HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Transcription

1 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

2 Table of contents Contents Page Message from the chairs 3 Topic 1: Internet Rights Media Censorship 4 Introduction and background 4 The problem: scope of debate and questions 5 Key definitions 5 What has been done? 6 Countries involved 6 Considerations in finding solutions 6 Relevant further readings and materials for study 7 Bibliography 7 Topic 2: The Issue of Political Refugees 9 Introduction and background 9 The Problem: Scope of debate and questions 11 Key blocs and actors/countries involved 12 What has been done (Evaluation of current measures) 12 Key Terms 13 Considerations in finding solutions 13 Relevant further readings and materials for study 14 Bibliography 14

3 Chairs Message Dear Delegates, A very warm welcome to the Human Rights Council (HRC) of this year s St. Joseph s Institution Model United Nations (SJIMUN) Conference! In this year s conference, two human rights issues will be discussed, debated and discoursed: Media censorship and the refugee crisis with regards to political asylum. The two prescribed topics for this council are topics that are highly relevant to the issue of human rights, especially in the development of science and technology today. During the conference, delegates are expected to discuss the relevance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to human dignity in the context of the two topics, while coming to a resolution on the issues. This study guide will present to you a general overview of the background, various viewpoints and associated issues with the topics. However, delegates are expected to conduct further research on the topics and research the roles that each country has, which will not only contribute to your learning experience at the conference, but also to others learning experiences and the engaging and intensive debate we look forward to seeing in the council. We are extremely excited for the conference, and we hope that you are too! We look forward to meeting you on the 13 th to 15 th November. Best of luck! Warmest regards, The Chairs of the Human Rights Council Denise Ong Li Wei Emily Ding

4 Model United Nations 2014 Topic 1: Internet Rights Media Censorship Introduction and background Media censorship is practised in most countries and has been a controversial topic that has seen little resolution. Media censorship refers to the suppression or control of media used in communications that reach a large audience, such as radios, newspapers and magazines. Censorship can be carried out through means such as violence, bans and the seizure of content. Articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) declare that everyone is entitled to the freedom of opinion, thought, conscience, religion and expression, as well as to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any forms of media. In today s digital age, people from all over the world are bombarded with more information than ever before, with access to both digital and traditional media. Media censorship limits the information that can be dispensed to people and directly violates the above-mentioned Articles found in the UDHR. Media censorship is used by several governments and companies for many reasons, such as to protect young children from taking everything from what they read from the media as gospel truth and to prevent advocating objectionable ideas. The Chinese government has recently blocked BBC News English website and has blocked social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Ofcom, a communications regulator in the United Kingdom (UK), announced a complete ban on junk food advertisements around all children s programming, on all children s television channels and around all programming that appeal particularly to children aged under 16 years in November In North Korea, Kim Jong Un s uncle, Jang Sung-taek, was executed in Newsreel from state media were subsequently re-edited to remove Jang Sungtaek from the archives. In the 2015 list of 10 Most Censored Countries compiled the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 7 of the countries Eritrea, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, China, Iran and Myanmar are also among the top 10 worst jailers of journalists. Turkish authorities have been noted to ban social media in the run-up to an election. Shortly before the March 2014 elections, social media websites were banned in Turkey after audio recordings that seemed to reveal corruption within the inner circle of then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan were leaked. Social media websites were blocked again in April 2015 before the elections, as an image of a Turkish prosecutor being held at gunpoint after being taken hostage in March was circulating online. Although the websites were unblocked after they complied with a court ruling to remove the images,

5 the blockings have sparked concerns over media censorship in Turkey. Many Turkish citizens believe that the restrictions are an indicator of the government s intolerance of opposition voices. The problem: scope of debate and questions Delegates should note that the key question for this topic, and the question which the resolution should aim to answer, is the following: To what extent should the censorship of media be allowed, and what should be allowed to be censored by governments? In this council, delegates are also expected to discuss the following other relevant questions: Should media censorship be allowed, will there be a need to amend the UDHR to allow for media censorship to take place? Who is responsible for determining the degree of media censorship allowed and why? To what extent does media censorship affect the media s audience? Does media censorship, in any form, equate to oppression? Is it possible to allow for complete freedom to opinion and expression to take place today and why? How and who should determine the type of content that should be censored by the government? Delegates are expected to find solutions to the topic and pass one or more resolutions that aim to answer the key question. Key definitions Media Censorship The suppression or control of media used in communications that reach a large audience Journalist A person whose profession is journalism the collecting, writing, editing and presenting of news or news articles. Expression The act of setting forth thoughts in speaking, writing or painting

