A Background Guide for - … · Position Paper Requirements ... the Cambridge College Model United Nations ... The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

A Background Guide for

The Child Refugee Crisis

Director

Arianna Marrou

Assistant Directors

Ana Cristina Yañez,

Matías Penny & Carla

Maeda

Cambridge College Model United Nations Saturday 2nd June & Sunday 3rd June 2018

Cambridge College Model United Nations| 2018

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Table of Contents

Introduction Letter from Secretary General ............................................................................. 2

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

Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................ 4

History of the Problem ............................................................................................................. 4

Current Situation ..................................................................................................................... 9

Relevant UN Actions ............................................................................................................... 14

QARMAS ................................................................................................................................. 15

Bloc Positions ......................................................................................................................... 16

Position Paper Requirements ................................................................................................ 18

Closing Remarks .................................................................................................................... 18

Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 18


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A Letter from the Secretary-General

Dear Delegates,

On behalf of Cambridge College, the hard-working Chairs,

and my fellow members of the Secretariat, it is of my

utmost pleasure to welcome you to the second edition of

the Cambridge College Model United Nations (CCMUN).

This event would not have been possible without the

enormous initiative taken by last year’s Secretariat and

Chairs whom Cambridge College is extremely proud of.

On this edition the CCMUN committees will be addressing

topics ranging from modern issues to dynamic historical

events, in which you as delegates must try to reach the

most diplomatic solutions. Always keep in mind,

delegates, seek for the same entertainment that your

chairs had while making the research on the topics and

never forget to spread diplomacy and respect amongst

yourselves. Having been part of the CCMUN for some time

and having participated in the first edition of the event I

have seen the inner change in this small “club” my

predecessors have created to what now is a delegation

capable of hosting an MUN conference. Cambridge

College has never been a hyper competitive, aggressive

delegation when it comes to debate and that’s why we

intend to keep this conference as an easy going one, we

intend to keep a conference recognized for its diplomatic

and respectful environment, but still rewarding delegates

for their achievement in solving real UN world problems.

The CCMUN crew and I wish all of you the best of lucks

and that the updates are ever on your favour. I hope you

all are as thrilled we are for this conference and I hope you

all enjoy it as much as we enjoyed organizing it.

Yours truly,

Mariano Morón

Secretary General

Mariano Moron

Secretary-General

Camila Abram

Under Secretary-General

Daniela Andaluz

Director Secretary-General

Andrea Morante

Press Coordinator

Julian Walter

MUN Advisor


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A Letter from the Chair

Dear Delegates, Welcome to CCMUN 2018! I’m Arianna Marrou and it’s my privilege to be the director for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Outside model UN I enjoy playing tennis, reading, dancing, watching Netflix and procrastinating just a bit. I can tell you that I’m truly excited for conference this year; this topic is an issue i’m particularly very passionate about and I am sure you will all have interesting, informed contributions to committee. My journey with MUN started three years ago, when I was invited to assist as an observer to VMMUN. I was impressed by how MUN created such a unique platform to discuss real-world issues in a constructive and collaborative way, even with the presence of different postures and policies. Since then I have enrolled in various national and international conferences, including Harvard Model United Nations 2017 & 2018. MUN has given me the opportunity to learn about different cultures as well as make friends from all over the world. I believe model UN is an eye opening experience, that definitely helps anyone who participate to develop not only oral and negotiating skills, but also to construct a mindset and a more critical view of world issues. ECOSOCs are my favorite type of committees, not only because they have a social outlook, but also because they are not very large committees which allows delegates to have a more in depth debate. This year we will be discussing the Child Refugee Crisis, a topic that will allow you to delve into many sub-issues that I hope you are able to acknowledge and come up with creative resolutions to. Whether you are an experienced delegate or if this is your first MUN conference, my goal is for the committee to be an enriching and enjoyable time for all of you. I want you all to push yourselves and surpass your own self-expectations, but I also want to remind you to have fun and not stress! Don’t be shy, and don’t be afraid to raise up your voice! And once again I’m incredibly excited for this year’s CCMUN. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach me out, I’m always available to help and I am really looking forward to getting to know you all! With love, Arianna Marrou

Arianna Marrou

Director

Ana Cristina Yañez

Assistant Director

Matías Penny

Assistant Director

Carla Maeda

Assistant Director

Julian Walter

MUN Advisor

[[email protected]]


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Statement of the Problem

Movement is part of life and living on. For children who are seeking asylum in countries that

they hope will protect them, being on the move brings challenges and opportunities, risks

and danger, where many others make decisions about them, as they decide for themselves

how to go on, and how to be still, in the contexts and processes that surround them. Their

movements from danger to safety are part of greater migratory flows that generate life,

death, and uncertainty depending on the contexts of reception, resettlement or return.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there are over

65.6 million individuals who were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution,

conflict, violence, or human rights violations. This is the largest known number of refugees

for the past two decades. Among these asylum seekers there are nearly 22.5 million refugees,

over half of whom are children [1].

Of this population, child refugees are among some of the most vulnerable. From the forced

nature of their displacement and the potential violence and conflict these children have to

endure, to the difficulties they face in accessing education, health and other basic services in

host countries, child refugees are increasingly being left behind in the global development

process.

No matter why they move or how they arrive, children are at the centre of the world’s

population movements. No matter their condition or status, they are always children:

entitled to protection, support and all the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights

of the Child (CRC). Children have a right to be protected, to keep learning and to receive the

care and services they need to reach their full potential. Every child has the same rights, and

they retain those rights no matter where they are.

