International Organization for Migration
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International Organization for Migration 1 ÍNDICE 3. Presentation letter 5.Introduction to the committee 7. Position Paper 7. Topic A: Climate Change Induced Migration 13. Topic B: Preventing human casualties in Europe and in war zones in Africa and Middle East 26. Bibliography 2 Presentation Letter Welcome to the International Organization for Migration committee, which will explore two very important areas: climate change induced migration and preventing human casualties in Europe and in war zones in Africa and Middle East. We are very excited to work with you in this committee for MUNUR 16 and we hope it will be an enriching and unforgettable experience. We are Caroline Cubillos and Teresa Gomes; we will be your directors. By the other side we have a Moderator named Augusto Dannon Alva. All of us are extremely passionate about issues related to displacement, human rights, refugees and migration. Most importantly, we cannot wait to embark this great learning opportunity that MUNUR 16 is. I am Caroline Cubillos. I am a student at the Javeriana University and I am in eighth semester of International Relations. I am part of the Executive board of the student group UN Javeriana and also I am part of the Executive board of the Model United Nations at my university, PUJMUN 2016. Since school I have loved the MUNs. I think these are important learning spaces, where you know wonderful people. I am very excited to be part of MUNUR 16 directing the International Organization for Migration, because I have always been interested in migration issues, it is a topic that concerns me a lot and that and touches my heart . What I expect from MUNUR 16 is a lot of fun, but also strong academic demand, a model that will challenge delegates to go further in their research and develop their oral skills, negotiation, writing, among others. I hope and I am sure that this experience will be unforgettable, not just for me, but also for all the delegates. 33 I am Teresa Auntora Gomes, I am a student at the University of Toronto, majoring in Public Policy and Critical International Development Studies. Currently, I am the co-founder of an educational development project called Education & Equity for Women in Nilphamari Bangladesh (EEWNB), and I am researching climate change induced migration. I hope that this particular committee will offer new insights and challenge you intellectually. My expectation is that everyone will utilize their critical thinking skills and develop new ideas that are outside of the box. Migration is a vital issue at the moment that deserves serious attention, this committee provides us the chance to contribute to ongoing solutions that can make a difference. I am Augusto Dannon Alva. I am currently on my fourth semester on the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) and I am really interested in philosophy, social studies, human rights, and contemporary issues. I am part of Peruvian Debate Society since 2015, but I started my MUN life in my last year of school. Due to globalization, migration has become one of the most relevant factor on social phenomena. Nevertheless, it remains as an overlooked topic in international politics in most of the countries. Personally, I think migration is one of the richest topics, because you can find many different aspects on the issue that requires various solutions. Therefore, I expect for you, delegates, to go further on your research and to try to give your analysis a broad view of the problem, so you can understand the problem, both, as a whole and into detail. I hope you have fun in MUNUR 2016 and learn a lot in the academic side and in skill wise. It is an honor for me to be part of this unforgettable experience and I hope to see the best of you on the committee. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 4 4 Introduction to the committee IOM The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the principal intergovernmental organization about migration. This organization is the leader in migration issues. It works with all kinds of actors: Countries, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs (International Organization for Migration, 2015). Para MUNUR16 esperamos que el ejercicio de simulación de la Sexta Comisión de la Asamblea General sea un espacio de construcción de conocimiento jurídico, alrededor de temas que han sido seleccionados por su idoneidad para generar debate en esta área de las Relaciones Internacionales. Source: International Organization for migration. Governing bodies. Available in: https://governingbodies.iom.int/ It was founded in 1951 and currently counts with 162 member states, 9 states with observer status and some Non-governmental organizations. The IOM “is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all” (International Organization for Migration, 2015). To accomplish this, the IOM gives services and advices to the countries and migrants. The IOM helps to manage and ensure and organized humane management o the migration, promoting international cooperation, assisting and looking for solutions to the 55 migration problems. It supports all kind of migrants: economic migrants, refugees and displaced people This organization works focused on 4 aspects: · Migration and development · Facilitating migration · Regulating migration · Forced migration. The IOM works also in the promotion of: · International migration law · Protection of migrants’ rights · Migration health · Women and migration. Governing bodies The IOM is structured in different bodies that constitute the whole organization: The council, where each member state has its representative and has one vote. The Standing Committee on programmes and finance (SCPF): this subcommittee of the Council is in charge of the review of policies, programmes and activities. Also, discusses the financial and budgetary issues. The administration: it is composed by a General Director and Deputy Director General. This committee administers and manages the Organization “in accordance with the Constitution […] the policies and decisions of the Council and the Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance” (International Organization for Migration, 2015). In this case we are going to simulate inside the IOM the Council. 6 6 Position Paper We believe that less is more. That’s why, as a table we seek a very concrete position paper that has the main ideas about the position of their respective countries. For this position paper we consider the text should have tow essential things: The first thing: there should be a clear and concrete position of his country about the issues that are being addressed. With this, both the board as the other delegates will have clear what is your position of the issues and briefly explain the reasons why. Second, there must be some ideas or proposals that seek to solve the problem. We do not want to put all their solutions and explain that as a whole, but specifically understand which solutions you have, so in the course of the debate can deepen in these. 3. Development Topics Topic A: Climate Change Induced Migration • Context As sea levels continue to drastically rise as a product of global warming, numerous low-lying regions and countries in the Global South are threatened with environmental disasters. Climate disasters not only take the lives of millions of people, but also displace people from their homes, forcing them to migrate and in many cases, become climate refugees, in which an average of 26.4 million people per year have been displaced according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (Walia, Telesur, 2015). 7 Furthermore, it was estimated that by 2050, there may be 200 million climate refugees (Barnes, BBC, 2013). But where will these migrants and refugees go? Are there legal and international systems to support the next wave of migration? Currently there is no legal protection for climate refugees. With no legal basis to be granted refugee status and to seek petitions for residency, countries like Australia and New Zealand which obtain the most petitions because of their location in the Pacific, have the authority to reject petitions (Walia, Telesur, 2015). Moreover, there is no international agreement or protection framework to address migration due to climate change (Nishimura, 2015). • Climate Change At the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions and other human induced activities, the earth will become warmer and climate change will lead to an increase of environmental disasters such as floods, droughts, desertification, hurricanes, the destruction of natural resources, etc. In addition to catastrophes, rising temperatures are drastically altering environmental landscapes. Specifically, “sea levels are presently rising by approximately three millimeters per year as a result of anthropogenic climate change, with the thermal expansion of ocean water and melting of Greenland and Antarctic ice being key contributors” (McLeman, 2014, p. 180). Global economic inequality has led to developing nations of the Global South to depend on non-renewable fossil fuels like coal and oil for growth (Mahapatra, 2015). Moreover, developing nations are burdened with the brunt of environmental destruction because most have low-lying geographical landscapes and cannot afford climate mitigation and adaption technology (Mahapatra, 2015). Thus, it is difficult for developing nations to dramatically shift their economic growth pattern, which contributes to climate change. In addition, historically, the influence of developing nations in global climate governance have been eroded, in which “the poorest countries are not invited, and have no institutionalized way of feeding their perspectives into decisions that will have profound effects on their future opportunities” (UNDP, 2010, p. 5). At the 2015 United Nations Paris Climate Change Conference, the 196 Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted the Paris agreement with no objection (The BRICS Post, 2015). China and India’s leaders 8 took the opportunity to strongly emphasize the challenges of developing nations, in which it was felt that the Global North was shifting their responsibilities regarding climate change on the Global South.