Issue 3

november 8, 2014issue 3volume xvi

seoulite

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SEOULITE Meet the staff

ISSUE 3 VOLUME XVI

meet the Staff

Layout artists

Reporters

photographers

Sang Ho LeeAlan Huh

Joonhee Han

Sarah DohSuyoung Yang

William SonSarah KimAlice LeeJulie Song

Marie ParkJustin ChangAngie Kim

Jane LeeKelly Kim

Brian M. KimBrian S. KimAndrew Lee

Christopher LeeDongwoo LeeDavid Choe

Esther Hwang

Co-graphics editorsYeni Cho

Hollis Hwang

Layout EditorHyewon Kim

assistant layout editorAlice Rhim

Managing editorJean Cho

assistant editorChristine Seo

Copy editorsJoyce KimYeaji ParkAdviser Mr. David Coleman

Editors-in-chiefCeline Hwang & Yasmin Yoon

by jean cho

apples no longer

accessible to russians

Faux News

This past week has been a week of fresh starts and

innovation for the Russians. One of the major changes was the removal of all apples from logos and symbols due to recent research that has proven the fruit’s uncertain yet plausible association with AIDS. “An apple a day definite-ly does not keep the doctor away,” said Mark Leich, scien-tist at the Russian Center for Scientific Research, an organ-

ization sponsored by Russian President Jeffrey Novaki. “Al-though there has not been any conclusive research done to prove my claim, my intuition tells me that there is a posi-tive correlation between the number of apples consumed and the possibility of getting AIDS.” Furthermore, all Russians are required to return their Apple products and purchase their electronics from Orange instead, a Russian start up that

was recently launched under the private ownership of Presi-dent Novaki. Despite speculation from other countries, President No-vaki and his administration have denied that the banning of Apple products was in any way affiliated with the recent coming out of Apple CEO, Jim Book. “I personally endorse Or-ange because it is better than any company out there and is an innovative startup,” Presi-

dent Novaki said. “The other investors, who all happen to be also members of non-gov-ernment organizations such as the Russian Anti-LGBTQ Federation and the Russian Orthodox Church, are com-mitted to helping this business prosper. I assure all of you that these groups are only offer-ing a helping hand to Orange because they want to create a company that offers only the best to their fellow Russian cit-izens.” SL

Blast From the Past:

by Christine Seo

“Let me also be clear that our constitutional rights to

speak freely, to assemble and to report in the press must be vigilantly safeguarded, espe-cially in moments like these.” President Barack Obama, who reaffirmed his support for journalists arrested in Ferguson, Missouri, accurate-ly stated the current situation in not just the United States, but also in countries around the globe, as the detainment of journalists by governments and organizations has been an issue for decades. In fact, David Tam Baryoh, radio host of Monologue on Citizen FM, was recently ar-rested by Sierra Leone’s Presi-dent Earnest Bai Koroma after a guest on his show criticized

the government for its han-dling of the outbreak of Ebola. Such treatment of journalists is not uncommon, as indicat-ed by a simlar case involving the detainment of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two American journalists who were captured by North Korean soldiers. As reporters for Current TV in 2009, Ling and Lee went on an undercover mission to write an investigative report about North Korean refugees and thus crossed into North Korean soil hoping to gather information from inside the country. However, after being caught by North Ko-rean soldiers and dragged to investigations for espionage, the two women were sen-tenced to twelve years of hard

labor for illegally trespassing into North Korean territory and illicitly reporting. After the American public gained knowledge of the journalists in hostage and expressed their outrage for such violation of human rights, President Bill Clinton met with Kim Jong Il to broker their release. Governments do not just detain journalists; sometimes, they execute them. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 34 journal-ists have been killed in 2014, with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) having murdered at least 17 of them. However, although reporters are fully aware of the dangers of their job, many still pursue their stories in these perilous

environments because they realize the importance of pre-senting a true representation of the world to their respec-tive audiences. It is especially necessary for media sources in countries with oppressive governments to present accu-rate and unbiased informa-tion in order to combat the harmful propaganda totalitar-ian governments may spread to its citizens. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that nations take care of their journalists. If journalists are not protected, the revelation of the truth is not protect-ed. And if the truth is not protected, it is impossible to develop a functioning society that emphasizes the individu-al’s rights. SL

