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Dartmouth Model United Nations April 5 - 7, 2019
UNHRC
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Dartmouth Model United Nations Conference
14th Annual Conference – April 5 – 7, 2019 Dartmouth College – Rockefeller Center – Hanover, NH 03755
E-mail: [email protected] - http://sites.dartmouth.edu/modelun
December 5, 2018 Dear Delegates: On behalf of the entire Dartmouth Model United Nations staff, I would like to welcome and thank you for registering for the fourteenth annual Dartmouth Model United Nations conference this April 2019. We have been working relentlessly since the end of last year’s conference to provide a better and more worthwhile Model U.N. experience for this spring’s delegates. DartMUN is a unique conference. We pair world-class delegations and dais staff members in smaller, more-interactive environments to facilitate an enriching experience for delegates of all skill levels. We believe DartMUN’s active, small committees ensure delegates feel comfortable immersing themselves in a competitive but supportive environment that encourages trial by error and participation. Furthermore, DartMUN’s well-trained staff is excited to work with your delegates this winter in committee to equip the next generation of college students with the skills to tackle complex global problems. This being said, Model United Nations is only meaningful when delegates are thoroughly prepared. To aid in your research preparation, your committee staff has spent hours researching, writing, and editing this Background Guide. The Background Guide serves as an introduction to your respective committee and an overview of the topics that you will be debating over the course of the conference. The Background Guide is intended to be a starting point for your research and is not, in itself, an adequate exposure to the complexities of your committee’s topics. To be prepared, each delegate should do further research and focus on processing information through the lens of their respective country or position. If you are having trouble digesting all the information, the Background Guide contains relevant discussion questions that break down the topics. Also, as questions or ideas arise, do not be shy in contacting your committee staff via e-mail. Committee staff are knowledgeable and can help you better understand a particular topic or how your country fits into a larger international debate. More often than not, discussing the problem with another person can open up more paradigms and viewpoints that may guide you throughout the brainstorming process. As in years past, all delegates are expected to write a brief position paper before the conference to synthesize all of their preparatory research and analysis. Please see the position paper guidelines on the conference website for specific information about content, format, etc. Committee staff will collect position papers at the beginning of the first committee session on Friday evening. Bring a hard copy because delegates who do not submit position papers will not be eligible for awards. I look forward to meeting you this coming spring. Sincerely, Lauren Bishop Secretary-General DartMUN XIV
Lauren Bishop Secretary-General
Shelley Wang
Director-General
Mila Escadajillo Chief of Staff
Brandon Zhou Charge d’Affaires
Clayton Jacques
Undersecretary-General of General Assembly
Daniel Bring
Undersecretary-General of Special Committees
Nishanth Chalasani
Undersecretary-General of Current Crises
Samuel Zarkower
Undersecretary-General of Future and Historical Crises
Bill Kosmidis
Undersecretary-General of Ad-Hoc
Alec Rossi
Director of Finance and Public Relations
Bethany David
Director of Technology
Shawdi Mehrvarzan Deputy Chief of Staff
DartMUN is a student-run, non-profit, all volunteer organization sponsored by
the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy.
