United Nations General Assembly A/RES/57/117 Distr.: General 24 February 2003 Fifty-seventh session Agenda item 76 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [on the report of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) (A/57/520)] 57/117. Assistance to Palestine refugees The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948 and all its subsequent resolutions on the question, including resolution 56/52 of 10 December 2001, Recalling also its resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949, by which, inter alia, it established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Recalling further relevant Security Council resolutions, Aware of the fact that the Palestine refugees have, for more than five decades, lost their homes, lands and means of livelihood, Affirming the imperative of resolving the problem of the Palestine refugees for the achievement of justice and for the achievement of lasting peace in the region, Acknowledging the essential role that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East has played for more than fifty years since its establishment in ameliorating the plight of the Palestine refugees in the fields of education, health and relief and social services, Taking note of the report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East covering the period from 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002, 1 Aware of the continuing needs of Palestine refugees throughout all the fields of operation, namely the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon, Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic, Expressing grave concern at the especially difficult situation of the Palestine refugees under occupation, including with regard to their safety, well-being and living conditions, and the continuous deterioration of those conditions during the recent period, _______________ 1 02 54554 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 13 (A/57/13).