SPECPOL - World Model United Nations

Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL) 

World Model United Nations 2013 

Study Guide

Contact Us 

World Model united Nations 2013 

info@worldmun.org 

www.worldmun.org 

Letters 

Letter from the Secretary General 04 

Letter from the Under-Secretary General 05 

Letter from the Chair 06 

CONteNtS 

Introduction 07 

History of the Committee 07 

08 

Topic Area A 

Statement of the Problem 

09 History of the Problem 

21 Past UN Action 

22 Proposed Solutions 

23 QARMA 

24 Key Actors and Positions 

25 Suggestions for Further Research 

26 

Topic Area B 


27 History of the Problem 

37 Past UN Actions 

39 Proposed Solution 

40 QARMA 

40 Key Actors and Positions 

42 Suggestions For Further Research 

43 

Conclusion 

Position Papers 

44 Closing Remarks 

44 Bibliography 

47 Appendix 

Melbourne Host Directorate PTY LTD | Office of Media and Design

Letters 


Letter from the Secretary-General 

dear delegates, 

it is my pleasure and honor to welcome you to the 22nd session of World Model united 

Nations! My name is Charlene Wong, and i am the Secretary-General of WorldMuN 2013. 

Within this document you will find the study guide for your committee. The conference 

staff for WorldMUN 2013 has been working tirelessly over the past months to provide 

you with an unparalleled conference experience, beginning with this guide. Each Head 

Chair has researched extensively to provide you with a foundation for each committee’s 

topic areas. 

We encourage you to use this study guide as the starting point for your exploration of 

your committee’s topics, and your country or character’s policies. The WorldMUN Spirit 

invites you to step into the shoes of your country or character, and to immerse yourself in 

the committee by researching and developing a full understanding of the issues, perspectives, 

and possible solutions on the table. We offer several additional resources online, 

including our WorldMuN 101 Guide and Rules of Procedure, updated for this year. Both 

are available at www.worldmun.org. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to 

contact your Head Chair or Under-Secretary-General. 

WorldMUN believes that the impact of delegates over the four days of conference goes 

far beyond the walls of the committee room. Therefore we are pleased to announce that 

resolutions passed at the 2013 conference in this committee will be sent on to the relevant 

body in the United Nations. Please enjoy reading this study guide, and I look forward 

to meeting you in Melbourne in March! 

Sincerely, 

Charlene S. Wong 

Secretary-General 


secretarygeneral@worldmun.org 

Melbourne Host Directorate PTY LTD | Office of Media and Design 

4

Letter from the Under-Secretary-General 


It is with the greatest pleasure that I welcome you to the General Assembly of the 22nd 

World Model United Nations. Over the last few months, we have been earnestly preparing 

for your rapidly approaching arrival in Melbourne. Your chairs have tirelessly labored 

to produce substantive material of the highest quality, which has and, I believe, will continue 

to distinguish the WorldMuN committee experience as foremost in the world for 

rich debate and fecund collaboration. 

I am overjoyed and humbled to be your Under-Secretary-General for this year’s GA, for it 

is certainly not one to be missed. For this session, the organ features a compelling mix 

of traditional GA mainstays as well as innovative committee experiences that our chairs 

have produced to tackle challenging world problems in novel ways. From endangered 

languages to urban crowding, a wide spectrum of committee topics has something to 

offer for every delegate, and our seven passionate chairs are excited to share their interests 

with you. These chairs have also dedicated themselves to creating a GA experience 

that transcends both the limitations and promises of the large committee sizes, pursuing 

a vision in which GA delegates enjoy all the fluid, intimate debate of smaller committees 

while gaining the caucusing potential and expansive representation of the GA. 

This study guide provides you with an excellent first step to prepare yourself for the first 

day of committee. the material here represents what your chair feels are the most important 

aspects of the topic areas and serves as both an introduction as well as a bridge 

to more in-depth research. If ever at a loss for where to start, always turn to the study 

guide first. Additionally, there are resources online at our website – including our World- 

MUN 101 guide and updated Rules of Procedure – to prepare you for committee. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or your chair. As a former 

WorldMUN chair, I know how much effort is invested into the committee experience by 

delegates and chairs alike, and we are all available to help make this conference the best 

WorldMuN yet! 

Sincerely, 

Scott yu 

under-Secretary-General of the General 

Assembly 


ga@worldmun.org 


5

Letter from the Chair 


It is with pleasure that I welcome you to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee 

of Harvard World Model United Nations 2013! My name is Stewart Pine, and I am lucky 

enough to serve as your chair for this conference. I am a junior, studying Chemical and 

Physical Biology with a Mathematics secondary. i grew up in Massachusetts, and though 

I did not travel far to go to school, I love travel and spent the most recent summer doing 

research in Paris. I cannot wait to make my first trip to Australia! I participated in Model 

United Nations in High School, and I am very excited for my return this year. 

One of the most interesting aspects of SPeCPOL is its elasticity with respect to the issues 

it can discuss. The topics of this year’s conference take full advantage of this flexibility. 

With the topic of migrant workers’ rights, you as a delegate will have the opportunity 

to help design a system to protect some of the most vulnerable and important peoples 

in the world. With the topic of mining rights, you will have to negotiate the tricky world 

of geopolitics as you search for ways to protect countries under pressure from private 

corporations and other companies alike. 

Come prepared for a lively debate! I hope that you will take this opportunity to explore 

a viewpoint on the issues that differs from your own. Over the course of debate, make 

sure to allow your own views to be challenged. This is an incredible opportunity to meet 

new people and make new friends, and I hope that you will take full advantage of it. If 

you have any further questions, feel free to send me an e-mail. I look forward to meeting 

you in March! 

Best, 

Stewart Pine 

Chair, SPeCPOL 


specpol@worldmun.org 


6

Introduction 

SPeCPOL is one of the most interesting General 

Assembly Committees simply because of the breadth 

of topics about that it can discuss. Though tasked 

with many topics involving peacekeeping, territorial 

disputes, and issues surrounding outer space, the 

title “Special Political” allows it to address a broad 

spectrum of topics that exceeds that of almost any 

other committee. The two topics to be discussed at 

this year’s committee certainly take advantage of this 

adaptability. 

The first topic concerns the protection of migrant 

workers. The International Labor Organization 

estimates that there are over 85 million migrant 

workers in the world today. Typically, these workers 

come from impoverished regions of the world 

looking for better employment options than can be 

found in their home countries. However, it is these 

very qualities that make them a very vulnerable 

population, and they are often deprived of basic 

protections and human rights. Recently, the workers 

and the difficulties they face have come into the 

international spotlight, highlighting the need to find 

a solution. 

Equally important is the second topic, which 

explores the role of the united Nations in 

guaranteeing a country’s sovereignty with respect 

to its mineral resources. With the rapid development 

of manufacturing, technology, and transportation, 

metals and mineral resources are becoming 

increasingly valuable. As countries and companies 

alike seek to develop the shrinking number of mineral 

deposits remaining in the world, enormous pressure 

is placed on mineral-rich nations. As delegates, you 

will have to decide on the role of the United Nations 

in ensuring that each nation retains its autonomy to 

decide how to develop its natural resources. Solving 

these two very different issues will require critical and 

creative thinking and enthusiasm, but I am certain 

that you are all up to the task. 

History of the Committee 

The United Nations Fourth Committee of the UN 

General Assembly deals with a variety of issues, but 

most specifically with decolonization and political 

issues. the committee has its origins in the Committee 

of 24, or the Special Committee on Decolonization, 

which was established in 1960 by Resolution 1514 

in order to oversee decolonization. An ad-hoc 

committee to deal with special political issues, dubbed 

the Special Political Committee, was also retained 

until 1978. In the 1993, GA Resolution 47/233 was 

passed, revising the work of the Fourth Committee 

into the body that is currently known as SPECPOL. 

This revision merged the Special Political Committee 

and the Special Committee on Decolonization into a 

single body. 

SPeCPOL deals with a wide range of topics, and, 

because of the ambiguity of the phrase “special 

political,” its issues often overlap with many other 

committees and UN bodies. Specifically, SPECPOL 

deals with issues pertaining to decolonization and 

territorial disputes between different nations or 

ethnic groups. Recently, the committee has taken up 

the issue of Palestinian independence. the committee 

also deals with issues such as outer space and 

international peacekeeping efforts, including policies 

regarding land mines and other weapons. these 

topics often overlap with those dealt with by DISEC 

and the Security Council, as well as other General 

Assembly bodies, and thus SPECPOL has historically 

been able to make recommendations to these bodies 

on a great number of issues. Other issues discussed 

by the Fourth Committee include the freedom of 

information and contributions to the University for 

Peace. 

The flexibility of SPECPOL is such that it can 


7

address a wide variety of issues. This flexibility, along 

with the fact that the committee is open to every 

single member state of the United Nations, allows 

members to choose the issues up for debate based 

on the perceived importance of the issue in current 

events. For instance, the committee is currently 

discussing the viability of nuclear energy sources 

after the Fukushima Reactor meltdown of 2011. 

Mining rights, one of the two topics to be discussed 

at this conference, might not typically be considered 

the domain of the Fourth Committee. However, 

considering the serious geopolitical consequences 

and importance of minerals to a wide variety of global 

industries, there is certainly reason for SPeCPOL to 

bring the topic up for debate. 

Currently, the Committee is not allowed to take any 

military action or direct the united Nations to sanction 

any country. However, owing to its elasticity with 

respect to the issues it discusses, SPECPOL can advise 

on a wide variety of issues, and can pass resolutions 

recommending military action or economic sanctions 

if it deems them appropriate. It currently has over 

170 items on its agenda, many of which deal with 

territorial disputes, peacekeeping, and human rights, 

but also many others that were simply deemed of 

enough importance to discuss. 

The importance of the Fourth Committee in 

mediating international political disputes cannot be 

understated. its recommendations and resolutions 

are taken into serious consideration by other UN 

bodies as well as independent nations. Its broad 

inclusion of a wide variety of topics, including those 

discussed by other committees as well as those 

that are unique to SPECPOL give it credibility and 

enhance its advisory role to many other international 

organizations and countries. The importance of this 

committee for a variety of issues is enormous, and 

it has been involved in the resolution of countless 

international disputes. 

Topic Area A: Exploitation of 

Migrant Workers 


The growing speed and efficiency of global 

transportation has rendered geographic distance 

relatively insignificant in the consideration of 

employment opportunities. The potential of finding 

work abroad has become a serious possibility for 

many in search of better options than those available 

in their home country. However, the promise of good 

employment can lead these often desperate workers 

into situations in which they find themselves not 

only exploited, but also prevented from returning 

home. Without any political power or means of legal 

recourse, these workers can do nothing but hope 

that their contracts will be honored. 

Migration driven by economic incentives is hardly a 

new phenomenon. From indentured servitude in the 

colonial era to the marked increase in immigration 

following World War ii, the allure of more prosperous 

employment has long been one of the main forces 

driving immigration to developed countries. Yet the 

opportunity and even desperation that drives these 

laborers can leave them vulnerable to exploitation by 

those looking for cheap sources of labor. 

Abuses of workers, however, are difficult to 

identify. Regulation of the recruitment and relocation 

of these people is virtually nonexistent, allowing 

contracts to be drafted and signed exclusively by 

recruitment agencies, without oversight by any third 

party. Upon arriving in a new country, workers might 

have their passports and other means of identification 

stripped by these agencies. The situation is further 

exacerbated the precarious status of the workers 

within these nations. Typically they are not citizens 

and hence have limited political clout, hindering 

their ability to organize or effect any sort of political 

reform. 


8

Similarly, the ability of the United Nations to act 

on behalf of these workers is sufficiently complicated 

in its own right. The necessity of action on behalf 

of marginalized inhabitants must be tempered with 

respect for the sovereignty of a particular nation to 

determine its own labor policy and consequently 

to address potential weaknesses and oversights of 

such a policy. Furthermore, the question of what 

specifically constitutes mistreatment of laborers 

remains unanswered and presents further difficulties 

in instituting any intervention. Finally, while it is 

imperative that these issues be addressed, they 

must be resolved in such a way as to not discourage 

further migration, which has been shown to be 

mutually beneficial to both the home country and the 

destination. 1 

Dubai has, in recent years, been accused of 

allowing mistreatment and exploitation of thousands 

of workers across many industries. Hopefuls from 

india, the Philippines, and Somalia are employed 

in the public and private sectors, yet routinely have 

had their pay docked or withheld and commonly 

are misled about the opportunities that await them 

in the city. This situation epitomizes the difficulties 

in approaching the problem, for the workers have 

often signed contracts, which might have led them 

to forfeit many traditional labor rights. Ameliorating 

the situation in Dubai requires a new framework 

upon which the united Nations can construct an 

international labor policy. 

Complications thus arise from many different 

factors. There is no protocol by which abuses might 

be identified, and even current definitions fail to 

be broad enough to be evenly applied across many 

different industries and nations. A course of action for 

addressing these problems once identified is similarly 

lacking, both for existing situations of exploitation 

as well as for stemming the flow of migrant workers 

brought in to countries by various agencies. Until such 

issues are addressed, migrant workers will continue 

to work with fewer rights and decreased protections. 

History of the Problem 

Globalization and Foreign Labor 

The rapid advance of technology following World 

War ii spawned a new era of shared information. 

This interchange of global ideas, hastened by the 

fall of colonialism, rendered geographic distance 

inconsequential for many laborers looking to explore 

employm ent opportunities. The rise of working 

wages and specialization in developed countries 

created a demand for unskilled labor, fostered by 

the reluctance of workers within those developed 

countries to accept lower wage positions. 2 A 

large market for unskilled labor was therefore 

developing and, coupled with the increasing speed of 

transportation, became a very real target for migrant 

workers seeking better opportunities abroad. 

the post-World War ii climate saw many 

opportunities for migration. displaced peoples, 

whose livelihoods were destroyed by the war, found 

no more opportunities in their home countries and 

instead looked abroad. The growing economies of 

Western europe and Australia saw large demand for 

unskilled laborers, which were easily filled by hordes 

of eager immigrants. Across the world, immigrants 

flocked to developed nations experiencing a postwar 

economic boom, meshing formerly disparate 

peoples and cultures. this immigration forged new 

connections between countries, allowing new 

partnerships and treaties to be signed under the 

pretense of allowing speedier immigration. With large 

Diasporas now present internationally, the global 

exchange of information and traditions between 

immigrant groups and natives of the countries in which 

they resided expanded. Soon, a global network, built 

on the back of technology and migration, connected 

geographically distant economies in unprecedented 

ways. 


9

despite the fall of colonialism in the years following 

World War ii, the colonial powers of Western europe 

were still able to draw upon the millions of unskilled 

workers in their former colonies to satisfy the need 

for labor in the post-war period of reconstruction3 . 

