Mazapan School Model United Nations 2018 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Forum: Social, Humanitarian and Cultural committee ​​ ​ Topic A: Linguistic Minorities ​ Chair: Fiorella Sanabria ​ Position: Chair of Social, Humanitarian and Cultural committee (SOCHUM) ​​ ​

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TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMITTEE 2

HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE 3

TOPICS OVERVIEW 4

TOPIC A (LINGUISTIC MINORITIES)

INTRODUCTION 5

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUE 6

MISSION STATEMENT 6

KEY TERMS 7

MAJOR PARTIES INVOLVED 8-9

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS 10-11

BIBLIOGRAPHY 12

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Introduction to the Committee

The Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM) is the third committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). SOCHUM considers issues from social, humanitarian affairs, and human rights of people all around the world. SOCHUM discusses questions such as: protection of children, advancement of women, refugees, elimination of racism and racial discrimination, and overpopulation.

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History of the Committee

The United Nations General Assembly has 193 members; it is also the primary body of the United Nations System. Each member of the UN is afforded equal representation, this creates a democratic environment were multicultural discussions, exchange and debate concerns on global issues. The General Assembly consists of six main thematic committees, the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee (SOCHUM) is the third. It has embraced a broad range of topics, such as: gender and self determination. The primary focus of the committee is human rights and humanitarian rights.

SOCHUM’S strength is their ability to propose recommendations about issues of peace and security to members of the General Assembly, Security council, and other bodies. Recommendations have been useful to motivate members of The General Assembly to adopt positions and direct debates on pertinent matters.

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Topics Overview

Topic A: Linguistic Minorities

Endangered minority languages (EMLs) are something that every country is bound to have. These languages are in a constant persecution either by the presence of a dominant second language and even the political system itself. Countries should look to strive for their linguistic preservation and revitalization. Just as human rights are inherent everybody, so should language rights also be as their are directly related with human rights. In an era of globalization, the conservation of minority languages is imperative as each time minorities become more and more secluded.

Topic B: The Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis In Yemen

The conflict started with a political failure when president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, hand over power to Mr. Hadi, Saleh’s deputy. Saleh was supposed to only have the power for two years, but in 2015 he wanted to stay in power. Saleh’s supporters, Houthis/shiites, tried to overthrow Hadi. The Houthis took advantage of the president’s weakness by taking control of the north. The Sunnis, Hadi’s supporters, were disillusioned by the transition and joined the Hathis. They, Houthis and Sunnis, entered the capital, Sanaa, setting street camps and roadblocks. This caused a house arrest for Mr. Hadu an his cabinet minister. The president was able to escape the following month. The blockade has left 82% of the population in need of humanitarian assistance.

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Topic A: Linguistic Minorities

Introduction

Linguistic rights of minorities are often ignored yet they are of crucial importance. Language is central to human nature and culture, it being a form of expression of one's identity and culture. This is something of great importance to linguistic minority groups as in their plight to maintain their cultural identity, they are marginalized, excluded, and discriminated. Minorities many times are excluded from their country’s political and legal system and can’t advocate for their rights if their language prevents them from entering those systems. Language rights are of supreme importance and apart from human rights, there are various ways in which language impacts the inclusion and participation of minorities in society. While obtaining rights for minorities can be difficult and long and many countries take different approaches regarding them, the purpose is to create a framework that protects these minorities and allows their inclusion in society. The goal is to create a framework that applies to the minorities in your country but is also flexible enough to be adapted to other minorities across the globe.

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History and Description of the Issue

There are about 5,000 minority languages worldwide, which most of them are in danger of extinction. France, whose 8 different languages and other dozen dialects have made it to the most linguistically diverse nation of Western Europe. By 1993, French regional languages of Corsican, Brenton, Basque, and Provencal were close to extinction. Out of 2.8 million people in Brittany only 50,000 used Breton daily and only half of that number was able to write. Endangered languages are languages that may soon vanish, with the risk of ceasing to exist as a form of communication. While an endangered language is not specifically a minority language, many minority languages are endangered due to their neglection.

It has been estimated that “80% of the world’s 6,000 or so living languages will die within the next century” (Crystal 1997, 17); due to this there has been an increase in the number of international organizations formed in order to record endangered languages (Crystal 1997, 18) and to regulate and promote their linguistic rights.

Mission Statement

The purpose of this committee is to address the problems faced by endangered languages, specifically those spoken by minorities and focusing on different areas affecting their survival. You should try to focus on the sociolinguistic causes, circumstances, and results that surround these languages. Loss of minority languages, either migrant or indigenous, should be investigated and one should instigate previous and current policies and what’s their effects on these languages. Different aspects should be taken into consideration like power and control of the speech communities as they are of supreme importance when accounting language endangerment.

