UN General Assembly
2000

religious importance make it imperative that the city be an open city where freedom of worship and access to the holy places is guaranteed for all believers in God. Jordan has suffered immensely during the past five decades as a result of the situation arising from the Palestine question, particularly the refugee problem. There are more than 1.5 million refugees living in Jordan. This amounts to 41 per cent of all refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This is in addition to the people displaced as a result of the June 1967 war. As a result of the refugee situation, Jordan has shouldered heavy financial, economic and social burdens. Jordan will be subject to pressures that will threaten its stability and that of the region if the settlement does not satisfy its legitimate vital interests. Refugees and displaced persons in Jordan will only accept a settlement that recognizes their fundamental rights to return and to compensation. It is well known that the vast majority of these