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Dartmouth Model United Nations Conference
14th Annual Conference – April 5 – 7, 2019 Dartmouth College – Rockefeller Center – Hanover, NH 03755
E-mail: [email protected] - http://sites.dartmouth.edu/modelun Dear Delegates: Hi, my name is Chantal Elias and alongside Divya Kopalle we will be the Directors of the UNHRC committee. I am a freshman at Dartmouth and am so excited to dive into our committee with you. I am interested in peace and conflict studies and human rights around the world, so this committee hits right at my passions. I did MUN throughout high school and am thrilled to continue it at Dartmouth. Outside of MUN, I am a writer for The Dartmouth newspaper and a member of the Club Basketball Team. Hello! I’m Divya and I’m so excited to be co-chairing this committee in the spring. I’m a sophomore here at Dartmouth and I hail from Hanover, NH so I’m a native to these woods. I did MUN all through high school and I chaired at DartMUN last year—I love getting to know all you creative delegates and I can’t wait to see what you all come up with in April. I’m studying Computer Science and Human Centered Design here, and outside of class I am the photo editor for the school newspaper, I’m on the programming board, I do research at the Thayer School of Engineering, and I have my own radio show! To aid you in your preparation for the UNHRC committee, we have put together a background guide detailing the history and current status of both the Rohingya crisis and status of women in developing countries. Please note that the background guide is intended to only be a starting point for your research. Delegates are expected to perform independent research to gain an in-depth understanding of their country and the topics at hand. Although we will all be discussing the same two topics at the conference, each delegate will bring the specific lens of their country to the table. Therefore, we encourage you to conduct research through the lens of your specific country to better understand your position. We are so excited to welcome you to DartMUN XIV! It promises to be a wonderful committee and we cannot wait to work with each of you in committee. Have fun preparing, sink your teeth into some good research, and get ready for some great debate! Sincerely, Chantal Elias & Divya Kopalle
Lauren Bishop Secretary-General
Shelley Wang
Director-General
Mila Escadajillo Chief of Staff
Brandon Zhou Charge d’Affaires
Clayton Jacques
Undersecretary-General of General Assembly
Daniel Bring
Undersecretary-General of Special Committees
Nishanth Chalasani
Undersecretary-General of Current Crises
Samuel Zarkower
Undersecretary-General of Future and Historical Crises
Bill Kosmidis
Undersecretary-General of Ad-Hoc
Alec Rossi
Director of Finance and Public Relations
Bethany David
Director of Technology
Shawdi Mehrvarzan Deputy Chief of Staff
DartMUN is a student-run, non-profit, all volunteer organization sponsored by
the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy.
UNHRC DartMUN XIV
Committee Overview This meeting of the UNHRC will discuss the
pressing issues of the refugee crisis in
Myanmar as well as the status of women in
developing countries. As the United
Nation’s humanitarian watch group, it is our
responsibility to provide aid to those who
are oppressed and to ensure that the
humanity of every citizen is accounted for.
The Human Rights Council has the
opportunity to mediate discussions between
states, to provide humanitarian support, and
to mobilize member states to act. The
UNHRC cannot, however, move into a
country without the consent of the state—it
is against their sovereign rights. You have a
challenge, therefore, to find ways to make
the biggest amount of impact within the
limits of the UNHRC. The founding mission
of the UNHRC is to promote and protect
human rights around the world. It is
essential that all decisions are made in the
pursuit of these goals. Remember, it is not
always the most ‘headline-worthy’ decision
that is going to be the best outcome to the
advancement of human rights.
Topic A: Rohingya Crisis In Myanmar
Background Topic A is centered on the current refugee
crisis in Myanmar—the Rohingya people’s
current status in Myanmar, humanitarian
aid, and the repatriation of the Rohingya.
We encourage you to see beyond the
Myanmar military—Rohingya relationship
and use Burmese interests and international
relationships as tools to protect the ethnic
minority.
History of the Rohingya Buddhism is the predominant religion in
Myanmar, with 90% of the population
identifying as Buddhists. There is only a
small presence of religious minorities, one
Islam minority group being the Rohingya.
This religious divide is seen as the driving
force behind the persecution of the
Rohingya people by the military. The
animosity held towards the Rohingya dates
back to the late nineteenth century when the
colonial British government brought in
Indian labourers because they viewed the
Burmese as an inferior ethnic group. The
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Burmese responded to these insults with
nationalism, centered around their Buddhist
religion. It resulted in a strong dislike
towards the religious minority groups that
the British were favouring, such as the
Rohingya.
Myanmar gained independence in 1948 and
the military junta soon came to power in
1962. The government, run by the military,
began their discrimination against the
Rohingya. Utilizing the rhetoric that the
Rohingya were ‘illegal Bengali immigrants
who immigrated into the state during
colonial rule,’ the military proceeded to strip
the ethnic group of their citizenship. It is
understood that the Rohingya people
descend from Arab and Persian traders who
arrived in the land, now known as Myanmar,
more than one thousand years ago.