When children are given the opportunities to succeed, both their country of origin as wells as

its host nation can benefit from their skills, creativity as well as multicultural view of the

world. Thus the UNICEF believes the global community cannot afford to ignore either the

needs of these children or the opportunities they present, since they are the future of our

society.

History of the problem

World War I

While the phenomenon of people fleeing their homes due to war or persecution has not been

limited to modern times, the emergence of refugees as a recognized population began early

in the twentieth century. During World War I, Germany invaded Belgium forcing thousands

of families to flee away, and while ‘Belgium was invaded by an army; Holland was invaded by

people’[4]. Belgium felt the consequences immediately. Refugees fled from Antwerp and

other towns and cities during September and October 1914. Their first destination was the

Netherlands, whose population of 6.3 million was swollen by one million Belgian refugees,

half of whom crossed the frontier at Noord-Brabant. The civilian refugees were spread out

over the entire country and handed over to the care of the Provincial Refugee committees


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(Provinciale Vluchtelingencomités). According to the report of the Central Committee the

number of refugees reached, mainly consisting of women, children and elderly [6] . As the

war continued some wives of Belgian soldiers who had been interned earlier fled to The

Netherlands, brought their children with them, to be close to their husbands. They had to

cross the frontier, otherwise known as the “Dodendraad” (‘Wire of Death’), where children

ran unimaginable risks. Around 250,000 Belgian refugees fled to the UK [7]. The Belgian

refugees included at least 33,000 children between ages 5 and 14 (de Jastrzebski, 1916 as

cited in Myers, 2001: 155; Kushner and Knox, 1999: 48). Many refugees returned home or

enlisted in the armed forces, but 160,000 Belgian refugees remained on UK registers at the

end of 1916, the number dropping only slightly before the war ended. In the course of the war

one in seven Belgian civilians had become a refugee [8].

Following the Serbian military defeat, it is estimated that between 18,000 - 27,000 serbians

died in the journey towards Greece and temporary freedom in 1915. Some 3,000 Serbian

children went to France and, to relieve the pressure, the Serbian Relief Fund hoped to bring

600 of them to Britain. Due to a lack of resources and the negative attitude of the British

government, in 1916 only roughly half that number was given temporary refuge. The

government feared the children would be unsuited to life in Britain and would be a drain on

resources. A senior Foreign Office official in September 1917 noted ‘We were ourselves

always opposed to these boys being brought to England, but Mrs [Carrington] Wilde [of the

Serbian Relief Fund] insisted upon it’ [9]. Many of these children had fought alongside

adults and had witnessed war at its most barbaric. Yet despite the fears of the government

and others, the Serbian children adapted quickly in Britain and soon excelled in their

studies, winning academic prizes and succeeding in sport.

World War II

Historians cite September 1, 1939; the day Germany invaded Poland, as the outbreak of

World War II. The Holocaust however, started long before the fight began. The United

States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. defines the event as: “[T]he

systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the

Nazi regime and its collaborators…During the era of the Holocaust, German authorities also

targeted other groups because of their perceived "racial inferiority": Roma (Gypsies), the

disabled, and some of the Slavic peoples (Poles, Russians, and others). Other groups were

persecuted on political, ideological, and behavioral grounds, among them Communists,

Socialists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals.” This event did not happen

spontaneously, but as described by historian Marilyn Harran, was “the most profound

expression of the anti-Semitism that had flourished in Germany and other European nations

for centuries [10].”In 1933 the Nazi party took complete control of the government. Initially

new laws were passed that restricted the amount of property Jewish citizens could own, the

types of professions they could work in, how much money they could keep in their homes,

and so on. In 1935, a series of legislation called the Nuremberg Laws came into being that

placed further restrictions on German Jews. The breaking point was Kristalnacht or the

Night of Broken Glass, a nationwide organized attack on jews. Across Germany 100

synagogues were burned down, 300 jews were killed, and 30,000 men were rounded up to

spend the week on “holiday camps”. One third of jews left. Still it was as difficult to leave as


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to stay. Other countries put limits on refugees. Queues at foreign embassies stretched round

the block [11].

Kinder transport

Following the devastating episode known as Kristallnacht the British government eased

immigration restrictions for certain categories of Jewish refugees. Spurred by British public

opinion and the persistent efforts of refuge aid committees, the British authorities agreed to

allow an unspecified number of children under the age of 17 to enter Great Britain from

Germany and German-annexed territories (that is, Austria and the Czech lands).

Organizations and citizens had to assure the payment of each child’s care, education and

eventual journey to Great Britain. The British government provided temporary visas to the

children and allowed the unaccompanied child refugee’s entry to the nation. The first

Kindertransport arrived in Harwich, Great Britain, on December 2, 1938. It brought some

200 children from a Jewish orphanage in Berlin which had been destroyed in the

Kristallnacht pogrom [12]. In the nine months before World War II began, nearly 10,000

Jewish children were saved [13]. After the transports arrived in Harwich, children with

sponsors went to London to meet their foster families. Children without sponsors were

housed in a summer camp in Dovercourt Bay and in other facilities until individual families

agreed to care for them or until hostels could be organized to care for larger groups of

children. In all, the rescue operation brought about 9,000-10,000 children from Germany,

Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland to Great Britain. Some 7,500 of these children were

Jewish [14]. Sadly, on 3 September 1939, all of the transports to Britain stopped. On this day,

a train carrying over 200 Kinder was prevented from leaving its platform in Prague. The

children did not make it to freedom.

