IFMSA SCORP

International Federation of Standing Committee on

Medical Students human Rights and Peace
Associations

SCORP Manual
3rd edition
SCORP Manual, 3rd edition

Authors (in alphabetical order):

Mubashar Ahmed Mohammed Abogossi (MedSIN-Sudan, Sudan)
Jani Anttola (FiMSIC, Finland)
Layal Chaker (IFMSA-The Netherlands, The Netherlands)
Megan Gaydos (Physicians for Human Rights-USA, USA)
Jihaan Hassan (IFMSA - The Netherlands, The Netherlands)
Eva M. Holst (IMCC, Denmark)
Marloes van Kasteren (IFMSA-The Netherlands, The Netherlands)
Ammar Kayali (IFMSA-Palestine, Palestine)
Leila Kyavar (AMSA, Austria)
Jonathan Mamo (MMSA, Malta)
Jesse Rohde (IFMSA-USA)
Kevin OCallaghan (IFMSA-Ireland, Ireland)
Gze Ozdemir (Bosporus Youth Association, Turkey)
Javier Padilla Bernaldez (IFMSA-Spain, Spain)
Sara Shah (IFMSA-Norway, Norway)
Ali Sibtain Farooq Sheikh (Ifmsa-Pakistan, Pakistan)
Marko Zlicar (SloMSIC, Slovenia)

Editor:
Marko Zlicar (SloMSIC, Slovenia)

1st edition chapters revisers:

Albert V. Manasyan (AMSP, Armenia)
Jaspreet Dhaliwal (MedSIN, UK)

Previous editions completed with help from:

Peter Buur Van Kooten Niekerk (IMCC, Denmark)
Sibylle Krmer (Switzerland)
Mladen Milovanovic (IFMSA-Sweden, Sweden)
David Storey (MedSIN, UK)

Layout:
Marko Zlicar

IFMSA, International Federation of Medical Students Associations

SCORP, Standing Committee on human Rights and Peace; August 2006

6

2
 CONTENTS
Word from the Editor................................................ 4
Foreword ..................... 5
SCORP Mission Statement...... ... ...... 6
Chapter 1 Human Rights....................................................... 7
Chapter 2 Human Rights & Health...................... 10
Chapter 3 Migrations....................................... 11

REGIONAL REPORTS
Chapter 4 Americas.................................................................. 14
Chapter 5 Africa........................................................................ 18
Chapter 6 Caswaname............................................................. 23
Chapter 7 Asia......................................................................... 25
Chapter 8 Europe.................................................................... 26

Chapter 9 SCORP Background...................... 28

Chapter 10 SCORP Meetings on GAs................. 30
Chapter 11 SCORP Regionalisation.................... 33
Chapter 12 Starting your SCORP Group................................... 37
Chapter 13 National Officers..................... 41
Chapter 14 About IFMSA............................................ 43
Chapter 15 Official IFMSA Projects........................................... 47
Chapter 16 SCORP Partners and Other Organisations............ 48

Appendix 1 Resources......................................... 51
Appendix 2 Links.......................................... 52

3
WORD FROM THE EDITOR Marko Zlicar

We live in an ever-changing world. Does it

sound like a clich? I am willing to take that risk.
Because we do live in such world. And one of
many proves of that is the third edition of this
publication that is being published three years
after the first one.

SCORP deals with Human Rights, Refugees,

Peace...the issues that are continuously chang-
ing under the influence of politics, nature and
many others. The committee itself is also
reforming, a bit here and a little bit there.
Consequently, the second edition of SCORP
Manual became obsolete and we decided its
time for a new, revised one.

With great help from Eva M Holst and Layal

Chaker, the SCORP Directors, a new series of
chapters was enabled (Chapters 4-8) - Human
Rights issues from the Regions, giving a more
detailed look of what is really happening in var-
ius parts of the world. And owing to Jonathan
Mamo, SCORP also has a new logo, used on
the front page of this edition.

I would like to thank all who contributed to the

current and past editions of SCORP Manual and
all, who ever read it and used it - you are the
ones who give this publication the purpuse to
exist.

Marko Zlicar

4
Layal Chaker & Eva M. Holst FOREWORD
Dear IFMSA-member, Dear SCORP member,
Dear Friend,

This is the second time that we, Eva M Holst and

Layal Chaker, have the chance to present to you
another edition of the SCORP manual. We are
very proud to be able to introduce to you the
third edition of the SCORP manual. You will find
that this manual is updated with the latest news
on Human Rights issues from the Region and a
new logo that we will be using in SCORP from
now on. A huge thanks goes once again to won-
derful Marko Zlicar, who has been involved in all
three manuals, which would not have existed
without him. We would like to see this edition of
much use to you as part of your handover, infor-
mation resource, SCORP-encyclopaedia and
much more.

We hope you have as much fun with your

SCORP work as we have, and that this manual
will make it easier for you to get started on
SCORP activities if there are none in your coun-
try so far.

The SCORP manual is never fully updated and

with new developments in the field of Refugees,
Human Rights and Peace, we strongly advice
you to inform us of any additions you would like
to make. Should you have any questions or
advice about this manual please contact Marko
at marko@dsms.net, and for general questions
about SCORP your SCORP director at
scorpd@ifmsa.org.

By the means of this closing remark, we wish

you very happy readings,

All the best of wishes,

Eva M. Holst and Layal Chaker

Directors of the Standing Committee on
Refugees and Peace 2004-2006

5
SCORP MISSION STATEMENT

The Standing Committee on human Rights and

Peace is committed to promoting Human Rights
and Peace. As future health care professionals
we work towards empowering and improving the
health of refugees and other vulnerable people.

6
 Chapter 1
Jonathan Mamo, Kevin OCallaghan,
Gze Ozdemir, Sara Shah, Marko Zlicar HUMAN RIGHTS
/This chapter was written using four of the main all kinds orally or printed without any frontiers.
Human Rights Instruments: the Universal According to this right, everyone can express
Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations- their opinions publicly without any limitation
UN, 1948) the International Covenant on Civil unless it is advocating war, hostility, discrimina-
and Political Rights (UN, 1966), the International tion and violence.
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Everyone has the right to protect and pursue his
Rights (UN, 1966) and the The European interest through assembling and association
Convention on Human Rights (Council of with others. This includes the right to form and
Europe, 1950). Of great help was also the join trade unions and any kinds of associations,
Council of Europes publication, the Compass./ foundations since they comply with the law and
democratic society.
Human rights (HR) can roughly be divided into Every citizen has the right to take part in the
five separate categories: Political, Civil, Social, public affairs, governments directly or through
Economic and Cultural Rights. freely chosen representatives and to vote under
the guarantee of the free expression of the will
This division also coincides with the evolution of of the electors. Moreover, every citizen should
Human Rights. The first generation of HR was hold the right to be elected and should have
based mostly on political concerns and begun equal access to public services without any kind
emerging as early as the 17th century. This gen- of discrimination.
eration comprises of the Political and Civil
Rights. The second generation of HR was born
out of the ideas of equality and access to essen- Civil Rights (Kevin OCallaghan)
tial social and economic goods, services and
opportunities. They developed alongside with Civil rights pertain to a persons rights as a
the rise of the working class during the industri- member of society. These rights are important to
alisation period. Today, categories of Economic, ensure that all people are treated equally in their
Social and Cultural Rights are formed. (For day-to-day lives by governments, businesses
more information, please visit and other people.
http://eycb.coe.int/compass.)
They function primarily to prevent discrimination
on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, eth-
Political Rights (Gze Ozdemir) nicity, sexual preference or national back-
ground. An essential application of these rights
is in the area of justice, ensuring that all individ-
Civil and political rights deal essentially with lib- uals are treated equally in the eyes of the courts.
erty. They are fundamentally civil and political in An integral part of these judicial civil rights is the
nature and serve to protect the individual from right of access to a fair, impartial and public
excesses of the state. Political rights mainly deal hearing in the instance of a criminal charge
with the rights to enter in to public sphere and being brought against an individual.
freedoms of thought, expression, religion and all
kinds of political affairs. The essentiality of the They also attempt to ensure freedom from inhu-
legal instruments underlining political rights is man and degrading treatment at the hands of
that they are to be applied without regard to governmental authorities, including torture and
race, color, sex, religion, social origin or gender. arbitrary interference with a persons privacy,
Accordingly, everyone should have the right to family, home or correspondence or arbitrary
freedom of religion, conscience and thought. deprivation of property. This includes a right to
Everyone has the right to adopt any kind of liberty, especially the right to be free from arbi-
belief or religion of his choice and enjoys the trary arrest and detention.
right to practice his religion in public sphere.
Nobody can force anyone to adopt a particular Civil rights also cover an individuals freedom of
belief or religion. movement and freedom from slavery. Any per-
Freedom of expression on the other hand pro- son is free to move and reside anywhere within
vides the right to receive and seek information of the borders of a state and has the right to leave
7
Chapter 1: Human Rights

any country, and return to his/her own. - work freely chosen or accepted

All persons have the right to life, which any indi- - safe working conditions
vidual or institution cannot deprive them of. In - equal opportunity for advancement
the course of life, all persons have the right to
freely marry and have children. The rights of the - rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of work-
family are recognized as being fundamental to ing hours
the basic structure of society.
- the ability to form trade unions
All these civil rights described above are
- the ability to strike
designed to protect the rights of individuals and
families from the unwarranted intrusion of gov- - paid or otherwise compensated maternity
leave.
Each nation which has ratified the Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural rights is required
to submit annual reports on its progress in pro-
viding for these rights to the Secretary General.
The Secretary General is then to transmit the
reports to the Economic and Social Council.

Social Rights (Jonathan Mamo)

Each individual in a social context has the right

to freely develop his or her personality when
European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg, France given the freedom to interact with other individu-
als within a cultural and social context. Social
ernments, and to allow all persons to freely live
rights mainly constitute/involve the subjects
their lives without arbitrary hindrance of their
interactions with his family, home or correspon-
lawful activities.
dence. It also takes in to account a persons pri-
vacy, honour and reputation. This also consti-
tutes a persons right to protection of the law on
Economic Rights (Sara Shah)
all of these counts.

The United Nations documents, the Universal Both males and females are entitled to social
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the rights to marriage and freedom of consent with
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural regards to this act. The family is the natural and
Rights, as well as the European Convention on fundamental group-unit of society and is entitled
Human Rights include articles dealing with eco- to protection by society and the state. Every indi-
nomic human rights. The Economic Rights vidual may freely belong to an association and
describe the basic economic rights of the indi- has the freedom of assembly. In addition each
vidual and reflect the fact that a certain level of individual has the right to social security and the
material security is necessary for human dignity. realisation of his/her economic social and cul-
ture rights.
The Covenant on Economic Rights includes the
right of:
As mentioned before, everyone has the right to
- self-determination rest and leisure. Individuals also have the right
to an adequate standard of living both for him or
- wages sufficient to support a minimum stan- herself and his or her family, and has the right to
dard of living security in the event of unemployment, sick-
ness, disability, old age or other circumstantial
- fair wages and equal remuneration for work of events beyond control. Motherhood and child-
equal value
8
 Chapter 1: Human Rights

hood are especially entitled to care and assis-

tance.

Cultural Rights (Marko Zlicar)

Cultural Rights describe the cultural way of life

of a community. Although equally important,
they are often given less attention. As all Human
Rights, they apply to everyone, regardless of
race, colour, sex, language, religion etc.

According to the Human Rights instruments

everybody has the right to participate in the cul-
tural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and
to benefit from scientific advancement. Also, all
persons have the right to the protection of their
moral and material interests resulting from any
scientific, literary or artistic production of which
they are the authors.

The right to education also falls under this cate-

gory, resulting in the promotion and develop-
ment of culture and science. Education per se
should be directed to the full development of the
human personality and the sense of its dignity,
and should strengthen the respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms. Needless to
say, education should be accessible to everyone
and, according to the documents, should also be
free of charge. Parents have a prior right to
determine the kind of education given to their
children.

As could be expected, Cultural Rights are close-

ly linked to other Human Rights. Therefore, one
could interpret rights such as the right to religion,
leisure, peaceful assembly etc. as Cultural
Rights, since they form the whole of a culture of
a certain community.

Council of Europe/IFMSA joint study session,

Strasbourg, France, May 2005

9
Chapter 2
HUMAN RIGHTS & HEALTH Jani Anttola & Megan Gaydos

Human rights are legally guaranteed by

human rights law, protecting individuals and The right to health is acquiring greater strength
groups against actions that interfere with funda- within national legal frameworks. Over 100 con-
mental freedoms and human dignity. They stitutions now enshrine health as a human right.
encompass what are known as civil, cultural, Reflecting universal values, every country in the
economic, political and social rights. Human world is now party to at least one human rights
rights are principally concerned with the relation- treaty which contain key provisions relevant to
ship between the individual and the state. the battle towards securing health and prosperi-
Governmental obligations with regard to ty worldwide.
human rights broadly fall under the principles of
respect, protect and fulfil.
The information above was cited from the World
There are complex linkages between health and Health Organizations 25 Questions & Answers
human rights. Violations or lack of attention to on Health & Human Rights. The publication can
human rights can have serious health conse- be found at
quences; Health policies and programmes can http://www.who.int/hhr/activities/q_and_a/q_a_p
promote or violate human rights in the ways they ress/en/
are designed or implemented; Vulnerability and
the impact of ill health can be reduced by taking For the full text of international treaties and dec-
steps to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. larations on human rights, please visit
http://www.bayefsky.com/tree.php/area/treaties
The right to the highest attainable standard of
health in international human rights law is a
claim to a set of social arrangements - norms, IFMSA involvement in human rights issues
institutions, laws, an enabling environment - that
can best secure the enjoyment of this right. The Standing Committee on Refugees and
Peace acknowledges that cognizance of the
The right to health is closely related to and linkages between health and human rights is
dependent upon the realization of other human essential to medical students and doctors in
rights, including the right to food, housing, work, order to be able to promote health and environ-
education, participation, the enjoyment of the mental improvement. We will also have to be
benefits of scientific progress and its applica- familiar with the terminology and the workings of
tions, life, non-discrimination, equality, the prohi- relevant international instruments and learn to
bition against torture, privacy, access to informa- incorporate the correct terms in our own cam-
tion, and the freedoms of association, assembly paigns.
and movement. These rights are clearly defined
in numerous international laws, treaties and
declarations, such as (Examples: What has been done in the SCORP
on this field? What kind of activity could be done
a. The Convention on the Elimination of All in the future?)
Forms of Racial Discrimination
b. The International Covenant on Civil and (Many links and other resources can be found at
Political Rights the end of this publication in a separate chapter
c. The International Covenant on entitled Human Rights Resources, written by
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Megan Gaydos. /Editor/)
d. The Convention Against Torture, and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
e. The Convention on The Rights of the
Child
f. International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families
10
 Chapter 3
Javier Padilla Bernaldez MIGRATIONS
Migrations, nobody can deny that we are talking
about an important reality in our current world. If The repulsive causes are those encouraging
we want to give a definition of it we could say the migrant to leave his country. They are the
that migrations is "a movement of people, espe- overcrowding, lack of access to health, difficult
cially of whole groups, from one place, region, or access to house, difficult political situation At
country to another, particularly with the intention the same time, these cause come from other
of making permanent settlement in a new loca- more complicated reasons concerning the inter-
tion." national trade and economical system, poverty,
In this article we are not going to talk about how cultural facts...
many people move from one country to another,
we are going to try to look at the causes of
migrations and to some important aspects con- Undocumented migrants
cerning especially undocumented migrants.
When we talk bout migrants, and especially if we
are focusing in topics like access to health,
Causes human rights..., we have to talk about undocu-
mented migrants.
We live in a world were everybody talks of what
is happening, but few people talk about why Many of the migrants living in occidental coun-
these things happen. We are used to thinking tries have no documentation and no possibility
that migrations happen because of a high grade to get it, so, they are living in an undocumented
of poverty in the origin country, but we can't stay status, being more vulnerable to suffer violations
in such a superficial analysis. of their most basic rights

We can say that the main cause of migrations is

the difference among the expectations that the Regularisation campaigns
migrant has in the origin and in the hosting
country. It is going to be motivated by many dif- In order to solve the situation of the big amount
ferent reasons in the hosting and in the origin of undocumented migrants living in some coun-
country (what we can call "attractive" and "repul- tries (for instance, in Spain, in January 2005 it
sive" causes). was said to be over 1.300.000 undocumented
migrants), these counties have tried to set up
"regularisation campaigns", consisting of giving
documents (identity card, residence card...) to
those migrants proving they fit the conditions
required by the government of the country.

