Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization Background Guide Table of Contents

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Unrepresented Nations And Peoples Organization Background Guide Table of Contents

Letter from the Chair Expectations & Awards Introduction to the Committee

Topic 1: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics State Violence Intimidation Questions to Consider

Topic 2: Preservation of Minority Culture and Language The Problem Possible Solutions Questions to Consider

Bibliography

Staff of the Committee

Chair Rachel Kubrick Vice Chair Harmela Anteneh

Under Secretary General Branden Alberts

Taylor Cowser, Secretary General Neha Iyer, Director General

Letter from the Chair Dearest Delegates,

My name is Rachel and I am ecstatic to be chairing the Unrepresented Peoples and Nations Organization for BosMUN XIX. This will be my last BosMUN and my last conference as a chair, as I am graduating from Boston University this May. Although I am excited to begin my life in the ‘real world,’ I am certainly sad to be leaving college and especially Model United Nations. I am therefore hoping to make this last committee the best one yet (but no pressure)!

Like you, I started my Model UN journey in high school. As an active member of the Long Island MUN circuit, I competed at over 20 conferences and chaired twice. When I started college, I immediately searched for an opportunity to continue my involvement in MUN, an activity I adored for its educational yet competitive nature. I found this in the Boston University International Affairs Association, affectionately known as BUIAA. With BUIAA, I have traveled across the US and Canada attending conferences, and have chaired three conferences. BosMUN in particular holds a special place in my heart as I served as the Under Secretary General for ECOSOCs two years ago. I currently hold the position of Treasurer on the BUIAA Executive board.

Perhaps surprisingly, my ﬁeld of study and career path have virtually nothing to do with international relations! While I love politics and IR as a hobby, my passion lies in art history. I intern at the Museum of Fine Arts, the major museum here in Boston, and run an undergraduate art magazine called Squinch. I have no idea what I am doing yet for post grad (maybe by the time BosMUN rolls around I will!), but I hope to become an art museum curator in the future.

If any of you are interested in knowing more about life at BU, as a student in Boston, or about college in general, I would love to answer your questions! I have tried to take advantage of everything college has offered me (even studied abroad four times!) and would be happy to share my tips and tricks with all of you. I look forward to meeting you this coming February and working together to create a better world for unrepresented peoples.

All the best,

Rachel Kubrick 3

Expectations & Awards

The dais expects that all delegates will be well researched, well spoken, and well behaved. It is essential that all delegates are respectful to their peers and their staff so that the committee can be both productive and enjoyable for all parties involved. It is expected that delegates come prepared, having read the background guide and researched their position and the topics. While preparation is essential, it is also important that delegates do not break BosMUN policy and arrive “over” prepared, i.e., with prewritten clauses.

Most importantly, we expect everyone to come ready to have a great weekend debating, collaborating, and solving world issues!

In terms of awards, there are many qualities that make an award winning delegate, and the dais will be looking out for these admirable skills throughout the course of the conference. While there is no specific key to winning an award at BosMUN, we can provide a few tips for becoming an award-winning delegate. The chair will be looking for delegates who are clearly well researched and informed, but also able to think quickly and be flexible in response to the flow of debate. The chair will most admire those who are working collaboratively with others, providing substantial written work and verbal speeches, and uplifting their fellow delegates. Delegates should do their best to represent their assigned unrepresented people or nation while also contributing practical and creative solutions that can help a variety of groups on the topics at hand. Successful delegates will be those who adhere to parliamentary procedure and decorum, and who work to apply their knowledge of the topic.

It is important to keep in mind that a “best” delegate is not necessarily the one who is always raising their placard or passing notes. Overall, delegates who win Best, Outstanding, Honorable Mention, or Verbal Commendation awards will be those who make committee better. Finally, it is crucial to remember that winning an award should not make or break your conference experience, and that there is a lot more that one can get out of a committee besides a gavel or certiﬁcate.

4 All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1

Introduction to the Committee

What is the UNPO?