Most kids could not speak English when they arrived, and were not acquainted with British

customs. Often, they came from different social, political and economic backgrounds to their

foster families. Some of the children also had to adapt to being brought up in Christian

households. Foster families were very supportive of the Kinder in the main, but occasionally

used them as domestics. The Kinder quickly learned English and many threw themselves

into their studies. Sometimes, however, they had to face hostility at school. In the course of

the war, which began in September 1939, the Kinder became double refugees when they were

evacuated to the countryside to escape from the bombings. For a second time, the Kinder

had to adapt to: being separated from adults, leaving home, relocating to unfamiliar

surroundings, wearing labels around their neck and being placed in new schools [16].

A wave of sympathy hit the U.S.A too; Sen. Robert Wagner, Democrat of New York, and Rep.

Edith Nourse Rogers, Republican of Massachusetts; jointly introduced a bill to admit 20,000

unaccompanied child refugees, 14 or younger, into the United States. The bill stipulated that

the costs of caring for the children would be borne by the private sector and, crucially, that

the refugees admitted would not count against the quotas limiting U.S. immigration. A

number of prominent Americans threw their weight behind the bill: bishops and actors,

former President Herbert Hoover, and New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Even the first

lady let her support be known. “It seems to me the humanitarian thing to do,” Eleanor

Roosevelt said at a press conference when asked about the bill. A Gallup poll from January

1939 asked if Americans would support bringing even 10,000 German refugee children into

the country, public opinion ran 2:1 against. President Roosevelt did not support the entry of


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refugees; further, he believed that the Wagner-Rogers Bill had no chance to win a

congressional vote. The only likely way for the children to enter would have been a

presidential executive order, which Roosevelt was not willing to issue since he felt that it

would be an unpopular decision during an election cycle. He believed in a more

comprehensive solution for the refugee crisis in the form of settlement projects, but for the

Jews who had to leave Germany in early 1939, this approach did not solve their problem.

When it became obvious that the Wagner-Rogers Bill would fail to win a majority in

Congress, the draft text was fundamentally changed to propose that the children immigrate

within the quota and thus at the expense of adults for whom emigration might have meant

liberation from concentration camps. Wagner, who found this unacceptable, withdrew his

proposal [17].

Other initiatives to save German Jewish children by emigration were also attempted. In

Denmark, for example, 320 children between the ages of fourteen and sixteen were accepted

[18]. In Holland 1,500 children who were accommodated in homes were reported to have

been accepted in March 1939. Because the government regarded their stay as transitory, they

were not allowed to be placed with families or attend ordinary schools [19]. During the first

half of 1939, 300–400 children entered France. In Switzerland in June 1939, the Comité

Suisse was caring for between 1,000–1,300 children [20].

The Partition of India

The Partition of India split British India into the countries of India and Pakistan in 1947.

This partition was part of the end of British rule over the Indian subcontinent, called British

Raj. At midnight on 14/15 August 1947, the largest recorded forced migration began. Millions

of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs were forced to journey hundreds of miles, with many

experiencing brutal violence, as the Indian subcontinent was divided into two independent

nation states: Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The communities that

once coexisted erupted into violence. Trains filled with refugees crossing the border were

stopped and every man, woman and child on board slaughtered. This kids were also

witnesses of train massacres, seeing corpses and decapitated heads, watching parents and

other family members attacked and murdered; when they made their way to their New

homes. According to the Punjab police chief at the time, over 100,000 abducted women and

children were found to be ‘missing’ in the province. A confidential memo of the Pakistan

government titled “Recovery of abducted women, children and converts”, stated that “as the

moment of refugees continued over a period of weeks and months, it became increasingly

clear that large numbers of women and children have been left behind on either side”[21].

Katherine Cox, a British missionary worker, representing the Church Mission Society, visited

Amritsar’s St Catherine Hospital on 22 September 1947 and wrote in her diary log that day,

“most of children had been found beside their murdered mothers and some were injured

themselves with cuts”[22]. Children’s circumstances varied considerably. Some were left

behind; others were separated from the families; some reunited with their relatives. Many

died in the camps due to malnutrition and diseases; some orphans were quickly adopted out

by the individual families. The theme of adoption was perhaps best expressed in the ‘New

History of Partition’ by Urvashi Butalia: “The small boys were sought out by women and

men, not looking for a child to love and care for, but for labour. These children became work

mules and servants”. Often assumptions are made that many children ended up in ‘brothels’


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and in the street ‘begging’.[23] In West Punjab, there were frantic demands that the

government must take the responsibility of women and children upon itself. It would be

however wrong to assume that all the ‘unaccompanied’ children at partition. But not all

children ended up in this way; some were looked after by welfare organizations and charities.

While official records can provide some insights into state responses, they cannot shed light

on the feelings of the orphans themselves. Psychologists say that traumas inflicted on minors

leave deep scars. One can only guess at the burdens carried by some of the orphans and

ordinary people for the remainder of their lives.

War in Syria

Since the year 2000, Syria has been ruled by Bashar al-Assad, a dictator who goes under the

name of “president”, but in reality is a person with complete and uttermost control over the

country. Since Bashar al-Assad came to power, he has taken measures to assure his power

will perdure, despite how unhappy and miserable Syrians are with his rule. In 2011, it

seemed like the Middle East might be caught up in a revolution, or change of government, as

many young people began to protest dictators and demand democratic governments. This

period was called the Arab Spring, but it did not result in changes in Syria. Instead, al-Assad

clamped down on protesters, even killing those who spoke out against him. Pro-democracy

protests erupted in March 2011 in the southern city of Deraa after the arrest and torture of

some teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. After security forces

opened fire on demonstrators, killing several, more took to the streets. The unrest triggered

nationwide protests demanding President Assad's resignation. The government's use of force

to crush the dissent merely hardened the protesters' resolve. By July 2011, hundreds of

thousands were taking to the streets across the country. Opposition supporters eventually

began to take up arms, first to defend themselves and later to expel security forces from their

local areas [26]. As rebel groups splintered and more radical groups began to gain footing,

the door opened for the Islamic State of Iraq and Shaam (ISIS) to come into power.[27]

