United Nations Special Political and Decolonization Committee
Topic Intro
Statelessness
While we take for granted the security and convenience of social lives, at least 10 million people worldwide are denied the recognition by any state and hence the most fundamental rights as a human being. Statelessness, referring to a lack of nationality, might result from inadequate nationality registration process discriminating minority groups or from conflicts of domestic laws between states regarding change of citizenship and attribution of nationality. Special cases like state succession and dispute over state boundaries worsen the problem even. For example, Slovenia, after gaining independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, “erased” the legal status of some 18,000 residents who failed to apply for citizenship in time; over 6,000 “erased” people have yet to regain their rights so far. Similarly, those living in conflicted areas might face the denial of recognition by states from both sides. Still more people are de facto stateless when they fail to prove their identity before law and are excluded from society and national protection. However, previous efforts made on the reduction of statelessness are at best limited; the severe issue deserves much higher awareness from the international society.
While we take for granted the security and convenience of social lives, at least 10 million people worldwide are denied the recognition by any state and hence the most fundamental rights as a human being. Statelessness, referring to a lack of nationality, might result from inadequate nationality registration process discriminating minority groups or from conflicts of domestic laws between states regarding change of citizenship and attribution of nationality. Special cases like state succession and dispute over state boundaries worsen the problem even. For example, Slovenia, after gaining independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, “erased” the legal status of some 18,000 residents who failed to apply for citizenship in time; over 6,000 “erased” people have yet to regain their rights so far. Similarly, those living in conflicted areas might face the denial of recognition by states from both sides. Still more people are de facto stateless when they fail to prove their identity before law and are excluded from society and national protection. However, previous efforts made on the reduction of statelessness are at best limited; the severe issue deserves much higher awareness from the international society.
Meet the Dais
Hi there! I’m Lucie, currently a sophomore student in the Department of Political Science and the Division of International Relationships, and I also minor in foreign literatures. I have keen interests in cultures, liberal arts, and social sciences, and I enjoy beautiful things in life.
I’ve been engaged in MUN since my third year of high school, which was such an inspiring experience that I decided to continue my MUN career in university. Here I get to know lots of amazing people from various majors and backgrounds, with divergent thoughts and beliefs, but with exactly the same passionate soul eager to be the change. The world can never be perfect, but we face it. What we do in the conference room is not debate, but actually listen, from different aspects of every single country, so as to persuade, to negotiate, to compromise, and to achieve. As the Chair of SPECPOL at HSMUN 2014, I’m more than honored to serve as your bridge to the world. And beyond the road of trial and pursuit awaits your own unique journey! |
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Hey, guys! Welcome to United Nations Special Politics and Decolonization at High-School MUN 2014. This is Jimmy Kao. I’m currently a freshman majoring in political science and international relations at National Taiwan University and I will unfortunately not be your assistant chair this year. My MUN experience started from the second year in my high school. I always remember that I was completely transfixed and nervous in my very first MUN. However, it is also the most memorable and the best opportunity for me to learn how to be a good delegate and how to polish my English skills. Since then, I have been in love with MUN. I hope this HSMUN experience can also broaden your horizons and offer you guys a chance of life time to be exposed to amazing people. Lastly I hope that you all have fun and learn a lot.
Hey I’m Alexis and I’ll be one of your
assistant chairs in SPECPOL. I major in International Business in NTU and am
currently a freshman. I love to play sports and watch tennis games. Two of my
favorite tennis players are Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych. Feel free to
discuss tennis with me if you like to watch tennis, too! Although I have
participated one MUN conference during high school, it was not until I joined
NTUMUN that I had a deeper understanding of MUN. MUN broadens my horizon and
allows me to discuss international issues with others from different
perspectives. Moreover, I’ve met lots of great people during different
conferences. They motivated me to improve myself during and after conferences.
I can literally feel my growth after every conference. For me, MUN is not only
about academic research and serious conferences but also about meeting people
who can encourage me to better myself. All in all, I’m looking forward to
seeing you all in HSMUN.
Hi guys! My name is Aaron Lin. I am a
freshman at National Taiwan University, and I major in Accountancy. I went to
HSMUN 2013 just before going to university, and I joined NTUMUN soon after.
This year, I will be serving as Assistant Chair of the Disarmament and
International Security Committee. Growing up, I lived in four countries besides
Taiwan, namely the United States of America, Singapore, Vietnam and Australia,
in chronological order. This experience gave me an understanding how cultures
differ between countries, forcing me to re-examine the beliefs and values I
acquired during my time in Taiwan. This made me more inclined to analyse
problems facing our generation from more than just the local viewpoint. This is
one of the reasons why I came to be involved in Model United Nations; it
provides me with this perfect opportunity to discuss with others the global
issues urgently demanding our attention. I hope MUN will be just as great an
experience for you as it was for me. So, looking forward to an awesome four
days with you!
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