General Assembly-1



Ethics in the Modern World

Human Rights Council

The question of the refugee crisis in Europe

Forum: Human Rights Council

Issue: The question of the refugee crisis in Europe

Student Officer: Salma Aboul Fadl, Chair of UNHRC

Introduction

From the late 18th century to mid 20th century, people were always emigrating from Europe, most of which went to the Americas; this was due to reasons including genocide, conflict and famine. However, starting in the 1960s, as the area became more stable and the European economy began to pick up, immigration to Europe became more popular. However, immigration numbers had never reached the points they are currently at now.

Starting in 2015, Europe has been receiving an overwhelming number of asylum seekers wishing to migrate to European countries in search of a more stable life. According to the UNHCR, 84% of these refugees come from countries suffering from conflict. These refugees are relying on the hospitality of these foreign countries to help them find a better life, but unfortunately, hosting these refugees may jeopardize the country’s safety and economy; as seen by the mass sexual assaults that occurred in Cologne, and the Paris terror attacks. The host nation also becomes responsible for the welfare of the refugees, which increases public spending. Another issue is the question of the refugees’ former lives and the potential of letting refugees with criminal pasts and extremist leanings to enter the country. Additionally, many refugees experience xenophobia and backlash from the existing population of these host countries. Because of these uncertainties and issues, many refugees can encounter issues when integrating into this new society. The matter at hand calls upon all member states to assess the ethics of the situation and come up with a rational solution to address and alleviate all the problems at play.

Definition of Key Terms

Refugee/ displaced person- a person forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster.

Refugee camps- a temporary settlement for refugees in their foreign country

Mass migration- a large group of people moving from one place to another

Asylum- protection granted by a country for a person forced to flee their native country due to political unrest 

Asylum seeker- a person claiming and attempting to get asylum

Xenophobic- strong dislike of people from other countries

Quota- fixed number of people

Influx- arrival/ entry of large numbers of people 

Emigrating (from): leaving one’s country to settle permanently in another

Immigrating (to): come to live permanently in another country

Frontex: an agency designed to help authorities from different EU countries to work together in protecting its external borders.

General Overview

More than one million refugees have already tries to enter Europe in 2015, the UN estimates that another 1 million refugees will try to enter Europe in 2016. It is clear that the number of refugees in Europe is drastically growing; the issue is whether Europe has enough resources to allow for this unprecedented growth. Should this refugee crisis, which is a matter of global importance, rest solely on the shoulders European states? 

Many European countries are reluctant to take in refugees because they see these refugees as a threat to the country’s safety, as well as the country’s economy. In attempt to solve this issue, refugee quotas are being established based on the country’s size and economy by the European Union interior ministers. By having official and legitimate methods for the refugees to gain asylum (which included refugee applications), the countries can ensure that these refugees are recognized in the country and are treated as their citizens would be. However, since there are too many refugees and not as many resources, many refugees are forced to enter illegally and have to live their lives in fear of deportation. According to the chief of Frontex, around 630,000 refugees entered the EU illegally in 2015. These illegal immigrants could potentially end up living a life of exploitation, where their human rights are completely compromised.

Refugees enter the countries by foot or on a boat, the latter often having very poor conditions. These boats are overcrowded, and unhygienic and extremely unsafe. More than 15 migrant vessels have sunk in 2015 alone. Additionally, the refugee camps themselves are in very poor conditions; they are overpopulated and can often be quite violent and unsafe.  There were many accounts were asylum seekers (particularly women) were being sexually assaulted and abused by smugglers, other refugees, and even security staff. These women were forced to sleep in the same area and use the same bathroom and shower facilities as men where they felt extremely unsafe. As a result many women took extreme measures such as not eating or drinking to avoid going to the bathroom where they were made to feel extremely uncomfortable. 

Since the Paris terror attacks in November 2015, where it was discovered that at least one of the terrorists involved disguised himself as a Syrian refugee to enter the country, immigrants have been receiving a lot of backlash from the citizens of their host countries, making it extremely for the refugees to integrate into their new society.