Beginning with the capture of Raqqa in April 2013 [28], ISIS quickly gained territory and

followers from around the world, who flocked to Syria and Iraq to join ranks of the terrorist

group. Known for violent murders, enslavement of conquered people, and terrorist attacks

around the world, the rise of ISIS exacerbated the crisis in Syria. Millions of people were

already fleeing the country and between the civil war, ISIS, and other rebel in-fighting, and

the situation became dire and so multi-fronted that international interventions often end up

only adding to the chaos. The threat of ISIS did cause a more substantial international

response, but countries were and are still hesitant to take active positions in the Syrian Civil

War. According to the UN, by June 2013 90,000 people had been killed, and by August 2015

that figure had risen by 250,000. Unfortunately, the plight of the Syrian people is often

forgotten about. Millions of men, women and children are externally and internally displaced

with many risking their lives to flee to Europe. By the summer of 2015 there was a full crisis

in Europe because so many refugees were pouring west, many having crossed from Turkey to

Greece in tiny, very dangerous boats [29].

The situation in Syria is constantly in flux and, as of today, there does not seem to be any end

in sight. As an aside, I highly encourage you to continue to keep up to date on the situation in

Syria because there may be major changes between the time this background guide is

published and the conference. I included this background on Syria because I believe it is


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important to understand that context in which we will be working in this committee. I hope

you can now see the complexity of the causes of this war and refugee crisis and understand

how simple solutions will not be enough to solve this problem.

Current Situation

At an age in which most kids need supervision to complete their homework, thousands of

unaccompanied minors are crossing continents alone.

Today he refugee population is also one of the youngest with over half being children [30].

This in turn means that globally, today nearly 1 in every 200 children is a refugee [31]. These

numbers have seen a dramatic increase in the past several years. From 2005 to 2015, the

number of child refugees under UNHCR’s protection jumped from 4 million to over 8 million

[32]. Between 2010 and 2015 this number rose by 77%. Considering that today nearly 250

million children live in regions affected by conflict, it is likely that the number of child

refugees will continue to rise. The escalation in the number of child refugees has also led to

an increase in the number of children fleeing and seeking refuge alone. According to

Eurostat, since 2008 nearly 200,000 unaccompanied minors have applied for asylum in

Europe, 100,000 of them for 2015 alone [33].

It is important to emphasize that there is equal representation of girls and boys in the

refugee population [34], which implies that the causes leading children to leave their

homelands affect both boys and girls alike. However, the experiences of fleeing a country

have a differential impact associated with the age of the child. It was previously assumed that

young children do not suffer the consequences of being uprooted. However, the neuroscience

research has shown that brain development, which occurs during early childhood, is

extremely sensitive to toxic stress [35].

The outflow of child refugees is concentrated geographically in many regions, In the current

century, three quarters of all child refugees come from ten countries mostly in Africa and

Asia and over 50% come from the Syrian Arab Republic and Afghanistan [36].

I. Current Crises

a. Syrian Child Refugee Crisis

It's one thing to see the statistics. After 7 years of war, Syria is now the #1 most dangerous

country to be a child. Not only that, but grave child rights violations continue. That means

killing, maiming, sexual violence, abduction, recruitment into combat, attacks on schools

and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian access (Save the Children, 2018). Since the onset

of the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, more than 5.3 million people, including 2.5

million children, have been living as registered refugees in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq

and Egypt (UNHCR data portal, 26 November 2017). More than 90 per cent of these

refugees are living in host communities and facing challenging socio-economic conditions,

including high poverty rates (Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan 2018-2019), high costs of

living, limited livelihood opportunities and the exhaustion of savings. These circumstances


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have led to negative coping practices—such as removing children from school, particularly

girls, to work or marry—further exacerbating existing protection risks.

In September 2017, the United Nations Refugees Agency (UNCHR) announced that

staggering numbers of refugee children do not have access to education. Of the 17.2 million

refugees under UNCHR’s mandate, 6.4 million are of school age. In 2016, more than half of

them, 3.5 million children, did not go to school 1.5 Million of those school-aged children are

Syrian refugees living in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon [37]. Although there has been a vast

improvement and education is becoming more accessible, at least 530.000 Syrian children

living in these countries are still out of school [38]. This problem is largely due to insufficient

funding and to restrictive refugee policies. In 2016, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported

that globally, less than 2 per cent of donor support was allocated to education in emergencies

[39]. On top of that, most of these funds go to primary education, rendering access to

secondary education for refugee children even more uncertain than to primary education.

Education can also play a key role in the improvement of children’s mental health. A sense of

normalcy, safety and routine are crucial to children’s development. Without schools and

other support programs, there is a higher risk that children will suffer from depression, will

become withdrawn and will begin feeling hopeless about their future [40].

The recent bombing of Syria by the U.S.A had a dramatic and perjuring effect on Syrian

refugee children. The gas attack in Syria has killed families in their homes. At least 42 people

are dead, including infants and toddlers, and another 500 are injured (UNICEF, 2018).

According to UNICEF statistics this year, more than 5 million Syrian refugee children will

require education assistance 3.8 million will require protection support and 7.5 million will

be in need of health assistance. The status of Syrian refugee children is of emergency.

