On Saturday, May 11, 2024 we had our Honors Model UN Session. It’s a special session that’s invite only. Students who have participated and really put in the extra effort in some of the other General Assemblies come together to focus on solving one big problem. This year, they were tasked with writing a Bill of Rights for Refugees and for Host Countries. Here are the results from that session.
Group A, Rights for Refugees:
- Refugees have the right to a safe haven, including staying with their family and equal treatment to the citizens of the host nation.
YES: 38 NO: 5 PASSED! 😊
- Refugees have the right to participate in society, if qualified, such as jobs, education, community service programs.
YES: 35 NO: 8 PASSED! 😊
- Refugees have the right to protest, lobby, challenge, or advocate for better rights.
YES: 30 NO: 13 PASSED! 😊
Group B, Rights for Refugees:
- Refugees have the right to fulfillment of their basic needs: education, clean water, health care, work opportunities, utilities, food.
YES: 39 NO: 4 PASSED! 😊
- Refugees have the right to respect, regardless of ethnicity, language, origin of religion, in the form of:
- Citizenship by country standards
- Citizenship maintained in home country
- Recognition under the UN
YES: 37 NO: 5 PASSED! 😊
- Refugees have the right to safe movement between home and host countries and within a host country.
YES: 32 NO: 12 PASSED! 😊
Group C, Rights for Host Countries:
- Countries have the right to turn away criminals with a conviction of manslaughter, human trafficking, abuse, if said offense was carried out within the last eight years without serving the due service.
YES: 42 NO: 1 Passed! 😊
- Countries have the right not to have hostile actions taken against them by an outside entity on the basis of the host country taking in refugees.
YES: 29 NO: 14 Passed! 😊
- Countries have the right to relocate refugees to countries other than their previous country, if they are not lawfully employed after 13 years of living in the new country, if they have been over the age of 18 for 13 or more years.
YES: 11 NO: 31 Did not pass. ☹
Group D, Rights for Host Countries:
- Countries have the right to know why the refugees are leaving their home country and to check the backgrounds of the refugees as they see fit.
YES: 43 NO: 0 PASSED 😊
- Countries have the right to decide where the refugees move within the country and decide what jobs the refugees have, depending on the skill of the refugee.
YES: 0 NO: 43 DID NOT PASS ☹
- Countries have the right to try and deport refugees who engage in criminal activities depending on the severity of the crime.
YES: 34 NO: 9 PASSED 😊
FINAL VOTE: PASSED! 😊
Honors General Assembly Priority Action Plan:
We want delegate input! According to you/your country, what should the UN focus their work on in the next 12 months?
YOU GET 2 VOTES
IDEAS:
- Preventing and stopping genocide (Canada and Denmark and South Korea) 25—Second Priority
- World Security/Preventing World War/Promoting peace (Nigeria and Iceland) 30—Top Priority
- Stop World Hunger (Ireland) 3
- Helping Citizens living in horrible conditions with no place to go/live, i.e. Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine (United Kingdom) 5
- Stop Human Trafficking (Poland) 1
- Address Climate Change/Environmental problems (Canada) 22
