Refugee Background Guide

Refugees In 2010 the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees reported that there were 10.55 million refugees, including individuals in a “refugee like situation,” the same report listed the number of internally displaced persons are 14.7 million. Not to mention the other groups that the UNHCR considers the “total population of concern,” which sits at the staggering number of 33.9 million people1. These people, particularly those classified as refugees and IDPs, are especially vulnerable to violations of their guaranteed human rights. Therein lies the role of this committee: the maintenance and affirmation of human rights. Human rights violations, in relation to refugees, involves not only the quality of life and treatment that refugees and IDPs encounter, but also the rights of refugees and IDPs under international law. An exceptionally important part of these rights is the principle of non-refoulement, which outlines the protection of refugees against return to a country or state in which the person has a reason to fear persecution, torture, or danger2. Additionally, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines four particularly notable rights3: a. "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution” b. "No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile" c. "Everyone has the right to a nationality" d. "Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State” The human rights violations that refugees and IDPs often face involve not only the denial of the previously enumerated human rights guaranteed under international law, but also other, more tangible human rights violations. These include, restrictive measures put in place by certain governments that attempt to shut out those who are seeking asylum, unwarranted detention and interrogation, physical and sexual abuse, and xenophobic and racially-fueled acts of aggression. Though the causes of the mass exoduses that produce refugees and internally displaced persons are often fueled by human rights violations themselves, the scope of this committee should be the protection of the human rights of those who have already been displaced. Additionally, both SOCHUM and UNHCR have focused at length on refugee issues in the continent of Africa. While the past work should be noted, we’d like you to focus on refugee situations in other locations. For instance, due to continually escalating drug-fueled violence in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, 1

http://www.unhcr.org/4ef9cc9c9.html

2

http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=438c6d972

3

http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet20en.pdf

and Honduras, more and more people are being displaced every day. Numerous countries in the Middle East, too, are facing issues in which the human rights of refugees must be protected. Syria, in particular, has a rapidly escalating situation. Questions to Consider Does your country have or harbor a significant number of refugees or internally displaced persons? How can the international community ensure that the human rights of refugees and internally displaced persons are protected while not violating the sovereignty of other states? What, in particular, can the international community do to ensure that the human rights of refugees and IDPs are protected in current and future situations?