Economic and Social Council

(ECOSOC)

President: Clara del Valle

Moderator: Filipe Simão

 Presentation Letter
Honorable Delegates,

Your President Clara del Valle and Moderator Filipe Simão Antunes are glad to
welcome you to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, for this seventeenth
edition of SEK Institution’s annual Model United Nations (SEKMUN). As one of the six
principal organs of the UN, ECOSOC strives to bring “people and issues together to
promote collective action for a sustainable world”. That will be your aim as delegates for
the next three days, where, through diplomacy and debate we will try to achieve a
resolution which will bring us one step closer to that final goal.

For this SEKMUN the topics addressed will be:

● Topic 1: Promoting Funding and International Cooperation to find Alternatives to

the Unsafe Temporary Housing Inhabited by Undocumented Migrants

● Topic 2: Developing the work on the Liberalization of Foreign Trade, Economic

Globalization and Financing for Development

Both topics are heavily discussed within the UN Organs as they are of vital
importance, and every country has something to say about them. The purpose of this
committee will be to thoroughly debate these topics, strike alliances, make amends and
finally to write a plausible resolution addressing the topic at hand. To achieve this,
cooperation between countries will be of utmost importance, but with the differing
policies per country many heated arguments are expected as well.

We also hope to make this as fun as possible for every delegate, and we thank
you in advance for your commitment and participation.

Finally, we would like to leave you with a quote by the current Secretary General
of the United Nations, António Guterres, that we believe sums up the spirit of SEKMUN:

“We live in a complex world. The United Nations cannot succeed alone.
Partnership must continue to be at the heart of our strategy. We should have the
humility to acknowledge the essential role of other actors, while maintaining full
awareness of our unique convening power.”

Looking forward to meeting all of you in March,

Clara and Filipe

 Committee Presentation
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is in charge of coordinating
fourteen UN specialized agencies, ten functional commissions and five regional
commissions. It receives reports from nine UN funds and programmes and issues policy
recommendations to both the UN system and to Member States.
This Council was established in 1945 and is one of the six main organs of the
United Nations, along with other committees present in SEKMUN such as the Security
Council and the General Assembly. As the name implies, ECOSOC is the system in
charge of advancing sustainable development in all that is economic, social - which
consist of approximately 75% of UN activities at present - and sometimes even
environmental areas.
It is the central organ for some of the toughest debates, so a lot of discourse
between the attending delegations is to be expected. It promotes innovative thinking for
the purpose of forging consensus on ways to move the world forward and is
simultaneously in charge of coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals.
ECOSOC consists of 54 members of the United Nations which overlap in
three-year terms. Seats on the Council are allotted in regards to geographical
representation, with fourteen African States, eleven Asian States, six Eastern European
States, ten Latin American and Caribbean States and thirteen Western European and
other States.
This means developing nations are integral within the ECOSOC committee, used
for them to form imperatives of development and seek multilateral forums to access
organizations as means of help.
However, ECOSOC is often characterized by the divergence of interests, such as
the Western World against the BRICS or the G7 against the interests of developing
countries. Finding suitable resolutions for the most complex topics is what the 54
Member States - and by extent the attending delegations of this SEKMUN committee -
are tasked to take upon.
Promoting Funding and International Cooperation to
find Alternatives to the Unsafe Temporary Housing
Inhabited by Undocumented Migrants
As we continue to stride towards an ever more globalized world, new
technologies and international relations have made it increasingly easier to travel,
boosting migration and consequently, the amount of undocumented or irregular
migrants attempting to escape a range of issues in their country of origin. At the
essence of this topic is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 10
which strives to diminish the inequalities around the globe, more specifically, looking at
the disparity in housing and living conditions. As with all topics, and especially those
concerning the welfare of human beings, delegates should aim to be respectful and
formal when defending their country’s views, keeping in mind that behind the statistics
being discussed lie the livelihoods of many.

In addition, delegates are encouraged, as by United Nations procedures, to use

the terms irregular or undocumented migrants, rather than illegal immigrants, as these
are less harmful, more accurate and in agreement with values defended by the UN
which try to avoid oppressive, discriminatory, and out-dated language. Hence, it is
important to take into consideration the official, internationally accepted, definition of
undocumented migration, which:

● includes any migration that is not regulated or documented by the

nation-state and may include anyone residing in a nation without legal status or
with tenuous legal status.

Other than the previous definition, and in order to promote a fluid debate and
exchange of ideas, delegates should come prepared with knowledge of the topic as a
whole, and not only from the country they are representing, and its examples, if any, of
irregular migratory activities. This includes research done on some of the most well
known and documented irregular migration hotspots, such as the Mediterranean region,
and the United States’ border with Mexico.

With that in mind, delegates should not lose sight of the topic itself which
revolves around the housing provided for these migrants, as they enter foreign countries
in search of better living conditions, and the funding and international cooperation
necessary for finding alternatives for said accommodation. For this, the chairs
recommend the delegates frequently refer to and take as a guideline for their
interventions the following article 43 section 1, subsection d) from the International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their
Family:

“Migrant workers shall enjoy equality of treatment with nationals of the State of
employment in relation to access to housing, including social housing schemes, and
protection against exploitation in respect of rents”.

