1ST CENTRAL PHILIPPINE MODEL UNITED NATIONS

CONFERENCE
COMMITTEE GUIDES
FEBRUARY 27-28, 2019 | HENRY LUCE LIBRARY
CENTRAL PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITY
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

The United Nations Human

Rights Council (UNHRC) was estab-
lished in 2006 by the United Nations
General Assembly to replace the
former United Nations Commissioner
on Human Rights. Today, it is made up
of 47 United Nations Member States
responsible for the promotion and
protection of human rights around the
world. The council addresses all
thematic human rights issues,
violations, and situations that requires
attention to ensure the enjoyment of
human rights for all people.

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 I.
UNHRC
Combating Gender Based Discrimination in the workplace by providing equal wages
and benefits between Men and Women

Introduction:

Although governments constructed laws inclusive to both men and women, un-
equal treatment still exists around the world. There is still a gap between men and
women’s wages. This is a sign of discrimination. As stated in Article 23 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (2), equal pay in the workplace is a right for everyone. Unfor-
tunately, this right is still not being practiced by countries around the world.
One of the biggest employment gender gaps is in the area of income. Some
working women or men earn less than their co-employee of the opposite sex even if they
are doing the same job. Moreover, significant gaps on workloads are prevalent as well
such as giving more work or passing over important projects based on an employ-
ee’s gender or sex while some experience receiving less support from their senior co-
workers.
According to the United Nations Women, women and men are paid unequally for
the same tasks or work being done. Out of $1.00 men make, women are paid only 77 cents.
This still exists among countries across all sectors. The discrimination also prevails
by categorizing women according to their race and religion. This is more common among
developing countries than developed countries.
The United Nations gives importance in ending different forms of gender discrimina-
tion to secure equality when it comes to employment wages, work benefits, decision
making, and positions of leadership. Gender equality is seen as the essential way to
end discrimination in order to give equal access to multiple opportunities for
both women and men. UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres considers gender
equality as the unfinished business of our time. People have the right to equal treat-
ment and opportunities without discrimination however, the prejudice remains as an eve-
ryday reality to some employees.
International Actions:
Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2) states that equal pay in
the workplace is a right for everyone and everyone should not be deprived of such right.

Sources:

http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/csw61/equal-pay http://
www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/gender-equality/

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 II.
UNHRC
Eliminating the basis of Religious Belief in rejecting Refugees in their right to
seek asylum to a foreign nation

Introduction:
Displacement by war or human conflict, political instability, environmental change
and famine combined with the growing global population, many have become refugees
to flee for their lives. Humans have been forcibly displaced and the frequency of
crises have been increasing which resulted to a growing number of refugees. Wars are oc-
curring and none of them show any sign of ending soon which is why becoming a dis-
placed person or refugee is seen as the only way or option of those affected by the crises.
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, 68.5 million people around the
world have been forcibly displaced as of June 2018. Most of them have been displaced
within their home countries but an estimated number of 25.4 million people chose to flee
their homes and go to other countries as refugees due to violent conflict. Considering
that there were just over 2 million refugees worldwide in 1967, the number of dis-
placed persons and refugees have skyrocketed over the last few decades with a present
record rate of 44,400 people a day.
Under the 1951 Refugee Convention, a person seeking asylum should
show a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group or political belief. Unfortunately, individuals
claiming asylum are persecuted because they belong in a particular religious commu-
nity. Religious persecution includes forced religion conversion or prohibition of membership
in a religion community.
Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone
have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. As freedom of religion is con-
sidered as a fundamental right, individuals have the right to practice one’s religion, and
to have or not to have a religion. However, Refugees are being interrogated and forced to
convert to Christianity while others are required to answer interview questions regarding
the Bible. As the number of refugees keeps on growing, religious persecution are believed
to be increasing having the most number of asylum seekers to be former Muslims.
International Actions:
Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Sources:
https://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html https://www.unhcr.org/uk/publications/legal/40d8427a4/
guidelines-international-protecti on-6-religion-based-refugee-claims-under.html http://
www.refugeelegalaidinformation.org/1951-convention https://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10

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 UNESCO

UNESCO is the United Nations Education-

al, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It seeks
to build peace through international cooperation
in Education, the Sciences and Culture.
UNESCO's programmes contribute to the
achievement of the Sustainable Development
Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the
UN General Assembly in 2015.

UNESCO develops educational tools to

help people live as global citizens free of hate
and intolerance. UNESCO works so that each
child and citizen has access to quality education.
By promoting cultural heritage and the equal
dignity of all cultures, UNESCO strengthens
bonds among nations. UNESCO fosters scientific
programmes and policies as platforms for de-
velopment and cooperation.

https://en.unesco.org/about-us/introducing-
unesco

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 UNESCO
The AIDS Epidemic: Removing the Stigma of Fear and Contempt through Modern Means of
Communication

Responsible and sustainable way of knowledge sharing is a vital component

in the growth and advancement of a society. Open access, technology, and mod-
ern means of communication tears down the barriers to access and use of re-
search literatures resulting to community awareness, empowerment, health and well-
ness, sustainable development, economic advancement, and optimal functioning of health,
education and other vital services. Through the modern means of communication, govern-
ments and institutions have the mechanism to improve and expand their dissemination
of advances in scientific research fundamentals to the proper operation of a modern
society.