Journalists Detained

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SEOULITE columns

ISSUE 3 VOLUME XVI

MUN 101: How to pass a resolutionby marie park

photo by andrew lee

At first glance, a resolu-tion is an intimidating

document. It tackles press-ing world issues in a logical, cohesive manner. While this goal may be difficult to at-tain, by working collabora-tively, delegates can address several outlooks in a single resolution. “You need to work to-gether with your teammates to merge all of the differ-ent opinions into one final, effective resolution,” said Katherine Lim, delegate of China in the Economic and Social Council. It is neces-sary to consider the stances of all the different countries as well because you need their support to pass your resolution.” Another point of consid-eration is the fact that reso-lutions are read by dozens of delegates and chairs. To

maximize the impact of their resolutions, delegates are ad-vised to utilize clear, straight-forward language. “It is best to be as concise as possible when trying to find the most effective solution,” said Claire Yoon, delegate of the Russian Federation in Hu-man Rights Council 1. “Dele-gates need to make sure their resolutions have logical and extensive solutions along with rational arguments to back these clauses up.” While formality in MUN im-portant, a degree of originality is also encouraged. Instead of completely complying with MUN procedures, delegates can challenge themselves to think outside of the box. “My experience tells me that creativity is an impor-tant characteristic of any res-olution,” said Lauren Ahn, International Court of Justice

Judge. “Often times, resolu-tions’ operative clauses tend to be very redundant, so in-dividuality and uniqueness contribute to the resolution’s overall quality.” Once delegates complete their resolutions, it is critical that they publicize them in a postive manner to ultimate-ly gain the support of fellow delegates.

“Delegates have to make sure to gain support for them-selves beforehand by support-ing other resolutions and/or amendments made by other delegates in their committee,” said Angela Yoon, Assistant President of Special Confer-ence. “They need to maintain an active presence even when their resolutions are not at stake.”

Enter any room during the conference and you will see placards set up,

printed resolutions on ta-bles and delegates reading notes. Each aspect was me-ticulously set up for the dele-gates’ convenience. However, these details are still often overlooked by attendees of SEOMUN even though they are result of hours of work by executive directors. As Secretariat members re-sponsible for the logistics of the conference, administra-tive directors Jaewon Choi and Eugene Yang oversee the admin staff members, deliv-er necessary items to each of the conference rooms and make sure everyone is ful-filling his or her role in the

conference. “As an administrative di-rector, I address concerns and respond to them by presenting quick and easy solutions,” Jaewon said. “Whereas delegates are at the conference solely to debate, the secretariats have more responsibility regarding their workloads. Although some responsibilities may seem a bit trivial or insignificant, they nevertheless provide a new experience for me. Each extra piece of work is done to create a more wholesome MUN experience for the del-egates.” Along with the adminis-trative directors, the Infor-mation and Technology (IT) directors, Daniel Choi and

YooJeong Lee, help coordi-nate the SEOMUN confer-ence by presiding over the entire conference and deal-ing with technological prob-lems. “Being a secretariat mem-ber is beneficial for us be-cause the position causes us to look at the conference in a unique way,” said YooJeong Lee, IT director. “Since our duty is to deal with techno-logical problems as well as overlook the conference as a whole, the experience pro-vides a wider perspective for us as former delegates who have never acted as a super-visor before.” From setting up basic ma-terials to fixing network problems, the Secretariat is

responsible for juggling a variety of tasks during SEO-MUN. According to Court-ney Caldwell, SEOMUN ad-viser, in order to tackle the significant amount of work-load, members of the Secre-tariat must be assiduous and meticulous. “All the directors are in-credibly important because they are the main form of communication and are also in charge of the logis-tics during the conference,” Ms. Caldwell said. “Every morning is very hectic be-cause they are required to set up everything within a short period of time. I am proud to have such diligent, respon-sible students and I admire them for their hard work.” SL

by julie song

Behind the Scenes: Executive Directors’ Roles

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Emily Chun, delegate of Brazil in Special Conference

“I think that note-passing helps clarify my understanding of issues because by sharing notes with other delegates, I am able to gain insight into a greater variety of perspectives. Last time other delegates helped me prepare before for my speech by writing possible counter arguments for me. This really helped me because I was able to fill in the weak points of my resolution.”

Danny Kang, delegate of India in Special Conference

“Notes are effective tools to use when I try to garner support or when I want to ask questions for clarification during speeches because we are not allowed to speak to one another when the debate is in session. Moreover, notes help me get an idea of who supports my cause and who doesn’t, so that I can tell who I need to convince.”

“I often use notes to ask allied nations to present POIs agreeing or restating my main arguments. I was going to make a speech regarding women’s rights in Africa and the Middle East so I passed a note to the delegate of China asking her to make a POI that supports what I said.”