We can look at the example of Spain, where a

regularisation campaign has been run from
January 05 to April 05. In this campaign, undoc-
umented migrants had to prove that they had
been living in Spain for (at least) 6 months, that
they had no criminal past (they needed a certifi-
cate of their country proving this) and they had
to show a job contract.
At first sight we may think that regularisation
The attracting causes are those encouraging campaigns are a good way of solving the prob-
the migrant to move to a specific country lem of undocumented migrants, but, we have to
because of the good situation he thinks he's look further to get a realistic analysis of the situ-
going to get in this country. They are the good ation. Most undocumented migrants live with the
health care systems, possibility of achieving a thought that they can't approach to the official
higher socio-economic stage, opportunities of institutions to do anything because they are
studying... going to be deported to their origin countries.
11
Chapter 3: Migrations

Because of that, in many cases, they tend to be urgent situations: Belgium, Netherlands...
less informed about everything run by the State.
This lack of relationship between undocumented These are the different possibilities found in the
migrants and official institutions lead the govern- Constitutions of the European countries but, in
ments to prepare regularisation campaigns that the general practice, undocumented migrants
don't really fit with the needs of the migrant pop- tend to be assisted everywhere, at least in
ulation (requirements difficult to prove, no con- urgent situations.
trol on job contracts trafficking...).
The Platform for International Cooperation on
It is necessary to look at the regularisation cam- Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) proposes and
paigns as a way of acting on the consequences asks the governments to recognise in their laws,
of the undocumented migrations, but they are at least, the urgent health care assistance to
not acting to solve the cause; regularisation undocumented migrants, trying to eliminate the
campaigns are a temporary action designed to possible barriers between the migrant and the
mend some consequences, not to act solving access to health care. In addition, they express
any cause; due to that, maybe it would be better the will of arriving to an equal assistance to
having a continuous regularisation system at the migrants and native population all around the
same time as migration policies are run in the world.
origin and in the host countries.

Human Rights and undocumented migrants

Undocumented migrants and access to
health As we have already shown, undocumented
migrants are in a vulnerable situation in their
Access to health may be a problem for all the host countries; illegal detentions, discrimination
people arriving to a foreign country, even more if in hospitals, violation of association right
they have no idea of the language spoken in the
host country and they come from a different cul- As an example of this kind of violations of
ture, with a different health care system and human rights we can see the next examples:
another way of understanding the health-illness
concepts. 1) I entered the Fuerteventura camp on
September 12, 2001.... It's a prison. We don't
This problem is considerably bigger when we even see the sun. For twenty-four days I did not
talk about undocumented migrants; as they see the sun.
have no official documentation allowing them to - Human Rights Watch interview a male migrant from
stay in the country, there are many countries Guinea Bissau detained at the Fuerteventura deten-
where they can't have access to the health care tion facility in Las Palmas, Spain, November 2001.
system. According to testimony gathered by Human Rights
Watch from former detainees and aid workers who
had visited the facility, it was severely overcrowded;
Concerning this aspect we can find many differ-
had substandard sanitary conditions; and restricted
ent kinds of regulations regarding health access access to basic health care. Officials in the facility
and undocumented migrants within the prohibited detainees from exercising or having
European Union; these are some examples: access to fresh air; limited access to lawyers and
other outside communication; provided no informa-
- Countries where access to health by tion regarding detainees' rights; and severely imped-
undocumented migrants is not ed the right to seek asylum.
mentioned: Denmark, Austria, Sweden...
- Countries giving access to health in a 2) I paid a man 350 German marks (approxi-
utilitarian way (contagious diseases...): mately U.S. $162) to go to Greece since I had
United Kingdom... no papers. Instead, he brought me to Greece
- Countries giving an almost complete and sold me to a bar. He told me he would kill
access to health: Spain, France, Italy... me if I left. We could not leave the house. There
- Countries giving access to health in were twelve women, all of us from fifteen to
12
 Chapter 3: Migrations

twenty years old. We slept with a lot of men, ten Mexico, but the only borders opened to Mexico
men a day. We were beaten if we tried to leave. in this union are the Economic ones, having
I was beaten with a belt. I was hurt. The others, closed the free movement of people from
too. The police came and arrested all of us Mexico to the States and Canada.
women and brought us to a small prison. I
stayed for four months in prison. After that I went
to court. Because I did not have papers, the And that is our future, the future of migrations...a
court gave me three months [suspended sen- world moved by economical interests that tends
tence and immediate deportation] and told me I to discriminate people in order to make trade
could not return to Greece for five years. easier...the current situation of migrations is just
- Human Rights Watch interview a Bulgarian traffick- a show of how some economic interests prevail
ing victim in Korydallos Women's Prison, Athens, over some human beings... will it change?...will
Greece, November 2000. we change it?

The near future of migrations

Once we have a general overview about the cur-

rent situation of migrations in our world we have
to think about what is the future of migrations
and how they are going to be influenced by the
way of the world.

It is 2005, nowadays there is no barrier for the

free crossing of clothes, vegetables, coffee and
all these materials that are going to be con-
sumed by occidental countries but, in opposition
to that, we find that borders are getting a grow-
ing importance in what concerns to the free pass
of people from one country to another. For
instance, in the European Union, countries tend
to open their internal borders with the other
countries members of the EU and to close the
borders with the rest of the world (mainly with
countries with a lower income); with the submis-
sion of the European Constitution, the EU signs
the needed statements to support this kind of
closed policies. But it is not only something con-
cerning the EU. In North America, there is an
Economic Union including Canada, U.S.A. and

13
Chapter 4
REGIONAL REPORT: AMERICAS Jesse Rohde

The United States also continued their participa-

tion in the conflictsfighting in Afghanistan and
The refugee world has become highly com- Iraq. The media highlighted human rights abus-
plex. UNHCR [United Nations High es that may have otherwise slipped by gone
Commission for Refugees] currently cares for unnoticed. Allegations of torture and abuse by
19.2 million people in all corners of the world U.S. military police, CIA and contractors
and in all types of situations. It pursues many involved in the occupation of Iraq at The Abu
roles including providing material aid for civil- Ghraib prisonscandal made world news in 2003
ians who may number just a handful or many was world news, as didwas the treatment of
hundreds of thousands in any given exodus. It inmates at Guantanaemo Bay. The killing of 24
is involved in highly technical legal work assist- civilians in Haditha, Iraq caught the attention of
ing asylum seekers, helping governments the world community once again as human
establish refugee regimes and helping to shape rights abuses continued to pile upthe number of
international humanitarian law. human rights abuses by US agencies mounted.
(UNHCR Web Site, 2006)
The United States, however, did show itself to be
a difficult, but generous recipient of over 300
The situation of refugees, internally displaced refugees from Mozambique, as well as a new
persons, and asylum seekers within the region home to over 58,000 people seeking asylum
known as the Americas, like the global situation, from civil conflict and human rights abuses.
is complex and regionally diverse. North
America and the Caribbean, includes the Cuba, once again, showed upappeared in the
countries of: Antigua and Bermuda, Bahamas, news basedmedia, based on their provision of
Barbados, Canada, Cuba, Dominica, free education to all residents including
Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, refugees. An article from the UNHCR Web Site
Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and illustrates this stance. An excerpt reads, Marie
the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Rose has not wasted her time. The 34-year-old
Tobago, and the United States of America. slightly built Burundian has a scroll full of diplo-
These countries represent soght-after destina- mas which she shows with a shy but proud
tions for asylum seekers. Some countries, such smile. They certify she has acquired an array of
as the USA receive large numbers (57,823 skills during her time in Cuba. Marie Rose,
sought asylum in the US in 2006), with others Cubas only Burundian refugee, has successful-
such as St. Kitts, Nevis and St. Lucia, receiving ly completed courses in Spanish, Italian, com-
smaller numbers.Together, these countries rep- puter studies, massage, negotiation and secre-
resent sought after destinations for asylum tarial skills amongst others. Given the many
seekers (U.S.A. 57,823 persons), as well as options in Cuba where education is free for
lesser-publicised island nations such as St. Kitts everybody, it would be a pity not to use this
and Nevis and St. Lucia. unique opportunity, says Marie Rose. Cubas
free education system clearly benefits refugees.
2006, however, has been a year of publicity for Cuba has also maintained its reputation for pro-
North America, in particular in with particular viding a good standard of free health care and
regards to refugees, asylum seekers, internally education to which the some 700 refugees on
displace persons, conflicts, and Human Rights the island also have access.
issues. Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the
lack of preparation the U.S.A. had undertaken in Canada, in 2006, continues to be a leader in the
preventing and preparing for the after effects of movement towards accepting asylum seekers
disaster. Katrina left the Gulf Coast of the and refugees. In 2006this year, Afghan
United States homeless, and left several hun- refugees, among others, continued to find soli-
dred thousands people displaced as they tude solace in the government and health care
escaped from Louisiana, Mississippi, and systems that Canada offers.
Alabama to Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky,
Georgia, Florida, and as far as California. In Central America and Mexico, including the
countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador,
14
 Chapter 4: Regional report: Americas

Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, region. Brazil remains the UNHCRs model for
and Panama the situation for refugees, internal- the integration of refugees. On November 9,
ly displaced persons, and asylum seekers was 2006, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
rarely reported in the news in 2006 in the news. Antonio Guterres visited Brazilian President Luiz
However, refugees from Colombia who found Inacio Lula da Silva and thanked him for playing
asylum in Costa Rica over the last several years a leading role in an international campaign for
received a vote of confidence, and evidence that the promotion of tolerance and solidarity
Costa Rica might just be their new home. In an towards refugees. In addition High
article from the UNHCR, Ricardo Angel, a Commissioner Guterres praised the countrys
refugee from Colombia who had been fighting imaginative efforts to help refugees to integrate
for access to financial credit was granted this successfully, and stated thatBrazil is already
right. The court ruled that the refusal of refugee a regional leader on refugee issues. It is an
loan applications was discriminatory and in vio- important international player on a number of
lation of ones human rights. The Chamber fur- crucial issues and can also play a seminal role
ther declared that refugees are entitled to in combating racism and xenophobia world-
receive credits from national banks, noting that wide. (UNHCR Web Site, 2006) A story on
they are considered temporary residents in UNHCRs web site, paints a picture of what
Costa Rica under the countrys migration law. Brazil is dealing with when it comes to refugee
This ruling is a step towards the local integra- reception.
tion of the refugee population in Costa Rica,
said UNHCRs Philip Kovar. We now have an Twenty-year old Gabriela [not her real name is
extraordinary precedent that opens wider possi- one of approximately 3,000 refugees in Brazil
bilities to the refugee community in the country. who have been helped by a network of institu-
tions working to ensure refugees are not left to
Central America, and in particular Panama, survive entirely on their own in their new coun-
received more Colombian refugees as try. She was once the Colombian and Pan-
Colombias indigenous leaders were forced to American roller-skating champion, but left all
flee Panama the country on May 19, 2006. that behind when she was forced to flee
UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis stated, Colombia three years ago. In the Colombian
Seven leaders of an indigenous group recently capital, Bogot, Gabriela divided her time
forced from their ancestral lands by one of between styding computer engineering and
Colombias irregular armed groups, have fled roller-skating her passion since she was nine
with their families to neighboring Panama years old. However, once she had attained
because of continuous threats and fears for their national fame for her prowess at the sport, an
safety. On Tuesday, the group of 47 people armed group attempted to extort money from
arrived on three small boats in the Darien region her family, threatening to kidnap, or even kill
of Panamas pacific coast after a difficult cross- them if they didnt pay up. In the end, Gabriela
ing on rough seas. Colombias refugee popula- was forced to abandom her preparations for the
tion continues to be great as people flee for their roller-skating world championships, and go into
safety to Costa Rica, Panama, and Brazil, hiding with her family. We were so terrified.
amongst other nations. When I walked in the streets, I couldnt stop
looking around me, Gabriela recalls. With the
Mexico continues to be the home to for thou- Colombian authorities unable to assure the fam-
sands of Guatemalan refugees. Mexicos poli- ilys safety, they went first of all to Leticia, on the
cies on accepting refugees remain liberal, allow- Brazilian border, before moving on by boat and
ing for Guatemalan refugees to easily make the then bus to the capital Brasilia, where they
transition to life in Southern Mexico. applied for asylum.

In South America, including the countries: Shortly after their arrival, however, the family
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, became aware of the Migration and Human
Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Rights Institute (IMDH), a local organization
Uruguay, and Venezuela, refugees continue to whichthat conducts a range of activities
play an important part in the social fabric of the designed to help refugees adapt to their new life
15
Chapter 4: Regional report: Americas

in Brazil. In addition, the IMDH acts as one of local communities in Northern Ecuador relate to
the partners in an UNHCR-run scheme to pro- each other in a peaceful, understanding way.
vide training for border guards on human rights
and asylum issues. Border-training activities The arts festival is the result of a project started
are an important component of the Borders of by UNHCR and its local partner, Fundacin
Solidarity initiative proposed in the Mexico Plan Desarrollo, Accin y Vida in June 2005 to pro-
of Action a regional initiative to help refugees mote understanding and reduce tensions
and internally displaced people that was adopt- between communities. Some 250,000 people
ed in 2004. In addition, thanks to a program live in the parish of Lita, which has a population
UNHCR started in Brazil last year, 32 different of both Ecuadorians and Colombians who come
partner organizations including IDMH are from several different ethnic groups mestizos,
afro-Ecuadorians and Awa indigenous people.

Many of the Colombians arrived in Lita, some as

refugees, after fleeing violent conflict in their
homeland. Last year, UNHCR and the local
authorities conducted a study to assess the
needs of Colombian refugees in the area and
identify ways of helping them and the communi-
ties in which they live.

