UNHCR 2
Countering toxic narratives about refugees and migrants
About the UNHCR committee:
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the leading global agency for the
protection of people fleeing conflict and persecution. UNHCR was established in 1950, originally to respond
to global displacement following World War Two. More than six decades later, UNHCR’s work has grown in
response to record levels of displacement and it now operates in more than 130 countries across the globe.
In 2022, more than 86 million people were displaced globally – women and girls make up more than half of
this figure. As well as delivering humanitarian relief during emergencies and over the long-term, UNHCR
leads change through high-level advocacy, calling on Member States and the international community to
protect the rights of refugees and better support the countries which host them.
The committee strives to ensure that everyone has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another
State, with the option to eventually return home, integrate or resettle. During times of displacement, the
committee provides critical emergency assistance in the form of clean water, sanitation and healthcare, as
well as shelter, blankets, household goods and food. They also arrange transport and assistance
packages for people who return home, and income-generating projects which support financial inclusion
for those who resettle. The UNHCR is dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights, and building a better
future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
Introduction to the topic:
Introduction to the topic:
There are powerful voices around the world that are determined to denigrate asylum seekers, refugees and
migrants turn them into objects of fear and loathing. This is very often the result of narratives and
sentiments centred on a phobia of the outsider – based on ethnicity and race, religion, income, language and
similar signs of “otherness”. This, in and of itself, is divisive and can lead to violence and persecution.
Advocating on behalf of refugees, fundraising and lobbying can all depend on prevailing public and political
attitudes towards refugees.
Hate speech: There is no international legal definition of hate speech, and the characterization of what is
“hateful” is contested. According to the United Nations, hate speech is generally understood as “any kind of
communication, in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language
with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in others words, based on their religion,
ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor.”
What forms does ‘hate speech’ take?
In order to actively oppose racist hate speech, it is necessary to create an awareness for racist statements,
so as to identify these as such. Basically, refugees are collectively disparaged in hate speech, invariably
conjoined with social discrimination. Abuse of refugees, in most cases combined with racist (and quite often
sexist, islamophobic, or anti- Semitic) prejudices, is a relatively obvious feature of hate speech.
What forms does ‘hate speech’ take (continued)?
In most cases, emotional hatred is packaged as ‘rational’ argument.
Direct hate speech uses incorrect information, such as “refugees exploit welfare systems”/ “they are stealing our jobs
/ houses”. Indirect hate speech often appears harmless at first glance, but ultimately legitimates racism and
violence against refugees, e.g. “The right to asylum needs abolishing”/
Generalisations: (“all refugees …”) and blanket attributions (e.g. refugee = Muslim)
Normalization of discriminatory attitudes: “It’s no wonder that …” linking “refugees” problems to all of society’s
issues such as sexism, criminality or housing shortage
Pejorative designations: like “economic migrant” suggest that the fundamental right to asylum here is being
exploited by people who are coming to Germany solely for financial reasons, not because they are seeking
refuge from persecution.
Dehumanization: equating refugees with insects, parasites, animals, etc.
Lies about refugees and alleged criminality, violence, rapes, forged official papers – often disguised
as an alleged personal experience.
Cultural racism: “They simply don’t fit in here” or (Nationalistic) relativisations: what about “our” children /
homeless, etc.? “Soon we’ll feel like strangers in our own country” / “our way of life is doomed”
That it is ‘odd’ to want to help refugees / they do not need our help: The establishment / the
mendacious press – never tell us the truth anyway. Anyone who helps refugees is a “do-gooder”, or labelled a
“left-wing extremist”. “So am I to be labelled racist just because I …” / “where is my own freedom of speech if you
delete my comments?”
So-called humour: Often, racist hate speech is also disguised as satire or humour, or subsequently the
excuse is proffered that it was only meant as a “joke”. What’s more, racism is directed not only against refugees, but
also against other people of colour, who are equally affected by hate speech and assaults.
What role does media
play in creating and
sustaining these
narratives? How do
we balance free
speech and protecting
people from racist and
xenophobic
discourse? How ‘free’
is your media?
Incitement to violence: According to the United Nations, “incitement is a very dangerous form of speech,
because it explicitly and deliberately aims at triggering discrimination, hostility and violence, which may also
lead to or include terrorism or atrocity crimes”. International law prohibits incitement to discrimination, hostility
and violence.
Fear of the “other”: Very often, refugees are grouped together with migrants in the public mind; in turn,
migrants – and asylum-seekers – can be negatively portrayed as a particularly mobile and predatory subset of
“foreigners”. The terms are often used carelessly and interchangeably but in a generally negative sense; or
they are used in an outright hostile manner.