Similarly, countries without extensive colonial 

histories such as Germany instituted guest worker 

policies, which allowed workers to come on the basis 

of job availability, leaving once employment was no 

longer available. 4 Similar systems were instituted in 

Belgium and the united Kingdom, encouraging an 

influx of immigrants from Italy, Turkey, and North 

Africa. France too saw the arrival of over two million 

new workers between the periods of 1945 and 1973, 

owing largely to increased foreign recruitment of 

laborers5 . These guest worker policies were enacted 

to fill what western European leaders saw as a 

temporary demand for labor and were not an attempt 

to diversify or increase the foreign-born population. 

Australia experienced a similar increase in 

immigration during the postwar period. Launching 

a campaign to increase immigration as part of a 

new plan for reconstruction that required new labor 

sources, the Australian government signed peace 

treaties with european nations and relaxed the 

formerly strict immigration requirements. 6 Soon, exservicemen 

from Britain and immigrants from Eastern 

Europe took advantage of these opportunities 

swelling the native population by thousands every 

year. The government also took steps to ensure that 

the immigrants properly acclimated to Australian 

society, including providing lessons in English and 

assistance in finding jobs. However, the primary 

objective of these policies was not necessarily to 

promote equality, but was more firmly rooted in 

“assimilation,” which regarded non-Anglo-Saxon 

values as inferior and promoted Australian superiority 

over diversity. 7 

Great waves of migration began to take place 

in North America as well. Even during World War 

II, the United States, which had greatly recovered 

from the Great depression, found that there was a 

large demand for labor. In 1942 it began the bracero 

program, which recruited workers from Mexico on 

a temporary basis to work as tenants on farms. 8 the 

program was government run, and was in many ways 

similar to those of Europe, for both the Mexican and 

American governments intended it as a means of 

alleviating unemployment in Mexico and satisfying 

the growing demand for labor in the United States. 

However, in 1954, the government turned over control 

of the recruitment of braceros to private agencies, in 

doing so removing the American government as an 

overseer and protector of the workers’ rights. 9 the 

workers were now directly subject to their employers’ 

wills and subsequently suffered pay cuts and were 

deprived of other privileges and rights normally 

reserved for workers. 

Gradually, both Mexico and the United States 

grew dependent on this program. For Mexico, it 

became the only source of relief of unemployment 

in the postwar period, and so recruitment centers 

within Mexico continued to send workers over the 

border10 . Meanwhile, the agricultural sector in the 

united States grew entirely dependent on Mexican 

labor and was no longer sustainable without it. Thus, 

the program continued, and with it the power of the 

employer to dictate the terms and conditions of the 

workers’ contracts, free from government oversight. 

This inevitably led to breaches of these contracts, 

including docking and failure to pay wages owed. 11 

Global Economic Downturn 

The 1973 oil crisis had far-reaching consequences for 

countries worldwide, causing a sharp and immediate 

decline in the worldwide GDP. Industrialized nations, 

whose economies were most dependent on oil, 

suffered the greatest. This upheaval of economic 

fortunes also had drastic implications for migration, 

10 


The Bracero Program saw thousands of Mexican immigrants admitted into the United States as seasonal workers on farms. 

which had continued steadily throughout the postwar 

period. 12 Guest worker policies were brought to a 

sharp halt throughout Europe, and a global recession 

set in. 13 Jobs were in short supply, and the demand for 

labor became virtually nonexistent as unemployment 

rose. 

Western Europe’s thirst for foreign labor ended 

abruptly in the mid-70s, causing many governments 

to cease their foreign labor recruitment and guest 

worker programs in favor of sweeping restrictions 

on immigration. This rapid reversal came during the 

oil crisis of the 1970s, which preceded a worldwide 

recession, thus ending the prosperous period of 

recovery following World War II. 14 As initial migrant 

populations became settled, they sent for their 

families to come join them, creating vibrant new 

communities across Western Europe. However, this 

also meant that now, these people required not only 

jobs but also access to housing and education as well. 

Natives in certain countries, such as Germany and 

France, saw this as a threat to their traditional society 

and culture, and a new debate on the difference 

between immigration and citizenship ensued. 15 

Local opposition to immigration grew, eventually 

becoming a national issue in many countries as 

politicians attempted to use the xenophobia of many 

native Europeans to migrants for their own political 

agendas. 

Governments not only closed their doors to 

further migrant workers but also attempted to create 

an economic and social environment they hoped 

would be inhospitable to migrants, forcing them to 

leave and return home. From 1974 onward, France, 

the Netherlands, Switzerland, and many other 

Western European nations all reversed their previous 

policies of enthusiastically recruiting guest workers 

and instead tried to actively prevent more from 

coming. 16 New policies were enacted prohibiting the 

entrance of family members, shortening the length 

of workers permits, and restricting migrants’ rights 

11 


and political access. 17 European governments refused 

to acknowledge the permanence of the migrant 

community, continually relying on the false hope that 

once the workers’ permits expired, they would return 

back to their home nations. However, they found 

that the previously established migration patterns 

were extremely difficult to reverse and continued to 

struggle with the reality of a growing, discontented 

immigrant population. Workers, afraid to return 

home lest they be denied re-entry later, simply 

refused to leave. This, combined with the reunion of 

workers’ families, led to a stable and growing migrant 

community in many states that had only hoped for a 

temporary one. 18 

The recession continued throughout the 1970s, 

facilitated by the 1979 Iranian Revolution and 

subsequent energy crisis. While these recessions 

took their toll on the developed nations of the world, 

they were simultaneously heralding a new period 

of economic growth in the developing world in the 

Middle east and in Asia. 19 The Middle East, benefiting 

from higher oil prices, began to rapidly expand its 

infrastructure, spending money on building cities, 

roads, and other public projects. The subsequent 

labor demand caused a wave of migration from 

other, less prosperous Middle eastern countries such 

as Lebanon, Jordan, and even Sudan, sending many 

immigrants to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait looking for 

jobs. 20 

The direct result of this sudden boom in immigration 

was the modification of the kafala system, a guestworker 

program set up in the Middle East in the 1950s, 

which began as a means of ensuring a stable migrant 

worker population. 21 The system was very similar to 

that of many guest workers in Europe, however there 

were several distinguishing features. In particular, for 

entry into a particular country, a migrant needed a 

kafeel, or a sponsor. This sponsor could be a citizen or 

a government agency and would sign a contract with 

the government ensuring that they were responsible 

for the incoming worker. 22 initially, the restrictions 

on the origins of the workers were relatively few, 

and Arab migrants were easily able to find jobs and 

citizenship in their host countries. However, the 

governments grew wary of discontent, fearing that 

these new Arabs would threaten their regimes. They 

accordingly modified the kafala system, making it 

much harder to gain citizenship and, in doing so, 

made labor abuses much more common. 23 

The recession of the 1980s continued these labor 

trends the world over. The Middle East continued to 

be a destination for many economically disadvantaged 

peoples looking for employment. The origins of these 

migrant workers had accordingly shifted. Initially, a 

large number of the workers came from Arab nations 

without large oil reserves. 24 Gradually, however, 

those numbers began to shift. Falling oil prices 

worldwide curbed the recent prosperity, forcing 

the oil-producing countries to find ways to cut labor 

costs. The oil-producing countries gave preference to 

allowing the entry of migrants from Asian countries 

over those from other Arab nations. 25 the lessskilled 

Asian migrants were both cheaper and easier 

to manage, as they became subject to many “antiintegration” 

policies that deprived them of workers’ 

rights. Disenfranchised and denied citizenship, there 

was little the workers could do to influence the 

government. 

The majority of these workers came from 

Southeast Asia, which itself was undergoing a period 

of economic growth. In 1967, Thailand, Malaysia, 

Singapore, the Philippines, and indonesia formed 

the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASeAN), 

which soon instituted the ASEAN Framework 

Agreement on Services. This measure promoted the 

creation of network to allow temporary workers 

from each nation to seek jobs in the service and 

other industries across others members’ borders. As 

12 


the region’s leaders in economic growth, Singapore, 

Malaysia, and thailand found thousands of migrants 

crossing their borders in an attempt to find new 

jobs, with a majority coming from Indonesia and the 

Philippines. 26 Nonetheless, migration in the region 

continued unabated, and Japan, South Korea, Hong 

Kong, and Taiwan soon became the destination 

for large number of labor migrants, as they had 

demonstrated stable economic growth, an attractive 

quality for those seeking employment. 27 yet again, 

these migrants faced challenges securing rights 

and protections in their destination countries. in 

Singapore, for example, the thousands of unskilled 

and semi-skilled workers were not offered minimum 

wages, and, in many cases, wages varied based on the 

worker’s country of origin. 28 Nonetheless, migration 

continued unabated for the next decade. 

Historical Case Study: Turkish Immigrants in Germany 

The experience of Turkish immigrants to Germany 

is indicative of many different migrant groups during 

this era. Turks first began arriving in Germany in the 

1960s and were among the last groups of immigrants 

to take advantage of the guest worker policy. 

Yet from the beginning, the German people and 

government remained wary of allowing too many 

workers to come, as they distrusted Turkey as being 

an Islamic state. This translated into a severe distrust 

of the Turkish people once they arrived. Immediate 

problems presented themselves in finding housing for 

the hordes of immigrants that arrived. The temporary 

housing erected for the workers was of subpar 

quality, far below the typical building codes that were 

required for housing German natives. 29 Problems with 

poor hygiene, lack of food suitable to the Muslim 

diet, and other issues of cultural insensitivity plagued 

the workers for many years. 

The work itself was equally difficult. The Turks 

worked for long hours in unsafe conditions, often 

separated from German workers physically and 

through no comprehension of the German language. 

Though they are not entirely free from discrimination, today Turks have become an integral part of German culture society. 

13 


Despite this, the Turks continued to outperform their 

German counterparts, which served both to endear 

them to the government and earn the distrust and 

scorn of many natives30 . under the contracts they 

signed upon arrival, they were often only allowed to 

return to Turkey once a year. 

The improvement of working conditions came 

gradually, only after the number of Turks in Germany 

had become significant enough to operate as a 

politically viable force. Though initially required to 

return to Turkey after their two year contracts were 

up, most opted to extend their contracts by three 

years, owing largely to the lack of opportunities in the 

economically stagnant Turkey. 31 Steady immigration 

continues, allowing family members to join the initial 

migrants. By the time t hat the contract extensions 

concluded, the workers were well established within 

Germany and thus even more reluctant to return 

home. despite the oil crisis that ended most of the 

guest worker policies in 1973, Turkish immigration 

continued unabated well in the 1980s, mostly 

through family reunification. Increasingly frequent 

postponements of workers’ permits expirations 

dates promoted the permanent settlement of many 

families. 

Small communities sprung up in cities across the 

country, yet despite these advancements, integration 

and equality remained difficult for the Turks. The 

government neither sponsored their residence nor 

took steps to ensure that they had equal access to 

resources on par with those of German residents. 

In fact, the official policy was to continue their 

status as guest workers and encourage their return 

to their country of origin, a policy that persisted 

until the 1990s. 32 Similarly, the German people were 

gripped by xenophobia, claiming that the migrants 

were funneling precious resources away from 

natives. 33 This xenophobia manifested itself in the 

political arena in the party platform of the Christian 

democratic union, which promoted nationalistic 

and anti-immigrant policies, including campaigns 

opposing dual citizenship and allowing migrant 

workers to remain permanently. 34 the decades of the 

1990s and the 2000s brought a sharp increase in the 

number of supporters of integration policy, coupled 

with an expansion of Turkish culture as a daily feature 

of German life. 

The Gulf War and Shifting Migration Demographics 

GCC states serve as the destination for millions of migrant workers 

looking to find jobs in the rapidly developing gulf region. 

Beginning in 1991, the Gulf War wrought a distinctive 

change to labor migration in the Middle East. After 

Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, countries became 

divided along political lines as certain nations, such as 

Jordan and Yemen, overtly supported the invasion, 

while others did not. In particular, member states of 

the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which included 

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and several other oil-rich 

nations, heightened their immigration restrictions 

against workers from countries supporting the 

invasion, leading to the expulsion of almost 2 million 

Arab workers from GCC states. 35 this use of migration 

policy as a political weapon had consequences for the 

migrants, many of whom lost out on wages, savings, 

and other possessions upon their expulsion. 36 

14 


Despite the war, progress continued unabated 

in many oil-rich nations, necessitating a new labor 

force to fill the void left by millions of departing Arab 

workers, the majority of whom did not return even 

after the war’s end. The Gulf States subsequently 

looked to Southeast Asia to meet the labor demand, 

as they were not involved in the geopolitics of 

the region that had led to the previous workers 

expulsion. 37 The number of migrants from Indonesia 

and the Philippines, as well as Sri Lanka, India, and 

Bangladesh to GCC states consequently rose. Their 

numbers so rapidly expanded that by 1995, there 

were as many as 1 million more Asian workers than 

native Arabs in the GCC states, a fact which worried 

some nations enough to reconsider their almost 

exclusive use of Asia as a labor source. 38 though the 

workers were initially thought to be less divisive than 

other Arabs, conflicts eventually brewed between the 

migrants and the native populations, as well as with 

the Arab migrant workers as well. The workers were 

often subject to mistreatment or, in the case of many 

female workers from the Philippines and Indonesia, 

sexual harassment. 39 Such reports were met with 

differing reactions at home, including banning 

migration for Filipina women under the age of 21, and 

an outright ban by the Indonesian government on 

sending any female domestic workers at all. 

Nonetheless, the worldwide reliance on oil allowed 

the prosperity of the GCC to continue unabated into 

the 21st century. As oil prices recovered from lows 

during the Gulf War and a brief period immediately 

after, prosperity returned to the region. Development 

on roads, cities, and other projects continued, the 

labor demand ensured a steady flow of immigrants 

from Southeast Asia, who remained enticed by the 

employment opportunities despite the reports of 

abuse and neglect of workers. 

Similarly, the first half of the 1990s saw the 

continued growth of selected Asian economies, 

which themselves served as potent attractors for 

large numbers of migrant laborers. Yet again, the 

powerhouse economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, 

thailand, Japan, among others, drew many migrant 

laborers to their borders to fulfill a wide variety of 

domestic and industrial positions. So great was the 

allure to seek employment in these places that by 

1997, there were at least 6.5 million foreign workers 

in seven different Asian countries, including the 

previous four, Malaysia, South Korea, and Hong 

Kong. 40 

The 1997 Asian financial crisis had a severe impact 

on labor migration across the continent, halting 

much of the development that had necessitated the 

migrant labor in the first place. Beginning in Thailand, 

the crisis enveloped many Asian nations, devaluing 

currencies and causing debt to rise. Though the causes 

were uncertain – many blamed it on poor lending 

practices – its consequences were immediate. Many 

of the most robust economies saw an immediate 

halt in their previously consistent growth rates, 

causing them to cease many development projects 

as they prepared for an uncertain financial future. 41 

Unemployment rates rose universally as governments 

sought not only to find a solution to the crisis but also 

to find some way of dealing with the millions of labor 

migrants who had recently poured in, expecting to 

find employment. 42 

The problem of migrant workers in Asia became 

much politicized, as natives sought to p rotect their 

own employment interests and called for the forced 

deportation and repatriation of many labor migrants, 

whom they blamed for the crisis. 43 indeed, the 

political pressure was so great that some migrants 

actually did get deported, with Malaysia sending 

back over 200,000 Indonesian workers and Thailand 

announcing a similar plan for workers from Myanmar 

as one component of their unemployment Relief 

Scheme. Interestingly, in both of those countries, 

15 


there remained labor shortages in certain industries 

that were both low paying and dangerous, and in a 

similar vein, many domestic workers suffered only 

pay cuts as opposed to threats of deportation. 44 

One particular response to the crisis was the call 

for a greater variety of government protections 

for workers during a period of financial hardship. 

