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Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee

Chair: Rohan Patlolla

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Contents

Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 2

Letter from the Chair .................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 4

Topic A: International Human Trafficking ............................................................................... 5

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 5

Background ................................................................................................................................ 7

Questions To Consider for the Background Section: ......................................................... 9

Questions to Consider: ........................................................................................................... 13

Regional Considerations:........................................................................................................ 13

Final Questions: ....................................................................................................................... 16

Topic B: Undocumented Refugee Immigration ..................................................................... 17

Introduction: ............................................................................................................................ 17

A Few Major Originators of Immigrants: ........................................................................... 18

Challenges Faced by Refugees:.............................................................................................. 22

Dimensions of a Resolution: ................................................................................................. 25

Questions: ................................................................................................................................ 27

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Letter from the Chair

Dear Delegates, My name is Rohan Patlolla and I am super excited to be your Chair for PMUNC 2016!

I’m a rising junior at Princeton in the economics department and am beginning a minor in Italian this year. I’m from West Windsor, which is about 15 minutes from Princeton – I know, I traveled really far – and have lived there my whole life.

On campus, I am a member of Tiger Capital Management, a student group that actively

manages money in small and mid-cap equities. I’m also a member of the Business Today, the largest university business publication in the country, as a part of the Investments team. In addition, I’m a member of Princeton South Asian Theatrics, a comedy group that puts on a play every semester that satirizes aspects of South Asian culture that many first-generation Asian-Americans have lived, interacted and clashed with throughout their lives. In my free time I like to fool around with my friends, eat sushi, and support my favorite team (Liverpool!!).

Despite initially being apprehensive about continuing MUN in college, I cannot be more

content with my decision to do so. I have met so many amazing people who I have had the chance to travel the world with who always push me forward and support me in my times of need. If you are a senior, please consider continuing in college, I’m sure you won’t regret it.

This is my 7th PMUNC – 4 as a delegate, followed by a year as a Chair and another as

Chief of Staff – and I’m really excited to be back as a Chair role. I will do my best to make sure you all have the best GA committee experience but please make sure to reach out to me at the conference and let me know what I can do to improve the experience. I hope you all have as amazing a time this year as I have had these previous years!

Best, Rohan R. Patlolla Chair, SOCHUM rohanp@princeton.edu

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Introduction

The United Nations General Assembly Third Committee, the Social, Humanitarian and

Cultural Committee – hereinafter referred to as SOCHUM – was established in the United

Nations to discuss issues pertaining to social development. This weekend, we will be

discussing the international human trafficking epidemic and the global refugee crisis, two

topics that are ballooning into issues that are pertinent to countries in every corner of the

world.

SOCHUM today, is at the forefront of global human rights issues. It tackles pressing

concerns such as the advancement of women, the protection of children, indigenous issues,

the treatment of refugees, the promotion of fundamental freedoms through the elimination

of racism and racial discrimination, and the right to self- determination.1

As resolutions have no real effect unless all members – or, at least, a vast majority – of

the committee agree with the terms strongly enough to move to uphold it, it is critical that

delegates put aside differences to collaborate and ensure that as many nations’ interests are

met as possible. Given the global nature of the crises we are discussing, and the nuances

therein, I am certain that we will see vigorous debate this weekend.

Therefore, your challenge for this weekend will be to write a draft for a comprehensive

resolution that will both address the root causes of the crises at hand and ensure the proper

containment of any damage related to the crisis. The crises at hand, international human

trafficking and the global refugee crisis, are both issues that are ethically, politically and

economical complicated. I trust that all the delegates present will be able to come together to

address these issues in a thorough manner.

1 “Social, Humanitarian & Cultural,” United Nations, accessed 7 Jul 2016, http://www.un.org/en/ga/third/.

