San Diego Invitational

Transcription

1 San Diego Invitational Model United Nations Conference Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Committee Background Guide

2 San Diego Invitational Model United Nations Conference Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Committee Background Guide Topic 1 Self-Determination Topic 2 Human Trafficking in Developed Nations Head Chair sochum@sdimun.org tylernunez@sdimun.org Vice Chair alexiscorl@sdimun.org

3 Letters from the Dais Esteemed Delegates, Welcome to the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM) at SDIMUN 2016! I am much honored to work with you and be your Head Chair in this session. My name is Tyler Nunez. I am a junior from Point Loma and have been participating in MUN for six years. In the past six years, I have accumulated not only awards, but also knowledge, of how the United Nations works as a whole, and I wish to display and bestow this knowledge unto everyone in committee. I m excited to see how some of the brightest minds in San Diego can solve some of the most topical issues of the modern day. When I am not solving the European immigration crisis or food security in Latin America and the Caribbean, I enjoy reading, watching movies, and going to art museums. My vice chair and I have both known each other for years and have done MUN together for six years now. We have excellent chemistry and hope that shows in committee and allows the first San Diego Invitational MUN to flow well! In regards to our committee, we wish to focus on and investigate the human rights aspects of our topics which include: self-determination and human trafficking in developed nations. These are very important issues being discussed currently in the UN because of not only of their severity but also the dire need for solutions. When discussing about Topic I: Self-Determination, delegates should keep in mind the two-sided meaning of what self-determination can mean (individual vs. nation) and how the UN can continue to establish a citizen s universal right to self-determination without interfering with the sovereignty of nations. When discussing Topic II: Human Trafficking in Developed Nations, delegates should note how this trafficking affects all nations, the economic reasoning behind trafficking, and most importantly, the social aspect as to why human trafficking shifts from LDCs to developed nations. The dais is hopeful that delegates will be able to come up with effective and creative solutions to aid these burning issues! We look forward to a great conference. Sincerely, Tyler Nunez SOCHUM Head Chair

4 Esteemed Delegates, It is my privilege to introduce myself to you as your Vice Chair for the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM) for the first annual San Diego Invitational Model United Nations (SDIMUN) Conference. I am currently a junior at Point Loma High School and have had the pleasure of being a member of the secretariat of the Model United Nations Club at Point Loma for three years now. I was first introduced to the UN and its marvel at the age of eleven while in the sixth grade. Since then, I have received multiple awards along with priceless experiences that I would not trade for the world. The UN, and its values, have been extremely influential in my life, and I hope to inspire others and see our generation flourish. Sincerely, Alexis Corl SOCHUM Vice Chair SDIMUN 2016

5 Topic I: Self-Determination Key Terms: Self-Determination (Individual): To freely determine one s political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. Self-Determination (Nation): Nations, based on respect for the principle of equal rights and fair equality of opportunity, have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no interference. Sovereignty: The right of a governing body to govern itself without outside interference, universally granted to all nations by UN Charter. Autonomy: freedom from external control or influence; independence. (Cultural) Assimilation: The process by which an individual's or group s begins to resemble the culture and/or language of another group. Arab Spring: a series of youth-led protests that began in late 2010 throughout the Middle East. Background: Examples of the pursuit of self-determination are found in many periods throughout history, notably in the histories of colonies gaining independence through declarations and revolutions. Woodrow Wilson s Fourteen Points laid out the first formal international request of self-determination for all, as well as an international organization that would guarantee political independence and territorial integrity [of] great and small states alike. Although Wilson s League of Nations didn t meet his expectations, it laid a precedent that would soon manifest in the Treaty of Versailles, which not only ended the conflict of World War I but also laid the foundation for the creation of the United Nations. The UN recognizes the importance of addressing the issue of self-determination for every individual and all nations alike among other vital issues within the international community.

6 Contextual Photo 1.1: The world leaders of the Big Four nations at the Paris Peace Conference where the Treaty of Versailles was drafted, from left to right Britain (David Lloyd George), Italy (Vittorio Orlando), France (Georges Clemenceau), and the United States (Woodrow Wilson). In late 18th Century France, radicals looked to overthrow a tyrannical monarchy and replace it with a democratic republic. This revolt resulted in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which has become a model for development of freedom, democracy, and self-determination. The French Revolution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was influenced by a previous uprising in the United States with the same purpose, the right of people to pursue self-determination. The Declaration of Independence is another document that has influenced the modern vision of self-determination. Since the founding of the UN, the issue of self-determination has been an urgent matter in the international community. Millions were living in areas that had little to no government control in Now, more people than ever before live in self-sufficient and sovereign nations with the ability to exercise their right to self-determination. Self determination is multilateral. An individual can exercise self-determination, however a nation can also display selfdetermination. On the individualistic standpoint, self determination is an individual s ability to freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. While on a national scale, it is the creation of national governmental institutions by a