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, or UNPO, describes itself as “an international membership based organization established to empower the voices of underrepresented and marginalized peoples worldwide and to protect their fundamental human rights.” UNPO members all lack equal representation in their national governments. Those qualifying as “unrepresented” nations also lack representation in the United Nations. This status prevents these groups from having a voice in the political sphere, often leading to violations of their basic human rights as delineated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These groups may also be subject to acts of violence by majority groups.

The UNPO functions through funding by its members, ensuring that member groups have full range to discuss the issues at hand without ﬁnancial pressures. It includes a General Assembly for collaborative decision making, the body which this committee will mimic, as well as various Foundations conducting secretariat, research, and educational duties.

All members must abide by the principles of the UNPO Covenant, namely:

● The equal right of all peoples to self-determination; ● Adherence to internationally-accepted human rights standards; ● Adherence to the principles of democratic pluralism and rejection of intolerance; ● Promotion of non-violence and the rejection of terrorism and violence as instruments of policy; ● Protection of the natural environment.

Who are the members of the UNPO?

These members come from a variety of nations and peoples who deﬁne themselves as “unrepresented” on a national or international scale. At ﬁrst one may expect for most of the members to be of indigenous or other ethnic groups, when in reality members

Cont. come in all different forms. One of the most surprising examples is the District of Columbia, or Washington D.C., which maintains its status as an “unrepresented territory,” or “Federal District under exclusive jurisdiction of Congress,” according to its member proﬁle on the UNPO website.

On the UNPO’s website, you can easily find the member profile for the group that you will be representing. I highly recommend that you view your member’s profile webpage and download the Member Profile Brochure as your first step in researching after reading the background guide (https://unpo.org/members.php). This will be your most effective and helpful resource in determining what stance you will take on the issues, and therefore be able to work in the best interest of your delegation. This profile will also alert you to what “status” the member currently holds in terms of being unrepresented. These may include the following:

■ Self-declared sovereign state ■ Autonomous region ■ Ethnic/religious/linguistic minority group ■ Secessionist entity ■ Indigenous peoples ■ State with limited international recognition ■ Occupied territory ■ Unrepresented territory

An emphasis on self-determination

One of the UNPO’s main goals is promoting the right to self-determination. The UNPO deﬁnes the right to self-determination as “the right of a people to determine its own destiny.” This means that they are allowed to decide their political status and have the liberty to pursue economic, social, and cultural development as they wish. Contrary to popular belief, self-determination does not always conclude with an independent nation. Other desirable outcomes may include political, cultural, and/or economic autonomy. For some, the establishment of an independent nation has already occurred,

Cont. but they have yet to be recognized as such by the international community.

The UN Charter itself ensures this right in Article 1, stating its purpose “to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace.” Nevertheless, many UN member states do not adhere to this directive. Furthermore, the right to self-determination is present in various international declarations and covenants on human rights, such as the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the International Covenants on Human Rights.The right to self-determination is therefore an integral part of international law.

Although we will not be discussing self-determination as its own topic (it would obviously not produce controversy in debate), it remains as a critical aspect of any deliberation by the UNPO, and should therefore be addressed in any draft resolutions passed by this body.

History of the UNPO

The UNPO grew out of a collaboration between various leaders of movements for self-determination in Estonia, East Turkestan (region of the Uyghurs), and Tibet, as well as the Dalai Lama’s international law advisor, who was its ﬁrst secretary general. It was inspired by the work of the Dalai Lama to combat the oppression of Tibetans in a non-violent manner. It was ofﬁcially founded in 1991 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, with representatives of groups from Estonia, Latvia, Tibet, Crimean Tatars, Armenia, Georgia, Tatarstan, East Turkestan, East Timor, Australian Aboriginals, The Cordillera, the Greek Minority in Albania, Kurdistan, Palau, Taiwan, and West Papua. Representatives from Abkhazia, Aceh, Assyria, the Chittagong Hill Tracts, South Moluccas, Bougainville, Chechnya, Kosova, Zanzibar, and the Mairi and Iraqi Turkmen peoples would join a few months later.

