Model UN 2 – Position Paper

Legati Mundi – Ambassadors to the World

Main Parts to a Position Paper

HISTORY: Brief History of Country, Values

ACTION-PAST: Your Country’s Actions / Treaties / Policy’s on Committee Issue?

SOUNDBYTES: Official Quotes or Statistics

ACTION-NOW: What Should be Done – Why & How

H A S A

Portugal

• Democracy since 1975 – independence to colonies in Africa• Returned Macau to China and East Timor Independent• Joined European Union in 1986 & European Monetary Union 1999• Bad deficit, poor growth Euro crisis; 78 E Bailout IMF May 2011• Austerity measures & Privatize State-Owned; 14% unemployment• Strong Cooperative Drive – EU Expansion, NATO, wants Human Rights C• Strong Ally to US – one of first countries to recognize the US• Wants to increase technology and service exports + traditional• Often votes with US, UK, EU; supports strong patent laws, but donates $ to developing countries, soldiers to fight African piracy, multilateral, strong anti-nuke, strong advocate human rights

Bolivia

• Very poor country, mostly subsistence farmers, low literacy• Tumultuous governments – socialist, capitalist, military• President Morales elected 2005 – Movement toward Socialism• Nationalize industries and empower indigenous population• More state control mining and natural gas – economy improves!• Preferential trade agreements (e.g. Peru, Ecuador, Colombia)• Needs foreign money (including US) to help development• Foreign relations with all Samerica except some strain with Chile, Peru; friends with Cuba, Venezuela, Iran• Some strain with US, but better lately

UN High Commissioner on Human Rights

• Justice in peace process, human rights violation• Human rights advisors, rapid response teams in crises, Fact-finding and monitoring• Interested in – preventing death and torture, transitional justice, detention, minority rights, racism, migrant workers, children, displaced persons, protecting human rights while fighting terrorism, help building Constitution protection witnesses

United Nations Rule of Law: http://www.unrol.org/article.aspx?n=ohchr

History

Action-Past

Sound-byte

Action-NOW

Topic 1’s

Alissa – Portugal World Intellectual Property Org (WIPO) – Traditional Knowledge & Intellectual Property

Christina- Portugal Disarmament Committee

Jackson – UNHC on Human Rights

Leah- Portugal in the European Union

Liam- Bolivia on Migrant Worker Rights

Karina – Portugal SC Syria & Arab Spring

Global Agreement Traditional Knowledge vs.

Intellectual Property?

Article 27 Universal Declaration Human Rights:“Everyone has a right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.”

But also: “Everyone has the right to the protection of the moralAnd material interests resulting from any scientific, literary, or artistic production of which he is the author.”

Access to Knowledge vs. IP Protection

• Protect inventors –recover costs of developing innovation

• Stable marketplace • Create wealth & jobs,

rewards innovation• Some areas of

knowledge should be kept secret

• Rights to knowledge stronger than moral or material interests

• Eco & Social costs too high for developing countries

• Free market may not support need in dev countries

• More latitude with copyright law in developing countries

• Abuse in the patent system – orphan drugs etc

• $ Burden of TRIPS too highTrade-Related Aspects of IP Rights

Open Access Protect

Portugal and Nuclear Disarmament

• Signed NPT, but who cares?• Iran – accumulating weapons-

grade uranium• Assassination of Iranian

nuclear physicist (US or Israel?)

• Iran now allowing IAEA site visits, but large hidden bunker

• UN ‘slow’ embargo because EU dependence on Iranian oil

• Sanctions, Site Visits, Supplies• Control of Nuke Materials? –

Terror• New leader Kim Jong Un in North Korea• North Korea may have had 2 nuke tests in 2010

UN High Commissioner Human Rights

Syria in SC

Sudan in ECOSOC

#1: UNHCHR- history, breadth, activities, relevance

Your Choice for #2?

What Has UNHCHR Done?

Condemns – violence, death, torture, suppression peaceful protests

Call for War Crimes Inquiry

Field Presence, Special Rapponteur in War-Torn Country

Call for Cease-fire, Strength Security & Judiciary, free media

Provide Protection for Refugees, Asylum Seekers

Portugal & European Union

Beautiful ‘Club Med’ peripheral countries like Portugal are BROKE!

Central Countries – like Germany $$$

Portugal and the Euro Crisis

• Portugal already bailed out 78B Euros IMF• Forced Austerity measures & privatize industries• Reform labor market and justice• Coelho took over Jun 2011• Portugal’s success dependent on Eurozone developments• Service sector largest employer – hurt by EU into Eastern Europe (low labor costs)• Now trying to focus on exports, private investment, dev of high-tech sector

• All but 2 countries in Eurozone agree to adopt budget discipline (GB & Czech)

• Greece trying to get private creditors to write down debt – waiting for report from IMF and ECB – would Greece cede decisions to an indep budget commiss

• Possible sanctions if countries break rules• Critics of austerity only – need solidarity & investment for jobs &

growth

How to Stimulate Portugal’s Economy?

• Encourage exports – US, Brazil, Angola (4th exports)

• Domestic – labor laws, less bureaucracy, better education, more competition, smaller state

• Supply side economics (reduce taxes on wealth creators, capital gains etc)

• Privatize companies, free up services & professions, cut bureaucracy, delay retirement

• European Central Bank should ease monetary policy

• Set up Eurozone Fund in addition to EFSF European Financial Stability Facility

• Eurobonds where every country’s debt is backed by all

Bolivia & Protection Migrant Workers

• Poor countries – organized crime, gangs, crimes against women

• Governmental issues – large foreign labor force / ‘brain drain’ issues for course countries

• 3 treaties / documents Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Internat Cov Civil Polit Rights, Int Cov Eco Soc Cult Rights

• ICCPR protects from expulsion from host country unless national security

• Not Ratified: Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families-

(employment, family, expulsion protection, education, etc)• Tension between Sending and Receiving Countries

How to Help Migrant Workers?

Human trafficking laws, working conditions, transnational crime enforcement

Try to ratify treaty, work with Human Rights orgs

Public awareness campaigns – children and adolescents

Access to education, medical care

Signed ICPMWM – Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, not Brazil or US (33 Signers – some signed with reservations)

Coordinated with UNHCHR, Human Rights Watch, more

Syria and the Security Council

• Very Active – Arab Spring• Bashar Assad (father head

of Syria x 29 years) – violent suppression of dissent – unopposed election

Arab Spring – self determination and democracy

Syria and Security Council

US, European Nations (incl Portugal) – ask Assad to step down

Russia and China Vetoed Arab League plan for peaceful transition

Russia (strong ally) sells arms to Syria; Iran is helping Syria evade the Oil embargo

Russia asks for both sides to come to Russia and immediate ceasefire

Tunisia expelled Syrian ambass & asks

all Arab countries to expel their Syria amb