The United Nations Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL) Background Guide

Transcription

1 The United Nations Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL) Background Guide Committee Chair: Scott Robins Assistant Directors: Robby Gillespie, Logan Kapit, and Sloane Kapit

2 LETTER FROM YOUR CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS Scott Robins: What s up my SPECPOL delegates? I m Scott and I m a senior at American Heritage. This is my third year doing Model UN and second time being a chair for AHPMUN. Here are some fun facts about myself: If I go to Chipotle, I get a bowl; I m a big college football fan; And I am the proud owner of an alpaca named Jaffey. I am really looking forward to this committee and what you all bring to the table. If you have any questions feel free to me at Pl215482@ahschool.com. Robby Gillespie: Hi everyone! I m Robby and I m a senior at American Heritage. This is my second year doing Model United Nations and I absolutely love it. I ve competed at conferences at Brown University, the University of Florida, and in New York City. My favorite subjects are American History and Comparative Government. I can t wait to meet you all and have an AHPMUN! Logan Kapit: Hey guys! I m Logan and I m a junior at American Heritage. This is my second year doing Model United Nations and my first time chairing so I am really excited to work with you guys. Outside of Model UN, I m also involved in math competition where we recently took home the title of state champions. However, my biggest passion is pro football. I m a big Dolphins fan and am currently involved in 7 fantasy football leagues. I can t wait to meet all of you guys and see what you bring to this committee! Sloane Kapit: Hi guys! My name is Sloane Kapit and I am a senior at American Heritage. This is my second year involved in Model United Nations and I am so excited to be your chair. Here are some fun facts about myself: If I go to Chipotle, I get a burrito; I m a big college basketball fan; And I am the proud owner of an alpaca named Jeffrey. I can't wait to watch you all thrive in this committee! 2

3 TOPIC 1: ENSURING THE SOCIOECONOMIC WELL- BEING OF RESIDENTS OF NON-SELF-GOVERNING TERRITORIES I. Introduction Although the issue of colonialism in general may seem outdated, decolonization remains a key issue of SPECPOL. When the UN was first founded, there were 750 million people living in non-self governing territories and dependent on colonial powers. Even today the UN recognizes 17 non-self-governing territories, meaning they are dependent on colonial powers. It is the duty of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee to advocate for the socio-economic advancement and independence of almost 2 million people. Decolonization not only pertains to small territories, but it also draws on the histories of imperialism and intervention from Western powers like the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain. This committee must strive to create protocols that implicate any member state which maintains control over a territory, not just the high profile examples like the Western Sahara and Guam. Delegates should work together to balance frameworks for political, social, and economic conditions, while promoting selfdetermination. Although some situations may be more urgent than others, the committee should still challenge all member states to produce a global population free from unfair colonial practices. II. History When the UN was established in 1945, almost one-third of the world s population lived in non-self-governing territories. Since then, more than 80 former colonies have gained independence. However, the decolonization process is no piece of cake: it s a juggling act between the United Nations, the administering Powers, and residents of the territories. The most prevalent topic of debate is the socio-economic well-being of the 3

4 residents, which presents hard-to-come-by conclusions due to lack of entirely satisfactory current solutions. One example of conflicts created by this issue can be seen in French Polynesia. France colonized French Polynesia by the end of the nineteenth century, which the UN later listed as a non-self-governing territory. However, France refused to transmit information on its overseas territories to the General Assembly from 1947, arguing that Pacific territories enjoyed self-government within the French Republic. Thus, France refused to accept international monitoring. In 1963, a revised version of the list of territories ignored France s Pacific dependencies, including French Polynesia. From 1960 to 1996, France carried out 210 nuclear tests, and 193 of them were in French Polynesia. Although France argued that the explosions were controlled and clean, according to 2013 declassified ministry of defense documents the environmental harm these tests had caused was severe. These documents angered veterans and civilian groups of the territory. On May 17, 2013, the United Nations passed a resolution to reinscribe French Polynesia on the UN list of non-self-governing territories. The UN also called on the French government as the Administering Power concerned, to intensify its dialogue with French Polynesia in order to facilitate rapid progress towards a fair and elective selfdetermination process, under which the terms and timelines for an act of selfdetermination will be agreed. The debate still continues today and each party of the conflict holds different opinions. Sometimes the conflicts are also generated between territories and UN, such as in the Falklands, one of the non-self-governing territories under British administration. Argentina has repeatedly refused to recognize the Falklanders and does not approve the referendums held in the territory, for it thinks the current population in Falklands is implanted by British and has no right to self-determination granted under the United Nations Charter. This issue sparked a war during the Thatcher premiership after Argentina s military junta invaded the islands in In 2009, the UN Special Decolonization Committee in a consensus declaration supported the positions of Argentina ignoring self-determination rights for the peoples in Falklands, which incited sparks in the Falklander population. On June 23, 2016, Gavin Short, an elected member of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands, addressed the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. In the speech, he explained the economic blockade from Argentina 4