It is evident that the Burmese military has
long had a history of animosity against the
Rohingya. In 1978, this hostility turned into
violence with the launch of Operation Naga
Min to rid the nation of non-Buddhist
residents. In response to the seizure of their
land and the ceasing of food and security,
approximately 2,500 Rohingya fled into
Bangladesh.
Governmental Structure of Myanmar To understand the persecution of the
Rohingya people, it is imperative that you
understand the structure of the Myanmar
government. Myanmar is a parliamentary
republic with Aung San Suu Kyi serving as
the State Counsellor, a position akin to a
prime minister. Aung San Suu Kyi has very
little power in decision-making as the
military junta rules over the country with
immense force. Myanmar’s constitution
recognizes the commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces as his own boss, one who
cannot be fired and does not need to report
to Aung San Suu Kyi. In essence, the power
of the military is not checked in any level of
government. The Constitution prevents the
military from facing persecution for past
crimes, allows the commander-in-chief to
nominate military candidates in both houses
of parliament, and to take over Sovereign
power in the event of a national emergency.
Current Persecution The 2015 election of the National League
for Democracy brought hope to the
international community that Myanmar was
turning over a new leaf. Unfortunately, this
optimism seemed to be too pre-emptive. The
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Burmese military still hold
the power to block any
amendments to the
Constitution and key laws.
One such law is the 1982
Citizenship Law, which
requires citizens to provide
evidence of an ancestral link
to Myanmar that dates, or
pre-dates 1823. For the
Rohingya, who immigrated
into the region far later, this
is not possible and thus their
Burmese citizenship is not
recognized. The government
has made it impossible for
the Rohingya to successfully
live in Myanmar, with
restrictions on marriage,
family planning,
employment, education, and
their freedom of movement.
It is important to note the
autonomy the Rohingya
have as a group - with their own language
and a robust culture. At the start of 2017,
there was reported to be around one million
Rohingya residing in Myanmar, with the
majority living in the Rakhine State.
The most recent wave of ethnic cleansing
towards the Rohingya began in 2017 with
renewed armed violence against the
Rohingya. In August, 2017 the Arakan
Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) took
responsibility for attacks against police
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posts. In response, the Burmese government
labelled as a terrorist organization and
utilized this definition as a means to destroy
Rohingya villages. Reports of burning of
entire villages, raping and abusing of
Rohingya women and girls, and the use of
arms became plentiful. The ethnic cleansing
of the Rohingya drove them out of Myanmar
and across the Bangladeshi border. The
United Nations has reported that the ethnic
cleansing occurring in Myanmar since 2017
has driven out nearly 700,000 Muslim
Rohingya into Bangladesh. The below figure
details the number of villages destroyed in
Rakhine State between August 25th to
September 25th, 2017.
The Rohingya have temporarily settled in
camps in the South of Bangladesh, with the
largest refugee camp in Kutapalong. As of
April 2018, there were 781,000 Rohingya
refugees living in nine camps. On top
of that is the 117,000 who fled
Myanmar but are living in surrounding host
communities. This is an ongoing crisis and
the Rohingya continue to live in fear and
limbo, without a place to call home.
Humanitarian Aid
The refugee status of the Rohingya in
Bangladesh is not a sustainable solution for
this crisis. The conditions in the refugee
camps are atrocious and do not provide a
humane standard of living for the Rohingya.
There is inadequate water supply, over-
crowding, mass disease, sexual violence,
and killings. Despite this, there have been
major improvements over the last year. A
large-scale vaccination program has been set
up, 47,639 temporary emergency latrines
were built, 100,000 people have been treated
for malnutrition, and 70% of the refugees
April 2018 geographic mapping of Bangladeshi refugee camps
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are receiving food aid. On March 16, 2018,
the United Nations launched a Joint
Response Plan for the Rohingya
Humanitarian Crisis, calling for US $951
million for humanitarian relief in the camps.
