IIMUN 2012 ( ITU International Model United Nations): Chair Report

Forum: Human Rights Committee

Issue: Protecting the rights of unlawfully detained immigrants

Student Officer: Aslıhan Musaoğlu

Position: President Chair

Introduction

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of

permanent residence. Immigration is made for many reasons, including economic, political,

family re-unification, natural disaster, poverty or the wish to change one's surroundings

voluntarily. The population of children and teenagers who are either immigrants themselves

or children of immigrants has been rapidly increasing in recent years.

Detention is defined as restriction on freedom of movement by governmental authorities.

Governments are increasingly detaining refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in some or

more of the following situations:

Upon entry to the country

Pending a final asylum decision or other requests to remain in the country

Hundreds of thousands of people are held in administrative detention centres and closed

camps around the world with:

Conditions in most countries falling below international human rights standards

Restrictions on access to asylum for people who need protection from serious human

rights abuses, and

Serious protection problems for refugees within closed refugee camps.

Men, women and children, the elderly and disabled are held against their will in removal

centres, immigration detention centres, jails, prisons, police stations, airports, hotels, ships

and containers pending a final decision in their cases or pending a removal from the country

that may take months or years to effect, often in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions.

Several governments around the world host large refugee populations and often place

significant limits on the movement of the resident refugees. Under international law,

governments do have the right to protect their national sovereignty. But also enshrined in

international law is the right to seek and enjoy asylum. And international laws protect against

arbitrary and unlawful detention. Governments should, in compliance with international and

regional human rights standards, only detain in circumstances where alternatives have been

assessed as not sufficient, only as a last resort and for the shortest possible period of time.

Most governments detain refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in some or more of the

following situations:

upon entry to the country;

pending a final decision in their applications for asylum or other requests to remain in

the country;

pending their final removal when they are no longer permitted to remain in the

country.

Men, women and children, the elderly and disabled – the great majority of whom have

committed no crime – are held against their will in removal centers, immigration detention

centers, jails, prisons, police stations, airports, hotels, ships and containers pending a final

decision in their cases or pending a removal from the country that may take months or years

to effect due to bureaucratic problems.

Definition of Key Terms

Illegal immigration: is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws and

sovereignty of that nation. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social

issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more

successful developing countries.

Immigration: is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of

permanent residence. Immigration is made for many reasons, including economic, political,

family re-unification, natural disaster, poverty or the wish to change one's surroundings

voluntarily.

Refugee:  is a person who is outside their country of origin or habitual residence because they

have suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or

because they are a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as

an 'asylum seeker' until recognized by the state where she makes her claim.

Compliance: to act in accordance with ant stated expectations or conditions impossed by

immigration authorities whike their migration status is being resolved or while awating

deportation or removal from the country. Compare wtih independent departure.

Voluntary departure: See independent departure

Voluntary return : The decision of a migrant to depart the country entirely voluntarily such

as when legal avenues to pursure residency are still open to them.

Detention: is the process when a state, government or citizen lawfully holds a person by

removing their freedom of liberty at that time. This can be due to (pending) criminal charges

being raised against the individual as part of a prosecution or to protect a person or property.

Being detained does not always result in being taken to a particular area (generally called

a detention centre), either forinterrogation, or as punishment for a crime.

General Overview

When people cross their country’s border, they might not know it yet, but the world no longer

sees them as it did before. They have a special label or status now: they are migrants. And

because of this, they will often find themselves in an inferior position to those around them,

who hold the passport of the country in which they live. Whatever the circumstances in which

they travel, those who become migrants typically move in a new, unfamiliar, and less secure

world. Whether they have entered with an authorisation or they are undocumented, migrants

will generally find their rights diminished in comparison with the citizens of their country of

residence. The degree to which those rights are violated, and the degree to which migrants are

excluded from legal protection or redress, varies widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. A

“legal” migrant may face workplace violence or sub-standard working conditions and a lack

of labour rights protection and be fearful of claiming legal protection because a supervisor

threatens dismissal and subsequent loss of a work permit. A refugee may become caught in

the complex, long, and often arbitrary maze of a refugee qualification procedure, during

which rights are curtailed and the applicant is suspended in a legal limbo without identity.

Most vulnerable will be the undocumented migrant. People finding themselves in this

situation, while having a nominal entitlement to their human rights, effectively lack, because

of their fear of being identified and deported, any opportunity to vindicate those rights, or to

access the remedies which should protect them. They risk exposure to economic or physical

exploitation, to destitution, and to summary return to their country of origin, where some may

face danger to their safety or even to their life.