6 Communications The means of sending messages Opinion A personal view, attitude or appraisal Suppress To keep from revealing, publishing or circulating What has been done? Little has been done to address the issue of media censorship, especially in countries with heavy media censorship. More authorities have been blocking websites that hold contrary views to them, and more bloggers and journalists have been suppressed for voicing their opinion on their blogs or writing articles that are not in line with the government s views. A Bangladeshi blogger, Niloy Neel, was murdered recently in August 2015 over his views, and is the fourth blogger to be murdered since February 2015 in Bangladesh. In China, Gao Yu, a reporter and columnist, was accused of leaking Document 9, titled "Communiqué on the Current State of the Ideological Sphere, A Notice from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China's General Office." and was jailed. She was also forced to make a televised confession. International Media Support, a non-profit organisation working in regions such as Asia, Africa and Latin America, to support local media in countries affected by armed conflict, human insecurity and political transition, has been promoting press freedom, strengthening professional journalism as well as ensuring the media can operate in challenging circumstances since Countries involved The issue of media censorship is highly relevant to all countries, including those where the governments heavily censor their media, such as China and Eritrea, as well as countries where the governments allow for greater freedom like the United States of America. Countries where media censorship also occurs in the form of violence against journalists, such as Bangladesh and Syria, will also be heavily involved. Considerations in finding solutions Media censorship is becoming more threatening to journalists, bloggers and anyone who do not support the views of authorities in several countries, therefore it is imperative for delegates to find a solution to combat this issue. In doing so, delegates may consider the following guiding questions:

7 What are the implications of media censorship to a journalist or anyone with the desire to express their opinions? Is there any form of media censorship that does not threaten a person and why? What is the agenda of those who carry out violence or ban certain types of content in media? What are their views and why do they have such views? What are the implications of having no media censorship at all? Relevant further readings and materials for study Delegates are highly encouraged to read the relevant documents as cited in the above study guide. These documents include the following: 10 Most Censored Countries - Committee to Protect Journalists. April, Document. 9 August, About us - International Media Support (IMS) Web page. 9 August, Delegates are very highly encouraged to study the above relevant material, as well as the listed websites in the appended bibliography to read the articles that would allow for a better understanding of the topic. Bibliography 10 Most Censored Countries - Committee to Protect Journalists. April, Document. 9 August, Free & Professional Media - International Media Support (IMS). n.d. Home page. 9 August, < Dietz, Bob. In China, mainstream media as well as dissidents under increasing pressure - Committee to Protect Journalists. 17 December, Article. 9 August, < Foster-Carter, Aidan. Family affair: Kim Jong-un wipes his uncle from North Korea's history. 9 December, Article. 9 August, 2015.

8 < Kasapoglu, Cagil. Turkey social media ban raises censorship fears - BBC News. 7 April, Article. 9 August, < >. Malik, Charles, et al. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 10 December, United Nations Web Site. Document. 9 August, < Mosbergen, Dominique. China Blocks BBC Website As Hong Kong Clashes Escalate. 16 October, Article. 9 August, < Sharma, RK. Media Censorship: Good or Bad? -TargetGD/PI -Group Discussions, Personal Interviews. March, Article. 9 August, < Sweney, Mark. Total ban for junk food ads around kids' shows. 17 November, Article. 9 August, < Unknown. Savage killing of blogger in Bangladesh must not go unpunished. 7 August, Article. 9 August, < Xu, Beina. Media Censorship in China - Council on Foreign Relations. 7 April, Article. 9 August, <

9 Topic 2: Issue of refugee crisis and political asylum Introduction and background Political asylum refers to protection granted by a state to political refugees whom have left their home country due to oppression or ill-treatment by the government. As defined in the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention), a refugee is defined as a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country or return there because there is a fear of persecution Political asylum aims to provide refuge and protection for displaced citizens from unjust persecution by their own government, and is often used to uphold the rights of persecuted minorities throughout the world. It is also used to provide humanitarian aid to people deemed by the international community to be suffering from oppression in their home country. A human right affirmed by Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, political asylum is a rule of international human rights law. On December 14, 1950, The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established by the United Nations General Assembly. The United Nations refugee agency was first set up after World War II to provide aid to European victims of the conflict. Now, the UN refugee agency has increased its budget to over US$7 billion in 2015, and has taken part in the solution of a multitude of refugee crises in throughout the world. Today, we have come to a point in time where many places afflicted with strife and conflict have resulted in the persecution of innocent civilians. These civilians constantly live with the fear of being tortured, mistreated, or even killed. Modern day problems such as the threat of ISIS and the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have resulted in an influx of refugees from both Myanmar and the Middle-East seeking refuge from neighbouring countries.

