Background, Human Rights

Committee members:

Sessie Agbley (Netherlands)
Erica Carvahlo (Jamaica)
Jason Chapman (Venezuela)
Cassio Dimande (Norway)
Oyvind Masst (Ghana)

1. The question of human rights for homosexuals. Make sure you read the UN Declaration of Human Rights!

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_unchr.htm This is an actual UN draft resolution, you should know the arguments in the resolution.

2. Ensuring accountability of Multinational Corportations (MNCs) for human rights violations. Make sure you can define what a human right violation is! For this to apply, "corporations must be directly implicated in violations of fundamental human rights that are clearly defined under international law." So, you had best know international law and what human right was violated.

http://web.abo.fi/instut/imr/norfa/ville.pdf This is a private industry paper but does address the question.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2633/is_/ai_100545309

http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/hrj/iss12/gibney.shtml A thick document but answers the questions.

Be sure to know which industries operate in your country and also which big businesses.

3. Protecting enemy combatants from torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. This will see people going after USA with the issues at Abu Grahib. Probably, your countries are ok but make sure that in their histories you have no issues of torture.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/62175.pdf Official UN statement

http://www.pdcnet.org/pdf/ijap192-Davis.pdf explaining why countries torture

4. Exploring the implementation of a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty. See the above documents as this is considered "cruel and unusual." Also, find out if your country enforces a death penalty.