Eventually, this spawned a movement dedicated to 

reforming the welfare system in many Asian countries, 

which many migrants hoped would benefit them by 

offering them further protections against abuses. 45 

Since the early 2000s, the global patterns of labor 

migration have stayed relatively the same. In Asia, the 

strongest economies of Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, 

Hong Kong, and Taiwan continue to be the strongest 

attractors of migrant laborers searching for work. As 

the decade has progressed, thousands of migrants per 

year have continued to stream into these countries, 

swelling local populations and causing tensions 

between local populations and the arriving workers. 

In particular, local governments struggled with how 

to govern the incoming populations, including giving 

them access to local resources such as affordable 

housing, education, and medical care. in Singapore, 

Thailand, and Malaysia, a complex bureaucratic 

system arose, giving the government the power to 

decide migration limits and incentives. 46 

the immigrant population in Singapore, for 

example, is a mix of both Southeast Asian laborers, 

who are primarily unskilled and occupy the more 

domestic industrial sectors, other east Asian migrants, 

and some skilled workers from western nations such 

as the united States of America and Australia, who 

occupy many managerial and professional positions. 

The official policy of Singapore has been to promote 

the immigration of the more skilled workers, while 

varying the limits set on the number of unskilled 

workers allowed entry into the country based on 

the current economic situation. 47 this policy was 

made official in 1990 with the Employment of Foreign 

Workers Act, which explicitly guaranteed better wages 

and the freedom to apply for jobs within any sector 

to skilled and professional migrant workers. Unskilled 

workers must apply under a completely different visa 

or “pass,” which must be renewed after four years 

and do not allow the workers to be accompanied 

by their families. This type of preferential selection 

based on immigrant skill is common across many 

Asian nations, though individual policies do vary. 

Though the system governing the intake of 

migrants is rather comprehensive, many countries 

lack specific legislation protecting the rights of 

migrant workers once settled. This was of particular 

interest to labor-exporting countries, which had a 

far more vested interest in the quality of life of their 

citizens crossing borders to work than did many of 

the countries that received them. For example, in 

1995, the Filipino government passed the Migrant 

Workers and Overseas Filipino Act, which affirmed 

the commitment of the government to protecting 

the rights of its workers overseas and established 

guidelines for allowing workers to seek employment 

in another country. Specifically, the act required the 

destination country to have enacted laws ensuring 

the protection of workers and the establishment of 

resource centers overseas that could serve Filipinos 

working there, among other provisions. 48 

A notable outcome of this act was the refocusing of 

the Philippines Overseas Employment Administration, 

which formerly was responsible for regulating all 

aspect of overseas employment, towards issues 

more related with workers’ rights overseas. 49 the 

Filipino government was one of the first to become 

significantly interested in overseas workers’ rights, 

but soon other nations followed suit. In 2004, 

the Indonesian government passed legislation 

establishing education and protection programs for 

migrant workers, and other nations set up similar 

16 


The Philippines Overseas Employment Agency overseas the registration and orientation of all prospective migrant workers as part of the 

country’s measures to protect its citizens working abroad. 

agencies to oversee the recruitment and exportation 

of labor to other Southeast Asian countries and the 

Middle east. 

Special Focus on Dubai and the Middle East 

The Middle East and the GCC member states, 

having largely recovered from the Gulf War, once 

again enjoyed relative prosperity from rising oil 

prices, and thus renewed their mass recruitment of 

laborers from Southeast Asia. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, 

and the United Arab Emirates were among the chief 

importers of foreign workers, with workers from 

Asian countries comprising more than fifty percent of 

each of those countries’ labor forces in 2005. 50 New 

sources of labor were found in Bangladesh, India, and 

even in some African countries. 

No country in the region had become more 

dependent on foreign labor than the United Arab 

Emirates, and in particular the state of Dubai, which 

boasted a labor force composed almost exclusively 

of foreign workers. Dubai had been growing steadily 

since the end of World War II, aided by British 

exploration for oil in the area. As one of the last regions 

in the GCC in which oil stores were found, Dubai first 

rose to prominence as a banking and financial center, 

controlling the gold trade from India. British banks 

took advantage of many of its lax tax policies to 

stream capital into the region. 51 Simultaneously, the 

government began investing heavily in infrastructure 

to support a growing metropolis. the implementation 

of large-scale construction projects for building and 

expanding roads, airports, and ports was crucial 

to broadening Dubai’s role as a center of trade in 

the Middle East. The discovery of oil in the 1960s 

and 1970s injected even more capital into the city52 , 

increasing the already rapid pace of its development. 

By the 1990s, Dubai was recognized worldwide as an 

17 


Above: Owing to its explosive growth over the past few decades, Dubai has become a popular destination for migrant workers. 

Below: The thousands of migrant workers employed in Dubai often live in camps outside of the city. 

18 


The GCC states have some of the highest proportions of foreign laborers in the workforce in the world. 

international center of finance, trade, and tourism. 

Dubai’s rapid development relied heavily on the 

use of foreign labor to build roads, buildings, ports, 

and other projects cheaply and efficiently. Thousands 

of Arab and later South Asian workers poured in over 

the years, occupying labor intensive positions as 

construction and domestic workers. Steadily, Dubai 

began using almost exclusively foreign labor from 

Asian countries, such that in 2005 over 87 percent 

of its labor force came from Asia. 53 in fact, today, 

Dubai counts as much as 85 percent of its population 

as foreigners, many of whom came searching for 

jobs among its growing construction and service 

industries as well as positions as domestic workers. 54 

age at 15, mandated that employers provide financial 

compensation for employees injured in the workplace, 

and required employers to provide overtime, leave, 

and safety measures to workers, among other 

provisions. 

These workers are predominantly Asian, but in recent 

years there has been an increasing number of African 

workers as well. In contrast to the workers of Western 

Europe, however, these contemporary workers often 

do not bring their families and instead send a portion 

of the money they earn back to their families in their 

home countries. 

Despite the growing numbers of workers living in 

the country, the UAE passed remarkably few laws 

governing employer responsibilities and labor rights. 

The 1980 Labor Law of the United Arab Emirates was 

one of the few enacted. It set the minimum working 

55 However, employers were not required 

to provide insurance to employees, and there was 

no recognition of unions or of employee collective 

bargaining rights. The U AE also set forth mechanisms 

for the implementation and interpretation of labor by 

allowing members of the Ministry of Labor to act as 

arbiters in cases involving labor disputes. 56 Workers 

can file complaints with the Ministry, as which point 

it will become a mediator of employer-employee 

negotiations and, if a solution cannot be achieved, an 

arbiter. 

These mechanisms for the protection of workers 

have faced scrutiny in recent years. Numerous 

reports of abuses of migrant labor, including failure 

to pay wages, inhumane living conditions, and 

extended work hours. Workers complain of having 

their passports taken from them, and being forced to 

live in unsanitary labor camps on the outskirts of the 

city. 57 Oftentimes, the workers claim, they are forced 

to live in rooms with up to 11 other people without 

proper plumbing or air conditioning. 58 Many of the 

workers paid recruitment agencies to bring them 

19 


there, claiming to be lured by agents offering double 

the actual wages and perks such as visits home every 

year, none of which are actually in the contract they 

signed. 59 They also complain that the government 

does not actually monitor workplace-related injury, 

as is required by law. Finally, none of the protections 

listed in the 1980 law extend to domestic workers. 

Despite lacking the legal right to organize, workers 

have been increasingly expressing their frustration 

towards the country’s labor policies. Workers have 

staged protests and walked out of their jobs as a 

means of lobbying the government to update labor 

laws, but thus far there has been little success. 60 the 

government response has been mixed. Officials have 

stated that they are working on developing new labor 

laws that are fair to both employers and workers, and 

they have begun to take action against companies 

convicted of deceiving their workers, including 

limiting their ability to hire any more employees. 61 

In response to the complaints, the government has 

instituted several organs devoted to mediating labor 

disputes and addressing complaints of mistreatment. 

The Permanent Committee on Labor Affairs, created 

in 2006, resolves cases of unpaid wages and other 

complaints, and maintains a group of inspectors 

tasked with determining if the labor camps housing 

workers are up to government standards. These 

measures have met some levels of success, with a 

company being fined almost US$2 million for failing to 

pay its workers. 62 However, critics maintain that the 

government has been lax to utilize these mechanisms 

to punish companies that infringe on workers’ rights. 

Specifically, the Human Rights Watch has criticized 

the transparency of these organizations within the 

governments, as well as their accessibility to the 

workers, and points to the need for minimum wage 

laws and a government-recognized right to protest. 63 

In recent years, the United Arab Emirates has 

softened its position on labor rights. In 2011, along 

with many other members of the GCC, the nation 

voted in favor of the International Labor Office 

Convention 189, which standardized protections for 

domestic workers worldwide. 64 The government also 

announced that it was drafting a law to allow the 

formation of labor unions for construction workers, 

though the law remains under review and has not yet 

been implemented. Despite these advances, critics 

maintain that existing impediments to collective 

bargaining, worker protections, and employer 

accountability must be addressed. 

The Future of Migrant Labor 

Recent years have seen a shift in economic power 

away from Western nations such as the united 

States and Western europe towards more rapidly 

developing nations. This shift in economic importance 

has significant implications in the form of foreign 

investment and economic growth, but also for the 

future of migrant labor in these areas. As these 

countries grow in population, infrastructure, and 

GDP, they will inevitably be looked to as a potential 

destination for workers seeking better opportunities 

than are found in their home countries. 

Latin America has recently been experiencing a 

marked increase in the number of migrant workers 

crossing its borders. The most popular destinations 

have been Argentina and Venezuela, which counted 

over 1 million foreign workers in 2010, as well as 

countries such as Brazil, which received the largest 

number of migrants from countries outside of 

South America. 65 Some of the growth of migrants 

in Brazil can be attributed to its current demand 

for strengthening its infrastructure, in part due 

to its playing host to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 

the 2016 Summer Olympics. As such, employment 

opportunities are expanding and drawing a large 

number of migrants from both neighboring countries 

and other continents. 66 yet concerns are already 

arising over the treatment of these workers, both 

20 


With many job opportunities in construction for events like the coming 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, the number of 

migrant workers in Brazil is expected to rise. 

with respect to working conditions and wages. As 

Brazil and more broadly become viable destinations 

for migrant workers, they will have to develop means 

of addressing these issues. 

In addition, countries serving as the sources of 

migrant labor are experiencing their own changes. 

For instance, in Northern Africa, rising unemployment 

rates have driven many residents to seek work 

elsewhere. Once settled, the workers send back 

remittances, which, due to their volume, have become 

very important to the economies of these nations. 67 

With the onset of the worldwide economic downturn, 

these countries remain dependent on remittances 

that are shrinking with wages. As such, the future 

of labor migration from this region remains unclear, 

especially when considering the recent instability 

of the region. The solutions that governments and 

the united Nations implement to address concerns 

surrounding labor migration will undoubtedly have 

far-reaching consequences for the people relying on 

the money supplied by foreign workers as well as the 

countries to which the workers travel. 

Past uN Action 

From its inception, the United Nations has 

recognized the importance of migration and workers’ 

rights and has adopted numerous resolutions and 

created various committees to try to find a solution 

to the inequitable treatment of migrant workers. The 

topic of migrant labor is dealt with almost exclusively 

by the International Labor Organization (ILO), which 

operates as a UN agency with 185 member states. 

Convention 97, drafted in 1949, deals with specific 

matters pertinent to labor migration. It calls for 

information to be accessible to migrants regarding 

labor policies and asserts that migrant laborers 

should have access to public labor recruitment 

services, healthcare, equal wages, and other benefits 

on par with those of local workers. It also specifically 

admonishes the promotion of illegal immigration or 

trafficking. 

Following Convention 97, in 1975, Convention 143 

was passed. It dealt primarily with migrants in abusive 

21 


conditions, and called upon members to root out and 

address causes of illegal migration, which promoted 

abuse of migrant workers’ rights. It called upon states 

to provide adequate remuneration and social security 

to legal migrant workers. Convention 143 also defined 

a migrant worker to be one who migrates exclusively 

for employment, and not education or other reasons, 

and asserted that migrant children raised in a country 

should not be regarded as illegal. Together, these two 

conventions, 97 and 143, were instrumental in defining 

UN policy towards migrant labor. However, although 

Convention 97 saw some support from developed 

nations like the United Kingdom and France, 143 saw 

little by way of support from nations that would likely 

serve as destinations for migrant workers. 

One of the most important resolutions was the 

International Convention on the Protection of the 

Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their 

Families in 1990. This convention guarantees that 

migrant workers will be afforded the same rights 

and equal treatment as local workers, regardless of 

gender, age, or ethnicity. It also attempts to take 

action by sanctioning states that allow trafficking of 

workers and institutions that mislead people about 

the opportunities presented by migration. Finally, 

it also addresses, albeit briefly, undocumented 

workers, saying that their rights must be respected 

as well, although the convention acknowledges that 

legal migrants are entitled to more rights than those 

who are undocumented. 

The Convention failed to garner widespread 

support in the international community. While it was 

drafted and signed in 1990, it only came into effect in 

2003, when the minimum of 20 ratifying states was 

finally reached. Currently, there are over 60 states that 

have signed, ratified, or expressed the intention of 

adhering to the protocols set forth in the convention, 

and the Committee on Migrant Workers oversees 

adherence to this convention. However, these 

nations are primarily those from which immigrants 

emigrate, and often are not the destination countries 

of migrant workers. Though it is important that the 

home states of migrant workers acknowledge their 

right to protection and fair treatment, without the 

support of developed or developing nations to which 

these migrants flock, the convention is all but useless. 

Weak support among major employment countries 

is among the biggest issues faced by the United 

Nations in garnering support for migrant workers. 

The resolutions, while specific and focused, are often 

unfavorable among employment nations because 

migrant workers serve as cheap labor alternatives. 

Such countries are not particularly eager to forfeit 

their cheap labor supply. Another impediment to 

equality for migrant laborers is illegal immigration, 

which is particularly hard to track and exists far 

outside governmental controls. Finally, the conflict 

between local and international law can present an 

obstacle to migrant worker rights. Without powerful, 

industrialized nations to support these conventions, 

they are unlikely to have any great effect. 

