TIS MUN’2024

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHT COUNCIL

AGENDA
Protecting the rights of refugees and Internationally
Displaced Persons
BACKGROUND GUIDE
INDEX:

Contents
BACKGROUND GUIDE ....................................................................................................................................................................1
Letter From the Executive Board ................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction to United Nations Human Rights Council ........................................................................................................3
Mandate of UNHRC: ................................................................................................................................................................4
Introduction:.............................................................................................................................................................................5
Classification of Displaced Persons:.........................................................................................................................................5
Some Important Treaty and Conventions: ..............................................................................................................................7
Problems Faced by Refugees....................................................................................................................................................8
CASE STUDIES:........................................................................................................................................................................9
What is considered to be valid evidence in the Model United Nations? ........................................................................... 11
Questions to consider: ........................................................................................................................................................... 12
Letter From the Executive Board

Dear Delegates,
We welcome you to this simulation of the United Nations Human Rights Council at
TIS Model United Nations. From the off, it is our hope that you have begun your
initial and most basic research into the committee. We hope that the following study
guide itself can provide an insight into the nature and functionality of the committee,
as well as an overview of what the delegates would be expected to do, in terms of their
responsibilities leading up to the committee, and within the committee itself.
However, we must also warn you that this guide is merely an assistive document, and
should by no means encompass the entire scope of your research into the agenda.
We, the members of the Executive Board, do indeed expect the debate in committee to
follow a certain direction that shall be made clear by this guide, however, we would
highly appreciate delegates to find different viewpoints and angles to the issues put
forward by the agenda.
Keeping that in mind, delegates would not be mistaken for thinking that exclusively
technical legal research would inherently put them at an advantage in their research, as
well as the debate in committee.
However, we do hope that this guide can, to an extent, help all delegates reach the
same basic level of understanding. Apart from that, all delegates must have knowledge
of the intricacies involved in the agenda, and must have the ability to use basic logic to
interpret and apply the legal aspects of the agenda. At the same time we urge the
delegates to look at different perspectives insofar as the matters in this agenda are
concerned. We have decided to depart from tradition and give agendas that are more
theoretical and we hope to see your research being tailored around such departure,
keeping in mind what the nature of the discussion would
be.
We look forward to an exciting and interesting committee, which should certainly be
helped by the relevance of the agenda in today’s time. Hopefully we, as members of
the Executive Board, do also have a chance to gain from being a part of this
committee.
Regards,
The Executive Board
For any queries pertaining to the background guide contact:
Co-Chairperson: Tavishi Verma (91+ 9828198291)
Co-Chairperson: Durvish Khurana (91+ 6377015291)
Vice Chairperson: Parineeta Upadhayay (91+ 8302377928)
Rapporteur: Luvi (91+ 8824551541)

Introduction to United Nations Human Rights Council

The Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations, through
which States discuss human rights conditions in the UN Member States. The Council’s
mandate is to promote “universal respect for the protection of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all” and “address situations of violations of human rights,
including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon.” The
Human Rights Council was established in 2006 by Resolution 60/251 as a subsidiary body
to the UN General Assembly. It replaced the former Commission of Human Rights, which
operated from 1946 to 2006.

Composition: The Council is composed of 47 Member States elected from the UN General
Assembly to staggered three-year terms, with a specified number of seats going to each
major geographic region. General Assembly Resolution 60/251 provides that Members
States should be elected considering “the contribution of candidates to the promotion and
protection of human rights” and “members elected to the Council shall uphold the highest
standards in the promotion and protection of human rights.” In practice, these standards are
open to interpretation and the human rights records of States seeking election to the Council
have been the subject of
significant controversy.

