United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
Chairs: Dipika Gaur (dipgau@bergen.org) - Linda Zhou (linzho@bergen.org)
Topic Paper 1: [PDF], [DOC]
Topic Paper 2: [PDF], [DOC]
Topic Paper 3: [PDF], [DOC]
Thank you for choosing the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for AMUN 2009. Whether you are representing a P5 nation, one that has recently emerged from civil war or one who’s technology sector has sky-rocketed in the past decade, we guarantee you all an awesome time debating topics that all countries, whether large or small, can identify with. What makes UNHRC different from other UN bodies is the fact that it focuses on an idea that unites every nation on the globe, human rights. With NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch playing a larger role in politics today, various facets in human rights have surfaced. Treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, refugees in Iraq and Iran, and human trafficking have all become phrases attenuated to the global vernacular. In this year’s committee we will be discussing the recent human rights violations (or lack thereof, depending on your country’s position) in Tibet and the treatment of indigenous peoples in Latin America. We encourage you all to perform background research on your country’s position regarding these topics and also to have a general knowledge of these situations and actions taken by individual nations and international bodies to ameliorate them. In the interest of ensuring you an exciting and challenging three days, we will be expecting you to complete a position paper, to be submitted to us both by email, no later than January 31, 2009. Instructions for writing a position paper can be found at the AMUN website, www.academymodelun.org.