Today, the UNPO represents 45 peoples and nations, therefore supporting more than 300 million people towards the goal of self-determination. Fortunately, the UNPO has

Cont. seen great success in achieving this goal with many members now represented at the United Nations, including Armenia, East Timor, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, and Palau. These and other former members found the representation they seeked either in domestic or international governments, and therefore are no longer “unrepresented.”

Questions to Consider

1. What issues and obstacles is your unrepresented group currently facing? What actors are creating these problems?

2. What type of group are you representing? How does your community identify and why are they considered unrepresented?

3. What is your community’s status toward self-determination?

9 Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 3, 5, and 9

10 Topic One: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics

Topic One: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics

State Violence

The absence of a voice in domestic and international politics for unrepresented peoples makes them vulnerable to multiple forms of violence, both at the state and individual levels. State violence can be deﬁned as “the use of legitimate governmental authority to cause unnecessary harm and suffering to groups, individuals, and states,” as opposed to acts of violence committed by individuals unrelated to governmental practices. As we shall see, state violence against unrepresented peoples is a global issue, and can often exacerbate individual violence as well. Delegates will be tasked with developing a multitude of recommendations to the international community in order to combat this dire problem of violence against unrepresented groups.

Often violence will manifest in the form of sexual violence. Many indigenous groups are dealing with this on an unfortunately frequent basis. According to a 2013 inter-agency study by UN Women, UNICEF, and the UN Population Fund entitled “Breaking the Silence on Violence against Indigenous Girls, Adolescents, and Young Women,”

In the case of indigenous girls, adolescents and young women, the broader contexts of discrimination against indigenous peoples such as colonial domination, continued discrimination, limited access to social services, dispossession from ancestral lands and militarization issues increase their vulnerability to violence and limit their ability to seek protection and recourse.

One of the specific issues that this study addresses is the low levels of birth registration in indigenous communities in combination with a lack of legal recognition by national governments, rendering vital services for preventing and responding to such violence inaccessible. This is especially present in Asia, where studies have found that an absence of legal identity and statelessness result in increased risk of abuse and violence. For example, there are an estimated 2 million ‘stateless’ people in Thailand including 600,000 from indigenous and minority communities. The children in this categorization do not have birth certificates and can therefore not access healthcare and education, leading to an increased risk of exploitation, such as by way of human trafficking or sexual offenses.

Topic One: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics

Furthermore, in times of insecurity, armed conflict, and other extreme cases, indigenous females become targets solely based on their ethnicity. As many indigenous groups currently live in conflict and post-conflict areas, this occurrence is anything but infrequent, resulting in rape, abduction, sexual slavery, killings, forced sterilization, and even recruitment as tools for war.

The poverty that many of these communities experience also leaves them vulnerable to violence. The 2013 report recommends that increased access to education, health services, water, and “reporting, complaints, and counselling mechanisms” could have a major impact in empowering women and ensuring that exposure to violent situations is decreased, such as when girls must walk long distances to get clean water. Geographical isolation is also an obstacle in accessing such vital services. For example, nearly 50% of indigenous peoples in Latin America live in remote or hard-to-reach areas lacking basic infrastructure.

This lack of infrastructure, however, may be preferable for some groups, especially when it comes to ancestral lands. State development without “free, prior and informed consent” from these groups is a from of state sanctioned violence and a violation of human rights. Delegates will have to balance the need for basic infrastructure and access to services with the wishes and liberties of such indigenous communities. For example, between 2002 and 2007, 8.54 million members of various tribes in India were displaced from their traditional lands in favor of development projects across seven Indian states. Only 25% of these people were resettled, and displacement resulted in loss of assets, increased unemployment, debt bondage, and extreme poverty. Dam construction in India, Malaysia, Lao, Thailand, and Vietnam have resulted in similarly disastrous displacements and disintegrations of many indigenous communities.

A 2018 report by Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, found “a pattern of abuse, with the private sector often colluding with governments to force Indigenous Peoples from their lands by whatever means necessary to make way for infrastructure, agriculture, mining, and extractive projects.”

