Pakistan

Placing the Displaced: Accomodating the Refugee Crisis

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   The Third Committee hosted a meeting to address the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The report focused on the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East, where hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to seek safety over the last few months. 60 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced as a result of war and persecution. In the past five years alone, the number of people forced from their homes every single day has quadrupled from under 11,000 in 2010 to 42,500.

   The meeting began with remarks from delegates. The first delegate was the representative of Kuwait, and he paid tribute to the High Commissioner for extending humanitarian efforts to the refugees even under every difficult conditions. He stated that Kuwait emphasizes continuation and support to the high commission, and that the country has participated voluntarily to 1 million dollars in aid. The representative also explained that he was very concerned by the suffering of refugees and displaced people in Iraq, which resulted from activity carried out by the Islamic State extremist militant group.

   Another notable speaker was the representative of Pakistan, who stated that the process of helping the refugees has been much too slow and inadequate, and that the international community has ignored this for far too long. The delegate explained that only 127,000 people were able to return home this year, which is the lowest number since 1983. One of the biggest issues is the lack of nutrition and education among children, which could lead to the risk of losing an entire generation.

   A representative who offered a different perspective was the delegate from Kenya, who explained that the burden of hosting refugees is enormous, especially financially. However, Kenya continues to welcome refugees in accordance to tradition.

Meeting: Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, questions relating to refugees, returnees and displaced persons and humanitarian questions

Date/Location: Wednesday November 4, 2015, 10:00 – 13:00; Conference Room 1

Speakers: Representative of Kuwait; Representative of Nigeria; Representative of Pakistan; Representative of Japan; Representative of Kenya; Representative of India

Written By: WIT Representative Kangho (Paul) Jung

Edited By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick

Photo Credit: Frank Augstein/AP

Best Practices and Challenges in Implementing a Moratorium on the Death Penalty

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abolitionThe Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Permanent Mission of Italy convened a meeting to discuss the best practices and challenges in abolishing the death penalty. Twenty-five years ago, only ¼ of UN member states did not practice the death penalty; today more than 4/5 UN member states have abolished it. However, there are many countries that still regularly use the death penalty, including the United States. H.E. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon began the meeting with a stringent call for all member states to abolish the death penalty. He stated that the death penalty disproportionately has an impact on people who are poor/disadvantaged because they often do not have access to appropriate legal counseling, and further stated that 14 countries permit the death penalty on children.

The Secretary General called on member states to ratify the 2nd optional protocol in the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (abolition of the death penalty), and called on member states to support a resolution in the General Assembly to place a moratorium on the death penalty. “The death penalty has no place in the 21st century, together we can finally end this cruel and inhumane practice around the world”, he concluded. Next, the Permanent Representative of Italy, H.E. Mr. Cardi, affirmed his country’s dedication to the worldwide abolition of the death penalty. He stated that capital punishment is degrading, and denies a person’s fundamental right to life. Following, Dr. Karman pointed out how some countries still use the death penalty as punishment when people speak out against their government, express their opinions, beliefs, thoughts, etc. She called on states to begin by eliminating the death penalty for these “crimes”, and to eventually abolish the death penalty as a whole.

Next, Mr. Garcetti, California’s former D.A., gave a statement on California’s challenges, and eventual success in instituting a de-facto moratorium on capital punishment. He also stated that there is no proof that capital punishment deters crime in the U.S. Furthermore, a study was done in the U.S. which found that it costs more to put a person to death than it does to imprison him/her for life, showing that the death penalty is not only a human rights violation, but an economic burden as well. Concluding the meeting, Dr. Paul Bhatti of Pakistan, and Mr. Maja of Zimbabwe, spoke about their countries’ experiences with the death penalty. Currently, Pakistan has the largest population (8,000) on death row; however, executions have been suspended since 2008. In Zimbabwe, no one has been executed since 2004, and the number of crimes punishable by death has significantly decreased in recent years.