Proposed Solutions 

There has been little in the way of proposed or 

implemented solutions to this problem, since the 

countries in which solutions must be implemented 

are also those countries that benefit the most from 

lax migrant labor regulations. However, in recent 

years, countries of origin for workers have begun 

pressuring the employment nations to take steps to 

protect their citizens while working abroad. 

In the Philippines, the Overseas Employment 

Administration has been made responsible for the 

oversight and protection of the thousands of Filipino 

migrants working abroad. The economy of the 

Philippines, like many source countries for migrant 

labor, is dependent on remittances sent home by 

these workers. The OEA has been responsible for 

cracking down on employment agencies recruiting 

22 


in the Philippines and abroad that have been found 

guilty of abusing migrant workers’ rights, and seeks 

to provide a more open and accessible recruitment 

process that protects the workers even while 

abroad. Many of the migrant workers coming from 

the Philippines serve as domestic workers, and so 

the nation worked to draft a convention with the 

International Labor Organization designed to protect 

the rights of domestic workers. The convention, the 

first of its kind, was completed in 2011 and currently 

has three signatories. in addition, the nation has 

been pressuring the governments of many Middle 

Eastern countries, which serve as the destination for 

many Filipino migrant domestic workers, to increase 

protections. The government has levied its power 

as a labor supplier to help ensure fair contracts and 

distribution of wages to its workers. 

indonesia, another country that sends many 

immigrants abroad to work as domestic workers, 

among other positions, has recently started 

promoting the rights of its citizens overseas. It has 

made the negotiation of fair contracts for its workers 

a priority in the near future. Other steps taken to 

protect workers have included calling home illegal 

migrants from places such as Malaysia. yet critics 

claim that the measures taken thus far are insufficient 

and cite the large number of Indonesians currently on 

trial or facing the death penalty abroad who were not 

offered fair trial. In addition, many are pushing the 

government to ratify the recent ILO convention on 

the fair treatment of domestic workers. 

In Thailand, a system known as National Verification 

was created to allow illegal migrant workers the 

opportunity to obtain legal status. The program 

allowed illegal workers to register for temporary 

passports from their home countries, which would 

then allow them to become legal workers in Thailand. 

Once they have attained legal status, they would be 

afforded all of the same rights and privileges as Thai 

citizens. The system has garnered criticism from those 

who say that despite its seemingly good intentions, it 

is corrupt and forces migrants to pay in order to have 

their paperwork completed. 

There exists a dichotomy between the countries 

who send migrant workers and those to which those 

migrants travel. In order to find a solution that might 

receive support from both types of countries, it is 

essential that both have input. Compromises that 

offer protections to workers without making them 

less desirable as a source of labor must be found. 

In addition, it is essential that a body tasked with 

oversight of these migrant workers be put in place. 

Currently, there are few bodies to which migrants can 

turn to lodge complaints, and often they are forced to 

contend with foreign legal systems that do not offer 

adequate or fair arbitration in cases of workers’ rights 

abuse. Establishing a new framework for addressing 

these issues would be beneficial in establishing a 

uniform policy network that migrants worldwide can 

access. 

Questions a Resolution Must Answer 

(QARMA) 

There are several competing interests at work 

in the debate over migrant labor rights, and any 

proposed resolution must balance these interests 

to create viable solution. First and foremost, the 

resolutions must propose a system that will be used 

by nations to admit and identify migrant workers: 

What criteria must an immigrant fulfill to qualify as a 

migrant worker, and what mechanisms are in place to 

legally attain that status? 

Once the admission qualifications are decided, a 

resolution must address the rights to which migrant 

workers are entitled: are they the same as those 

rights afforded to citizens, or are there limitations? 

More importantly, the resolution must define a fair 

standard of treatment for migrant workers. 

A resolution must also outline the tools available to 

23 


migrant workers that they might use to seek out legal 

aid and report abuses. Should governments have a 

specialized agency that deals specifically with migrant 

workers, or some other mechanism of ensuring 

their rights are respected? What mechanisms of 

oversight should be put in place to monitor migrant 

workers’ rights in various countries? Should it be 

the responsibility of the ILO to monitor and address 

claims of worker abuse, or should it be given to 

another organ? In addition, there should be an 

explanation of the measures taken should a country 

be convicted of having exploited migrant workers. It 

is not necessary to be overly specific, but a general 

outline of the processes by which the United Nations 

will discourage such exploitation is useful. 

Finally, the resolution must address the issue of 

recruitment agencies and private contracts. There 

must be a framework in place to address agencies 

accused of misleading immigrants, and the resolution 

must detail what powers are given to nations to 

regulate recruitment agencies within their borders. 

in addition, under what circumstances can a contract 

signed by a migrant worker be nullified? Elucidating 

the relationship between contracts and international 

law regarding workers will be useful in determining if 

exploitation has occurred at all. 

There are many other questions that remain 

unanswered that might be included in a resolution. 

For instance, it might be important to address sharp 

cultural or religious differences that could potentially 

cause problems during labor negotiations. There 

are so many issues to be considered that it can be 

daunting to try and find a resolution that provides 

every solution, so instead try and pinpoint the most 

pertinent issues that can be applied uniformly to all 

nations. Specifics are good, but keep in mind that 

a resolution might fail if it is too specific and not 

applicable enough. 

Questions to consider: 

• What qualifies a migrant worker? 

• to what protections and rights is a migrant 

worker entitled? 

• On whom will the responsibility be placed of 

addressing workers’ complaints? 

• How must countries regulate worker 

• 

recruitment centers? 

Under what conditions can a worker’s contract 

be nullified? 

Key Actors and Positions 

Much has already been written in this guide about 

the importance of the Middle east as a destination 

for workers around the globe. Home to millions of 

migrant workers, who sometimes outnumber the 

native population, the Middle East has already been 

implicated in several instances of worker exploitation 

and continues to face pressure from various 

migrant-sending countries to reform its labor laws. 

Complications arise during considerations of what 

amounts to cultural differences, such as the supposed 

mistreatment of women, and what constitutes 

specific and deliberate worker exploitation. The 

history surrounding the development of the Middle 

east as an international destination for millions of 

workers has been more clearly explained in the 

section “History of the Problem.” 

The problem essentially splits the world into two 

groups: countries that send migrants overseas to 

work and the countries that receive them. Typically 

the former group is composed of poorer, less 

industrialized nations whose economies depend on 

the remittances sent home by these workers. They 

are also typically the countries spearheading efforts 

to institute labor reform and ensure the protection 

of their citizens abroad. Yet because they tend to be 

poorer and are dependent on these workers, they have 

far less power to enact change on an international 

scale. The very reasons for which migrants choose to 

leave these countries are also responsible for their 

24 


limited influence. They are restricted in their ability to 

get destination countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, 

Australia, and the United Arab Emirates to adhere to 

international conventions addressing migrant labor 

concerns. 

Opposite the labor sending countries are those 

countries that receive the workers. During a period 

of rapid expansion or growth, countries without an 

adequate labor supply find themselves in need of 

workers, and so migrants are brought in to fill the 

void. For these countries, migrant labor acts as a 

cheaper alternative to hiring citizens, for migrant 

workers are often more willing to accept lower pay 

and take on more hazardous jobs. In several cases, 

migrant workers are needed to fill positions that are 

refused by citizens of a certain countries, as was the 

case with fruit pickers and seasonal farm workers in 

the United States. Historically, countries such as the 

United States and Western Europe have served as the 

destinations for millions of laborers and their families, 

but the demand has since shifted to countries in the 

Middle east and Southeast Asia. 

the goals of these countries are often to accelerate 

their own growth, and migrant labor often provides a 

cheap and effective labor force to do so. Thus, many of 

the developed and industrialized nations are hesitant 

to adopt conventions and adhere to resolutions that 

make employing these laborers more expensive. 

Owing to their position as the wealthier and more 

influential states, they might not be receptive to 

changing existing labor policies. While they might 

not be opposed to extending rights to workers, to do 

so presents a significant sacrifice, which they might 

neither be equipped nor willing to take on. 

there are numerous other actors that play 

significant roles in the international labor community. 

For instance, the International Labor Organization 

is instrumental in lobbying for workers’ rights 

and is responsible for publishing reports detailing 

suggestions for improving the situation of workers 

worldwide. Also important is the media, which by 

reporting working conditions and experiences can 

help turn the tide of public opinion in favor of reform. 

The media is especially important given that the ILO 

and other international organizations lack the tools 

or the influence to pressure countries into adopting 

laws protecting labor equality. 

Suggestions for Further Research 

It is important to categorize your country based 

on whether you are a net exporter or importer of 

labor, as this is the single most important factor in 

determining your future policy decisions. if you are 

a net importer of labor, make sure to find specifics, 

including what industries use the most migrant labor, 

the origins of the migrant laborers and whether they 

tend to stay and create a new life for themselves in 

your country or return home after a period of time. 

Look at past and present policy regarding migrant 

labor and specifically what mechanisms exist to 

protect laborers and what rights they are afforded. 

If your country is a net exporter of labor, look 

into the reasons for which people are choosing to 

go abroad to look for work. There may be economic 

factors or social or political unrest causing people to 

seek employment elsewhere. Especially important is 

the dependency of the home country on remittances 

sent home by the foreign laborers, as these can 

constitute a large proportion of the country’s GDP. 

Research the different actions your government 

has taken to protect its workers abroad, if any, and 

analyze their effectiveness. Finally, it is important to 

understand the treatment of workers within your 

country as well, including their benefits and rights. 

Make sure to identify any international conventions 

or resolutions signed or ratified by your country 

regarding migrant workers and even labor laws in 

general. 

A basic knowledge of the history of your country is 

25 


important as well. Look for periods of rapid growth 

or industrialization, as these will be the times when 

migrant labor is likely to be at its peak. Colonialism is 

often a factor in the destination of migrant workers; 

if your country was a former colony, try to research 

how many migrants still travel to the former ruling 

nations. 

Equally important and informative are projections 

about the future of development in your country. If 

your country is expected to grow steadily within the 

next few years, it is likely that it will continue to serve 

as a destination for laborers, and understanding the 

projected growth of these populations will inform 

your policy decisions. 

The International Labor Office will most likely be 

the most useful source in finding your country’s policy 

regarding migrant workers. Their website contains 

numerous reports detailing the treatment of migrant 

workers and labor policies in various countries 

around the world, categorized both geographically 

and by sector of employment. Using these reports, 

you can identify the sectors most heavily dependent 

on migrant labor. In addition, the World Bank also 

drafts many reports detailing the use and distribution 

of migrant laborers as part of a country’s workforce. 

Non-governmental organizations can also prove 

useful during your research. The Human Rights Watch 

and Amnesty International often work to represent 

workers and lobby governments to change their labor 

policies, and so it might be useful to look at reports 

and articles from groups such as these. Other groups, 

such as the OECD and individual governments will also 

contain information on the laws governing migrant 

labor within their borders as well as the experiences 

of their migrant laborers abroad. 

Hopefully, everyone will come with a different story 

to tell and different perspectives on the problem and 

its solution. With the age of globalization, geographic 

location becomes less and less meaningful during 

the search for employment, and so it is essential that 

countries begin to look for an international standard 

to govern migrant labor. Your research will direct 

your goals when drafting resolutions, and thus it is 

of the utmost importance that you understand what 

aspects of migrant labor are advantageous to your 

country, as well as the aspects that are harmful. if 

you have any questions or need help finding a source, 

don’t hesitate to contact me via e-mail. 

Topic Area B: Foreign Mining 

Interests 


Mineral resources have long been among the 

cornerstones of society. entire time periods such as 

the Bronze and Iron Ages speak to the importance 

of metals and minerals in the course of human 

development. Much like every other non-renewable 

resource, the quest for minerals has become much 

more competitive in recent years, owing to the 

progression of technology and population growth 

that have increased demand. As an increasing number 

of countries seek to build their infrastructure and 

move toward industrialization, the demand for coal, 

iron, copper, tin, aluminum, and hundreds of other 

minerals swells. Numerous major industries, such 

as energy, transportation, and manufacturing of all 

kinds, are heavily dependent on the output of such 

mines, and thus procuring new sources of minerals 

has become very competitive in recent years. 

As the world’s non-renewable mineral resources 

are stretched thin, any new major deposits 

immediately attract attention from multinational 

mining corporations and resource-hungry nations 

alike, often prompting a flurry of foreign investment. 

Procuring incredibly valuable mining rights becomes 

an intense competition that can threaten to 

overwhelm tinier nations that might not have as much 

influence. In particular, the considerations of the 

26 


country seeking to sell the mining rights, such as the 

safety of its environment and people, as well as the 

use of profits to develop the nation’s infrastructure, 

might be subordinated to those of the companies 

and foreign nations looking to invest. 

Many countries have long histories of mining 

that date back to the colonial era and even before. 

during this time, the empires controlling the colonies 

in Africa and Asia gave preferential treatment to 

specific companies owned by Europeans, including 

royal charters and virtually unchecked authority. 

This fostered the development of a large and 

powerful private mining sector that continued to 

exert its influence long after the colonies received 

independence. South Africa, long under British 

rule, still struggles with finding a balance between 

governmental oversight and the liberal mining 

policies of previous decades. Worldwide, BHP Billiton, 

Rio Tinto, and Vale represent three of the largest 

companies in a US$1 trillion industry, each with its 

own diversified interests on several continents. 

The enormous influence of the private sector 

can overshadow the ability of a nation to regulate 

the mining development within its borders. Yet it 

is also important to note that oftentimes, foreign 

investment through these companies is crucial to 

the development of the economies of these nations. 

Mongolia serves as a perfect case study: finding 

itself blessed with enormous mineral resources and 

surrounded by wealthier, larger, and more powerful 

countries, it is trying to develop a system that allows 

it to balance its own growth with the desires of 

various mining companies as well as nations such as 

China and Russia, which seek to gain a foothold into 

the country’s mining sector. The United Nations must 

first decide what role it has to play in the arbitration 

of such rights, if any, and then create framework that 

can be used to mediate disputes over mining rights 

as well as protect the interests of all parties involved 

and ensure that no nation succumbs to pressure from 

outside forces. 

History of the Problem 

The allure of mineral resources has been 

simultaneously a constructive and destructive force 

throughout history. The discovery of gold in Australia 

and the United States led to the explosive growth 

of the city of Melbourne and the admission of the 

state of California, respectively, while in South Africa, 

the Boer Wars began largely with disputes over the 

British annexation of diamond mines. that these 

resources have become scarcer in recent years has 

only increased their pull. The global mining industry 

is currently worth over US$1 trillion, with the top 

three companies, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Vale, 

accounting for over $300 billion alone. The growth of 

the mining industry has continued steadily, and with 

it the power and influence of such companies. This 

has led to a clash between the business interests of 

the mining companies and the competing interests of 

the state. 