Topic One: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics

These development projects are implemented without consent and are therefore “driving a drastic increase in violence and legal harassment” against these groups. Often, smear campaigns will be implemented to turn public support against indigenous communities as ‘obstacles to development.’ The next steps of violence may come in the form of arrests and even killings. Tauli-Corpuz identiﬁes the “failure of governments to recognize and respect indigenous land rights” as the root of this international crisis. She notes Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines, and Brazil as particularly dangerous for those trying to protect their rights in these contexts.

The situation in Brazil has especially worsened since President Jair Bolsonaro took ofﬁce in January. According to a New York Times article on the killing of indigenous leader Emyra Wajãpi this past summer, “The killings comes as miners and loggers are making increasingly bold and deﬁant incursions into protected areas, including indigenous territories, with the explicit encouragement of...Bolsonaro.” A 2019 report entitled “Imminent Threats of Land Invasions and Violence Against Indigenous Peoples in the Brazilian Amazon” by the NGO Amazon Watch predicts “massacres” of the indigenous if direct action is not taken soon. Indigenous leaders have received death threats, and several have already been assassinated in the last ten years to make way for development in the Amazon. A representative of Amnesty International has asserted that “The government must protect Indigenous people who are defending their land, or blood will be shed.” Given the the “incendiary anti-indigenous language” used by Bolsonaro, however, positive government action unfortunately seems unlikely.

Another form of violence lies in the arbitrary arrests and detentions of individuals, “in which authorities take advantage of the victims’ vulnerable condition to make them scapegoats for unsolved crimes or use the law as a tool of social repression when indigenous people seek to defend their communities’ rights,” according to one report on the subject. The Hmong population in Laos are often subject to such abuses. Stereotyped as untrustworthy and anti-government, the Hmong live in fear of arbitrary arrests as a “threat to national security.” Some Hmong members have been arrested for helping guide journalists to document the Hmong’s situation, also conveying the Laotian government’s goal of censoring human rights abuses. Prisoners may be kept in

Topic One: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics

detention centers ﬁlled with members of other marginalized groups, where they will be subject to inhuman conditions and treatment, including beatings. Furthermore, there have been various cases of enforced disappearances of Hmong people in Laos since 2005, all of which have remained unsolved despite pressure on the Laotian government to release information. The Hmong people are far from the only group subject to arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances among other forms of state-sanctioned or condoned violence.

Arbitrary arrests are currently an important issue in the case of Catalonian independence from Spain. Catalonia, which includes Barcelona, is the wealthiest of the autonomous communities in Spain, with its own government within the Spanish constitutional monarchy. This past October, seven Catalan politicians were sentenced to up to thirteen years in prison after staging a referendum on Catalonian independence in 2017, and two Catalan civilian leaders were sentenced to nine years in prison for mobilizing protests during the referendum. The Spanish police harshly repressed the 2.3 million Catalans trying to vote in the referendum, including violence resulting in various injuries. It has been widely reported that the defendants were denied a fair trial . A report by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention conﬁrmed that at least three of these detentions were in fact “arbitrary,” due to the “non-existence of elements of violence and the absence of convincing information” as well as the “aim to constrain [the three people] due to their political opinions.” Spain responded by questioning the working group’s “independence and impartiality” and called upon the UN to ensure that working groups were not used “for spurious purposes.” As expressed by this case study, it is not only impoverished minorities in the developing world that face the issue of state violence.

Intimidation

Oftentimes, states may engage in intimidation tactics in order to silence or weaken unrepresented peoples, especially when such groups aim to make their voices heard at international forums. One of the major occurrences of this problem is in the form of what the UNPO calls ‘compromised space,’ or bullying and blocking at the UN human

Topic One: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics

rights mechanisms. These mechanisms include the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, UN Human Rights Council, the Ofﬁce of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, etc. In this respect, national governments which already repress these unrepresented groups at home, also prevent them from gaining any representation on the international level.