Refugees and migrants as “threat”: Outsiders are generally depicted by the far right as a threat to
Western values, culture, religion, jobs, school places, health systems and other public services, and a
source of terrorism and crime. A 2020 poll by the Brookings Institute in the US showed that 46% of
Americans who opposed accepting refugees were concerned about perceived links to terrorism. And yet
statistics show that refugees are the least likely section of a population to get involved in violence – they are
refugees because they fled violence and persecution. The perpetrator of the 2019 mosque shootings in
Christchurch, New Zealand, in March, which left 49 dead, was apparently motivated by “identitarian”
ideology, akin to theories such as the “great replacement” of white Europeans by people of colour. Former
refugees were amongst those killed.
Social media: In March 2018, the chair of the UN’s Fact-finding Mission on Myanmar, investigating the
circumstances of the violence that drove more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from their homes, said that
social media had “substantively contributed to the level of acrimony” among the wider public. Yanghee Lee,
Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, added: “We know that the ultra-nationalist Buddhists
have their own Facebooks really inciting a lot of violence and a lot of hatred against the Rohingya or other
ethnic minorities. I'm afraid that Facebook has now turned into a beast, and not what it originally intended.”
Serious danger: Depicting migrants as a mass of people fleeing their countries – with no distinction between
refugees, asylum seekers, economic migrants or those simply fleeing harsh conditions – will only drive
collective imagination progressively towards dehumanising them. Migrant people are transformed into
hordes of ‘terrorists’, ‘criminals’ and ‘victims’, ready to ‘threaten’ European security. As a result, there is a
serious danger that even the most extreme act against them might ultimately be tolerated as “legitimate
defence” by some people, and any discrimination accepted.
New research suggests that this digital hatred is now spilling over into the real world.
Using data from the Facebook page of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, a study found
that anti- refugee rhetoric on Facebook is correlated with physical attacks. The paper by Karsten Müller and
Carlo Schwarz of the University of Warwick found a strong association between right-wing, anti-refugee
sentiment
on
German
socialmedia
sites
and
violent
crimes
against
refugees.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/01/12/ingermany-online-hate-speech-has-real-worldconsequences
Global Trends at a glance
In the first half of 2021, more than 84 million individuals are currently forcibly displaced worldwide as a
result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations. That was an increase of 1.6 million people
from the previous year, and the world’s forcibly displaced population remained at a record high. This includes:
 26.6 million refugees in the world—the highest ever seen;
 50.9 million internally displaced people; and
 4.4 million asylum-seekers.
 These figures have not yet been updated to include the 4.6 million people who have left Ukraine as
a result of the Russian invasion in February 2022 https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine
Noteworthy Facts and Statistics by Region/Country:
Sub-Saharan Africa


The East and Horn of Africa, and Great Lakes region hosted nearly 5 million refugees at the end of 2021.
The region hosts 67 per cent of the refugees on the African
continent and 20 per cent of the global refugee population.
Syria



There are 13.5 million displaced Syrian, representing more than half of Syria's total population.
6.8 million Syrian refugees are hosted in 128 countries.
80% of all Syrian refugees are located in neighbouring countries, with Turkey hosting
more than half (3.6 million).
Rohingya Refugee Emergency


The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar. The vast majority of Rohingya
refugees are women and children, including newborn babies. Many others are elderly
people requiring additional aid and protection.
90% of Rohingya refugees live in Bangladesh and Malaysia – most live in overcrowded
camps with poor sanitation, violence, disease outbreaks and in locations prone to
frequent natural disasters
Ukraine

In the first five weeks, more than 4.6 million refugees from Ukraine crossed
borders into neighbouring countries, and many others have been forced to move
inside the country.
Noteworthy facts and statistics
Germany, 2020
United Kingdom, 2021
Under the 1951 Convention, anyone facing persecution because they belong to a particular social group
has the right to seek asylum in another country. States have an obligation to protect all refugees. Although
refugees are protected under international law, their lives remain at risk in many places. Due to lack of
protection within their country, they are sometimes forced to flee their own homes. In recent decades, the
number of refugees and asylum-seekers has risen. In addition, refugees may continue to face
discrimination in the destination country where they have sought refuge, including during the asylum
process.
The international community needs to address the root causes of discrimination that force people to flee
and ensure that they remain safe at all times
Note: the
country
differences.
What might the
causes be of
this? What
might the
effects be?
Audiences matter: While some
people are overwhelmingly
hostile to refugees, migrants
and asylum- seekers, and
others are welcoming, most are
conflicted.