10 The UN has identified the Rohingya Muslims as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world today, however many neighbouring countries have turned refugees away from their shores, not allowing these political refugees to seek protection and assistance in their countries. The Rohingya Muslims are a Muslim minority group with a majority living in Myanmar s state of Rakhine. This conflict between the Buddhist-majority Myanmar and the Rohingya Muslims started due to the alleged rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by the Rohingya minority group. From there, Myanmar, with a Buddhist-majority, has been introducing policies to oppress the Rohingya. According to the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Rohingya Muslims are denied basic services such as healthcare, and they are restricted to residing in Rakhine only. In addition, the government revoked the citizenship of over one hundred thousand Rohingyas, which leaves them stateless. Rohingyas have tried to escape persecution by the government in Myanmar, and more than 120,000 have boarded ships to seek political asylum in neighbouring countries, such as Indonesia and Thailand. However, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as many as 8,000 migrants are stranded at sea each day as they are continuously rejected by countries of the region. Recently, Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia, launched the Stop the Boats campaign, refusing boatloads of asylum seekers from stepping onto Australian shores. Many other countries such as Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand have also turned away many political refugees trying to obtain protection from their home countries governments. Another report released by the UN refugee agency warns that the Syria refugee crisis is increasing straining health services in surrounding countries. Articles of the Refugee Convention state that, Refugees must receive treatment at least as favourable to that accorded aliens generally in the same circumstances. This means that host countries must treat political refugees as well as foreign immigrants to the country, which indubitably causes great economic strain to the country. It is evident that many neighbouring countries are unwilling to accept political refugees into their country, even though they fulfil the requirements of a

11 well-founded fear and political oppression. This is because the accommodation of refugees puts unwanted economic stress on the host country, and due to the principle of non-refoulement, an asylum seeker is not allowed to be forcibly returned to the country from which they have fled. We can see that the world is facing a high-priority issue with regards to the treatment of political refugees in host countries. On the one hand, these countries have a moral obligation to extend a helping hand to those persecuted by their home countries. However, this would put unnecessary stress on the host country, and the principle of non-refoulement prevents them from asking these refugees to leave their shores. The Problem: Scope of debate and questions The General Assembly document A/RES/217 (III) [A], or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), states in Article 1 that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Delegates should note that the key question for this topic, and the question which the resolution should aim to answer, is the following: Should countries have a moral obligation to help those persecuted in their home countries, and if so, who should bear the economic burden to host these political refugees? In this council, delegates are also expected to discuss the following other relevant questions: What constitutes a well-founded fear of persecution? How can we define what it is and what it is not? Is there a new definition required from what is stated by the UNHCR? To what extent does the problem of political asylum threaten the dignity of people around the world? Should countries be morally obligated to receive political refugees? What if the country has economic or other constraints that prevent it from helping these refugees? Should the principle of non-refoulement still be upheld? Is it possible to ensure that the rights of the host country can be protected with regards to this principle? What rights should be given to refugees in foreign countries?

