Co-submitters are any delegates who have either participated in the construction of this resolution (e.g. merging, contributing clauses) or alternatively have signed that they would like to see this resolution debated in committee.

FORUM: The Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee

THE QUESTION OF: Ensuring healthy conditions in slums/refugee camps

SUBMITTED BY: Ireland

CO-SUBMITTED BY: Sweden, Croatia, Malta, Rep of Turkey, India, Czech Republic, Chile, Spain, Vietnam, Denmark, Austria,


THE SOCIAL HUMANITARIAN AND CULTURAL COMMITTEE,

Defining refugees as someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion" according to "The 1951 Refugee Convention is a key legal document,

Fully aware of the fact that approximately 79.5 million people were living in refugee camps as of April 30 2021, and those numbers are due to have risen due to the crisis in Ukraine, meaning that conditions should be altered to accommodate such large numbers,

Stressing the fact that refugees tend to have lower health indicators than the communities from which they come, and are usually in poorer health shortly after arriving in the host country and fully dependent on foreign assistance, and therefore are at the highest risk of death from diarrheal diseases, measles, acute respiratory illnesses and malnutrition,

Concerned about the situation at least 82.4 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes and among them are nearly 26.4 million refugees, around half of whom are under the age of 18,

Emphasizing the fact that 80% of refugees are hosted by countries neighboring their countries of origin, including some of the world's poorest countries which host one third of all refugees, and only 16% of the world's refugees are hosted in the rich and developed parts of the world,

Concerned by classificatory difficulties within the legal category of refuge are also trapped by the limits imposed by its differentiation from other migratory experiences,

Aware of refugees a challenge that has inaugurated various classification mechanisms based on what they call the "humanitarian paradigm",

Alarmed by the context of high demand and under a paradigm that promotes the idea of ??emergency, based on concepts such as "refugee crisis",

Further Defining slums or refugee camps according to the UN as one or a group of individuals living under the same roof in an urban area, lacking in one or more of the following five amenities": 1) Durable housing (a permanent structure providing protection from extreme climatic conditions); 2) Sufficient living area (no more than three people sharing a room); 3) Access to improved water (water that is sufficient, affordable, and can be obtained without extreme effort); 4) Access to improved sanitation facilities (a private toilet, or a public one shared with a reasonable number of people); and 5) Secure tenure,

1.Encourages all United Nations Member States to ensure both the mental and physical health of people staying in refugee camps by:
a) encouraging host nations to make every effort both political and economical to allow refugees to feel welcome in their host country
b) ensuring opportunities for all people of different ages and genders at the camp by being provided with the same resources which allow refugees to obtain a minimum wage job or a job suited for their education

c) ensuring that mental health and psychosocial support is made available to all refugees through the likes of prescribed medication and qualified therapists

2. Calls for all of the member countries to be able to control diseases in refugee camps by
calls upon member nations to carry out actions to improve the current conditions of slum/refugee camps such as but not limited to:
a) monitoring hygiene to prevent the spread of disease,
b) analyzing disease statuses of both present and former refugees,
c) ensuring good quality regular meals that are balanced and would thus produce good physical condition in refugees,
d) providing adequate clean running water to supply all refugees residing within camp, as recommended by the UNHCR's,
e) supplying electricity to all refugees living in slum/refugee camps that can be used for reasons of lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, etc.,

f) removing wire fencing from slum/refugee camps,

g) improving the sleeping conditions of the current scout-style tents refugees are currently sleeping in by issuing them with emergency tents of higher quality that offer protection against wind, rain, insects, and privacy;

3. Proposes the creation of a new UN sub-body, the United Nations Census Of Refugee Deaths in Slums (UNCORDS) which would count the number of deaths in slums and other shelters annually and compare them to those of previous years to determine whether the death toll is increasing or decreasing and to further take action in cooperation with the UNHCR to locate and amend the issues contributing to any alarming high death tolls;

4. Advocates the creation of a new fund, operated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), who's duties would include but not be limited to:
a) independently and fairly determining how much each member state should invest in this funds,
b) investing in and running programs that assist with the learning of new languages and skills,
c) managing educational campaigns to remove the social stigma around refugees;

5. Further calls for a mass media campaign led by the UN to all of the countries which accept refugees across all these areas defined above including but not limited to posters, ad campaigns and flyers which would cover:
a) encouraging good hygiene practices, including hand washing, which can be achieved by individuals,
a) proper cleaning of food preparation surfaces and eating areas to prevent vermin, mass food poisoning.