The study found that relations between different

groups and communities in the parish were very
tense, often leading to conflict. The Arts Project,
supported by UNHCR and the local authorities,
was set up in an effort to improve relations. One
artist let it be known, I never expected to get
currently assisting asylum seekers and refugees support for playing guitar, which is my real pas-
in eight different cities in the Amazonian region. sion, he says. Since arriving in Ecuador I have
worked in carpentry and in agriculture in order to
The number of Colombian asylum seekers in survive. Being able to dedicate time to music
Brazil has been steadily growing over the past has helped me not to dwell on bad thoughts, it
five years. However, there are probably many puts me in a better mood. I have been able to
more Colombians in need of protection in the get to know the other band members who are
country than appear in the statistics, since lots of now like my family in this country.
people in refugee-like situations try to remain
anonymous, especially in the border region. Lita is a model of what can be done to help a
Brazil began receiving refugees in 2001, and small community organize itself to cope better
over the past two years have received 105 with the tensions associated with different
Colombian refugee men, women and children groups living together on the same land, says
(UNHCR, 2006). Through the Cartagena Sandra Chamorro. Being so close to the bor-
Declaration, which widens the definition of der, Lita cannot be oblivious to the troubles on
refugees to include those who have fled their the other side and the people here are showing
countries because they were threatened by gen- great generosity and solidarity with Colombian
eralized violence or internal conflicts, many refugees. Across Ecuador, there are an esti-
more Colombians continue to find a new home mated 250,000 Colombians of concern to
in neighboring countries. UNHCR. As well as working with the authorities
to ensure their protection, the refugee agency
Ecuador has also shown itself to be an empa- provides refugees and host communities with
thetic nation in terms of receiving Colombian help in the areas of health, education and
refugees. In fact, art festivals, among other income-generation.
forms of bringing people together to share cul-
ture, have allowed Colombian refugees and Currently, the UNHCR is concerned for the safe-
16
 Chapter 4: Regional report: Americas

ty of residents in the Northern region of

Colombia, in the villages in and around Narino.
This region has seen a marked increase in vio-
lence in the past two weeks. The unrest is cen-
tered on the municipality of Policarpa, a moun-
tainous region in the north of the department
(department of what?). By Saturday, 15 bodies
had arrived in Policarpa from surrounding vil-
lages. Five of them were civilians killed during
fighting between irregular armed groups in the
neighboring village of Madrigal on Friday. The
other 10 had been murdered.

Injustice and unveiled displays of disregard for

human rights in the Americas continues. In
2006-2007 we hope for empathy and continued
tolerance as refugees continue to escape vio-
lence and search for a new home, amidst the
uncertainty of a new nation.

17
Chapter 5
REGIONAL REPORT: AFRICA Mubashar Ahmed Mohammed Abogossi

Africa is the continent of civil wars. This fact is ly 130,000 Angolan refugees still living in neigh-
the cornerstone of all African problems and bouring countries. The repatriation of refugees
leads to human rights violations of varying from Zambia, which began in May (2005 or
severity, all of which slow development. Here 2006?), and the Democratic Republic of Congo
we will look at the human rights status of some (DRC), was delayed due to poor infrastructure
African countries, which are reflective of the sit- and a lack of social services such as education
uation elsewhere on the continent. The main and health in the rural areas of the Angolan inte-
source of information used is the 2006 report of rior; Returns from the DRC were also delayed
the non-governmental organisation Human due to the outbreak of the Marburg virus epi-
Rights Watch (www.hrw.org/africa). demic in Urge province in Angola.

Human rights problems in Africa can be sum- Burundi

marised as follows: The new president, Pierre Nkurunziza declared
Democratic elections do not take place his commitment to establishing the rule of law in
Obstacles to the return of refugees and the country concerning land and the return of
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) after resolu- refugees. Over fifty thousand Hutu refugees
tion of conflict or other factors contributing to returned to Burundi from Tanzania in 2005,
their decision to leave their homeland. bringing to over 230,000 the number of
Threats to the existence of human rights groups returnees since 2002. Many had fled during the
and individual campaigners. violence in 1993 and most of these returnees
Authoritarian power of police armies and securi- have reclaimed their former holdings. Local
ty forces. commissions, operating under a national office,
Violence against women and children. are intended to resolve any conflicting claims.
Unwillingness to use the term ethnic cleansing, Although the commissions are not fully opera-
in situations where this is believed to have tional, land disputes remained scattered and
occurred. local throughout 2005. Land disputes may
increase with the return of 200,000 refugees still
Following are examples of specific countries outside Burundi, some of whom fled in 1972 and
and human rights abuses that take place there. have lost title to their land as a result of absence
These abuses are not necessarily particular to in excess of thirty years.
that country, but are found in many countries
across the continent. Democratic Republic of Congo
An important issue in the DRC is the fact that
Angola Congolese human rights activists face signifi-
Angolas twenty-seven year civil war ended in cant intimidation and violence, abuses that are
2002, but the pace of post-war reconstruction rarely punished. After Pascal Kabungulu, a
and reconciliation is slow. Currently, the govern- prominent activist, was assassinated in Bukavu
ment continues to violate the rights of the in July 2005, two soldiers were arrested in con-
Angolan population to freedom of expression, nection with the killing, but their commander
association and assembly. Persistent delays forced authorities to release them.
remain in rebuilding roads, schools, and other
infrastructure in the rural provinces. The consis- Cte dIvoire
tent lack of full transparency in the governments During 2005, the political impasse between the
use of ever-increasing oil revenues remains a Ivorian government and northern-based rebels
further impediment to enjoyment of human resulted in a steady increase in human rights
rights and reconstruction in Angola. abuses by Ivorian security forces, the rebels,
and militias associated with both sides.
The United Nations High Commission for
Refugees said that 2005 would be the last year Eritrea
that the agency would facilitate repatriation of The main issues affecting human rights in this
refugees from neighbouring countries; starting country include are arrests, imprisonment and
in 2006, it will focus solely on reintegrating those torture. The government suppresses political
already repatriated. This will leave approximate- dissent and unfavourable opinion and many
18
 Chapter 5: Regional report: Africa

people are subject to arbitrary arrest and illegal are allowed to function except as an appendage
detention. No political party other than the to the government or to the PDFJ. In June 2005,
Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice the government imposed new restrictions on
(PFDJ) is allowed to exist in Eritrea and no nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) provid-
national elections have been held since the ing assistance to the country. The restrictions
country won its independence from Ethiopia in require annual registration and prohibit any
1993. Using the excuse that Eritrea remains at NGO with less than U.S.$2 million in capital (if
war, the government has refused to implement foreign) or U.S.$1 million (if domestic) from
the 1997 being registered
constitu-
tion, draft- Sierra Leone
ed by a While the end of Sierra Leones brutal armed
constitu- conflict in 2002 brought an end to the gross vio-
t i o n a l lations of human rights that characterized the
assembly eleven-year armed conflict, there is growing
and rati- recognition by the international community and
fied by ref- Sierra Leonean civil society that the government
erendum, has done little to address the issues that gave
t h a t rise to the conflictendemic corruption, weak
respects rule of law, and the inequitable distribution of the
civil and countrys vast natural resources. The govern-
political ments refusal to do more to address crushing
rights. poverty in the face of high unemployment
among young adults and continuing insecurity
Prisoners within the sub-region renders Sierra Leone vul-
are often nerable to future instability. 2005 also saw a rise
held in in attacks against the Sierra Leonean press.
A boy in one of Eypts Oasis. Right after the s e c r e t
picture was taken he and his friends joyed
over precious gifts - chemical pens.
prisons, The Sierra Leone Army and police have, over
including the years, been the source of considerable
underground cells. Because of the large number instability, corruption, and human rights viola-
of arrests, less prominent prisoners are packed tions and have enjoyed near-complete immunity
into cargo containers or in other overcrowded from prosecution. During 2005, the police con-
prisons. In addition to psychological abuse, soli- tinued to exhibit unprofessional and at times ille-
tary confinement and abysmal conditions, gal behaviour. This included widespread extor-
escapees report the use of physical torture . tion from civilians, including the mounting of
checkpoints to obtain money from passing vehi-
Eritreans between the ages of eighteen and cles and the arbitrary arrest and detention of
forty-five must perform two years of compulsory suspects. The police were widely criticized for
national service. In practice, however, the time initially failing to take action in response to the
for service is repeatedly prolonged. beating of the journalist, Yansaneh. The
Commonwealth Police Development Task Force
The government closed all religious institutions (CPDTF) has, since 1998, been responsible for
in May 2002, except for those affiliated with the restructuring and retraining the police and main-
Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Eritrean tains that low salaries and inadequate resources
Evangelical (Lutheran) churches and Sunni remain key challenges.
Muslim mosques. Those practicing out with
these denominations are consistently arrested, South Africa
tortured, imprisoned and, in some cases, have As South Africa enters its eleventh year of
been known to disappear. democracy, its challenge lies in implementing
Neither domestic nor international human rights policies in line with the countrys far-reaching
organizations are allowed to operate in Eritrea. and progressive constitution. Areas of particular
Indeed, almost no domestic civil organizations concern relate to the rights of detained and
19
Chapter 5: Regional report: Africa

accused persons, excessive use of force by women and children. The government had
police, the rights of refugees and asylum seek- established fifty-two sexual offence courts to
ers, and access to education on commercial adjudicate and focus specifically on cases relat-
farms. ed to gender violence by the end of 2004.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers Sudan

Since the inception of the 1998 Refugees Act, The January 9, 2005 Comprehensive Peace
which formally protects the rights of asylum Agreement ending the twenty-one-year civil war
seekers and refugees in line with international between the Sudanese government and south-
law, South Africa has witnessed a steady ern rebels has brought little significant improve-
increase in the number of asylum seekers. In ment to Sudan in the area of human rights.
2003 the asylum seeker and refugee population Implementation of the agreement was delayed
was 110, 643. By the end of 2004, this number by several factors, including the sudden death of
had increased to 142,907. 32, 600 new asylum southern rebel leader Dr. John Garang. As part
applications were lodged with the Department of of the agreement, the Sudanese government lift-
Home Affairs in 2004. The implementation of the ed the state of emergency throughout Sudan
Refugees Act remains problematic. Delays in (with the exception of Darfur and the east) but
the refugee status determination process, incon- attacks on villages in Darfur continued, and
sistency in application of a court decision allow- killings, rape, torture, looting of civilian livestock
ing for the right to work and study for asylum and other property took place on a regular basis.
seekers, corrupt practices and inadequate pro- Arbitrary arrests and detentions, executions
cedures for unaccompanied minors seek-
ing asylum render protections for asylum
seekers inadequate. The number of
applications for asylum pending at the
end of 2004 was 115,220, while only
27,683 applications had been granted
refugee status. These administrative diffi-
culties can present a risk of unlawful
arrest and possible deportation for asy-
lum seekers. South Africa deported a
total of 167,137 foreign nationals in 2004.
Between January and September 30,
South Africa deported 156, 893. The
majority of the deportees are from
Southern Africa.

Violence Against Women and Children A teenage boy in Egypt during his everyday routine of taking
Violence against women and children is tourists on cruises with the feluka boat along the river Nile.
widely recognized as a serious concern
in South Africa: 55,114 rapes and attempted without fair trials, and harassment of human
rapes were reported to the South African police rights defenders and other activists remained a
between April 2004 and March 2005 (though the feature of Sudanese policy, both in Darfur and in
real number is almost certainly significantly other areas of Sudan. For the first time, howev-
higher.) This is an increase from the previous er, the U.N. Security Council made use of its
year over a similar period. The South African power to refer the situation in Darfur to the
Parliament considered the Sexual Offences Bill International Criminal Court (ICC) in March
to remove anomalies from the existing law by 2005.
broadening the definition of rape and focusing
on the victim rather than the perpetrator with John Garangs death in a helicopter accident on
respect to violence against women in 2005. July 30 provoked a massive response among
Police and the court officials continue to receive southerners in Khartoum, Malakal, and Juba.
training in handling cases of violence against Khartoum saw the worst of the communal vio-
20
 Chapter 5: Regional report: Africa

lence that followed: three days of ethnically and girls

motivated attacks by southerners and northern- particularly
ers resulted in more than 130 deaths and more were vic-
than 800 wounded. The Sudanese government tims of
reportedly arrested more than 1,500 people, sexual
most of whom were released almost immediate- attacks in
ly. a n y
remote
The African Union (AU) has played an increas- area when
ingly prominent role in Darfur. In April 2005 the going for
AU requested, and the Sudanese government water, fire-
agreed, to a further deployment to total 7,700 wood or
military and police for the expansion of the fodder, or
African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). Donors to take
pledged U.S. $291 million for the project, includ- their wares
ing logistical assistance for this deployment from to market.
NATO, the E.U., the U.N., the U.K., the U.S.,
Canada, France and others. AMIS peace sup- Uganda
port efforts in Darfur have had mixed results. A teenage boy in Egypt working in a hotel. In 2005,
Although AMIS troops contributed to some He hopes he will one day earn enough U g a n d a
measure of improved security and civilian pro- money to marry. failed to
tection in those areas where they were make progress on human rights and its interna-
deployed, the mission was plagued by continu- tional reputation suffered consequently.
ing logistical and financial problems.
The conflict in northern Uganda claimed victims
The AUs efforts at mediating peace talks in daily and more than 1.5 million people continued
Darfur were not as successful; sharp leadership to languish in displaced persons camps, vulner-
clashes within the SLA, which had the most able to abuses by the brutal Lords Resistance
forces in the field of all the rebel groups, left the Army (LRA) and an undisciplined government
group unable to make decisions at the negotiat- army, the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces
ing table. (UPDF).

In 2005, indiscriminate and targeted killings, The Ugandan government arrested the front-
rape, forced displacement, and looting of civil- running challenger to twenty-year incumbent
ians of the same ethnicity as the rebel groups in President Yoweri Museveni on treason and rape
Darfur continued to occur at the hands of gov- charges, only three weeks after he returned
ernment-backed militias or Janjaweed from exile. Dr. Kizza Besigye, the candidate for
although on a lesser scale than in 2003-2004. the opposition Forum for Democratic Change,
An upsurge of attacks occurred in September was charged with twenty-two others; when four-
and October 2005, including targeted attacks on teen of those were granted bail, government
international aid workers and members of AMIS Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force agents in black
tasked to monitor the April 2004 ceasefire suits entered the court building and prevented
agreement and protect civilians under imminent all present from leaving. The chief justice
threat. Government-supported militias also denounced the rape of the courthouse. Other
attacked civilian villages and an IDP camp in political opponents and journalists were threat-
Abo Shaowk, West Darfur. ened and put in jail for criticizing the govern-
ment, and some, accused of rebel collaboration
This violence contributed to the inability of the or treason, were tortured in illegal detention cen-
two million internally displaced people, living ters.
precariously in camps, to return home. Subject
to attack when leaving the camps, displaced Zimbabwe
persons remain confined within them, depend- The continuing erosion of human rights in
ent on international humanitarian aid. Women Zimbabwe was highlighted in 2005 by Operation
21
Chapter 5: Regional report: Africa

Murambatsvina, the governments program of

mass evictions and demolitions which began in
May, and, which, according to the United
Nations, deprived 700,000 men, women and
children of their homes, their livelihoods, or both,
throughout the country. The evictions and dem-
olitions occurred against a background of gener-
al dissatisfaction in many of Zimbabwes urban
areas over the political and economic situation
in the country. The country is currently spiralling
into a huge economic and political crisis.

The governments refusal to cooperate with a

United Nations emergency appeal for the hun-
dreds of thousands affected by the evictions
worsened the plight of those left homeless. On
August 29, the U.N. Under-Secretary General
for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland con-
demned the lack of cooperation from the gov-
ernment with regard to mitigating the effects of
the evictions, and accused it of hampering
efforts to aid those affected. The government
continues to obstruct the provision of humanitar-
ian assistance by local and international human-
itarian agencies to internally displaced and
evicted populations. On October 31, 2005, the
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan made a
heartfelt appeal calling on the government to
allow U.N. agencies and other humanitarian
agencies access to help those made homeless
by Operation Murambatsvina.

In addition, an estimated 2.9 million people

across Zimbabwe were in need of food aid by
the end of September. However, despite the
serious food shortages, the government of
Zimbabwe refused to make a formal appeal for
food aid from the World Food Program.

