This paper challenges traditional notions of International Organisations (IOs) as representatives of states` interests, and act in accordance with these interests (eg Barnett and Finemore 2014), or that they act as vehicles of influence over states` behaviour (eg Mearsheimer 2004). Instead, it posits that IOs can, themselves, become self-interested actors in the international arena, independent of inter-state co-operation. As self-interested actors, then, their role shifts from that of an independent observer of a situation to that of an active participant, with interests of their own to be met.
In order to explore and develop these ideas, this paper examines the case of the United Nations (UN) through the lens of the United Nations Refugees and Works Association (UNRWA). UNRWA was established by Resolution 212, and was intended to deal with the then pressing problem of Palestinian refugees created in the aftermath of Resolution 181 and the resulting war. This paper contends that an analysis of Resolution 212 clearly indicates that UNRWA was envisioned as a temporary solution, and questions why, then, it endures to this day, continuing to serve the Palestinian refugee population and their descendents. It examines subsequent UN resolutions and UNRWA`s internal history in order to demonstrate that the driving force behind the continued existence of UNRWA is, in fact, UN self-interest. Furthermore, although there has been, historically, some limited interest by Arab states in the perpetuation of the Palestinian refugee problem, it is, in fact, this same UN self-interest that ensures a continued sui generis approach to the situation of Palestinian refugees.