Helen Jeon, delegate of Afghanistan in Economic and Social Council

Delegates at SEO-MUN can choose to sit

back, relax or even doze off, but in order to prove them-selves as competent individ-uals, delegates often create their own resolutions. How-ever, because delegates must gather a significant nu,mber of supporters to main-sub-mit, only those who can convince others that their resolution is the most effec-tive can achieve this goal. “Many people want to main-submit, so you have to prove to other delegates that you deserve it,” said Joanne Na, delegate of South Korea in Human Rights Council 1. “Extensive research helps you prepare. You also want to make sure that you try to

include a bit of every delegate’s resolution in your main sub-mission.” To persuade others to sup-port their resolution, delegates need to display confidence. Those who possess pub-lic-speaking skills have a foot-hold in the competition. “I spent a lot of time research-ing my topic, so I wanted to be recognized for my hard work,” said Daniel Yi, dele-gate of South Korea in Gen-eral Assembly 2 “I think my confidence in my topic really helped me main-submit.” The desire to main-submit can create tension among dele-gates, but the process requires cooperation. The articles that were main-submitted were ones that not only satisfied

the needs of the main-sub-mitter’s country, but also the needs of other delegates. “The main-submitter’s resolutions represented the main-submitter’s stance, as well as the general desires of

other nations” said Zoey Ryu, Assistant President of Envi-ronmental Commission. “The main-submitter is chosen based on the number of op-erative clauses that he or she contributed.”

by ANGIE KIM

Main-submitting procedures prompt competition among delegates

photo by Leo lee

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Notes: tools to facilitate communicationby Yeaji park

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BY JOYCE KIM

engages in Rigorous

HRC 2 HRC 1 debates on domestic abuseBY WILLIAM SON

In an attempt to prevent further escalation of the

domestic abuse of women in South Asia, Human Rights Council 1 (HRC 1) debat-ed their second resolution, which was proposed by Kevin Kwon, delegate of China. In the Asia-Pacific region, the majority of domestic abuse crimes involve husbands as perpetrators of violence. Fur-thermore, many women who have been abused in the past are deprived of education, health and opportunities to participate in the govern-ment. Therefore, delegates of HRC 1 strived to come up with a resolution that would allow South Asian women to not only gain but also pre-serve their rights. As Kevin standardized the definition of the ambiguous term, domes-tic violence, the debate began. “Domestic violence is any gender-based act of violence that results in mental, phys-ical or sexual suffering for women,” Kevin said. “This definition set by the Declara-tion on the Elimination of Vi-olence against Women speci-fies actions such as coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.” Once the perimeters of domestic violence were es-tablished, Kevin suggested the addition of surveillance

cameras and other methods of security in hot zones where domestic violence is more prevalent. However, some delegates found this clause impractical. “It is unreasonable to expect a third world country to in-stitute surveillance cameras and other types of expensive technology everywhere,” said Jay Lee, delegate of Canada. “The idea of gaining financial support from NGOs in order to afford such pieces of tech-nology will only act as an un-necesary burden. Therefore, this clause is not pragmatic and cannot be implemented in the real world.” Moreover, some delegates found that the resolution did not provide enough incen-tive for an entire country to change its long-held tradition of domestic violence. “The culture of South Asia is being treated too lightly,” said Angela Zheng, delegate of Iran. “Although most of the resolution makes sense, the incentive for an entire cul-ture to take action is lacking. Thousands of laws may be made, but if nobody follows them, there may as well be no laws at all.” Following a long series of amendments, with 28 dele-gates for, 0 against, and 7 ab-staining, the resolution was passed.

On the second day of SEOMUN, the delegates

of the Human Rights 2 Coun-cil (HRC 2) explored ways to regulate private military com-panies (PMC) in Middle East-ern and African regions. PMC troops have been a topic of controversy because they are motivated to combat solely for profit. Although the reduction of troop casualties is celebra-tory, the use of PMCs is ques-tionable from a human rights standpoint. Christine Kim, delegate of Pakistan, submitted a resolu-tion supporting the complete eradication of these private companies, given that her country’s people are victims of PMCs. Garnering support from numerous advocates, such as delegates of Libya, Bhutan, Singapore and Indo-nesia, the resolution was avid-ly supported by Jun Yeong Oh, the delegate of Singapore, who condemned the privatization of war and praised the feasibil-ity of the resolution. “For the past few decades, privatization of war and the use of PMCs have gained pop-ularity among many member states in the United Nations,” Jun Yeong said. “But after ac-knowledging the problems caused by the utilization of private military computers, I strongly feel the necessity to regulate PMCs. I believe this

