THS+*SCH*+Chile

Alexia S. SCH Chile THS MUN Conference

BACKGROUND

The official definition of xenophobia is the fear of strangers or foreigners or anything out of the ordinary. This may seem unreal, but the truth is that this atrocity is spreading worldwide. In June of 2008, there were xenophobic attacks in Johannesburg, and they resulted in 62 deaths. Following these heinous attacks, many Mozambican Nationals scheduled a protest on June 14, 2008. However, this protest was a failure because only 100 people attended. This attempt to stop catastrophes such as this one due to xenophobia was very bold of the Mozambican people. However, it is sad that people would kill or let people be killed, just because of their unreasonable fears. Also, in Europe, xenophobia is becoming an increasing problem. Since 2006, xenophobic acts have risen as much as 70 percent. The countries in which this discrimination is worst are France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy. Another example of discrimination is in Chile. Chile has become a center of attraction for several diverse groups from neighboring Latin American countries. This has raised xenophobia and racism amongst the Chilean population. These are only a few examples of how xenophobia is drastically increasing in many countries and the world all together.

UN INVOLVEMENT

The UN has created many campaigns and treaties in order to resolve an ongoing problem throughout the world. In order to resolve the issue of racism and xenophobia. First off, in 1993, the UN created a document called the Indigenous Act of 1993. this act was meant to eliminate the brutal discrimination against indigenous inhabitants of Chile. The UN has also created the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. This Convention is meant to decrease the amount of racism in the countries that need it the most. The Committee of the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination goes and monitors the progress of the countries. Also, they hold conferences in different countries depending on the issue. In August of 2001, the UN held the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, Africa. The world conference is meant to eradicate all forms of discrimination, "requiring a strong follow-up mechanism to examine whether Governments have delivered on their promises made," says the UN High Commissioner. In 2000, the meeting for the Americas was held in Santiago de Chile.

COUNTRY POLICY

Chile has become a more xenophobic nation because of increasing tourists and foreigners. However, we want to eliminate this prejudice due to potential danger. The Indigenous Act of 1993 stipulated that the Chilean government had an obligation to protect ALL its citizens against xenophobia and any other kind of discrimination. Thus, from then on, we have tried to cooperate in any conference or sign any treaty that would help our chances of rectifying xenophobia. On August 20, 1999 Chile met with the UN and adopted the Convention of Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Since then, we have been meeting with the committee discussing our progress, observations and potential dangers. Also, in July 23, 2001, UNIFEM and INDI, two UN organizations, organized seminars about discrimination against immigrant women in latin countries. Participants such as Chile adopted policies eradicating prejudice against these immigrants and installing the idea of anti-xenophobia throughout the Chilean state. Lastly, the UN has worked hard globally against xenophobia and so have other organizations such as NGOs. One NGO in particular from Chile, called Consejo de Todas las Terras, has attended many meetings, thus, to eradicate the unequal treatment between different genders, races, and social and economic levels. One Conference they have attended is International Decade of the World's Indigenous People Conference on July 19 to he 23 of July 2004. All this is what we wish to accomplish in our country and develop in other countries.

SOLUTIONS

Many attempts to eradicate xenophobia and discrimination from the globe have been taken and we have eliminated most of it. However, there is still much more work to get done and we are proposing solutions in order to further help this issue. The group PAXD, People Against Xenophobic Discrimination, was recently organized. We plan educate groups of diverse ethnic groups worldwide about xenophobia and its affects. We also wish to hold marches and seminars and develop treaties with countries that state that they will install laws, hold camps for youth and adults that have been discriminated against and overall educate their people about the harms discrimination can cause to one person and a whole nation as a whole. We. chile, hope to work with the UN and other organizations in resolving this problem.

CITATIONS

http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/target.htm http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/08bb96f50cc9167f8025683200509e57?Opendocument http://www.unhchr.ch/html/racism/05-ngolist.html http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/A.RES.49.214.En?Opendocument