Human Rights Council Human Rights Council
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Human Rights Council Chair and Liaison Officer 2012
Okan Uzun -- Chairperson |
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I was born and raised in a small town in the northern, German-speaking part of Switzerland. Although having been confronted by cultural differences from early on due to my paternal roots in Turkey, I really started to become interested in the world of international relations while spending a year on high school exchange in Australia. Through traveling and working abroad during a gap year later on, I became increasingly fascinated by the difficult questions that arise as more and more people from all around the globe begin to interact with one another. Once I had started to study International Relations at the University of Geneva, I was soon looking for a more practical, UN-related experience. GIMUN seemed to offer exactly that. Over the past years, I have been involved in various departments within GIMUN. Amongst others, I held the position of secretary at the 2010 Annual Conference and represented GIMUN in the JUNES board. Over the past year I also organized the two very first sessions of the MUN Society in Geneva where interested students were introduced to MUN and were taught all the necessary knowledge and skills for a successful MUN conference experience. Besides that, I have participated in several national and international MUN conferences as a delegate (Zagimun 2010, Junesmun 2010) or as a chairperson (Junesmun 2011). Looking back, GIMUN has not only given me various opportunities to put into practice my theoretical knowledge from university but it also has given me the chance to take on responsibility, to challenge myself and to make great friends and have a lot of fun. Contact: okan.uzun@gimun.org / hrc@gimun.org |
Dora Rencoret -- Liaison Officer |
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My name is Dora, I'm 21. I was born in Finland but I grew up in France near Lyon. I'm currently in second year at the Ecole de Traduction et d'Interprétation in Geneva and I wish to become a conference interpreter for an international organization. I like travelling, reading and arts in general. It's the first time I take part in GIMUN and I will play the part of Liaison Officer for the Human Rights Council. Contact: dora.rencoret@gimun.org / hrc@gimun.org |
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Agenda
1. Human Rights, sexual orientation and gender identity
Aspects of the fight against discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people range from questions of mere decriminalization, employment equality, or the right to serve in the military to questions of registered partnership and parenthood.
Over the last years, many countries have taken on the issue at a national legislative level, some granting LGBT people the same rights other citizens normally enjoy. At the international level, however, there has been a significant lack of effort to even acknowledge that discrimination against LGBT people exists.
On June 17 2011, the Human Rights Council adopted its first resolution on the topic and called on the High Commissioner for Human Rights to present a report on discrimination against LGBT people at the end of this year. A first panel discussion on the topic will be held in early 2012.
The topic is very controversial among member states because for many countries LGBT rights are cultural-based rights and it is therefore crucial for the GIMUN Human Rights Council 2012 to take on the challenge of discussing the issue and of coming up with innovative solutions. In particular, Member States will have to discuss the explicit recognition of discrimination against LGBT people and ways to counteract it. This will especially include the discussion and recognition of the Yogyakarta principles, which have marked a turning point in the history of LGBT rights.
2. Limits to freedom of speech
Many constitutions and fundamental human rights treaties guarantee freedom of expression, granting individuals the right to speak freely without censorship. However, this right is not absolute. Those guarantees normally include limitations to prevent obscenity, incitement to crime,or war propaganda, in order to keep public order.
Even though it is generally accepted that limits to freedom of speech are necessary, opinions diverge on the question of how far those limitations should go. At the UN, the issue arose especially following 9/11, when OIC member states demanded that publications in western countries critical of Islam be banned.
At the GIMUN Human Rights Council 2012, we will tackle the general issue of hate speech regulations and in particular focus on religious defamation. How much freedom of speech can society bear, can too much freedom of speech endanger a democratic society itself and is criticism of religion permissible? Those are only a few questions that will have to be answered by the GIMUN Human Rights Council 2012.
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Countries
Algeria
Angola
Bahrain
Brazil
Cameroon
Canada
Cuba
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
France
Human Rights Watch
Hungary
India*
Jordan
Kyrgyzstan
Mauritania
Mexico
Nigeria
Pakistan
People's Republic of China
Philippines
Poland
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Spain
Uganda
United Kingdom
United States of America
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