resolution suggests practical mechanisms to promptly re-solve this issue regarding the international laws and human rights of modern society.” Many delegates, howev-er, such as Janice Hahm, the delegate of USA, expressed disapproval of the resolution, indicating the need for clarifi-cation and amendments. Jan-ice stated that implementation would be challenging, given the vague nature of the reso-lution. “As the USA prioritizes the rights of its own citizens over those of other nations, I be-lieve that the resolution needs more clarification and should focus on how it will achieve a greater peace for citizens in the affected regions,” Janice said. “The USA is particularly concerned with how the local government will justify for-eign arrests and under which conditions suspicious activi-ties can be identified.” Despite the clause’s failure to pass, Stella Li, Deputy As-sistant President, expressed confidence that her delegates would reach a feasible solution for the issue at hand. “They are motivated and constantly bring up points that improve the quality of the dis-cussion,” Stella said. “We are all excited to both listen to and work with this hard-working batch of delegates.”

photo by andrew leephoto by esther hwang

Debates

BY WILLIAM SON

ECOSOC tackles

the issue of the violation of women’s rights globally.” Despite clashing viewpoints on the feasibility of this resolu-tion, the majority of delegates agreed that education and other salutary services were necessary to enforce wom-en’s rights. To further sup-port women’s rights, however, delegates argued for stricter punishments for violators of women’s rights. “Many delegates believe that women’s rights are difficult to protect because women do not have the courage to voice their concerns after suffering from abuse,” said Sei Chang, dele-gate of the United Kingdom. “However, we believe that this resolution is effective because it directly addresses educa-tion, which is an integral part

of the solution, and includes stricter punishments for those who violate women’s inaliena-ble rights.” As the debate came to an end, the resolution was passed with 23 delegates voting for and 9 against. “This resolution adequately addressed the issue at hand because it looked at the is-sue in both a short term and long term perspective,” said Katherine Lim, delegate of China. “I think it passed so successfully because it includ-ed a plausible solution that appealed to many delegates. Because women are marginal-ized and suppressed so often, it is evident that we must im-prove the lives and rights of women to move society for-ward.”

photo by ANDRREW lee

To address issues relat-ed to women’s rights and

the role of women in Afri-ca and the Middle East, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) debated a resolu-tion written by Nicholas Kim, delegate of Germany. In hopes of providing social services such as public edu-cation and basic necessities for women, Nicholas pro-posed direct interaction with non-governmental organiza-tions (NGOs).

In response to the resolu-tion, however, delegates such as Alice Cho, delegate of USA, questioned the lack of incen-tives for women. “We should have increasing-ly diverse incentives including the establishment of an area that women could leave their babies [for free] so that they can be educated,” Alice said. “If this resolution includes these incentives, it can reach a wider number of people, therefore helping to alleviate

women’s rights issues

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GA 1 and 2 exchange information security and financial aidBy YEAJI PARK

Aiming to improve in-ternational security by

enhancing telecommunica-tion and discussing how re-liance on network data shar-ing makes electronic attacks possible, General Assembly 1 (GA 1) debated on a resolu-tion proposed by Sang Yeon Lee, delegate of Denmark. The resolution, which included the establishment of international organizations and the regula-tion of privacy and security, was met with support from delegates such as delegates of Colombia and Spain. “I support the resolution be-cause it is important for peo-ple to understand the dangers of the Internet and telecom-munication because they will be aware of using them with caution,” said Nina Udagawa, delegate of Spain. “Addition-ally, by encouraging citizens

to be educated, they may start using the Internet as a basis to telecommunication because they would be provided with background knowledge.” Despite this indication of ap-proval, delegates of China and Pakistan felt that the resolu-tion may cause more problems by disclosing confidential information regarding cyber attacks. As a result of their op-position, the resolution failed to pass. “I agree with the resolution in that territorial integrity over cyberspace should be upheld because nations can-not neglect the rights of com-plete and total privacy,” said Wonjai Lee, delegate of China. “However, the resolution still contained ineffective methods and systems. Educating the public about cyber attacks can be harmful because it may give

the public the tools to conduct the cyber attacks themselves.” In General Assembly 2 (GA 2), Martin Yoo, delegate of Pakistan, addressed the issue of misappropriation of finan-cial aid to LEDCs by targeting corruption. Taking into the account several incidents in which federal finances were misallocated among govern-ment officials or nations, his resolution aimed to promote a positive effect on countries with the effective use of finan-cial aid. “One of my points concerned establishing a compromise of financial aid for less devel-oped countries,” Martin said. “There are two types of finan-cial aid: controlled, and free. If we can avoid bias towards one type of financial aid, countries’ economies can grow and ben-efit exponentially.”