Children are facing the risk of losing their lives because of the chemical weapons launched

because of the war. It is essential to take urgent actions on the matter before it is too late.

b. Child Refugee Crisis in Rohingaya

The Rohingya, who numbered around one million in Myanmar at the start of 2017, are one of

the many ethnic minorities many countries. Rohingya Muslims represent the largest

percentage of Muslims in Myanmar, with the majority living in Rakhine state. They have

their own language and culture and say they are descendants of Arab traders and other

groups who have been in the region for generations. But the government of Myanmar, a

predominantly Buddhist country, denies the Rohingya citizenship and even excluded them

from the 2014 census, refusing to recognize them as a people. It sees them as illegal

immigrants from Bangladesh. At least 6,700 Rohingya, including at least 730 children under

the age of five, were killed in the month after the violence broke out, according to “Medecins

Sans Frontieres” (MSF). Amnesty International says the Myanmar military also raped and

abused Rohingya women and girls. This is being named as one of the worse ethnic cleansing

cases. The plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people is said to be the world's

fastest growing refugee crisis. Risking death by sea or on foot, more than half a million have

fled the destruction of their homes and persecution in the northern Rakhine province of

Myanmar (Burma) for neighboring Bangladesh since August 2017. Myanmar's military says

it is fighting Rohingya militants and denies targeting civilians [41].


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"Houses were burning. There were rocket launchers. They were killing people after arresting

them, that’s why we fled here.” This are the words from Umme, a 12 year old living in a

Rohingayan refugee camp. This is a story no child should tell. Yet, it’s an all-too-familiar one

in the Bangladesh refugee settlements, where UNICEF is helping Rohingya survivors of what

UN Human Rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has deemed “a textbook example of ethnic

cleansing.” More than 520,000 vulnerable Rohingya children like her are living in the path

of a looming threat. With monsoon season approaching, the overcrowded camps they call

home ran the risk of being swept away. Situated on land cleared for the influx of 390,000

Rohingya since August, the refugees' new homes are tents perched on barren hillsides that

the coming rains will turn to mud. Landslides could claim countless lives, and severe

flooding destroy the camps’ fragile sanitation infrastructure, contaminating the water supply.

For families living in cramped quarters, cholera outbreaks and other waterborne illnesses are

all too likely. UNICEF is now mobilizing to keep Rohingya children safe, healthy and dry

during cyclone season. Vital infrastructure is being reinforced and medical supplies

prepositioned to handle the rise of illnesses like cholera — an acute diarrhoeal disease that

can kill a child within hours if not treated. The water supply is being treated, and supplies

families will need to keep their water safe and clean — hygiene kits, water purification

tablets, chlorine, soap and buckets — stockpiled. Vaccination teams are administering the

oral cholera vaccine to 1.1 million people, and community volunteers are fanning out to

educate families about how to protect themselves. But it’s a race against time to spare Umme

and Rohingya refugee children like her another fight for their lives. “I’ve been in some

difficult places,” says Martin Worth, UNICEF’s Head of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

(WASH) for Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. “But this could get so much worse. What is already a

dire humanitarian situation could become a catastrophe.”[42]

c. Venezuelan Refugee Crisis

Venezuela is in an economic free fall. As a result of government-led mismanagement and

corruption, the currency value is plummeting, prices are hyperinflated, and gross domestic

product (GDP) has fallen by over a third in the last five years. In an economy that produces

little except oil, the government has cut imports by over 75 percent, choosing to use its hard

currency to service the roughly $140 billion in debt and other obligations. These economic

choices have led to a humanitarian crisis. Basic food and medicines for Venezuela’s

approximately thirty million citizens are increasingly scarce, and the devastation of the

health-care system has spurred outbreaks of treatable diseases and rising death rates.

President Nicolas Maduro is pushing the nation toward authoritarianism, shutting down the

free press, marginalizing the opposition-led legislature, barring opposition parties from

participating in elections, and imprisoning political opponents [43].

This humanitarian and economic crisis, combined with rising political persecution, has

forced millions of Venezuelans to flee away. The number of Venezuelans seeking asylum has

increased yearly since 2014. Between 2014 2017, around 99,000 asylum claims were lodged,

half of which in 2017 alone (as of September). The primary receiving countries of Venezuelan

asylum seekers in the region between 2014 and 2017 have been: USA: 46,000, Brazil:

16,500, Peru: 9,500; Costa Rica: 3,300 and Panama: 3,000. Considering the evolving

situation in Venezuela, it is projected that people will continue to leave the country over the

coming months [44].


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Children migrating from Venezuela don’t have the strength to endure the journey away from

their nation, since they are severely malnourished. The government fails to provide families

with food, in fact, according to the “Encuesta Nacional de Condiciones de Vida Venezuela

2016” by Venezuelan universities, nine out of 10 households in the country were “food

insecure." But it appears to be affecting infants at an overwhelming rate. The number of

children under the age of 1 who died increased 30 percent in 2015, according to a Ministry of

Health report which was later removed by the government. Women and children are flocking

to the Colombian border town of Cúcuta in desperate need of medical care, food and shelter.

Mothers sometimes leave children behind to be looked after by fathers and other family

members. Pregnant women make treacherous, daylong journeys for medical care. Others

have left behind their normal lives to ensure their children will have a meal the next day [45].

II. Repercussions of the Problem

a. Mental Health Crisis

Children, who comprise at least a quarter of asylum seekers, are exposed to numerous risk

factors for psychological disturbance, including exposure to violence, forced displacement,

and multiple losses [46] Refugee children suffer both from the effects of coming from a war-

zone and of adjusting to an unfamiliar culture. These stressors also affect their families [47].