Mandate of UNHRC:
The mandate of the Human Rights Council was established by resolution 60/251. It states
that the Council shall be responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all
human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair
and equal manner. Its mandate, among other things, is to: a) Promote human rights
education and learning as well as advisory services, technical assistance, and capacity-
building, to be provided in consultation with and with the consent of the Member States
concerned.
b) Make recommendations to the General Assembly for the further development of
international law in the field of human rights. c)Undertake a universal periodic review,
based on objective and reliable information, of the fulfilment by each State of its human
rights obligations and commitments in a manner that ensures universality of coverage and
equal treatment with respect to all States.
a. Contribute, through dialogue and cooperation, towards the prevention of human rights
violations and respond promptly to human rights emergencies.
b. Work in close cooperation in the field of human rights with governments, regional
organizations, national human rights institutions, and civil society.
Introduction:
A refugee is a person who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for
reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social
group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or,
owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country ... "
The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
A refugee has the right to safe asylum. However, international protection comprises more
than physical safety. Refugees should receive at least the same rights and basic help as any
other foreigner who is a legal resident, including freedom of thought, of movement, and
freedom from torture and degrading treatment.
Economic and social rights are equally applicable. Refugees should have access to medical
care, schooling and the right to work.
In certain circumstances when adequate government resources are not immediately
available, such as the sudden arrival of large numbers of uprooted persons,
international organizations provide assistance. This may include financial grants, food, tools
and shelter and basic infrastructure such as schools and clinics.
But with the ever-increasing numbers of refugees, it has become very difficult to even fulfil
the basic needs of these people.
In the Asia and the Pacific region, as of end-2021, there were 4.2 million refugees, 4.4
million IDPs recorded. Afghanistan has experienced over four decades of conflict and
displacement. The refugee population in the South Asia originated mostly from the South
Asian region, besides the small number of refugees coming from African and Middle
Eastern countries. In Ukraine, the escalation of conflict since February 2022 and the
destruction of civilian infrastructure and urban settings has led millions of refugees to seek
safety in other European countries. But over 6 million Ukrainians are also internally
displaced as of late 2022. In the Southern Africa region, Both the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC) and Mozambique saw an increase in the number of IDPs, up 4% and 12%
respectively. In the West and Central Africa region, 1.6 million new IDPs were recorded in
2021. Increased movements were mainly driven by escalating conflict in Burkina Faso and
Nigeria between government forces and non-state armed groups. Colombia still tops the list
with a total of6.8 million IDPs in need of humanitarian assistance.

Classification of Displaced Persons:

Refugee: it is the classification for someone who is forced to flee their country of origin due
to conflict, violence, or persecution. They are unwilling or unable to return based on a
demonstrable threat due to their race, religion, political stance, or social status. Because of
this, refugees receive a number of protections under international law, the most important
being non refoulement. This means that refugees have a right to be protected by the country
in which they seek asylum, and can’t be forced to return home. The 1951 Refugee
Convention also accords other rights including the rights to education, employment,
healthcare, and freedom of movement. However, there are some complications that come
with being a refugee as these are not always given to the people.

Asylum-seeker: It is the classification for someone who is seeking international protection

from danger in their country of origin, but whose claim for refugee status hasn’t been finally
decided. Every refugee begins as an asylum-seeker, but not every asylum-seeker will be
granted refugee
status.

Internally displaced person (or IDP) is the classification for someone who is seeking
refuge somewhere else within their own country as a result of conflict, epidemic, or natural
disaster. Their hope is to return home as soon as it is safe to do so.

Migrant is the classification for someone who is moving between temporary homes (within
their origin country or across international borders). This is different from an immigrant,
who makes the conscious decision to move and resettle in a new country. Migrants aren’t
forced to leave their country of origin due to violence, but often have just as urgent needs to
find a better future.
Some Important Treaty and Conventions:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) Article 14:

Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political
crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951):

This was the first international agreement covering the most fundamental aspects of a refugee’s
life. It spelt out a set of human rights that should be at least equivalent to freedoms enjoyed by
foreign nationals living legally in a given country and in many cases those of citizens of that state.
It recognized the international scope of refugee crises and necessity of international cooperation --
including burden-sharing among states -- in tackling the problem.

Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees

Removes the geographical and time limitations written into the original Refugee Convention under
which mainly Europeans involved in events occurring before 1 January 1951 could apply
for refugee status.

