, who are not registered refugees, live in camps. About 37,000 of these are persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 hostilities.

Table 3.  Number and distribution of special hardship cases

     (As at 30 June 1991)

a/  Includes children under one year of age, imprisoned persons, students studying away from home, etc.

Table 4.  Social services programme

          (1 July 1990-30 June 1991)

a/ Centres presently closed by the occupation authorities.

Table 5.  Distribution of refugee pupils in UNRWA schools a/

   (As at 15 October 1990)

a/ Excludes an estimated total of 131,08882 refugee pupils attending elementary, preparatory and secondary government and private schools.

b/ Includes non-eligible children attending UNRWA schools, who now number 55,865.

Table 6.  Training places in UNRWA training centres

     (Academic year 1990/91)

a/ Courses in mechanical, metal, electrical and building trades.

b/ Courses in technical, commercial, electronics, computer science and paramedical fields.

Table 7.  University scholarship-holders by faculty and country of study

     (Academic year 1990/91)

a/ Excludes 17 scholarship-holders scheduled to study at Middle East universities who, owing to prevailing conditions in the West Bank, did not submit university attendance certificates.

b/ Other countries were: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (18 male and 6 female students), Yemen (2 male and 1 female students), Iraq (1 male student), and Sudan (1 male student).

Table 8.  Medical care services

          (1 July 1990-30 June 1991)

a/ Includes visits for medical consultations, injections, dressings and eye treatment.

b/ Data presented is on services provided by UNRWA through contractual agreements. It does not, therefore, include in-patient care provided to refugees in government hospitals or UNRWA maternity clinics.

c/ Health monitoring is monthly for those under one year of age, bimonthly for age group 1 to 2 years and trimonthly for age group 2 to 3 years.

Table 9.  Trends in utilization of out-patient clinics

Table 10. Incidence trends of selected communicable diseases

Table 11.  Staff members arrested and detained

          (1 July 1990-30 June 1991)

a/ Eleven staff members detained by Syrian forces in Lebanon and five held by unknown elements.

b/ In addition, two staff members were deported to Lebanon.

Table 12.  Casualties in the occupied territory

           (1 July 1990-30 June 1991) a/ b/

a/ The figures are those reported to or made known to UNRWA and should not be treated as exhaustive.

b/ The figures given for fatalities do not include the killing of alleged collaborators.

Table 13. Contributions in cash and in kind by Governments and by the

        European Community

        (United States dollars)

        (1 January 1989-31 December 1990)

a/ Actual receipts for regular budget and projects.

b/ Actual receipts for the emergency operations in Lebanon and the occupied territory.

c/ Actual receipts, all funds.

d/ These Governments paid their contributions for 1990 in 1991. The amounts paid will therefore be reflected in this table in next year's annual report.

ANNEX II

Pertinent records of the General Assembly and other

United Nations bodies a/

1. General Assembly resolutions

2. General Assembly decision

Decision number Date of adoption

36/462 16 March 1982

3. Reports of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA

4. Audited financial statements

5. Reports of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine

6. Reports of the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA

7. Reports of the Secretary-General

Palestine refugees)).

Notes

a/ A list of pertinent reports and other documents of the General Assembly and other United Nations bodies concerning UNRWA (notably those prior to 1987) can be found in the publication entitled UNRWA at the United Nations 1948-1986, which is available from the UNRWA Public Information Office.