Challenging the Youth Model United Nations | The 2nd Edition 2021

Forum: Economic and Social Council Issue: Impact on socio-economic welfare during mass and destruction in all nations Student Officer: Divyanshi Gupta Position: Deputy President Chair ______

Introduction

1947, 1959, 1967, 1968… all the way till 2020. Riots and protests are incidences which escalate each time, and the most recent protest-turned was the movement. Riots may cause destruction and they could bloom from simple protests or innocent movements and the main cause for them is due to injustice, stereotyping or even a difference in opinions within a large population.

2020 has been an unexpected year for all, especially due to severe, life changing events such as the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, or several events such as movements or issues which united the world together forming protests and riots.

In February of 2020, in New Delhi, India, a quite heated issue quickly transitioned into a riot, killing many and injuring several. This riot began due to hate speech, confrontation and previous protests against Muslims in India. This quickly escalated into riots in which people conducted heinous acts such as destruction of properties, intentional firings and fires, and mass killings, which led to over 200 people injured and the death of 53 people out of which 51 were identified, majority classified as Muslims. Even with 53 deaths however, 2200 people were arrested for the crimes which they committed, to settle the riot and restore peace in the capital state and city.

The most recent and widely known riot in 2020 initially started from the Black Lives Matter movement, an initiative which began from the untimely and unethical of a 45-year-old man in Minneapolis, Minnesota by police officers who knelt on his neck for a period of time, causing his untimely demise because a third-party call of an accused crime. Once this news

Research Report | Page 1 of 10 Challenging the Youth Model United Nations | The 2nd Edition 2021 broke out, through social media platforms, people of all ages from the world were able to express their condolences and opinions about the situation, eventually leading up to the opening of more stories such as Breonna Taylor. Across the United States, multiple peaceful protests began, for the justice of and the community. Some protests then transitioned into riots, now known as the 2020 United States racial unrest, in which 14000 people were arrested, 25 were killed and due to violence and destruction of property, $1 – 2 billion were insured damages (NW, Suite 800Washington and Inquiries, 2020).

Now, the aftermath of the protests have left people with hefty bills and issues, especially to those who were arrested on non-criminal offences such as curfew violation. Now that the world continues to battle the coronavirus, the situation has mellowed to a manageable rate and law enforcement has begun. However, this is simply the mere beginning.

Key Terms Riot A riot is defined as a tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons assembled together and acting with a common intent.

Destruction Destruction is the act of causing immense damage to a thing or situation to where it may no longer be repaired. Protest An expression or declaration of objection, disapproval, or dissent, often in opposition to something a person is powerless to prevent or avoid.

Pandemic The worldwide spread of a disease, affecting a significant population of the world.

Unemployment In economics, unemployment is defined as when a person who is a part of the working population and actively seeking work is unable to find work.

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Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) Gross domestic product is the total value of goods and services produced in a country, measured over a specific period of time. This can be used to measure the growth of a nation’s economy.

Profit or Loss The difference between the revenue received from the sale of an output and the costs of all inputs used, as well as any opportunity costs. If the difference is positive, the organization has earned profit, if the difference is negative, the organization has faced a loss.

Injustice A quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. This means that injustice is a term where in a situation, a person or a ruling is decided unfairly due to biased circumstances.

Stereotype A stereotype is a mistaken idea or belief many people have about a thing or group that is based upon how they look on the outside, which may be untrue or only partly true. Stereotyping people is a type of prejudice because what is on the outside is a small part of who a person is.

Aggregate Demand An economic measurement of the total amount of demand for all finished goods and services produced in an economy. Aggregate demand is expressed as the total amount of money exchanged for those goods and services at a specific price level and point in time.

Recession Period A recession is a period of declining economic performance across an entire economy that lasts for several months. Businesses, investors, and government officials track various economic indicators that can help predict or confirm the onset of recessions, but they're officially declared by the NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research).

