UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

Dear Delegates,

I’m thrilled to welcome all of you to UGA’s 24th Model UN conference, UGAMUNC XXIV. No matter what degree of skill you have or how many of our conferences you’ve attended before, we’re excited to have you, and I feel confident that you’ll excel at this conference. During debate, you and your peers will have ample chances to discuss current global issues and the ideal solutions. As delegates for GA3, The Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, you’ll have the privilege of drafting resolutions that could change the course of history for the world’s most disadvantaged citizens to its most well-endowed.

Before we get too engrossed in debate though, I should introduce myself. My name is Jay Bishop and I’m a fourth-year economics major at UGA. I competed in Model UN for three semesters before transferring to UGA, and I’ve traveled to both Emory and Chicago with the UGA team. While Model UN and schoolwork take up a large majority of my time, I also enjoy hiking, going to concerts, and playing games such as Ticket to Ride, Risk and Magic, the Gathering. After I graduate, I’m hoping to go on to graduate school for economics and later conduct policy research for an organization such as the Federal Reserve, World Bank or IMF.

I also have the pleasure of introducing my co-chair, Kamryn Lyle. Kamryn is a third-year majoring in International Affairs and French. This is her second year doing UGAMUNC, and she previously represented the UGA Model UN team in Chicago. On top of Model UN and her studies, she is a site leader for IMPACT’s Shelter and Resource Access trip to New River Valley, Virginia and a member of the women’s student pre-law organization. After graduation, she hopes to attend law school and later practice immigration and international law in Washington D.C. Since she’s never watched a single episode of Game of Thrones, hopefully she’ll do that sometime sooner.

Both of us are greatly looking forward to meeting all of you, and hearing the many unique ideas that you’ll bring to the debate stage. If you have any questions at all about the background guide, your role or the conference in general, please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of us. In the meantime, you should be researching your country, your topics and your positions on each of them. The more you prepare before the conference, the better you’ll do in debate and the better chance you’ll have at winning an award for your school. We hope you’re all excited to begin debating, and once again – Welcome to UGAMUNC XXIV!

P.s. Please submit your completed position papers to me [james.bishop25@uga.edu] and CC Kamryn [kamryn.lyle25@uga.edu ] before the first committee session.

Cheers,

Jay and Kamryn

GA 3

UGAMUNC XXIV

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

Background Information

In 1945, the General Assembly of the United Nations was established as the premier global policy-making body and marked a new era of international cooperation. It is comprised of six different committees all responsible for addressing specific global issues. These global issues can vary from nuclear disarmament to decolonization1. The Third Committee was established to address social, humanitarian, and cultural problems in all regions of the world. It has also increased awareness of the plight of women, children, indigenous peoples, and refugees2. Members of the Third Committee work closely with intergovernmental entities to examine the state of human rights in various countries. For example, the Human Rights Council, established in 2006, has played a significant role in the Third Committee by holding states accountable for human rights violations.

The creation of the Declaration of Human Rights (DHR) in 1948 strongly influences the modern definition of human rights. The DHR defines human rights as the equal and inalienable rights of those who belong to the “human family”3. The document includes 30 diverse articles which list the specific rights that are entitled to everyone regardless of race, class, religion, or gender. For instance, Article XXIV states that all humans have “the right to rest and leisure” which addresses labor injustices such as over working for low wages4. The DHR was approved by the General Assembly under the recommendation of the Third Committee. Since then, the Third Committee utilizes these articles as parameters for policymaking and promoting a more equal global society.

The Third Committee of the General Assembly has served as the champion of international diplomacy through empowering people of all identities and encouraging countries to increase the standard of living for their citizens. Through this, countries have collaborated to achieve shared social development goals5.

11 United Nations, United Nations, research.un.org/en/docs/ga/committees.2 Ibid3 “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.4 Ibid5 Ibid

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

I. The Advancement of Gender Equality in the Middle East

Background

Gender equality is a modern global issue that affects both men and women of all races, nationalities, and religions.  It is commonly defined as “women and men enjoying the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including economic participation and decision-making”6. Recently, the definition has broadened to include those who identify as non-conforming as well. Gender equality has become an essential component of international institutions through decades of legislation and advocacy. In 2015, the United Nations featured gender equality as one of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals to accomplish by the year 2030. This goal was added as a continuation of the third Millennial Developmental Goal which sought to promote gender equality and empower women and girls.