The tools and technology used for exchanging information between peo-
ple and organizations are called means of communication. They not only play a vital role in
the effective transfer of information, but are considered one of the important infrastruc-
tures of development. The development of means of communication has made interperson-
al relations close, interactive, easy, reduces the distance and makes the flow of infor-
mation faster. It also saves time, budget and labor, because information, ideas, and opin-
ions can be shared at any given time. There are four categories that are classified as
means of communication. These are written, oral, electronic and visual means of commu-
nication. As it is, communication is a fundamental human process without which most
individual, group, organizational, and societal activities could not happen, including how
people think about and respond to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

HIV the virus that causes AIDS, has become one of the world’s most serious health
and development challenges since the first cases were reported in 1981. An estimated
78 million people have become infected with HIV since the start of the epidemic and 35.4
million people have died of AIDS-related illnesses. Approximately 36.9 million people are
currently living with HIV or at risk of HIV infection and do not have access to

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 UNESCO
prevention, treatment, and care. Initially, this disease was impacting predominantly
gay men in the early 1980’s, then a portion of the population of infants and female sex-
ual partners of infected males were soon seen. Amid rising death rates, concerns about
disease transmission developed a culture of fear, promoting discrimination and interfer-
ing with medical treatment. Fear and paranoia grew, and the sick found themselves
ostracized by society and without a treatment.

The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) was launched in 1996 to
strengthen the way in which the United Nations (UN) was responding to AIDS. UNAIDS is an
innovative joint venture of the UN family, which brings together the efforts and resources of
11 UN system organizations to unite the world against AIDS. UNAIDS’ mission is to
lead and inspire the world in achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care
and support. The UN General Assembly (UNGA) Special Session in 2001 unanimously
adopted the 2001
Declaration on HIV/AIDS which reflected global consensus on a comprehensive
framework to achieve Millennium Development Goal 6. It recognized the need for multi-
sectoral action on a range of fronts and addressed global, regional and country-level
responses to prevent people from becoming newly infected with HIV, expand health-care
access and mitigate the impact of the epidemic. After which, the 2006 Political Declaration
recognized the urgent need to achieve universal access to HIV treatment, prevention, care
and support. The 2011 Political Declaration established 10 targets to intensify the efforts
to eliminate HIV and AIDS, while the 2016
Political Declaration focuses on the next 5 years, with additional focus on the
period of the sustainable development goals through 2030 and with a stronger focus on in-
tegrating the global HIV response into the broader development agenda.
One of the six founding UNAIDS co-sponsors is the United Nations Educational,
Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO). It was founded with the mission of contrib-
uting to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education,
science and culture. Under the UNAIDS Division of Labor, UNESCO is responsible for lead-
ing efforts to support countries in scaling up the education sector response to HIV. UNESCO
has more than 50 staff members dedicated to working on HIV and health education. Of
these, the majority are National Program Officers based in countries that UNAIDS has
prioritized for high-impact programs. The agency draws on its unique spectrum of compe-
tencies across the diverse spheres of education, the sciences, culture, communication
and information to push for a truly multi-sectoral and comprehensive response to HIV.