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Treaty A contract in writing between two or more political authorities (such as states or sovereigns) formally signed by representatives duly authorized and usually ratified by the lawmaking authority of the state. It is a formal agreement which may be used to resolve conflict between 2 or more nations.

Key Issues Unemployment Riots, theft, massacres, and a lot of other related crimes are connected to unemployment, as not all people commit crimes based on bad intentions, rather it is because they are forced to, and one of the key reasons being unemployment. Unemployment causes people to use their savings, and statistically, the majority of adults in the USA are unlikely to save their money. Unemployment can also act as a loss of social status, which could lead to physical and mental illnesses, such as depression, and in order to save their families and themselves they resort to criminal activity.

Impact on Families and The Community Many riots eventually cause damage of property to some extent, and mostly it is either homes or shops, of which many people use to earn their monthly incomes. Especially for the people who only have these shops as their income and are heavily dependent on it and live solely on it, if destruction of property occurs, and they are unable to receive enough insurance money, it could leave the earner in the family unemployed. Houses are also some which may be destroyed in these riots, and if it is burnt, or damaged, then it could lead to unemployment and continue the cycle of criminal activity. Multiple states and cities have faced losses due to loot and destruction with more than 300 businesses incurring heavy losses. These losses could become burdens on families which have loans, rent and hefty expenses to pay for, and therefore, with the intention of saving their families from poverty or unhappiness, crime rates increase greatly. Especially after mass destruction and riots, people are in the most vulnerable states, which provides many people with advantages, encouraging them to commit crimes while there is minimum security.

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Impact on the Economy Any activity on a nation-wide or global scale affects the economy and the long-term effects take a long time to subside. The COVID-19 pandemic itself had caused a recession period in the economy where unemployment increased by a large scale and businesses had to shut down. The result from this is a 5-15% decrease on the aggregate demand (Somvichian-Clausen, 2020), which would take a couple of years to retrieve to the normal levels again. However, the riots as well, mainly in the USA, caused many people to rely on insurance and close down their shops to prevent any further damage, negatively impacting the demand and supply chain further.

Major Parties Involved United States of America (USA) The USA is one of the countries which is most affected by global incidents and especially riots and protests. It has been identified that the reasons for the riots are inequality, stereotypes and injustice, and even though the USA is a developed country, the people living there are negatively affected by the partiality. The USA was the country most affected by the most recent black lives matter movement, especially because the initial incidents and most discrimination began from there and thats where some rules have leniency such as ownership of guns. Due to the circumstances this year and the events leading up to it in the past years, it is known that the unemployment rate has increased and may have a correlation with criminal activity. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Property crimes (such as burglaries, thefts and larceny) were significantly higher than violent crimes (such as robbery and assault) with theft and larceny were reported at 1549.5 per 100000 people, whereas crimes such as aggravated assault were 250.2 per 100000 people (NW, Suite 800Washington and Inquiries, 2020). This could be linked to the increase in unemployment due to weaker financial conditions of firms and organizations, that people would have to commit theft to earn money.

United Kingdom (UK) Most protests in the UK are initiated by similar causes as they are worldwide, or because of the influence. A similar scenario to the BLM movement occurred in 2011, known as the London Riots, which was initiated because of the by the police. This event led to an outbreak of protests, resulting in several injuries, 5 deaths, arson, loot,

Research Report | Page 5 of 10 Challenging the Youth Model United Nations | The 2nd Edition 2021 deployment of the police as well as destruction of shops, cars and homes. The effect of both events were shown through protests and people became more aware about the racial discrimination occuring in the respective country and thus, resulting in the end of the 2011 riots. The UK is a developed nation, which is quite influential and by using their resources, they have been able to make beneficial changes such as improving the education system in the country, to theoretically, improve the future generations’ thoughts about gender equality, and helping the UN to achieve their SDGs.