To date, only 32% of the $951 million has
been accounted for. The framework to
improve living conditions in the camps is
there, but the funding is not.
Returning to Myanmar Recently, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator
in Myanmar shared that the “[Rohingya]
cannot stay where they are and so it’s
important we try to do our best to bring
them home, but in a way that is voluntary,
dignified and safe and gives them a chance
to rebuild their lives.”
The Bangladeshi are having a hard time
sustaining the nearly 700,000 refugees living
within their border. Although there is aid
provided by organizations such as the
UNHRC, the Rohingya are still putting a
large strain on the Bangladeshi government.
Although the local communities in
Bangladesh have been welcoming to the
Rohingya, the two sub-districts housing the
Rohingya are some of the country’s poorest
communities. Thus, the Bangladeshi are
largely in favour of the Rohingya returning
home to Myanmar.
Despite the military junta not wanting the
Rohingya to remain a part of Myanmar, the
military also has concern over the
radicalization of the Rohingya in their
camps. The Bangladeshi refugee camps
serve as a meeting spot for the Rohingya to
re-establish their strong identity and self-
hood. As a result, the military junta fear that
the Rohingya will unite to become a
stronger force and potentially bring arms
back across the border in an act of
retaliation. In June 2018, the UNHRC,
UNDP and Myanmar signed a
Memorandum of Understanding to support
the creation of conditions that would be
suitable for the return of Rohingya refugees.
This Memorandum also gives the UNHRC
and UNDP access into the country to access
local conditions and help with the
repatriation of the Rohingya. The UNHRC
has continuously pushed for citizenship
rights to be granted to the Rohingya but
have been unsuccessfully thus far. Rohingya
leaders have expressed outrage at the
creation of the Memorandum without their
input and believe it fails to provide what
they need to feel safe returning: citizenship.
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There is also international unease about the
U.N.’s failure to address major issues such
as the Burmese government’s plan to
temporarily house the Rohingya in a transit
camp in northern Rakhine before being sent
to designated settlements.
Ideally, the Rohingya will be allowed to
return home and live peacefully in
Myanmar. It is not realistic for the Rohingya
to remain as refugees in southern
Bangladesh. However, there is concern that
if not monitored, the ethnic cleansing of the
Rohingya will start up once again.
International Response The United States, the United Kingdom,
Canada, France, Italy, Germany, and almost
all countries have condemned the ethnic
cleansing of the Rohingya. However, very
view countries have done anything to
intervene given the might of the Burmese
military and the complexity of the ethnic
relationships within the country. Many have
looked to the United States to intervene
militarily, but any planned military action
has been scrapped to date. The United States
has followed suit with the rest of the
countries that condemn the ethnic cleansing
but do not wish to get involved. As of
September 2017, the U.S. government had
contributed $32 million in aid towards
humanitarian support. China has been an
outspoken supporter of Myanmar in the
U.N. Security Council under the auspice of
national stability for the state.
Moving Forward The UNHRC has the ability to act a
mediating force between the Rohingya and
the military junta, and the state has looked
favourably upon the organization. We
encourage you to use the UNHRC access
into Myanmar to protect the Rohingya, but
also to recognize that there are certain
issues, such as citizenship, that will block all
attempts at negotiation.
Questions to Consider: 1. What systems can be put in place to
ensure the safety of Rohingyas once they
return to Myanmar? Are there certain
Burmese interests that could be called upon
to restrict their violence against the ethnic
minority?
2. Is repatriation the solution to the
Rohingya refugee crisis? Are there other
solutions that would pose less threats to the
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Rohingya but still relieve Bangladesh of
their burden?
3. How can the UNHRC work to include
issues such as citizenship and transit camps
in negotiations with Myanmar?
4. How can more funds and aid be secured
for the refugee camps in Bangladesh?
5. What actions can be taken to ensure law
and order exists in Rohingya refugee camps?
Sources:
United Nations. “Rohingya Emergency.” UNHCR, www.unhcr.org/en-us/rohingya-emergency.html.