Moreover, consistent research findings show that as the number of risk factors accumulates

for children, the likelihood that they will develop psychological disturbance dramatically

increases [48]. Studies of children in exile show that the prevalence of emotional and

behavioral disorders is high, with the most frequent diagnostic categories being post-

traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety with sleep disorders, and depression [49]. A meta-

analysis of data from 7,920 children affected by war found that 4.5 to 89.3 % of children met

criteria for PTSD with an overall pooled estimate of 47 %, 43 % met criteria for depression,

and 27 % met criteria for a non-PTSD anxiety disorder [50] According to the The European

Journal of Public Health, there is a lack of trauma and mental health screening and

measurement tools developed directly for refugee youth, especially for young refugees below

the age of six. The improvements in the development and/or adaptation of mental health

tools are of uttermost importance. This is necessary because mental health specialists are

using tools that aren’t validated nor follow the guidelines to detect mental health problems

in children. [51]. Detection and treatment of mental health issues among refugee children

and youth should be a priority both within the scientific community and in practice in order

to reduce morbidity and mortality.

b. Acculturation and Adaptation

Acculturation has been described as a dynamic process in which groups and individuals

experience cultural and psychological change [52]. Common components of acculturation

involve learning a new language, norms, and customs, and becoming familiar with the

mainstream culture. Refugee students face immeasurable academic challenges in their

adjustment to their new environments. They frequently suffer from marginalization and

discrimination), social alienation (Davies, 2008;, lack of adult support, and difficulties

accessing education. Refugee and asylum children and youth confront the bureaucracy and

expectations of schooling and must often quickly learn to navigate a system whose policies

and standards are unfamiliar and unknown. Few resettled refugees experience school


13 | P a g e

programs that provide resources to meet their unique academic and linguistic needs.

However, under the right conditions, education may help rebuild academic, social, and

emotional well-being. Furthermore, refugees typically maintain high aspirations and

optimism regarding schooling, which is a valuable educational resource. Schools need to

learn how to develop welcoming learning communities for newcomers [53].

Whether their new homes are temporary or permanent, the future success of migrating and

displaced children relies heavily on whether they are welcomed in those new homes.

Research indicates that children are most likely to directly encounter discrimination in

school settings, often in the form of insults, unfair treatment, exclusion and threats [54].

Children who face these forms of discrimination and exclusion experience a range of direct

repercussions such as distrust, hopelessness and problematic behaviors, as well as negative

longer- term attitudes about schooling and their own potential.[Ibid, p1.]

Outside the classroom, migrant and refugee children and families can be subject to a wide

array of discriminatory practices and behaviors that hinder their ability to settle into a new

home. In many contexts, legal barriers continue to prevent migrant and refugee children

from receiving services on an equal basis with other children. Even when legal barriers are

removed, misinformation, prejudice and xenophobia continue to stand between children and

the services they are entitled to receive. These problems can be intensified by formal and

informal separation of refugee and other migrant families from host communities, making it

more difficult to acquire relevant language and cultural skills or employment to overcome

intense poverty.

In the worst cases, xenophobia may escalate to direct attacks. According to the Organization

for Security and Co-operation in Europe, asylum reception centers throughout Europe have

been repeatedly subjected to direct attack. In Germany alone, the Government tracked 850

attacks against refugee shelters in 2015 [55].

c. Legal Status of Refugee Children

Bearing in mind children are faced with numerous amounts of threats while in the search for

asylum, the UNHCR adopted a Policy on Refugee Children in October 1993. Synthetizing, the

UNHCR was seeking to make clear that children are vulnerable, dependent and developing.

This way, the difference between adults and children refugees is clearly stated, making it

easier for authorities to take action regarding these minors. It is required for delegates to

acknowledge that most children in search for asylum enter countries without company and

illegally. It is a necessity to discuss what are the responsibilities of different governments in

the specific cases of illegal families with their children. It is stressed for the delegates to

explore the possibilities of temporal visas or other alternatives to help solve these types of

problems with optimum efficiency.

What should the legal status of refugee children be? It is essential for different countries to

adapt their policies in order to find the most humane solutions without withering their own

countries economy nor creating social controversy among their populations. Even though

refugee children are one of the troubles regarding refugee crises themselves, it is requested

from the delegates to focus solely on the refugee children and not to get off tracks. However,

it is important for delegates to adapt solutions that won’t disturb other countries’ aspects


14 | P a g e

while still concentrating on the children. Refugee children may come with families or alone.

How will laws and policies differ from these children with families from unaccompanied

minors? Some countries may not be able to offer asylum or proper care to children, therefore

it is of uttermost importance to point out how substantial it is for host nations to establish

laws regarding refugee minors.

It is thanks to laws that order is kept in place and work is done efficiently. Due to officially

imposing a statement or making a legal status legit, is that different countries may be able to

take an optimum approach.

Relevant UN Actions

The right to seek and enjoy asylum in a foreign territory is guaranteed in the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, Art. 14(1)), which was adopted in 1948 [. This was the

first step taken by the UN regarding the status of refugees. But it wasn’t until 1950, and after

WWII left around 400,000 people homeless, that refugees started strewing across Europe.

In 1950, the ambitious new global institution, the UN, created the UN High Commissioner

for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR has two principal functions: to provide international

protection to refugees within its competence and to seek durable solutions for them in co-

operation with governments. The UNHCR is founded in the principle of non-refoulement

which means that States may not return a refugee to a country where his or her life or

freedom would be threatened Safeguarding refugees’ basic human rights (including

economic and social rights) in countries of asylum, and ensuring treatment as near as

possible to that of local citizens. A corresponding article in the 1951 Convention relating to

the Status of Refugees, Article 35, entitled Co-operation of the national authorities with the

United Nations, states as follows:

“(1) The Contracting States undertake to co-operate with the Office of the United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees…in the exercise of its functions, and shall in particular

facilitate its duty of supervising the application of the provision of this Convention.”

