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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

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Promoting one of the key factors in modern national and international development, gender equality and empowerment of women is the center topic of UNCSW. Identifying challenges, analyzing them for being able to formulate the solutions for a 

The Official CCBMUN will be covering two topics, 'Refugee crisis in Western Africa as a consequence of the Burkina Faso armed conflict' and 'Gaza Refugee Situation'.

more equitable world, is just one of the many characteristics present in this commission. 

Topics

Model 

Topic 1: Refugee crisis in Western Africa as a consequence of the Burkina Faso armed conflict

Topic 2: Gaza Refugee Situation

Presidents

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Screen Shot 2020-11-27 at 9.44.59 a.m..p

President: Mariantonia Botero

School: Colegio Colombo Británico 

President: Juan Andrés Quintero 

School: Colegio Colombo Británico 

Hello delegates!

 

Our names are Mariantonia Botero and Juan Andres Quintero, and we are honored to be this year's United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees presidents. We have been participating in CCBMUN for many years, and we can certainly say that it is an amazing experience. You will be able to learn a lot of new things and to meet people from different schools, which will make this a once in a lifetime opportunity. 
 

We encourage you to participate in UNHCR as many interesting global issues will be discussed, and you will be able to reach your full potential in this commission. The UNHCR is a global organization which is dedicated to saving the lives and protecting the rights of refugees worldwide. As your presidents, we have made the commitment to help you whenever necessary. We look forward to seeing you at CCBMUN XVIII! 

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CCBMUNXVIII

Day 1

By: Catalina Gómez Torres

Today in the UNHCR (United Nations  High Commissioner for Refugees) the refugee crisis in Western Africa as a consequence of the Burkina Faso armed conflict, was the main topic of discussion. Throughout the day, delegates will be sharing their positions towards this crisis and hopefully propose and discuss different solutions to fight it, to later on agree in an action plan to help with this situation and therefore avoid having similar crises in the future.

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The day began with the opening speeches, in which every delegate stated their position towards the position to this  current situation. The delegation of Palestine stated that this problematic should be solved in an urgent manner; Turkey mentioned that they were willing to collaborate, help to encounter any terrorist attack against civilians, and mentioned that it was important to give any help needed regardless of what it implied, because as stated before, this was now a topic of priority. The delegation of Burkina also mentioned that “it is imminent to fight this crisis”, and therefore the United States said that every country that had the chance and opportunity to help, should do anything on their hands, which is why the country is willing to contribute with monetary resources.

Further on, the agenda contributed with an half an hour debate, in which Burkia made a remionder to all delegations that these refugees should be their priority, and it was essential to take into account that they have humans rights; they have the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression and also the right to work and all be educated, and no one should be descriminated. Nigeria mentioned that the most important objective is to preserve the life of the refugees and therefore ask other commissions that have a high monetary income to help with the cause.

 

After a brief break, the debate continued with the United Kingdom mentioning that in order to find a solution, it was important to analyze the state in which the refugees were currently found. This way, it would be possible to decide how education could be provided. Nigeria, on the other hand, said that the long term solution would be to provide security to Western Africa, in order to eliminate the problem to its root. Palestine then made an intervention to remember all delegations that there are a lot of other issues that doesn't have to do with violence that should be addressed, such as the necessities the refugees have that doesn't necessarily have to do with security, reason why, the solutions given by the previous country should be mainly focused on the rights of these individuals and the education they receive. 

 

Furthermore, the delegation also mentioned that the solutions given in this commission should be focused mainly on the wellbeing of the refugees instead of being based on military strategies. Nigeria gave an immediate answer to this intervention, saying that it was concerning the different countries from the commission that were avoiding security issues, where the ones with more problems regarding this issue. The Republic of Mali disagreed with Palestine and supported Nigeria with the idea that security should be considered as an essential factor to improve the living conditions of the refugees. The United States also believed that in this case safety should be addressed, and that it would benefit the refugees in the long term. The United Kingdom also acknowledged that one of the main causes of  displacement in these regions has a strong connection with the arm conflict.

