Editorial Note
The General Assembly, at a brief meeting on December 8, adopted the draft resolution dealing with the question of assisting the Palestinian refugees that had been proposed by the Ad Hoc Political Committee. The resolution was adopted by a vote of 47–0, with 6 abstentions (United Nations, Official Records of the Fourth Session of the General Assembly, Plenary Meetings of the General Assembly, Summary Records of Meetings 20 September–10 December 1949 (hereinafter identified as GA, 4th sess., Plenary), page 571).
The resolution was based on the First Interim Report of the Economic Survey Mission. It recognized that “continued assistance for the relief of the Palestine refugees is necessary to prevent conditions of starvation and distress among them and to further conditions of peace and stability, and that constructive measures should be undertaken at an early date with a view to the termination of international assistance for relief.”
The resolution also considered that “the equivalent of approximately $33,700,000 will be required for direct relief and works programmes for the period 1 January to 31 December 1950 of which the equivalent of $20,200,000 is required for direct relief and $13,500,000 for works programmes; that the equivalent of approximately $21,200,000 will be required for works programmes from 1 January to 30 June 1951, all inclusive of administrative expenses; and that direct relief should be terminated not later than 31 December 1950 unless otherwise determined by the General Assembly at its fifth regular session.”
The resolution established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to carry out the direct relief and works programs recommended by the Economic Survey Mission and to consult with Near Eastern Governments concerning [Page 1530] measures to be taken by them preparatory to the time when relief and works projects would cease.
The resolution also dealt with such matters as the Office of Director of the Agency, an Advisory Commission, and the financing of the activities of the Agency. It closed with an instruction to the Palestine Conciliation Commission to transmit the final report of the Economic Survey Mission. The full text of the resolution (No. 302 (IV)) is printed in United Nations, Official Records of the Fourth Session of the General Assembly, Resolutions, 20 September–10 December 1949 (hereinafter identified as GA, 4th sess., Resolutions), page 23.