According
to
research by More in Common,
most people find themselves in
the “conflicted middle”: they feel
empathetic towards refugees,
while also experiencing real
anxieties about issues such as
job security, public services,
cultural change and terrorism.
What are the causes of
these
stereotypes, anxieties and
the lack of knowledge
below)? What effect might
they have?
Responses and potential solutions:
understand your country’s position
on:
Laws against hate speech: Rather than prohibiting hate speech as such, international law prohibits the
incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence. Hate speech that does not reach the threshold of
incitement is not something that international law requires states to prohibit.
Combatting disinformation about refugees: Distorted or “fake” information about refugees and migrants
regularly surfaces online. Many companies, media and governments have taken steps to combat fake
news. Fact-checking media play an important role in debunking myths about refugees. For example, in 2018
an item of fake news claiming that an American teenager had killed a refugee who had raped his sister was
circulating online. But if people look for information about it on Google, all the first results redirect to factchecking websites, such as Snopes or Truth or Fiction, that explain in detail why this “news” is false. In 2019,
the BBC and several tech firms, including Google, Twitter and Facebook, announced that they would join
forces to fight disinformation. The plan includes the development of an early-warning system for
organizations to alert each other rapidly when they discover life-threating disinformation, with the aim of
undermining it before it can take hold.
Countering the “invasion of hostile aliens” narrative: Focusing on rebutting false facts and figures is
tempting – and in some cases is necessary. But it is equally important to address the fear of difference. The
“conflicted middle” respond more to emotional appeals than statistics – something populists have spotted,
preying on fears of “the other” and the threat of losing national/cultural identity. Stories in the media showing
the human side of refugees – as unique individuals whose lives have been overturned by conflict or
persecution – are particularly effective. Although they need protection, refugees are also seeking
independence, self-sufficiency and dignity.
Messages and messengers: encouraging both “regular” people and celebrities to speak out on behalf of
refugees and to demonstrate ways in which they have supported and welcomed them, rather than
politicians, representatives of NGOs and other figures who would be expected to do so. In other words, a
pop star is more effective at influencing public attitudes to refugees than a UNHCR official.
Creating encounters between refugees and host communities: A number of civil society groups have
attempted to engage with public opinion by encouraging contact between refugees, migrants and host
communities, and by trying to promote refugee and migrant voices in public debates. These groups
encourage volunteers to gather and distribute items that refugees need, and organise events at which
refugees and host communities can meet and interact, for example by cooking and eating together.
Getting the public involved: For example, a targeted campaign such as the Somos Panas (We are
Friends) campaign in Colombia aimed to reduce manifestations of xenophobia towards Venezuelans living
in the country. The campaign promotes solidarity from Colombians to Venezuelan children, women and
men, as well as messages of gratitude received from Venezuelans. Other campaigns have included No
Stranger Place, which showcased Europeans who took refugees into their homes; and From Far and Wide,
which profiled Canadians who supported resettled refugees.
Politicians are needed, too: Political leadership can be extremely influential. UNHCR is working with a
coalition of mayors and cities worldwide that encourage their citizens to be supportive of refugees. After the
New Zealand shootings, Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, said: “We represent diversity, kindness, and
compassion. A home for those who share our values. Refuge for those who need it. And those values will
not and cannot be shaken by this attack.” Her comments were widely reported and praised.
Social media – the good side: Tech giants, including major social media platforms, have a role to play in
combatting hate speech. Some steps in the right direction came after the Cambridge Analytica scandal,
which revealed that data taken from millions of Facebook profiles had been used for political advertising
that tapped into people’s fears, including about immigration. Twitter announced in November 2019 that it
would ban political advertisements. While Facebook has not followed suit, it banned content supporting
white supremacism and hate speech in March 2019.
Acknowledging concerns: Attempts to engage with the “conflicted middle” without acknowledging their
concerns would be counter-productive. Promoting an open discussion of solutions and initiating clear
responses to real concerns.” It adds: “It is crucial to acknowledge that understanding and engaging with
public understanding and engaging with public attitudes works best when clearly rooted in national and
local contexts.”
Questions a resolution must answer:








Who should be responsible for monitoring and tackling hate speech and disinformation about
refugees and migrants online? Governments, tech companies, citizens or international
organizations?
Is it fair to differentiate between asylum seekers, refugees and migrants? Can explaining the
difference help reduce stereotypes and discrimination? Or should the focus be less on facts and
points of law, and more on overcoming the fear of “others”?