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Topic A: International Human Trafficking

Introduction:

International human trafficking involves the cross-border trade of men, women, and

children, among which include sexual slavery and forced labor. Human traffickers often use

language barriers and false promises of well-paying jobs to lure poor men and women and

smuggle them across borders to unfamiliar and foreign places. Once there, traffickers may

use violence to keep them in line. Despite the tendency to associate the crime with the

developing world, particularly Southeast Asia, human trafficking is an issue that plagues most

countries, irrespective of their stage of economic and legal development. The Super Bowl,

for example, is among the largest sex trafficking events in the United States and results in

dozens of underage prostitution charges every year.2 Indeed, between 2010 and 2012, the

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime identified victims with 152 different citizenships

in 124 countries around the world.3

According to the Polaris Project, a DC-based organization committed to fighting

international human trafficking, “human trafficking is the third-largest and fastest-growing

crime worldwide (because it combines) high profit and low risk.”4 The lack of cooperation

and uniformity in human trafficking laws across the world means that it is unlikely there will

be any significant decrease in human trafficking until barriers to international collaboration

are removed. As previous international treaties have had little to no influence on the

2 Elizabeth Nolan Brown, “Super Bowl 'Sex-Trafficking Stings' Net Hundreds of Prostitution Arrests,” Reason, published 13 Feb 2016, accessed 18 Jul 2016, http://reason.com/blog/2016/02/13/super-bowl-sex-trafficking-stings. 3 “UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons,” UNODC, published 2014, accessed 18 Jul 2016, https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/GLOTIP_2014_full_report.pdf. 4 John Iwasaki, “Human trafficking increasing worldwide,” Seattle Pi, published 4 Aug 2008, accessed 18 Jul 2016, http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Human-trafficking-increasing-worldwide-1281184.php.

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codification of effective anti-trafficking legislation in individual nations, this body must take

swift action to put in place a new treaty that will do so.

Looking at the two most pervasive forms of exploitation among trafficked victims –

forced labor and sexual exploitation – sexual exploitation is significantly more prevalent.5

The vast majority of victims of sexual exploitation are women and children. While there has

been a significant increase in trafficking of children and trafficking for forced labor in recent

years, at the moment, neither is as significant as the trafficking of women and children for

sexual exploitation.6

Trafficking for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation are both

incredibly important issues but I will give the delegates attending the chance to decide which

issue they feel better prepared to tackle. Therefore, at the beginning of the committee,

delegates will briefly discuss and decide whether the committee will focus on a)

international human trafficking as a broad issue, b) international human trafficking

for forced labor, or c) international sex trafficking.

5 “UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.” 6 Ibid.

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This background guide should serve as the basis of your understanding about the

topic at hand, but I recommend you to do further research into this issue to be well prepared

for debate. Feel free to explore the documents and links that I have cited, as well as any

other sources that you can find. Good luck!

Background:

Human trafficking can be traced back to the earliest days of civilization – most

societies enslaved the enemies they conquered in foreign lands for cheap labor. The first

significant push to halt international human trafficking in the past two centuries was in the

early 1800’s when Great Britain, the United States and several other major powers banned

the international slave trade. 7 This did little to affect the presence of domestic slavery

worldwide. However, it does mark the beginning of multilateral action on the issue of

human trafficking, though this was largely a series of unilateral declarations.

The first effort to stop trafficking that was codified in an international treaty was the

International Agreement for the Suppression of White Slave Traffic, signed in 1904 by the

major European powers.8 The treaty was meant to prevent the international trafficking of

white women for the purposes of prostitution. Although the treaty clearly failed to address

the trafficking of non-white women, it was, nevertheless, an incredibly important piece of

legislation. By allowing the repatriation of women forced into prostitution back to their

country of origin instead of punishing and jailing them, the treaty was a major step forward

in the fight against international human trafficking.

7 Grant Oster, “The History of Human Trafficking,” Hankering for History, last modified 3 Oct 2015, accessed 17 Jul 2016, http://hankeringforhistory.com/the-history-of-human-trafficking/. 8 “International Agreement for the Suppression of the "White Slave Traffic," published 18 May 1904, accessed 17 Jul 2016, http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/whiteslavetraffic1904.html.

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After World War I, the establishment of the League of Nations facilitated the further

development and implementation of anti-trafficking international agreements. In 1921, the

League of Nations ratified the International Agreement for the Suppression of Traffic in

Women and Children, an expanded version of the initial 1904 agreement that was applied to

all women and children irrespective of race and religion.9 This moved beyond Euro-centric

bans on trafficking to recognize it as a global problem.

When the United Nations was formed after World War II, the international

community attempted to reaffirm its commitment to ending human trafficking with the

Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic of Persons and of the Exploitation of the

Prostitution of Others in 1950 but only 82 countries ratified it;10 at the time, among the P5,

only France and the USSR signed on (though the USSR signed on later in 1954).11 The

document also had many faults, as indeed most treaties fail to solve every aspect of a

problem, but represented yet another attempt at a global institutionalist approach at

addressing the problem of human trafficking.

