United Nations General Assembly Third Committee on Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Issues
SAIMUN 19 SOCHUM
United Nations General Assembly Third Committee on Social, Cultural And Humanitarian Issues.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Its Much Needed Redrafting and Re- Evaluation of The Role And Efficiency Of The Human Rights Council.
BACKGROUND GUIDE SAIMUN 2019
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LETTER FROM THE DAIS.
Dear Delegates,
Greetings. Welcome to the 2019 Sub-Saharan Model United Nations Conference (SAIMUN) and to the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee (SOCHUM). My name is Roy Ben and I will be your Co-chair. I am a student of Diplomacy and International Relations. Your Head Chair will be Johanssen Obanda who majors in Biochemistry and is in his final year at Egerton University in whose lieu I am writing this letter. Cynthia Banda will be the committee secretary; she majors in Anthropology at University of Nairobi. We are all elated to chair SOCHUM especially during this era of social incorporation and globalization of human rights.
We shall be discussing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its much needed redrafting and re-evaluating the role and efficiency of the Human Rights Council.
The DIAS recognizes that this is a very broad issue touching on all aspects of human life and indeed requires in-depth research and knowledge and as such we encourage you to make an effort to understand it well. Delegates are expected to represent and deliberate on the issue strictly from the policy of the state or organization that they represent at this committee and in respect to that, position papers should be well written and though of before submission.
I eagerly look forward to meeting you all at the conference this year and I hope that our debates shall bring forth understanding and cooperation. Kindly contact Johansen or I on the email addresses provided for any enquiries you may have.
Regards, Roy Ben Co-chair
Chair; Johanssen Obanda, [email protected]
Co-Chair; Roy Ben, [email protected]
Secretary; Cynthia Banda. SAIMUN 19 SOCHUM
INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMITTEE.
The United Nations third committee on Social, Cultural and Humanitarian issues (SOCHUM) had 73rd session in 2018 and was chaired by H.E Mahmoud Saikal of Afghanistan. The committee is allocated its agenda items relating to social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues that affect citizens of the world by the United Nations General Assembly. As in previous sessions, an important part of the committee will focus on examination of human rights questions, including reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council which was established in 2006. In October 2018, the committee heard and interacted with special rapporteurs, independent experts and chairs of working groups as mandated by the Human Rights Council.
The committee also discusses the questions related to the advancement of women, the protection of children, indigenous issues, treatment of refugees, promotion of fundamental freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial discrimination and the right to self-determination. The committee is concerned with important social development questions such as issues related to youth, family, ageing, persons with disabilities, crime prevention, criminal justice and international gun control.
During the 72nd session of the General Assembly, The Third Committee considered over 60 draft resolutions, more than half of which were submitted under the human rights agenda item alone. They included three so-called country specific resolutions on human rights situations.
The Committee is expected to consider as many resolutions in the future with the hope of making an improvement on the social life of people across the whole world.
AGENDA ITEM for SOCHUM IN SAIMUN 2019
THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, ITS MUCH NEEDED REDRAFTING AND RE-EVALUATION OF THE ROLE AND EFFICIENCY OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL. SAIMUN 19 SOCHUM
THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The universal Declaration of Human Rights(UDHR) is by far the most comprehensive human rights doctrine in the world. It was ratified and adopted in 1948 shortly after the much awaited end of what came to be known as the most brutal war ever fought; World War II and the Holocaust. The war was characterized by grave loss of human life and utter destruction of billions of dollars’ worth of property. Since its adoption, it has been translated into over 500 languages across the world. Over the past 60 years, the UDHR has become a powerful tool in the armoury of those trying to dissuade governments from violating human rights. Many lawyers regard it as part of customary international law. Along with the United Nations Charter, it has provided the moral and legal basis for the United Nations actions –including action by the Security Council –against violators of human rights. Countries have included language and principles of the UDHR in their National Constitutions, and in their statutory laws and regulations. The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms adopted by the Council of Europe (now the European Union) and Article II of the charter of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) are examples of documents heavily draw from the UDHR.
However, is it possible that the document is now outdated and needs redrafting in order to address some of its most ambiguous provisions with the hope to improve its implementation which significantly very poor? It for instance fails to draw a clear line at the confrontation point of Fundamental Human Rights and National Security and Sovereignty?