7 group of people who view themselves as a distinct nation. The right to self-determination is granted to everyone universally, or at least in theory should be. In 1948, the UN ratified a document which declared a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations in that of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, where ideals of self-determination are proclaimed. However, there are several instances in which people are unable or not allowed to exercise their right to self-determination: Delegates must bear in mind that the goal for the SOCHUM is to guarantee the right of self-determination for all people and all nations. So all of the instances where nations or individuals are being hindered from expressing their universal right to selfdetermination, it is a direct violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and should resolved with a sense of urgency by the committee Case Studies: Tibet: Prior to the Mongol (Yuan) Dynasty of the 13th Century, Tibet and China were generally independent of each other. However in the Yuan Dynasty s mass expansion over Asia, Tibet was able to keep religious and regional autonomy under the Mongols, who exhibited powerful administrative and military power in the region. With the Ming overthrow of the Yuan, came a desire for a reduction in Yuan influence culturally and politically in the Tibetan Plateau. Qing domination over the Tibet began in 1720 as a military expedition to conquer the area under the Qing Dynasty. Qing rule exhibited a strong military presence in the area, generally to subdue uprisings and revolts, but mostly to display the influence of the dynasty, paralleling the current situation of occupation of the Chinese military in Tibet. With the decline and eventual collapse of the Qing, came a dwindling authority over the Tibetan Plateau. The Dalai Lama, who had fled Tibet in wake of a relatively unsuccessful Qing military expedition to reestablish Chinese rule over Tibet in 1910, returned to Tibet and proclaimed himself the ruler of the small, religious, and independent nation.

8 Contemporarily Tibet still experiences moments of strife and a lack of recognition of self-determination from China. The current leader of Tibet, who was enthroned in 1950, the 14th Dalai Lama, has worked towards obtaining various degrees of autonomy from China. This search under His Holiness began in 1951 on account of a battle between the People s Republic of China and Tibet. This battle resulted in the treaty the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, which the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama were forced to accept. This treaty explicitly incorporated Tibet into the People s Republic of China. Because of a failed revolt in 1959 in Tibet, the Dalai Lama fled the plateau to India where he continues to govern the nation to the present day. Although his initial goal for Tibet was total independence, in the 1980 s it was evident that total autonomy was unlikely. The Dalai Lama shifted his focus towards a higher level of sovereignty against China. And through efforts like the CIA funded mission to grant self-determination to the people of Tibet, there is still issues with the recognition of Tibet as its own sovereign nation. Because the Chinese military continues to occupy Tibet, and the international community lacks to recognize Tibet as their own self sufficient nations, the Dalai Lama will continue to travel in exile preaching self-determination and peaceful resistance. Contextual Photo 1.2: The 14th Dalai Lama who seeks Tibetan autonomy from China and promotes ideal of selfdetermination and independence.

9 Syria: Perhaps the true cause of the Syrian war can be traced back all the way to the end of World War I, when western nations divided the Middle East due to the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Without keeping in mind the diversity of regions, they grouped into nations a heterogeneous group of people. This has led to political strife in the region for decades, often because of the sectarian discourse between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Syria, an area that has been civilized for over 10,000 years, became under control of the Alawites, a sect of Shia. This sect of Islam has ruled the nation since, however, is at risk of falling because of the civil war afoot. The Syrian Civil War began in the context of the Arab Spring, where peaceful protesters across the Middle East demonstrated in the hopes of overthrowing corrupt tyrannical governments for a more democratic state. Many nations succeeded in doing this, such as Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, yielding the possibility of an increase in democracy and human rights. However, Bashar al-asaad and the Syrian government refused to step down and began a gruesome civil war. Many factions formed, most notably the Free Syrian Army, for the purpose of overthrowing the al- Asaad regime, but this was made problematic by the development of fundamentalist groups seeking a formation of a new Caliphate. Causing more complexity, rebels not only must fight against the Syrian government, but also the extremists in the region. To further the complicate the Syrian conflict, it also became a proxy war between the United States and Russia. The United States was outraged at how al-asaad s regime was treating its people and began to fund and give arms to the rebel groups. Hafez al-asaad, who industrialized Syria from the 1970 s to 2000 at the expense of obstructing rights of the people, formed an alliance with Russia, which became evident in the summer of 2015 where Putin and Russia began not only bombing the extremist group, the Islamic State (ISIS), but also rebel groups who were fighting against the al-asaad regime. Since 2011, when the Syrian Civil War began, nearly 300,000 Syrians have lost their lives. Furthermore, this dispute has accounted for the displacement of an estimated nearly 7 million people. Roughly 4 million of those displaced, have fled to the neighboring countries of Jordan, Libya, and Turkey. Moreover, other Gulf nations have closed their borders to Syrians seeking to remove themselves from the conflict. Saudi

