UN General Assembly
1960

29. The refugee problem, since its inception, has always had a profound effect on the maintenance of peace and security in the turbulent Middle East. All the incidents and turmoil that have been plaguing that area in the last thirteen years can directly or indirectly be traced back to the persistence of this problem. In this connexion I may pertinently quote the Director of UNRWA who, in his report to the fourteenth session of the General Assembly, had this to say: "It is no exaggeration to state that every aspect of life and human endeavour in the Near East is conditioned and complicated by the Palestine refugee problem. Its psychological, political and social repercussions are of no less significance than its economic and humanitarian aspects. Any solution of the Palestine refugee problem must take these aspects into account." [Ibid., para. 11.] Therefore, we believe that there will be no real peace in the Middle East unless a just and satisfactory solution of the Arab refugee problem is found.