Major Parties Involved and Their Views

Germany: It has received the most asylum applications among all other EU countries. It has received about 700,000 applications since 2011. However, Germany is receiving some backlash from one of its federal state, Bavaria, as it is the area that most of the refugees go through in order to reach Germany.

Turkey: Turkey, being Syria’s neighboring country hosts more than 2 million Syrian refugees. However, Turkey is starting to see the effect of hosting a huge number of refugees, especially in areas near the border, where there are more refugees than natives.

Hungary: Hungary built a border fence to keep refugees out which closes its borders with Serbia and Croatia. As a result, the EU threatened Hungary several times to expel them from the Union.

Greece: Most of the refugees entering Europe by sea come through Greece. It is recently being pressured by other European countries to temporarily stop the influx of refugees coming into Greece until the European Union can come up with effective solutions. Greece is struggling to meet the refugees needs due to its recent economic crisis. Several refugees were arriving by boat to Greek islands from Turkey. Transit sites have been set up on the northern coast of Lesbos which is a frequent first stop for refugees on the their journey.

UK: the UK started off with a clear and concrete idea of not letting these refugees in, but as the crisis progress and the British PM, David Cameron began facing overwhelming pressure to accept refugees, he agreed to allow 20,000 refugees into Britain over the next 5 years.

Poland: After the Paris Terror attacks on November 13th 2015, Poland refused to accept its EU refugee quota of 4,500 refugees.

Due to the fact that different countries in the Schengen area responding differently to the refugee crisis, several interior ministers predict that the Schengen system is on the brink of collapse.

Timeline of Events

|July 20th 2015 |EU leaders agree to accept 32,256 migrants from Italy and Greece, falling a couple of thousand short of |

| |their target of 40,000 migrants. |

|September 2nd 2015 |The picture of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, washed up ashore goes viral and led to global awareness. |

|September 9th |European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker announces a plan; an additional 120,000 refugees are |

| |to be taken in by the EU and distributed across all member nations based on their size and economy. |

|13th November 2015 |Paris terror attacks cause some countries to reconsider allowing refugees in as it is discovered that one|

| |of the terrorists involved posed as a Syrian refugee. However, they are urged by Jean- Claude Juncker, |

| |the European Commission President “not to mix up terrorist with refugees”. |

|16th October 2015 |Hungary announces that it will close its borders with Croatia at midnight to stop refugees from entering |

| |the country. |

|New Years |In the German city of Cologne, 500 women were attacked with about 40% of them being sexual assault. Many |

| |people associated this increase in crime rate with the increase in the number of refugees in Germany. |

|2016 |The UN predicts that another 1 million refugees will try to enter Europe this year. |

Evaluation of Previous Attempts to Resolve the Issue

• Jean-Claude Juncker’s, the European Commission President plan for the EU to take in 160,000 refugees and distribute them across member states based on country quotas. Many countries such as Bulgaria and Romania were left unhappy. Regardless, the plan ended up going through due to majority support from the EU interior ministers.

• Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has banned refugees entering Australia by sending out naval gunboats to send back any refugee ships before reaching Australia; they are then given the option of being resettled in Cambodia. Abbott urged the European countries to do the same to avoid all these lives being lost at sea.

Possible Solutions

• Stephen O’Brien, the UN’s Aids Chief suggested than wealthier countries increase spending on financial aid so that these refugees can find safety within their own countries and not be forced to seek asylum in Europe.

• Opening up safe routes to minimize the number of people dying (e.g. on a boat) while trying to reach Europe.

• Investigating and persecuting trafficking groups who exploit these refugees.

• Improving the conditions of refugee camps.

Bibliography























-----------------------

RESEARCH

REPORT

Name: Salma Aboul Fadl

A photograph of a young refugee names Aylan Kurdi who was found dead on the beach near Bodrum in Turkey. This photograph brought international attention to the Syrian refugee crisis

-----------------------

RESEARCH REPORT

1

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download