UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): Background and U.S. Funding Trends

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Updated January 17, 2025

UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): Background and U.S. Funding Trends

Amid the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, developments related to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which provides humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees, could have broad implications for its future resources and operations. After allegations surfaced connecting some UNRWA employees with the October 7, 2023, attacks against Israel led by Hamas (a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization), Congress enacted a March 2024 prohibition on U.S. funding to UNRWA (P.L. 118-47), which is set to last until March 25, 2025. Additionally, certain provisions of Israeli laws scheduled to take effect in late January 2025 could have far-reaching consequences for UNRWA’s ability to operate in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. A January 2025 Israel-Hamas cease-fire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal—set to begin an initial, six-week phase on January 19, pending the Israeli cabinet’s approval, and with the possibility of talks on two later phases—reportedly calls for or anticipates measures to facilitate increased humanitarian assistance, improved humanitarian access and protection, and the return of Gazans to their homes.

UNRWA Overview Mandate and Activities. The UN General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a temporary mandate to provide humanitarian assistance, protection, and education to registered Palestinian refugees (5.9 million as of 2024) living in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria—in coordination with host authorities. (UNRWA is distinct from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); each operates under its own separate legal and organizational mandate.) With no political resolution on the refugees’ status, the General Assembly has regularly extended UNRWA’s mandate, which expires on June 20, 2026. UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organization in Gaza. Some 1.4 to 1.6 million of Gaza’s roughly 1.9 to 2.1 million residents are registered Palestinian refugees, and many have relied on humanitarian assistance for decades. UNRWA provides a range of services and assistance, including operating temporary shelters for those displaced, running mobile health teams, and distributing food, water, and other necessities.

Budget and Funding. UNRWA is funded primarily through voluntary contributions from governments (95%) and also through the UN regular budget (5%). UNRWA’s 2024 program budget was for $880.2 million; in addition, emergency funding appeals, primarily for Gaza, totaled $1.6 billion.

Humanitarian Situation in Gaza. Prior to the Hamas October 7, 2023 attacks, humanitarian conditions in Gaza were already deeply concerning to many. After over a year

of war, the current conflict has dramatically exacerbated the humanitarian situation and resulted in massive population displacement and infrastructure damage, and famine-like conditions in some areas of northern Gaza. Between October 7, 2023 and January 8, 2025, at least 45,936 Palestinians were reportedly killed in Gaza and 109,274 injured (according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry); UNRWA reported that at least 265 staff were killed. The intensity of the ongoing hostilities and situation on the ground greatly constrain the ability of UNRWA and other humanitarian organizations to access areas in Gaza, assess conditions, and deliver lifesaving assistance. UN Secretary-General (UNSG) António Guterres, with support from the humanitarian community, has appealed to governments to guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations. In addition to the flow of assistance and funding and in keeping with humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other organizations have emphasized the need for a ceasefire, for the parties to adhere to international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities, and for humanitarian access to be granted to the Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees.

U.S. Funding and Oversight Funding Trends. The United States has historically been the largest financial contributor to UNRWA, with total contributions reaching more than $7.3 billion since 1950 (Table 1). In 2023, U.S. funding accounted for nearly 30% of UNRWA’s donor contributions. Funding has been provided primarily through the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account in annual Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations acts.

Table 1. U.S. Government Contributions to UNRWA

(in $ millions, non-inflation adjusted)

Source: U.S. State Department and UNRWA.

Notes: All amounts are approximate. Congress does not usually specify a funding amount for UNRWA; it appropriates a lump sum to the MRA account, and the executive branch allocates funds based on humanitarian needs and U.S. foreign policy priorities. The Trump

Fiscal Year Amount

1950-2016 5,705.2

2017 359.3

2018 65.0

2019 -0-

2020 -0-

2021 318.4

2022 364.0

2023 371.0

2024 121.6

TOTAL 7,304.5

UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): Background and U.S. Funding Trends

https://crsreports.congress.gov

Administration suspended U.S. funding for UNRWA from August 2018 until the end of its first term. The Biden Administration’s January 2024 UNRWA funding pause prevented approximately $300,000 in unobligated FY2024 funds and $2.5 million in obligated but unpaid FY2023 balances from being disbursed to UNRWA.

Oversight and Congressional Debate. U.S. contributions to UNRWA are subject to legislative conditions and oversight. Section 301(c) of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act (P.L. 87-195), as amended, states that the United States shall provide contributions only if UNRWA takes “all possible measures” to ensure that no contribution shall assist any refugee “who has engaged in any act of terrorism.”

