UNRWA’s West Bank Chief Lectures at Hebron University Law School

The Acting Director of UNRWA Operation in the West Bank, Mr. Lance Bartholomeusz, visited Hebron University College of Law and Political Science and gave a lecture on “UNRWA’s Mandate” to the students of “International Refugee Law” taught by Dr. Mutaz Qafisheh, Associate Professor of International Law and Dean of the College. Bartholomeusz, who is an Australia national and studied international law in Geneva and was UNRWA’s Chief of Legal Affair, addressed the history of UNRWA, its functions, its areas of operation (Jordan, West Bank, Syria, Gaza, Lebanon), its services, funding, and cooperation with various actors (General Assembly, donors, hosting states, UNHCR), to improve the quality of its services.

Mr. Bartholomeusz gave examples of UNRWA's work in the field to assist and protect Palestine Refugees outside the agency's areas of operation, particularly in Egypt, Iraq, Turkey and the European Union, in coordination with UNHCR, governments, PLO, Palestinian embassies and the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. He discussed the applicability of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees to Palestine refugees, the position of the General Assembly in support of refugee rights, UNRWA’s policy to expand its educational and health services and its other social services, and to construct the destroyed houses in post-conflict situations such as in Lebanon and Gaza, and UNRWA’s rapid response to emergencies to provide assistance, such as Palestinian refugees fleeing from the war in Syria.
 

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