The 1951 Convention and its 1967 Optional Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees was

one of the centerpieces to confront the growing issue of refugees. While all legal provisions in

the 1951 Convention apply to refugee children and youths, too, there are no child- or youth -

specific provisions included in this instrument. It wasn’t until the United Nations

Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was established, that provisions for refugee

children were explicitly mentioned in Article 22. This convention was launched mainly with

the cooperation of the UNICEF and it became the most widely- and rapidly-accepted human

rights treaty in history. In Article 22, special protection and procedures rights are accorded

to refugee children to enjoy the rights declared in the UNCRC and other international

treaties applicable to them, whether unaccompanied or accompanied by their parents or by

any other person. [56]

In 1987, the UN Executive Committee requested a set of guidelines (Conclusion No. 47.), and

the 1988 "Guidelines on Refugee Children" was published. In 1991, the Guidelines were

evaluated in two reports, one by the International Save the Children Alliance in cooperation

with UNHCR, and the other by the U.S. Bureau for Refugee Programs. In 1993, the "UNHCR


15 | P a g e

Policy on Refugee Children" (reprinted in Annex A) was presented to and welcomed by the

Executive Committee [57].

Furthermore, in order to improve and enhance the protection and care of refugee children,

the UNHCR adopted a Policy on Refugee Children, endorsed by the UNHCR Executive

Committee in October 1993.

The UNHCR works along the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund

(UNICEF) to fulfill the needs of refugee children. UNICEF is mandated by the United

Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet

their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is

guided by the UNCRC and strives to establish children’s rights as legal obligations, ensuring

ethical principles and international standards of behavior towards children. UNICEF is

committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children. Advocating

for child rights is a core function of both UNICEF as an international organization and

UNICEF National Committees in industrialized countries. As articulated in the UNICEF

Child Protection Strategy [58], “UNICEF will promote child protection through advocacy in

both developed and developing countries through research and evidence, existing

partnerships and new opportunities.”

Since the start of its response in 2015, UNICEF has provided 261,000 refugee and migrant

children with a range of services. In 2017, UNICEF used outreach teams to increase the

identification and referral of at-risk children, reaching more than 15,300 children. An

additional 9,800 children benefitted from psychosocial and community-based child

protection support. More than 4,600 front-line workers in temporary care facilities for

unaccompanied and separated children and reception and asylum centers across the region

received training on child protection standards. UNICEF, the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and non-governmental organizations developed the

roadmap 'The Way Forward to Strengthened Policies and Practices for Unaccompanied and

Separated Children in Europe' to support Member States to reinforce related protection

systems. More than 8,700 children aged 6 to 17 years participated in UNICEF-supported

structured non-formal education activities. UNICEF policy support and technical assistance

contributed to the inclusion of some 6,000 children in formal education. UNICEF mobilized

partners to monitor the rights of refugee and migrant children. Joint communication and

advocacy conducted with UNICEF National Committees raised awareness of the situation of

refugee and migrant children and supported their social inclusion. With 148,000 refugee

children in need there’s still much work to be done, a continuous of care and protection is

needed for children on the move, throughout their journeys, given the long-term impact that

this experience will have on their lives [59].

QARMAS

1. What should the legal status of refugee children be? Should they be provided with

provisional or permanent visas? What measures should be taken to protect the rights of

refugee children and ensure their right as established in the UNC?


16 | P a g e

2. How should psychological disorders be classified in refugee children? What validated tools

can be used to identify mental health issues in minors?

3. What measures can be taken to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalization

in host nations? Should community-based approaches be taken for refugee children to

adapt to their new environment?

4. How can access to education and social protection, be increased for children? Is there any

way we can create opportunities for family income and youth employment?

5. What should the approach of governments and the private sector be, when providing

health, education and shelter to refugee children? In which way can the legal status of

children become an opportunity and not a barrier for giving them access to basic need?

6. What actions can be taken to improve the access to better data on children’s movements

and welfare? What guidelines should researchers and data analytics follow? How can we

make better use of existing data, and share it?

Bloc Positions

I. Africa

Approximately one half of African refugees are children, nearly 3 million children who have

been forced from their own countries and are confronting the world’s harshest realities.

Currently there are 3.4 million refugees in Sub-Saharan Africa, up from 3.1 million in 2012,

and 5.4 million internally displaced people [60]. Furthermore, many African countries, such

as Ethiopia and Kenya, are currently hosting together about 800,000 South Sudanese

refugees. Additionally, in just one year the refugee population in Uganda has more than

doubled from 500,000 to more over 1.25 million, making the country host to the fastest

growing refugee emergency in the world [61].The continent’s expected population growth,

migration will become an increasingly pressing issue for Africa. The best way to capture the

opportunities of Africa’s young and mobile population, while protecting children from its

potential dangers, is by preparing now.

