Committee: Security Council

Country Represented: New Zealand

School: University of the Philippines, Los Baos
Delegate: Vince Kenneth T. Hernandez
Topic: The Rohingyan Case and the Situation of Muslims in Myanmar

New Zealand has obligations to help and serve refugees, being a party
to both the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the status of
Refugees and is therefore against the actions of displacing the Rohingyans
and leaving them in a Limbo state. However; with the large number of
refugees coming to the shores of New Zealand, it has been a problem for the
country to accept all of them since New Zealand also accepts refugees other
than the Rohingyans. It is also inhumane to further neglect this issue and
thus has come to the attention of New Zealand to urge the UN Security
Council to look for resolutions for this issue and to give the Rohingyans a
chance for a better life.
Through New Zealands Refugee and Protection Unit, only 750
refugees are taken in the country annually to be provided with everything
from housing, education, to financial support. The Program works closely
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for
Migration (IOM), and other foreign governments. The number of refugees
accepted has not changed since 1987. Moreover, according to the reported
data from 2011 to 2014 in the UN website, New Zealand contributes an
average of 5.8M USD annually to the UNHCR. According to Prime Minister
John Key, as of May 2015, of the 4500 Myanmarese in the country, most of
them are refugees.
With the increase in number of Refugees coming from Myanmar, as
well as urges from other nations, New Zealand is open to increase its
Refugee quota programme from 750 people to accommodate more people in
the country as a temporary resolution to the problem. In addition, New
Zealand will also provide greater assistance for search and rescue
operations.
In light of a new government, however; New Zealand strongly suggests
that the UN General Assembly urge the new Government of Myanmar which
1st held power on April 1, 2016: Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy to Amend the Biased Citizenship Law that was passed in 1982.

Since the government under Myanmars previous President Then Sein were
planning policies that will enshrine permanent segregation and denial of
basic freedoms for the Rohingya, New Zealand hopes that the basic rights
and citizenship of the Rohingya be returned under this new democratic rule
and that the NLD would address the security of the Rohingya.

References
Agency, T. U. (2015). New Zealand. Retrieved from The UN Refugee Agency:
http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e488b36.html
Amnesty International. (2015). The unwanted Rohingya. Amnesty
International.
Hassan, M. (2015). Give more refugees an opportunity. Radio New Zealand.
Human Rights Watch. (2015). Burma: Amend Biased Citizenship Law. Human
Rights Watch.
Immigration New Zealand. (2016, January 26). The Refugee and Protection
Unit. Retrieved from Immigration New Zealand:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/general/generalinformation/ref
ugee-protection/
Kirk, S. (2015). Amnesty calls on NZ to do more for fleeing Rohingya as it
braces for more sailings. Stuff New Zealand.
Onyanga-Omara, J. (2016). Myanmar officially ends a half-century of military
rule. USA TODAY.
Pereira, M. L. (2015). New Zealand may receive Rohingya migrants under
UNHCR, says PM. Auckland: The Straits Times.
Radio New Zealand. (2016). Rohingya: Exile in the Rakhine. Radio New
Zealand.