Blocking tactics include deferring ECOSOC status decisions and intervening in plenary statements. This may occur as delaying the registration of NGOs that work with or support unrepresented peoples, thereby reducing their effectiveness and preventing them from full participation in the United Nations. On the other hand, governments may also establish or support government-afﬁliated NGOs, or GONGOs, which will then work under the guise of of an independent organization to oppose human rights narratives and promote narratives from their afﬁliated governments..

Other tactics include interventions and interruptions during speeches and events. Only state delegates can raise ‘points of order,’ and some will use them disruptively outside of their appropriate use to discredit, interrupt, vilify, and cut speaking time of a speaker from an unrepresented people.

The more extreme example of state reprisals may also occur in the form of retaliatory acts such as harassment, intimidation, and violence, especially when an unrepresented delegate returns from a United Nations advocacy mission. It can include labeling them as a ‘separatist’ or even ‘terrorist.’ In some cases, they may not even be able to leave the country on account of denied travel documents, conﬁscated passports, detainments, or threatening phone calls to family members. It is also common for unrepresented diplomats, many who come from underprivileged or oppressed minority communities, to be unable to attend UN gatherings on account of ﬁnancial constraints.

Unfortunately, many human rights defenders are unable to or unaware of the support mechanisms available to them in case of need, and therefore these instances may go unreported. These support structures must be improved, and protections for human rights defenders must be prioritized. Furthermore, it would be useful to streamline

Topic One: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics

incident responses, and train UN staff on how to be proactive in supporting vulnerable representatives and groups, as stated by the July 2019 report, “Compromised Space: Bullying and Blocking at the UN Human Rights Mechanisms.” This report emerged from the Unrepresented Diplomats Project from 2015-2017, which worked with individuals from unrepresented nations to survey them on the issue and learn skills relating to UN advocacy.

The following are several examples of intimidation at the UN from the above mentioned report, in order to provide clarity on this complicated issue: ● Taiwan is barred from the UN and afﬁliated bodies including the World Health Organization. Taiwanese human rights defenders are denied access to UN buildings when showing Taiwanese identity cards or passports, including in 2017 when a professor and students were denied entry despite registering beforehand to go to the UN in Geneva. ● An NGO supporting the Lezghin ethnic group has been trying for at least three years to get consultative status, and reports that Azerbaijan has actively tried to delay their acceptance through excessive questioning. ● An NGO supporting the Haratin people has reported that Mauritanian GONGOs spread inaccurate information including that they are violent, at UN human rights events in Geneva and London. Although the NGO did succeed in having the GONGO representatives’ UK visas denied, there has been a slanderous social media campaign against them since. ● Chinese GONGO representatives have photographed or ﬁlmed Southern Mongolian, Tibetan and Uyghur delegates at meetings to intimidate them. One instance in 2014 did result in the revocation of the GONGO representative’s UN badge and accreditation. ● A Baloch diplomat reported that her name was continuously moved down the speakers list by UN staff at the 2009 UN Forum on Minority Issues so that she was unable to speak for multiple days, possibly due to state interference by Iran. This diplomat has also reported state intimidation by Iran in the form of Facebook messages and Iranian delegates sitting very close to her during UN forums and even in the cafeteria.

Topic One: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics

● In 2017, Uyghur activist Dolkun Isa was ejected from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues without explanation despite accreditation by a participating NGO. He was then denied re-entry. The following year his accreditation for the Forum was changed to ‘pending approval’ due to ‘security concerns’ just days before the event. The UNPO was suspicious of misuse of power by the UN Under-Secretary-General, a Chinese national. A collaboration between Human Rights Watch, the UN Assistant Secretary-General, and the American and German missions succeeded in granting Isa accreditation for the final day of the Forum. ● Crimean Tatar activists were prevented from attending the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples by violent attacks while traveling there, including an assault by masked attackers, forced removal from a train, and passport confiscation or destruction. ● Southern Mongolian activists in 2008 and 2010 were arrested when Chinese authorities became privy to their receipt of a grant to attend the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. ● The Indonesian representative to the UN often raises points of order challenging the name of the Aceh-Sumatra National Liberation Front. Similar interruptions regarding naming by Iran and China have been reported by for Ahwazi representatives and East Turkestan representatives, respectively. Sometimes UN diplomats will use generic terms like ‘ethnic minorities’ to avoid naming issues, thus hindering accountability for human rights violations against specific groups and recognition of their unique identity. ● In 2016, Ethiopian state delegates succeeded in getting security personnel to the Forum on Minority Issues in order to remove an Ogaden activist. The activist was ultimately not removed after a Minority Forum Secretariat representative defended his accreditation.. ● Chinese state delegates have attempted to take up seats designated for NGOs at various meetings. Chinese GONGOs have attempted similar tactics to prevent activists from sitting near each other.