A Brief History of Mining 

The world’s oldest mine is currently dated at 

43,000 years old, and beyond that numerous findings 

indicate that mining has been prevalent throughout 

a large part of human history. Such is the importance 

of these minerals that entire ages are named after 

them: the Stone, Bronze, and Iron ages each mark 

during which prehistoric humans used the respective 

metal to create weapons and tools, and each 

advance in material wrought a distinct change on the 

course of human development. Evidence of mining 

activity over thousands of years old has been found 

on every continent except Antarctica, indicating 

the importance of the activity and the minerals it 

produces for even the earliest of civilizations. 

in the past, great empires such as that of the 

egyptians and the Romans engaged in mining 

activity, searching for both precious metals such as 

27 


The Romans engaged created some of the largest early mines, such as this gold mine in Romania. 

gold and silver as well as tin, lead, copper, and iron. 

The Romans developed some of the first large scale 

mining techniques as a means of extracting whatever 

resources they could from across the empire. 68 

They were among the first to create mineshafts and 

developed methods for getting rid of the water from 

mines in addition to hydraulic mining methods that 

allowed them to quickly excavate the topsoil. 

Evidence suggests that mining was practiced in 

India as early as 6000 BC, with the discovery of beads 

and tools made from copper and other metals. 69 gold were important as well, both for their scarcity 

as well as their intrinsic value as a form of currency. 

Later explorations in the New World of North and 

South America by Spanish conquistadors arose from 

the desire to find new stores of gold. Yet the allure 

of these precious metals led to the imprisonment 

and destruction of a great many natives at the hands 

of these explorers, both through warfare and the 

spread of disease. 

Mining played a central role in the spread of 

the colonialism, for each new territory amounted to 

precious metals and materials from these and other untapped reserves of mineral resources that could 

mines found their way to markets as far eastward as be used to support the growing empires. Africa, 

the Middle east, where they were exchanged with being particularly mineral rich, was long sought 

european traders for goods. 

after by European nations for its iron, copper, and 

the Middle Ages saw a great increase in the gold mines, which were active long before the 

demand for iron and other materials used to make presence of europeans on the continent. during the 

weapons and armor. the warring states of europe 19 

depended on the minerals to outfit their soldiers, 

and as such mining grew in importance. Silver and 

th century, as Europe began to partition Africa, 

the mining industry grew steadily, bolstered by 

the arrival of European immigrants looking to take 

28 


Africa is one of the most resource-rich continents, yet it has had trouble utilizing this wealth due to political instability that many claim 

is left over from the colonial era. 

advantage of colonial mining policies that favored 

these newcomers over the natives. 70 By the turn of 

the century, tin, copper, gold, manganese, iron, and 

diamonds were all being exported back to countries 

such as the united Kingdom, Portugal, and Belgium. 

The wealth of minerals invited foreign investment 

into the region as people the world over hoped to 

grab their share of the wealth. 71 Yet it also invited 

conflict, in particular between the colonies and the 

natives, who felt slighted and robbed of their rightful 

claim to the mines. the Boer Wars in South Africa 

began as a result of the annexation of diamond and 

gold-rich territories by Britain. Throughout Africa, 

tensions rose over the control of precious minerals. 

Elsewhere, the mining industry was also booming. 

the westward expansion of the united States 

was fueled in large part by the discovery of gold in 

California, which drew thousands from the east 

hoping to get rich quickly. The enormous growth 

of the regional population spawned the creation of 

29 


cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, and 

contributed to its induction into the union 1850. 72 

In South America, the conquistador’s quest for 

gold was largely unsuccessful, but nonetheless a 

flourishing mining industry existed there, primarily 

with the discovery of large silver deposits in Chile and 

Potosí, Bolivia. 73 Much of the silver was shipped to 

Spain, and the stores were largely depleted, leaving 

the economies of the region struggling to find new 

exports. And in Australia, gold rushes strengthened 

the colony of Victoria, dramatically increasing its 

population and wealth. 

the end of the colonial era heralded a period 

of transition for the mining industry worldwide. 

Many of the former empires were unwilling to 

relinquish control of the valuable resources to the 

new governments of their former colonies. They had 

invested heavily in infrastructure, primarily rail lines 

and other systems of transport that would allow the 

easy export of minerals and saw the end of colonialism 

as a potential lost investment. In addition, the colonial 

mining practices had made it almost impossible for 

native African mining enterprises to survive, ensuring 

that the foreign prospectors had complete control. 74 

The end of colonialism withdrew governmental 

control of the regions, but ownership of the mining 

companies and systems of distribution remained in 

foreign hands. 75 The newly instated governments of 

many African states worked immediately to set up 

nationalized mining corporations that would help 

bring in revenue and had the potential to employ 

thousands. However, as the governments often 

lacked the experience and capital necessary to 

establish and maintain these ventures, the mines’ 

performances were poor, and soon the countries fell 

into debt. 

At this time, the World Bank became heavily 

involved in loaning money to these mineral-rich yet 

debt-ridden nations and subsequently developed 

policy initiatives that aimed to help these countries 

improve their financial outlook. In 1992, the World Bank 

developed a mining-specific strategy for attracting 

foreign investment, which they had concluded was 

the best way for these nations to modernize their 

mining sectors for the international market. 76 integral 

to this strategy were reforms that loosened state 

control over the industry, many of which succeeded 

in attracting foreign investment. Yet the autonomy 

relinquished by the governments of many African 

states had fiscal and social consequences. Nations no 

longer backed by the wealth of their natural resources 

saw their currency values decline, which inevitably 

led to poverty and widespread social unrest. 77 

in Asia, the period following World War ii witnessed 

many countries using mining, and coal production 

in particular, as a means of modernization. India, 

seeking to expand its heavy industry, nationalized 

its coal production quickly after its independence. 

in Russia, territorial losses during World War ii and 

a lack of infrastructure had stunted the nation’s 

industrial growth. It began using prisoners to expand 

its network of mines beyond the Ural Mountains and 

into Siberia. 78 And in China, which saw a steep increase 

in mining and coal production during the Japanese 

occupation, the new regime used coal as a means of 

modernizing and rebuilding the nation. Though these 

mining industries flourished, with China becoming the 

leading coal producer in the world during the 1990s, 

they were plagued by accidents, a lack of worker 

safety, and increasing environmental concerns. 79 

30 


The Development of the Private Sector 

Cecil Rhodes became one of the most powerful men in mining in 

colonial Africa. 

Many of the first large-scale mining operations 

were initially undertaken directly by the government, 

especially during the colonial era. in india, Australia, 

and their African colonies, the British empire held 

tight control over mining operations, ensuring that 

much of the minerals and the revenue they generated 

were sent back to England and leaving relatively little 

for the colonists. As the British and other empires 

grew, however, the demands of managing the 

territories grew too great, and so private companies 

were formed and given charters to manage certain 

regions. Gold rushes and discoveries of other 

precious metals in their African colonies attracted 

large numbers of foreigners seeking their fortunes. 80 

these speculators and prospectors were supported 

by the British and other colonial governments, and 

given priority during bidding for mining rights. 81 these 

inequitable practices led to the rise of several major 

chartered mining corporations, including the de 

Beers group and the British South Africa Company, 

which together controlled a large portion of the gold 

and diamond trade in southern Africa throughout the 

late nineteenth and early twentieth century. the rise 

of private mining companies was not limited to Africa, 

but occurred in the Dutch Indies, the Caribbean, 

Australia, and the Americas. 

The transition from public to private mining groups 

occurred elsewhere. In Spain, the government had a 

presence at the Rio Tinto copper mines since 1724. 

Because of mismanagement and political instability, 

the mines were eventually sold off to a private group 

consisting of banks, railroad companies, and individual 

backers in 1873. 82 In Brazil, the government began its 

mining venture in 1942 in Minais Gerais, mining and 

exporting iron. Production grew steadily for many 

years, and operations spread outwards to encompass 

almost all of Brazil. Vale eventually became a publicly 

traded company in 1997, and, during that same year, 

a large acquisition of stock by the Brazil Consortium 

completed its privatization. 83 

Large profits encouraged the private companies 

to invest heavily in new equipment and more 

efficient techniques that increased output. Through 

mergers and acquisitions, companies expanded and 

diversified into mining various minerals, particularly 

during the two World Wars, when materials necessary 

for weapons and other instruments of war, such 

as iron, were in high demand. Such diversification 

necessitated geographic expansion. the Rio tinto 

Company bought the rights to mine copper in 

Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The Billiton Company, 

of the Netherlands, expanded to indonesia, and 

many companies initially based in Australia expanded 

their operations to Southeast Asia and Oceania. 84 

In these new locations, they enjoyed great success, 

especially coal mining, which became very profitable 

as electricity usage increased. 

31 


As the colonial era ended, however, the companies 

faced problems. For years the mining laws of the 

empires had supported them and allowed them to 

hold a monopoly on mineral production. However, 

the end of colonialism meant that new African 

governments would have the opportunity to rewrite 

the laws so as to favor native businesses. In Zambia, 

the British South Africa Company transferred its 

mineral rights to the government after independence 

in 1964, and then a year later the remnants of the 

company merged with the Anglo American plc. 85 

Other companies, such as the diamond giant de 

Beers, negotiated new contracts with countries such 

as Angola, Zaire, and Botswana, thus ensuring that 

production would continue unabated. 

the practices of de Beers in the period following 

colonial independence are noteworthy. While the 

founder, Cecil Rhodes, and subsequent leaders of the 

company had enjoyed great freedom to speculate 

and mine where they pleased, the advent of African 

independence hindered future endeavors. As such, 

the company sought contracts with the states of 

Zaire, Sierra Leone, Angola, and Botswana, as well 

as others outside of Africa such as israel, Russia, and 

Australia. In Africa, the company bought diamonds 

from within conflict zones and collected fees and 

percentages on every diamond sold. 86 When Zaire 

tried to circumvent these charges by releasing their 

own diamonds at lower costs, de Beers temporarily 

flooded the market to lower prices, rendering Zaire’s 

diamonds relatively worthless and forcing them to 

adhere to the company’s terms. 87 Other deals saw the 

country of Botswana acquiring 15% of the company 

in exchange for access to its diamonds, and the 

company bought almost the entire stock of diamonds 

in Russia and israel, thus maintaining its monopoly of 

diamond mining. 88 

While other companies took similar, albeit less 

extreme, measures, the power of the corporations 

continued to grow, especially as smaller companies 

were absorbed into just a few, growing conglomerates 

which dominate the market today. The Rio Tinto 

Group enjoyed great success in Rhodesia, but 

eventually sold off its shares in the mines to finance 

other purchases. it merged with the Consolidated 

Zinc Corporation of Australia, which had capital but 

needed the undeveloped assets provided by Rio 

tinto. 89 the resulting Rio tinto Zinc Corporation 

continued to acquire companies from North America 

and Australia and began mining aluminum, borax, 

uranium, and coal, among other minerals. 90 the 

Brazilian Company Vale, which was formerly stateowned, 

merged with the Brazilian ore industry and 

acquired companies in China, Australia and North 

America. it is now the second largest mining company 

in the world. the dutch Company Billiton expanded 

its operations to all continents excluding Antarctica 

and began mining bauxite, gold, copper and coal. 

In 2001, it merged with the Broken Hill Proprietary 

Company of Australia, which itself was a powerful, 

diversified company. Today, after several other large 

acquisitions, BHP Billiton is the largest and most 

valuable mining company in the world, accounting for 

almost 16% of the global market capitalization. 91 

together, these and other large companies 

wield tremendous economic and political influence. 

As with any large corporation, their presence is 

simultaneously beneficial to countries, as they can 

provide infrastructure, expertise, and employment 

in the mining sector much more easily than many 

governments. Yet in doing so they effectively take 

power away from the state and can, as seen in Africa, 

South America, and currently Asia, exert pressure on 

nations to their benefit. This conflict of interests has 

led to struggles for power and control over mining 

rights between the state and the companies in several 

countries. 

32 


BHP Billiton is the world’s largest mining company by market cap 

Balancing the Government and the Private Sector: 

South Africa 

For hundreds of years, South Africa has been 

inextricably linked with mining. A land of abundant 

mineral resources, the region has produced gold for 

hundreds of years, but it was not until the arrival of 

the British and the grip of colonialism that the mining 

industry truly developed. White foreigners became 

dominant in every sector, in particular mining, reaping 

large profits and creating a reputation for South 

Africa as a literal goldmine waiting to be exploited. 

The colonization of South Africa began in 1652 

when the Dutch began a colony at present-day Cape 

town, hoping to secure an outpost along a nautical 

spice trade route to the Far East. 92 the settlement 

grew, bolstered by Europeans fleeing religious 

persecution and imported slaves. After several 

skirmishes in the preceding years, the British captured 

the settlement in 1806 and, a little over a decade later, 

began promoting the emigration of British people 

to the colony, pushing a group of people known 

as the Boers northward into unexplored territory. 

though the British continued to annex their claimed 

territory, the Boers eventually founded the Orange 

Free State in 1854, in north-central South Africa and 

the Transvaal Republic further north in 1852. 93 in 

1866, diamonds were discovered in the Orange Free 

State, and later, in 1885, an enormous gold deposit 

was found in the Transvaal Republic. The young 

states were hardly capable of fully exploiting these 

mineral opportunities and thus were forced to allow 

many foreigners to enter who could. 94 Many of these 

foreigners were British, who began to outnumber the 

Boers and pose a threat to their views on religion and 

slavery. Tensions exploded in 1877, when the British 

attempted to annex Transvaal, leading to the First 

Boer War, which prevented annexation but did not 

deter the British. 

After the discovery of gold, Transvaal became a 

very wealthy state, and it soon became the largest 

gold producer in the world. expansionist eyes in 

British South Africa saw Transvaal as a very valuable 

potential addition to the empire, and so expansionists 

and imperialists hoping to gain access to the mines 

encouraged the annexation of the state. 95 tensions, 

already on edge due to the previous war, rose once 

again, and in 1899, the Second Boer War broke out. 

Britain quickly gained the upper hand, but three years 

of guerilla warfare took place before it was declared 

the official victor and the two republics were formally 

annexed, completing the unification of South Africa. 

the war had many implications for the country 

as a whole, especially for the mining industry. With 

the unification of South Africa complete, British 

prospectors came in droves to the Witwatersrand, 

the region yielding the largest gold discoveries. 96 

Even before the war, chartered companies such as 

the British South Africa Company began securing 

footholds here and in the diamond mines in Kimberly, 

in the former Orange Free State. The monopolies 

established during this time period, particularly 

Cecil Rhodes’ consolidation of the diamond mining 

companies, are notable in that they were largely 

encouraged by the government, which essentially 

handed control of the region over to the powerful 

businessmen such as Rhodes who invested in the 

region. 97 Though slavery was abolished in 1833, the 

now impoverished Boers and the natives went to 

33 


After the discovery of gold there in the late nineteenth century, the Witwatersrand in South Africa became a target for British miners and 

speculators. 

work in the mines, settling for low wages and unsafe 

conditions that went unnoticed or ignored by the 

government for many years. 98 

The British South Africa Company became 

particularly important in the following years. After 

receiving its royal charter in 1889, the company 

was allowed to purchase large amounts of land at 

a reduced price owing to the support of the British 

Crown. 99 It began investing in mines across South 

Africa and Rhodesia, building a network of highly 

profitable ventures that, owing to the tight control 

it was afforded over the region, was more efficient 

than competing mines elsewhere in the world. 

