"UN General Assembly - Third Committee - Social, Humanitarian & Cultural" Un.Org. 2

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download ""UN General Assembly - Third Committee - Social, Humanitarian & Cultural" Un.Org. 2"

Crystal Cook
5 years ago
Views:

2 Letter from the Dias: Hello fellow delegates! My name is Elena Rohaizad, and I will be playing the role of the Director of General Assembly 3. I am a sophomore at Lone Star College- Montgomery, and am looking to major in Finance, French and Journalism, and minor in International Relations. By Fall 2019, I hope to be at UT Austin or NYU! In 2018, I participated in the National Model United Nations (NMUN). Representing Cote d Ivoire for the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) committee- my partner and I were awarded the Best Position Paper award, and my delegation was awarded the Outstanding Delegation award. In the coming 2019 NMUN, I am looking forward to serve as chair or rapporteur on the UNEA committee. For this year s HAMUN, the GA3 committee will be concentrating on two topics: the Uighur crisis in China, and Vigilantism in Africa. My expectations for the all the attending delegations is simple: foster collaboration and diplomacy among all countries, and hone skills in compromise and negotiation. It is crucial for all present Member States to recognize the main purpose of the United Nations: maintain world peace and develop strong relationships among nations. At HAMUN, or any other MUN, the purpose of UN is reflected in the actions and words that reverberates around the globe. Committee Background: According to the United Nations website, the GA3 specializes in social, humanitarian, cultural, and human rights issues. With 193 members, SOCHUM recognizes the importance of addressing the development of exploited and vulnerable individuals, groups or communities such as women, children, indigenous people, immigrants, refugees, and disabled people. In addition, The Third GA bears the responsibility of protecting the rights and the freedoms of the aforementioned groups by ensuring elimination of discrimination and moral treatment of all 1 communities. As the world s largest governing body and forum that deals with humanitarian and human rights issues, GA3 meets annually, throughout October and November, and adopts draft resolutions on each agenda item and reports to the General Assembly Plenary. The General Assembly s mandate includes initiating studies, making recommendations, considering reports from other UN organs, and encouraging the respect for human rights. At the seventy-third session, H.E. Mahmoud Saikal from Afghanistan chaired the GA3, and facilitated discourses related to social progress for the youth, ageing, and disabled persons, literacy for life, 2 and the advancement of women. Instrumental in operationalizing recommendations, the Third Committee primarily works through the creation of non-binding resolutions and the initiation of 1 "UN General Assembly - Third Committee - Social, Humanitarian & Cultural" Un.Org. 2 "A/73/251 - E" Undocs.Org.

3 studies. Furthermore, a multitude of relevant UN bodies are employed to aid the work of GA3 such as OHCHR, UNHCR, UN-Women, and UNODC. Statement of Problem: Adopted on September 2017, Agenda 71/320 New Partnership for Africa s Development highlights commitment to achieving sustainable development in social, economic and environmental dimensions. The agenda emphasizes the responsibilities of African countries to bear the role of engaging their own economic and social development, and to implement national policies and strategies that are supported by the international community. The Agenda 2063, a driving framework adopted by the African Union to build and improve continental initiatives for sustainable development, has assembled six foundational documents to guide the vision and the development of the agenda s configurations. Among the main aspirations included in the 2063 Agenda, an Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law is incorporated. The agenda requires all existing actors on local, regional and national levels to carry out their duties in addressing the capacity needs and to maximize the success of each implementation. Africa echoes the importance of unity in diversity, to confront past injustices in realizing an exemplary African Century, as mentioned in the Agenda Reiterating the importance of holding government and institutions responsible and accountable for the political challenges faced, the issue of vigilantism in Africa demands an immediate address from the governing institutions. History of Problem: Vigilantism has historically been considered one of the means to protect the vulnerables, especially in poverty-stricken nations, where the government is faced with insufficient funding to implement security forces. Vigilants groups are commonly employed by government officials, or by local states, in order to fight against crime violence, dysfunctional criminal justice systems and local aggression. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the Head of the UN Office for West Africa has recognized the adverse effects brought by the employment of vigilante groups, in particular, the cases where these political militia groups act as significant and powerful political parties. Vigilante groups are considered to be an obstruction to a democratic pursuit, according to a press release by UN officials. In April 2017, the United Nations denounced and criticized Ghana for recruiting vigilante groups due to the violence acts that dishonor democracy and the rule of law. The World Economic Forum released an article on the role of vigilantism in Africa, defining its bare purpose as protecting communities from entrenched insurgents. States such as Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Uganda have been known to hire vigilante groups to tackle and demobilize other political issues that arises and results in violence. These groups are commonly

4 used because they are effective in tracking, identifying and combating insurgents because of their extensive knowledge on the language, culture and geography of the region they are protecting. However, the World Economic Forum acknowledges that the political power given to vigilante groups can result to the undermining of the power of the state. The empowerment of non-state forces leads to these vigilante individuals to take up governance roles, to consolidate power and to augment their political existence, especially in a state where there is a less well-defined mandate that controls the powers of these vigilantes. Other concerns arising in the discourse of vigilantism is the increase livelihood of rebellion, kidnapping, and other forms of abuses. According to the International Crisis Group, the vigilante groups who are able to gain enough newfound power may utilize extortion to compensate for inadequate support and resources. There is a strong attribution of the emergence of vigilantism to the failure of weak African governments to ensure security and order, and as the consequence of legal pluralism. Fromm 2002 till present time, there has been a rise in vigilantism, especially in areas of South Africa. While it is considered a risky choice of conduct in times of a volatile state, weak states that lack the resources to protect the nation against insurgents seek the aid of vigilante groups who are more effective than military groups. Current Situation: According to the World Justice Project, the re-emergence of vigilantism is due to the poor conditions of society and the rising crime and violence rates. This in turn give rise to society s frustration and anger, which later leads to ordinary people to take action and attempt at bringing justice to their lives. In addition, there is a lack of trust instilled in the existing police forces due to high levels of corruption and inability to provide protection and security. These reasons all contribute to the rising vigilantism nationally. The perceived failure of the state to provide security and safety, widespread inefficiency of the criminal justice system, and inability to protect and lives.