The proposal received a lot of support but was met with disagreements from delegates of other nations. Michaela Hwang, delegate of Germany, found flaws in the resolution’s operative clause and saw little connection between points and the resolution’s intentions. Despite these disagreements, the resolution was passed be-cause other countries found the proposed solutions effec-tive. “I did not agree with the res-olution because it put an un-reasonable amount of burden on donor states and recipient states for an unclear cause,” said Michael Hwang, delegate of Germany. “[The resolution] also contradicted itself be-cause it opens up LEDCs to exploitation and is unsuccess-ful in addressing the issue at a local level.” SL

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Technological issues intensify

by sarah kim

From the introduction of the Internet to the devel-

opment of 3D printers, tech-nology has developed at an extremely rapid rate in the past few decades. However, in a way, every step forward is a half-step back, as numer-ous controversies relating to technological problems have recently emerged. Technol-ogy originally intended to benefit society has been distorted, causing issues such as the Ya-hoo scandal and online piracy to surface. Recently, the public discovered that the Na-tional Security Agency (NSA) was able to screenshot any video call made on Yahoo’s platform as a means of surveil-lance. Those in favor of such methods of surveillance deem it essential for national secu-rity, but most of the public is upset with this incident as well as last year’s NSA scandal in-volving Snowden. These indi-viduals feel that because both disclosed questionable actions of social-networking corpora-tions and the government that were previously unknown to citizens. “I personally believe the problem is that the govern-ment is infringing on the citi-zens’ most basic rights through immoral means, such as vio-lating our Yahoo accounts and webcams,” said David Kim, Deputy Assistant President

of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). “If events like these are repeated, people will begin to distrust the gov-ernment, and the gap between the govern-

m e n t and so-ciety will c o n t i n u e to widen.” Accord-ing to Sang Gu Chung, A s s i s t a n t President of E C O S O C , there are c o n s e -quences of surveillance that go be-

yond the infringement of ba-sic, salient rights granted to citizens. “Once people discover that

their pri-v a t e

information was accessed

by the govern-ment, they are psychologically affected,” Sang Gu said. “This leads to people being intimidat-ed in their social lives, and in the long-term may even result in economic de-pressions.”

Unfortunately, surveillance is not the only source of tech-nology-related controversy, as online piracy is a problem that has also become critical to address. On Nov. 3, 2014, Fredrik Neij, co-founder of the Pirate Bay, the file-shar-

ing website, was arrested for having avoided in-

carceration for the past five years. In 2009, he

was found guilty of illegally sharing 33 copyright-pro-

tected files. Neij will begin serv-ing his prison sentence of one year within the next month.

The general public seems to

have mixed feel-ings about the arrest.

Though many people are in favor of the Swed-

ish government because of Neij’s unconstitutional

actions, many users also ex-pressed support for the Pirate Bay and Neij. “The people who create or are involved in the creation of works of literature, mu-sic, and films are not being paid for their work, and this is horrible,” said Daniel Choi, Director of Information and Technology. “On the other hand, online piracy is simply an extension of the openness and unrestricted nature of the internet. I’m not exactly sure about my stance, but I’m in-terested to see how the debate will change over time, as it will change the way in which we view media and how media af-fects us.”

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Confirming the ex-tremity and fanati-

cal nature of its actions, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), recently released a video in which an ISIS soldier slices open the neck of a reporter. Attracting an immense number of views over the past few weeks, the graphic video spread aware-ness of ISIS’ violent tactics to avenge foreign forces and punish journalists. Dragged out of his cell by his kidnappers, James Foley, an American journalist who was reporting on abductions in Syria, was interrogated with overly personal ques-tions, such as “Who cried at your brother’s wedding?” until they were able to get in touch with his family. Soon after, in December 2013, Foley was videotaped in the remote hills of Syria, speak-ing solemnly to his family and friends before he was de-capitated with a dagger. The United States’ plans to address ISIS’ violent actions included four major parts in strategy: increasing airstrikes against terrorists from the ISIS, sending US servicemen as militants, blocking the flow of money and fighters and providing humanitarian aid for the civilians. “The US should oppose terrorist groups because this issue concerns human rights, which should include all hu-man beings,” said Stella Li, Deputy Assistant President of Human Rights Council 2. “In other words, we should not passively accept such current issues as unfortunate occur-

