As one of the United Nations General Assembly’s main committees, SOCHUM is focused on solving social, cultural, and humanitarian conflict and inequality. In this committee, delegates were tasked with devising solutions to refugee crises, poverty, and systematic oppression, as well promoting human rights and women’s rights.
Angus was tasked with representing Uganda, and he wrote papers outlining their stance on two topics: the World Migration and Refugee Crisis and the #MeToo Movement.
World Migration/Refugee crisis
A refugee is someone who is forced to flee his or her home country to escape from conflict, violence, religious or racial persecution. Worldwide there are over 70 million refugees and refugee crises are currently unfolding globally. The most notable crises are in Syria and Afghanistan both of which have refugees in the millions. In 2015 the UN declared a refugee crisis due to the raging conflicts and increasing number of refugees. In an effort to make migration travel safer the UN passed the Treaty of Migration. This resolution encourages for countries of origin to eradicate poverty and help empower women and girls to limit the number of departures from the country. When it comes to the acceptance of refugees and migrants, developing countries are more often than not more accepting of refugees while developed countries are much less accepting of them.
With over a million refugees, Uganda is the largest host country of refugees in Africa, most of whom are from the DRC and South Sudan. Hilary Onek, Uganda’s Minister of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees.
“Uganda has continued to maintain an open-door policy to refugees based on traditional African hospitality and not turning away anybody who is running to us for safety.” While it is still a developing country and a very poor one economically at that, it is considered to be the poster child of how to treat refugees with open arms and hospitality. It gives all of its refugees the right of employment and enterprise. It is also home to the second largest world’s refugee camp Bidibidi, which is home to nearly two hundred thousand people. Uganda along with seven other countries rejected a resolution on continuing economic sanctions on Syria, Uganda’s reason being that the resolution was premature. Uganda along with the other seven countries agreed that a diplomatic solution is key to help end the war in Syria.
With the ongoing refugee crisis around the world, Uganda would like to work with all other member states in collaboration of Project Hour of Need or (HON). HON will encourage developed countries to intake more refugees with open arms. It will urge all countries to provide these people with adequate accommodation. It will also request implementation of safer travel methods for refugees such as ones set up by the UN.
#MeToo Movement
The #MeToo Movement founded in 2006, was created to help women and girls who were suvivors of sexual assault find a pathway to heal. Now the #MeToo Movement has expanded to a global scale. UN Women estimates that nearly 35 percent of women will have experienced some form of sexual or physical violence in their lives. In some nations this number may be as high as 70 percent. The UN has passed various resolutions in an effort to combat gender discimination and sexual violence. The #MeToo Pact resolution aimed to help prevent sexual harassment in the work place. The UN also passed the Advancement of Women which was the first resolution to address the issues of sexual harassment and urges all states to help prevent sexual harassment.
Athough Uganda has signed onto several UN resolutions regarding the issue of sexual harassment, sexual harassment still remains prevlent in Uganda. More than 22 percent of Uganda’s women face sexual abuse which is lower than the global avrage. In Uganda sexual violence is something that is not talked about often as it is a highly taboo topic for discussion. Sexual violence is so common that it has become normalized in Uganda and those who do speak out are ridiculed by their communitees and close family. Uganda also has a pronounced lack of NGOs that tackle the issue of sexual violence. Although Uganda has a conservative outlook on sexual violence, it has adopted several UN resolutions to help address the issue such as the the Domestic Violence Act, the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, and the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act. Despite difficult cultural norms, the #MeToo movenment is present in Uganda, being discussed in newspaper op-eds and in 2018 people marched in the street stating that their voices were not being heard.
Uganda would like to work in collaboration on plan Speak Up. Speak Up encourages the promotion of the #MeToo Movement via various forms of media such as pamphlets or newspapers. It Urges the use of NGOs to help address the issue of sexual violence, especially in areas were they are not prevalent. Plan Speak Up calls for the development of Programs adjusted to each country’s specific needs to help women and girls talk about their experiences. Last but not least, emphasize the need to not intrude on a nation’s Sovereignty.
Works Cited and Consulted
“About.” Me Too Movement, metoomvmt.org/about/. https://metoomvmt.org/about/
“Facts and Figures: Ending Violence against Women.” UN Women, www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures.
Nebehay, Stephanie. “U.N. Labor Body Adopts #MeToo Pact against Violence at Work.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 21 June 2019, www.reuters.com/article/us-un-labour-harassment/un-labor-body-adopts-metoo-pact-against-violence-at-work-idUSKCN1TM1CM.
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Pulitzer Center. “No More Silence: The Emergence of the #MeToo Movement in Uganda.” Pulitzer Center, 1 Oct. 2019, pulitzercenter.org/reporting/no-more-silence-emergence-metoo-movement-uganda.
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Wabwire, Audrey. “Sexual Violence: Uganda Police Should Support Victims, Not Blame Them.” Human Rights Watch, 18 Feb. 2020, www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/18/sexual-violence-uganda-police-should-support-victims-not-blame-them#.
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“Uganda Stands out in Refugees Hospitality | Africa Renewal.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2018-march-2019/uganda-stands-out-refugees-hospitality.
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Ngm Maps. Satellite Images: Planet Labs. “In Uganda, a Unique Urban Experiment Is under Way.” How Bidibidi, a Refugee Camp in Uganda, Is Becoming a City, 18 Mar. 2019, www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/04/how-bidibidi-uganda-refugee-camp-became-city/.
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