Though the company became especially famous 

for Cecil Rhodes’s diamond monopoly, it enjoyed 

success in most ventures. With this acquisition 

of land, it also began serving other roles, such as 

constructing rail lines between mines and developing 

the infrastructure of the region, a task normally left 

strictly to the government. 100 

the increasingly complex scene of racial politics 

soon found their way into the mining industry during 

the Rand Rebellion of 1922, during which white mine 

workers protested and revolted against the mining 

companies after falling gold prices had caused a 

decrease in wages. The companies responded by 

hiring black mine workers, who were willing to work 

for lower pay, but this only further incensed the 

rebels. 101 The revolt was eventually put to rest by 

the state military, and the government passed laws 

favoring white workers in the future. 

the British South Africa Company lost its charter 

in 1923 and eventually dissolved after being forced 

to sell its mineral rights in Rhodesia to the new 

Zambian government. The remnants of the company 

were merged with several others to become Charter 

34 


Consolidated Ltd, a subsidiary of the current company 

Anglo American. 102 

Today, mining corporations still play a significant 

role in South African politics and society. South 

Africa still holds some of the world’s largest diamond 

and gold reserves, and continues to produce large 

amounts of these and other minerals. 103 South 

African mining policy continues to undergo changes, 

and, though currently it is still firmly entrenched 

in the private sector, there have been talks of 

nationalization. Recent reforms affording more 

rights to mining unions and workers have resulted 

in controversy, as mining strikes and revolts have 

become costly. Certain corporations, such as Anglo 

American plc, have expressed concerns over these 

new reforms and inconsistent government policy, 

saying that companies are becoming more cautious 

and less likely to invest in speculation and mine 

development. 104 this comes at the same time as 

miners are demanding more protections and better 

The entrance to the Las Cristinas gold mine, which has been the subject of recent talks by the Venezuelan and Chinese governments about 

its future development. 

pay, forcing the government to try and find a way 

to rectifying these two important but competing 

interests. 

Venezuela and Nationalization 

While South Africa attempted to balance the 

private and public interests, Venezuela has taken a 

very different approach. The country’s mining history 

dates back to the days of Spanish colonization, during 

which time conquistadors began mining for gold to 

send back to Spain. The colonizers did little to expand 

the mining industry beyond the search for gold, 

silver, and other precious metals. Because Venezuela 

is typically characterized by its large oil reserves, the 

mining industry received little attention for many 

years, allowing a sizeable private sector to arise, 

particularly in coal and iron. 

However, Venezuelan gold production remains 

in the international spotlight owing to recent 

developments in the national gold mining policy. 

President Hugo Chavez nationalized the gold mining 

35 


industry in 2012 after nationalizing other industries 

such as oil and electricity. 105 the process included 

taking over mines owned by private companies such 

as the Las Cristinas Mine, one of the largest mines 

in the country. 106 The government reported that 

nationalizing the gold mining industry would help 

cut down on smuggling, infringement of workers’ 

rights, and environmental damage. 107 the law also 

required the return of gold in foreign banks to 

return to Venezuela, as well as the sale of gold to the 

government. 

This act has generated significant controversy, 

resulting in many investors cautioning against future 

investment in the country. Several of the companies 

from whom mines were nationalized have claimed 

that doing so constituted a breach of contract. 

Rusoro Mining Ltd has asked the World Bank to 

mediate the dispute and intervene on its behalf. 108 

Meanwhile, Venezuela is in talks to develop the very 

first mine over which it took control the Las Cristinas 

Mine, into one of the world’s largest, with help from 

China. It is too early to tell if the move will ultimately 

be beneficial to the Venezuelan economy, which is 

currently suffering setbacks due to food shortages, 

inflation, and a rising national deficit. 109 it does, 

however, serve as an example of a radically different 

approach to the mining industry than that of South 

Africa. 

Mongolia and Present Day 

The Oyu Tolgoi mine has attracted interest from various countries 

and companies, putting Mongolia under intense scrutiny. 

For centuries, Mongolia was primarily a nomadic 

society, consisting of tribes of people wandering the 

barren landscape of the Gobi Desert, until Genghis 

Khan united the many different tribes and created 

a vast empire. It was not to last however, and, after 

its fall, Mongolia once again became a place devoid 

of any real cities or entrenched populations. it fell 

under the rule of the Qing dynasty of China, which 

was ruled by the Manchus. 110 during this time, the two 

populations remained very separate, but the capital 

city, now known as Ulaanbaatar, grew considerably, 

due to its location along an important trade route. 

The rule of the Qing Dynasty lasted until 1911, and, 

after its fall, Mongolia claimed its independence. 

This was not immediately recognized, however, as 

China claimed ownership of the country, leading to 

a war between Russia and China and occupation of 

Mongolia by their forces for several more years. 111 in 

1924, Mongolia received international recognition of 

its independence. 

Despite its officially recognized independence, 

Mongolia remained under intense pressure and 

influence from its larger, more powerful neighbors. 

Communism and Stalinist influence took hold, 

becoming powerful enough to ward off the Chinese 

and Japanese influence growing in the east. 112 this 

alliance with the Soviet Union continued for decades, 

until the fall of the Soviet Republic and subsequently 

Communism led to the Democratic Revolution in 

1990. A constitution was created, and the country 

began the transition to a market economy. 113 

the result of so many years of a nomadic culture 

and subsequent influence by its more powerful 

neighbors was that the new government had little in 

the way of infrastructure or precedent to guide it. With 

respect to the economy, Mongolia had been almost 

entirely dependent on agriculture and breeding 

livestock, which would not be enough to sustain an 

independent nation trying to industrialize. The nation 

36 


egan mining coal in 1922 near the present-day capital 

of Ulaanbaatar, but the industry, shunted from 

administration to administration, never actually grew 

until after the Mongolian Revolution. 114 In 1996, the 

country converted to a free-market economy, which 

eased price controls and invited foreign investment. 

It was not until 2001, however, that Mongolia came 

into the spotlight, after the discovery of an enormous 

gold-copper ore deposit at Oyu tolgoi. 115 the mine, one 

of the largest in the world, attracted the attention of 

international mining corporations everywhere as well 

as that of neighboring countries. 116 

The discovery of Mongolia’s mineral wealth 

has caused an explosion of growth in the mining 

industry. Minerals account for 80% of its exports, 

and investment in its mining sector has made it the 

world’s fastest growing economy in recent years. 117,118 

Estimates place future growth rates at a steady 14%, 

meaning that Mongolia is expected to grow rapidly in 

the coming years, especially as investment in mines 

such as Oyu Tolgoi increases. Due to its explosive 

growth, the country has had to work to develop a 

national mining policy that can take advantage of the 

growth while still assuring that it has control over 

resources within its borders. Neighboring countries 

such as China and Russia have jockeyed for control 

of shipping routes on which Mongolia depends to 

export the coal. 119 China is Mongolia’s biggest market, 

consuming many of its mineral resources to fuel its 

expanding economy, and foreign investment from all 

countries amounts to more than 50% of its GDP. 120 

initially, the nation sought a mining policy that 

was in line with free market capitalism. However, as 

the true size of Mongolia’s mineral resources have 

come to light, speculation and attempts by foreign 

companies to exert their influence have caused 

the nation to revise some policies and institute 

a greater degree of governmental oversight of 

mining operations. For example, Mongolia owns a 

third of the Oyu tolgoi mining rights, a mine that is 

expected to account for a third of Mongolia’s GDP 

by 2020, and the president has urged a renegotiation 

of the contract to allow for greater control by the 

government. 121 the rest of the mining rights are 

owned by the Ivanhoe Group, of which almost half 

is controlled by the Rio Tinto Group. In May of 2012, 

the country passed the Strategic Foreign Investment 

Law, which gives Parliament the responsibility of 

approving corporate takeovers in industries such 

as mining, significantly compromising the power of 

companies doing business in the country. 122 these 

measures are very recent, and thus it remains to be 

seen whether or not they will be successful. 

the future of the mining industry in Mongolia 

rests on the government’s ability to create a policy 

framework that recognizes its dependence on 

foreign investment while preserving its autonomy 

and independence from private mining interests. This 

is made especially difficult given that Mongolia is a 

smaller, far less populous country than its neighbors. 

Mongolian people have tended to be nationalistic 

about their resources, placing them in direct conflict 

with the country’s dependency on foreign investment 

to grow. In order to find a solution, it must find a way 

to balance myriad interests, including those of private 

companies and other nations. 

Past uN Actions 

The United Nations has, in the past, made several 

attempts to clarify and elucidate the process by 

which countries might retain control over their 

natural resources after signing contracts with private 

companies. However, oftentimes these resolutions 

have been contradictory and have done little overall to 

present a clear and effective strategy for determining 

the rights of nations to regulate the exploitation of 

their natural resources. 

The first major resolution meant to address the 

issue was UN Resolution 626, adopted in December 

37 


1952, which stated that it was the sovereign right of 

nations to be able to use and exploit their natural 

resources as they saw fit. It also encouraged all 

states to respect this sovereignty and to not act 

in any fashion that would threaten it. However, 

just a decade later, this resolution was modified by 

Resolution 1803, adopted in 1962, which stated that 

a nation could act to exploit its natural resources out 

of concern for national development and the “well 

being” of the populace. Furthermore, this resolution 

stated that nationalization was only to be used for 

security measures of the public interest and that 

contracts with private companies must otherwise be 

honored. this resolution undid much of the power 

gained by the state with Resolution 626, but it was the 

first to offer some sort of compensation for private 

companies whose property was to be nationalized. 

The UN conferred even greater powers of 

determination over natural resources to states in 

1974, beginning with Resolution 3201, “Declaration on 

the Establishment of a New International Economic 

Order.” The resolution included several specific 

mentions of the rights of nations to their natural 

resources, declaring that it was an “unalienable 

right” of nations to nationalize whatever resources 

they wished and that no other state could work to 

prevent them from exercising this right. In addition, 

the resolution provided for restitution for the loss of 

natural resources due to occupation, colonialism, and 

even apartheid. Such a broad, sweeping resolution 

gave significant power to the nations over the wills of 

the corporations, which were essentially powerless 

to stop the nationalization of privately owned mines. 

The power of the nation was further solidified in July, 

when Resolution 3281 was adopted. This resolution 

reaffirmed the right to compensation for companies 

that saw their investments in natural resources 

nationalized. However, the Resolution gave no 

guidelines for this compensation, and in fact stated 

that the local law of the state should determine it. 

This gave significantly more power to the state, which 

was now free to pay what it thought was a fair price 

for nationalized resources. 

Some critics have pointed to specific language 

within the latter two resolutions as diluting its power. 

the use of the word “should” denotes a suggestion 

rather than a legal obligation. The real power of 

these resolutions, however, was to weaken the 

power of an international contract, which was no 

longer legally binding. Theoretically, this might have 

meant that companies would be subject to the will 

of the countries. Mineral-rich countries, however, are 

extremely dependent on foreign investment for their 

own development, investment that comes through 

these contracts. though the countries were now 

guaranteed the privilege, at least in the eyes of the 

United Nations, to void these contracts whenever 

they saw fit, to do so would undoubtedly discourage 

future investment. Thus, utilization of the powers 

granted in these resolutions might have resulted in 

economic decline and instability, as companies would 

no longer view such a country as a good place to do 

business. Investors would unlikely be unwilling to do 

spend money in a place where they felt they had no 

rights. 

thus, these resolutions were not particularly 

effective at determining the rights of states and 

investors over natural resources. Specifically, they 

failed to find an equitable solution that tempered the 

sovereignty of the state over its own natural resources 

with contractual obligations that must be honored 

if the state is to attract foreign investors. Another 

glaring omission was any set of guidelines on how 

to intervene if the sovereign rights of a state over its 

natural resources are being hindered in any way. The 

resolutions mention that other nations must respect 

the rights of a country to exploit resources within its 

borders, but, if they do not, there is no framework 

38 


to address how the united Nations might encourage 

nations to follow this protocol, or discourage them 

from not respecting these rights. 

Proposed Solutions 

It is useful to look at past solutions proposed and 

utilized by other countries in order to help create a 

successful and lasting solution to the mining problem 

today. Nationalization, or the assumption of control 

by the government, is one potential solution used 

in China and Venezuela, and is being discussed as a 

proposed solution elsewhere, such as South Africa 

and Bolivia. In countries where all or part of the mining 

industry is nationalized, governmental oversight 

is undoubtedly easier. For instance, with respect 

to China’s coal mining, the government owns the 

Shenhua Group, the largest coal producer in the world. 

the state manages the mines, the transportation of 

the coal, and its use. The government operates this 

company much like any other, using it to seek further 

investment in mining opportunities abroad, which 

sometimes attracts the scrutiny of other nations, 

who are wary of letting another government directly 

invest in developing their natural resources. 

There are benefits and setbacks to this solution. 

With a nationalized industry, the state can easily 

regulate the use and development of the mining 

industry within its borders, ensuring that the needs 

of the state come first. Venezuela has stated that it 

decided to nationalize its gold industry to prevent 

smuggling and cut down on environmental damage, 

a direct result of enhanced government scrutiny. 

However, there are drawbacks to nationalization that 

may make it a less attractive option, particularly for 

smaller nations. First, in order to nationalize a given 

section of the mining industry, it is necessary to have 

the infrastructure and capital to properly manage it. 

For countries such as China, this is feasible, but for 

others such as Mongolia, this would be a very difficult 

task. The necessary roads, equipment, and personnel 

must be present in order to efficiently and profitably 

run the mining sector, a difficult reality to ensure. 

Increasing government regulation of the mining 

industry will inevitably decrease foreign investment, 

and the government must be able to run the mines, 

so as to guarantee that this does not have a lasting 

negative effect on the economy. 

Conversely, it is useful to look at the implications 

of a system with little to no governmental oversight 

or control. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is 

one of the most resource-rich nations on the planet, 

yet it suffers from civil wars and violence that many 

believe is perpetuated by the illegal mineral trade, 

which takes revenue away from the government. 123 

The country has an enormous private mining sector, 

with over 25 companies actively mining in 2011. 

Though the Congolese government does control 

a mining company known as Gécamines and owns 

several copper, cobalt, and zinc mines, production 

has been limited, and in recent years the company has 

undergone privatization of several of its operations 

through Chinese and Canadian investment. 124 

It is hard to differentiate the effects on the 

industry caused by lax governmental oversight from 

the issues surrounding the violence and instability 

in the region. yet it is important to note that the 

DRC has experienced a sharp negative decline in 

environmental quality, especially around mining 

sites located near national parks. Without effective 

regulation of transactions, there are concerns and 

allegations that the sale of coltan has been used to 

fund the civil war that has claimed thousands of lives 

in the country. 125 Violations of labor rights are very 

common, owing to the inability of the government 

to control mining operations within its borders. Thus, 

there are problems inherent in a lax system that gives 

almost complete control to the foreign investors as 

well. 