Geneva Convention of 1949

The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols is a body of Public International Law, also
known as the Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts, whose purpose is to provide minimum
protections, standards of humane treatment, and fundamental
guarantees of respect to individuals who become victims of armed conflicts. The Geneva
Conventions are a series of treaties on the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war (POWs) and
soldiers who are otherwise rendered Horsed combat (French, literally "outside the fight"), or
incapable of fighting.
Problems Faced by Refugees
• Difficulties obtaining legal recognition and personal documents. Refugee youths
stress the challenges, complexities, and delays in the processes of obtaining asylum and
related legal documents from UNHCR and/or local authorities, and the serious implications
of
not having them.
• Difficulty in accessing quality learning, education, and skills-building opportunities.
Young refugees consistently identify the difficulty of obtaining recognition for their
existing qualifications as a serious challenge. Accessing quality learning, formal education,
and
skill-building opportunities are also recurrent problems.
• Discrimination, racism, xenophobia, and "culture clash". Young refugees note that
discrimination, racism, and xenophobia across all regions leaves them feeling isolated and
marginalized.
• Few youth employment and livelihood opportunities.
• Refugee youths emphasize they would rather work than depend on humanitarian aid
and express frustration at the limited employment and livelihood opportunities available to
them.
• Gender inequality, discrimination, exploitation, and violence, including for LGBTI
youth.
Young refugees highlight concerns about gender inequality and discrimination as challenge in and
of themselves, but also as underlying causes of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence
(SGBV). This includes domestic violence, child and forced
marriage, sexual assault, and rape.
• Poor access to youth-sensitive healthcare, including psycho social support. Refugee
youths highlight a lack of access to quality health care as a major concern, and particularly
note the need for youth-sensitive sexual and reproductive health care and psycho social
support. •
Lack of safety, security, and freedom of movement.
Refugee youths express concern about safety, security, and freedom of movement linked to
xenophobia and their difficulty obtaining documents. In some locations, they also highlight police
harassment as well as arrest and detention. And many more.
CASE STUDIES:

Situation in Afghanistan:
Afghan refugees, after over four decades of protracted displacement, still constitute almost 15 % of
the global refugee population and one fifth of the world’ s protracted caseload. With almost 2.5
million registered refugees, Afghanistan remains the second largest country of refugee origin in the
world. While Afghan refugees are dispersed across more than 80 countries, an overwhelming 96%
of them continue to be hosted by just two countries – the Islamic Republics of Pakistan and Iran.
Additionally, according to estimates, there are 1.5 to 2 million undocumented Afghans in Iran and
between 1.2 – 1.4 million in Pakistan (which includes approximately 879,900 persons holding
Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) and between 300,000 – 500,000 undocumented persons). In 2022, it
is projected that the humanitarian situation will remain challenging and the potential for further
internally displacement and the need for Afghans to seek refuge outside of the country will
continue. If conditions across the country deteriorate further, so will conditions in areas of
displacement and return, putting increased pressure on shared resources which can lead to
absorption capacity issues, and worsening the already dire living conditions or forcing people to
resort to negative coping mechanisms such as borrowing money, selling assets, and child labour.
Thus, it is essential that communities have access to basic and essential services which are restored
and improved over time, including through cash grants to meet their immediate needs. Investments
in community facilities are critical to help stabilize the population and mitigate against further
displacement.

Israel-Palestine War:
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict in the Levant. The
dispute is between two distinct movements: Jewish Zionism and Palestinian nationalism, both
parties claiming the same territory. On October 7 2023, when Hamas, a Palestinian militant group
that controls the densely populated Gaza Strip along Israel’s border, launched an unprecedented
attack on Israel from Gaza it resulted in the tragic death of at least 700 Israelis, and the death toll
could rise further according to reports. Israeli forces are currently engaged in battles with militants
who are holed up in several locations.
Internally Displaces (IDPs) Palestine’s originating from that part of Palestine in which Israel was
established on 15 May 1948, Palestine IDPs who were displaced from their homes during the
1947-49 armed conflict, still remain inside the State of Israel and are unable to return to their
homes. International actors, including the United Nations, the European Union, and Russia, have
been involved in various peace initiatives. Despite numerous peace efforts, a lasting resolution to
the Israel-Palestine conflict remains challenging. Key obstacles include differing narratives,
security concerns, and competing claims to territory. The history of West Asia is unprecedented
and has the potential to spiral into a larger geopolitical crisis. This crisis could have far-reaching
implications, not only for Palestine and Israel but also for the entire region.
Situation in Bangladesh:
The Rohingya are a Muslim minority group who have lived for generations in Myanmar, formerly
known as Burma, in a mostly Buddhist country. Despite having lived in Myanmar for generations,
the Rohingya have been denied citizenship since 1982, making them the world's biggest stateless
population. It all began when the people of Rohingya were under a lot of distress, discrimination
and in a criminal atmosphere. Their largest exodus began in August 2017 after a massive wave of
violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, forcing more than 700,000 people - half of them
children - to seek refuge in Bangladesh. The overcrowding in the camps contributes to a wide
range of protection and security threats, including heightened risks of fire, flooding, landslides,
and disease outbreaks. The COVID-19 situation and reduced humanitarian footprint in the camps
has resulted in a deterioration in the protection environment for refugees. Closure of protection
services and facilities meant a reduction in safe spaces for children, women and girls. Specialized
care and support in a timely manner was not guaranteed for those who are most in need, including
elderly, persons with disabilities or medical conditions, vulnerable families (e.g., female headed
households), victims of violence and crimes (including trafficking, child protection, and gender-
based violence) and those requiring legal assistance, counselling and mediation.