Although the United Nations has championed the advancement of gender equality, many governments have not institutionalized women’s rights. The goal of women’s rights is to increase women’s participation in government, access to education, and socioeconomic status. This may be difficult in countries that have significant social and cultural barriers for women. Before 2009, Saudi Arabia’s conservative culture required women to have a male guardian who oversees their actions7. These male guardians may purposefully choose to restrict a woman’s access to income and education. Under this law, women will be considered “permanent legal minors”8 Women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia petitioned the government to abolish the male guardianship system, but it still remains largely intact today. This, among many other oppressive systems, have caused global condemnation. Specifically, Western institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), have denounced these systems as counterproductive and socially backwards9.

Government officials in the Middle East have begun to make an effort to address gender inequality. Recently, five member states of the European Union voted to include Saudi Arabia on the UN Commission on the Status of Women10. Saudi Arabia will serve four years on the commission and will be expected to uphold standards of gender equality and promote women’s empowerment. Many countries have expressed doubt that the Saudi Arabian government will take the necessary steps to create a gender-fair society, however, this decision was a significant stepping stone towards progress on women’s rights. In addition, the United States Agency for International Development has partnered with the government of Jordan to initiate programs to increase female participation in government, expanding gender-specific social services, and “[empowering] civil society institutions”11. As more countries collaborate with

6 “What Is Gender Equality?” Gender Equality, Comhionannas Inscne in Éirinn Gender Equality in Ireland, genderequality.ie/en/GE/Pages/WhatisGE.7 “Boxed In.” Human Rights Watch, 6 June 2017.8 Zatat, Narjas. “Anger over Saudi Appointment to UN Women's Rights Commission.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 25 Apr. 20179 Trister, Sarah. “Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Supporting the Fight for Freedom and Equality.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Mar. 201010 Ibid11 “Gender Equality and Female Empowerment | Jordan.” U.S. Agency for International Development, 5 Sept. 2017, www.usaid.gov/jordan/gender-equality-womens-empowerment.

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

intergovernmental bodies and humanitarian organizations, the advancement of gender equality will grow exponentially in the Middle East and foster a freer global society.

Brief Geography and Culture of the Middle East

12

The Middle East is a transcontinental region that encompasses 18 different countries in North Africa, West Asia, and southwestern Europe. The Mediterranean Sea is considered to be the western border while Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan mark the northern border. This region also includes stateless nations, or ethnic minorities who share a common culture but do not have access to citizenship in their geographical state or state recognition by the United Nations13. This includes Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip region located around Israel and Kurdish peoples in northern Iraq. It is an extremely diverse region with nearly 619 million people and approximately 60 natively spoken languages14.

The Middle East is one of the most religiously diverse regions in the world. The three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, were founded in the Middle East, specifically the Mesopotamia region. Nine out of ten Middle Easterners identify with the Islamic

12 “The Modern Middle East.” Jewish Virtual Library, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/modern.gif13 McClimans, Payind. “Keys to Understanding the Middle East.” Nation States and Stateless Nations | Keys to Understanding the Middle East, The Ohio State University.

14 “The Middle East Population 2017.” The Middle East Population 2017 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs), World Population Review, 1 Oct. 2017.

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

faith (approximately 93%) or over 552 million people15. Christianity is the second most popular religion with 12 million followers, and the Jewish population rest at nearly 6 million16. The large Muslim population has produced theocratic governments that operate under Islamic fundamentalist ideals. Current Islamic theocracies include Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen17.

Gender Segregation: Education and the Labor Market

One of the most significant barriers to gender equality in the Middle East is gender segregation. Gender segregation is both socially constructed and institutionalized by theocratic regimes to divide interactions between men and women in the education system and the labor market. Theocratic governments, particularly those that are Islamic, enforce gender segregation because of long-standing, conservative standards.