rences and move on. Instead, we should work toward a better future by taking ac-tion against these crimes and sending military aid.” On Sept. 10, President Barack Obama promised to prioritize the security of US citizens by not only im-plementing governmental procedures but also actively opposing ISIS. Following this speech, 44 percent of Amer-icans expressed approval of his plans while the rest dis-approved, according to the CNN/ORC poll. The rest of American citizens have ex-pressed that the US should take a different approach against ISIS, instead of pro-moting constant airstrikes or planning to fight ISIS. “The US should consider learning and understanding the stance of ISIS by nego-tiating with them for peace, instead of immediately tak-ing an aggressive stance by enforcing military attacks,” said Samantha Chong, dele-gate of Chad in Special Con-ference. “In other words, the US should be aware of the beliefs the ISIS holds, and the fact that ISIS soldiers are convinced that violent be-headings are actually work-ing. As moral, delegates, it is up to us to prove that fighting violence with violence will only lead to more casualties and chaos.” Along with Foley, a total of 23 foreign hostages from 12 countries were killed by ISIS.

In order to prevent the reoccurrence of these crimes, coun-tries including Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, France, Ita-ly Germany, Canada and Britain have joined forces with the United States. These nations, among others, have sent military troops and arms to support the foreign bases in the Middle East, as well as humanitarian aid. As a result of this inter-national support, Ameri-cans have also expressed approval of Obama’s plans. “International assis-tance is necessary to prevent ISIS from en-gaging in any more illicit activities that will put the lives of innocent civilians in danger,” said Sabin Kim, del-egate of Iraq in Security Coun-cil. “We should set specific r e g u l a t i o n s and enforce greater se-curity within the country itself, in order to prevent the terrorists from harassing more people as a do-mestic meas-ure.”

ISIS beheadings go viral, by Alice lee

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BY SARAH KIM

AP strives to resolve

Hoping to promote the accountability of employ-

ers around the world, Jiwhan Moon, delegate of France, and Sunny Lee, delegate of Paki-stan, tackled the issue of the exploitation of employees in the Special Conference (SPC). Supported by over 20 other nations in the committee, this resolution generated a pro-ductive debate session. “Someday in the future, we will all be employees,” Jiwhan said. “Would you rather have an employer who physically harasses you or respects your dignity and identity? Because our world is full of many dire issues, I wanted to devise a comprehensive solution that would be feasible and trans-parent.” The resolution called for sup-port from numerous organi-zations, including the Inter-national Labor Organization

(ILO), the UN-specialized ad-ministration that aims to pro-mote human and labor rights. Following the resolution’s suggestion, the ILO agreed to ensure the accountability of employers with biannual re-ports and manage negligent employers with financial retri-bution, expulsion or arrest. “I think that labor-special-ized organizations can pro-vide valuable suggestions and insight on how to stop work-place abuse because they have the experience needed to deal with this matter,” said Saman-tha Chong, delegate of Chad. “We can also rely on ILO Con-ventions, the most fundamen-tal standards created since the 1930s, to help countries find the details and guidelines con-cerning the prevention of this matter.” To deal with the array of health and safety risks asso-

ciated with industrial envi-ronments, delegates proposed amendments regarding facili-ties and resources, such as the designation of smoking areas. “I think that the debate provided by the delegates of France and Pakistan was ex-tremely fruitful,” said Ange-la Yoon, Assistant President. “The chairs received amend-ments continuously through-

out the session, which shows how enthusiastic the delegates are in discussing, improving and building upon the solu-tions presented to eradicate workplace harassment.” After continuous debate on the resolution and numerous amendments, the resolution passed by a large margin of 31 votes for, one vote against and four abstentions.

photo by Christopher Lee

photo by Leo lEe

By JEAN CHO and christine seo

SPC aims to promote labor rights

ethnic conflicts in China

Proceeding with their heated discussions from

the previous day, the advi-sors of the Advisory Panel (AP) focused on relieving tension among different Chi-nese ethnic groups. The advisors debated a clause presented by Minji Suh, advisor of the Republic of Korea (ROK), that called for the Chinese government to alleviate discrimination against minority nationali-ties. “I thought that the first step of curtailing limitations im-

posed on the religious and cul-tural activities of minorities would be effective in ensuring the plausibility of the clause,” Minji said. “I also suggested that we produce proposals to alleviate media control in Tibet and Xinjiang and form representative bodies within ethnic minorities to eliminate ethnic conflict.” In response to Minji’s pro-posal, the majority of the advi-sors wished to voice their dis-approval. Those such as Brian Kim, advisor of South Sudan, warned that only relieving

media control in Tibet and Xinjiang would potentially result in discrimination. “Alleviating media control in specific areas may lead to reverse discrimination, as the Chinese government would be placing a certain group of people above oth-ers,” Brian said. “This sub-clause also infringes the Chi-nese national sovereignty, so the government is unlikely to comply to such rules.” To resolve this conflict, Pa-tricia Song, advisor of China, proposed an amendment to strike out the controversial sub-clause not only because it would contribute to the rising inequality in China, but also because it did not abide by the Chinese consti-tution.

