Demystifying UNRWA: Legal and Policy Challenges Facing the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees

Join HLS Advocates for Human Rights for a discussion with Professor Omar Yousef Shehabi on the historical evolution, mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the legal and policy challenges facing the Agency. A former legal officer at UNRWA and current Acting Assistant Professor at NYU School of Law, Professor Shehabi will speak about UNRWA’s current configuration, its often misunderstood mandate, its vital work within the occupied Palestinian territory and its other areas of operation, and its future in the context of developments in public international law. Professor Shehabi will speak specifically about the critical challenges facing UNRWA, including the unprecedented humanitarian crisis and restrictions on humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip, major funding cuts, and questions about whether its functions should be shifted to other UN organizations and humanitarian actors. Professor Shehabi will additionally share insights from his own experiences working at UNRWA and the United Nations Secretariat.

Lunch will be provided.