inspire the world in achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. The UN General
(UNGA) Special Session in 2001 unanimously adopted the 2001
6 Declaration on HIV/AIDS which reflected global consensus on a comprehensive framework to achieve Millenniu
 UNESCO
With 195 Member States and nine Associate Members, UNESCO is governed by a
General Conference and Executive Board, and the decisions of these two bodies are
implemented by the Secretariat under the leadership of the current Director-General, Irina
Bokova.
UNESCO plays a leading role in EDUCAIDS and the UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team
(IATT) on Education, which are part of the UN's global effort to ensure all people have univer-
sal access to HIV and AIDS prevention programs, treatment, care and support. EDUCAIDS is
the Global Initiative on Education and HIV/AIDS that seeks to support the overall national ef-
fort on HIV and AIDS by assisting governments and other key stakeholders to
implement comprehensive, scaled-up education programs, ensuring that the education
sector is fully engaged and contributing to the national response to the epidemic. On the
other hand, the IATT was originally created in 2011 to work with UNAIDS Program Coordinat-
ing Board NGOs, other NGOs, donors and other non-UN actors to mobilize the members of
the development community to support the goal of comprehensive programming in a co-
ordinated and strategic manner and assure adequate levels of human, financial and tech-
nical resources are available on a sustainable basis to global and country stakeholders.
Thirty years into the HIV pandemic, stigma and discrimination continue to im-
pede individuals and communities from accessing and benefiting from effective pre-
vention and treatment strategies. These are barriers to HIV testing, zero-status disclo-
sure, retention in care and uptake of and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). These
stigma continues to endanger people living with the virus, prevents millions of people from
coming forward for testing and for prevention treatment services. Communities most af-
fected by the epidemic like sex workers, people who use drugs, men who have sex
with men and transgender people remain highly stigmatized. These individuals and their
families are often unable to exercise their right to health, non-discrimination and freedom
from violence. Despite treatment advances that have turned HIV into a chronic, manageable
condition, the persistence of HIV-related stigma and discrimination is still evident in re-
search and programmatic data alike. In many settings, the stigma associated with HIV is
fueled by laws and policies that keep key populations at risk of HIV infection, despite
evidence of the negative public health impact of criminalization.
Global leaders recognizes that no country has ended AIDS and that no country can
afford to step back from responding to HIV. HIV/AIDS is a social issue, thus it involves every
human being. From the beginning of the pandemic some powerful metaphors built around
HIV/AIDS produced and spread by the mass media strengthened its stigmatization and dis-
crimination. Good communication on HIV/AIDS can allow young people to revise the meta-
phors and stigmas and to develop new projects in order to prevent the virus. Awareness-
raising campaigns supported by non-formal education and access to information sources

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 UNESCO
are crucial for reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among youth. UNESCO has
undertaken a number of activities with the aim to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS pre-
vention among young people based on the new possibilities offered by ICT, such as online
information, media campaigns and youth information centers. In sharing best practices
UNESCO develops and disseminates tools for monitoring and assessing the impact of
the epidemic on students, schools, teachers, educational and other related institu-
tions.

Guide Questions

1. What can the UNESCO do to further the progress that has been made in addressing
the

HIV/AIDS problem?

2. What solutions can UNESCO members propose as a response to societies

wherein HIV/AIDS patients are still heavily stigmatized or are looked down up-
on in their communities, keeping in mind the individual cultures, norms, and sov-
ereignty of each country?

3. What programs or policies can the UN implement to protect the human rights
of those affected by HIV or AIDS?

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 UNESCO
Improving Emotional and Mental Environment for Students amidst Poverty and Armed

Conflict

The world today faces a lot of challenges with regard to emotional and mental
health, especially those of the young generation. There are a number of factors
contributing to the continuous worsening of such challenge, with emphasis to physical,
emotional, and/or sexual abuse, among many others. As per the United Nations De-
partment of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), persons with either mental and
psychosocial disabilities make up a huge part of the world’s population. Among young
people, suicide has become the third leading cause of death, an evidence that the
problem remains rampant. UN DESA added that individuals experiencing the afore-
mentioned challenges often face stigma and discrimination, along with high levels of
physical and sexual abuse, which can occur in a wide variety of settings, examples being
prisons, hospitals and homes (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
n.d.).
One big factor to the aggravation of emotional and mental challenges is
poverty. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an overwhelming majority of
people with mental and psychosocial conditions are living in poverty, having poor physical
health. It was also said by the organization that it is the responsibility of the States ensure
that people with mental and psychosocial difficulties benefit from development efforts, just
like any other group (World Health Organization, n.d.).
An addition to the factors contributing to the presence of the challenges stated
above is the presence of war, internal or external, among various nations, with stud-
ies supporting the stated premise. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) are evident among conflict-ridden areas, including but not limited to
Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, and Iraq (Murthy & Lakshminarayana, 2006). Aside from the
impact of war on the psychological well-being of the people, students studying in war-
torn areas are deprived of quality education and good scholastic environments, exacerbat-
ing the problem being discussed.

On 28 September 2017, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopt-
ed A/HRC/36/L.25, a resolution on Mental Health and Human Rights. The resolution focuses
on the integration of human rights-centered approaches on dealing with mental
health problems. Moreover, the resolution urged States to develop community-based, peo-

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 UNESCO
ple-centred services and supports that do not lead to overmedicalization and inappropriate
treatments.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, firm
on its goal to build peace in the minds of men and women, commits itself to the development
of education

The organization launched in 2016 its “UNESCO strategy on education for health and well-being: co
uting to the Sustainable Development Goals,” establishing 2 strategic priorities, with the sec
focusing on ensuring that young people have access to safe, inclusive, health-promoting learning e
ments. In the said strategic framework, UNESCO acknowledged the fact that the presence
lence in and around schools creates a negative impact on young people’s physical and mental hea

Guide Questions

1. What gaps in international and domestic policies do UN and UNESCO Member States nee
dress in relation to mental health of students especially in poverty-stricken and conflict-ridde

2. How can UNESCO, along with other UN entities, contribute to the alleviation of emot
mental difficulties among students living in poverty and war?

tools aimed at eradicating the problem of hate and intolerance.

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