Refugee, Displacement, and Threats to International Security

Gahr High School Model United Nations

April 2016- Novice Committee Topic Synopsis
I. Background
Unrest in the Syria has been developing since March 2011, leading to the displacement of
tens of thousands of civilians. Unprecedented numbers of migrants and asylum seekers traveled
by sea to European shores in 2015. By November, over 800,000 refugees had reached Italy and
Greece, with a small amount arriving in Spain and Malta. The UNHCR reported that 84 percent
originate of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, and Iraqall countries
experiencing conflict, widespread violence, or repressive governments. Deteriorating security
and poverty in Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sudan have also contributed to the migrant influx. EU
member states that suffered the most from the economic crisis, like Greece and Italy, have also
served as entry points for migrants and refugees due to their location regarding the crisis.
Shifting migratory patterns over the past year have also exposed Central European countries like
Hungary, situated on the EU's eastern border, to a sharp increase in refugees seeking asylum.
II. UN Involvement
The United Nations and humanitarian partners issued an appeal in March 2012 for $84
million to support Syrian refugees. The Syria Regional Response Plan outlines current and future
needs for about 100,000 Syrian refugees over the course of six months. Led by UNHCR, the plan
was the result of a coordinated effort between several UN agencies, 27 national and international
NGOs, and the governments of nations that would host these refugees. In addition to the this
program, UNHCR has proposed a number of measures to help European governments resolve
the crisis, including strong European support for the immediate creation of facilities in Greece to
receive, assist, and register refugees arriving by sea. It also called for the commencement of the
relocation of 40,000 refugees to participating EU countries, as previously agreed, to be expanded
with voluntary pledges from European nations for an additional 120,000 locations.
III. Questions to Consider
1. How can these European nations, along with other developed nations, combat the
growing influx of refugees?
2. What security threat does this refugee crisis pose for the nations hosting refugees?
3. What can the security council do to remedy the security threats European nations might
face?
4. What has your country proposed to solve the possible security threats that have risen
from this crisis?
5. What role does your country play in this crisis?
6. How has the recent attack in Paris affected the perception of refugees in European
nations?
7. Could this attack be an indicator of the mobilization of jihadists posing as refugees?
IV. Helpful Links
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868
http://www.cfr.org/migration/europes-migration-crisis/p32874
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51874#.VsTlHuvSnIU

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52055#.VsTljevSnIU
Open Agenda
Gahr High School Model United Nations
April 2016-Advanced Committee Topic Synopsis
I. Introduction
Although our advanced committees are open agenda, we have provided a few topics for your
consideration in the hope that this may initiate a more focused debate.
II. North Korea
North Korea has been serving under a totalitarian dictatorship and has been investigated for
violating Human Rights for many years. The internal conflict of citizens against the government
and the external conflict of problematic situations between countries causes a continuous set of
issues. In 2009, North Korea declared they had developed nuclear, chemical, and biological
weapons. It reported successful tests of an estimated forty kilotons worth of nuclear material and
give no inclination to stop stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. North Korea is no longer a
party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and continues to impose military threats to nearby
countries. Moreover, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea has proven their reluctance to
conform to international authority. The United Nations Security Council has adopted four major
resolutions since 2006 that impose and strengthen sanctions on North Korea for continuing to
develop its nuclear weapons program and call on Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear program in
a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner" and refrain from ballistic missile tests. While
legally binding, states are prohibited from using force to carry out the obligations of the
resolutions. The resolutions call upon North Korea to rejoin the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT), which it acceded to in 1985 but withdrew from in 2003 after U.S. allegations that the
country was pursuing an illegal uranium enrichment program. To this date, UN Security Council
resolutions have been largely unsuccessful in preventing North Korea from advancing its nuclear
weapons and ballistic missile programs, although the sanctions have slowed development in
these areas.
Helpful Links:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15256929
https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/UN-Security-Council-Resolutions-on-North-Korea
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/dprk-north-korea/
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/north-korea
III. Boko Haram
Boko Haram is a Nigerian insurgent group that terrorizes citizens of the populous nation.
Beginning in 2003 with a young preacher named Mohammed Yusuf, Boko Haram began to
emerge with a group of similar Sunni Islamists in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Boko Haram claims to be
a group of People Committed to the Prophets Teachings for Propagation and Jihad, and have
forbidden Western education, along with many civil rights of their people. Boko Haram has
carried out violent acts consistently since its emergence, but the biggest case took place in 2013
in a series of horrendous school attacks that killed young boys. The group was also reported to
have kidnapped girls and women, who would be raped and become wives. Boko Haram has an
umbrella-like structure, where the top of their chain of command holds the most organization and
power. Due to this, it is nearly impossible to locate and accurately capture each perpetrator of
this terrorist group. They are mainly financed through ransom demands, bank robberies, and