12 Delegates are expected to find solutions to the topic and pass one or more resolutions that aim to answer the key question. Delegates are expected to discuss issues associated only with political asylum. Delegates should recognise that some areas of discussion that are related to political asylum are not within the scope of the prescribed topic. Some of such areas include: The issue of persecution by the host country, and What should be done to stop persecution of minorities Key Blocs and Actors/Countries involved: Currently, the issue of political refugees is mostly pertinent to countries that are in close proximity to the source of the political refugees. As of now, the issue of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and the ISIS threat in Syria and the Middle-East are the main causes of persecution, which results in an influx of political refugees to neighbouring countries. Therefore, countries that neighbour these states are most affected by the issue of political asylum. Although those that are further away from the conflict are less affected by the problem of political refugees, as the conflict increases in scale, more refugees are forced to turn to countries farther away for protection and refuge. Therefore, due to the nature of the topic involving human rights and moral standards, a key question that would involve all countries would be the acceptance or refusal of political refugees in neighbouring countries, and what other countries have to offer to help those in need of refuge. What has been done? (Evaluation of current measures) Currently, little has been done by individual countries to help in the problem of political refugees. One of the main actors in the protection of political refugees would be The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The aim of the agency is to ensure that refugees are able to seek safe refuge in other countries, and are treated fairly by the host countries. According to the UNHCR website, the agency provides advice and capacity-building support to the Government to help address challenges related to citizenship. At the same time, UNHCR advocates for the respect of the fundamental rights of those people who are stateless. Although the UNHCR tries to solve problems related to the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar, the country has been largely uncooperative in efforts

13 to reduce the problems faced by political refugees, and an estimated 1.09 million people majority of whom are Rohingya Muslims are stateless in Myanmar. Another organization that tries to alleviate the problems faced by political refugees is the International Organization for Migration (IOM). IOM aims to provide humanitarian aid for displaced families in regions afflicted with conflict. Recently, IOM launched a project to provide shelter for some 1,255 people displaced by the civil war in Syria. However, IOM is unable to provide aid to a large number of refugees, and its sphere of influence is limited. Therefore, there is still a need for countries to step up and provide assistance to provide refuge for those persecuted in their home countries. Considerations in finding solutions: Due to the rising number of individuals trying to seek asylum in other countries, it is imperative that delegates find a solution as to how to provide refuge for those persecuted by their home countries. In doing so, delegates may consider the following guiding questions: What are the basic necessities of refugees? Is the current treatment of political refugees fair, and what can be done to improve the treatment of asylum seekers? How important is the principle of non-refoulement? Key terms: Asylum seeker An individual who has fled from his/her country and is seeking refugee status in another country. Alien A foreigner to a country, someone that does not hold citizenship in the country of residence Refoulement Situation in which an asylum seeker or refugee is forcibly returned to the country from which they have fled

14 Refugee An individual who has left her of his country or is unable to return to it owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Repatriation Refugees are allowed to return to their home country voluntarily. Relevant further readings and materials for study: Delegates are highly encouraged to read the relevant documents as cited in the above study guide. These documents include the following: Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 189 U.N.T.S. 150, entered into force April 22,1954 ( Refugee Convention in the United Nations Treaty Series ) UN Document A/RES/217 (III) ( International Bill of Human Rights, 10 December 1948) UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency : Resources < IOM International Organization for Migrants Bibliography A, Eleanor. The Rohingya Migrant Crisis. CFR Backgrounders 17 June, 2015: 6. Web. A, Jean. International Thesaurus for Refugee Terminology. Informative. New York: United Nations, Web. BBC News. Documents 'show Myanmar Rohingya discrimnation is policy'. Asia, 25 February, Web.. Why are so many Rohingya migrants stranded at sea? 18 May, Web. Channel News Asia. Turkey will not give Syrian refugees right to work - labour minister. Turkey, 8 August, News Article. Charter of the United Nations. Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Resolution Web.

15 Daily Pakistan. Myanmar declares flood emergency; no shelter for Rohingya. Pakistan, 1 August, News Article. Human Rights Education Associates. The Rights of Refugees. Research Report. Minnesota: University of Minnesota, Web. M, Shalailah. 'Nope, nope, nope': Tony Abbott says Australia will take no Rohingya refugees. Australia, 21 May, News Article. M., Robin. UN rights envoy says meeting with Myanmar's Rohinya blocked. Myanmar, 7 August, News Article. Takkenberg, Alex and Christopher C. Tahbaz. The Collected Travaux Préparatoires of the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Convention Treaty. Amsterdam: Dutch Refugee Council, Web. TIME. Inside the Syrian Refugee Camps Where Childhood Doesn't Exist. Syria, 7 August, Magazine Article. UNHCR. Syrian Regional Refugee Response - Regional Overview. Syria, 31 July, Web.. UNHCR - The UN Refugee Agency Web. 9 August, UNHCR report says Syrian influx strains host country health services. Syria, 26 April, News Article.. WFP Situation Report July Situation Report. Syria: UNHCR, Web.