Covid-19 and Refugees:

The corona virus pandemic (COVID-19) has spread across the world, infecting over 60 million
people and taking the lives of more than one million. The world’s 79.5 million people forced to
flee their homes due to conflict and persecution constitute one of the most vulnerable population
groups. Anyone can contract COVID-19 , but the pandemic has affected certain populations
disproportionately. Due to limited testing, the exact number of COVID-19 cases among people
forced to flee remains unknown. But in addition to the health threats, forcibly displaced people
have faced particularly difficult economic and social challenges associated with the pandemic. The
spread of COVID-19 has devastated many countries’ health and economic systems and disrupted
the education of more than a billion children. This has been particularly true for developing
countries, which host 85 per cent of the world’s refugee population. Providing forcibly displaced
people with adequate healthcare and maintaining their social and economic well being presents a
challenge for host countries and the international community Which has severely affected their:
Physical Health,
Economic inclusion Mental health, Access to asylum, Access to education.
What is considered to be valid evidence in the Model United
Nations?
1. News Sources:
a. REUTERS – Any Reuters article which clearly makes mention of the factor is in
contradiction of the fact being stated by a delegate in council ( http://www.reuters.com/
b. State-operated News Agencies – These reports can be used in the support of or
against the State that owns the News Agency.
2. Government Reports: These reports can be used in a similar way as the State Operated News
Agencies reports and can, in all circumstances, be denied by another country.
Government Websites like the State Department of the United States of America
(http://www.state.gov/index.htm ) or the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
(http://www.eng.mil.ru/en/index.htm )
.Ministry of Foreign Affairs of various nations like-:
India(http://www.mea.gov.in/ )
People’s Republic of China (http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/ ),
France (http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/ ),
Russian Federation (http://www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/main_eng ).
Permanent Representatives to the United Nations Reports
http://www.un.org/en/members/ (Click on any country to get the website of the Office of its
Permanent Representative)
Multilateral Organizations like the
NATO (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/index.htm ),
ASEAN (http://www.aseansec.org/), OPEC (http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/ ), etc.
3. UN Reports:
All UN Reports are considered credible information or evidence for the Executive Board of the
Security Council.
UN Bodies:
SC (http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/ ),
GA (http://www.un.org/en/ga/ ),
HRC (http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/HRCIndex.aspx ) etc. UN Affiliated
bodies
International Atomic Energy Agency (http://www.iaea.org/ ),
World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/ ),
International Monetary Fund (http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm ) ,
International Committee of the Red Cross (http://www.icrc.org/eng/index.jsp), etc. Treaty Based
Bodies
Antarctic Treaty System (http://www.ats.aq/e/ats.htm)
The International Criminal Court (http://www.icccpi.int/Menus/ICC).

Questions to consider:
• Why is the problem caused? what is the effect of the problem?
• How has covid-19 become a challenge?
• Current scenario of the problem effective solutions to the problem at hand
humanitarian, social, economic aspect of the problem.
• Should refugees be given equal status to that of every other citizen of the country
improvement in healthcare and education?