Topic One: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics

The United Nations has recognized many of these issues and has moved to prevent further altercations. For example, the UN Secretary General has provided an annual report since 2010 to the Human Rights Council on reprisals against human rights defenders. In 2016, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights was designated to lead efforts at the UN to address reprisals and intimidation. Furthermore, the Ofﬁce of the High Commissioner on Human Rights has a page on their website detailing how to share information about intimidation and reprisals cases (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Reprisals/Pages/HowToShareInformationAbout Cases.aspx). One effective solution at the UN in Geneva has been to hold private invite-only brieﬁng meetings so that human rights defenders can be open with their evidence in a safe space free from state representatives and GONGOs. Despite these and other attempts, many unrepresented activists remain skeptical and feel unsupported in the face of state intimidation.

Questions to Consider

1. Has your unrepresented group been a victim state sponsored violence or force? If so, how has this affected your community?

2. Have the actions of the state government encouraged violence by individuals or non-state actors? How has this violence manifested?

3. Has your unrepresented group been a victim of arbitrary arrests or enforced disappearances?

4. Have representatives from your community been subject to reprisals before, during, or after an advocacy mission to the UN? How so?

5. How can UNPO members advocate for decreased state violence and intimidation against themselves, and therefore protect each other?

19 Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientiﬁc advancement and its beneﬁts.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 27

20 Topic Two: Preservation of Minority Culture and Language

Topic Two: Preservation of Minority Culture and Language

Presentation of the Problem

United Nations Educational, Scientiﬁc and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, deﬁnes culture as “the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features of society or a social group, and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.” Culture is the lifeblood of any community, but the cultures of many UNPO members are under attack as their lack of representation in government makes them an easy target for cultural eradication and assimilation. Preserving minority cultures is an important factor in empowering minority groups and maintaining their unique identities, and it is therefore of the utmost importance delegates work together to mitigate this threat.

In fact, the will to promote, celebrate, and sustain one’s culture, language, and history has been a primary catalyst for many member groups to join the UNPO, as it provides a space to celebrate diversity and remember these varied histories on an international scale. According to the UNPO website, “celebration and remembrance on the international stage and in countries of refuge is the only form of resistance that [some members] have to the oppression and cultural domination that their peoples are subjected to at home.”

Despite state actions to the contrary, the protection of culture, both tangible and intangible, is ingrained in international law. In 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. Besides various articles expressing the rights of minority groups, the following articles are most applicable to this topic:

Article 1

1. States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity.

Topic Two: Preservation of Minority Culture and Language

2. States shall adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to achieve those ends.

Article 2

1. Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities (hereinafter referred to as persons belonging to minorities) have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.

2. Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life.

3. Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in decisions on the national and, where appropriate, regional level concerning the minority to which they belong or the regions in which they live, in a manner not incompatible with national legislation.

Legally binding documents, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, also afﬁrm the right to culture for minority and indigenous groups. Nevertheless, many states still do not adhere to these standards, therefore necessitating action by this body. According to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), the state must not not interfere in “the exercise of cultural practices and access to cultural goods and services,” and must ensure “preconditions for participation, facilitation and promotion of cultural life, and access and preservation of cultural goods.”

These protections also apply to religious practices, as recognized by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Article 12 which states, “Indigenous peoples have the right to manifest, practise, develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs, and ceremonies.” States have restricted this right by violating customary marriage or burial practices, as well as by prohibiting access to indigenous burial grounds or other sacred sites due to forced relocation and development projects.