Segregation between men and women is a prevalent issue in the Middle Eastern labor market. For instance, Saudi Arabian labor regulations restrict women from working in predominantly male sectors. If men and women do work in the same industry, women are required to work in separate offices with separate entrances and separate security guards18. These regulations cause employers to view hiring women as a financial burden, and many choose to hire men instead. Because of this, women suffer extremely high unemployment rates. In 2013, women made up nearly 75% of the unemployment rate (~1.2 million) in Saudi Arabia and 40% of those women held advanced degrees19. In contrast, Iranian women have experienced increased levels of “labor force participation”, but this can mainly be attributed to decreased fertility rates20.

Public education systems in the Middle East are also segregated by gender though women have grown to be one of the most educated demographics in the region. For instance, Saudi women comprise 47% of undergraduate graduates and 58% of higher education graduates respectively21. In 2009, Saudi Arabian officials appointed the nation’s first female deputy education minister, Noura al-Fayez, to further increase the literacy rate among women and girls.

The Problem with Gender Inequality

The institutional oppression of women and girls has created a plethora of social, political, and economic issues in the Middle East. These issues could result in the loss of millions of dollars and alienation from the international community. The United Nations Security Council has repeatedly sanctioned countries that are known to abuse women’s rights or enforce

15 Wormald, Benjamin. “Middle East-North Africa.” Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project, 2 Apr. 201516 Ibid17 Nag, Oishimaya Sen. “Countries With A Theocratic Government Today.” WorldAtlas, 3 Mar. 201618 Alkhudair, Khalid. “How Saudi Arabia Can Bring More Women into the Workforce.” World Economic Forum, World Economic Forum, 25 Oct. 2013.19 Ibid20 Esfahani, Hadi Salehi, and Parastroo Shajari. “Gender, Education, Family Structure, and the Allocation of Labor in Iran.” Dec. 2010.21 Al-Saif, Mohammed. “Gender Segregation in Higher Education.” Arab News, Arabnews, 3 Feb. 2013

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

regulations that foster hostile environments for women22. According to the Arab Human Development Report, deep-rooted gender inequalities have continued to prevent women from acquiring “and using their capabilities to the fullest”23. Women are not able to contribute to the domestic economy, because they are subjected to gender bias on the labor market. This ultimately reduces the overall GDP of a given country and increases the unemployment rate tremendously. Gender discrimination has also prevented women from participating in decision-making bodies. This means that women are being denied representation in government which could lead to more gender biased policy making. It was not until 2015 that Saudi Arabian women were allowed to vote in municipal elections24. The United Arab Emirates allowed women to vote and participate in government only nine years earlier25. These political developments are momentous gains for women in the region, however, it could take decades for these legislations to be normalized in Middle Eastern society. Social and cultural barriers have prevented these government regulations from reaching its full potential.

Terrorist organizations have heavily contributed to the cultural discord with women’s rights and Islamic society. Many Middle Eastern terrorist organizations practice Islamic fundamentalism which capitalizes on the oppression of women and girls. For instance, the principles of Sharia law require that women defer to men in all sectors of society. This could potentially harm the gains made by women’s rights activists.

The UN Response

Since the creation of the Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations has listed equal access to education and economic prosperity as fundamental human rights which all human beings are entitled to regardless of race, nationality, religion, and gender. The UN Security Council is the primary enforcement mechanism for protecting human rights across the world. Member states may enact sanctions against those countries who are in violation of these regulations. However, economic sanctions are largely considered to be human rights violations within themselves. Sanctions on Middle Eastern countries could negatively affect the economy which ultimately hurts the citizens of the respective countries. The Third Committee of the General Assembly has expanded its capacity to address the grievances of women in the Middle East by operating alongside humanitarian organizations and pillars for human rights. Moving forward, cooperation is the most important factor in improving the state of women and girls and advancing gender equality in Middle Eastern countries.

22 “Protect Human Rights.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/en/sections/what-we-do/protect-human-rights/.23 “Arab Human Development Report 2016: Enabling Youth to Shape Their Own Future Key to Progress on Development and Stability in Arab Region.” UNDP24 “Middle East « Women Suffrage and Beyond.” Women Suffrage and Beyond RSS, womensuffrage.org/?page_id=103.25 Ibid

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

Questions to Consider

I. What incentives exist for Middle Eastern countries to advance women’s rights and how can these incentives be leveraged?

II. What cultural aspects prevent the implementation of women’s rights in the Middle East, and is it the responsibility of the UN to change or remove these aspects?