How can we tackle toxic narratives about refugees and migrants in the political arena? What can
political parties and movements, lawmakers, mayors and other public officials do?
What other segments of society should be involved in countering toxic narratives about refugees
and migrants?
How can we ensure that refugees and migrants who are victims of hate speech report it and have
access to justice and psychological counselling?
What measures can be put in place to ensure that refugee and migrant children are not bullied in school?
How would you design a campaign to counter negative stereotypes about refugees? What channels
have we not mentioned that you think would be effective?
Who do you think are the best people to speak out on behalf of refugees?
Useful resources:
General overviews:



UNHCR: https://www.unhcr.org/lgbtiq-persons.html
UNHCR country profiles: https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/country-reports.html
RefWorld country profiles: https://www.refworld.org/type,COUNTRYREP,,,,,0.html
Information on the key issues:









A personal account https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NF1KkkWzmo
Are there differences in how refugees are perceived? Black Ukraine refugees allege racism,
discrimination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgm0Lw5x1wA
Are there ‘different rules for different people’? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6htUWjH1Qd0 a
European ‘double-standard’? https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-crisis-doublestandards-has- europe-s-response-refugees-changed
What tensions can arise when large numbers of people
arrive?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vEpAjEtYDw
Reports from Human Rights Watch
https://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/race/refugeepresskit.html
Reports from Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/refugeesasylum-seekers- and-migrants/
Understanding structural discrimination against refugees
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Racism/AdHoc/9thsession/Tenda
yiAchium e_Item6.pdf
How the UNHCR responds to xenophobia and racism
https://www.unhcr.org/uk/protection/operations/5f7c860f4/unhcr-guidance-onracism-and- xenophobia.html
Solutions
https://www.cigionline.org/static/documents/documents/WRC%20Research%20Paper%2
0no.5.pdf https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/refugees-racism-and-xenophobia-what-works-toreduce-discrimination
Beginning the research:
Research Topic
Information
Why this important to know…
Neighbouring countries
Relations with these countries
are important, as they might be
your close allies and you may
be affected by their economies.
Form of government
(Democracy?
Dictatorship?)
Note: just because your country
says it is a democracy that does
not mean it is true.
Language(s) spoken
This might help you to
identify allies.
Religion(s)
Religion can determine your
country’s social policies, culture,
and allies. It may also link to your
position on the protection of
LGBTQI+ refugees.
Place on the
Corruption Index.
Highly corrupt countries can
have weak services and weak
economies.
Place on the Human
Rights Development
Index.
This suggests your level of
economic and social
development.
GDP Overall
This indicates your size and
overall wealth/power.
GDP Per Capita.
This indicates how wealthy
an average individual may
be.
Which regional
organisations is your
country a member of?
You often will work with
other countries in your
region.
Organization of African Unity,
EU, NATO, OPEC
Do you receive or give
foreign aid? If you receive
it, who do you get it from?
Understanding this helps you
to build alliances.
Are you a source
of refugees?
Or a destination/host
country?
https://reliefweb.int/countri
es
Understanding this helps you
to understand what your
country perspective may be
on the topic.
One fact about your
country and refugees (do a
simple Google search of
‘country’ +
‘refugee’ / ‘refugee policy’)
Understanding this helps you
to understand what your
country perspective may be
on the topic.
Understanding the issue and country position:
The research below is a start for your research notes. In a two day conference the committee will address a range
of topics in depth. To represent your country you must:
1.
2.
understand the key issues facing asylum seekers, refugees and migrants and develop some ideas that
may work as solutions
understand your country’s position on these issues (and the solutions it would propose)
Research Topic
Racism and refugees – its
causes
The rise of xenophobia
and racism in Europe
(especially Eastern
Europe)
Where else in the world
is this an issue?
The role of the media
The role of government
Information
Writing a Position Paper:






A Position Paper is a 1 page long document written in 4 paragraphs. Follow the guide below
for each paragraph.
Avoid personal pronouns (e.g.: I, we, they). Use your country name: ‘China believes… China proposes…
Write the final Position Paper on MS Word / as a pdf. Include your country name, committee and flag.
Save your position paper as country, committee, school, name (e.g. China, UNHCR 1,
Highbridge School, Fatima Carousi
Submit to your teacher by Thursday 17.11 (to be in contention for conference awards)
Send to mdavies@mulberryschoolstrust.org /
Paragraph:
Introduction and
Importance of the
topic:
What are the most
important issues? Why
are these issues important
to address? Is the
protection of asylum
seekers and refugees
important to your country?