“Myanmar – Bangladesh Refugee Crisis.” World Vision International, 24 Aug. 2018, www.wvi.org/emergency/myanmar-bangladesh-refugee-crisis.
“Myanmar and U.N. Agree to Aim for Repatriation of Rohingya.” The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, The New York Times, 8 Oct. 2018, nyti.ms/2LMLTvg.
Quadir, Serajul. “Bangladesh, UNHCR Dispute Myanmar's Rohingya Repatriation Claim.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 15 Apr. 2018, www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-refugees/bangladesh-unhcr-dispute-myanmars-rohingya-repatriation-claim-idUSKBN1HL19C.
Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. “Myanmar and UN Announce Deal for Return of Rohingya.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 1 June 2018, www.theguardian.com/global/2018/jun/01/myanmar-and-un-announce-deal-for-safe-return-of-rohingya.
Rahman, Shaikh Azizur. “Rohingya Refugees Reject UN-Myanmar Repatriation Agreement.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 5 July 2018, www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/06/rohingya-refugees-reject-un-myanmar-repatriation-agreement.
“UN Agencies and Myanmar Ink Agreement, Setting Stage for Rohingya Return | UN News.” United Nations, United Nations, news.un.org/en/story/2018/06/1011491.
United Nations. “UNHCR and UNDP Sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Myanmar to Support the Creation of Conditions for the Return of Refugees from Bangladesh.” UNHCR, www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/press/2018/6/5b1787e64/unhcr-undp-sign-memorandum-understanding-mou-myanmar-support-creation-conditions.html.
“Myanmar Official Line: Rohingya Are Returning. But Cracks in That Story Abound.” The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, The New York Times, 8 Oct. 2018, nyti.ms/2n6LlF6.
“What Forces Are Fueling Myanmar's Rohingya Crisis?” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/rohingya-crisis.
“Myanmar Rohingya: What You Need to Know about the Crisis.” BBC News, BBC,
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24 Apr. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41566561.
Topic B: Status Of Women In
Developing Nations
Violence Against Women
Background
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The United Nations Women’s organization
estimates that 35% of women worldwide
have “experienced either physical and/or
sexual intimate partner violence or sexual
violence by a non-partner at some point in
their lives” [1]. In countries that lack the
proper infrastructure to support women’s
rights, or in societies that view women as
‘lesser,’ this percentage is much higher.
Violence against women occurs in the form
of domestic violence, sexual assault, human
trafficking, to name just a few. This culture
of violence leaves women fearful,
objectified, and hopeless. There is not one
independent factor that perpetuates this
systematic violence, it is a combination of
biological factors, personal issues,
relationship quality, and a
community’s specific culture. It has also
been shown that lower socio-
economic individuals contribute to a
large proportion of violence in general.
According to the Indian Journal of Medical
Science “strong associations have been
found between domestic violence and low
household income, low educational level of
husband, consumption of alcohol and drugs
and witnessing domestic violence
during childhood” [2]. Gender based
violence has been such a long-
UNHRC DartMUN XIV
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standing injustice that many women have
learned to accept and tolerate the constant
abuse as it can be seen as shameful to
confess about their situation- as little as 5%
of women report speaking out to health
providers about the violence they face.
Past UN Action
The United Nations has time and
time again recognized a woman’s right to
live free from violence. In 1993 the UN
General Assembly issued a resolution on the
Elimination of Violence against Women [3],
solutions suggested in the document
included actions such as urging states to
“develop penal, civil, labor, and
administrative sanctions in domestic
legislation to punish and redress the
wrongs caused to women who are subjected
to violence”. The resolution also
pushed forward the idea that “the specialized
agencies of the United Nations system
should, within their respective fields of
competence, contribute to the recognition
and realization of the rights and the
principles set forth in the present
Declaration” [4]. More recently in 2017, the
European Union and the UN launched the
Spotlight Initiative, the purpose of the
project is to bring attention to all the forms
of violence against women and move it
towards the center of the women’s
empowerment and gender equality
movement. The initiative has a specific
focus on domestic violence, sexual violence,
and human trafficking.
