Forum:
ECOSOC
Issue:
The question of the worsening of the economic and social situations
of countries neighbouring areas of civil unrest
Student Officer: AdharshVenkatesh
Position:
Deputy President
Introduction
Countries, which are located in a close proximity to areas undergoing civil unrest, are often affected
socially as well as economically. Many people may go through trauma and stress regarding the
happenings across the border while trade links may be affected between nations around the world as a
result of accessibility issues, which could lead to a decrease in revenue for the countries neighbouring
the country of unrest.
These countries experiencing civil unrest are often located in poorer parts of the world and so their
neighbours will also be in a poorer part of the world. Thus, their economic situation is already likely to be
poor. The economic consequences on these countries’ finances when their neighbours are thrown into
disarray are escalated as a result. The social situation is likely to be more secure depending on the
togetherness of the people although civil unrest across the border could make these people question
each other. The possibility of being involved in the war of the neighbouring country is also likely to
frighten people and deteriorate the social standing of the people. More people may also move to the
country in unrest to a neighbouring country, which will create social tension
More people will want to visit other countries as a result of unrest in a neighbouring country and this will
worsen the economic situations of countries that have a large section of their economy based on
tourism. People will not want to visit a certain country because of its close geography with a country of
unrest, which may cause that country to also suffer. Lack of investment in the country’s projects will also
reduce economic efficiency as the number of foreign projects and investment may decrease causing
decline in profit made by the country. This is likely to reduce jobs as there will be a decrease in
investment into businesses and companies, which will likely shut them down; with overseas, based
companies shutting down completely taking away a plethora of jobs.
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Definition of Key Terms
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the
rebellion are not recognized as belligerents.
Economic Collapse
Where an economy is in complete distress for months, years or possibly even decades.
Martial Law
Military government, involving the suspension of ordinary law, usually implemented during a period of
unrest in a nation.
Economic Depression
A severe and prolonged downturn in economic activity.
Economic Fluctuation
Economic fluctuations are simply fluctuations in the level of the national income of a country representing
growth or contraction.
Refugee
A person who has been forced to flee his own country in order to escape war, persecution or natural
disaster.
Asylum Seeker
A person who has left their own country as a political refugee and is seeking asylum in another country.
Background Information
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Social Unrest
Some people from the country suffering from the unrest will move to a neighbouring country,
which is likely to create social differences between races. This would be because some jobs may be
taken away by the immigrants, who may also feel they are being treated differently to the people from
the country. If the country provides excessive help to these immigrants, local people will be dissatisfied.
The government and the people will be in a tough situation economically and socially.
Employment
Jobs of the nationals of a country would go to an immigrant from an area of unrest if that person is more
skilled. These people are also likely to demand lower wages because of their desperate state. The local
people will thus have increased unemployment. This would be because some jobs may be taken away
by the immigrants, which would cause the local people to feel hard doneas an outsider would have taken
their job. This will cause increased social unrest between different races of people in the case of asylum
seekers being present. However, only asylum seekers that have gained refugee status can get a job in
the country; therefore, there is still a good chance of the locals getting employed.
Loss of Culture
As a result of increased migration by refugees from areas of unrest, the culture of the local area is
likely to be lost as a result of the diversification in the races of the people in the society. This would lead
to social differences as a mix of different religions would transform the area and cultures, which will
make the local people, feel as if they are being taken over. This will cause an increased amount of
friction in society, which could be very harmful. The culture and ways of life that define a place may be
lost due to an influx of migrants and refugees. This will cause the country to possibly lose its meaning
which could have repercussions such as less investment and less tourism in the country
Overpopulation
The increase in the number of people in the area as a result of mass migration from areas of civil unrest
could lead to overcrowding and overpopulation, which will increase congestion in the area. There will be
a shortage of resources as the migration will be instant and sudden with no preparation time for the host
country to brace themselves for such an occurrence. This will stretch their economic powers as well as
test their society’s power in maintaining harmony.
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Tourism
People will not visit a certain country as it shares borders with a country in turmoil, which may
harm them. As a result, the income from tourism will decrease for that country causing it to have more
problems in terms of its finance, especially if a large part of its economy is dependent on tourism and if
there aren’t many other viable ways to increase revenue. This may also make people feel more
constricted and within themselves as there will be fewer people from different backgrounds to mix with
which may also make them resent any refugees in their country.
Lack of investment
A decrease in foreign activity is likely to reduce the number of jobs, as the investment will have
decreased with less businesses opening up in the country. This will also increase unemployment with
many people left jobless with a lack of investment. This will harm the social standing of the community as
well as impact the country’s financial growth as more people will be dependent on the economy and
there will be less reinvesting into the business in the country as people will earn less and many people
will not have a job which will influence spending which would be much more with proper and sufficient
money earned.