That everyone has the right of liberty and to protection from arbitrary detention. Millions of

refugees and migrants flee persecution, armed conflict, poverty or natural disasters in their

homeland where they can no longer find safety and security. Tens of thousands finds their

way to Europe each year seeking protection and assistance. The number of migrants crossing

national bordershas increased over recent decades as the globalpopulation increases and

becomes more mobile andas more countries gain independence and establishnew territorial

boundaries. It is well documented that migration is associated with a range of

social andeconomic benefits for destination countries as well asfor those who migrate.

Governments have recognised these benefits by developing avenues to enablelegal migration for a

variety of purposes including employment, education, family reunion and tourism. Regular

migration flows through these legal avenuesfar outweigh irregular migration. The use

of immigration detention has been growing over the past 20 years as governments strive to control

migrant entry and stay. In many western countries, this focus on enforcement became magnified

in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 2001, further justifying the expansion of

detention.Whatever the cause, many countries have recently intensified their efforts to reduce

the number of irregular migrants on their territory.

As a core element of this trend, detentionis being used by different governments at various

stages of the process including on-arrival; throughout the processing of claims; and

in preparation for deportation. Increasingly, destination countries are investing in the

interception capacity and detention infrastructure of countries of transit as an element of

border control.

As a result, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of migrants are detained around the

world, although the number of detainees at any one time is unknown.

Since the founding of the United States, more than 55 million immigrants from every

continent have settled here. Indeed, with the exception of Native Americans, everyone in our

nation is either an immigrant, or the descendent of voluntary or involuntary immigrants. Yet

every wave of immigration has faced fear and hostility  from both ordinary citizens and

government  especially during times of economic hardship, political turmoil or war.

Migrants’ rights vary along two dimensions. First, they differ in their scope. In the United

States, migrants are classified in many different ways, and each class enjoys a different

bundle of rights. People who enter the country illegally have certain basic rights—to life, to

property, to minimal process—but little more. People who enter legally have more generous

rights, but their rights are still more limited than those of citizens. For example, tourists and

the spouses of certain migrants have the basic rights to life, property, and criminal and civil

process, but they do not have the right to work for pay or to remain in the country beyond the

period of their visas. Migrants with work visas have the right to work in certain positions but

often no right to change jobs.

Major Parties Involved and Their ViewsThe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR):

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known

as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and

support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary

repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. Its headquarters are

in Geneva, Switzerland and is a member of the United Nations Development Group. The

UNHCR has won two Nobel Peace Prizes, once in 1954 and again in 1981.

Refugee Action Organization: Refugee Action is an independent national charity working

with refugees to build new lives in the UK. We provide practical advice and assistance for

newly arrived asylum seekers and long‐term commitment to their settlement through

community development work. As one of the country’s leading agencies in the field, Refugee

Action has over 20 years’ experience in pioneering innovative work in partnership with

refugees.

Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants : JCWI's overarching objective is to relieve

poverty and hardship among immigrants and refugees by promoting their human, economic

and civil rights and our mission is to eliminate discrimination in this sphere. Since its

inception in 1967 JCWI has been instrumental in creating partnerships among voluntary and

other service providers and acting as an important resource to them. Our main current

activities are policy and campaigning, strategic casework, media, information dissemination,

training and publication.

Australia: Under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (Migration Act), it is mandatory for any non-

citizen in Australia (other than in an excised offshore place) without a valid visa to be

detained. These people – called ‘unlawful non-citizens’ under the Migration Act – may only

be released from immigration detention if they are granted a visa or removed from Australia.

USA: Immigration to the United States is a complex demographic phenomenon that has

been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history

of the United States. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused

controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants, settlement

patterns, impact on upward social mobility, crime, and voting behavior. In 2006 the United

States accepted more legal immigrants as permanent residents than all other countries in the

world combined.  After ethnic quotas on immigration were removed in 1965 the number of

actual (first-generation) immigrants living in the United States eventually quadrupled, from

9.6 million in 1970 to about 38 million in 2007. Over one million persons were naturalized as

U.S. citizens in 2008. The leading countries of origin of immigrants to the United States

were Mexico, India, the Philippines, and China. Nearly 14 million immigrants entered the

United States from 2000 to 2010.

Catholic Charities of Central Texas Immigration Legal Services: Catholic Charities of

Central Texas provides immigration legal services as a way to reunite families and promote

self-sufficiency for immigrants through low-fee legal assistance in immigration matters before

the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.

Timeline of Events.

