Coping with Disaster: Palestine Refugees

The United Nations family of organizations is often called upon to help in times of disaster – natural and man-made. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provides legal protection and material assistance to refugees. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) helps the victims of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In 1972 a United Nations Disaster Relief Office was established headed by a Disaster Relief Co-ordinator. The tasks of the new office include directing international relief efforts in cases of natural and other disasters, promoting the prevention and prediction of natural disasters, providing advice to governments on pre-disaster planning, and disseminating information relevant to disaster relief.
The Baqa's refugee camp, 25 kilometres northwest of Amman. Some of the estimated 60,000 Palestine refugees living in this camp gathered in front of the feeding centre. [c. 1968]