10 Arabia, Qatar, and UAE are amongst those who are not allowing immigrants to enter their borders. This lack of influx of immigrants in the Persian Gulf is has been repeatedly questioned by the international community, however, it might not be as terrible as it appears. All of these nations have a Sunni majority, the antagonist of Syrian national s sect, Shia. Euro centrically, there is mass xenophobia against Syrians because of ISIS. This nativist attitude has only been made more drastic by the attacks of Paris and Brussels. Europe is experiencing the highest intake of refugees since World War I, Germany granted asylum to an estimated 800,000 Syrians, which is more than the entire European Union combined, however Germany is urgently demanding an EU wide solution to this immigration crisis. The crisis has become even more urgent due to the lack of human immigrant rights to selfdetermination in the region. Contextual Photo 1.3: Some of the millions of Syrian citizens displaced from their homes because of the odious civil war. Contextual Photo 1.4: When this photo of a drowned 3 year old Syrian refugee, it went viral and made many Europeans aware of the immigration in their region.

11 Why SOCHUM should remain animatedly involved with this conflict might be confusing. Some may believe that this topic is better suited for a political committee, however, there are many ways this conflict has not only violated human rights, but specifically the right to self-determination in Syria and internationally as well. Al-Assad is not allowing the people of Syria to pursue individual self-determination. This is evident in his refusal to step down as leader and the countless attacks on his people, most notably, the use of chemical weapons. From a global standpoint, ISIS, a direct result of the civil war, has horrifically violated the right of selfdetermination through terror attacks in Brussels and Paris, kidnappings and beheadings of Western nationals, and the mass killings of many innocent civilians. This conflict, which perhaps began for political reasons, is now bringing up issues of human rights that SOCHUM should be concerned with and seek to find solutions for quickly. Concluding Remarks: In the Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Council we focus on human rights, which is almost always accompanied by the consideration of the right to selfdetermination. This right is supposed to be guaranteed universally to every person, but often in cases is not, as seen in the case study of Syria. However, there are many cases throughout our world where citizens are not able to exercise their right to selfdetermination. In our committee, we want delegates to not only consider solutions in Syria, but also their own country, and consider, historically, how selfdetermination has played a role. While finding these solutions, delegates must keep a couple points in mind. While attempting to solve the humanitarian crisis that is the Syrian Civil War we must remember the rigor of this war and that we must find an immediate solution. Therefore, we are looking for ideas that will be possible to be put into effect very quickly. In terms of solving issues of self determination on a national level, we again experience some difficulties. The committee must not interfere with the sovereignty of nations while fixing their self-determination. Sovereignty is as important to a nation as their right to self-determination. Like individualistic self-determination, nations in

12 committee should consider their own state of self-determination. What role have you played in self determination of other countries? Did you colonize, or were you colonized? However, unlike the self determination of individuals, nations issues are as pertinent, although immediate solutions would be welcomed. A long term solution is what delegates should be seeking.

13 Topic II: Human Trafficking in Developed Nations Key Terms: Involuntary domestic servitude: Nonconsensual labor exploitation in an informal workplace, often a home and often connected to the victim s off-duty living quarters Sexual trafficking: Sexual trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act is under the age of 18 Commercial sex act: Any sex act performed for financial gain T visa: A type of visa allowing former victims of human trafficking to remain in the US if they agree to assist law enforcement in testifying against perpetrators Debt Bondage: traffickers convince their victims they owe money to them, often because of their travel or living expenses, and the debt must be repaid to them with their personal services Background: One of the most serious and pertinent crimes to exist. Human trafficking. One of the gravest infringements on human rights. Human trafficking. An issue that has plagued nearly every nation on the planet. Human Trafficking. Regardless of age, gender, or sexual orientation. Any individual in any nation may be subject to such atrocities. Human trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery

14 or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. Human trafficking in the modern age exists in many forms. One example is the problem of labor trafficking, such as in the domestic labor environment. In these cases, workers may be held against their will, performing work for their employer. Tasks can range from cooking, cleaning, to gardening. Victims of domestic servitude work long, strenuous days with little to no pay. In many cases, they are unable to search for an alternate source of employment. Another, and probably the most grave, mode of human trafficking is sex trafficking. Sex trafficking makes up about 79% of human trafficking, with mostly women and girls being trafficked. Sex trafficking 2 encompasses a variety of acts that force individuals into any form of private or commercial sexual exploitation, such as prostitution, sex tourism, pornography, and more. The traffickers use many methods of coercion such as promising a good job, false marriage proposals, kidnapping, and debt bondage. Contextual Photo 2.1: Slaves being auctioned. They will be used for domestic chores and as sex slaves for their masters.

