September 16, 2019
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Submitted to: SOCHUM

From: Romania

Subject: Combating Racism and Xenophobia

Tara Porterfield

    Racism and xenophobia are major issues facing not only the nations that house immigrants but all nations. Currently there are several resolutions made by OCHR to help ensure the safety of migrants, and their families. However, there is a minute amount of resolutions focusing on fixing the issues of racism and xenophobia. In the country of Romania deals with racism within minorities such as people within the jewish faith, and even Romanin people themselves.

Dealing with racism and xenophobia is difficult due to the fact that there is no one way to stop it. However, we need to solve this issue, in all countries people have to deal with racism/xenophobia, which is horrible on it’s own but the effects of being the victim of xenophobia/racism are numerous, many studies found a link between oppressed people to depression, anxiety, addiction, numbness, and paranoia.These are human beings, and they deserve to be treated as such. Romania is currently in the European Commision against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), which is an international council that is Europe’s leading council on human rights, the ECRI includes 47 member states, 28 of which are in the EU. This commision has done several projects that involve the combating of racism and xenophobia, one of which being writing a guide for future laws, which is named “ECRI General Policy Recomendation No. 7 On National Legislation To Combat Racism And Racial Discrimination”. 

The document mentioned above can be used as a resource to help write fair and just resolutions on this issue, it states several possible solutions and offers definitions of racism and race related crime which is very useful due to the fact that racism can be described in so many different ways, so having a concrete definition of the word helps to have a solid understanding of the issue. This document also discusses the legal area of this issue, it discusses what would constitute a racism/xenophobia related crime.

In conclusion, any resolution that we consider passing should follow this guide. Using this guide will lead us to a fully successful debate without hindering the flow of progress. There are several ways to bring about change however, following this guide would insure a successful resolution that would benefit everyone.

  • Tara Porterfield