The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Jordan Field Office (UNRWA) and the Norwegian Refugee Council Jordan Country Office (NRC JCO) signed on Tuesday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve rights and protections for Palestine refugees.

The MoU was signed by the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Jordan Marta Lorenzo, on behalf of UNRWA, and Muriel Tschopp, Country Director of NRC Jordan at the UNRWA Jordan Field Office in Amman.

Under the MOU, UNRWA and NRC JCO will collaborate on a vulnerability assessment of Palestine refugees in Jordan to better understand key vulnerabilities these communities face. The MoU also facilitates access to NRC JCO legal aid services, including the development and implementation of an effective and responsive protection referral and feedback mechanism between NRC JCO and UNRWA for protection cases in Jordan.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Marta Lorenzo said: “Access to legal services, such as legal representation, legal counselling and assistance to obtain civil documents, will help vulnerable Palestine refugees address some of the challenges they are facing.”

UNRWA and NRC JCO will also cooperate on protection advocacy initiatives for those most at risk.

Muriel Tschopp, Country Director of NRC Jordan said: “NRC welcomes this opportunity to collaborate with UNRWA to extend its services to vulnerable Palestine Refugees. Our collaboration with UNRWA extends the support we currently provide to refugees and vulnerable Jordanians and strengthens our commitment to Jordan as a refugee hosting country.”