Committee​: UNHRC Advanced

Topic​: Human Rights of Refugees

Country​: Russian Federation

Background:
Refugees are those that seek asylum in foreign nations to escape the havoc running
through theirs. Often, in countries where refuge is sought, a sense of national pride and
superiority arises as they forget the definition of humanity and replace it with race. As an
expected result, human rights, though guaranteed to everyone by the United Nations, are
blatantly denied to these unfortunate people. In fact, just in 2020, nearly 80 million people were
wrongly displaced. Around 42 million are internally displaced, meaning the countries they reside
within have wrongly shifted these people. While 67% originate from the countries of Syria,
Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar, there are countries holding nearly half of these
refugees. 39% being stored in Turkey, Colombia, Pakistan, Uganda, and Germany. With the
recent conditions of rapidly spreading COVID-19 and declining economies, the priorities for
these refugees were even more greatly skewed. 167 countries have been estimated to close their
borders to contain the spread while 57 are not making any exceptions for refugees. Though this
panicked state of mind is understandable, it is causing the return of asylum seekers to their own
country or to another that continues to pose a threat to their freedoms and lives.

UN/International Involvement:
Seeking refuge and being denied the opportunity has been an issue for hundreds of years.
So common that, literally 6 years after the creation of the United Nations, the 1951 Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees was introduced and ratified. This specifically exercises the
existence of non-refoulement, or a Country's obligation to not return their refugees to the country
of distress, that is still present today. In fact, considering this specific piece is so closely
intertwined with the international humanitarian law, it appears in Article 3 in the Convention of
Torture. Oftentimes, since some areas are more problematic than others, the United Nation
allocates specific committees to keep an eye on the locations and aid the refugees within its
borders. An example would be the United Nations Works and Relief Agency for Palenstine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This agency was started in 1949 and began by helping
750,000 refugees. Since the problem of Israel and Palestine has yet to cease existence, the
committee still exists; carrying out reforms with a worth of almost 300$ million altogether.
Though the United Nations has done much to aid countries in accepting new refugees, it can do
little to ensure the treatment of said refugees without international support. The 30 international
laws created by the United Nations Human Rights Council are the ones that multiple conventions
had agreed to adhere to.

Country Policy:
Russia’s position in granting refuge and refugee status has been heavily regarded by other
countries due to its complicated process, unwillingness to accept asylum seekers. However,
considering the sheer size of Russia, the amount of countries this causes them to border and their
consistent battle with the immgration statuses, the definition of refugee has seemingly been
misused. This the precise reason why there are currently an estimated one million undocumented
refugees. The Russian Federation’s Law on Refugees defines the refugee to be those who are in
danger of returning to their country due to fear of persecution based on certain things. Due to this
specific definition and Russia’s huge border, the numbers of their intake is largely skewed. In
Russia, refugees and stateless persons are aided by granting political and temporary asylum as
well as recognizing refugee status. Though there are continuous cases every day, Russia’s
coronavirus spread is slow enough to the point where restrictions are being raised. This great
sign will allow those being burdened by the restrictions to be able to locate means of survival.
Russia has not closed borders for refugees despite the conditions the country is facing.

Solutions:
As the Russian Federation, finding a suitable solution to accommodate the rights of
refugees is extremely important. Especially in these trying times, turning away refugees is a
terrible decision. Violence has been surging repeatedly and denying asylum seekers or
preventing their food/grants rights within countries is horrendous. Therefore, Russia purposes the
idea of creating a refugee specific committee in each country that targets domestic refugees. This
will be a two part committee named Integration & Resources for Refugees (IRFR): one side
focusing on integration (I) and other on correctly allocating resources (R).
For the countries that are reluctant to let asylum seekers in, Russia proposes the idea of
creating safe houses and allowing testing/quarantine for people. Accepting vaccinated and tested
refugees into the country is not going to speed the spread of the virus. In order to aid the
necessary spike of materials and supply, funding can be crafted by the creation of a United
Nations branch. Vaccinations are already being supplied internationally by multiple countries
and refugees should be put in the top list after health care and elder folks. It would be more
efficient to send these refugees to countries with less cases and give them the necessary survival
items before relocating them once the pandemic is stabilized. Refusing treatment of these people
who have no home to return to is a downright violation of human rights, especially when agreed
to protect them in multiple treaties. This specific part of the solution reinforces the human rights
of: having the right to life and the right to seek a safe place to live.
The second part of this solution arises from pulling aid from NGOs and donations to
allow more money to flow to the people suffering. Since organizations such as WHO will be
focused on providing the adequate vaccinations, expanding branches is crucial. To prevent unfair
use of money by the governments themselves, a team supervised by UNHCR will handle direct
funding and distribution of resources. This team will also allow any protests or inhumane actions
taken by the government to be reported.
Countries who fail to abide by this temporary solution will be sanctioned for their
disobedience. In a time already facing economic hardships, strain on trade ties will serve to be
extremely effective. Those who cannot host refugees due to high amounts of cases shall play
their part by 1) treating already existent refugees with equality to their citizens and 2) donating to
the countries who can take in refugees. For the countries that cannot have the IRFR established,
another division within the same branch of UNHCR, overlooked by UNHRC, will overlook the
financial attributes. Monthly reports will be required to make sure there is no unfair discrepancy.
These last two parts address the human rights violations of: no discriminating, human rights are
protected by law, and the right to make sure another man’s rights are not violated.
Works Cited

1) “COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE.” ​OHCHR,​

www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cat/pages/catindex.aspx.
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees_and_asylum_in_Russia.
3) “Refugees.” ​United Nations​, United Nations,
www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/refugees/.
4) Roudik, Peter; Yatsunska. ​Refugee Law and Policy: Russian Federation​, 1 Mar. 2016,
www.loc.gov/law/help/refugee-law/russianfederation.php.
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OHCHR​,
www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25762&LangID=E.
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ghts-refugee-rights-coronavirus-pandemic.html.
8) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Refugee Statistics.” ​UNHCR​,
www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/.
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