Due to a lack of cohesion in the international fight against human trafficking, there

has been tremendous growth in international trafficking in the past 50 years. Two of the

growth areas in human trafficking have been for the purposes of forced labor and organ

removal. As recently as 2007, the share of trafficked humans being exploited for forced labor

was about 30% and today, it remains about the same.12 This year, the organization Free the

Slaves, the American affiliate of the oldest human rights organization in the world, Anti-

9 “International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children, concluded at Geneva on 30 September 1921,” League of Nations, published 30 September 1921, accessed 17 Jul 2016, https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/1921_international_convention_en_1.pdf. 10 “Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others,” United Nations, published 21 March 1950, accessed 18 Jul 2016, https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=VII-11-a&chapter=7&clang=_en. 11 Ibid. 12 “UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.”

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Slavery International, estimated that there are still as many as 46 million people in slavery

worldwide.13 This is a significant departure from the more conservative estimate by the

International Labor Organization in 2012 that there were 21 million enslaved peoples around

the world. 14 At the very least, demonstrates the inability to completely assess the

pervasiveness of human trafficking, but should show that the scale of trafficked humans is in

the tens of millions. Note, that while not all slaves are victims of trafficking, the millions of

victims of trafficking are all slaves – modern slavery and trafficking are inextricably linked.

The most recent treaty, the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and

Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children was signed in 2000 and

made major steps forward in defining human trafficking. 15 Given growth in human

trafficking, however, it is possible that the treaty did not go far enough in addressing its

mission. What is becoming increasingly clear is that the previous actions that the United

Nations has taken have not been enough to halt human trafficking. A powerful, detailed and

new resolution is needed if progress is to be made.

Questions To Consider for the Background Section: 1. Can you identify particular drivers of human trafficking? How can you address these

drivers?

2. Have experiments to legalize sex work helped in reducing sex trafficking? If so, how

can they be applied to other countries?

13 “Global Findings,” Global Slavery Index, accessed 18 Jul 2016, http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/findings/. 14 “Forced labour, human trafficking and slavery,” International Labor Organization, accessed 18 Jul 2016, http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang--en/index.htm. 15 “PROTOCOL TO PREVENT, SUPPRESS AND PUNISH TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS, ESPECIALLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN, SUPPLEMENTING THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINS TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME,” United Nations, published 2000, accessed 18 Jul 2016, http://www.osce.org/odihr/19223?download=true.

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Current Situation:

Dimensions of Trafficking:

There are four major dimensions that are helpful in explaining the existence of

trafficking. These dimensions are 1) lack of civil and political protections, 2) lack of social

health and economic rights, 3) lack of personal security and 4) refugee populations and

conflicts.16 Exploring human trafficking in the context of these dimensions is helpful in

discovering individual drivers that allow trafficking to flourish around the world.

Civil and political protections refer to the rule of law and confidence in a particular

country as well as the political stability within a country. The recourse to courts and a system

of government which can protect individuals domestically when they are faced with slavery

or trafficking is demonstrably important. This also has to do with discrimination and

political rights – if there are oppressed populations or rule of law does not function, there

are few civil protections against human trafficking. Similar to this dimension, social health

and economic rights reflect the ability of individuals to seek recourse to a social safety net, or

access fundamental needs like food and water. Countries lacking these make their

populations more likely to become dependent and susceptible to human trafficking.

The third and fourth dimensions are similar in that the more susceptible populations

are to violence and coercion, the greater the chances that populations can be sold or forced

to move. The chaos of conflict zones is similar to the chaos of crime, while the vulnerability

of women and children to crime and violence can be compared to the similarly increased

vulnerability refugees have.

16 “Global Findings,” Global Slavery Index.

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Forms of Exploitation:

The three most well-known forms of exploitation of trafficked humans – forced

labor, sexual exploitation, and organ extraction – are present in every corner of the globe

but, naturally, some are more of a problem in certain areas than others. The UNODC has

created a visual aid to demonstrate the variation in prevalence of different forms of human

trafficking.

