Note on Palestine Refugee Policy Forum Britain Policy Briefs 1-7: Protecting UNRWA and Palestine Refugees
(Dec 2025 – Mar 2026)
Updated: March 2026
The Palestine Refugee Policy Forum (PRPF) is an ad hoc group of independent analysts and practitioners convened to generate informed discussion on the future of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East UNRWA and the protection of Palestine refugee rights through short, policy‑focused briefs for governments, international organisations and civil society.
PRPF supports urgent action to protect and sustain UNRWA because it is indispensable to civilian survival and regional stability – and because undermining UNRWA weakens the United Nations system’s ability to uphold international law in the occupied territory of the State of Palestine and in Palestine refugee camps across the region. UNRWA is not only a service provider: it is also a custodian of Palestine refugee status, legal identity and rights through its registration system, archives and protection work. Those core functions are under sustained political, legislative and disinformation attack.
Executive Summary
This paper consolidates the key arguments and recommendations from PRPF Policy Briefs 1–7. Together, the briefs make the case for United Kingdom leadership to (i) protect UNRWA’s legal and operational space; (ii) stabilise predictable multi‑year financing for core services; (iii) counter disinformation with evidence; and (iv) modernise governance while safeguarding UNRWA’s protection mandate—until a just and durable solution to the Palestine refugee question is achieved.
Based on these Policy Briefs, the BPP recommends the following UK priority actions (next 30–90 days)
• Publicly reaffirm that UNRWA is indispensable and must be enabled to operate across all fields of operation; oppose measures that restrict UNRWA’s presence, privileges and immunities. [PB3][PB4]
• Provide – and mobilise others to provide – predictable, multi‑year funding for UNRWA’s core Programme Budget, including near‑term bridging support to prevent further service reductions in 2026. [PB6][PB4][PB5]
• Use the ICJ 2025 Advisory Opinion as the diplomatic baseline: press for protection of UN personnel and facilities, facilitation of UN operations, and sufficient humanitarian relief in the occupied territory of the State of Palestine. [PB3]
• Champion UNGA action to modernise governance by replacing the Advisory Commission with an Executive Board, linked to a burden‑sharing funding compact. [PB1][PB5]
• Invest in a fact‑based response to disinformation targeting UNRWA – grounded in independent reviews and investigations – and encourage donors to apply due‑process standards before taking funding or policy decisions. [PB4][PB3]
• Treat UNRWA’s protection role as non‑negotiable: support safeguarding and modernising the refugee registration system and archives (including the planned Luxembourg data/research centre) and defend refugee‑rights functions from political attack. [PB7
Key points from the PRPF Policy Briefs
1. Why UNRWA matters and what is at stake
UNRWA is a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly and provides education, health care, relief and social services to approximately 6m Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied territory of the State of Palestine (Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem). It delivers state‑like services at scale, but is funded almost entirely through voluntary UN member state contributions that fluctuate year to year. This creates chronic vulnerability to political pressure and funding shocks. [PB1][PB6] Across the briefs, a consistent warning is that if UNRWA is forced to curtail or cease services, the likely consequences include severe humanitarian harm and destabilisation in fragile host contexts, increased irregular migration pressures and higher downstream costs for the international community than sustaining UNRWA now. [PB2][PB6]
- What has changed since 7 Oct 2023
Since October 2023, UNRWA has faced unprecedented combined pressures: lethal attacks on personnel and installations, legislative and administrative measures aimed at banning or constraining operations and an intensified ‘information war’ that amplified unsubstantiated allegations and triggered rapid donor suspensions. The briefs argue these dynamics are mutually reinforcing: as political attacks grow, funding becomes more conditional; as funding falls, services degrade; and degraded capacity is then used to justify further attacks. [PB4][PB6] - Legal and political baseline: the ICJ Advisory Opinion
The ICJ Advisory Opinion of 22 Octr 2025 is presented as a central reference point for UK and wider diplomatic engagement. It underlines that, as Occupying Power and UN member, Israel must facilitate UNRWA’s work and cooperate in fulfilment of its mandate, and must ensure the safety and security of UNRWA personnel, premises and operations. [PB3]
The Opinion also clarifies that when Israel diminishes UNRWA’s capacity, Israel’s own obligation to ensure the basic rights and needs of the Palestinian population increases commensurately. The briefs emphasise that restricting UNRWA does not erase responsibility; it expands the duties of the Occupying Power under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. [PB3]
For UK policy, the briefs propose using the ICJ findings as a baseline for (i) defending UN privileges and immunities; (ii) pressing for protection of UN personnel and facilities; (iii) opposing measures that ban UNRWA or restrict visas/contact; and (iv) anchoring responses to allegations in evidence‑based processes. [PB3][PB4]
- Operational and financial crisis: why 2026 is a cliff‑edge
UNRWA’s financial model is structurally constrained. The Programme Budget funds core services and local personnel, with approximately 90 per cent of programme expenditure devoted to area staff costs—so major savings almost inevitably mean salary cuts, reduced staffing or reduced services. The UN regular budget covers a small proportion of costs and is largely limited to international staff and executive management; it cannot be re‑allocated to sustain core services.