The humanitarian situation has also been exac-

erbated by Zimbabwes failing economy. In
September 2005, inflation reached 359.8 per-
cent and unemployment was at 80 percent.
Although some reports suggest that the rate of
HIV infections has recently decreased, the issue
of HIV/AIDS is still of critical concern with almost
1.8 million people infected with HIV/AIDS (more
than 20 percent of all adults) and nearly one mil-
lion children orphaned. The government was
saved from expulsion from the International
Monetary Fund in September when it managed
to repay a total of U.S. $135 million in debts.

22
 Chapter 6
Ammar Kayali REGIONAL REPORT: CASWANAME
CENTRAL ASIA, SOUTH WESTERN ASIA, many other countries, they continue to suffer
NORTH AFRICAN AND THE MIDDLE EAST from lack of a protection mechanism, live in
crowded refugee camps in poor conditions and
This region has produced the worlds largest suffer a lack of the very basic human rights
and most protracted refugee situations. , while required for a dignified life.
eEfforts for effective protection and comprehen-
sive solutions for refugees and Internally Increasing numbers of Palestinians were killed
Displaced Persons (IDPs) remain obstructed by and homes destroyed during the second Intifada
ongoing armed conflicts, natural disasters and a (after the year 2000). Most were killed unlawful-
lack of capacity of states and civil society to pro- ly, in reckless shootings, shellings or air strikes
vide effective support to the international protec- on refugee camps and other densely populated
tion regimesystem and humanitarian operations. areas throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Iraq MoreoverFurthermore, the movement of

The most common cause of large-scale refugee Palestinians was is strictly curtailed and con-
movements is armed conflict. Human rights trolled. Palestinians, including refugees, suf-
abuses are both a cause and a consequence of fered endure hundreds of checkpoints, physical
such movements, and the conflict in Iraq is no roadblocks and travel restrictions in the West
exception. Bank and Gaza strip. The 600 kilometer long
West Bank separation barrier (wall/fence)
Civilians bore the brunt of the casualties as the which the International Court of Justice ruled a
war in Iraq intensified and the death toll rose. violation of international law further restricted
Tens of thousands of men, women and children Palestinians movement, including their ability to
were are reported to have been killed or injured farm and graze animals. In some cases, the wall
since the armed conflict began in March 2003. encircled entire villages, leaving only one locked
With some 400,000 Iraqi refugees already living gate opened for 15-minute intervals three times
outside Iraq, and up to 1 million people already a day except at times when complete closure
internally displaced, additional thousands have is ordered. www.unhcr.org
fled in search of asylum. To date,
Not to mention the there have been numerous Pakistan
human rights violations, both before and during
the current conflict taking place in Iraq till our The South Asian earthquake struck Pakistan
day, and there has been brisk movement of hard on 8 October, 2005. The damage was huge
refugees in and out of the country. There is are with thousands killed, many more injured, and
a number of Iraqis, Palestinians, and Syrians approximately 3 million people were rendered
that have been amassing at the borders of homeless. Hundreds of aftershocks continued
Jordan and Syria, from time to time awaiting for to ripple through the scarred landscape with
approval of theirfor departure. 15,000 villages affected; some larger towns
such as Muzaffarabad and Balakot virtually flat-
Prior to the conflict, Iraq was host to more than tened. Hundreds of the Afghan refugees in
128,000 refugees from other countries including Pakistan where affected by this earthquake..
around 23,000 refugees from Iran. Around 4,000
Iranian Kurds were living in areas of northern Afghanistan
Iraq., Tthere is also a large Palestinian refugee
population in Iraq, some estimates say report Two decades of civil war and serious human
numbers of over 90,000. rights abuses between the years 1979 and 1992
have forced millions of Afghan men, women and
Palestine children (estimated around one fifth of
Afghanistan population) to flee their homes and
For more than half a century, around 4 million
seek refuge in other parts of Afghanistan or out-
Palestinian refugees have been waitinged to go
side the country (mainly, Pakistan and Iran)
home. Today, a resolution of their plight seems
as distant as ever. Dispersed in Palestine (west
When attacks in the United States focused the
bank and Gaza), Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and

23
Chapter 6: Regional report: Caswaname

worlds attention on Afghanistan in autumnfall Turkmenistan

2001, the situation in the country had already The government of Turkmenistan has made an
reached crisis point. Decades of civil war, five impressive progress regarding the Tajik
years of oppressive Taliban rule and three years refugees present in their country. Since august
of drought had forced millions from their homes 2005, 62% of all Tajik refugees have received
in search of safety and food. During the months the Turkmen citizenship. But However, the prob-
following the September 11th attacks, many lems of Afghan refugees problem is are yet to
more fled from the retaliatory military action be solved.
taken by the US-led coalition, and from fighting
within the country.

With During the year 2005, more than half a mil-

lion Afghans have returned gone home from
Iran and Pakistan, bringing the number of
returnees since 2002 to over 3 million out of the
4.6 million estimated to have fled decades of
war and violence in their homeland. While the
The number of IDPs hasve decreased from 1.3
million in 2002 to 50,000 at presentnowadays.
The continuing insecurity on the southern border
is, however, of concern.

Western Sahara
The Western Saharan refugees, or Saharawis,
who live in camps located in the southern part of
Algeria, are more than 80% women and chil-
dren. Their struggle began more than two
decades ago in their homeland of Western
Sahara. In the early 1970s the Saharawis began
to organize against Spanish colonialism. This
preceded a long war over Saharan land
between Morocco and Mauritania.

Till our dayTo date, the 200,000 Saharawi

refugees are struggling to survive in an inhos-
pitable part of the desert.

Yemen
Yemens location on the Gulf of Aden has
turned the country into the first port of call for
many Somalis fleeing the unrest in their coun-
try. Thousands of people cross the gulf every
year, many of them on unsafe vessels run by
smuggling rings. Hundreds perish in the
attempt.
At the end of March 2006, there were some
79,000 refugees registered with UNHCR in
Yemen, more than 68,000 of them from
Somalia. Most Somalis live in urban areas, with
some 7,500 staying at Kharaz camp, in the
south of the country.

24
 Chapter 7
Marko Zlicar REGIONAL REPORT: ASIA
/The author of this chapter does not live in the East Asia and the Pacific
regions he writes about. All the information has (Australia, Cambodia, China, Democratic
been taken from the UNHCRs Global Appeal Peoples Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Japan,
2006. This is also the reason why more recent Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Malaysia,
events such as the Earthquake in Pakistan and Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Papua New
the Earthquakes in Indonesia are not men- Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea,
tioned. The author strongly advises readers to Singapore, South Pacific, Thailand, Timor-
gather more detailed information about the Leste, Viet Nam)
Human Rights and Refugee situation in Asia
using the Internet and other resources./ In August 2005 the Government of Indonesia
and Free Aceh Movement signed a
South Asia Memorandum of Understanding, hopefully lead-
(Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka) ing to peaceful and sustainable solution to the
conflict in the province. This would in turn enable
Security concerns in the region increased in those Acehnese currently outside the country
2005, especially in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri (particularly in Malaysia) to repatriate in safety
Lanka. That affected the number of refugee and and dignity. Indonesia has also been struck by
displaced populations. In Nepal, an internal con- the devastating Tsunami following an earth-
flict has been going on for nine years, leading to quake on 26th December 2004. Not giving a fair
displacement of between 100.000 and 200.000 chance to recover and reconstruct, the region
people. In February 2005, the King dismissed
was once again affected by the 28th March 2005
the Government and assumed direct executive
earthquake.
powers. As a result, the Government, the politi-
cal parties and even the rebels found them-
In Thailand, some 6,500 Hmongs from Laos
selves in a dead end situation. That as well as
were evicted from their temporary shelters in
military clashes and civil unrest severely weak-
August 2005. UNHCR is now trying to assist the
ened the national protection. Especially in the
Thai Government to review their claims for asy-
rural areas, basic health, education, social and
lum and to identify those in need of protection.
legal services are about to collapse, resulting in
Furthermore, there is still restlessness along the
tens of thousands of Nepalese abandoning their
Myanmar-Thailand border. There are an esti-
villages in search for protection and basic sur-
mated of 140,000 refugees from Myanmar living
vival. This also jeopardizes favourable protec-
in shelters along the border, some of them have
tion for asylum-seekers and refugees.
been living in camps for 20 years already. Also,
the situation in Myanmar is not yet favourable
The political situation in Sri Lanka with sporadic
for repatriation. This status quo nature of the sit-
ceasefire violations is the cause of increased
uation is creation social and psychological prob-
concern in the region. Differences also emerged
lems. Thai Government showed a new develop-
between the Government and the Tamil rebels
ment when it was opened towards the resettle-
over the post-tsunami aid distribution. Military
ment of some Hmong Lao refugees, which con-
clashes and targeted political assassinations in
trasts to the restrictive approach adopted in the
2005 formed a general a general climate of fear.
past.
This and also the devastation caused by the
Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26th December 2004
are harming the countrys early recovery.

25
Chapter 8
REGIONAL REPORT: EUROPE Jihaan Hassan

Though countries of the continent try desperate- The numbers of labour migrants from the new
ly trying to forge a great union, there still exist EU countries hasve proven to be far from the
marked differences between European states. flood some warned against. In the United
In particular, the political and socio-economic Kingdom, for example, 133,000 nationals from
structures, the composition of the populations, the new EU member states registered for work
the interaction between different ethnic groups in the eight-month period following enlargement
within a country, the immigration and asylum (although nearly 40% of these were already in
laws and differences in the human rights status the UK before May 2004), of which the vast
remain. In the next pages, well try to give you majority were Polish (73,500), with significant
some idea of the current situation in Europe numbers of Lithuanian (20,000) and Slovak
regarding migrants, refugees and human rights. (13,500) migrants also entering the UK to work.
Topics discussed are the migration flows of
migrants within the region, the increasing prob- According to figures published by the UNHCR,
lem of human trafficking, one of Europes largest the top five net receivers of asylum claims in the
minority groups, the Roma, and finally, two of past four years in Europe were the United
the worst ongoing conflicts in Europe. Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria and
Sweden .The majority of the asylum seekers in
Immigration and asylum seeking 2003 and 2004 came from the Russian
Immigration and asylum are currently high on Federation , Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey ,
the political agendas of most European coun- Iraq and China. Although these influxes were
tries. Western European states are even said to significant, they didnt justify the pictures of
be in a state of crisis over these issues. alien swamping that is often painted in the
The Nnorthern European countries, such as media. In fact, the numbers of asylum applica-
Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden tions have fallen across Europe with them drop-
and the Netherlands, have a long history of ping from 393,000 in 2002 to 243,000 in 2004. It
mass asylum-seeking populations. These coun- should also be noted that many of these applica-
tries have developed and implemented restric- tions for asylum are unsuccessful.
tive immigration and asylum legislation. As well
as ide from reducing the number of registered Human trafficking
immigrants and official asylum applications, this The international community is increasingly hav-
development has led to a significant increase in ing to deal with the issue of human trafficking
illegal immigration. Although long tolerated in (mostly women and children), particularly in the
the southern countries of Spain and Italy, illegal European Union and the United States.
immigration is now an important political prob- Combating trafficking has become a key priority
lem. Despite efforts of national governments to for the EU, making this issue important in cur-
regularise legitimise illegal migrants, large rent EU negotiations with EU candidate coun-
flows of illegal migrants continue to shuttle tries. It is estimated that as many as 120,000
across the sea from Albania to Italy and from women and children are trafficked into Western
North Africa to Spain. The newer democracies of Europe each year, although exact numbers are
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which unknown. Although exact numbers are
became members of the enlarged EU in May unknown, estimates of women and children
2004 have had to align their immigration laws being trafficked into Western Europe reach as
with those of the EU a prerequisite for EU high as 120, 000 each year.
membership. These countries remain net send-
ing countries. However,, although the numbers Women trafficked from Central and Eastern
of people applying for asylum within their territo- Europe (CEE) are gradually replacing those traf-
ries has risen, especially from the Russian ficked from Asia, Latin America and Africa into
Federation (in particular, war-torn Chechnya), Western Europe. Some of the most important
and mMany CEEof the states have found them- countries of origin biggest origin countries are
selves confronting new issues such as illegal Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Albania
immigration, already familiar political problems and Bulgaria. An important new trend is that the
for establishedthe older EU members. CEECs states are not only sending countries of
trafficked women, they have also become
26
 Chapter 8: Regional report: Europe

increasingly key transit and destination coun- flicts ever since independence from Russia in
tries. Factors contributing to the growth of traf- 1991. In the authoritarian state Uzbekistan is
ficking in the Balkans, especially Bosnia and essentially an authoritarian state where said to
Herzegovina and Kosovo, are the breakdown of be, civil rights are limited and virtually all basic
social structures in the aftermath of wars and human rights are violated. The most widespread
economic crisis, the weak legal and political sit-
uation that encourages the growth of organized
crime and also the presence of international
troops, which increases the demand for migrant
prostitutes.

There is some good news. According to reports

from Europol, Polish police intelligence reports
suggest that cases of trafficking ofin Polish
women are decreasing each year. The reasons
for this are unknown but may include an
improvement in economic conditions in the
country and accompanied increase in opportuni- Summeractivities for refugee children (IFMSA-
The Netherlands)
ties for women, as well as greater awareness of
the risks of trafficking among young Polish violations are torture, arbitrary arrests, and vari-
women. ous restrictions of the freedoms of religion, of
speech and press and of free association and
Roma people assembly. The violations are most often commit-
The Roma, or gypsies are Europes largest ted against members of religious organizations,
minority. They live in nearly all countries in independent journalists, human right activists,
Europe and Central Asia. Approximately 70% of and political activists, including members of the
the estimated 7 to 9 million Roma living in banned opposition parties. The human rights sit-
Europe, are found in CEE countries the coun- uation in Uzbekistan has worsened further in
tries of Central and Eastern Europe and the for- May 2005 when government forces massacred
mer Soviet Union. The level of integration of protestors in Andijan who were demonstrating in
Roma into society remains limited. They often Andijan against the imprisonment of 23 Muslims
live in poverty, in isolated ghetto-like settle- accused of being Islamist extremists.
ments, lacking access to education, the labour Government declarations of human rights
markets, social and health services and other reform, such as an announcement that the gov-
channels for participation in society. The social ernment will abolish the death penalty have had
aversion against the Roma not only manifests no practical impact.
itself in the form discrimination and social exclu-
sion, it sometimes even leads to intimidation and A decade of war has left most of Chechnya
physical violence. Seven Central European and under the control of the Russian military and its
South-eEastern EuropeanEastern states have civilians caught in the fire between Russian
launched the Decade of Roma Inclusion Federation forces and Chechen armed groups.
iInitiative in 2005 to improve the socio-econom- Today, Chechen separatists still claim an inde-
ic conditions and status of the Roma minority. pendent Chechnya. Some Chechens have cho-
sen terrorist attacks in their fight against Russia.
Ongoing conflicts Well-known are the attacks in include those in
Europe is certainly not stranger to wars and eth- Moscow in October 2002 where over 700 peo-
nic tensions. Ongoing conflicts in Uzbekistan ple were taken hostage in a theatre, and in
and Chechnya continue to take lives, force Beslan, in September 2004, where 1,200 civil-
many to leave their homes and countries and ians were taken hostage at a school and over
rob thousands of their basic rights. 330 were killed half of whom were children.
Russian officials use such attacks to associate
Uzbekistans domestic situation has been char- the conflict with the War on Terrorism.
acterized by ethnic tensions and internal con-
27
Chapter 9
SCORP BACKGROUND Marko Zlicar
/All the information in this chapter has been taken from
www.ifmsa.org/scorp or provided by Mr. Mladen
Milovanovic, the Director of the Standing Committee on
Refugees and Peace 2002-2003./