Reproductive Rights Background
Reproductive rights have been a fiercely
debated topic over the years, and
progressive strides are at the forefront of our
society, but the reality is that complications
during pregnancy and childbirth, gender-
based violence and AIDS are still among the
leading causes of death for young people,
and 90% of young people live in developing
countries and are still facing the severe
consequences of not having any control over
their bodies [9]. The World Health
Organization defines health as “state of
complete physical, mental, and social well-
being, and not merely the absence of disease
or infirmity”[8]. Applying this definition
exposes a vast injustice against women
around the world- women across the world
are still not given the freedom to choose
whether to have children which leads to
unsafe and illegal procedures that end in
fatal diseases, HIV/AIDS, and often
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mortality. [6] Maternal mortality, gender-
based violence, lack of access to appropriate
health care, and absence of family planning
services are driving blatant violation of
reproductive rights across the world. Almost
287,000 women are dying from preventable
causes, and women in developing nations
are 15 times more likely of dying from
pregnancy and childbirth than a woman in a
developed region. HIV and AIDS are also
important aspects of this crisis, and access to
quality sexual and reproductive healthcare
services is crucial for individuals living with
these ailments. There has been an increased
focus in improving the dire state of women’s
reproductive health, but according to the
UNs most recent update there is still a 25%
unmet need in developing countries and a
11% unmet need globally.
Past U.N. Action
There is no one body that is solely dedicated
to reproductive rights, the United Nations as
a whole, and various regional human rights
councils protect reproductive rights. Almost
all nations sign on to various declarations
that outline basic reproductive rights, and
these rights are further developed in the
practice of the United Nations. The United
Nations has been committed to the
improvement of reproductive health
throughout history, in 1994 the ICPD was
UNHRC DartMUN XIV
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endorsed by the General Assembly, in 1995
the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action was also endorsed by the General
Assembly- both documents also highlight
that education is a crucial tool in promoting
and protecting reproductive rights. The 1975
Declaration of Mexico on the Equality of
Women was accepted by a majority of UN
member states and confirms that “every
couple and every individual has the right to
decide freely and responsibly whether or not
to have children as well as to determine their
number and spacing”. [6] In addition, the
outcome document of the 2010 United
Nations Summit on the Millennium
Development Goals included a strong
commitment to both sexual and reproductive
health- four of the eight Millennium
Developpement Goals are concerned with
sexual health and reproductive rights.
The fifth goal specifically focuses on
maternal health and aims to reduced
maternal mortality ration by three quarters,
and to achieve universal access to
reproductive health by 2015. In 2012 UN
reemphasized its commitment to
reproductive rights at the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development.
[6]
Figure 2.1: Timeline of Past UN action
concerning women’s sexual and
reproductive health
Bloc Positions:
North America
United States: Since the ruling of Roe v.
Wade, where it was decided that a women's
right to privacy extended to a woman’s
decision to have an abortion, the USA has
some of the most progressive legislature on
sexual health. Today, women across the
country have access to multiple different
types of birth control methods, however it is
still debated how these methods should be
properly distributed without discriminating
against women in a low socio-economic
status. There is also still a clear division in
the country over whether abortion should be
legal in all circumstances- 21% of
Americans feel that it should be illegal in all
circumstances. [7]
Mexico: Unlike its more liberal leaning
neighbors, Mexico has some of the strictest
abortion laws in the world. If it is found that
a woman has had an illegal abortion, they
are sentenced to time in prison. As of 2014,
only 13 Mexican states allowed for
UNHRC DartMUN XIV
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abortions if the mother’s life was in danger.
[7] Birth control is in fact legal but there is
little to no information to educate women on
to use contraceptives to stay safe and
healthy. The lack of proper family planning
education is extremely detrimental where
reproductive rights are already so restricted,
the impoverished are even more isolated
from reproductive care which has only led to
increased unsafe abortions and child births.