Some Members of Congress have regularly raised concerns about UNRWA’s effectiveness and neutrality, and have supported legislation to increase oversight of UNRWA, limit U.S. funding and strengthen vetting procedures to prevent any diversion to terrorists, screen any educational materials for UNRWA-administered schools and summer camps that might generate anti-Semitic or other incitement, and examine the definition of Palestinian refugees and their “right of return.” Other Members, including some who have voiced concerns about some aspects of UNRWA, have argued that the organization’s activities are critical and advocated for continued or greater financial support. These debates have intensified since the October 7, 2023-related allegations surfaced (see below).

Donor Funding Pause and U.S. Funding Prohibition. In light of allegations that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 attacks, the Biden Administration temporarily “paused” all U.S. funding to UNRWA on January 26, 2024. Fifteen other UNRWA donors also paused their funding in January. Subsequently, all have reportedly resumed contributions, perhaps due to the urgent situation in Gaza, and also UNRWA’s reported assurances that it would strengthen its anti-terrorism vetting procedures following an April report by the independent “Colonna Group” (appointed by UNSG Guterres and chaired by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna). The report acknowledged that UNRWA has many mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with humanitarian principles, including that of neutrality, while also identifying some gaps and offering recommendations to address them. In the March Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, (P.L. 118- 47), Congress prohibited U.S. funding to UNRWA from (1) any amounts provided in prior fiscal years or in FY2024, or (2) amounts provided in FY2025, until March 25, 2025.

Other Responses to the Allegations. UNSG Guterres activated an immediate UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigation in response to the allegations about UNRWA staff, later expanding its investigation from 12 to 19 persons. In August, OIOS completed the investigation, saying that nine staff members would have their employment terminated because evidence indicated they may have been involved in the October 7 attacks. In the other 10 cases, OIOS found no or insufficient evidence of wrongdoing to support the staff members’ involvement. For those cases, OIOS stated that “appropriate measures” would “be taken in due course.”

While Israel accused UNRWA of employing hundreds of staff in Gaza (including some educators) linked to militant

groups, and alleged that Hamas has accessed electricity from UNRWA facilities, UNRWA stated that it consistently shares information with Israel and takes other actions to prevent developments that could compromise UNRWA’s neutrality. UNRWA also said that some employees have reported being “pressured by Israeli authorities” into false statements about the alleged actions and organizational links of UNRWA staff.

Israeli Legislation and U.S./International Response The Israeli laws passed on October 28, 2024, and scheduled to take effect 90 days later, would ban all UNRWA activities and services on Israeli territory, and sever all contacts between Israeli government employees and UNRWA. Reportedly, one provision took effect immediately, annulling a 1967 Israel-UNRWA exchange of letters that facilitated UNRWA’s operations in the West Bank and Gaza. Depending on potential Israeli domestic legal challenges and how Israel’s government decides to implement the legislation, the bills could end or severely hamper UNRWA’s operations in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. After the Knesset enacted the laws, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that before and after they take effect, he is “ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security.”

The Biden Administration said in October it was “deeply troubled” by the Israeli action, stating that the bills’ implementation would pose risks for “millions of Palestinians who rely on UNRWA,” and that “right now” UNRWA’s role in Gaza “cannot be filled by anyone else.” It also voiced support for lifting the U.S. prohibition on funding to UNRWA, while advocating for additional UNRWA reforms. In response to the laws’ passage, members of the UN Security Council warned against actions “to dismantle or diminish UNRWA’s operations and mandate,” recognizing that any interruption to its work could have “severe humanitarian consequences.”

Selected Congressional Considerations • Whether to continue, lift, or alter the prohibition on

UNRWA funding through March 2025, and what reforms, if any, the United States might advocate.

• Whether and how to take steps, including in UN

settings, aimed at influencing Israel’s actions regarding UNRWA.

• How and if to address humanitarian needs and the

Palestinian refugee situation in Gaza and elsewhere, including possible alternatives to UNRWA. Many humanitarian organizations assert that other entities cannot readily carry out UNRWA’s functions, while some analysts (including a former UNRWA official) argue that incrementally transitioning UNRWA’s functions to various other entities is possible.

Rhoda Margesson, Specialist in International Humanitarian Policy Jim Zanotti, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs

IF12863

UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA): Background and U.S. Funding Trends

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