While the figures are likely not exactly correct, they present a ballpark estimate for

the types of human trafficking on each of the continents. The chart demonstrates that sexual

exploitation and forced labor seem to be equally troublesome in Africa, the Middle East and

the Americas. In Europe and Central Asia, it seems that sexual exploitation is far more

pervasive than forced labor; on the other hand, forced labor is the major problem in East

Asia, South Asia and the Pacific. The chart also serves to show that organ extraction does

not represent a significant portion of crimes against trafficked victims.

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This chart highlights a major trend in trafficking – the use of trafficked victims for

forced labor. 17 As stated before, the share of victims being used for forced labor has

increased from 30 to 40 percent in only a decade and will likely continue to experience

growth in coming years. The trend is especially amplified in Southeast Asia given lax labor

laws, underfunded law enforcement, high rates of poverty, and poor education standards.

These are ripe conditions for traffickers to take advantage of young men and women with

promises of well-paying jobs and comfortable lives. Tackling poverty, as a systemic issue, is

too wide of a solution, but a comprehensive resolution should make a concerted effort to

raise awareness of the dangers of trafficking among high-risk populations as a quick and easy

way to help people protect themselves.

Victim Profile:

The data clearly shows that the majority of victims are women and girls. Close to

50% of victims are women with an additional 20% of victims being girls; for men and boys it

is 18% and 12% respectively.18 Incredibly, the percentage of victims who are women and

girls has actually decreased since 2004 when they represented 85% of trafficked victims.19

This could very well be tied to the belief in many societies that women are expendable and

inferior to men. In the same time period, the share of victims who were women dropped

from 75% to 50%. This was offset, however, by the growth in the share of child victims; the

percentage of victims who are boys has increased four-fold while the percentage of victims

who are girls has doubled. Orphans in particular present themselves as easy targets for

traffickers.

17 “UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.” 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid.

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The purpose women and men tend to be exploited is also considerably different.

About 80% of detected women trafficking victims were destined for sex work while about

85% of detected male trafficking victims were destined for forced labor.20

Legislation Against Trafficking:

124 countries have criminalized human trafficking in line with the UN trafficking

protocol but many have not gone far enough to protect victims and follow through on the

prosecution of arrested traffickers. 21 The countries that have gone the furthest in tackling

trafficking have been in Western Europe and North America while much of Asia, Africa,

Eastern Europe and South America lag significantly behind.

Questions to Consider: 1. How can the UN incentivize countries that haven’t adopted proper protocols to do

so?

2. How can the UN facilitate the sharing of anti-trafficking policing tactics between

countries?

Regional Considerations: Developed Countries

The United States and Canada have proven themselves to be among the most

committed to fighting human trafficking and modern-day slavery. The United States went as

far as to have the State Department release a global report on trafficked persons – which is a

useful resource for delegates looking for more nuanced country stances and detailed policy

20 Ibid. 21 “Global Findings,” Global Slavery Index.

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suggestions.22 This provides a detailed look at the priorities of the United States, a major

actor in fighting human trafficking.

Most of Western Europe has been firmly committed to fighting human trafficking

since the Suppression of White Slave Traffic agreement in 1904. Interestingly, many have

either decriminalized or legalized prostitution in order to combat trafficking. The common

mantra “legalize and regulate” may have not been as effective as some claim it is though –

some analysis of cross-border trafficking shows that criminalization of prostitution in

Sweden actually reduced trafficking inflows compared to Germany – where prostitution is

legal. 23 Either way, getting the international community to legalize prostitution will be

impossible at this time and should not be explored in committee. Decriminalization,

however, is a different story.

This group of countries will be fighting for strict international regulations with

stringent enforcement and high levels of commitment from all actors. They are the most

able to fund efforts globally, but must remain cognizant that not all nations can be as

committed as them.

Developing Countries

Contrary to the developed nations, developing nations tend to be the source of

trafficked humans, as well as most afflicted by it, but the least able to combat human

trafficking. While they would like international support, they would like to ensure that any

solution bears in mind that the developed countries must bear a financial burden, as well as

22 “Trafficking in Persons Report,” Department of State, published July 2015, accessed 18 Jul 2016, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/245365.pdf. 23 Carol Tan, “Does legalized prostitution increase human trafficking?,” last updated January 2, 2014, accessed 17 Jul 2016, http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/legalized-prostitution-human-trafficking-inflows.

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recognize how demand in the developed world generates much demand for sex trafficking.