Republic of India India is a country in which the daily average of new cases continued to rise greatly and due to the large population, the virus spread quickly. Because of the constant political and geographical tension, the riot was quick to escalate. Specifically the black lives matter movement, made an impact on the indian society, as they were able to link the situation to the similar points in India about the discrimination and stereotyping, all linking back to the riot in February. Alongside the protests, India has a high unemployment rate because it is reliable on agriculture and farming and due to the lack of jobs, the economy later suffers. The riots of the farmers in Punjab have yet to end and are causing havoc in the capital of the nation as they progress through the country. Currently, as more protesters arrive into the multiple states, they have to become the victims of tear gas and water cannons.

Argentina The country is still in remission from the recession in 2013 and the hyperinflation which followed soon after, and even though the state of the country’s economy is not the finest, the government would still like to proceed further and spend millions of dollars to invest in the national football team, possibly in the hope that it would benefit the country in the future. A lot of citizens believe that this may not be the most useful or efficient means for the money, and therefore protest against the government often, leading to constant disruption in the economy. Because of the disputes between the residents and the government, people go on strikes, riots and commit disruptive crimes, hence hurting the country further, while fighting for their rights.

Previous Attempts To Solve The Issue Policy Implementation

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Many government officials have worked with the United Nations to implement new solutions and policies, which clearly talk about the rights of a human and what they deserve and in fact, the UNHRC is a committee which aims to do so. Developed as well as developing countries are aiming to eradicate and extinguish gender stereotypes, wage gaps and even racism and sexism, however, none of the steps taken are enough to make a large enough change. An attempt of such was the formation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030; specifically, SDG 5, 10 and 16, which all revolve around peace and justice, alongside equality.

Implementation of Previous Grants Into Constitutions for Justice In 1215, a royal charter was written and implemented in England which was known as the Magna Carta. This piece of work had been established during the ruling of King John, who would not follow any of the laws of England. This royal charter stated that people must not be arrested or imprisoned or have property taken away from them unless the proper procedures of the law are followed. (Coursera, n.d.) Over the centuries, this charter was a medium for people to get their rights, while it was reinstated and declared unimportant and later, in the 1800’s it was officially written in the English common law. Similarly, other countries have used previous laws and guidelines which have worked positively in the past, to encourage fairness and equality between all individuals.

Treaties and Agreements Treaties can be used to resolve large conflicts when the nations involved are unable to come to a conclusion, which is beneficial for everyone. Such treaties have helped large conflicts, with examples such as the ‘Treaty of Versailles’ signed in 1919, to declare that WWI was over, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) signed in 1948, as a result from WWII and the International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (ICERD) signed in 1969. All of these treaties, and including more, declared that all humans should be treated equally and that everyone deserves equal rights to healthcare, education and facilities and discrimination shall not occur. Even though these issues are still prominent in the world, the use of these treaties helped significantly reduce damage in those current times and was a great improvement towards the community.

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Possible solutions Rules and Regulations A lot of the demands made by protesters (in general) are about stricter rules and regulations, providing justice to the people affected the most, and instating significant changes in a short period of time. Even though some demands may be unrealistic, by implementing more rules, regulations and guidelines, hosting more seminars and spreading awareness, there could be a better relationship between the police force and the citizens, hence preventing any further damage. By possibly creating world-wide rules, this could help in controlling any future damage by some issues staying in certain countries or states, or by using less dangerous platforms. An example is the ‘Anti-’ which imposes fines and upto 5 years imprisonment when destruction of any property occurs or if any physical harm is caused during the riot, whereas peaceful protests are allowed.

Education It is important to educate citizens and police officers about previous riots and analyze the reasons as to why the riots occurred. If more people including law enforcers are educated about different opinions, morals and values, they would understand why people have to commit certain actions and others’ reactions and consequences to their actions. Not only will this increase the trust and understanding between the police and the people of the country, but it will also help many people realise their actions and understand the damage which they have caused. Alongside this, it will also help in the progress of the nation; by increasing literacy rate and reducing crime rates significantly. BY hosting bi-yearly seminars, training programs, group interviews and surveys, information can be obtained about the citizens’ and law enforcers’ thoughts and opinions and further actions can be taken respectively.

Bibliography

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