“I had to reflect the thoughts and interests of the Chinese government as much as pos-sible throughout the debate,” Patricia said. “All nationalities in China are deemed equal un-der Chinese law and enforcing partial control will only lead to reverse discrimination, and leave China with no incentive to follow such proposals.” Despite criticism regarding the extremity of the amend-ment, it eventually passed with 10 votes for and five votes against. After necessary changes were made to the clause proposed by the advisor of the ROK, AP moved on to voting procedures for the en-tire clause. With 12 votes for, none against and three absten-tions, the clause ultimately passed.


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BY MARIE PARK

SPT addresses DPRK labor conditionsFocused primarily on the proposed construc-

tion of the Korean Peninsula Trade Corridor, a corridor that would connect the Re-public of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People’s Re-public of Korea (DPRK), the delegates of the Six Party Talks (SPT) discussed their various concerns about the DPRK. Wanting to give DPRK an incentive to create a trade corridor that would initi-ate more trade relationships, countries in the SPT strived to identify the source of the DPRK’s reluctance to trade. Because the DPRK has been reported to have poor living conditions and work ethics that affect willingness to co-operate with other countries, Six Party Talks (SPT) brain-stormed methods to allevi-ate the issue with a clause-

by-clause voting procedure. “It is important to think of progressive ideas for trade and industrial areas of busi-ness,” said Michael Kim, dele-gate of China. “North Korean workers face difficult living and working conditions. By raising awareness about these issues, we can not only fix overcrowding and poor san-itation conditions, but also give DPRK more incentives to cooperate with other coun-tries through the Korean Trade Peninsula Corridor.” According to Michael, im-proving water facilities and the health care system will increase the productivity of North Korean workers and give the nation a more com-petitive edge in trade. Howev-er, other delegates such as Jerry Kim, delegate of Russia, disa-greed, questioning the feasibil-

ity of opening nation’s borders. “How would the UN open up the borders of the DPRK if they have been closed for dec-ades in the past?” Jerry said. “This fact makes the clause implausible because we can-not simply force the borders open. As for promoting the workers’ facilities, no word on the implementation of suste-nance was mentioned. Such

improvement would require immense monetary stress.” Because of the strong clash-ing views, delegates sat in a divided house with two votes for, two votes against, and two votes abstaining. As a result of the tie, the chair excluded the ability to abstain, leaving the committee with the decision to pass the clause with four votes for and two votes against.

BY JULIE SONG

PHOTO BY leo lee

PHOTO BY esther hwang

Though members of the Nuclear Non-Prolifera-

tion Treaty (NPT) pledge to use nuclear power only for conciliatory purposes, the development of science and disarmament, this privilege is often abused. Traditionally, USA and its allies feared the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe, thus demonstrating the need for immediate solutions. Despite repeated promises to utilize nuclear energy peacefully,

USA and its allies were reluc-tant to comply with the Dem-ocratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s request for a trade-off. “I personally believe that countries with nuclear power should give the Internation-al Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) certain rights to en-sure the proper usage of nu-clear energy for their coun-try’s welfare,” said Kenneth Yim, delegate of Republic of Korea (ROK). “Since the IAEA

has the ability to reach out to all current nuclear weapon holders and submit proposals to the UN Security Council, further implementation of the IAEA is the quickest way to get our eyes and ears into nu-clear development programs around the world.” While some delegates agreed that ROK’s resolution success-fully addressed the implica-tions of nuclear power, others questioned its influence on national sovereignty and the motives behind the resolu-tion’s sub-clauses. “For the IAEA to be under government control would be a severe violation of the com-pany’s autonomy and rights,” said Hok Yin Kong, delegate of India. “India does not wish for any third-party oversight in its

nuclear programs. Therefore, the IAEA is violating India’s will by looking into nuclear programs in India.” In reponse to these com-plaints, Claire Kim, delegate of France, submitted an amend-ment to increase the IAEA’s significance by making it an international organization. By taking this measure, Claire hoped to increase transparen-cy and foster peace. “I supported ROK’s amend-ment because it recognized and prioritized the real issues related to nuclear energy,” said KJ Lee, delegate of Indonesia. “It was also a necessary meas-ure for the IAEA to fully gain the trust of member nations and therefore gain the ability to oversee specific usages of nuclear technology.” SL