Unity
Seeing a war unfolding across the border may make the people of the country question whether they are
being treated fairly and whether they are satisfied with the government’s attitude towards them. An
example of this would be the Arab Spring where protests in Egypt against the ruling government sparked
tensions throughout the region between the people and the government with lots of bloodshed and
ousted governments the result. The fact that their neighbours successfully managed to get their way may
have encouraged the people of the other countries to also fight for what the thought was right.
Major Countries and Organizations Involved
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organisation that aims to provide finances for
countries that are in desperate need of them. In this case, countries that border areas of unrest may
need finances due to an increase in migration to the area and consequently a shortage of resources.
Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries with payment
imbalances temporarily can borrow money and other resources. Urgent and substantial finances can be
obtained by requesting for it from the IMF. This can help sustain not just the areas neighbouring those
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with civil unrest, but also the nation facing civil unrest so that the nations around them aren’t affected as
much while they can also reduce the effects of the inevitably destructing war.
Jordan
Jordan is home to many refugees who have escaped Syria during the on-going conflict between the
government and its people. They have a refugee camp where over 100,000 people stay in peace having
got away from the unrest of their own country. There are many more refugee camps in the area that are
run by the government where the people can stay freely. Many neighbouring countries to Syria and other
countries of unrest such as Libya and Tunisia have taken the example set by Jordan and implemented it
in their own state so that people live more harmoniously and are at peace with one another; thus having
the government dealing with fewer social issues over the long term.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN
Refugee Agency, is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of
a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement
to a third country. The best interests of the refugees as well as the people of the country the refugees
take refuge in are kept in mind when decisions are made by the UNHCR. The work of this organisation
has avoided the constant interference of governments, which may have a biased outlook on things and
so has avoided possible wars and border conflicts around the world.
United States of America (USA)
The United States of America have been involved with brokering peace between nations and
providing assistance to nations who have an influx of migrants as a result of unrest in a neighbouring
area. They have provided financial as well as humanitarian aid to countries whose resources are often
stretched as a result of an increase in refugees. With the USA being a perennial superpower in the
world, they are in a good position to request and suggest possible steps that could be taken in a
particular situation; especially one involving civil unrest affecting neighbouring countries as the USA
have also been stuck as a part of these situations in the past.
United Kingdom (UK)
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The United Kingdom provides aid in the form of providing food and nourishment to many
underprivileged people. This initiative has also spread into providing that sort of aid to people in areas
neighbouring those experiencing unrest. This allows the host country’s resources to be less depleted
which will boost its economic state as well as its social state as people will be more unified. There will be
less shortage which will boost the community socially as all people will be kept satisfied by the surplus of
assets available while this will also create more jobs as there will be more investment with a more stable
economy and less unrest; this increase in jobs will avoid the country stagnating in terms of financial
strength.
International Financial Organisation (IFC)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment,
advisory, and asset management services to encourageprivate sector development in developing
countries. The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group, which provides loans to nations that require
them. The IFC can help countries neighbouring those undergoing unrest as many of these countries will
be undergoing a decline in private sector investment. The IFC can step in and provide financial aid to
these countries so that they can sustain their economy. Jobs will not be lost as the foreign investment
will be substituted by investment using finance from the IFC which will allow the country to stay
financially secure for the short term while also creating more jobs reducing social unrest between people.
Previous Attempts to solve the Issue and Possible Solutions
In Jordan, a refugee camp was built and is monitored by the United Nations as well as the
government of the country in order to ensure the conditions are habitable for people. This camp was
mainly built for the Syrian Refugees seeking help in getting away from their country, which was in
immense turmoil.
A possible solution would be to create temporary but decently paid jobs for the refugees
escaping the country as this would reduce the friction between the local people and the immigrants as
well as reducing the government’s burden on paying for these refugees.
Another viable and effective solution could be to set up refugee camps throughout the region in
which the country experiencing turmoil is located so that one particular country doesn’t have to shoulder
all of most of the burden. This would reduce the costs of a particular country in turn allowing each
country to just have few expenses each. This would be fairer on the people of the countries while the
preparation with the refugee camps would reduce overcrowding also helping the refugees.
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There could also be more education to refugees in terms of the local language and ways to get to
know people of the area so that it becomes less socially awkward for the people of the country and the
refugees who have migrated from other countries.
Bibliography
"Quick Facts: What You Need to Know about the Syria Crisis." Mercy Corps. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 July
2014.
http://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria/quick-facts-what-you-needknow-about-syria-crisis
"Refugee." (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 20 July 2014.
http://www.ipu.org/pdf/publications/refugee_en.pdf
"Emergency Response." UNHCR News. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July
2014http://www.unhcr.org/pages/503352e46.html
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