 

The delegation of Burkina Faso was called to improve the security of the country by other delegations, and the answer this country gave highlighted the other important aspects regarding the wellbeing of the refugees that are being left aside, because most countries in the commission are concentrating only on security. There are also children that should be educated and women that should be protected from descrimination, reason why, security should not be the only solution or focus of the debate; there are other social issues that have been affecting the crisis. 

Day 2

By: Catalina Gómez Torres

Today, the day started with a debate in which the comissions discussed some of the proposals stated in the resolution papers shown yesterday. The delegation of Mali started explaining why the 3 step resolution that was proposed, was the most accurate to follow, as it showed a clear action plan, which is essential because without a plan, a long term solution would not be viable. Mali also stated that without gender equality, a stable government wouldn't be able to exist. The United States also supported this 3 step action, mentioning that although they are not looking for an utopian Burkina, it was important to do anything on their hands to help. The country also said that even though gender equality and education was important for the refugees, it was even more important to focus prioritarily on the health, shelter and food they received. 

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Burkina Faso stated that gender equality is not important to solve the refugee crisis, because there were bigger issues like women being harassed and who didn't have any sanitary resources, as well as all the families that had been turned down several opportunities and a proper way of living. The delegation said that if this commission wanted development to come, then they would need to tackle all the problems that are facing women and the communities, as they are equally relevant.

 

Burkina mentioned that it was never a waste of time to give the refugees a prosperous life, and also that the country didn't support the plan that the US and the UK, because it wasn't considered a good approach. Instead, Palestine urges other delegations present to join this resolution as this would help a lot of refugees' lives; money support is essential to keep working and helping them. Nigeria then stated once again that Burkina´s economy and security was a big problem, reason why this is something that had to be worked on. 

 

After this quick debate, the delegates had a lobby time and then discussed the resolutions. The resolution 1.1 was Nigeria, the United States, Mali, France, the United Kingdom and Israel. The resolution 1.2 was Palestine, Burkina Faso and Germany. Finally, the first resolution was tabled down due to the amount of amendments.

After this quick debate, the delegates had a lobby time and then discussed the resolutions. The resolution 1.1 was Nigeria, the United States, Mali, France, the United Kingdom and Israel. The resolution 1.2 was Palestin, Burkina Faso and Germany. Finally, the first resolution was tabled down due to the amount of amendments. 

 

The second topic had to do with the Gaza refugee situation. Currently, it has been increasingly difficult for resources to enter this region, because the current political situation has been extremely difficult, and only a few countries have been willing to help with the refugee crisis, and even less have been willing to open their borders to allow humanitarian aid to pass through. A lot of the refugees have been abandoned without the essential resources to live.

 

During the debate after the position papers, Burkina stated that the US had been pressuring Palestine way too much, and invited all the delegations to consider leaving all their differences behind so they could think clearly about a way to solve this problem. Mali fully supported the state of Israel with the idea to aid the Palestinians, and Nigeria proposed as a solution the creation of a diplomatic and a safe corridor for humanitarian aid. The delegation also understood the position of Israel and the US, therefore encouraged a cease of fire in Palestine. In return, Palestine accepted the safe corridor and the humanitarian aid, and therefore agreed to try to cease fire since the arm groups were very hard to control. Burkina also proposed a series of solutions, like distributing sanitarian kids for women, having medical and security officers keeping an eye on the refugees to avoid violence and security problems, and finally having an integration protocol, in which women were able to re-integrate themselves to society. The UK had participated in solutions regarding aid packages to help keep children in classrooms, and giving Palestinians shelter and food for their families. 

CCBMUNXVII

Simulation Day

Make America Great Again!