15 On many occasions, the biggest trafficking consumers, and men from all divisions of society, support the industry. Trafficking is such a low risk, high profit industry, and there is no such thing as a typical client profile. Rich and poor. Married and unmarried. Eastern and Western. The high demand is what continuously fuels the businesses. International and national efforts must correspond to define the issues, work to punish the traffickers, and ensure the safety of the population. Bloc Positions Eastern Europe: The number of human trafficking cases intensified following the fall of communism in the early 1990 s. The economic disorder and organized criminal activity that followed the decline generated conducive conditions for human trafficking. Over the past few years, anti-trafficking campaigns have resulted in improvements. In addition, there have been concerted efforts to provide improved definitions and to establish harsher punishments. However, there are no efforts in combating the issue from the source. Approaching the matter from the root causes should greatly improve the region s issues. Asia: A majority of Asian countries lack the sufficient labor laws to protect its people from exploitation. In addition, a multitude of people in Asia are impoverished. The vulnerable people of Asia can easily be taken advantage of by human traffickers due to the combination of poverty and the high demand for cheap labor in those regions. The lack of awareness as well as the lack of laws that provide protection for its citizens is a grave issue in Asia. Even more serious, however, is the reliance of many Asian economies have on the commercial sex industry. Western: Western nations have made a clear, strong stance against human trafficking. In addition, they are opposed to deporting victims of human trafficking as criminals. They see the importance in providing them with protection. These ideas can clearly be seen within the Trafficking Victim s Protection Act of 2000 in the US and the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Europe.

16 Case Studies Mexico: Traffickers in the nation of Mexico are involved throughout the whole process. Whether it be supplying, transporting, or acquiring, traffickers in Mexico are active and diligent. Many victims of human trafficking within Mexico stem from nearby nations of Central America. Many times, unaccompanied travelers are kidnapped and fall victim to traffickers. Forced labor in agriculture and sex tourism are two highly prevalent forms in Mexico. Although most attention is given to the drug cartels present, Mexico is also a hub for organized crime units from around the world involved in human trafficking. Tenancingo, Mexico, in fact, is widely known as the sex trafficking capital of the world. According to the United States State Department, Tenancingo is the single largest source of sex slaves that are sent to the United States. Prior to being transported to areas of the US, women, and girls as well, are frequently kidnapped and coerced into working within the illicit sex trade. The trafficking business is so grand in the city that luxurious mansions lining the streets belong to trafficking clans. Some children even aspire to be traffickers. The community of Tenancingo is not in agreement with the actions that occur, however, the danger of disagreement is overwhelming and results in the continuance of such issues. Contextual Photo 2.2: A street in Tenancingo, Mexico leads up to the town's main attraction the church.

17 France: In France, about 2.5 million people are victims of human trafficking every year, a phenomenon that the country seems to be waking up to only now. Before now, France had only considered itself a transit state for trafficking. In the modern era, France is the target area for many traffickers arising from nations of West Africa, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, and Brazil. It is common for many diplomats, who are immune to prosecution due to their diplomatic immunity, to participate in such trafficking activities. The government works alongside multiple NGO s to get closer to prevention as well as protecting the victims. France has adopted its first national plan to combat the growing issue of human trafficking. Adopted in collaboration with the associations that support the victims, the inter-ministerial action plan includes 23 measures that lay the foundation of a public policy that aims to fight against all forms of exploitation. The priorities of the aforementioned plan are to identify and support the victims of trafficking, to prosecute and eradicate the trafficking chains, and to make the fight against human trafficking a real public policy. Concluding Remarks: As your secretariat, we are looking forward to the thoughts and ideas you will bring to committee. Human trafficking is a blatant crime against the rights of all humans, and one of the most pertinent issues worldwide. Wouldn t you like to finally end slavery for good? It is our duty to track down and punish perpetrators, as well as to provide victims with necessary resources and assistance. It is our duty to preserve the basic rights of every human. And it is our duty to bring peace in a time of chaos. We encourage delegates to look for a solution-not only within their own borders-to eradicate the issue on a global level. Human trafficking is a highly complex issue, which requires a highly complex solution. It is a plague present in every nation, which leads to the necessity for each nation to come together and fight for a uniting cause. Along with challenging your collaboration skills, a multitude of other considerations will test

18 your problem solving. How can security be increased without threatening the privacy of civilians? How does one infiltrate trafficking camps without putting the victims in danger? How can the payments, shipping, and transportation of traffickers and their victims be tracked or recorded? How can victims be protected while following immigration laws? We call upon you, delegates, to answer the calls and prayers of many worldwide.

19 May 21st and 22nd, 2016 sdimun.org