Additionally, solutions should keep in mind that it is difficult to combat trafficking directly,

especially in zones with weaker rule of law.

South America and the Caribbean, on the other hand, are still struggling with

trafficking throughout the continent. In 2010 to 2012, many South American countries

registered an increase in detected child trafficking cases.24 Poverty, coupled with crime in

many regions have created a situation where there are many people vulnerable to trafficking.

Eastern Europe also continues to face several problems with regard to trafficking.

Lack of effective legislation remains a huge issue and compromised legal systems allow for

traffickers to use the police and justice system to their advantage to escape punishment.

The key issue in Africa is the lack of powerful legislation to target traffickers. The

data on trafficking flows and conviction of traffickers from Africa and the Middle East is

scarce but a majority of the victims detected are children.25 The region has shown itself

generally unwilling to implement laws to target traffickers and modern day slavery. Many in

the Middle East in particular continue to take advantage of lax labor standards that permit

the indentured servitude of foreign South Asian laborers for construction projects.

Asia, unlike other regions of the world, in which most trafficked victims are moved

within the sub-region, sees its victims move to North America and the Middle East. While

legislation has been enacted in many Asian countries and convictions have gone up in the

past decade, it is not that significant an increase given the population size. One of the major

issues in the region is the lack of proper training for law enforcement in dealing with

traffickers.

24 “UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.” 25 Ibid.

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Final Questions:

1. How can we improve the UN’s research on trafficking?

2. How can the Un establish a more comprehensive methodology of dealing with

victims?

3. Should victims be allowed to remain in the country they were trafficked to or be sent

home?

4. How can the UN educate at-risk populations of the dangers of traffickers?

5. Should there be a cross-border trafficking police force?

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Topic B: Undocumented Refugee Immigration

Introduction: There are more people around the world who have been forced to abandon their

homes due to conflict than at any time since the Second World War.26 Today, one in every

122 people is a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum – more than 50 million men,

women and children are being deprived of their ability to live their lives.27 Comparing that

figure to a decade ago, when there were 37.5 million refugees, aptly reveals the turbulence

and instability of the last few years. Currently, one of the most pressing issue many countries

are facing is dealing with the millions of undocumented refugees that are passing through

their borders.

While the Syrian refugee crisis is the largest contributor to the refugee immigrant

population today, this committee is intended to focus on solutions that can help to alleviate

the suffering of refugees attempting to emigrate from areas all around the world. There are

millions of people who are suffering in Africa and Asia as well who need the assistance of

the international community in order to rebuild their lives. In addition, almost half of all

affected peoples are children;28 it is important for us to meet their suffering with a wide-

reaching and well-funded plan to find a way to give their lives some stability. If appeals of

compassion are ineffective, one only need to look at the long term consequences of allowing

so many children mature in an environment devoid of any real economic opportunity.

Instability only serves to breed future instability – hate breeds more hate.

26 “Refugee crisis: Europe & Middle East,” International Rescue Committee, accessed 20 Jul 2016, https://www.rescue.org/topic/refugee-crisis-europe-middle-east. 27 “Worldwide displacement hits all-time high as war and persecution increase,” UNHCR, published 18 Jun 2015, accessed 19 Jul 2016, http://www.unhcr.org/558193896.html. 28 Ibid.

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A Few Major Originators of Immigrants:

Syria

The Syrian refugee crisis has been, by far, the largest producer of refugees in the

world today. In 2011, when anti-government protests began to break out, President Bashar

al-Assad chose to use violent force to suppress dissent. What Assad initially expected to be a

relatively quick engagement for the government, devolved into a full-on civil war in a matter

of weeks as the death toll soared and tensions strengthened.

While the war initially seemed to be a clear-cut conflict between moderate anti-

government forces intent on installing a democracy and Assad’s forces, the chaos yielded a

breeding ground for radical rebel groups such as al-Nusra Front and ISIL. Now, as these

radical groups wage war against Assad and among themselves, millions of innocent Syrian

people find themselves caught in the crossfire. With little hope of the conflict being resolved

quickly, it is crucial the UN facilitate the supply of aid to the Syrian people.