1565 First permanent European settlement in the United States is established at St. Augustine, Florida, by the Spanish.

1598 Spanish immigrants settle in what is now Texas and New Mexico.1619 First shipment of African slaves arrives in Virginia.

1630 1640

The Great Migration applies to the period of time during the 1630's when Massachusetts's population sky rocketed with the migration of approximately 21,000 immigrants to New England, about a third of them being Britons

1751Benjamin Franklin worries about German immigrants, writing, "This Pennsylvania will in a few years become a German colony; instead of [their] learning our language, we must learn theirs, or live as in a foreign country.1812 :The War of 1812 brings immigration to a complete halt as hostilities prevent transport across the ocean.

1820-1880

The first great wave of immigration to the United States.  Over ten million immigrants arrive with northern and western Europeans (mostly British, Irish, and German) predominating.  Many settle in the rural Midwest.1914-1918: World War I interrupts mass immigration to the United States.

UN Involvement

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on

December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead

and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems

worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives

to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another

State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third

country. It also has a mandate to help stateless people.

In more than six decades, the agency has helped tens of millions of people restart their lives.

Today, a staff of some 7,685 people in more than 125 countries continues to help some 33.9

million persons.

Relevant UN Documents

United Nations Resolutions and Reports Reletad to Migration

http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/United-Nations-migration-resolutions-reports

Evaluation of Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue

With over 10 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. (as of 2009), the issue of

illegal immigration continues to divide Americans. Some people say that illegal

immigration benefits the US economy through additional tax revenue, expansion of the

low-cost labor pool, and increased money in circulation. They contend that immigrants

bring good values, have motivations consistent with the American dream, perform jobs

that Americans won’t take, and that opposition to immigration stems from

racism.Opponents of illegal immigration say that aliens who break the law by crossing

the US border without proper documentation or by overstaying their visas should be

deported and not rewarded with a path to citizenship and access to social services. They

argue that illegal aliens are criminals and social and economic burdens to law-abiding,

tax-paying Americans.

Possible SolutionsWe should treat immigrants exactly the way it was described previously as it is simply the

right thing to do. The problem is that it is not possible to do so forever without them

contributing to the scoiety they live in. The only ways to stop from having this problem would

be: to deport them, find a way of stopping them from coming or to make them contribute to

the society like the rest of them. The simpler solution would be letting them come if they

want, but making sure that they can and will contribute. I suspect if we do that, all of a sudden

it would be less attractive to be an illegal immigrant. If we stop allowing them to leech, we

will only attract the people who really want to be here and are willing to work for it. Those

are the people we want here, and those are the people who will make positive contributions to

our society.

Notes from the Chair

One day you may be an immigrant and you may even be unlawfully detained. Can you

imagine what that would be like? What would you have to go through? So we should support

a non-governmental organization as a volunteer. Humans and each of their lives are very

complex, full of issues. If you volunteer for such a non-governmental organization, you might

be able to change the life of immigrant for good. In our topic, we will look to find best

solution to this problem.

Bibliographyhttp://www.unc.edu

Discimination, exclusion and immigrants' confidence in public institutions in Europe article by Antje Röder

Rights and Ratios? evaluating the relationship between social rights and immigration by Brian K. Gran and Elizabeth J. Clifford

Adaptation processes among young ımmigrants: an integrative review by Monika Stodolska

http://www.coe.int/t/commissioner/activities/themes/migrants/rightsofmigrants_en.asp

http://idcoalition.org/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/54661929/ıdc-handbook-there-are-alternatives

high court review 2004: limits on the judicial protection of rights by katharine gelber

http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home

, the principle that human rights accord

to all human beings often seems to be illusory in practice.Although national laws and circumstances varygreatly, migrants around the world regularly face illtreatment by State or private actors, detention in substandardconditions, denial of their laes frequentws offer poor procedural protection fng decisions to expel them,the protections guaranteed by international humanrights and refugee law may be seriously undermined.International law, and, in particular, international

huts law, provides a powerful tool to ensureeffective remedies for violations of migrants’ humanrights. This Practitioners Guide analyses the protectionafforded to migrants by international law and themeans to implement it at national and internationallevels. The Guide synthesises and clarifies internationalstandards on key issues, in particular: therights and procedures connected to the way migrantsenter a country and their status in the country of destination;human rights and refugee law constraints onexpulsion; the human rights and refugee law rightslinked to expulsion procedures; the rights and guaranteesfor administrative detention of migrants;rights connected to work and labour; and rights toeducation, to the highest attainable standard ofhealth, to adequate housing, to water, to food and tosocial security.International