Oliver Shen
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
The Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees
McGill Model United Nations Conference at Montreal was a lot of fun! I got to know so many people from different schools (Harvard, Columbia, MIT, West Point, Air Force Academy, and Venezuela)! I also got to learn so much about UN procedures and topics on refugees. Georgetown was the biggest winner in this conference, then George Washington. But congrats to our NGO delegation, Medecins Sans Frontieres, for winning the best NGO delegation out of 10 NGOs! You all deserved it!
But... the debates and resolution papers were a bit off topic :S
Like, what does sustainable development, micro-finance, and vocational training have to do with rising food prices on refugees? Just supply more so the prices will get down! Well, it got so off topic that I didn't contribute a lot in the debates.
Nevertheless, it was fun. I only slept about 4 hours a night because of the parties. Got back to hotel at 4:00 and wake up at 8:00 because committee sessions started at 9:00.
Some people in my committee will be going to Netherlands too in March! Can't wait to see them again!
:D
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well...i don't really know exactly what happened at the conference but I would argue that sustainable development and microfinance has a lot to do with rising food prices on refugees...
ReplyDeletethe traditional belief and method of food dumping on a needy region as an acceptable mode of aid has begun a contentious topic in recent years. of course, in certain emergency situations (aka mass famine or natural disasters) where speed is imperative and other factors are already to dismal to be considered, yes. direct provision of food aid is the only choice.
however, if the prices of food is rising in a developing state, simply giving foreign aid might exacerbate the situation. yes, the prices will go down since supply will meet (or exceed) demand. however, the deflation of currency value might also result which leads to the further improvishment of the people due to decreased buying power (ie. zimbabwe). in the long term, this method is not sustainable for development as it is a "band-aid" solution.
micro-finance (which is actually also quite a contestable method) may, theoretically, enable the locality to build economic stability from the bottom up. with stability comes stable prices and stable currencies. it also removes some dependence on foreign imports or aid which is often detrimental to local producers.
bottom line, I think the reason micro-finance and vocational training were brought up is because both are related to sustainable development. And without sustainable development, giving food aid (which might range from expired food stuffs unwanted by developed states to unsuitable food not accepted by the culture) is only temporary, and does not address the underlining causes of rising food prices - one of many indicators of instability and lower standards of living.
of course, all of this depends on the context. who the refugees are, where they are located, the conditions of the country etc etc. nothing in development can be subscribed to a one-size-fit-all solution and be expected to meet 100% success.
there's much to say of this topic as you probably know...development is a much debated topic with very few actual solutions as demonstrated by its many precedence (IMF/World Bank's SAPs failed, good governance mandate also failed...).
By all means, I agree, but as a committee focused on refugees, I, along with other countries, felt that some of the resolutions mentioned in our resolution paper were somewhat infringing the powers and purposes of other committees, such as those of UNDP, UNCSD, and CSTD. That's the main reason why I felt it was off topic. We couldn't just tell countries to build wind turbines or sustainable development projects since that's far from our purpose/mission and powers.
ReplyDeleteyup. that's true. like i said, i didnt really know the whole scope of the debate. i was simply reacting to your comment about "Just supply more so the prices will get down!"...which is quite debatable, haha.
ReplyDeletei understand what you mean about the infringement of authority and judging by what you're saying, the debate probably did go way off topic...but refugee issues are intrinsically tied to the purposes of other committees such as the UNDP which is probably which those other delegates got over-excited eh? :P
glad to hear you had fun though! wish i was there though i probably would have been too intimidated to say much (i barely say anything in tutorials as it is haha).
have fun in the netherlands!! so envious >< hehe.
You two's professional discussion nearly put me off in this simple comment of...
ReplyDeleteREMEMBER THE NON-DANCE PARTY WE HAD WHERE WE MADE QUITE AN EXIT TO OUR ABSENCE THAT NIGHT OF MUN PARTY??
that's it.
I thought it was splendid.
Jenny: I know, the issues of refugees are so linked with different issues that it's kind of hard to separate them! Okay yea, food security affects EVERYONE, but when it comes down to government solutions, refugees aren't treated the same due to their status. (Quite frankly, the other issue was on the legal protection of refugees, which I pushed really HARD for it, but I couldn't believe my committee voted to table it! I was so MAD.) And during the debates, a lot of delegates were proposing resolutions as if refugees share the same status as citizens, which is not true at all! That was a bit frustrating.
ReplyDeleteRuby: Um, I was never part of MUN back in high school, lol! Frankly, I was rejected by McCoskey during the application. Twice. But nevertheless I'm still enjoying MUN!
NETHERLANDS, NETHERLANDS, NETHERLANDS, NETHERLANDS!!!!!
Ruby:
ReplyDeleteHAHA.
I REMEMBER THAT.
we "danced" at the table...ahhh...good times.
Oliver:
Oy that sucks. I totally agree that refugees can't be considered a normal citizen. I mean, they're involuntarily displaced by life-threatening crises...it's not exactly a normal situation eh? Legal protection is definitely relevant, and definitely necessary.