SC discusses clauses on nuclear power

SL

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Environmental Commission rejects resolution due to ambiguity

In order to actively pre-vent global warming,

the Environmental Commis-sion (ECOSOC) began with a resolution, submitted by Zin War, delegate of Mexico, re-garding the implementation of solar radiation manage-ment (SRM). The resolution stressed the importance of raising awareness on the ad-vantages of SRM use, urged the cooperation of MEDCs and LEDCs and encouraged the use of the color white to reflect sunlight, thus lower-ing the temperature of planet Earth. “I am positive that SRMs will work because there are multiple examples that show-case the plausibility of this system,” said Soo Kyum Kim, delegate of Saudi Arabia. “The cooling of Seoul because of the Tancheon River is one ex-ample. Before the man-made

Tancheon River was exca-vated, Seoul was undeniably hotter. However, because the river was effective in lowering the temperature of the nearby area, Seoul’s temperature was able to become cooler.” Unlike Soo Kyum, most del-egates found the resolution vague and unsubstantiated. According to David Moon, the delegate of Germany, the resolution discussed topics only distantly related to glob-al warming, rather than those specifically related to SRMs. “First of all, the issue re-quires taking risks,” David said. “However, in order to take these risks, the resolu-tion needs to have an exhaus-tive procedure detailing steps. This resolution would only be practical if there was such sol-id information available about SRMs. But because SRM tech-nology is still new and unclear,

the clauses of this resolution are not realistic.” Although delegates attribut-ed different reasons for voting against the resolution, they shared the idea that one of the resolution’s most major prob-lems was its lack of focus and details. “The resolution did not have the specific measures it need-ed for the implementation of SRMs,” said Kelvin Lee, dele-gate of the Dominican Repub-

lic. “Instead, it had ineffective methods such as trying to play along with public support. Additionally, the resolution is too rigid for the delegates to work with because it is too centered on raising awareness about global warming . This allows us to mediate an agree-ment about SRMs.” With seven for, 22 against and six abstaining, the resolu-tion was a lesson learned the hard way. SL

Italy seeks proper compensation in ICJ

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ISSUE 3 VOLUME XVI

The second ICJ debate of the conference began

with no delay, and includ-ed advocates this time. The court case debated upon was the Jurisdictional Im-munities of the State, which concerned the extent of state immunity. After numerous attempts by the Italian courts to ignore the state immunity of Germany, Germany was able to bring forward its case and declare Italy as guilty. “The main problem we have with Italy is the Trea-ty of Peace,” said Peter Kim, advocate of Germany. “This document invalidates all the court cases in which Italy asks for further compensa-tion. Italy needs to recognize that once it signed the treaty, it agreed that Germany had properly compensated Ita-ly for the lives lost in World

War 2.” In response, the advocates of Italy explained that because the court case represented a conflict between victims and perpetrators, advocates of Germany must address the violations of human rights in Germany and further com-pensate for neglecting human rights. “Italy values meticulous ev-idence instead of the premed-itated expectedness on some evidence,” said Hyunseong Kim, advocate of Italy. “Mas-sacres committed by Germany must be met with more ac-countability and responsibil-ity. We should not feel guilty for seeking proper compen-sation and prioritizing juris-dictional immunity over lost human lives.” To evaluate the issue at hand, judges examined each argu-

ment presented by the ad-vocates and considered the outcomes of each possible ruling. Based on the credibil-ity of each evidence set forth by both Germany and Italy, each judge determined his or her own stance regarding the case. “The severity of Germany’s past crimes should overrule

the amount of state immunity that Germany is guaranteed against Italy”, said May Lee, Judge. “Germany presents us with credible document such as the European Convention on State Immunity, but Italy’s emphasis on the protection of human rights far exceeds that of Germany’s and should therefore be supported.” SL

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ALAN’S NEW LANGUAGE1.

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ACROSS5. Country with the highest ratio of millionaires 8. most belligerent nation in the world11. first place in the world to allow women to vote 3. european country that borders nine other countries14. UN agency that aims to protect children’s rights and young people15. Largest exporter of frog legs 16. country with Most overweight individuals

DOWN1. Covers the greatest number of timezones2. England’s first great industry 3. Australia’s original name4. origin of paper6. Most diverse country7. Country that is also a continent9. Country that consumes the most Coca Cola per capita10. First capital of the US 12. First state to became part of the US in 1900

Joonhee’s country trivia 1.

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Free food couponfinish the two activities on page 14 and 15 for free food.

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