Topic Two: Preservation of Minority Culture and Language

Therefore, land rights can also come into play in a draft resolution addressing this topic. Land rights also apply to maintaining traditional lifestyles and diets that require speciﬁc practices of cultivation, agriculture, animal herding, and ﬁshing.

Furthermore, language preservation is essential in maintaining minority identity. Currently, the majority of endangered languages are those of minorities and indigenous communities. In order to prevent such languages from going extinct while also securing equal opportunity for minorities, states must take action that ensures minority children equal access to education in both the national and respective minority languages. Today, 40% of the world does not have access to education in their spoken language. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has described this necessity effectively, stating that language is a “means of participation in community life” and “to deprive a man of such participation amounts to depriving him of his identity.”

In response to this issue of language disappearance, the international community has observed Mother Language Day since its proposal by Bangladesh and subsequent approval by UNESCO in 1999. Many prominent ﬁgures, such as celebrities, musicians, writers, and artists, have done their part in promoting their own indigenous language, exposing it through global media outlets such as the internet. Clearly the international will and tools exist; it is simply a manner of honing and utilizing these resources to positive effect.

Oftentimes states may try to openly justify not recognizing minority customs and culture, especially in the Western world. A report in the Minority Rights Group State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2016 points out that “recent voices present human rights values as only part of the western ‘way of life,’” and that this misconception is dangerous and wrong. It also describes a “rhetoric of ‘integration’” common in Europe in order to restrict minority rights to culture.

In May 2019, the European Regional Forum on Education, Language, and the Human Rights of Minorities was convened by the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, as education and minority languages have been a key priority for him. Many members of the UNPO are linguistic minorities in their respective countries, including Chameria,

Topic Two: Preservation of Minority Culture and Language

Brittany, Catalonia, Savoy, Crimean Tatars, and Lezghins. The Forum took note of the speciﬁc failures of the Greek and French governments to “adhere to international standards regarding the protection of minorities and their human rights” in the form of refusing to recognize the existence of ethnic minorities or giving appropriate funding and control over their linguistic education. One of the main takeaways from the Forum was the dire need for investment in this linguistic education by European states and the recognition of its beneﬁts on personal, communal, and wider socio-economic levels both in the short and long term.

Possible Solutions

Among the many possible solutions that delegates can discuss on this issue, one may be state investment and support of cultural heritage organizations. Common in the United States, cultural heritage organizations include cultural and art centers, ethnic, cultural, and folk organizations, and festival organizations, which produce and sponsor public events and celebrations. They can also act as a resource for native language study or holiday observance.

One example is the Hmong Cultural Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This organization aims to “preserve and ensure Hmong culture and heritage” through cultural classes for traditional music and dance, an adult education program providing instruction on citizenship, ESL, and career advising, and a research center and community outreach program including Hmong-related literature, research materials, and cultural artifacts.

According to a 2006 study by the Urban Institute in Washington D.C., “the primary and distinguishing purpose of cultural heritage organizations is to bind communities together by promoting and preserving their identities, traditions, and values.” Organizations such as these can be powerful tools for unrepresented minority groups to preserve their cultures on their own terms. However, without the infrastructure or ﬁnancial sources to do so, this may be impossible. Furthermore, by organizing the community within these organizations, they can serve as a platform for political empowerment and even as an opportunity for advocacy and participation in policymaking.

Topic Two: Preservation of Minority Culture and Language

The aforementioned study by the Urban Institute identiﬁed four key characteristics necessary to consider when drafting recommendations on supporting these organizations. They are the following:

Cultural difference is central to the work of most cultural heritage organizations, so linguistic and educational differences, different traditions of intellectual property and community responsibility, different understandings of aesthetic value and of the social, educational, and political functions of the arts and culture, must be taken into account.

Cultural heritage organizations are small, so documentation, outcome measures, and partnership expectations must be ﬁtted to their capacities. ·

Cultural heritage organizations focus on promoting and preserving communities by addressing diverse needs, so their programming crosses over into traditional program areas of many public and private funders.