Domestic application:
What are your country’s
policies / laws on
immigration, migration
and the protection of
asylum seekers and
refugees?
Which conventions and
resolutions has your
country signed or ratified?
International application
What international action
has your country taken?
Which UN actions has
your country supported/
opposed? Remember
NOT to write negatively
about your country! You
ARE this country!
What should be done?
What does your country
want to discuss in
committee? What
solutions does your
country believe the
committee should
prioritise? Include some
ideas for solutions:
1) Specific/ realistic?
2) How will they affect
your country?
Information
USA
UNHRC:
2
Tanjima Malik
Highbury College for Girls
The US urges all member nations to set aside their differences and work to promote stability, progress and safety for
all children in the MENA region. The mandate of the UN Human Rights Council demands that we ensure children's
rights are respected, protected and fulfilled and provide the children of today with the necessities to climb the ladder of
success in the future. The USA is the largest global donor to both the UN and UNICEF and is committed to supporting
UN agencies and programmes whose point of focal interest is to support the general welfare of children. The USA
believes that the United Nations has the role and responsibility to reach out to young people globally and ensure they
are well provided for, protected and feel safe and secure in their surrounding environment, wherever that may be in
the world. The USA urges countries to consider how they can provide social protection for disadvantaged children and
recommends member states to take steps to ensure that children’s lives are free from violence, exploitation and abuse of all
forms.
The USA has put legislation in place that protects children’s rights and comparatively, many Middle Eastern and North African
countries have either failed to make laws protecting children or citizens simply do not abide by their current laws. As a
result, the USA face few problems concerning the welfare of children. Education is free and universal. Violence
against children is minimal. Laws are fully enforced. The majority of the articles of the UNCRC have been adopted into
American Law. Furthermore, government initiatives such as children’s rights campaigns have been the foundation of
significant change and improvement of children’s lives within the USA. Within the USA, law protects and empowers children,
highlighting their freedom, rights and making clear what is and is not acceptable within American society by supporting
certain laws with age restrictions. As one would expect in a democracy, this varies from state to state dependent on the
views of the state’s citizens. Federal law exists across states and makes following and acknowledging the laws that protect
children’s rights compulsory as they are in the form of law- something no citizen, regardless of their sex, race or age can
disobey.
The USA has many bilateral and multilateral partners, working with countries and NGOs to solve issues regarding child
welfare. To name a few, ‘Save the Children’, ‘Children’s National Health System’, ‘SOS Children’s Villages International’ and
‘The Global Fund for Children’ all aim to tackle the lives of children within and outside of the USA. The ‘Middle East
Children’s Alliance’ is a government-funded American charity working directly in Middle Eastern and North African countries.
Furthermore, the USA’s UN financial aid to countries that may be prone to war related issues and other disasters covers a
large spectrum of issues that require financial assistance. This assistance also comes in the form of volunteers and
construction/sending out recourses and collaborating with countries in the MENA region to help improve the lives of
children for example, funded water systems in schools and the construction of children’s centres in Gaza. The USA has
signed treaties such as CEDAW and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment. The USA has also ratified key conventions in CEDAW and have ratified to certain aspects of the CRC
such as on the involvement of children in armed conflict (child soldiers) and another on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography. The most pressing issue in the world today is the effect of conflict on children,
typical examples being the recent conflict in Sudan affecting the everyday lives of children who are fleeing their homes
to escape violence and the alarming effects of ISIS terror on children in Iraq.
The building blocks to legislative success are to follow through with key principles that will work towards reaching the
goals the Human Rights Council have set out. First and foremost, a country should look at their laws from a child’s perspective
and regardless of their economic or political status should be willing to include aspects of the treaty in the process of
making laws and must maintain these laws for a happier and healthier community of children. Primarily, legislation is
what binds a country and an international community together since it actually has a direct knock on effect on citizens,
something that a treaty cannot always provide. It structures the way in which the government runs the country and
inadequate legislation doesn’t enable a country to run as effectively as it has the capacity to do so. Enforcing this
legislation is vitally important and can be gained through police training programmes and educating locals on their
rights. The USA would like to see countries working together to tackle corruption and misspending money that should
be earmarked for children. Any financial aid should be given out in phases, with regular inspections for progress.
Furthermore, governments should commit a manageable percentage of their GDP to tackling child related issues with
humanitarian aid from other countries. Finally, recognising external threats and working towards eradicating issues
ranging from protecting refugees seeking asylum in their neighbouring countries to empowering children in conflict
zones and working towards eliminating rape as a reason of war should be amongst the highest priorities for countries
in the MENA region.