Meeting Title: “Best Practices and challenges in implementing a moratorium on the death penalty”
Speakers: H.E. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; H.E. Sebastiano Cardi, Permanent Representative of Italy; Dr. Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Karman, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winner; Dr. Paul Bhatti, Former Minister of National Harmony and Minority Affairs, Pakistan; Mr. Gil Garcetti, Former District Attorney for the state of California, United States of America; Mr. Innocent Maja, Attorney, Zimbabwe
Date: 2 July 2014
Location: Conference Room 1, United Nations HQ, New York
Written By WIT Representative: Marli Kasdan
Edited by WIT Representative: Aslesha Dhillon

Law of the Sea meeting turns into South China Sea Dispute

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The delegate of Vietnam opened the meeting with criticism towards China for illegally placing vessels and commencing deep-sea mining in the continental edge of Vietnam. Vietnam accused China of infringing sovereignty as they invade the economic zone and shelf of Vietnam including the use of military ships to fire canons at Vietnamese fishing vessels. A delegate of the Philippines fully supported statements by Vietnam. The delegate of the Philippines also emphasized that maritime zones are declared and mapped so that there is greater certainty of sovereign rights and jurisdiction. These mappings, he continued, should be based on charts, historical evidence of sovereignty as well as conventions.

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A delegate of the People’s Republic of China responded to these remarks explaining that commissions on the limits of the continental shelf give China sovereignty over the region. In particular the Xisha Islands that are an inherent part of China’s territory despite Vietnam’s claims that historic evidence gives Vietnam sovereignty over the islands and surrounding waters. China explained to the meeting that as Chinese companies started gas exploration drilling in the region armed Vietnamese boats attacked the operation undermining stability of the waters. The delegate of Russia expressed that this bilateral dispute is inappropriate to discuss on the Law of the Sea multilateral platform, Sri Lanka agreed with Russia in hope that the states would in their own time find a peaceful solution.

Delegates of Malaysia, India and Kenya all expressed concerns for long-term sustainable fisheries and conservation of the natural sea environment. A delegate of Pakistan shared that there are over 1.5 million seafarers each year, many of whom are migrating by sea and there continues to be significant safety concerns. Despite the ever increasing human, technological and financial capacity of the world today, legal frameworks and human rights regarding international waters continues to be a fragmented system needs to be repaired.

 

Meeting Title: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – 175th Meeting
Speakers: Delegates on behalf of: Vietnam, India, Philippines, Kenya, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Costa Rica, Russia, Japan, El Salvador, Somalia, Haiti, an Cyprus; Director of the Secretariat
Location: United Nations HQ, Conference Room 1, New York
Date: 13 June 2014
Written by WIT representative: Sophia Griffiths-Mark

 

UN Addressing Conditions Conducive to Terrorism

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UN_CT

A meeting on the ways to address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism was held in the Trusteeship Council. Beginning the meeting, H.E. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon gave a statement condemning Sunday’s recent terrorist attack in the Karachi airport, which killed 23 people. He urged the international community to be united in showing strong solidarity against terrorism, and called for support of the victims, families, and communities affected by terrorism.

Following this introduction, two UN civil servants, Mr. Jason Pronyk and Mr. Mohammad Younis, gave their personal testimony from the 2003 terrorist attacks in Baghdad. On August 19, 2003, both men were injured in the bombing of the Canal hotel in Baghdad. The Canal hotel was used as UN headquarters, and a total of 22 UN civil servants were killed. Both men suffered severe injuries to their head, neck, and upper bodies. Mr. Pronyk and Mr. Younis called for raising awareness of victims, and providing increased care to victims including medical, social, and psychological support.

Concluding the meeting, Mr. Feldman, Chairman of the Counter Terrorism Task Force, gave a statement focused on strategies to support victims of terrorism. The UN Victims of Terrorism Portal helps terrorism victims find support, including finding organizations that work on rehabilitation, psycho social support, and information on how to access criminal justice systems. Mr. Feldman said victims are often forgotten, and besides forming a global strategy to combat terrorism, supporting victims of terrorism is also necessary.

Meeting Title: Interactive Dialogue on “Addressing Conditions Conducive to the Spread of Terrorism”
Speakers: H.E. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; Mr. Jason Pronyk; Mr. Mohhamad Younis; Mr. Jeffrey Feldman, Undersecretary General for the Department of Political Affairs and Chairman of the Counter Terrorism Task Force
Date: 11 June 2014
Location: United Nations HQ, Trusteeship Council, New York
Written by WIT Representative: Marli Kasdan