In total, there are about 11 million displaced people in Syria – the UNHCR and

International Rescue committee estimate the number of internally displaced people to be

around seven million people and another four million to be refugees in Turkey, Lebanon,

and surrounding countries.2930 One of the root causes for the great number of refugees is the

total war tactics used by all sides – as they battle for control of the streets, they often target

hospitals, schools and homes. This not only results in thousands of casualties but also

destroys the extensive infrastructure that had been in place to deal with the wounded. It is

29 “Syria,” Rescue, accessed 20 Jul 2016, https://www.rescue.org/country/syria#what-caused-the-current-crisis-in-syria. 30 “Worldwide displacement hits all-time high as war and persecution increase.”

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estimated that there are now around 13.5 million people in need of emergency medical

attention.31

Many of the refugees are currently living in camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon

but several thousands are attempting the treacherous journey into Europe every month as

conditions in most refugee camps are stifling. For example, there is no way for refugees to

legally work in Jordan and Lebanon meaning that many are not able to provide for the basic

needs of their family.32 Clean water is often in short supply and food is scarce. To make

matters worse, many Syrian women do not have access to the basic care products they need

and face the risk of sexual violence.

Myanmar

The refugee crisis in Myanmar is the product of several decades of successive natural

disasters compounded with extreme poverty and political instability. In addition, there are

several isolated populations in Myanmar that are difficult to provide proper sanitation and

healthcare too in times of need. According to the United Nations Office for the

Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there are about 250,000 internally displaced people in

Myanmar but this number surges rapidly during regular natural disasters. 33 For example, in

2015, 1.7 million people were displaced due to torrential floods.34 When natural disasters

strike, lack of proper healthcare infrastructure and insufficient government response often

lead to unnecessary damage and death. There are also around 100,000 refugees in several

31 Ibid. 32 “Quick facts: What you need to know about the Syria crisis,” Mercy Corps, published 16 Jun 2016, accessed 20 Jul 2016, https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria-turkey/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-syria-crisis. 33 “Myanmar,” Amnesty International, accessed 21 Jul 2016, https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/myanmar/report-myanmar/. 34 Ibid.

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camps on the Thailand border who cite political instability, landmines and overwhelming

poverty as reasons for why they will not return.

Probably the most well known persecuted population in Myanmar is the Rohingya

minority. Thousands have drowned in shanty boats attempting to float into Indonesia and

Malaysia. Under the 1982 Citizenship Law they are prohibited from obtaining citizenship

and subject to arbitrary confiscation of property.35 While Indonesia and Malaysia initially

attempted to prevent Rohingya from entering, they eventually allowed several thousand in.

Along the way, many were also kidnapped by human traffickers and smuggled into Thailand

for exploitation. Their plight has no end in sight as Myanmar continues to be unwilling to

protect the Rohingya despite ongoing social and political liberalization.

Sub-Saharan Africa

There are a number of conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa that are contributing to the

steadily growing stream of refugees attempting to cross into Europe and make the trek to

Kenya and Ethiopia. Conflicts in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Somalia,

Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Libya, Mali and Nigeria have sparked

up in the last five years, drastically increasing the number of internally displaced people in

the region.36

A common theme across the region is political instability and high levels of terrorist

activity. Several Sub-Saharan countries are in the midst of civil wars and Mali and Nigeria in

particular are suffering from powerful terrorist groups that are easily able to hold their own

against government forces. Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist organization in Nigeria, has

committed several crimes against humanity including the abduction of girls to be forced into

35 “ III. DISCRIMINATION IN ARAKAN,” Human Rights Watch, accessed 22 Jul 2016, https://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/burma/burm005-02.htm. 36 “Worldwide displacement hits all-time high as war and persecution increase.”

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sex slavery. Boko Haram itself is responsible for the displacement of as many as two million

people in Nigeria37 – an incredibly figure given that there are around 12 million displaced in

all of Sub-Sahara Africa.38

Greece

Greece is at the forefront of the international community’s response to the refugee

crisis. Every day, Greece receives almost 2,000 refugees, many of whom plan on making

their way into Western Europe.39 Many of these refugees are from Syria, Turkey and Iraq

and had simply intended to use Greece as a stepping point to earn enough money for the

more expensive trip into Western Europe or to pay smugglers to bring their families to

Greece. However, much of the European Union was angered by the ease with which Greece

allowed the refugees to enter Europe and entered into an agreement to halt the flow of

refugees into Europe. With the signing of new EU-Turkey agreement, all “irregular migrants

crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands as of 20 March 2016 will be returned to

Turkey.”40 Border closures have now stranded tens of thousands of refugees in Greece

indefinitely. This presents a whole host of issues with regard to shelter, clothing, water,

education for children, food and medical attention that has yet to be addressed. As refugees

continue to arrive in droves, it is essential that the EU and the international community offer

assistance to the organizations providing care on the ground.

