Social, Cultural and Humanitarian committee, GA (3rd SOCHUM) Study Guide - Topic 1 The question of social and cultural integration of immigrants as a way of preventing xenophobia Student officers: Daniil Fedorov, Rebecca Aspetti Definitions of Key Terms Immigrants Immigrants are people who have come to live permanently in a country that is not their own. Xenophobia Xenophobia is an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange. Immigrant integration Immigrant integration is the process by which immigrants and their children come to feel and become participants in the life of their country of destination, and in its schools, workplaces, and communities. Government policies, initiatives, and programs help determine immigrants' opportunities to participate in society, and guarantee them the same rights and responsibilities as those of the native born. Cultural Integration Cultural Integration is a form of cultural exchange in which one group assumes the beliefs, practices, and rituals of another group without sacrificing the characteristics of its own culture. Social Integration Social Integration can be seen as a dynamic and principled process, where all members participate in dialogue to achieve and maintain peaceful social relations, and is focused on the need to move toward a safe, stable society and peaceful social relations of coexistence, collaboration, and cohesion. Introduction Migration has become one of the most serious issues that the world has ever faced. With increasing population movement into the already culturally diverse countries of North America
and the EU, where the countries face mass resettlement caused by low quality of life in less developed countries or instability in migrants homeland, xenophobia has become a serious issue in a modern world. Immigrant integration can prevent xenophobia. Government policies must help newcomers to participate in society, as well as guaranteeing them the same rights and responsibilities as those of the native born. Background information Nowadays migrants represent an incredible array of linguistic and cultural heritages. Moreover, receiving countries quickly become societies of different cultures, identities, and histories. The diversity of today's migration flows, however, does not end with culture, language, or social class. While the vast majority arrive as legal migrants, some skirt around immigration laws and management systems, and experience a precarious life defined by an absence of legal status with respect to the economy and social institutions of the receiving society. The vast majority of newcomers make an active choice to build a life in a new country but others, due to political and military turmoil or persecution, are forced into migration and a state of "statelessness" that may last for years. For refugees, the experiences of persecution and long-term forced displacement pose particular challenges for reconciliation with the imposed status of being a migrant and successful settlement in a new society. To understand the ways in which immigrants and their children build lives in a new society means that we conceive of integration as a sustained mutual interaction between newcomers and the societies that receive them; an interaction that may well last for generations. There are, however, significant challenges inherent in understanding integration as a process based on sustained interactions and mutual change, not the least of which is the language we use to describe it. Our vocabulary seems wedded to a normative vision of societies as culturally homogeneous, in which residents born in other places are exceptional rather than customary participants in economic, social, and cultural life. Moreover, terms such as "minority" and "majority" connote fixed blocks and work on an implied association between numerical dominance and social power that may not actually be the case in multiethnic neighborhoods, cities and/or societies. The disappearance of many well-paid, if relatively low-skill, middle-class jobs due to economic restructuring in essence has created an hourglass employment profile in which most job opportunities are clustered at either the low- or high-skill/paid ends of the employment spectrum. The "disappearing middle" has left the children of immigrants with the daunting challenge of leaping in a single generation from the low-paid menial service employment opportunities occupied by their parents to well-paid professional and technical jobs requiring advanced education and training. Although second-generation success stories can be identified, for many young people these experiences are the exception rather than the rule. The blocked social mobility and integration of the second generation, spawned by accelerated immigration policies in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as limited integration assistance programs in many cities, may well over time become manifest as social fragmentation rather than inclusion. There are numerous integration challenges that newcomers and their children face in immigrant receiving countries, blocked social mobility of the second generation being just one. Meeting challenges in part demands effective social and economic policies that can address the circumstances that immigrants encounter in the places where they settle. Public policy is largely regulated at the national level in terms of who enters a country and in what numbers, but the effects of immigration and the integration issues raised by national-level decisions are largely felt at a very local level. Unlike other social needs, such as health care and education, where demand is fairly consistent in all places across a nation, immigrant integration is a highly