Earmarked emergency and project funding offer only limited flexibility. [PB6] Drivers of the current crisis include the suspension of major donor funding in 2024, a wider contraction in humanitarian financing and reduced Gulf support. UNRWA has responded with significant cost‑containment measures, but the briefs report a projected 2026 shortfall on the order of US$220m, leading to salary reductions and cuts in service delivery hours. Structural liabilities—such as large indemnity obligations if staff are made redundant—mean that ‘downsizing’ can require substantial upfront cash and carries high political and operational risk. [PB6][PB4] The central recommendation is a shift toward predictable multi‑year financing for the core programme budget, aligned to UNRWA’s multiannual strategic planning. Without such a shift, the Strategic Assessment scenario of ‘unmanaged decline or disorderly collapse’ is treated as a realistic risk. [PB6]
- Governance reform: from Advisory Commission to Executive Board
A recurring theme is that UNRWA’s governance structure is unusually weak relative to its scale and political exposure. While other UNGA bodies such as UNICEF and UNDP have Executive Boards that monitor performance and approve plans and budgets, UNRWA has a non‑executive Advisory Commission whose mandate is limited to ‘advising and assisting’ the Commissioner‑General. This can foster deadlock between host and donor members and leaves donors without a clear forum to link oversight to predictable burden‑sharing. [PB1][PB5]
The briefs propose that the General Assembly can modernise UNRWA governance through a resolution amending key operative paragraphs of Resolution 302(IV) to replace the Advisory Commission with an Executive Board and clarify responsibilities.
A practical pathway suggested is for the UNGA to request a Secretary‑General report assessing the need for an Executive Board and recommending options by 31 Aug 2026, enabling UNGA consideration by the end of 2026. [PB1][PB5] A key design principle is reciprocity: increased donor engagement and accountability through an Executive Board should be paired with predictable multi‑year funding commitments and wider burden‑sharing. The briefs argue that host authorities also benefit from predictability and continuity of services and should weigh the risks of reform against the far greater risks of UNRWA collapse. [PB5][PB2]
- Strengthening UNRWA’s protection role: refugee rights, identity and records
Policy Brief 7 argues that UNRWA’s protection role—described in the Strategic Assessment as sustaining and enhancing UNRWA’s unique function as custodian of refugee rights and legal identity—is a ‘core’ function that must remain intact under any future scenario. Protection includes preserving refugee registration and archives, monitoring conditions and advocating for rights consistent with relevant international law. [PB7]
Priority implementation measures include: consolidating UNRWA’s registration system and archives (including the planned Luxembourg data and research centre) as durable repositories of evidence; linking UNRWA records with the UNCCP property records to strengthen documentation of displacement, dispossession and claims; and ensuring these functions are resourced and defended politically. [PB7]
The brief further recommends that UNRWA and the UN General Assembly reaffirm the legal framework applicable to Palestine refugees—including key UN resolutions—so refugee status and associated rights are not treated as merely political questions. It also proposes that UNRWA publish an authoritative factual overview of the origins of the refugee question (including the Nakba) and develop a clear public note on UNRWA’s mandate to guide consistent state practice and close protection gaps. [PB7]
Policy Brief 1: Does UNRWA Need an Executive Board?PRPF.PB1.ExecutiveBoard.Dec2025
Policy Brief 2: 10 Reasons for the UK Government to Support UNRWA: PRPF.PB2.Dec2025
Policy Brief 3: The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion Relating to UNRWA in the Occupied Palestinian Territories: PB3.ICJ.Advisory.Opinion
Policy Brief 4: The Information War on UNRWA: PRPF.PB4.InformationWarUNRWA.February2026
Policy Brief 5: UNRWA: The Urgent Need for an Executive Board: PRPF.PB5.TheUrgentNeedExecutiveBoard.February2026
Policy Brief 6: The Operational And Financial Crisis Facing UNRWA:PB6.UNRWAFinancialCrisis.February2026
Policy Brief 7: Strengthening UNRWA’s Protection Role:PRPF.PB7.UNRWA.ProtectionRole.February 2026