However, despite the EU’s attempts to stop the flow of refugees, smugglers will

continue to find new routes for refugees to enter. As the UN Special Rapporteur on the

37 “Nigeria,” Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, accessed 22 Jul 2016, http://www.internal-displacement.org/sub-saharan-africa/nigeria/. 38 “Worldwide displacement hits all-time high as war and persecution increase.” 39 “Stop scapegoating Greece,” IRIN, published 2 Feb 2016, accessed 19 Jul 2016, http://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2016/02/02/stop-scapegoating-greece. 40 “EU-Turkey Agreement: Questions and Answers,” European Commission, published 19 Mar 2016, accessed 21 Jul 2016, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-963_en.htm.

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human rights for migrants has said, “fighting the smuggling in isolation is useless; the

irregular migration market is created by barriers to mobility.”41

Challenges Faced by Refugees: Children’s Education

It is estimated that around half of the 50 million plus refugees and internally

displaced people around the world are children. Given that much of the traditional education

infrastructure in affected regions has been decimated and many were impoverished to begin

with, children often go unschooled. Between the lack of resources and the consistent

adversities faced by children, education is a neglected part of the refugee crisis.

Even in refugee camps where schools are set up, there are several fundamental

questions that schools must confront. What language will class be taught in? Whose history

will be taught – Syria’s, Turkey’s or Jordan’s? It’s possible that finding a standard for

education in refugee camps across the world could help to alleviate these concerns, or

explicitly outlining heuristics for deciding how to educate displaced populations of children.

Human Trafficking

Refugee populations are often easy pickings for human traffickers. Given the

extreme discomfort many refugees live through swaying them with promises of safety, work

and a good life is easy for many traffickers around the world. Other traffickers pose as

smugglers trying to help refugees, instead kidnapping them for for sexual exploitation or

forced labor.

The number of children refugees could be a driver in the steady year-over-year

increase in trafficking of children. The percentage of detected trafficking victims who are

41 François Crépeau, “Foreword: Banking on mobility over a generation,” Forced Migration Review, accessed 25 Jul 2016, http://www.fmreview.org/destination-europe/crepeau.html.

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children has more than doubled as thousands of children go missing from refugee camps.

The European Union’s criminal intelligence agency, Europol, has reported that over 10,000

children refugees have gone missing since arriving in Europe.42 Many are feared to have

fallen into the hands of organized human trafficking syndicates.

Medical Care

It goes without saying that many refugees and internally displaced people are often

unable to access medical care when they need it. Many times, government forces restrict the

access of refugee populations to medical professions – Myanmar went as far as to prohibit

Doctors Without Borders from providing care to the Rohingya people for several months

before finally lifting the restriction. Many women refugees also find that women health care

products and reproductive care are near impossible to find. Another aspect of the problem is

the overwhelming numbers of refugees that often flood camps, meaning that resources are

not sufficient for demand.

A major issue that has not yet been addressed in an effective manner is the need for

psychological counseling in refugee camps. Having seen incredible violence and being torn

from their homes is traumatizing for all refugees, especially young children. A

comprehensive solution should consider mental health as well as physical well-being.

Jobs

Refugees’ attempts to earn money to provide for their basic necessities are often

thwarted – many do not have the skills necessary for well-paying jobs, let alone legal work

permits. Many have to resort to odd jobs that do not pay enough to cover needs, much less

what is necessary for a comfortable life.

42 Mark Townsend, “10,000 refugee children are missing, says Europol,” Guardian, published 30 Jan 2016, accessed 30 Jul 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/30/fears-for-missing-child-refugees

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There are a few organizations, such as International Rescue Committee, that provide

opportunities for refugees to learn a craft and obtain a well-paying job that can cover their

needs.43 These efforts must continue and increase, if refugees and internally displaced people

are to have the opportunity to begin to provide for themselves. For refugees settling in

foreign countries, this training can also alleviate the economic pressure for host country

providing care to refugees.

