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One-third of
the registered Palestine refugees, about 1.3
million, live in 58 recognized refugee camps in
the area of operations in Jordan, Lebanon, the
Syrian Arab Republic, the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.A camp, according to UNRWA's working
definition, is a plot of land placed at the
disposal of UNRWA by the host government for
accommodating Palestine refugees and for
setting up facilities to cater to their needs.
Areas not designated as such are not considered
camps. However, UNRWA also maintains schools,
health centres and distributions centres in
areas outside camps where Palestine refugees
are concentrated, such as Yarmouk near
Damascus.
The plots of
land on which camps were set up are either
state land or, in most cases, land leased by
the host government from local landowners. This
means that the refugees in camps do not "own"
the land on which their shelters were built,
but have the right to "use" the land for a
residence.
UNRWA's
responsibility in the camps is limited to
providing services and administering its
installations. The Agency does not own,
administer or police the camps as this is the
responsibility of the host authorities. UNRWA
has a camp services office in each camp, which
the residents visit to update their records or
to raise issues relating to Agency services
with the Camp Services Officer (CSO). The CSO,
in turn, refers refugee concerns and petitions
to the UNRWA administration in the area in
which the camp is located.
Ten of the
camps were established in the aftermath of the
June 1967 war and the Israeli occupation of the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip, to accommodate a
new wave of displaced persons, both refugees
and non-refugees.
Socio-economic
conditions in the camps are generally poor with
a high population density, cramped living
conditions and inadequate basic infrastructure
such as roads and sewers.
The other
two-thirds of the registered refugees live in
and around the cities and towns of the host
countries, and in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip, often in the environs of official camps.
While most of UNRWA's installations such as
schools and health centres are located in
refugee camps, a number are outside camps and
all of the Agency's services are available to
both camp and non-camp
residents.
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