History
In the year 1983 when the global refugee issue SCOR (Standing Committee on Refugees)
rose into general knowledge, the Standing and SCORP (Standing Committee on
Committee on Refugees was founded. The mis- Refugees and Peace, now Standing
sion of the new standing committee was to call Committee on human Rights and Peace)
attention to the ever-growing problems of Directors up to today
refugees and internally displaced people. After a 1983-1994 Directors of the Standing Committee
while, however, the committee members noticed on Refugees (SCOR)
that the efforts made were rather palliative and
short term. For addressing the challenge better 1983-1984
and finding sustainable solutions, the impor- Kamal A. AI Shoumer, Kuwait
tance of the prevention of conflicts and human
right violations was noticed. Based on these 1984-1985
ideas, the Standing Committee on Refugees Kamal EI Shoumer, Kuwait
and Peace was founded in 1994. In 2005, after
noticing that SCORP was more and more deal- 1985-1986
ing with Human Rights and indirectly through Faisal Thuwaig, Kuwait
that with refugees, it changed its name again, to
better illustrate its true activities. So it became 1986-1987
the Standing Committee on human Rights and Faisal Thuwaig, Kuwait
Peace, keeping its abbreviation - SCORP.
1987-1988
Aims Ibrahim AI Essa, Kuwait
SCORP has with focus on health issues the fol-
lowing aims: 1988-1989
Through participation in local and international -
work, to learn about the problems that refugees,
internally displaced people and other vulnerable 1989-1990
populations face. Wasmi AI-Fadhli, Kuwait

To collaborate with NGOs in establishing proj- 1990-1991

ects for medical students to work in internation- Wasmi AI-Fadhli, Kuwait
al refugee camps.
1991-1992
To educate students and professionals in the Alexis Tildis, Hellas
health care system about refugees, internally
displaced peoples and other vulnerable popula- 1992-1993
tions health. Giorgios Terzis, Greece
To spread awareness and educate health care
professionals in human rights and violations 1993-1994
hereof. Khalid Mohamed el Tahir, Sudan

To speak and act for peaceable conflict solu-

tions and discuss and learn about conflict pre- 1994-2005 Directors of the Standing Committee
vention. on Refugees and Peace (SCORP)

To establish and develop multidisciplinary co- 1994-1995

operation in matters of refugees, peace-culture Mohamed Abdelgabar Ahmed, Sudan
building, conflict prevention and human rights.
28
 Chapter 9: SCORP Background

the yahoogroups, such as downloading and

1995-1996 uploading files, photos)
Jet Derwig, The Netherlands
For more detailed information please visit
1996-1997 www.ifmsa.org/scorp or e-mail the current
Jet Derwig, The Netherlands SCORP Director at scorpd@ifmsa.org.

1997-1998
Tigran Vilotijevic, Serbia and Montenegro

1998-1999
Mats Sundberg, Sweden

1999-2000
Amer Karam, Lebanon

2000-2001
Marieke van den Ham, The Netherlands

2001-2002
Hannu Vessari, Finland

2002-2003
Mladen Milovanovic, Sweden

2003-2004
Ranvir Dhillon, USA
Henry Lin, USA

2004-2005
Layal Chaker, The Netherlands
Eva M. Holst, Denmark

1994-2005 Directors of the Standing Committee

on human Rights and Peace (SCORP)

2005-2006
Layal Chaker, The Netherlands
Eva M. Holst, Denmark

Communication
Most of the communication within the Standing
Committee on Refugees and Peace is carried
through a mailing list. To subscribe, please send
a blank e-mail to ifmsa-scorp-
subscribe@yahoogroups.com. To e-mail the
group afterwards, address the e-mail to ifmsa-
scorp@yahoogroups.com. (Advice: It is a good
idea to have a Yahoo account before subscrib-
ing. This will enable you to not only subscribe to
the mailing list, but also to use other benefits of
29
Chapter 10
SCORP MEETINGS ON GAs Marloes van Kasteren

Your first GA - Discussion groups

Welcome to a general assembly! If it is your first - Visit from IFMSA-officials
meeting, you might feel a bit lost, standing there
on your own amongst all kinds of people who Project presentation
are hugging each other and who seem to know Different groups of SCORP-members will briefly
everyone around them. And you knownobody. present the projects they are working on. They
Well, dont worry this will change in a dayor in will give information about developments and
just a few hours. ask for your input. This is very interesting, as it
The part of the GA that you are looking forward will provide you with an impression of what
to the most is, of course, the SCORP-sessions! SCORP-groups in different countries are work-
This is the place where youll meet people who ing on. Of course, it is impossible for all projects
share work in the same field as yourself and to be presented due to time constraints.
where you will learn about projects concerning Therefore, everybody should make posters of
refugees and peace. In other words, this is the their projects. These posters will hang on the
place to be! But what are you going to do here? wall during the sessions. This will provide a
What is going to happen? This chapter will try to good impression of what is going on in different
answer some of these questions. If you have countries. People will know directly who to con-
any additional questions, always feel free to tact to get to know more about a project.
contact the SCORP-director!

Who are you going to meet at the SCORP- Small working groups
sessions? In small groups, you will work on running proj-
The SCORP-session is the meeting of all the ects, discuss ways of starting new projects, or
people at the GA who are involved in SCORP. A brainstorm the development of new materials.
large portion of the attendants are National The small groups will be created at the first ses-
Officers on Refugees and Peace, but you will sion, and the topics and projects will be known
also meet coordinators of projects in the field of in advance of most meetings. Time for the small
Refugees and Peace and local officers. Many working groups is scheduled in the agenda for
people who attend this meeting may simply be the SCORP-sessions, but you will also be able
interested in learning more about SCORP. Of to (and have to) work with your group outside
course the SCORP-director and most probably the scheduled sessions. Examples of the small
the SCORP-regional coordinators will be pres- working groups from the 2003 March Meeting
ent there as well. are found below.

Why SCORP-sessions? a. Ethics of Medical Care and Doctors

The goals of the SCORP sessions are: to learn Profession in Conflict Situations
about topics concerning refugees and peace, to (SCORP-related RTD for the AM2003)
learn practical skills (for example how to organ- b. Future of the Standing Committee on
ise projects, how to lead a team etc.), to Refugees and Peace (Vision Statement,
exchange experiences with other leaders, and Goals and Objectives)
to start new projects together. c. SCORP Manual
d. World Refugee Day
What will we be doing during the SCORP- e. International Training on Refugee Health
sessions? for Medical Students (ITRH)
SCORP sessions do not follow a fixed schedule.
Typically, the SCORP-director will ask for your Training and Resources Development (TRD)
input on the agenda before each meeting. During the GA there are several trainings and
However, despite the differences between meet- resources developments (TRDs) organised,
ings, all SCORP-sessions will contain the follow- both inside and outside the standing committee
ing: time. TRD exists to provide training to medical
- Project presentations students world wide and empower them with the
- Small working groups necessary knowledge and skills for action in the
- Training and Resource Developing health field. It is an interactive way of training,
30
 Chapter 10: SCORP meetings on GAs

mostly provided by active IFMSA-students who concerning SCORP or IFMSA. You can also use
are being trained for it themselves. The prime this opportunity to offer suggestions to the
aim is to improve the communication, co-ordina- organisation. The IFMSA- executive board can
tion and co-operation between medical students only do a good job if she gets input from her
internationally. It is
recommended to
atted as many train-
ings as possible dur-
ing the GA, as they
can be very useful!
Training on a variety
of topics can be
expected, including
SCORP-sessions
on: Conflict
P r e v e n t i o n ,
Communication,
Intercultural
Cooperation,
Strategic Planning,
Project Planning,
Leading and
Facilitating
Meetings, Financial
Management,
Fundraising,
A d v o c a c y ,
Marketing, Writing
and Presenting. Group Photo, SCORP sessions, AM2005, Hurghada, Egypt
members and knows what the members wishes
Discussion groups are. So, do not hesitate to ask or say anything at
An important aspect of the SCORP-sessions is these meetings. Dont forget that we are all stu-
the exchange of experience. Exchange may dents!!
concern specific projects, but may also include Another group of officials that often visits the
general information about how things are organ- SCORP-sessions are the Liaisons Officers,
ised in different countries. Examples of topics the contact persons from IFMSA towards differ-
that have been discussed before are: ent organisations. They will explain more about
How to improve communication and cooper- the organisations they are linked to and what
ation between different national- SCORP- you can use them for. Some of the Liaisons
groups Officers are linked to organisations which can be
Cooperation with other NGOs very useful for SCORP-projects! So again,
How to encourage students to get involved in please dont hesitate
SCORP
How to fundraise for SCORP activities The sessions will be facilitated by a chair and
How to improve activities in your national- minutes will be taken by a secretary. In order to
SCORP-group ensure that one person is not overloaded with
Expectation from SCORP-regional coordina- responsibilities, these jobs will be performed by
tors a different person every day. Every SCORP-
member who is attending the GA can do this. At
Visit from IFMSA officials the session during the first day the schedule will
Some IFMSA officials will visit the sessions, be made.
including the IFMSA-president. During this time,
you can ask and tell him/her anything you want
31
Chapter 10: SCORP meetings on GAs

What should you prepare before going to the is going on in different countries and with whom
meeting? you want to speak and work with.
You will profit the most from a GA and enjoy it The SCORP-director will ask for your input on
the most if you are well prepared. Of course you the agenda. Think about what you want to do
can not prepare for everything, and you dont and learn during the sessions and give sugges-
want to exhaust yourself before you arrive! But tions, for example concerning trainings and top-
there are some important things: ics for discussion.
Some time before the GA every national Make posters about your projects, which can be
hung on the wall and displayed for everyone
during the sessions (you can also use them for
the projects fair, which is a market during the
GA where all IFMSA-projects will be presented).
If you have a special project you want to pres-
ent during the sessions, contact the SCORP-
director in time, so that he/she can fit you into
the agenda and provide you with the necessary
information.

If you want to know more, you can read the min-

utes from earlier meetings (you can find them in
the folder files at the IFMSA-
SCORP@yahoogroups.com), contact the
SCORP-director or people from your NMO who
SCORP Directors 2004/2006 Eva M. Holst (left) and went before, or check the information on
Layal Chaker with their AM 2005 assistants, Jonathan www.ifmsa.org .
Mamo (left) and Marko Zlicar
And then, just let it happen, go for it and have
SCORP-group will be asked to send their coun- fun!
try report, which is mainly about the running
projects. The SCORP-director will announce the
deadline and provide a format for this report. In
most NMOs the National Officer on Refugees
and Peace will take care of the reports. The
SCORP-director will then collect all the reports
and put them together into one big report. It is
strongly recommended to read this report in
advance of the meeting. Then, youll know what

32
 Chapter 11
Marloes van Kasteren SCORP REGIONALISATION
/Last updated: 2004/ Will IFMSA get more divided by each region act-
ing independently? Will IFMSA no longer be a
Regionalisation in general (within IFMSA) worldwide organisation? No, thats not at all
whats it about! Different regions can help each
1.1. Small intro: what is it? other and still work together. Regional coordina-
Regionalisation: what is it? My dictionary seems tors for each region will communicate and
to not even know the wordIs it a novelty then? exchange experiences about their regions.
Well, in way, yes it is! At least within IFMSA, it is Because of this structure, they will be better at
a new process that has been developing for recognising their difficulties and areas of
some time, but really started in 2001-2002. It improvement. As each region will get stronger
means that IFMSA divided her national member independently while still working hand in hand
organisations into certain, so called, regions with all of the other regions, the whole organisa-
that will be motivated to cooperate. These tion will benefit from this arrangement! The
regions are: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe regions will not form new, separate organisa-
and Central Asia, Middle East (Caswaname), tions and IFMSA will remain united.
Americas. At their turn, these regions can divide Juan Manuel Muoz, Vice-President for Internal
further into sub regions. Affairs 2001/2002, underlines this point: We are
not going to establish new regional organisa-
Is this regionalisation a strange experimental tions. The position of the Executive Board is to
step that IFMSA just wanted to take for some strengthen and keep the importance of other
unclear reason? A new step by herself without regional students organisations, not to compete
any good example? No, not at all: with them.
Regionalisation is a common practice in many
non-governmental organisations such as the To conclude we can say: As IFMSA has grown
World Health Organisation (WHO), the United so quickly over the last several years, it seems
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees quite difficult for the executive board and the
(UNHCR), and the United Nations Population directors of standing committees to maintain
Fund (UNFPA). In these organisations, national close contact with all national member organisa-
departments from different countries within the tions over whole of the world while also helping
same region cooperate. Why do these NGOs new ones to develop themselves in the best
and why does IFMSA want countries within a possible way. Therefore, regionalisation seems
region to cooperate more? Of course all coun- to be a good solution!
tries are different, even neighbouring coun-
tries. Every country is unique and has its own Mission Statement
special situation. Nevertheless, member organi- Through regionalisation, our mission is to pro-
sations in countries in the same region often mote communication and cooperation between
face comparable situations, pursue similar inter- National Member Organisations to foster high
ests, and run more or less the same kind of proj- quality regional projects. By increasing commu-
ects. Combined with the geographical advan- nication between officials and National Member
tages, it is, therefore, easier for countries within Organisations, and between National Member
the same region to work together than it is to Organisations, we will improve infrastructure
achieve the same degree of cooperation among both on a national and international level.
countries all over the world. Countries in the Through common external representation, we
same region can exchange experiences about will gain support on a regional level for National
different situations, problems, and projects. In Member Organisations and projects.
this way, national organisations that are older
and well established can, with their experience, 1.2. Regional coordinators
help newer national organisations develop and According to the bylaws, the Vice President for
build. The hope is that all national organisations Internal Affairs organizes the regions based on
within a region can benefit in their own way from advice from the National Member
a regionalized structure while all organisation in Organisations. As stated before, these regions
the same region will be a stronger force working currently are: Africa, Asia and the Pacific,
together. Europe and Central Asia, Middle East
33
Chapter 11: SCORP Regionalisation

(Caswaname), Americas. For these regions, the 2. SCORP-Asia and the Pacific
Executive Board appoints the Co-ordinators 3. SCORP-Eastern Mediterranean
based on the counsel of the National Member 4. SCORP-Americas
Organisations. What does a regional coordina- 5. SCORP-Europe and central Asia
tor do? According to the bylaws, these are the At the end of this chapter you will find which
tasks of the regional coordinators: countries belong to each region. At the March
Meeting 2003 in Estonia, the first SCORP-
Assist the Executive Board in their tasks in the regional assistants (at that time coordinators) for
region. Their tasks are: these regions were elected. However, after that
a. Assist the development of the National regional assistants are in their position from
Member Organisations in the region. October October, like all IFMSA-officials, and,
b. Assist in increasing the co-operation therefore, are elected or appointed during the
between National Member Organisations August Meeting.
in the region.
c. Assist in maintaining contact with 2.2 SCORP regional assistants
National Member Organisations in the Who are these SCORP-regional assistants?
region. Preferably former or current National Officers on
d. Assist in the recruitment of new National human Rights and Peace and former or current
Member Organisations in the region. Coordinators of Official IFMSA Projects (with
e. Assist the Liaison Officers in their focus on the issues of Refugees) will become
communication with the IFMSA partners SCORP-regional assistants.
on a regional level.
f. Assist the Standing Committee Directors What do these assistants do? They assist the
in the development of standing SCORP-director by coordinating the work
committees in the region. SCORP does in a region. What does that mean?
Combining the task descriptions made before
the assistants were elected and the outcomes of
Regionalisation within the Standing the MM2003 SCORP-sessions about what
Committee on human Rights & Peace should be expected of regional assistants, the
main tasks of a assistant are:
2.1. Start and Motivation
With the same motivation for regionalisation for (A) To keep in touch with national-SCORP-
IFMSA as a whole, the Standing Committee on groups in the region of which he/she is the
human Rights and Peace began regionalisation assistant and to provide SCORP members of
in 2003. (For motivation and background, see the region with his/her personal and profession-
1.1 Regionalisation.) Mladen Milovanovic, al support.
SCORP-Director 2002 / 2003 added to the rea-
sons: Regional division of the Standing a. To encourage and assist development of
Committee on Refugees and Peace does not the Standing Committee on Refugees
aim to increase bureaucracy in our committee. and Peace in the region
On the contrary, it is believed it will only enhance b. To assist new-comers.
further development and establishment of c. To encourage and maintain the
national-SCORP-groups in those National cooperation within the region. (Between
Member Organisations, where there is no active National SCORP-groups.)
group. d. To provide SCORP members of the
region with examples of fundraising
Regions have been created in accordance with opportunities
the standards of IFMSA regionalisation, general e. To inform SCORP members about the
inputs made by the members of the Standing latest developments in the region.
Committee on Refugees and Peace, and the f. To assist National Officers on Refugees
consultation and support of IFMSA Officials. and Peace of the region with making con
These are the divisions for SCORP: tact with regional Non-Governmental
1. SCORP-Africa Organisations.
34
 Chapter 11: SCORP Regionalisation