Any future solution to the problem of balancing 

39 


state and investor goals must recognize the issues 

inherent in both extreme solutions in order to work 

toward creating a balanced and fair approach. It 

is essential that new resolutions address the need 

to attract foreign investors while still maintaining 

an appreciable amount over control, so that states 

can monitor the production of minerals within their 

borders and ensure that such production is not 

harmful in any unintended ways. 

Questions a Resolution Must Answer 

(QARMA) 

First and foremost, a resolution must address the 

role of the united Nations in addressing disputes 

between private corporations and nations. Currently, 

no such definition exists, meaning that all resolutions 

of the united Nations occupy an uneasy state of 

existence in which no one can be sure of the degree 

to which the UN can get involved in international 

mining affairs. 

After defining a role for the UN to play, the 

resolution must elucidate and provide a framework 

for reconciling the national interests of a country with 

contractual obligations. Under what circumstances 

can a nation nullify a contract? Similarly, it is 

important that a resolution specifically denote the 

rights and privileges of nations in terms of their right 

to nationalize mineral resources and the steps that 

must be taken to do so. 

Equally important is the creation of a system aimed 

at protecting and promoting these rights once they 

are decided. it is not enough to simply say that the 

rights of each nation must be affirmed and respected 

in good faith: such language only serves to weaken 

the power of a resolution. Instead, seek to provide at 

least a general outline of the mechanisms by which 

the United Nations plans to hold states accountable. 

For instance, what policies must be in place to ensure 

that nations respect the sovereignty of others during 

the bidding process for mineral rights? How should 

the UN respond if a nation is being pressured to take 

an offer that is not necessarily in its best interest? 

Finally, under what circumstances does the 

mismanagement of mineral wealth override a 

country’s sovereignty to exploit its natural resources? 

For instance, what measures must be taken to ensure 

the well-being of the environment and the labor 

force, and, if those measures are not taken, to what 

extent can the UN intervene? Note that these are 

only some of the questions that can be addressed by 

a given resolution. The topic is so broad and so varied 

that every country will have a different vision as to 

what should be contained in a resolution. 

Questions to consider: 

• What is the role of the united Nations in 

mediating negotiations over mineral rights? 

• under what circumstances can a country nullify 

a contract made with a private company? 

• What are the rights and privileges of a country 

to exploit their mineral resources? 

• How can the United Nations encourage the 

respect of a nation’s sovereignty over their 

mineral resources? 

• What are the standards to which nations 

will be held regarding the development of 

their mineral resources (with respect to the 

environment, workers, etc…)? 

Key Actors and Positions 

The mining industry is worth over US$1 trillion 

worldwide, and as such has attracted the attention 

of many different groups. Some are looking to gain 

control over the dwindling supply of non-renewable 

mineral resources, which are important for producing 

energy, manufacturing, and a host of other important 

industries. 

The two most distinct groups involved in the 

mining sector are the large, private corporations and 

the states themselves. The former is composed of 

thousands of different companies and conglomerates, 

40 


China has emerged as the world’s largest consumer of coal. 

some involved in the mining of a single mineral, but 

most controlling diversified assets across several 

continents. The largest of the companies have 

already been briefly discussed in “History of the 

Problem,” but because of their size and influence it 

is important to mention them here once again. the 

Rio Tinto Group, Vale, and BHP Billiton are the three 

largest mining companies in the world by market cap, 

and together they control mines on six continents 

worth over US$300 billion. These companies 

seek out contracts that allow them to purchase 

the development rights of minerals worldwide. 

Oftentimes, they have more capital, experience, and 

infrastructure than many nations, and are therefore 

much more adept and capable of fully developing and 

exploiting a mine to its full potential. As the demand 

for resources continues to rise, these companies 

often find themselves bidding on the same mines, 

creating a decidedly competitive marketplace. 

Also prevalent in the mining sector are nations 

looking to collect the resources themselves. While 

the privates companies have no use for the minerals 

other than to sell them for a profit, developing and 

industrialized nations rely on these resources to 

fuel their growing economies. Coal and uranium in 

particular are important, as they provide energy that 

is crucial for industrial nations, as well as the rapidly 

growing economies of China, India, Russia, Brazil, 

and several others. China, as the largest producer 

and user of coal, has in recent years invested heavily 

in procuring coal and other mineral energy sources. 

the growing scarcity of the resource has pitted these 

countries against each other in a similar fashion to 

the different companies. Yet the competition is not 

limited just to coal. Tin, aluminum, copper, gold, 

diamonds, and almost every metal with some sort 

of industrial or commercial use are sought after by 

industrial nations. 

Conversely, there are mineral rich nations who 

are using the abundance of their natural resources 

as a means of industrialization. Several nations, 

such as South Africa, the Democratic Republic of 

41 


the Congo, Mongolia, and to some extent Australia, 

have economies that are heavily dependent on the 

export of minerals found within their borders. These 

countries are home to multiple international mining 

corporations and are the subject of intense scrutiny 

and influence from other nations seeking to purchase 

their resources for their own development. The 

influence of the various competing interest groups for 

control of their mineral wealth oftentimes threatens 

to overwhelm smaller governments, especially if 

the economy is completely dependent on foreign 

investment and the mining industry. South Africa is 

currently trying to reign in a mining sector that was 

given many freedoms during its colonial past while 

the DRC is having difficulty trying to do the same. 

Mongolia, on the other hand, is only in the early stages 

of developing its mineral wealth and thus is trying to 

avoid a “resource-curse” that has destabilized the 

governments of other natural resource-rich nations. 

Finally, there is the role of international bodies. The 

United Nations has adopted several resolutions over 

the autonomy and sovereignty of a nation to decide 

how best to use its mineral rights, detailed in the 

section “Past UN Actions.” However, these have been 

largely ineffectual at promoting a fair and balanced 

mineral marketplace. Another international agency 

often linked with the mining industry is the World 

Bank. Through its International Finance Corporation 

and other lending branches, the Bank regularly funds 

mining development projects by providing money 

to states or insuring existing projects. This can often 

be instrumental in providing the necessary capital to 

begin a new project. However, critics have argued that 

the World Bank has funded various mining projects 

that have had negative effects on local populations 

and the environment in Africa, South America, and 

Asia. The Bank does have a series of guidelines on 

how mines and similar projects should be managed, 

but critics say that oftentimes these are too general 

to be effective and companies largely ignore them. 

Thus, there are several different actors that can be 

found globally in the mining industry, each performing 

a different function with their own goals. Such 

disparate groups, each working towards a different 

end, can create a complicated geopolitical landscape 

that itself is an impediment to solving many of the 

problems inherent in the global mining industry. 

Suggestions For Further Research 

First and foremost, try to find a history of mining 

within your country, if there is one. Look into what 

minerals were mined, when mining began, and how 

it developed alongside the government. If your 

country was a former colony, research how the 

government promoted the mining industry, and how 

the industry changed after the end of colonialism. 

There is undoubtedly a lot of history to be found for 

most countries, and it will be your job to distill that 

information into the most relevant and useful pieces 

that will guide your country’s goals in developing a 

new resolution. 

Specifically, look at your country in terms of 

the different roles laid out in the “Key Actors and 

Positions” section detailed above. If your country 

is particularly mineral rich, what are its policies 

regarding foreign investment? How has it dealt with 

international pressure from countries and private 

companies in the past, and what changes have been 

made to its policy framework? If your country is not 

particularly mineral rich, it is important to investigate 

its key mineral imports and their sources. In what 

resources is your country most interested, and for 

what are they used? Knowing the role of mining in 

your country’s economy is important for creating an 

effective resolution. 

Finally, research how mining might have affected 

other aspects of your country’s society, economy, 

and history. The effect of mining ventures on the 

environment, labor rights, civil unrest, international 

42 


elations, and poverty reduction are important 

characteristics to consider when drafting a resolution 

about mining rights. It is not simple to classify events 

as simply having been caused by mining, so look for 

the positive and negative consequences of mining in 

your country’s history. Knowing the potential effects 

of mining can help when creating standards to which 

countries must be held. 

Together, the UN and the World Bank have put 

together many different reports highlighting the role 

of mining in many developing countries, especially 

in Africa. While by no means comprehensive, these 

reports are effective at looking at the current 

position of mining as a product of history and other 

factors. They should be a good starting point for 

your research. If you are looking for raw data on 

what types of mineral resources are produced in your 

country, the United States Geological Survey puts out 

a yearly report that gives a detailed analysis of the 

top producers of almost every mineral resource in the 

world, including production statistics. 

If you have access to databases such as JSTOR, 

there are academic papers that can be very useful, 

especially when researching the history of mining 

in your country. Also useful are articles in a wide 

variety of newspapers and magazines that can be 

found free online, which often illustrate the situation 

with background information. For some countries, 

especially smaller nations that might not have as 

much of a history of mining, look for data on imports 

that might give an indication as to what resources 

are most important. data on imports and exports 

is useful in general for determining the markets on 

which mineral exporting nations are reliant and which 

countries are reliant on importing minerals. 

There is an absolutely massive amount of 

information to be found, and it can sometimes get 

confusing. If you have any further questions, do 

not hesitate to contact me through e-mail. i will do 

my best to clear up any confusion related to the 

issues, position papers, or anything else in general. 

If you are having trouble finding a source, I can try 

and offer suggestions or alternatives. Definitely read 

the study guide thoroughly as well, as there might 

be information pertinent to your specific country or 

a source that could serve you well in your research. 

Most of all: be creative. You never know what you 

might uncover, so do not be afraid to do a little 

mining. 

Position Papers 

The position papers will serve primarily to establish 

the general attitudes and viewpoints of your country 

towards the issues raised in this committee. they 

do not need to address all of the questions raised in 

the section “Questions a Resolution Must Answer.” 

Rather, the position papers should serve as an 

introduction to the policies and goals of your country. 

With respect to the first issue, the topic of migrant 

workers’ rights, the position paper should establish 

basic information such as whether your country is 

an importer or exporter of workers, and the steps 

already taken to protect migrant workers’ rights and 

any planned future actions. Make sure to give a brief 

history of your country and migrant labor, noting 

such things as a colonial past, which might clarify 

your position on labor rights for migrant workers. 

For the second issue surrounding mining rights, 

make sure to clarify your nation’s relationship with 

mining. For instance, does your nation control mineral 

deposits, and if so what kinds? Knowing the role of 

mining in the economy is important, as it speaks to the 

dependence of a country on the minerals it exports 

and the willingness of companies to do business 

there. If your country has nationalized any aspect of 

the mining industry, it should be noted here. 

The position papers are not meant to be a 

comprehensive overview, but as stated previously, 

43 


merely an introduction. They should be short and 

concise, but after reading them there should be no 

doubt as to where your country stands on either of 

the issues. 

Your position paper should be two pages doublespaced 

in total and include material from both topic 

areas. Please email these to the committee email 

account by March 1, 2013. 

Closing Remarks 

I am very excited to be chairing this committee, 

and I am sure that the conference will be spectacular. 

Make sure to read the study guide thoroughly, 

as it contains a lot of information pertinent to 

all delegations and will probably answer a lot of 

questions about the topics. It should serve as a 

complement to your own research. the issues are 

serious and I expect everyone will work hard to have 

a productive committee session. 

That being said, I hope you look at this conference, 

and in particular SPeCPOL, as a wonderful opportunity 

to meet new people and make new friends. My 

goal is to have a committee in which everyone feels 

comfortable participating and is unafraid to have 

their voice heard. Most of all, I want everyone to have 

fun. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free 

to contact me. In the meantime, I wish you all best 

of luck with your research, and I cannot wait to meet 

you all in March! 

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Mine, all mine. The Economist. http://www.economist. 

com/node/21543113 

Minerals and Africa’s Development . Economic 

Commission for Africa. http://www. 

africaminingvision.org/amv_resources/AMV/ 

ISG%20Report_eng.pdf 

Mozee, Carla. Venezuela considers nationalization 

of gold mines: reports. Market Watch: The Wall 

Street Journal. http://articles.marketwatch. 

com/2010-04-26/industries/30812541_1_goldreserve-gold-production-nationalization 

Narangoa, Li. Mongolia and Preventive Diplomacy: 

Haunted by History and Becoming Cosmopolitan. 

Asian Survey , Vol. 49, No. 2 (March/April 2009), 

pp. 358-379 

Petterson, Donald R.. The Witwatersrand a Unique 

Gold Mining Community. Economic Geography , 

Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul., 1951), pp. 209-221 

Phimister, i. R.. Rhodes, Rhodesia and the Rand. 

Journal of Southern African Studies , Vol. 1, No. 1 

(Oct., 1974), pp. 74-90 

Shrivastva, Rina. Mining of Copper in Ancient India. 

Indian Journal of the History of Science, Vol. 34, 

No. 3 (1999), pp. 173-180 

Starr, Kevin. The Gold Rush and the California Dream. 

California History , Vol. 77, No. 1, National Gold 

Rush Symposium (Spring, 1998), pp. 56-67 

Wacaster, Susan. Mongolia. 2011 Minerals Yearbook, 

United States Geological Survey. http://minerals. 

usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2011/myb3- 

2011-mg.pdf 

York, Jeffrey. Anvil Acquisition helps Minmetals 

turn the corner in the Congo. The Globe and 

Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/ 

report-on-business/international-business/ 

african-and-mideast-business/anvil-acquisitionhelps-minmetals-turn-the-corner-in-congo/ 

article4217145/ 

Appendix 

1980 Labor Law 

http://www.deg.gov.ae/SiteCollectionImages/ 

Content/pubdocs/UAE_Labour_Law_eng.pdf 

International Convention on the Protection of the 

Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their 

Families 

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cmw.htm 

Endnotes 

1 Dayton-Johnson, Jeff; Pfeiffer, Antje; Schuettler, 

Kirsten; Schwinn, Johanna. “Migration and 

employment,” Promoting Pro-Poor Growth: 

Employment, OeCd, http://www.oecd.org/dac/ 

povertyreduction/43280513.pdf, pp. 167 

2 “International labor migration: a rights based 

approach executive summary,” International Labor 

Organization, http://www.ilo.org/public/english/ 

protection/migrant/download/rights_based_es_ 

en.pdf 

3 Hansen, Randall. “Migration to Europe since 1945: its 

history and its lessons,” The Political Quarterly, 2003, 

pp. 25 

4 Ibid., pp. 28 

5 Castles, Steven. “The Guest-Worker in Western 

Europe - An Obituary,” International Migration 

Review , Vol. 20, (Winter, 1986), pp. 763 

6 “immigration to Australia during the 20 th Century – A 

timeline,” Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/ 

statistics/federation/timeline1.pdf 

7 Tierney, Robert. “Migrants and class in postwar 

47 


8 

Australia,” Australian National University, http:// 

www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/interventions/ 

migrants.htm 

Durand, Jorge. “The Bracero Program (1942-1964) a 

critical appraisal,” Migración y Desarrollo (9), pp. 34 

9 Ibid. 

10 Ibid., pp. 36 

11 Ibid., pp. 37 

12 Koser, Khalid. “The impact of financial crises on 

international migration: lessons learned,” Research 

Series, International Organization for Migration, 

http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/MRS37_ 

en.pdf, pp. 8 

13 “Migration and the financial crisis: How will the 

economic downturn affect migrants?,” Briefing No. 

