THE BUREAUCRATIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: UNRWA'S PROTRACTED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Authors

  • Claudia Stephan UFPR/NEPRI/GESEG

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/cg.v7i3.62631

Abstract

The Palestine Partition Plan proposed by the United Nations (UN) in 1947 led to the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948, which resulted in thousands of Palestinian refugees and demanded a humanitarian action on the part of that international organization to contain the instability in this region of the Middle East. The Palestinian refugee situation endures for 70 years and there are no signs of a permanent solution. The humanitarian assistance provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), established on a temporary basis, has been renewed for 68 years. The aim of this paper is to analyze historically and critically the role of UNRWA and its implications for the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. We argue that the agency plays an humanitarian role, alleviating the refugees situation until the parties negotiate a permanent solution. However, the agency performs functions similar to a State insofar as it provides services to refugees as in the areas of education and health, but at the same time expresses the bureaucratization of the Palestine question at the UN, thereby becoming an obstacle to the peace talks insofar as it has lost its temporary character by taking on functions and tasks proper of a State.

Key words: UNRWA; Palestine Refugees; Humanitarian Assistance; Israel-Palestine Conflict; International Security.

Author Biography

Claudia Stephan, UFPR/NEPRI/GESEG

Doutoranda do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Política - PPGCP/UFPR
Pesquisadora do Núcleo de Pesquisa em Relações Internacionais - NEPRI/UFPR
Coordenadora do Grupo de Estudos Interdisciplinares em Segurança Internacional & Conflitos - GESEG/UFPR

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Published

2018-12-28

How to Cite

Stephan, C. (2018). THE BUREAUCRATIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: UNRWA’S PROTRACTED HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. Conjuntura Global, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.5380/cg.v7i3.62631

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 3 (2018)

Section

Articles

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