The chairs will, throughout the debate, look favorably upon relating the previous
statement and the SDG number 10, to the delegate’s arguments and resolution clause,
be this relationship direct or not so, as combined they make up one of two final
objectives of the council for SEKMUN 2023.

Despite undocumented migrants, due to their uncertain and legally vulnerable

status, becoming easy targets for human rights violations, and while this point should be
present throughout the sessions, the council’s objective will be to work on developing
projects and funds that promote work on accommodation for migrants across the globe,
as a method to avoid stated violations. In other words, the focus shall remain on
preventing rather than correcting, with housing being one of the first aspects to be
violated and hence one of extreme urgency. These infringements on human rights mean
“dilapidated and overcrowded” conditions have become the norm, not to mention, illegal
schemes and labor exploitation that push these communities even further away from the
possibility of a safer and less precarious living environment.

After acknowledging this largely nonexistent adequate housing for

undocumented migrants, delegates should attempt to obtain a good understanding of
how irregular migration and lack of housing vary depending on the region of the globe.
Frequently, facilities like refugee camps and temporary housing for undocumented
migrants are located in countries still in development, and with little financial capacity to
develop better accommodation. For example, according to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 85% of displaced persons globally are in
developing nations, a significantly high number considering many of these developing
nations are already in debt and have frequently little to no interest or ability to invest into
projects like these. On the other hand, although many developed countries have the
ability to invest in improved housing, many simply decide not to do it, be this due to
excessive bureaucracy, lack of interest in providing humanitarian aid to undocumented
migrants, or the fear of losing votes in internal elections. The fact stands that many
irregular migrants end up deported or closed off from any opportunity, as temporary
housing facilities are usually involuntary and with little to no freedom to leave once
inside.
 On an internationally controversial topic as is the issues of unregulated migration,
a series of more specific debates and subtopics will arise, something which is
recommendable as there is no single approach to the matter in question, meaning that a
combination of generalities and individual cases is advantageous for arriving at a final,
agreed upon course of action. Two examples of these specific cases are briefly
described below. However, delegations are not limited to discussing these but rather
encouraged to bring new and varied topics to the sessions.

One of the major topics that may arise, is the migratory routes on the
Mediterranean Sea and how the European nations have responded to this. As
undocumented migrants attempt to cross from the north of the African continent to
mainland Europe, countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain and others have taken center
stage in the process of dealing with unregulated migration and the development of
temporary housing for answering such exodus. Reaching any agreement will be a tough
balancing act between serving the interests of the countries of origin and those of
arrival, maintaining as a top priority throughout the whole discussion, the upholding of
all human rights.

Similarly, with multiple Latin American nations gripped by political turmoil and
violence, the continent has seen an exponential increase in the amount of displaced
persons and unregulated migration. With such an influx of migrants into host countries,
the new problem arises of providing for all. This has been seen with bouts of violence in
the countries of arrival (both the United States and other Latin American nations), as
hate speech prevails in some communities and political settings, as seen in riots and
protests taking place against government decisions to take in these migrants. Although
multiple organizations, including various organs of the UN like UNICEF, are beginning
to intervene and offer safe havens at strategic points in the migratory routes, not
enough is being done to guarantee safety and promote adequate housing, for which the
delegates should advocate and strive for.

As representatives of their country in the council, delegates are expected to bring

to the floor relevant interventions for a variety of topics surrounding the promotion of
funds and international cooperation for adequate housing for undocumented migrants. A
thorough understanding of their country’s position on the matter as well as on the two
afore specified topics (not limited to those) is required so as to facilitate the debate
process and forging of alliances, finally aiming to redact resolutions based on realistic
and achievable clauses ensuring the goals of the United Nations and respecting the
wishes of both parties involved always with a view consistent with the council’s area of
focus: economic and social development for a more sustainable future.
 Additional Links for Primary Research:

ECOSOC - Overview:
https://www.un.org/ecosoc/en/home

Migrants - definition, rights and context:

https://www.un.org/en/fight-racism/vulnerable-groups/migrants

Context of terminology - undocumented/irregular migrants:

https://www.unhcr.org/cy/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2018/09/TerminologyLeaflet_EN_PICUM.
pdf

Migration and the right to housing:

https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-housing/migration-and-right-housing

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) - housing for migrants:

https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/Housing%20for%20Migrants_compressed_0.pdf

Response to hosting undocumented migrants in Chile - CNN News Report (note→1+ years old):

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/14/americas/migration-latin-america-violence-intl-latam/index.ht
ml

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) - displacement in Central America:

https://www.unhcr.org/displacement-in-central-america.html

United Nations report on mediterranean migratory routes:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/06/1120132

European Commission on migrant integration:

https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/policy-briefing-housing-refugees-and-
migrants-europe-0_en

UNICEF report - migrations across Latin America and many families’ hopes of reaching the US:
https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/stories/families-and-childhood-on-the-move-guatemala-honduras-
border