5 and difficulty of preserving their culture due to Argentina s push of assimilation. He disapproved of the United Nations ignoring the self-determination rights of the territory while they clearly stated the promotion in previous resolutions. A major difficulty that contributes to the involvement of many different groups is ultimately the multi-faceted nature of the issue and the lack of guidelines on how to handle these issues. These are major points of contention the committee should account for and address when attempting to resolve conflicts. III. Current Situation Bound to responsibility by the UN Charter, the committee continues to focus on promoting progress for all residents of these territories. Additionally, the Special Committee on Decolonization mobilizes public support for decolonization and respects the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self- Governing Territories. In December 2016, the committee asserted that the task of decolonization was still unfinished, and that targeted action was required. Delegates should try to create protocols protecting residents in a more concentrated, efficient manner, ultimately with the end goal of granting full rights and independence to the people of the Non- Self-Governing Territories. Currently, two of the most conflictive and headline- making areas are the Western Sahara and Guam. In the Western Sahara, the UN supports a referendum in which the people decide whether they want to become an independent state or be integrated into Morocco, which has been continually postponed since There are often conflicts between the Polisario Front, who advocate for independence, and Moroccan security forces who claim the area. Guam, which technically exists as an organized, unincorporated territory of the US, has recently been the center of protests aimed at giving its residents the right to vote in presidential elections under their American citizenship. In August 2016, a group of veterans currently residing in various U.S. territories lost a high-profile legal case concerning their voting rights, proving the need for UN promotion of rights for these residents. 5

6 IV. What s at Stake? Decolonization was specified in the Charter of the United Nations in Chapter XI as one of the most important missions of the United Nations, and enhancing the socioeconomic well-being of the current territories would greatly facilitate the process. The mission consists of many subfields, and among them the self-determination of a territory serves as a prerequisite for the social and economic development of that territory. There are also other aspects such as the territory s culture, education and economic development that require thorough consideration during the discussion. In addition, although the topic might, at first sight, be only relevant to nations directly involved, every nation in the committee has a stake in the discussion. For example, many countries have been through decolonization themselves, and thus have responsibilities to help facilitate the current process. In general, every nation needs to help the committee to set up more specific guidelines in the face of such issues and strive to lead different groups to a compromise. V. Member States Involved Although a number of member states are involved, the big colonial powers mentioned earlier hold the most Non-Self-Governing Territories and therefore have a major role to play in decolonization. The United Kingdom: The most populous territories maintained by the UK are Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos. With ten territories total, the UK must acknowledge the history of its imperialism and the effect it has had on conquered people. The United States of America: Guam, US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa are the three territories held by the US. Once again, they are a product of American imperialism, and the rights of the residents of these territories are very complicated and contested. 6

7 France: France is the administering power for two very populous territories, French Polynesia and New Caledonia. France shares a similar history of colonialism with the UK and US, which can be seen in its remaining territories. Morocco: After 1976, when Spain renounced its presence in the Western Sahara and gave up responsibility for the area, Morocco annexed it. This territory is the largest and most populous territory on the UN list, but delegates should acknowledge the Western Sahara, and Morocco s, connection to colonial rule when deciding on protocol for its residents. Additionally, after Algeria renounced any claim to the land, the main forces involved in the conflict became the ative Sahrawi population and Moroccan immigrants and authorities. 7