5 3 Figure 1: Factors for the emergence of vigilante service groups While there is an existing fear of these vigilante groups turning into enemies of the state as a result of rivalry and allegiances, the World Economic Forum has listed numerous ways to deal with vigilantism such as investing in demobilisation and reintegration programmes of vigilantes. These groups can also be compensated through giving them roles in community policing. The WEF has established the importance of agreeing to mutually accepted objectives, and to ensure political oversight and adequate support. The vigilante groups should also be held accountable for abusive cases. Local, national and international leaders should be responsible for cooperating and coordinating on agreements made with the vigilante groups according to a circumscribed mandate and focus. In addition, these governing elects are expected to come up with effective disarmament, demobilization and reintegration. Being a serious threat to a nation s security and stability, vigilante groups require heavy supervision, a robust command and control structure and be given clear mandates and objectives. In cases where these vigilant groups turn rogue, they morph into criminal organizations- creating more complex issues with the states. There are strong arguments for the involvement of both domestic and international support in managing vigilantism in Africa- international partners may be able to bargain and provide direct financial support to weaken vigilante groups that may conduct abuse. According to an Al-Jazeera article, the safety and security of some of the fragile African states are too volatile, and with a weak structure of the law enforcement, those troubled nations are facing predicaments in handling the corruption and inefficiency of the government. Local 3 Freedom House Report Notes Serbia s Downward Trend

6 residents in Galeshewe had formed their own vigilante groups to bring justice on corporal punishments in late The South African vigilantes amassed a number of followers close to ,000. In a scholarly article that reported on vigilantism in Mbare, Zimbabwe, the groups were fighting against police corruption, mistrust on the criminal justice system, economic challenges, and political factors. The article also listed suggestions on ways to combat the rise of vigilantism by investigating the corruption embedded in the police and judicial departments, tackling vigilantism as a form of crime, delegitimizing the violence culture, and supporting policing initiatives. In Nigeria, vigilantism sparked to contest over state authority, to fight against the rise of private security sectors, and to respond to thefts and armed robbery. These optimistic standpoints provide a justification to the existence of vigilantes, and identify these groups not as rebels, but as a positive force that brings the necessary security in local, regional and national violence and upheavals, therefore being a cardinal source of defense for societies and the government. Although considered a threat to developed nations such as Canada, the United States and United Kingdom, vigilantism represents a method of adhering the rights mentioned in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. In Malawi, police brutality, corruption, and extrajudicial killings are omnipresent, and because the local police force is ineffective, vigilantism has increased in recent years. In Ghana, unstable judicial independence and political corruption are challenging the government to deal with volatile public interference. The Ghana government has utilized 6 vigilantes groups to aid in the establishment of anti corruption programs. The hike in civilian targeting activities in Africa is also causing African governments to employ more vigilantes groups to settle disputes and the violence

Discussion Questions: 1) Although various vigilante groups have emerged throughout history, are high-income countries just as easily susceptible to these groups as low-income nations?

7 Discussion Questions: 1) Although various vigilante groups have emerged throughout history, are high-income countries just as easily susceptible to these groups as low-income nations? And if so, how effective are these countries in managing the influence and power these vigilantes have over communities and societies? 2) What other ways are there to combat vigilantism in countries that are economically challenged? Blocs: Countries that deal with vigilantism are underdeveloped or developing, due to the lack of financial resources to provide security. These countries are mostly located in Asia and Africa, such as Indonesia, Philippines, Ghana and Liberia. In addition, these member states view the vigilante groups as useful since the governments are not are not able to provide the governmental spending towards sufficient public security.

8 Countries that deal with little to none vigilantism are developed and high income countries such as France, Belgium and Canada. These countries are able to provide the public the necessary security means. References: 1. African Outlook on Vigilantes: 2. World Economic Forumhttps:// n-africa 3. s-democracy-crisis Application: Substantial, concrete, viable and within the mandate of the General Assembly are a few of the characteristics of the solutions included in your Position Paper. Delegates should study, scrutinize and contingently apply other nations methods in combating the violation of human rights and freedoms. Delegates are expected to maintain decorum throughout both informal and formal caucus. Collaboration is key and crucial in passing resolutions, therefore Member States should identify their allies and other nations that may share similar views on the issues at hand. Member States should also identify states that oppose their own stance, and putting their judgments in perspective to be able to understand their position more clearly.

"UN General Assembly - Third Committee - Social, Humanitarian & Cultural" Un.Org. 2

UN General Assembly - Third Committee - Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Un.Org. 2 Letter from the Dias: Hello fellow delegates! My name is Elena Rohaizad, and I will be playing the role of the Director of General Assembly 3. I am a sophomore at Lone Star College- Montgomery, and am