possibly mass raids or even political funding. The goals of the group are centered and pertain to
the local areas (Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon); however, their demands include the creation of
an Islamic State. The United Nations Human Rights experts have called for camps, both formal
and informal, where the Nigerian Government can allow for displaced persons to return, once the
area has been liberated from the Boko Haram forces. The UN experts also stressed that
countering terrorism and addressing the Boko Haram threat will require more than military
action, and urged the authorities to publicly pledge to hold to account all those who have
committed human rights violations including, but not limited to, Boko Haram. This conflict has
forced more than 2.5 million people to flee their homes, and caused over 2.1 million people to
become displaced within the country.
Helpful Links:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/boko-haram/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13809501
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/22/world/africa/nigeria-violence/
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52166#.VsTpZuvSnIU
IV. Situation in Libya
Intense fighting among rival armed groups in Libya's eastern towns of Benghazi and Derna, as
well as in the country's southeast at Ubari and in the west at Kikla, is fueling a displacement
crisis. At least 106,420 people have fled their homes in the past month alone, meaning that
displacement amid the violence since May now exceeds 393,400 people. Insecurity meanwhile is
hampering humanitarian operations. Aid agencies are still trying to calculate the true scale of
internal displacement. Libya's displaced are scattered across 35 towns and cities, and are in dire
need of shelter, health care, food, water and other basic commodities. The fighting has been
fiercest in Benghazi, from where people have fled to the nearby towns of Al Marj, Ajdabiya, Al
Bayda, and Misrata. During times of conflict, refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants are often
viewed with suspicion and suffer from animosity towards all foreigners. With no alternatives,
many have irregularly departed by boats to Europe. So far this year, more than 156,000 have
arrived in Italy over 85 per cent departing from Libya. The Security Council today extended
the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) until 15 March 2016,
while underscoring that there can be no military solution to the ongoing political crisis. In a
unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member body called for an immediate and
unconditional ceasefire in the North African nation, which has been plagued by factional
fighting since the 2011 revolution and where situation has continued to deteriorate in recent
months amid significant political fragmentation and violence.
Helpful Links:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13755445
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/20/world/libya-civil-war-fast-facts/
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/20/world/libya-civil-war-fast-facts/
http://unsmil.unmissions.org/

V. Refugee Displacement and Threats to International Security

Conflict in Syria since 2011 has led to the displacement of thousands of civilians that are trying
to escape the violence from opposing forces between the government controlled military forces
and groups of Syrian rebels. Unprecedented numbers of migrants and asylum seekers traveled by
sea to European shores in 2015. According to UNHCR 84 percent originate from Syria,
Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, and Iraq. All of these countries are currently experiencing
conflict, widespread violence and insecurity, or highly repressive governments. European
countries like Italy and Greece, as well as other nations like Hungary have received a large influx
of refugees because of where they are positioned during this crisis. The thousands of refugees
have led to conflict between European nations over the possible security threats that the refugees
may cause. Some nations, such as Germany, have been more than willing to accept thousands of
refugees but other nations such as France have been reluctant to house refugees in response to
the Paris attacks that led to the death of about 130 people.
Helpful Links:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868
http://www.cfr.org/migration/europes-migration-crisis/p32874
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34821813
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/22/europe/refugee-crisis-what-happened-whats-next/