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Key Terms

Linguistics: “The study of human speech including the units, nature, structure, and ​ ​ ​ ​ modification of language” ​

Minorities: “a member of a minority group” or “a part of a population differing from ​ others in some characteristics and often subjected to differential treatment”

Language Rights: “Natural or legal rights relating to language use; specifically the right ​ of people in multilingual communities to use their own language, especially in education or when communicating with government or public institutions”

Linguistic Minorities: “a minority language is simply one spoken by less than 50 ​ percent of a population in a given region, state or country. The key criterion here is the size of the speaker population within a specific geographic context: an individual language may be a minority language in one region or state but a majority language in another”

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Major Parties Involved

Honduras

The main language spoken in Honduras is spanish. There are 10 individual Languages listed in Honduras including, Garifuna, Miskito, Tol, Pech, English, Arabic, Mandarin, and

Cantonese. Garifuna is an Arawakan language spoken by about 200,000 people in Honduras, ​ ​ Belize, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. It was originally spoken on the island of St vincent, spreading to Honduras and neighbour countries. The language contains many words with a Caribbean and

European origin. The majority of Arawak languages are endangered, the transmission of

Garifuna to younger generations has had a rapid decline. The Garifuna language is almost completely replaced in Countries like Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Belize, by English and

Spanish. There are several strongholds in Honduras, but it was observed that there has been a shift towards the spanish in younger generations. Tol is also known as Jicaque, is a Language ​ ​ isolate of Central America, not known to be related to any other living language. Tol is spoken by 200 people in Honduras, mainly in Yoro. Tol used to be spoken in Trujillo, El Progreso, and

La Ceiba.

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India

Majority of the Indian languages could become extinct if nothing is done to preserve them. Indian linguistics report that 96% of the languages are endangered. Anvita Abbi, Indian linguistic, said, “By allowing languages to die out, we are destroying what needs to be preserved...All we need to do is spread awareness among the people”. 191 languages are classified as vulnerable, endangered and severely endangered, among those we can find: Asuri, Bori, and Gadaba. Asuri Language has about 7,000 native speakers in India and 17,000 native ​ ​ speakers worldwide. This language is found to be locally endangered. It is an Austroasiatic language spoken by tribes. It’s location is: Northern Ranchi, Southern Palamau, and Lohardaga districts. Bori Language is Tanji language of India. It is spoken in a Payum circle, West Siang ​ ​ District, and Arunachal Pradesh. Gadaba has a population of 15,000 people, it’s location is ​ ​ Koraput district, Nandapur, and Pottangi districts.

Indonesia:

Biak language is spoken Indonesia, Eastern Papua and Northwestern Papua, it also has ​ 30,000 native speakers, and it belongs to the Austronesian family. It was classified as one of 41 languages of the south Halmahera. Also the majority of Biak speakers are fluent in malay. Lola ​ Language is an Aru language, spoken mainly in Aru islands. Belongs to the family of ​ Austronesian and has about 1,000 native speakers. Ormu Language belongs to the Austronesian ​ ​ family, it is mainly spoken in Jayapura bay, and has about 700 native speakers. Yoke Language ​ has about 200 native speakers, it is mostly spoken in the north part of Papua, and belongs to the family of lower mamberamo. The younger generations rarely know or use this language, causing endangerment to the language.

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Possible Solutions:

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious ​ and Linguistic Minorities, UNESCO’s Principles of Language and Education, the various ​ ​ ​ Recommendations of the UN Forum on Minority Issues on Implementing the Declaration on the rights of persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, The ​ council of Europe’s Thematic Commentary No. 3 on the Language Rights of Persons Belonging ​ to National Minorities under the Framework Convention, and the OSCE’s Oslo ​ ​ Recommendations regarding the Linguistic Rights of National Minorities all have different methods yet have similar approaches for state authorities to meet the human rights inherent to minorities involving their language. They must:

● “respect the integral place of language rights as human rights;” ● “recognise and promote tolerance, cultural and linguistic diversity and mutual respect, understanding and cooperation among all segments of society;” ● “have in place legislation and policies that address linguistic human rights and prescribe a clear framework of standards and conduct;” ● “implement their human rights obligations by generally following the proportionality principle in the use of or support for different languages by state authorities, and the principle of linguistic freedom for private parties;” ● “integrate the concept of active offer as an integral part of public services to acknowledge a state’s obligation to respect and provide for language rights, so that those using minority languages do not have to specifically request such services but can imminently use them when needs arise;” ● “have in place effective complaint mechanisms before judicial, administrative and

executive bodies to address and redress linguistic human rights issues.”1 ​

Taking into account all the suggestions given by the Practical Guide for Implementation of ​ Language Rights of Linguistic Minorities, delegates should create a framework plausible enough ​

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1. Public Education 2. Private Education 3. Health and Other Public Services 4. Linguistic Minorities in the Legal System 5. Linguistic Minorities and the Media 6. Effects of Involvement and Participation of Linguistic Minorities in Public Life

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Bibliography

Discrimination against minority languages. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/problem/148741

Linguistic. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/linguistic

History of the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee. (2012, July 5). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from http://www.saintpeters.edu/guarini-institute/files/2013/01/Social-Cultural-and-Humanitarian-Co mmittee.pdf

Linguistic minorities in countries belonging to the European Community : summary report. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/1925383 ​

Garifuna. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from http://elalliance.org/languages/caribbean/garifuna/

Minority. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minority

Language rights | Definition of language rights in English by Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/language_rights ​

Mobile Menu. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from https://benjamins.com/#catalog/books/sibil.4/main