SCORP-group. The general announcements

(B) To identify problems in a region and work and information will always be provided by the
with SCORP Director in order to dissolve them. worldwide list. The regional lists are used for
extra regional-specific reports and discussion
(C) To establish priorities in the region and work particularly concerning issues within the region.
on the development of a regional plan of action. In this way they, are used to prevent ifmsa-
scorp@yahoogroups.com from becoming over-
(D) To facilitate regional meetings within the loaded.
General Assemblies of IFMSA and between
them.
2.4 Regional Division
(E) To encourage and maintain the cooperation
between the regions and to share common Region: Africa
interests between the regions. Name of the SCORP Region: SCORP-Africa
IFMSA National Member Organisations:
(F) To enjoy and have fun in his/her work as a Algeria - Le SOUK*
Regional Coordinator of the Standing Benin - AEMC*
Committee on Refugees and Peace: To keep up Cameroon - FOSCA*
the spirit! Central African Republic - FHSSA*
Cote d'Ivoire - SYNESS*
It must be said that SCORP-regional assistants Democratic Republic of the Congo -
are NOT IFMSA officials like committee directors COMSA*
or liaison officers. They are just there to assist Gabon - CADUCEE*
the SCORP-director by coordinating and helping Ghana - FGMSA
within their own committee. They are officially Niger - AJND*
recognised within the committee. (See chapter Nigeria - NiMSA
about SCORP structure.) Rwanda - MED.SA-U.N.R
South Africa
So what can you, being a SCORPion, use the United Republic of Tanzania
regional assistant for? As you can see, you can Zimbabwe - ZMSA
contact him/her for almost any question, sup- Total number: 14
port, suggestions, exchange of experience, etc.
concerning your SCORP-work. Of course, Region: Americas
he/she will not always be able to help you per- Name of the SCORP Region: SCORP-
sonally, but he/she will definitely be the channel Americas
to get you on the right track (e.g. getting you in IFMSA National Member Organisations:
contact with other national SCORP-groups with Belize - IFMSA-Belize*
the same projects, sending you information Brazil - DENIM
about other organisations, providing you sug- Brazil - IFLMS**
gestions etc.). Canada - IFMSA-Canada
Chile - IFMSA-Chile*
2.3 Communication Colombia - ASCEMCOL*
After their election during the August Meeting, Costa Rica - IFMSA-Costa Rica
the SCORP-director will announce the new El Salvador - SOMS*
regional assistants to the mailing list and provide Guatemala - SAMS
their contact information. The main communica- Jamaica - UWIMSA
tion will always remain by the ifmsa- Mexico - IFMSA-Mexico
scorp@yahoogroups.com. However, some Panama - PFMSS
regions have their own new list such as ifmsa- Peru - SOCEMCH
scorp-europe@yahoogroups.com and ifmsa- Saint Kitts and Nevis - IFMSA-SKN
scorp-americas@yahoogroups.com. These Trinidad and Tobago - TTMSA
lists, and eventually lists from other regions if United States of America - IFMSA-USA
they are started, are additive to the worldwide Venezuela - SOCIVEM
35
Chapter 11: SCORP Regionalisation

Total number: 17 Bosnia and Herzegovina - BoHeMSA

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Republic of
Region: Asia and the Pacific Srpska - SaMSIC**
Name of the SCORP Region: SCORP-Asia Bulgaria - AMSB
IFMSA National Member Organisations: Croatia - IFMSA-Croatia
Australia -AMSA Czech Republic - IFMSA-Cz
China - ICCSA* Denmark - IMCC
India - IMSO Estonia - EstMSA
Indonesia - CHIMSA-ISMKI Finland - FiMSIC
Japan - IFMSA-Japan France - ANEMF
Maldives - MMSA** Georgia - GeoMSA
Nepal - NMSS Germany - GeMSA
Philippines - AMSA Philippines Greece - HelMSIC
Taiwan - MSA-Taiwan Hungary - HUMSIRC
Thailand - IFMSA-Thailand* Iceland - IMSIC
Total number: 10 Israel - FIMS
Italy - SISM
Latvia - IFMSA-Latvia
Lithuania - LiMSA
Luxembourg - ALEM**
Macedonia (The former Republic of
Macedonia) - MMSA-Macedonia
Malta - MMSA
The Netherlands - IFMSA-The
Netherlands
Norway - IFMSA-Norway
Poland - IFMSA-Poland
Asian Regional Meeting Portugal - PorMSIC
Republic of Moldova - MSRA
Region: Eastern Mediterranean Romania - IFMSA-Romania
Name of the SCORP Region: SCORP- Eastern Russian Federation - IFMSA-Russia
Mediterranean Tatarstan-Russia - TaMSA**
IFMSA National Member Organisations: Serbia and Montenegro - Serbia and
Egypt - EMSA Montenegro
Iran (Islamic Republic of) - IMSA* Slovakia - SloMSA
Kuwait - KuMSA Slovenia - SloMSIC
Kyrgyz tan - KgMSIC Spain - IFMSA-Spain
Lebanon - LeMSIC Spain-Catalonia - AECS**
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya- LMSA* Sweden - IFMSA-Sweden
Pakistan - IFMSA-Pakistan Switzerland - IFMSA-Switzerland
Palestine - PMSS** Turkey - TurkMSIC
Sudan - SMSA United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Tunisia - ASSOCIA-MED Northern Ireland - MedSIN-UK
United Arab Emirates - MSAUAE* Ukraine - IFMSA-Ukraine*
Total number: 11 Uzbekistan - UZMSA
Total number: 45
Region: Europe and Central Asia
Name of the SCORP Region: SCORP-Europe * At date of writing these NMO's are Candidate
IFMSA National Member Organisations: Members
Albania - Galen* ** At date of writing these NMO's are Associate
Armenia - AMSP Members
Austria - AMSA
Azerbaijan
36
 Chapter 12
Jonathan Mamo STARTING YOUR SCORP GROUP
All it takes is one committed person to serve as ings that the admissions office sends to new stu-
a nucleus, a couple of friends who share your dents. When school starts, you can follow this
ideals, and a little time and effort. You will be up by posting some flyers. You may also want
amazed to discover how many of your class- to create a basic web site for your chapter that
mates will want to get involved. By providing can link to both your school and SCORP. Given
concrete projects with which they can get the increased dependence of students on the
involved, you are giving your fellow classmates Internet, this will surely be a good mechanism to
a chance to expand their horizons and realize attract attention to your cause. Another way to
their potential to change the world in which we attract attention is to set up a table during stu-
live. dent orientation, distribute literature, and tell stu-
dents about SCORP. You can have sign-up
The following sections are aimed to give you a sheets to collect names, phone numbers, and
framework and suggestions for how to build a email addresses for upcoming meetings.
core group, recruit and maintain members and
develop a new group. We will also suggest pos-
sible projects and outline evaluation and feed- Your First Meeting
back protocols to assess the effectiveness of
your activities. Remember that this is only a Your first meeting is very important. This is your
framework and should be guided and amended chance to increase awareness about IFMSA
to best suit your individual environments. among your fellow students and convince them
to get involved. Advertise exhaustively to get as
many participants as possible. Let people know
Faculty Liaisons/Sponsors of your meeting by posting posters, making
In launching your chapter you may want to seri- email announcements, and spreading the news
ously consider recruiting a sympathetic faculty by word of mouth. It often helps to personally
member(s) to join your efforts. Many chapters invite individuals who may be less likely to
have profited by the participation of interested respond to mass advertisements.
faculty. Involvement of faculty either as a board
of advisors or more integral members of the You can start the meeting by introducing your
chapter can ensure continuity of the chapter core group and briefly describing IFMSA, its his-
after your graduation. In addition to the expert tory, the international scope and your specific
knowledge and experience they can contribute, chapter mission. You may also wish to ask par-
faculty may also act as effective liaisons with ticipants to say a little about themselves and
administrators at your academic institution and perhaps why they are interested in IFMSA. That
thus give more institutional credibility and sup- way, everyone will be recognized and they will
port for your efforts. begin the meeting as active participants. You
can then begin to share your ideas about possi-
ble future projects and get input form all the par-
Building a Core Group of Members ticipants. In choosing projects, decide on a few
This can be as simple as joining together with that offer variety within the scope of IFMSA,
two or three of your closest friends and declar- serve the needs of the community, and provide
ing yourselves a new SCORP group. the most interest for students. Try to stay
Alternatively, you may be able to approach stu- focused on the few projects chosen to ensure
dents in your class who have expressed interest complete follow through and rewarding out-
in the global issues SCORP addresses. Once comes.
you have a few companions, and have recruited
a faculty sponsor (if you so choose) you are It is important at this point to begin to get volun-
ready to plan your first meeting and start adver- teers who would be willing to commit to particu-
tising to your fellow classmates. lar aspects of various projects. You may want to
pass around a sheet and ask members to sign
One effective way to let incoming students know up for the project in which they may be most
about your chapter is to include a letter describ- interested. Committees can then be formed and
ing your group in the spring and summer mail- coordinators can be elected for each project.
37
Chapter 12: Starting your SCORP group

Project Co-Ordinators:
The next step is to ensure timely and depend- These are responsible for coordinating any one
able communication between the members as of the projects your chapter has chosen to pur-
well as with the faculty advisor and administra- sue. They will be responsible for coordinating
tors. Make sure to obtain member contact infor- efforts for the particular project and reporting the
mation before they leave the first meeting and progress to the chapter as a whole.
let them know to expect messages from you on
a regular basis. It is also highly recommended Liaisons:
that you maintain contact with your regional rep- The duty of a liaison is to network with other
resentative and keep them updated as to your organizations: to let them know what you are
activities and likewise keep your members doing, to keep track of events they sponsor, and
updated as to activities underway internationally to use their expertise when appropriate. The
among other student IFMSA SCORP Groups. number of liaisons necessary will depend on the
number of organizations at your respective
It is vital that you plan some sort of activity soon schools.
after your first meeting so as to ensure chapter
momentum. Interested students may be turned
off if they feel that their time is unproductive. Building effective Projects and Programs

Your chapter activities may range from the very

Suggested Chapter Structure small, to the very large. No matter what activi-
The following outlines suggested chapter struc- ties your chapter decides to pursue, there are a
ture. You may amend this to best suit your few simple steps that will make sure your time
chapter but we recommend that you maintain a and effort will be spent as effectively and effi-
written copy of your chapter structure and posi- ciently as possible. It may be convenient to con-
tion responsibilities to avoid possible future con- sider your chapter activities in terms of projects
flicts. and programs. Projects are discreet activities
with a defined beginning and an end. Programs
Officers are longer-term, continuous activities that may
Co-Presidents: Especially with the rigorous well continue beyond your student years. One
schedules of medical students, two heads are of the major challenges with establishing pro-
better than one. grams is ensuring continuity from year to year
even after your graduation. It is a good idea to
Treasurer: The treasurer is responsible for mon- try and have a combination of both short-term
itoring and disbursing chapter funds as well as projects and long-term programs.
coordinating fundraising efforts to support chap-
ter projects. Before planning any sort of activity, you should
have an idea of where your efforts will have the
Secretary: The secretary is the institutional most impact. Then, you need to devise a spe-
memory of your chapter and its link with the gen- cific set of goals based on your findings. These
eral public. The secretary keeps minutes of goals should be clear, attainable, and ideally
chapter meetings and reports on its activities. should be measurable. By articulating your
S/he also handles publicity with the media, gets goals clearly, you will have a better idea of what
the word out to fellow students, and writes the needs to be done to achieve them, and what
reports for the regional directors. problems may arise. You can also develop
strategies for determining whether or not these
Web Master: The web master is responsible for goals are being met (this will be discussed in
creating and maintaining a local web site. They more detail below).
will work with the secretary on publicity and stay
in contact with regional representatives. A sim- By researching previous efforts, both within your
ple web site linked to your school. chapter and internationally among other student
chapters, it is possible to save yourself an enor-
mous amount of time and effort, and avoid mak-
38
 Chapter 12: Starting your SCORP group

ing the same mistakes that may have been Does this project specifically address the goals
made by your predecessors. This is not to say you have outlined for your chapter?
that you cannot come up with your own creative Are there clear outcomes or endpoints that can
solutions, just that you should do so with the be used to evaluate your effectiveness?
benefit of prior history. It is also essential that Will there be interest within your school/commu-
you investigate background issues relevant to nity about this project/program?
your particular set of goals.

It would also be advantageous to conduct a Project Evaluation and Feedback

resource assessment. Find out what resources
are available to help you meet your goals. This Evaluating projects and using this information to
would include people resources, material continuously improve your efforts is a vital part
resources and institutional resources. of being an effective student chapter. While pro-
gram evaluation is an important means of ensur-
People resources ing that your chapters resources are being
How many students can be recruited. Are there deployed as effectively as possible, it is impor-
faculty with relevant expertise or the desire to tant not to get caught up in an overly quantitative
work with you? Who in the community would be approach. Many of your important goals may be
interested in helping you achieve your goals? very difficult to measure. Following are some
suggestions.
Material resources
Money, computer equipment, access to printers No matter what your strategy for evaluation, it is
and copy machines, postage, audiovisual equip- important to use this information. In the case of
ment. Necessary materials will vary depending an ongoing program, you may want to have peri-
on your project and goals. odic reviews and modify the program according
to your results. If you are evaluating the effec-
Institutional resources tiveness of a one-time project, this information
Are there relevant foundations or other sources will be useful for future planning, and can be
of grant money? shared with other chapters that might wish to
Interested or experienced people at other plan similar events. By posting your evaluations
IFMSA group? on a web site, you will enable other groups to
Are there local or national groups dedicated to benefit from your experience and enable them
your issues that you can tap for ideas, materials to contact you with their questions.
or maybe even seed money?