II. South America

The Venezuelan refugee crisis is at the top of the South American agenda. Since the

Venezuelan borders are closed, thousands of children take the risk of negotiating with

smugglers and human traffickers, to get them out of their nation illegally. Reports inform

that unaccompanied minors traveling to different nations, find themselves dragged into

sexual working or are coerced to commit crimes. Although the Venezuelan situation is very

severe, many Venezuelans continue to arrive in neighbouring countries and beyond, in need

of international protection and assistance, particularly access to shelter, health, education,

and other essential services. Host countries and governments receiving Venezuelans have

been working hard to provide an appropriate response; however, they are increasingly

overstretched and need more international support. There has been a 2,000% increase in the

number of Venezuelan nationals seeking asylum worldwide since 2014, principally in the

Americas during the last year. The main countries where Venezuelans are migrating are


17 | P a g e

Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Panama and Mexico. In Peru, on the inauguration day, INTERPOL’s

online system in collapsed as nearly 6,000 requests were made on the first hours. According

to INTERPOL, they are granting 120 daily appointments (UNHCR update, March 2018). In

this period of international relations, it would be expected for these countries to take on a

larger role. As for possible solutions, South American countries have the position to be

facilitators due to their unique perspective of having refugee issues but also having

resources.

III. Middle East

Five years of relentless conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic had forced more than 4.9 million

Syrians beyond the country’s borders by the end of 2015, about half of them children.

Another one-third of the population is internally displaced. Syrian children inside and

outside of the country have been subjected to a wide range of abuses, including recruitment

into armed groups, exploitation and abuse, child marriage and the worst forms of child

labor. Half of Syrian refugee children living in neighboring countries are estimated to be out

of school, and children continue to suffer several physical and mental health impacts of war

and displacement. More than half of Syrian refugee children living outside the country were

out of school in March 2016. Refugee children face many challenges in accessing and

succeeding at school, including the denial in access to school because of legal barriers, lack of

documentation, discrimination and language barriers. In Pakistan, there were close to

300,000 refugees originating in Pakistan in 2015. Children accounted for 58 per cent of all

Pakistani-origin refugees, the highest proportion in the region. While this generation of

children in the region faces incredible challenges, they also possess immense potential to

build a new and different future for their countries [62]. Most Middle Eastern states have

similar positions and outlooks as African ones. These countries want to see increased

assistance in their own borders through increased NGO presence as well as more support

from developed countries.

V. Western Countries

Western countries have little to no refugee situations of their own. Furthermore, they have

been criticized by the international community for not hosting as many refugees as they

could. Western states have the disposable income to provide monetary and technological

resources for proposed solutions in UNHCR. The position of Western countries should be

that of innovation and facilitation. In order to assist child refugees as well as keep refugee

populations low in their own countries, Western states will want to provide as much

assistance as possible to improving existing refugee camps’ conditions. Furthermore,

although these countries are geographically separated from many of the world’s most

problematic areas, they should explore solutions to make asylum realistic for refugees.

Finally, these countries’ complex refugee legislations makes asylum difficult, rendering

reforms to these laws is crucial.


18 | P a g e

Position Paper Requirements

Delegates are required to write a position paper regarding their country’s position on the

issue and topic. This document must include a paragraph with an introduction and your

country’s situation and position towards the problem. Another paragraph must illustrate

past UN actions and an analysis from the country’s point of view on why these past solutions

have not worked or how they can be improved. Lastly, delegates must address creative and

innovative solutions that respect their country’s policy while trying to solve the ongoing

issue.

Remember that these position papers are the representation of a nation’s position and not a

statement of your personal opinion. Therefore, they should be written formally and in third

person. Position papers should have 1.5 spacing, and be at least one page long. They must be

written in size 12 font, with 1.5 cm margins. You must send your position papers to

[email protected].

The content and quality of the papers will be highly taken into consideration when

evaluating the delegates. If delegates fail to send their Position Paper on time, they will not

be able to be eligible for any awards.

Closing Remark

Thank you for reading this study guide! I understand that at a certain point you might have

found it boring, but I really appreciate you have taken the time to read it (unless you skipped

to this section). Over the course of researching about this issue, I have definitely gained a

broader knowledge on the topic, and I hope you will all have a similar experience when

researching. Most of all, I hope you have developed more ideas on possible resolutions on the

topic, and a more depth understanding of this crisis. I’m reeally looking forward to meeting

you in June, listening to your ideas in committee, and watching you put them into action. If

you have any questions or concerns, or if you don’t understand some of the content in the

study guide, do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’m more than happy to help, and I cannot

wait to meet you all!

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[1] UNHCR, (n.d.). Figures at glance. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-

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[2] Ibid

[3] Save the Children (2016). Forced to flee: Inside the 21st largest country. Washington

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[4] Fry, A Quaker Adventure, 100

[5] de Roodt, Oorlogsgasten, 147

[6] http://www.wereldoorlog1418.nl/refugees/vluchtelingen/burgers.html

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19 | P a g e

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https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/09/14/following-money/lacktransparency-donor-funding-syrian-refugee-education

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Pages 439–446

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September 2015, p. 1.

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22 | P a g e

[58] UNICEF, Child Protection Strategy, May 2008,

http://www.unicef.org/protection/files/CP_Strategy_English.pdf]

[59] UNICEF, Child Protection Strategy, May 2008,

http://www.unicef.org/protection/files/CP_Strategy_English.pdf]

[60] "Africa," UNHCR News, http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4a02d7fd6.html]

[61] Africa's largest refugee crisis now a 'children's crisis' – UNICEF | UN News. (n.d.).

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crisis-now-childrens-crisis-unicef]

[62] United Nations Children’s Fund, ‘Small Hands, Heavy Burdens: How the Syria conflict

is driving more children into the workforce’, UNICEF, New York, 2 July 2015, quoted in No

Lost Generation, ‘No Lost Generation Update January – June 2016’, 12 July 2016

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https://news.un.org/en/story/2017/06/559882-africas-largest-refugee-crisis-now-childrens-crisis-unicef%5D

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