In Case You Missed It – Week of 23 October 2017

23 October
Gladys Ngwepekeum Nkeh is a UN Police officer from Cameroon. She has deployed in MINUSCA 8 month ago as a gender officer. On a daily basis, Gladys works in collocation with National police at the police station of Bangui 1st district. After monitoring their work, ensuring that basic human rights are provided to arrested persons and that they respect international professional standard, she patrols with them. But Gladys is also gathering information about the situation within the communities of central Bangui, talking to local leaders, traditional chiefs, etc, constantly promoting gender rights. This is when she learnt about the situation of Ashley Bongo Passi. A 13 year old girl who became pregnant after having been raped. Gladys took care of her and is now providing sensitization classes on sexual education to prevent gender based violence at Ashley's school, Ecole des 136 villas. Ashley is now saved and ready to resume school - her baby was named Gladys, a tribute to the UN police officer who supported her.

The In Case You Missed It Series highlights news articles from the United Nations that are relevant to the topics being simulated at AMUN 2017. This AMUN Accords post covers selected news from the week of 23 October.

The General Assembly Plenary will be discussing the Review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture. The UN Multidimensional Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) has been in place since 2014, and recent violence in the region threatens the stability gained from the peacekeeping action.  Three peacekeepers died and two were injured in an attack on a convoy from the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) which was strongly condemned by Secretary-General Guterres. Recognizing the work done by Peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, Secretary-General António Guterres visited the mission and paid his respects to wounded and fallen peacekeepers.

The General Assembly First Committee will be discussing Women, disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. Speaking at the behest of Secretary-General Guterres, Chef de Cabinet Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti addressed the UNSC stressing the important role that women play in promoting peace and security. Viotti stressed the need to “focus on women’s rights violations [and] we will tackle the structural and root causes of crisis, including gender inequality.”

The General Assembly Second Committee will be discussing Sustainable Development: Disaster Risk Reduction. At a special meeting of the Economic and Social Council, Member States discussed the aftermath of the Hurricanes Irma, Harvey, and Maria. General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák challenged the Members present to ensure that the international response “match the magnitude and urgency of the situation.”

The General Assembly Third Committee will be discussing The human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. Hygiene kits comprised of containers of water, soap, undergarments and other small personal items are being distributed to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). But efforts are unable to meet the needs of the 800,000 plus refugees fleeing the conflict. Thankfully, donors have been quick to pledge money to relief efforts meeting 80% of the projected $434 million needed to meet the crisis. Additionally, the IOM has transported more than 740,000 liters of water to the refugees where it often has to be carried by hand up steep hills to get it to the elderly and children.

The Conference of States Parties of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is discussing Implementation of Article X: Assistance and protection against chemical weapons. A veto by the Russian Federation will put an end to the joint United Nations – OPCW investigation into the use of chemical weapons attacks in Syria. The mandate for investigation which had been established unanimously is set to expire on 17 November.

The ongoing Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a possible topic for the Contemporary Security Council. Escalating violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has displaced more than 420,000 in the last three months bringing the total number of displaced peoples to more than 3.9 million across regions in the DRC. Addressing the Situation in the Central African Republic, Secretary-General Guterres stressed the need for the international community to support and help in the region where conflict and a religious divide still impede a safe and prosperous future for the CAR. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein addressed the Situation in Syria highlighting the abject conditions of more than 350,000 civilians, describing their current conditions as “an outrage.”

The Situation in Myanmar/Bangladesh continues to worsen, and Yanghee Lee, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights, says that the “crisis in Rakhine state has not only been decades in the making but has for some time gone beyond Myanmar’s borders.”

Finally, bringing attention to the Situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the DPRK, Tomás Ojea Quintana, warned reporters that States should not become so focused on the security implications of the situation in the DPRK that they lose sight of the human rights violations on the ground, of which there are many “grave violations.”

Other UN News of note this week:

Check back in to the AMUN Accords in the future as we keep you up-to-date on UN News that affects the simulations at the 28th Annual American Model United Nations Conference. If we missed some news of note, let us know on our Facebook page or Twitter feed and share the news with other upcoming attendees to the Conference.

 

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