8 TOPIC 2: THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY The right to privacy has been designated as a fundamental human right according to the UN Declaration of Human Rights. The law of privacy can be traced as far back as 1361, when the Justices of the Peace Act in England provided for the arrest of peeping toms and eavesdroppers. The privacy has become such a topic of debate due to the fact that it represents not only freedom but also freedom of speech. Almost every country states a right to privacy in their constitution and for those who do not explicitly state it such as the United States the courts have found that right in other provisions. By the 1970s there has been a general aim towards the adoption of comprehensive privacy laws. In 1995, the EU proposed a directive on the "Protection of Individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data" which set a benchmark for a national law (Blakely & Matsuura). In December 2013, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 68/167, which discussed the negative impact that surveillance and interception of communications may have on human rights. They stated that the rights held by people offline must also be protected online, and it called upon all Countries to respect and protect the right to privacy in digital communication (Privacy and Human Rights). Privacy law has its roots in the Constitution of Poland since April 2, 1997 and within it guarantees the right of every citizen to a private life. This was then further specified in Articles 23 and 24 which aim to protect the personal interests of natural persons. In July 2014, Poland began to undermine the right to privacy in the country by creating new legislation. The issues that would arise from this is the law does not contain a requirement of obtaining prior approval from a judge for obtaining online date and it would be almost impossible for people to find out whether they are being spied on. But since Poland is a member of the EU, it follows the EU standards and law that have been set in place and is on time to prepare its legal framework for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). There has been preparation in place if the implementation of the GDPR (Mednis & Gerard). The ministry of Digital Affairs published the first draft of the amended Act on the Protection of Personal Data on 23 March It was then later published on 8

9 September 14. Alongside this there is a second law amending several hundreds of sectoral regulations containing limitations and this second half of the act is expected to all be published by May 25, 2018 (Kobylanska & Lewoszewski). While the right to privacy has had some serious consequences of people not knowing whether or not they can trust their own country. There have been some solutions that may be able to diminish this lack of security people seem to have. An example of this is the start of using technology to control our own data. The idea here is to use computer tools that ensure private companies don t collect your personal information in the first place. So by using Open source search engines it will stop the government from being able to access your own personal engine. Also the creation of the device called the Freedom Box which lets people shield their online information from companies and the government. These two ways are short term solutions to first have an immediate stop of the invasion of privacy while the governments of countries are still debating whether or not to allow for more privacy. While there has been debates of whether Google, Apple, and various search engines should have the right to invade privacy if necessary. According to a 1997 report "Assessing the Technologies of Political Control" commissioned by the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee and undertaken by the European Commission's Science and Technology Options Assessment Office (STOA), [fn 5] much of this technology is used to track the activities of dissidents, human rights activists, journalists, student leaders, minorities, trade union leaders, and political opponents. The report concludes that such technologies (which it describes as "new surveillance technology") can exert a powerful 'chill effect' on those who "might wish to take a dissenting view and few will risk exercising their right to democratic protest". Large scale ID systems are also useful for monitoring larger sectors of the population. As Privacy International observed, "In the absence of meaningful legal or constitutional protections, such technology is inimical to democratic reform. It can certainly prove fatal to anyone 'of interest' to a regime. ( 9

10 Nearly all countries have established some form of wiretapping capability over telephone, fax and telex communications. In most cases, these intercepts are initiated and authorized by law enforcement agencies. Wiretapping abuses have been detected in most countries, sometimes occurring on a vast scale involving thousands of illegal taps. The abuses invariably affect anyone "of interest" to a government. Targets include political opponents, student leaders, and human rights workers. 10

11 WORKS CITED History, The United Nations and Decolonization, last modified 2016, Main Page, The United Nations and Decolonization, accessed May 7, 2017, Nic Maclellan, Hijacking decolonization: French Polynesia at the United Nations, Inside History, May 31, 2013, accessed May 7, 2017, Angelique Chrisafis, French nuclear tests showered vast area of Polynesia with radioactivity, The Guardian, 3 July, 2013, General Assembly adds French Polynesia to UN decolonization list, The United Nations and Decolonization, May 18, 2013, Jonathan Gilbert, Falklands residents expected to give resounding yes to staying British, Inside History, May 31, 2013, UK says Falklands should be out of UN Non- Self-Governing territories list, MercoPress, June 24, 2009, 11