By: Macarena Suso

“(UNHCR) was created in 1950, during the aftermath of the Second World War, to help millions of Europeans who had fled or lost their homes” basically, the function of the UNHCR is the protection of displaced refugees in the world. But, is it wrong to protect your own citizens?

Immigration has been a huge questionable issue in the United States. Currently, immigration in the US has been directed by three federal agencies: governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): Supervises lawful immigration. The United States Government has recently declared an immigration crisis in the entering through the borders, regarding the undocumented immigrants who live in the States and the undocumented immigrants crossing the border. 

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President Donald Trump has been one of the strongest advocates against immigration into the US, forcing these laws to be enforced even more. It is unlikely that the delegations reach a suitable solution in which all of them or even most can agree upon. 

Day 1

 The united Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

By: Catalina Gomez

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, also known as UNHCR, will deal with the topic of  Rohingya Muslim refugee crisis in Bangladesh, for the first day of the MUNCCB model. This topic mainly argues how Myramar is discriminating a group of people for their  ethnic minority, and consequently sending them to Bangladesh. 

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Today’s debate in Cali, Colombia, began with the opening speeches, in which every delegate stated their position towards the position to this  current situation. After opening agenda, there as an informal debate for half an hour. Delegates such as Bangladesh and Kenya started debating with an emphasis on the human rights, as they felt this situation is discriminatory since refugees were not currently respected in Bangladesh. Further on, Myanmar proposed to send all of the reginga refugees to an island and Bangladesh supported this idea by making houses and roads. Nevertheless, other delegations showed disagreement about this idea, since this two delegations would be wanting to send away all of the refugees to an insecure place, where floods are very common and they would have to live is worst conditions compared to the rest of the population. This delegations proposed that the solution was to give monetary resources to a single government that can recognize diversity in religions, to receive this refugees. After the informal debate ended, there was a lobby time for approximately 15 minutes, in which delegations had to gather together to talk about their positions

Delegates such as Francia, Nicaragua, United Kingdom and United Kingdom show a clear purpose to help the refugees along the debate. Myanmar, China and Russia state that they are not going to be responsible for the refugees as they decided to leave their native country thanks to a reality that does not involve them. Further on, the delegate representing the Rohingya, say that for agreeing to anything 4 different requirements, which are the following:  get their nationality, the respect and fulfillment of their human rights, the possibility to practice their religion and to not be abused by their countries. to practice their religion. When finding a solution to the problem, Bangladesh says that the country is willing to help the Rohingya, but if the groups guerrillas doesn't go to their territory. 

Day 3

Violations to the Right to a Nationality

By: Catalina Gomez

The topic “Violations to the right to a nationality” will be used for the second day of the CCBMUN model in The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, also known as UNHCR. This topic mainly argues about how nationality is a right every human being have, but still is not respected in numerous countries. As the debate started, each delegation started to show their strong and defined positions.

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Brazil, mentions that the denial of a nationality should be illegal. Bangladesh states how everyone needs to have a nationality but still there are estimated 10 million individuals who have no protection, and does not belong anywhere. The delegation also incriminated Myanmar, Pakistan and India for discriminating genders and sending away those people to their own territory, which is not longer going to receive this people. The delegation of the United Kingdom and El Salvador identifies nationality as basic as breathing, just like Palestine, who says that it's incredible how still some delegations violate such a basic human right, and that is not afraid of exposing all of them. Saudi Arabia ask for the help of other countries to find different solutions. As a consequence, the Rohingya representative suggests the following plan of action: First, to solve the existing cases of stateless (Nubians and Rohingya). Second, to ensure that any child in the world is born without a nationality. Third, to eradicate any kind of discrimination in the nationality laws. Fourth, to suggest and look for the subscription of all the members of the UN, to all the international laws that talk about this topic and firth and last, to create an statute for all the migrants that are stateless, while they get their nationality.    

 

Currently, a final solution hasn't been stated, although most delegates think this is a viable way to eliminate the problem from the root.  

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