If you have not already identified and spoken toInformal Evaluations

community leaders in your area, you should take How many people were involved in the organi-
the time to do so. By networking and/or collab- zation?
orating with other organizations, you can avoid How many people participated in the event?
redundancy, gain valuable perspectives on the Who was your target population and were they
problems you wish to address, and often discov- effectively reached?
er allies who will help your cause. What other populations were reached?
How much money did it cost?
In deciding on projects and programs, remem- Was the activity adequately publicized?
ber that it is important to focus your efforts. What were your goals for the project?
Given limited resources and time, you want to Did the activity achieve your goals? Why or why
develop projects and programs that are most not.
likely to succeed. In choosing among various Given the resources needed, was this activity
ideas you may want to ask: cost-effective?
Would you do this activity again?
Can this project reasonably be completed in the What would you differently next time?
time available?
Are there enough potential volunteers?
39
Chapter 12: Starting your SCORP group

Maintaining Contact with Graduated Student

Slightly more formal evaluations Members
Projects that have concrete, easily measured
endpoints can be evaluated more carefully. If At the very least, maintain a contacts database
one of your goals is to raise awareness of an and keep graduated members up to date on
issue, poll students and faculty before and after chapter activities. You may wish to solicit the
the event. The act of polling itself can be a tool input of past members, especially those who
for generating interest. You can develop a sur- have particular interests or areas of expertise.
vey that best suits your particular project and will Try to organize events periodically that may be
effectively convey achievement of your specific more amenable to graduate schedules (such
goals. that if they are still in the community, they may
Measure (count) approximately what proportion be able to attend). At a minimum, keep them
of your target population was exposed to the informed by email and/or newsletter.
message
Evaluate whether you influenced the behavior or You may also decide to create a chapter advi-
knowledge base of those exposed. sory board that includes graduated members.
Determine whether you should concentrate on This will ensure that the wisdom and experience
reaching more people or on refining your mes- they gained as part of IFMSA contributes to the
sage to be more compelling long-term planning and sustainability of your
If your project has a legislative bent, determine chapter.
how many students were actually motivated to
call/write/etc.

Constant Recruitment

One of the fastest ways to kill off your new group

is to stop recruiting. No matter how successful
your group has been in the past, if no one takes
over, it will die. So always solicit new students
and present them with new ideas. If your chap-
ter is not attracting as much interest as you
would like, you need to find the reason and
amend the situation. It could be as simple as
lack of publicity. One of the best ways to insure
long-term participation is to provide your mem-
bers with opportunities to be leaders as well as
followers. By distributing responsibility through-
out the membership, you ensure that members
feel ownership of the projects in which they par-
ticipate, increase the level of chapter participa-
tion, and build a cadre of enthusiastic student
leaders for next years chapter. It is a good idea
to hold an organizational meeting within three
weeks after your fist event. Everyone should be
invited to this meeting in which you and the proj-
ect heads work out the details of the individual
projects.

40
 Chapter 13
Layal Chaker & Eva M. Holst NATIONAL OFFICERS
Handover description of the progress of ongoing projects.
The National Officer of SCORP is responsible
for the overall coordination of the work of the 6. Encourage the exchange of experiences
International SCORP groups as well as the between the local committees (e.g. by holding a
cooperation with the rest of the National national SCORP seminar once a year). If possi-
Member Organisation (NMO) and various exter- ble, encourage regular e-mail contact between
nal partners important to the intrinsic workings of local committees between such seminars to
SCORP. keep up ongoing communication to aid the shar-
ing of experience.
A period of information exchange known as the
handover period is of importance to ensure 7. Make sure that there is contact persons and
smooth running of the organisation. Ideally a updated material on all projects.
couple of months should be reserved as the
handover period where the outgoing NORP 8. Coordinate the updating of the Public
hands over to the newly elect NORP. This way Relations (homepage, pamphlets, student
the new NORP has the possibility to ask ques- newspapers, and all publicly related materials
tions about his/her new responsibilities from the which relate to SCORPs work, etc.). Try meet-
more experienced NORP. ing with the VPE of your NMO to talk about the
best coordination of publicity and PR for
SCORP.
NORP Responsibilities:
1. Keep a good contact with the local SCORP 9. Gathering the minutes from the local SCORP
committees. Talk regularly with the LORPs via committees meetings (compiling the LORPs
an e-mail or personally if possible and ensure minutes of their local SCORP meetings). Keep
they are aware that the NORP is an asset they these minutes as part of your NORP folder/man-
should use to help them. ual so developments in local committees can be
watched and learned from.
2. Have an overview of the SCORP groups
activities on both a local and national level. 10. Update the Handover Manual whenever
Keep a folder or manual detailing each of the required.
ongoing projects both nationally and locally,
which can be handed over to the new NORP 11. Keep the SCORP group posted on any inter-
esting information from the international and/or
3. Help solving possible problems. Keep a regional SCORP server.
record of these problems and solutions used in
the NORP folder so that if similar problems arise 12. Keep the SCORP group posted on any cur-
in other projects there is a precedent in solving rent world events of interest to your SCORP
them. group and encourage them to do the same.

4. Inspire to new initiatives and improvement of

the SCORP group (e.g. by sending out emails Meetings
about international SCORP activities or informa- 1. Make the agenda for any national meetings
tion on how SCORP groups in other countries where SCORP has some standing committee
work). For example, send out a links/contact list time (e.g. General Assemblies). Alert all
to the local committees with website addresses, SCORPions ahead of time so that any items
etc. of NGOs and other NMO SCORPs so that they feel should be on the agenda can be includ-
local committees can do research on projects ed.
etc.
2. Facilitate the standing committee time at the
5. Being the coordination and information link national meetings.
between the Executive Board and the SCORP 3. Advertise any national SCORP meetings or
group. Send regular information e-mails to sec- SCORP standing committee time at national
retary-general (or similar EB officer) with short meeting (e.g. General Assemblies). A national e-
41
Chapter 13: National Officers

mail list, if it exists can be used to easily do this. 3. Promote the Regional cooperation.

4. Advertise any international meeting that 4. Write a report twice a year about the national
SCORPions can participate in. SCORP activities in your countries (one before
each IFMSA General Assembly) and send it to
5. As far as possible make sure that the nation- your SCORP directors J
al SCORP group is represented at IFMSA meet-
ings and any regional meetings. 5. Be in good contact with your SCORP
Directors and Regional SCORP Assistant. Keep
in regular e-mail contact with them, and update
Budget them on developments in your national SCORP
Keeping track of any possible SCORP budget group.
and stay in close contact with the NMO treasur-
er. Make sure that you talk to the treasurer early
on in your term and are aware of any policies, International Meetings
rules or procedures that are in place to do with 1. Advertise and motivate all SCORPions to
budgeting and submission of expenses. apply to go to international meetings. Assist
Try funding the projects as much as possible by these SCORPions with their applications, plan-
fundraising. ning and preparations so that they can best rep-
resent your national SCORP group.

The Executive Board 2. Make a valuation on how to prioritise the

Keep the EB informed about the activities within SCORPions who apply to go to the international
the SCORP group and vice versa. Also maintain meeting.
a good and stabile contact with both the EB and
the members of your SCORP group. 3. Help SCORPions who are attending their first
meeting before and during the meeting.

External Contact 4. Bring any national SCORP material you have

Advertise any course or arrangement that could with you to present at the meeting. This includes
be of interest for SCORPions (e.g. from the Red posters, leaflets and other informational docu-
Cross or Human Rights institutes). ments as well as the enthusiasm and experi-
If possible, create new contacts and cooperation ence of your national group.
agreements with other NGO`s relevant for
SCORP. Make sure to include such agreements 5. Make sure to find out if any of the SCORPions
and contacts within the NORP manual, so that not going to the meeting have any wishes or
the incoming NORP is aware of them and utilis- needs you should take care of for them at the
es them to their full potential. meeting (e.g. making contact with other projects
or gather information about something). If possi-
ble, bring contact details for these SCORPions
Internationally at the meeting and give them to the relevant
1. Bring material / projects / ideas back home to project coordinators, so that they can make
your national NMO. Make the local committees direct contact.
of developments from GAs, etc. by sending out
an update email. Above all: ENJOY YOURSELF and do not
hesitate to ask for help from either your pre-
2. Create international contacts help each vious NORP, other LORPS or even the
other out between the countries or start twinning Regional Assistant or SCORP director(s).
projects between different national SCORP
groups. For example, talk to another national
SCORP group about getting involved in one of
their ongoing projects, or implementing one of
their projects in your country
42
 Chapter 14
Leila Kyavar ABOUT IFMSA
History of IFMSA European and American students. In 1956, 11
countries participated in the SCOPE exchange.
Copenhagen, 26-28 May 1951: The representa- In 1990, more than 4000 students went on
tives of eight countries ( Sweden, Denmark, SCOPE exchange in 39 countries.
Norway, Finland, Federal republic of Germany,
Netherlands, Switzerland, England and Austria) SCORE
gathered to start a non-political student organi- At the same time Electives were added to the
sation with the objectives of studying and pro- normal range of clinical clerkships organized by
moting the interest of medical students cooper- SCOPE. SCOEE (Standing Committee on
ation on a purely professional basis, and pro- Electives Exchange) was founded in 1986. Later
moting activities in the field of students health the name was changed to SCORE (Standing
and student relief. The name of this organisation Committee on Research Exchange) for a more
was to be the International Federation of appropriate definition of the exchange.
Medical Students Associations (IFMSA).
Initially, three committees were formed : a SCOME
Standing Committee on Medical Exchange The idea of this Standing Committee was to
(SCOME), a Standing Committee on compare the various medical education systems
Professional Exchange (SCOPE), and a around the world. Several workshops were held
Standing Committee on Students Health and many projects were started. A booklet with
(SCOSH). A bureau of information supported by all the collected information was published.
the World Health Organization (WHO) was also SCOME is still working on this project and, cur-
set up in Geneva. One year later, the first rently, an online database is being used to ease
General Assembly with 30 participants took the collection of information.
place in London. In 1984 the problems of
refugees health and social conditions led to the SCOPH
creation of a Standing Committee on Refugees. In 1954, the Standing Committee on Students
After including issues such as war prevention Health, in cooperation with the World University
and anti-personnel mines in its work, it was later Service (WUS), carried out a survey on the con-
named the Standing Committee on Refugees dition of students health. In that post-war
and Peace (SCORP). Over the years the IFMSA atmosphere, health conditions were a matter of
has been joined by many more countries and is concern for everybody. Because of a redefinition
now the worlds largest medical student organi- of its aims, the Standing Committee adopted its
sation. current name SCOPH (Standing Committee on
Public Health).
In the past 50 years the structure and functions
of IFMSA have been changed several times. SCORP
The General Secretariat, originally located in The problem of refugees health and social con-
Copenhagen, was temporarily transferred to ditions led to the creation of SCOR (Standing
Canada, London (GB), Helsinki (Finland), Committee on Refugees), the SCOR Refugees
Vienna (Austria), LAquila (Italy), Amsterdam Week (March 1984), and the subsequent
(The Netherlands), and was finally moved to KuMSA Refugees Aid Projects in Sudan. SCOR
Ferney-Voltaire (France). IFMSA changed from was later named SCORP (Standing Committee
an originally European group to an international on Refugees and Peace) after including in its
association with members from all over the activities issues such as war prevention and the
world. New Constitution and Bylaws were banning of land mines. In 2005, after realising
adopted in the GA in Kuopio, Finnland 2000. SCORP was mainly dealing with Human Rughts
issues rendering the current name obsolete, it
Nowadays there are different Standing commit- changed its name to Standing Committee on
tees like: human Rights and Peace, keeping its abbrevia-
tion SCORP.
SCOPE
In 1951, the student exchange was established SCORA
in order to arrange exchanges between In 1992, medical students formed the youngest
43
Chapter 14: About IFMSA

working group in IFMSA: the Standing ability of IFMSA at that time and, in the mid-
Committee on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted eighties, IFMSA suffered a major crisis of confi-
Diseases (SCOAS). The activities of SCOAS dence. Member countries could not get actively
later developed from HIV/STD advocacy and involved in IFMSA work and policy-making
awareness campaigns to encompass a wider because they were not given any chance to
range of reproductive health and related issues. understand and follow what was going on. The
To mark this change of focus, the name was Federation had become so untouchable to the
changed in 1998 to the Standing Committee on average national representative that it was diffi-
Reproductive Health including AIDS (SCORA). cult for anyone undertaking medical studies to
become fully committed. This had led to an
SCOMF unfortunate centralization of power in the senior
In 1957, the Standing Committee on Medical officers of the Federation, such that not even the
Films (SCOMF) was established with the aim of average executive board members had a rea-
promoting the educational importance of med- sonable opportunity to follow IFMSAs central
ical films in standard medical training. This com- affairs. This uncertainty in policy-making,
mittee did not exist for long and ended its work finances, membership formalities, official corre-
in 1961. spondence, and dissemination of information
led to confusion, paralysis and divide, even with-
IFMSA activities in the Executive Board, after dogging the organ-
Various Student International Clinical ization for almost 5 years. Discussion of the
Conferences (SICC) were organized in different Constitution had become a major issue at meet-
countries. In 1963, the first IFMSA summer ings and arguments over petty technical points
schools were organized in Scandinavia, United wasted much valuable time when more impor-
Kingdom, and Denmark. IFMSA promoted a tant topics needed to be discussed.
Blood Donation Week and a Book Appeal to Nowadays IFMSA is a very well-established
benefit students from developing countries. international federation with broad representa-
More summer schools and conferences were tion and close relations with medical students
organized and new projects were founded. The associations all over the world. It is recognized
journal Medical Students International (MSI) as an important non-governmental organization
was founded and a newsletter, the Vagus, was and collaborative partner by WHO, UNESCO,
created to inform all members in the world of other UN agencies, and several NGOs, such as
IFMSAs activities. With the Internet came the the Global Health Council. We are on the way to
conversion to an electronic version of this making closer links with several other interna-
newsletter and improved communication tional student organizations and NGOs. New
through other new technologies. IFMSA created fields are presently developing, including
a website (http://www.ifmsa.org) which was Primary Health Care and Human Rights, with
been redesigned 2002 and electronic-exchange many valuable projects. The IFMSA Village
facilities for SCORE and SCOPE are currently Concept can be considered a milestone in third
being developed world aid philosophy.

