A high-level two-day conference, attended by representatives of more than 70 major donors to discuss the urgent and medium-term needs of Palestinian refugees began Monday in Geneva. The conference, which is aimed at building "partnership" with donors, is a joint effort of both the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, and the Swiss Government.
This is the first time that UNRWA, since it began functioning in 1950 as the only specialised UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has organised such a gathering. The conference does not, as some analysts believe, carry any hidden political agenda. Nor is it a prelude to some cooked up conspiracy to resettle Palestinian refugees.
"It is absolutely humanitarian," the agency's Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said, "and it aims completely at addressing pressing issues concerning the livelihood of Palestine refugees with the objective of improving their dreadful living conditions socially and economically".
Many issues have come under scrutiny in the preparation for the conference, but one stands out: the challenges of the socio-economic needs and priorities of the Palestinian refugees.
The emphasis here is that much of the substantial achievements of UNRWA in the field of health and educational development in the past 50 years, which have created a sustained and successful investment in human capital, are now being threatened by a combination of demographic pressures, budgetary shortfalls, military blockades against the movement of refugees, and restrictions on access to resources, particularly labour markets.
The social profile of refugees today has the following features:
* UNRWA registered refugees crossed the four million mark in June 2003, out of a total of 5.25 million Palestinian refugees in the region.
* The refugee population growth at 2.3 per cent annually, as a result of high fertility and low mortality, is one of the highest in the world; however, it is also exhibiting slowly declining fertility rates (except for Gaza).
* About a third of registered refugees live in camps. In Lebanon and Gaza, half the refugees live in camps.
* Over 50 per cent of the refugees are 18 years or younger (in Gaza 15 years or younger).
* The main concentration of registered refugees is in Jordan, with 40 per cent. This is followed by 22 per cent in Gaza, 16 per cent in the West Bank, 10 per cent each in Syria and Lebanon.
* The poorest refugees have living standards that are on par with the condition of the poorest rural populations.
What makes the issue more acute is that the refugees have a very high demographic growth rate (2.3 per cent on an average), which in conditions of high labour demand could be an economic asset. But with high levels of unemployment, it is manifested in high habitat congestion and lower standards of living.
Women's formal workforce participation is low, at 10 to 20 per cent, despite educational gains, suggesting restricted and gendered labour markets and a weak link between education and employment. However, the extent of credit outreach to women micro-entrepreneurs by a number of micro-finance institutions in the region, including UNRWA, indicates that informal economic activity may be significant. Camp residence becomes "a marker of poverty" since households with higher incomes tend to move out of camps to urban areas. This is visible in fields such as Jordan, where one third of camp households live below the poverty line (1998 figures) which is double the number in non-refugee households.
A similar trend is to be found in Lebanon. Large households (ten persons or over) are three times more likely to be afflicted with poverty, although many of these households may not be eligible for social assistance, given the presence of able-bodied males. A related feature of poverty is that large households with a single earner or unemployed breadwinner are major contributors to poverty.
In terms of services administered by UNRWA, a discussion paper found that health and educational scholarships were the primary concern among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon; employment the main concern in Jordan and the West Bank; emergency health services and damaged homes in Gaza; and poor environmental conditions in Syria.
The paper concludes that while UNRWA's services in the field of health and education represented one of "the most sustained international investments in human capital," current trends represented a clear and present danger to these significant achievements. This is accompanied by the very real threat that the refugees' condition will slide backwards, resulting in "de-development" and stagnation as a result of budgetary shortfalls and increased demands from the rising population.
As a remedy, it proposes a focus on "unoccupied youth" to combat the problems of high unemployment and frustrated expectations. This can be done with an ambitious project of training and appropriate education, as well as addressing the specific needs of male and female youth in poor households. The paper concludes: "Re-visioning vocational education for 21st century economics, and expanding opportunities for vocational placement, can build the vital link between education and employment for male and female youth."
At issue here is the status and problems of 22 vocational training colleges and 32 technical and vocational training colleges in the five UNRWA fields. These two-year post secondary colleges offer 5,101 training places for refugees, 64 per cent of them women. The employability record of these training centres is quite impressive.
UNRWA by and large has been the main provider to the Palestinian refugees for over half a century. But its ability to continue to play this vital role has long been under serious threat.
The refugees' share of UNRWA's total spending has declined from $200 in 1970s-1980s, to $70 today. If this downtrend is allowed to continue, the region will not only see a humanitarian disaster but may also witness a surge in violence.
Mustapha Aref is a former president, Foreign Press Association in London. He can be contacted at maref@gulfnews.com