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While the UDHR demands that human rights should and must come first, how practical is it for states to jeopardise their national security in order to preserve the dignity of human rights? This then begs the question of the relevance on states and the role it plays in promotion of human rights. It fails to answer crucial questions of the 21st century that may not have been much of a priority in the post war era such as; Are terrorists to enjoy all the fundamental rights or are there some that can be denied since their actions are publicly known, do they need to stand trial or is lethal action against them warranted? Are matters of National Security that necessitate violation of Human rights to be sanctioned? Are animal rights important and who is to protect them? What is the place of State Religion in the world today and what happens if it infringes on some human rights? The countries of Middle East predominantly practise Islam as a state religion and due to its patriarchal nature, many will accuse the religion as being chauvinistic against women. It is only recently anyway that women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to drive without necessitating a male companion. Does the UDHR not need to clarify on the lines around State Religion? Environmental issues and climate change were not that much of an issue in the 20th century and as such the UDHR does not comprehensively cover it. Rights revolving around sexuality and new genders were also not a fundamental part of the document but have become part of today’s society. All this are aspects of today’s world that need to be made clear by the UDHR.
This task of constitutionalizing the UDHR is not an easy one. It involves a lot of research and commitment by all the states into contributing to the strengthening of the most fundamental protector of human rights. Its work that could take months if not years but upon completion will go down in history among the greatest achievements of the United Nations in as far as promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms is concerned. SAIMUN 19 SOCHUM
THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a body within the United Nations, made up of 47 members elected for a staggered three-year term with the main role of protecting and promoting human rights around the world. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its last session, the 38th session began on 18th June 2018 and ended on 7th July 2018.The UNHRC investigates allegations of breaches of human rights and tackles important thematic human rights issues.
As of 3rd December 2018, the UNCHR elected Ambassador Coly Seck, Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations Office Geneva, to serve as its 2019 President since the council meets thrice a year.
2018 however, was a very controversial year for the UNHRC especially considering all the accusations and disagreements it had with the United States of America, leading to the consequent withdrawal of the latter from the Council. The then ambassador of the USA to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, made the announcement a month after the UNHRC voted to probe SAIMUN 19 SOCHUM the killing of Palestinians in Gaza and accused Israel of using excessive force. Israel is a great ally of the United States and the two countries have openly demonstrated their willingness to support each other especially against those states that question the legitimacy of Israel and or fail to recognise it as an independent state. The USA accused the council of being ‘A hypocritical and self-serving organisation that makes a mockery of human rights’ by the words of the former US ambassador Haley.
Other than that, campaigners of human rights accused the council of accepting membership of many states that were known or at least thought to have gross human rights violations. These states run uncontested as the 5 voting regions only put forward as many candidates as there were seats. The Human Rights Watch(HRW) UN director Louis Charbonneau called the election ‘a mockery’ especially considering the Philippines and Eritrea were elected. HRW called the crackdown on drugs by the President of Philippines ‘a killing frenzy that left thousands dead’ and claimed Eritrean authorities arrested and jailed government critics. Candidacy of Bahrain was also criticized especially due to its jailing of prominent defenders of human rights such as Nabeel Rajab. Cameroon was accused of having committed ‘grave abuses’ in the Anglophone region of the country.
The council was set up in 2006 to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights that had faced a lot of criticism for letting countries with poor human rights records become members. Could it be that this council is following the ill steps of its predecessor?
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IN THEIR POSITION PAPERS AND COMMITTEE DEBATES AND CONSEQUENTLY RESOLUTION PAPERS, DELEGATES ARE EXPECTED TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS;
1. Where does your country stand on the UDHR? Has it implemented and stood by its principles? Has it had any major violations and how were they handled if at all they were? 2. What is the current human rights situation in your country, and can the Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International or any other recognised human rights organisation vouch for your state? 3. Does the UDHR need review to incorporate the many aspects of today’s world it lacks or is your country satisfied with the current document? 4. Where does your country stand on the current Human Rights Council? Is it performing to the best of its capabilities or are the allegations against it true? Does the UN need to set up firm qualifications for membership? 5. How can the UN ensure states abide by the UDHR without infringing on their sovereignty or cultural identity? 6. What groups are to be considered minority groups according to your state, and are their rights protected under the UDHR?
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REFERENCES:
United Nations. www.un.org.
British Broadcasting Cooperation. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/-45840980
United Nations Human Rights Council. www.ohchr.org
Harvard Model United Nations. www.harvadmun.org
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