Cultural heritage organizations, like the groups and communities who build them, are diverse in terms of the cultural activities they prioritize and the levels at which they are developed. These variations must be considered when developing and implementing programs of support that target multiple groups and communities.

While creating and supporting cultural heritage organizations typically helps at a local level, it is also important to address how this issue can be tackled on the national and international scale. In Vietnam, for example, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has implemented a project to preserve and promote the diverse cultural heritage of several ethnic minorities. This project includes the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism, which hosts many minority communities, festivals, and activities for culture sharing between ethnic groups as well as to tourists and researchers, and Cultural Days celebrating various regions and minority ethnicities.

The Ministry’s goal is to develop opportunities for cultural exchange of ethnic minority groups and to spread awareness of the need to preserve traditional culture. As

Topic Two: Preservation of Minority Culture and Language reported by one Vietnamese news source, over 50 festivals of ethnic minorities have been restored thanks to this governmental support. They also hope to mobilize communities to preserve and promote their own cultures, according to the director of the Department of Ethnic Culture at the Ministry.

Vietnam has used tourism as a tool for cultural preservation, with tours of traditional festivals sparking economic development, and tourist demand helping to revive traditional crafts and preserve artifacts. This has also been the case for the survival of folk crafts in Mexico and the American Southwest, for example. Of course, tourism can also pose a threat to these and other minority communities, acting as a catalyst for economic exploitation and “staged authenticity.” Problematic power dynamics may also come in to play, making it vital that these groups have consent and control in the quantity and character of touristic interactions, and that there is a conscious effort made to avoid manipulation of such groups. Delegates will therefore have to parse both the beneﬁts and consequences of tourism as a tool for cultural preservation.

International intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (IGOs and NGOs) can also work as a force for good in cultural heritage protection and preservation. For example, a World Bank-funded project was launched in Guizhou, China in 2009 to focus on “infrastructure, ethnic minority cultural heritage protection, natural heritage and scenic site protection and development, tourism gateway town facilities development, and capacity building,” as stated on the World Bank website. For example, the Biasha, also known as the “last gun tribe in China,” are reported to have beneﬁtted from this project through improved infrastructure accommodating tourism but also preserving their village. In this case, tourism provides a source of income as well as an incentive for preservation of cultural traditions. The World Bank reports that this project has similarly helped to preserve other Chinese ethnic minority traditions such as Dong singing, Shiqiao papermaking, Miao embroidery, and Jiuzhou architecture, while providing signiﬁcant economic and infrastructural support to the ethnic minority villages and communities themselves. This infrastructure development includes trash bins, toilets and sewers, roads, water supply, and drainage systems, as well as restoring and renovating houses and other buildings.

Topic Two: Preservation of Minority Culture and Language

The World Bank explains that this project, called “The Guizhou Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection and Development Project for China,” used a “community participatory approach” in order to involve residents in the “entire process from project selection, design, execution, and supervision.” It also ensured that public facilities and small infrastructure construction are owned and operated by the village itself. In this respect, transparency and empowerment were prioritized. Besides preserving tangible and intangible cultural heritage, it has signiﬁcantly improved basic living conditions and provided employment and income for residents, therefore serving as a potential model for other solutions.

Finally, as previously stated, delegates must look to cultural and multilingual education access as a critical solution to preserving the culture and language of minorities. Through careful reﬂection and research of the topic presented, UNPO delegates should create effective, creative, and practical solutions to ensure that the cultures and languages of all members are preserved and protected for posterity.

Questions to Consider

1. Is the culture and/or language of your unrepresented group endangered? How and why?

2. What actions has your unrepresented group taken to combat loss of culture and language? How successful have these actions been?

3. What is the state of education for your unrepresented group? Are students learning in their own language?

4. How have outside actors, such as NGOs and tourists, hurt or helped to preserve your culture?

5. Has your unrepresented group faced religious persecution? In what manner?

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Topic One: State Violence and Intimidation Tactics

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Cont.

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Cont.

Topic Two: Preservation of Minority Culture and Language

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Cont.

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