Europe
Romania: Romania happens to be an
exception to the rest of the
European Union, the country has an
extremely restrictive legislation regarding
women’s reproductive rights. Romania has
been recognized in the past for its lack of
attention to sexual health policy, in 2014 the
UN urged Romania to “adopt a national
strategy on sexual and reproductive health
and create a mandatory reproductive
education programs within schools to help
combat teen pregnancy” [7]. The rate of teen
pregnancy in Romania is on the high rates in
Europe and the government has made very
little effort to aid this problem and has been
accused of restricting access to abortions
and contraceptives.
Germany: Women in Germany have highly
accessible forms of contraception as well as
access to well informed medical providers
with comprehensive information on sexual
and reproductive health. Women can get
abortions in Germany, but it is still
considered illegal under specific
circumstances. An illegal abortion, however,
is not considered a punishable offense- so
women do not have to
fear repercussions when receiving what
could be considered an illegal abortion
according to the law. Before
a women receives an abortion, they are
required to go through a counseling session
and many believe that is in fact a
violation for reproductive rights since
counseling can be seen as a breach of
privacy that violates a woman's right to
make her own decision.
Africa
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DRC: The treatment of women in the DRC
is a systematically oppressive and
degrading, there is rampant gender-based
violence and women of the DRC also must
survive the volatile internal disputes that
have brought the country to near destruction
in the past. The DRC only allows an
abortion if it is required to save the life of a
women, and the country does little to
provide birth control resources to its women.
Only around 10% of all women in the DRC
properly use modern both control methods
due to lack of reproductive education and
affordable options[7].
South Africa: The need for
increased reproductive rights in South
Africa is pertinent, Sub-Saharan Africa has
one of the highest maternal mortality rates.
HIV is a prevalent risk in the countries, and
the
lack
of affordable access
to preventative health measures is only
exacerbating this problem. South
Africa has a more liberal leaning abortion
stance and has legalized abortions almost
across the country, this was an effort to
promote better sexual health and the prevent
the spread of deadly STDs.
Asia
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India: In India there is a detrimental lack of
safe and affordable birth control options and
it has resulted in increased rates of maternal
deaths and a rise of unsafe abortions. Many
women turn to “sterilization camps” a
method of family planning since they have
no access to modern birth control methods.
These sterilization camps are extremely
unsafe methods of contraception and
many women subjected to this
government sponsored procedure have been
faced with death.
China: China’s previous one-child policy is
heavily reflected in the fact that 336 million
abortions and 222 million sterilizations
occurred between 1971 and 2013[7].
Though he one-child policy has been
changed, women still do not have the right
to choose the size of their family.
Figure 2.2: Scale red-green, restrictive-non-
restrictive abortion laws
Questions to consider: 1. What is the relationship between
your country’s government and
its female population?
2. Thinking about what the United
Nations has already attempted, what is a
new way for the UN to approach
universal reproductive rights- what has
worked in the past?
3. What exactly is the human rights
violation taking place?
Does your country acknowledge there is
a human rights violation in the
first place?
Sources: [1] “What We Do: Ending Violence against Women: Focusing on Prevention to Stop the Violence.” UN Women, www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/prevention.
[2] “Unite For Sight.” Introduction to Poverty, www.uniteforsight.org/gender-power/module3#_ftn14.
[3] “What We Do: Ending Violence against Women.” UN Women, www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women.
[4] “United Nations Official Document.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2FRES%2F48%2F104.
[5] “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls - United Nations Sustainable Development.” United Nations, United
UNHRC DartMUN XIV
19
Nations, www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ending-violence-against-women-and-girls/.
[6] https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publi
cations/NHRIHandbook.pdf (Only
accessible through URL)
[7] Picone, Kiri. “Reproductive Rights Around The World.” All That's Interesting, All That's Interesting, 3 Feb. 2015, allthatsinteresting.com/reproductive-rights.
[8] “paper3.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/issues.htm.
[9] “Sexual and Reproductive Rights: Facts and Figures.” Early Marriage and Harassment of Syrian Refugee Women and Girls in Jordan, Amnesty International, www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2013/02/sexual-and-reproductive-rights-facts-and-figures/.