In December 1949, the United Nations General Assembly established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to provide humanitarian relief to the more than 700,000 refugees and displaced persons who had been forced to flee their homes in Palestine as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Also in December 1949, the United Nations General Assembly decided to set up the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of 1 January 1951, with the principal aim of dealing with refugees in Europe
left homeless by World War II. Nevertheless, since its inception, UNHCR has had the mandate to deal with refugees worldwide, and began to do so in earnest during the 1960s.
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FULL TEXT:
Document Type: Arabic text, Publication
Document Sources: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Assistance, Refugee camps, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 31/01/2007