There is certainly a mixed narrative when it comes to refugees’ economic impact, as

far as taking jobs though. Studies show that immigration only have a small impact on wages;

unskilled workers are most vulnerable but there is only about a 2% depression in wages for

menial positions for a 10% rise in share of migrant workers.44

However, other research shows that in Europe, migrants will receive more in

benefits than they pay in taxes for the first 15-20 years.45 Despite all that though, the IMF

estimates that refugees will add only 0.19% of GDP to public expenditure in the EU; in

Germany, who has received far more refugees, this number is only 0.35%.46 Therefore, the

macroscopic impact seems to be bearable.

43 Paul Donohoe, “Learning a trade, stitching together a future,” Rescue, published 25 Aug 2016, accessed 27 Aug 2016, https://www.rescue.org/article/learning-trade-stitching-together-future. 44 http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21688938-europes-new-arrivals-will-probably-dent-public-finances-not-wages-good-or 45 Ibid. 46 Ibid.

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Dimensions of a Resolution:

Resolutions which attempt to redress the immigration crisis must consider many facets of

the challenges facing refugees and the costs and political obstacles thereof. Some of the

factors which you might want to consider are the following:

1. Raising Awareness

Raising awareness of the plight of refugees might have the effect of pushing both

private citizens and legislators to increase private and government aid. One way to

do this that was experimented with at the Olympics is to have a permanent Refugee

Team.47

2. Improving Refugee Camp Conditions

A comprehensive resolution should aim to improve the conditions in existing

refugee camps around the world. The major issues in camps – education for

children, women’s health issues, clean water, nutritious food – were all touched upon

in this brief but there are others that need to be addressed. It is critical to have

detailed actions plans to tackle each of them.

3. Funding

Funding is the aspect of all resolutions that is often not given enough thought. Given

the inability of the UN to fundraise the billions of dollars necessary to handle the

refugee crisis, I expect to see substantive debate on what the committee can do to

find away around this. Without obtaining proper funding, none of the resolution will

matter.

4. Refugee Safety/Human Trafficking

47 https://www.olympic.org/news/refugee-olympic-team-to-shine-spotlight-on-worldwide-refugee-crisis

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The personal safety of refugees is paramount – if their well being and personal

security cannot be secured, then the work being done will be in vain. As thousands

of refugees go missing every year due to trafficking, there should also be detailed

solutions to tackle it.

5. Job-Retraining

Providing job training for refugees and assisting them in finding work can ensure

their economic independence and well being. Doing so will give them the ability to

rebuild their lives whether they return home or remain in their host country.

6. Medical Care for Internally Displaced People Caught in Conflicts

Many thousands of internally displaced people caught in conflicts are in dire need of

immediate medical attention. While refugee camps allow some degree of order and

safety to distribute aid, providing critical care in conflict zones, such as Sudan, is

quite risky. While it may be difficult to find organizations and individuals willing to

go into these zones, the UN can do its part to ensure medical supplies and other

resources do not dry up in field hospitals.

7. Resettlement of Refugees

The most heated topic in the global refugee crisis: where do they go? Some nations,

like Germany, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon have absorbed hundreds of thousands of

refugees while most developed countries have taken in a few thousand. While it will

be impossible to force nations to accept refugees, it should be possible to find

countries willing to accept refugees with skills countries need to fill job vacancies.

8. Partnerships with NGOs

The United Nations could not do the work it does without the assistance of private

aid organizations. Considering the role that various NGO’s play is necessary, and

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understanding that aid comes from a combination of on the ground local

organizations, international institutions, state actors and NGO’s is necessary. NGO’s

have more flexibility and more expertise at addressing a diversity of issues and often

move faster. The United Nations and state actors must not ignore their existence.

9. The Future

What do we do to address future refugee crises? We must ensure that an institutional

approach is set up, and a more vigorous global commitment to solving humanitarian

crises as they arise rather than when they become unbearable.

Questions:

1. How can the UN work to ease the economic burden for countries absorbing a

disproportionate number of refugees?

2. How can the UN incentivize countries to take in more refugees?

3. Should refugees settled in their host countries be sent back when the crisis in their

home country ends?

4. What should we do about these crises going forward?

5. Should only countries surrounding the area of conflict be expected to absorb

refugees or can there be a system by which they are spread around the world?