localized policy issue due to the fact that immigrants show a strong propensity to settle in places with good employment opportunities and "built in" ethnic community social ties that are available to assist in initial settlement. Integration in both social and civic terms is based on the concept of equal opportunities for all. In socio-economic terms, migrants must have equal opportunities to lead just as dignified, independent and active lives as the rest of the population. In civic terms, all residents can commit themselves to mutual rights and responsibilities on the basis of equality. When migrants feel secure, confident and welcome, they are able to invest in their new country of residence and make valued contributions to society. Over time, migrants can take up more opportunities to participate, more rights, more responsibilities and, if they wish, full national citizenship. The process of integration is specific to the needs and abilities of each individual and each local community. Although government policy is only one of a number of factors which affects integration, it is vital because it sets the legal and political framework within which other aspects of integration occur. The state can strive to remove obstacles and achieve equal outcomes and equal membership by investing in the active participation of all, the exercise of comparable rights and responsibilities and the acquisition of intercultural competences. Major countries involved Speaking about migration we can divide countries into two groups: countries of origin and migrant-receiving states. Integration of migrants is a difficult challenge for destination countries. States of origin of migrants take measures to protect their citizens living abroad. The top ten destination countries are: 1)the USA 2)the Russian Federation 3)Germany 4)Saudi Arabia 5)Canada 6)the UK 7)Spain 8)France 9)Australia 10)India The top ten countries of origin are: 1)Mexico 2)India 3)the Russian Federation 4)China 5)Ukraine 6)Bangladesh 7)Pakistan 8)the UK 9)the Philippines 10)Turkey The top ten migration corridors worldwide are: 1. Libya European Union 2. Mexico United States; 3. Russia Ukraine;
4. Ukraine Russia; 5. Bangladesh India; 6. Turkey Germany; 7. Kazakhstan Russia; 8. Russia Kazakhstan; 9. China Hong Kong; 10. China United States. Net migration rates for 2014: positive (blue), negative (orange), stable (green), and no data (gray). UN involvement The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third-generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discrimination and the promotion of understanding among all races. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966, and in force from 3 January 1976. It commits its parties to work toward the granting of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) to the Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories and individuals, including labour rights and the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living. The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families is an United Nations multilateral treaty governing the protection of migrant workers and families. Signed on 18 December 1990, it entered into force on 1 July 2003 after the threshold of 20 ratifying States was reached in March 2003. The primary objective of the Convention is to foster respect for migrants human rights. Migrants are not only workers, they are also human beings. The Convention does not create new rights for migrants but aims at guaranteeing equality of treatment, and the same working conditions, including in case of temporary work, for migrants and nationals. So far, countries that have ratified the Convention are primarily countries of origin of migrants (such as Mexico, Morocco, and the Philippines). For these countries, the Convention is an important vehicle to protect their citizens living abroad. No migrant-receiving state in Western Europe or North America has ratified the Convention.
Other important receiving countries, such as Australia, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, India and South Africa have not ratified the Convention. The Declaration on the Human Rights of Individuals Who are not Nationals of the Country in which They Live was adopted by the General Assembly on 13 December 1985, to which the Declaration is annexed. The Declaration recognizes that the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms provided for in international instruments should also be ensured for individuals who are not nationals of the country in which they live. The Compendium of Recommendations on International Migration and Development, published by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat makes it easier to assess the extent to which this comprehensive framework is adequate to guide cooperation and dialogue among Governments so as to promote co-development initiatives involving migration. Reliable useful links https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html https://migration.ucdavis.edu/rs/more.php?id=55 http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/ittmig2002/2002ittmigtext22-11.pdf http://www.un.org/documents/instruments/docs_subj_en.asp?subj=109 http://www.migrationpolicy.org/topics/integration-policy