Other appeal for drugs and equipment for devel-

oping countries were started. A new category of General Information
members was defined and many declarations
and resolutions were adopted. IFMSA initiated The International Federation of Medical
partnerships with WHO, UNESCO, and the Students Associations (IFMSA) is an independ-
Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. In 1983, a ent, non-governmental, and non-political federa-
cooperation with International Physicians for the tion of medical students associations through-
Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) was forged. out the world. In 2002-2003 IFMSA had 95
But not everything went well. The GA in Lagos, national chapters, termed National Member
Nigeria was chaotic and no new board was Organizations, from 91 countries on six conti-
elected. Instead, concentration was focused on nents, representing over 2 million medical stu-
building a new structure and better laws for the dents worldwide. IFMSA is run for and by med-
constitution. Many people doubted the sustain- ical students on a non-profit basis.
44
 Chapter 14: About IFMSA

Mission Statement Membership

Our mission is to offer future physicians a The Federation is composed of the following
comprehensive introduction to global health members:
issues. Through our programming and opportu- Full members
nities, we develop culturally sensitive students Candidate members
of medicine, intent on influencing the trans- Associate members
national inequalities that shape the health of our Honorary life members
planet. For more details: http://www.ifmsa.org
Aims Structure
a. To be a forum for medical students The members of IFMSA are nationally based
throughout the world to discuss topics medical students associations and are called
related to health, education and National Member Organizations (NMOs). All
medicine; to formulate policies from such activities of IFMSA are organized by the NMOs
discussions and to carry out appropriate and each NMO has its own identity. Most NMOs
activities. have Local Committees at medical schools
b. To promote humanitarian ideals and throughout their country. The Local Committees
medical ethics amongst medical students coordinate and organize IFMSA activities and it
c. To act as a mechanism for medical is through these Local Committees that NMOs
students professional and scientific maintain contact with the medical students.
exchange and projects IFMSA is a federation which respects the auton-
d. To be a body through which cooperation omy of its members, the NMOs. The NMOs can
and contacts with other international decide which activities they take part in and
organizations are established what new activities should be developed.
e. To act as a mechanism for member
organizations to raise funds for projects
recognized by the IFMSA. The International Framework of IFMSA

Objectives The decision making process is in the hands of

The goal of the Federation is to serve society the General Assembly, the executive process
and medical students all over the world through is overseen by the International Board, and the
its member organizations by: controlling power is held by the Supervising
a. Empowering medical students to use Council.
their knowledge and capacities
for the benefit of society. The General Assembly (GA) is composed of
b. Providing a forum for medical students representatives of all NMOs and meets twice a
throughout the world to discuss topics year in March and August. The General
and formulate policies related to Assembly decides the activities, regulations,
education, science, and individual and and management of IFMSA and elects the
community health. International Board and Supervising Council.
c. Promoting and facilitating professional
and scientific exchanges as well as The General Assembly elects the International
projects and extracurricular trainings for Board, which is composed of the Executive
medical students through which they can Board and Directors. The Executive Board is
be exposed to the cultures and health responsible for the daily management of the
problems of other societies. Federation and deals with issues such as
d. Providing a link and encouraging fundraising, marketing, external relations,
cooperation between members, medical finances, administration, development, and sup-
students associations, and international port to National Member Organizations.
organisations for the ultimate benefit of
society. There are two types of Directors, Standing
Committee Directors and Support Division
Directors. Standing Committee Directors are

45
Chapter 14: About IFMSA

assigned to one field of activities and coordinate Round Table Discussions enable the student
the Standing Committee that carries out these delegates to discuss currently relevant topics
activities. They give support to national and localwith short lectures frequently given by invited
officers, prepare the meetings of the Standing experts and representatives from, for example,
Committee, and are responsible for develop- different UN agencies.
ment of new activities. Support Division A special Financial Committee is elected at each
Directors are responsible for general activities, General Assembly to audit the budget and
which are important for all other undertakings. finances of the Federation. Other legislative pro-
IFMSA has support divisions for projects, publi- ceedings at the meetings include the adoption of
cations, training, new technologies (internet), reports from the Executive Board members,
and alumni relations. IFMSA Officials, and IFMSA projects, and the
To help the elected officials, the Executive Board endorsement of official IFMSA Policy
annually appoints Liaison Officers who main- Statements. Guidelines on which areas IFMSA
tain contact with important external relations and should focus on and other important decisions
represent IFMSA to those organizations. for the future of the Federation are prepared by
The Supervising Council is elected by the the Presidents of the National Member
General Assembly to evaluate and supervise the Organizations together with the Executive
work of the IFMSA officials and undertake Board and brought forth for approval at the
actions in case problems arise. Plenary Sessions.
Hosting a General Assembly is an honor, but
Meetings also a great trial for the Organizing Committee.
Twice a year, the delegations of the National The entire process is run voluntarily by students,
Member Organizations of IFMSA get together at from the fundraising to the implementation, and
the IFMSA General Assemblies. The March shows that the power of IFMSA indeed lies at
Meeting and the August Meeting bring together the local level. As with any international meet-
several hundred (500-700) medical students ing, the social program is important in providing
from all around the world. During the seven relaxation between the long hours of work, and
days of the meetings, the delegates discuss giving the hosts an opportunity to show their cul-
matters of the Federation and make valuable ture and creativity to their foreign friends.
contacts for their organizations.
Sub-Regional Meetings
The General Assembly remains the highest In addition to the General Assemblies, the
decision making body of the Federation National Member Organizations are more fre-
although the actual program of the meeting has quently getting together at different Sub-
developed into a mixture of training, planning, Regional Meetings. These meetings follow no
and evaluation sessions in between the legisla- particular agenda, and are usually organized to
tive Plenary Sessions. The work of the address mutual needs of local organizations in
Standing Committees of IFMSA is the neighboring countries. Some meetings are run
essence for most delegates: signing contracts as workshops dedicated to a specific topic, be it
and presenting and planning projects are all in a planning a joint project or skills training, where-
days work for the National Officers from the par- as other meetings have a more general agenda,
ticipating organizations. An extensive Training with several of the IFMSA Standing
and Resources Development component has Committees represented. The purpose of the
been integrated into the program, providing the Sub-Regional Meetings is on the one hand to
participants with new skills needed in their work, meet the special needs of specific regions and,
but seldom found in the regular University cur- on the other hand, to provide an opportunity for
riculum: Lobbying Skills, Group Dynamics, and active students to participate in international
Strategic Planning to name a few. meetings, thus, motivating them in their local
With IFMSA being much more than just activities.
exchanges, the Project Fair has evolved to /Source http://www.ifmsa.org/
extend presentations of local, national and inter-
national projects outside the Standing
Committees.
46
 Chapter 15
Leila Kyavar OFFICIAL IFMSA PROJECTS
The title IFMSA Project includes projects, work- ter of official recognition by the Executive Board.
shops, events, networks, surveys, and cam- To keep the recognition a half-year report and a
paigns of interest to medical students, all being complete description of the project must be
in accordance with the IFMSA principles, aims delivered.
and policy statements. The General Assembly can decide to remove
the recognition from a project.
There are three categories of IFMSA projects The International Organizing Committee
- Endorsed projects Coordinator and the Local Organizing
- Transnational projects Committee Coordinator of IFMSA Transnational
- IFMSA Initiatives Projects have guaranteed places at General
Assembly Meetings.
All kind of projects must comply with the consti- Where one or more of the responsible organiza-
tution and bylaws of IFMSA and must be listed tions is not a national member organization, the
within a month on the IFMSA website after being project shall be known as a Joint IFMSA-Partner
recognized or endorsed. Transnational Project, where the word "Partner"
is replaced with that organization's name. The
Endorsed Projects Any NMO or any organiza- non-national member organization will be equal-
tion in an official relation to IFMSA can propose ly acknowledged in all official communications,
a project as candidature for an IFMSA Endorsed publications and presentations from IFMSA,
Project by providing the following: both internally and externally, as being jointly
a. Scanned completed candidature form responsible for the project. This equal acknowl-
signed and stamped by the NMO edgement includes the equal presence of both
President organizations' names and logos.
b. Proposal with the responsible
organization, the name of the An IFMSA Initiative is a project or series of proj-
co-ordinator, an executive summary, and ects centrally co-ordinated under the responsi-
the projects objectives and methods bility of the IFMSA Executive Board.
This can be sent to the Executive Board at any Required documentation includes:
time of the year. a. written project proposal including a
After gaining IFMSA endorsement, the project definition of the tasks of the initiative
will receive a letter of recommendation from the co-operator
IFMSA Executive Board. b. scanned completed candidature form
A Project can also fail to recieve an endorse- signed and stamped by the NMO
ment. president or the Executive Board
To keep the project endorsement, a half-year This must be sent before the first of December
report and a complete description of the project concerning the March meeting and before the
must be delivered at the latest on 1st December first of May concerning the August meeting.
and at the latest on 1st May. After the Initiative is approved by the General
IFMSA Endorsed Project Coordinators are not Assembly, the Executive Board will appoint the
guaranteed a place at the General Assembly Initiative Co-operator as an IFMSA Official.
outside the NMO quota. The Initiative Co-operator is required to provide
a complete presentation of the project for the
Transnational Projects involve more than one IFMSA Project Database, a report to the
organization out of which at least one is an NMO Executive Board and a half-year report present-
of IFMSA. Required documentation includes: ed to the General Assembly.
a. a completed project proposal The General Assembly can decide to remove
b. a scanned, completed candidature form recognition from an Initiative by simple majority.
signed and stamped by the NMO
president For further details about the project proposal
This must be sent before the first of December process and reporting deadlines , please look
concerning the March meeting and before the under www.ifmsa.org/bylaws.
first of May concerning the August meeting
As an official IFMSA Project it will receive a let-
47
Chapter 16
SCORP PARTNERS AND OTHER ORGS. Jonathan Mamo

/This document contains summarized informa- dedicated to research, education, and advocacy
tion on IFMSAs human rights & peace related relevant to the prevention of nuclear war, the
partners as well as information on other organi- demilitarization of the world and the paradigm
zations which have a direct interest in the sub- shift needed to create a climate of peace and
jects tackled by SCORPs projects on local, stability. It is the only international medical
national and international levels./ organization dedicated solely to the abolition of
nuclear weapons. Their aim is to create projects
Official Partners which highlight the need to end the threats
posed by landmines, small arms and light
UNHCR - United Nations High weapons, chemical and biological weapons, and
Commissioner for Refugees - www.unhcr.org the burden of debt on developing nations.

The organization works for:

- the abolition of all nuclear weapons

- the demilitarization of the global economy and
The Office of the United Nations High
an end to the arms trade
Commissioner for Refugees was established to
- the re-allocation of resources from military to
lead and co-ordinate international action to pro-
civilian needs, especially to basic health care
tect refugees and resolve refugee problems
and human necessities
worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard
- sustainable and ecologically sound economic
the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to
development
ensure that everyone can exercise the right to
seek asylum and find safe refuge in another
state, with the option to return home voluntarily,
Other Prominent Organizations in the
integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.
field of Human Rights and Peace
In more than five decades, the agency has
UNHCHR - www.ohchr.org
helped an estimated 50 million people restart
The United Nations High Commissioner for
their lives. Today, a staff of around 6,540 people
Human Rights is mandated to promote and
in 116 countries continues to help 19.2 million
protect the enjoyment and full realization, by all
persons. Using the 1951 Geneva Refugee
people, of all rights established in the Charter of
Convention as its major tool, it ensures the basic
the United Nations and in international human
human rights of vulnerable persons and that
rights laws and treaties. This includes prevent-
refugees will not be returned involuntarily to a
ing human rights violations, securing respect for
country where they face persecution. The
all human rights, promoting international coop-
organization also helps civilians repatriate to
eration to protect human rights, coordinating
their homeland, integrate in countries of asylum
related activities throughout the United Nations,
or resettle in third countries. Using a world wide
and strengthening and streamlining the United
field network, it also seeks to provide at least a
Nations system in the field of human rights.
minimum of shelter, food, water and medical
care in the immediate aftermath of any refugee
MSF - www.msf.org
exodus.
Mdecins Sans Frontires (Doctors Without
Borders) is an international humanitarian aid
organization that provides emergency medical
IPPNW - International Physicians for the
assistance to populations in danger in more than
Prevention of Nuclear War - www.ippnw.org
70 countries. MSF has been setting up emer-
gency medical aid missions around the world
since 1971. The organization works in rehabilita-
tion of hospitals and dispensaries, vaccination
programmes and water and sanitation projects.
IPPNW is a non-partisan, global federation of MSF sets out to alleviate human suffering, to
national medical organizations in 58 countries protect life and health and to restore and ensure
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 Chapter 16: SCOR
R P P artne
e rs and o the
e r o rg
gs

respect for the human beings and their funda- rights all over the world, for the right to privacy
mental human rights. It is part of MSFs work to and against impunity for human rights violators.
address any violations of basic human rights We use the internet as our primary information
encountered by field teams, violations perpetrat- and communication tool.
ed or sustained by political actors.
Amnesty International - www.amnesty.org
ICRC - www.icrc.org Amnesty International is a worldwide movement
The International Committee of the Red of people who campaign for human rights. Their
Cross is an independent, neutral organization work is based on careful research and on the
ensuring humanitarian protection and assis- standards agreed by the international communi-
tance for victims of war and armed violence. It ty. They are independent of any government,
has a permanent mandate under international political ideology, economic interest or religion.
law to take impartial action for prisoners, the Amnesty International mobilizes activists
wounded and sick, and civilians affected by con- people who give freely of their time and energy
flict. With its HQ in Geneva, Switzerland, the in solidarity with those whose rights have been
ICRC is based in around 80 countries. In situa- abused.
tions of conflict the ICRC coordinates the
response by national Red Cross and Red Human Rights Watch - www.hrw.org
Crescent societies and their International Human Rights Watch is one of the largest
Federation. The ICRC is at the origin of both the human rights organizations based in the United
International Red Cross / Red Crescent States. Human Rights Watch researchers con-
Movement and of international humanitarian duct fact-finding investigations into human rights
law, notably the Geneva Conventions. abuses in all regions of the world. The organiza-
tion then publishes those findings in dozens of
Global Lawyers and Physicians - books and reports every year, generating exten-
www.glphr.org sive coverage in local and international media.
Their mission is to work at the local, national,
and international levels through collaboration Physicians for Human Rights - www.phrusa.org
and partnerships with individuals, NGOs, and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) promote
governments on issues such as the global health by protecting human rights. They believe
implementation of the health-related provisions that human rights are essential preconditions for
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the health and well-being of all people and,
and the Covenants on Civil and Political Rights therefore, using medical and scientific methods,
and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, with they investigate and expose violations of human
a focus on health and human rights, patient rights worldwide and work to stop them. PHR
rights, and human experimentation. supports institutions that hold perpetrators of
human rights abuses, including health profes-
Partners In Health - www.pih.org sionals, accountable for their actions. PHR
Partners In Health is a non-profit organization shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.
that works in Latin America, the Caribbean,
Russia and the United States. Drawing on the Forced Migration Review - www.fmreview.org
resources of the worlds elite medical and aca- Produced in collaboration with the Global IDP
demic institutions, and on the lived experiences Project of the Norwegian Refugee Council this is
of the worlds poorest and sickest communities, a leading practical journal on refugee and dis-
their team of physicians, scholars and activists placement issues. It provides concise jargon-
tackles health crises that cant be solved and free articles by practitioners, researchers and
does whatever it takes to solve them. displaced people which share information, expe-
rience and policy recommendations and encour-
ages networking and information exchange in
Derechos Human Rights - www.derechos.org the field of forced migration by providing news of
Derechos Human Rights is the first internet publications, Internet resources and confer-
based human rights organization. They exist to ences.
work for the promotion and respect of human
49
Chapter 16: SCOR
R P P artne
e rs and o the
e r o rg
gs

European Network Against Racism -

www.enar-eu.org
ENAR is a network of European NGOs working
to combat racism in all the EU member states
which endorses the recognition by NGOs of the
European dimension to the fight against racism.
ENAR was created to fight racism, xenophobia,
anti-Semitism and Islam-phobia, to promote
equality of treatment between EU citizens and
third country nationals, and to link local / region-
al / national initiatives with European initiatives.
The network is determined to act against the
discrimination and exclusion of people of differ-
ent racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds; elim-
inate racist elements in Europes migration poli-
cies, and celebrate cultural, ethnic and racial
diversity.

50
 Appendix 1
RESOURCES
- HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION MANUAL, SCORP, IFMSA, 2006 (Editor: Venla Lehti)
(downloadable from ifmsa-scorp yahoogroups)

- COMPASS - A Manual on Human Rights Educationwith Young People (Dowloadable -

www.coe.int/compass)

- UNHCR Global Appeal

- UNHCR Statistical Yearbook

- SCORP Handbook (downloadable from ifmsa-scorp yahoogroups)

- How to set up a project? (A handbook edited by Jacco Veldhuyzen - downloadable.)

51
Appendix 2
LINKS
SCORP - www.ifmsa.org/scorp

United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees - www.unhcr.org

Physicians for Human Rights-USA - www.phrusa.org

Council of Europe - www.coe.int

www.fmreview.org

Amnesty International - www.amnesty.org

Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) - www.msf.org

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