17, Development Research Centre on Migration, 

Globalisation, and Poverty, http://www.dfid.gov.uk/ 

r4d/PDF/Outputs/MigrationGlobPov/BP17.pdf, pp. 8 

14 “The Guest-Worker in Western Europe - An Obituary,” pp. 

774 

15 Migration to Europe since 1945: its history and its 

lessons,” pp. 25 

16 “The Guest-Worker in Western Europe - An Obituary,” pp. 

763-767 

17 Ibid., pp. 765 

18 Werner, Heinz. “From guests to permanent visitors?” 

Magnet Societies: Immigration in postwar Germany 

and the United States, http://www.ilo.org/public/ 

english/protection/migrant/download/imp/imp42. 

pdf, pp. 11 

19 “The impact of financial crises on international 

migration: lessons learned,” pp. 12 

20 Ibid. 

21 Baldwin-Edwards, Martin. “Labour immigration 

22 

and labour markets in the GCC countries: national 

patterns and trends,” Global Governance, London 

School of economics, March 2011, http://www2. 

lse.ac.uk/government/research/resgroups/kuwait/ 

documents/Baldwin-Edwards,%20Martin.pdf, pp. 36 

“Labour immigration and labour markets in the GCC 

countries: national patterns and trends,” pp. 37 

23 Thiollet, Helene. “Migration as Diplomacy: Labor 

Migrants, Refugees, and Arab Regional Politics in the 

Oil-Rich Countries,” International Labor and Working 

Class History, 79, Spring 2011, http://oxpo.politics. 

ox.ac.uk/publications/working_papers/wp_10-11/ 

OXPO_10_11c_Thiollet.pdf, pp. 6 

24 “Labour immigration and labour markets in the GCC 


25 “Migration as Diplomacy: Labor Migrants, Refugees, 

and Arab Regional Politics in the Oil-Rich Countries,” 

pp. 7 

26 Kaur, Amarjit. “On the move: international migration 

in southeast Asia since the 1980s,” History Compass, 

March 2007, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ 

27 

doi/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2007.00393.x/full, pp. 303 

Skeldon, Ron. “The future of labor migration in 

Asia: patterns, issues, policies,” Mahidol University, 

September 1998, http://migration.ucdavis.edu/rs/ 

28 

more.php?id=58_0_3_0 

Piper, Nicola. “Migrant labor in Southeast Asia - 

country study: Singapore,”Asia Research Institute, 

National University of Singapore, http://www. 

29 

fes.de/aktuell/focus_interkulturelles/focus_1/ 

documents/8_000.pdf, pp. 5 

Eryιlmaz, Aytaç. “40 years in Germany – at home 

abroad,” Documentation Centre and Museum of the 

Migration from Turkey Cologne, http://www.domid. 

org/pdf/Artikel%20Aytac%20Eryilmaz%20TUSIAD%20 

Nr.%2011.pdf 

30 Ibid. 

31 Kιlιçlι, Ayça. “Turkish migrants in Germany, 

prospects of integration,”EU-Turkish Relations 

Dossier, http://www.iuee.eu/pdf-dossier/12/ 

rXNHUsicpVwS6Cd7AQHA.PDF 

32 Bartsch, Matthias; Brandt, Andrea; Steinvorth, 

33 

daniel. “A sorry history of self-deception and wasted 

opportunities,” Spiegel Online International, http:// 

www.spiegel.de/international/germany/turkishimmigration-to-germany-a-sorry-history-of-selfdeception-and-wasted-opportunities-a-716067.html 

Ibid. 

34 Ibid. 

35 “Migration as Diplomacy: Labor Migrants, Refugees, and 

Arab Regional Politics in the Oil-Rich Countries,” pp. 8 

36 Foad, Hisham. “The effects of the gulf war on 

migration and remittances,” San Diego State 

University, http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~hfoad/ 

37 

GulfMigration_v1.pdf, pp. 2 

Ibid., pp. 10 

38 “Migration as Diplomacy: Labor Migrants, Refugees, and 

Arab Regional Politics in the Oil-Rich Countries,” pp. 13 

39 Kaiszewski, Andrezj. “Arab versus Asian migrant 

workers in the GCC countries,” United Nations 

expert Group Meeting on international Migration 

and Development in the Arab Region, May 2006, 

http://www.un.org/esa/population/meetings/EGM_ 

Ittmig_Arab/P02_Kapiszewski.pdf, pp. 13 

40 Wickramasekera, Piyasiri. “Asian labor migration: 

issues and challenges in the era of globalization,” 

International Migration Papers, No. 57, International Labor 

Organization, http://oit.org/public/english/protection/ 

migrant/download/imp/imp57e.pdf, pp. 14 

41 “The future of labor migration in Asia: patterns, 

48 


42 

issues, policies” 

Ibid. 

43 “Asian labor migration: issues and challenges in the 

era of globalization,” pp. 27 

44 Ibid. 

45 Castles, Steven. “Migration as a factor in social 

46 

transformation in east Asia,” Asian Migration: Characterising 

an Emerging System, Princeton University, May 2000, http:// 

www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/press/010castles.pdf, pp. 5 

Kaur, Amarjit. “Labour migration in Southeast 

Asia: migration policies, labour exploitation and 

regulation,” Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy 2010, 

pp. 10 

47 “Ibid. 

48 “Labor migration in Asia,” International Organization 

for Migration, 2005, 

http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/ 

shared/mainsite/published_docs/books/labour_ 

migration_asia.pdf, pp. 20 

49 Ibid. 



51 Ramos, Stephen J. “The blueprint: a history of Dubai’s 

spatial development through oil discovery,” 

The Dubai Initiative, Belfer Center for Science and international 

Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, http://www.ciltuae. 

org/downloads/news/Ramos_-_Working_Paper_-_ 

FINAL.pdf, pp. 12 

52 Ibid. 



54 DeParle, Jason. “Fearful of restive foreign labor, Dubai 

eyes reforms,” The New York Times, http://www. 

nytimes.com/2007/08/06/world/middleeast/06dubai. 

html?pagewanted=all 

55 “UAE Labor Law,” The Human Rights Watch, 

November 2006, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/ 

uae1106/6.htm 

56 “Ibid. 

57 Abdul-Ahad, Ghaith. “‘We need slaves to build 

monuments,’” The Guardian, http://www.guardian. 

co.uk/world/2008/oct/08/middleeast.construction 

58 Hari, Johann. “The dark side of Dubai,” The 

Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/ 

59 

voices/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-ofdubai-1664368.html 

‘We need slaves to build monuments’ 

60 “Fearful of restive foreign labor, Dubai eyes reforms” 

61 Ibid. 

62 Ibid. 

63 “UAE Labor Law” 

64 “United Arab Emirates – Country Summary,” Human 

Rights Watch, January 2012, http://www.hrw.org/ 

world-report-2012/world-report-2012-united-arabemirates 

65 “World Migration Report 2010,” International 

Organization for Migration, http://publications.iom. 

int/bookstore/free/WMR_2010_ENGLISH.pdf, 

154-157 

pp. 

66 Darlington, Shasta. “Booming Brazil lures immigrant 

workers,” CNN, http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-21/ 

67 

americas/world_americas_brazil-lures-immigrants_1_ 

illegal-immigrants-booming-brazil-immigrant-workers?_ 

s=PM:AMERICAS 

“Labor migration from North Africa: main report,” 

The World Bank, 2010 

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMENA/Resources/ 

MiGRAtiONRePORt.pdf, pp. 4 

68 Bromehead, C. E. N. “The Evidence for Ancient Mining,”The 

Geographical Journal, August 1940, pp. 111 

69 Shrivastva, Rina. “Mining of Copper in Ancient India,” 

Indian Journal of the History of Science, 1999, pp. 175 

70 “Minerals and Africa’s Development,” Economic 

71 

Commission for Africa, http://www.africaminingvision.org/ 

amv_resources/AMV/ISG%20Report_eng.pdf, pp. 12 

Ibid. 

72 Starr, Kevin. “The Gold Rush and the California Dream,” 

California History , National Gold Rush Symposium (Spring, 

1998), pp. 57 

73 Brading, D.A, and Cross, Harry E. “Colonial Silver Mining: 

Mexico and Peru,” The Hispanic American Historical Review, 

November 1972, pp. 546 

74 “Minerals and Africa’s Development,” pp. 13 

75 Ibid., pp. 14 

76 Ibid., pp. 15 

77 Ibid., pp. 16 

78 Graziosi, Andrea. “The Great Strikes of 1953 in Soviet Labor 

Camps in the Accounts of Their Participants a Review,” 

Cahiers du Monde russe et soviétique , Oct. - Dec., 1992, pp. 

421 

79 Baark, Erik. Review of “The Chinese Coal Industry: An 

Economic 

org/487 

History,” http://chinaperspectives.revues. 

80 “Minerals and Africa’s Development,” pp. 13 

81 Ibid. 

82 “History,” Rio Tinto Group, http://www.riotinto.com/ 

83 

aboutus/history.asp 

“Brazil’s Super Miner: Vale,” Engineering and Mining 

Journal, January/February 2011, pp. 64 

84 “Billiton Chronology,” BHP Billiton, http://www.bhpbilliton. 

com/home/aboutus/ourcompany/Documents/2012/ 

Billiton%20Chronology_May%202012.pdf 

85 “Discover Our History,” Anglo American plc, http://www. 

angloamerican.com/about/history_timeline 

49 


86 Cabral, Luís. “De Beers and Beyond: The History of the 

international diamond Cartel,” New York University School 

of Business, http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~lcabral/teaching/ 

debeers3.pdf, pp. 3 

87 Ibid., pp. 5 

88 Goldschein, Eric. “The Incredible Story of How De Beers 

Created and Lost the Most Powerful Monopoly Ever,” 

Business Insider, 2011, http://www.businessinsider.com/ 

history-of-de-beers-2011-12?op=1 

89 ”Rio Tinto: Closer Inspection of a Reckless Mining Giant,” 

Corporate 

node/137 

Watch, http://corporate-rule.co.uk/drupal/ 

90 “History” 

91 “HSBC Global Mining Index,” HSBC, https://www.research. 

hsbc.com/ibcom/ui/save/public/indices/factSheet/G3.PDF 

92 Guelke, Leonard. “Frontier Settlement in Early Dutch South 

Africa,”Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 

March 1976, pp. 27 

93 Petterson, Donald R. “The Witwatersrand a Unique Gold 

Mining Community,” Economic Geography , July 1951, pp. 

221 

94 Ibid. pp. 211 

95 Ally, Russell. “War and Gold-The Bank of England, the 

London Gold Market and South Africa’s Gold, 1914- 

19,” Journal of Southern African Studies , June 1991, 

pp. 222 

96 Christopher, A.J. “Patterns of British Overseas Investment 

in Land, 1885-1913,” Transactions of the Institute of British 

Geographers , 1985, pp. 463 

97 Phimister, I. R. “Rhodes, Rhodesia and the Rand,” Journal 

of Southern African Studies , Oct., 1974, pp. 83 

98 Krikler, Jeremy. “Women, Violence and the Rand Revolt of 

1922,” Journal of Southern African Studies, September 1996, 

pp. 349 

99 “Patterns of British Overseas Investment in Land, 1885- 

1913,” pp. 462 

100 “Rhodes, Rhodesia and the Rand” pp. 84 

101 “Women, Violence, and the Rand Revolt of 1922” pp. 349 

102 “Discover our History” 

103 “in the Pits,” The Economist, http://www.economist.com/ 

node/21560903 

104 Ibid. 

105 Mozee, Carla. “Venezuela considers nationalization of 

gold mines: reports,” Market Watch: The Wall Street 

Journal, http://articles.marketwatch.com/2010-04-26/ 

106 

industries/30812541_1_gold-reserve-gold-productionnationalization 

Crooks, Nathan, and Pons, Corina Rodriguez. “Chavez 

preparing government takeover of Venezuela’s gold 

mining industry,” Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/ 

news/2011-08-17/chavez-preparing-government-takeoverof-venezuela-s-gold-mining-industry.html 

107 “Venezuela considers nationalization of gold mines: 

reports” 

108 Jamasmie Cecilia. “Rusoro asks World Bank to arbitrate 

dispute with Venezuela,” Mining.com, http://www.mining. 

com/rusoro-mining-asks-the-world-bank-to-arbitratedispute-with-venezuela/ 

109 Kraul, Chris. “Economists see painful cuts coming for 

Venezuela,” Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes. 

110 

com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-venezuelaeconomy-20130112,0,7119438.story 

Narangoa, Li. “Mongolia and Preventive Diplomacy: 

Haunted by History and Becoming Cosmopolitan,” 

Asian Survey, March/April 2009, pp. 361 

111 Ibid., pp. 362 

112 Ibid., pp. 363 

113 Ibid., pp. 364 

114 Wacaster, Susan. “Mongolia,” 2011 Minerals Yearbook, 

United States Geological Survey, http://minerals.usgs.gov/ 

minerals/pubs/country/2011/myb3-2011-mg.pdf, pp. 18.1 

115 David, Grainger. “The Great Mongolian Gold Rush,” 

CNN Money, http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/ 

116 

fortune_archive/2003/12/22/356094/index.htm 

Beeche, Hannah. “Hesitant Steppes,” Time, http://www. 

time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2121648-1,00.html 

117 “Mongolia” pp. 18.1 

118 Mcnamara, William. “Boom in Mongolia deflates after 

deal that started it is threatened,” New York Times 

Dealbook, http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/ 

119 

boom-in-mongolia-deflates-after-deal-that-started-it-isthreatened-2/ 

“Mine, all mine,” The Economist, http://www.economist. 

com/node/21543113 

120 Brooke, James. “Mining brings the Gobi Desert to life,” 

The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/14/ 

business/worldbusiness/14iht-tugrik.html?_r=1& 

121 “Hesitant Steppes” 

122 “Boom in Mongolia deflates after deal that started it is 

threatened” 

123 “Digging for Victory,” The Economist, http://www. 

124 

economist.com/node/21530110 

York, Jeffrey. “Anvil Acquisition helps Minmetals turn 

the corner in the Congo,” The Globe and Mail, http:// 

www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/ 

international-business/african-and-mideast-business/ 

anvil-acquisition-helps-minmetals-turn-the-corner-incongo/article4217145/ 

125 “Coltan, the ‘blood mineral’ of Congo,” France 24, http:// 

observers.france24.com/content/20081112-coltan-bloodmineral-congo-mining-nkunda-rwanda 

50 


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