III. How has the UN Declaration of Human Rights influenced modern day feminism?IV. What political consequences could Middle Eastern countries endure by not advancing

gender equality?

Suggested Readings

I. Can and Should Human Rights Be Universal?

Lower, Matthew. “Can and Should Human Rights Be Universal?” E-International Relations, 1 Dec. 2013

II. Interview with Isobel Coleman about Feminism in the Middle East

Coleman, Isobel. “Islamic Feminists Transforming Middle East.” NPR, NPR, 27 Apr. 2010.

III. Women’s Rights in Afghanistan

Gopal, Anand. “What You Should Know About Women's Rights in Afghanistan.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Apr. 2009

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

II. Investor-State Disputes and Expropriation

Introduction

Expropriation is the forceful taking of foreign held assets such as land and technology by a government for a public purpose. It has long been a chief concern of investors in foreign nations and the governments of capital exporting countries with investments in many parts of the globe. As it stands, “the classical rules of international law have accepted the host state’s right to expropriate alien property in principle,”26 but a legal expropriation must adhere to four key rules.

a) Property has to be taken for a public purpose, b) On a non-discriminatory basis,c) In accordance with due process of law andd) Accompanied by compensation.27

For many reasons, direct expropriations in the form of forceful taking of assets from foreign investors by government agents have become rare over the years.28 However, governments may and often do utilize indirect expropriation which “leaves the investor’s title untouched, but deprives [them] of the possibility to utilize the investment in a meaningful way.”29 Investors can lose large investments when faced with an expropriation, and many choose to sue in international tribunals that exist for these types of investor-state disputes and others. While these tribunals have proven popular among investors, many small nations find themselves burdened by the legal costs associated with them and often cave to pressure from foreign businesses. A power struggle between sovereigns and corporations exists within these disputes, and it is yet to be determined who will be the victor.

A Brief History

Throughout modern history, there have been many expropriations around the globe, and in more recent times, a large number of investor-state disputes to accompany them. In general, expropriations have more often tended towards land and natural-resources as these are assets and commodities that are in a sense, tied to the geographic area where they occur.

One historically relevant expropriation was conducted by the democratic government of Guatemala over the United Fruit Company in 1952. Jacobo Árbenz was Guatemala’s 2nd democratically elected president, and as a part of his progressive land reforms, Decreto 900, he expropriated huge swaths of unutilized land from wealthy Guatemalan land owner’s, businesses

26 Dolzer, Rudolf and Schreuer, Christoph. Principles of International Investment Law. 89. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.27 UNCTAD “Expropriation UNCTAD Series on Issues in International investment agreements II.” UNCTAD.org. 2012 Accessed October 17, 2017.http://unctad.org/en/Docs/unctaddiaeia2011d7_en.pdf28 See supra note 26, 9229 Ibid

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

and even 1700 acres from himself.30 The bill redistributed land from about 1700 estates to 500,000 families in the country, and it compensated each estate owner with bonds equal to the reported value of the estate for tax assessment. Many US officials considered it “constructive and democratic in its aims” as it shared similarities with US sponsored agrarian programs in Japan and Formosa.31 However, the United Fruit Company stood to lose 234,000 acres from the deal, and due to their habit of under-reporting value for tax purposes, they only received 1.2 million for land they considered to be worth around 16 million.32 In response, UFCO began aggressively lobbying U.S. congress and spreading propaganda against the “revolutionary” government.33 Some of the propaganda stuck with U.S. officials and Guatemalan citizens, and in 1953, President Eisenhower authorized operation PBSuccess, a secret CIA mission with the objective of overthrowing Jacobo Árbenz. The CIA assembled and armed self-proclaimed “counter-revolutionaries” within Guatemala, and a bloody conflict ensued for power over the region. In 1954, when a U.S. embargo prevented Árbenz from arming his own troops, military officials forced him to resign into exile, and Guatemala’s short romp with democracy came to an end.34 The new CIA backed dictator, Castillo Armas, promptly reversed Decreto 900, returning the expropriated land to United Fruit and other estate owners and killing or arresting thousands of “squatters” in the process.35

A more recent expropriation would be that of the Yukos oil company by Russia in 2003. The conflict started in the 1990’s when Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former Russian oligarch, purchased Yukos, for $300 million from the failing Russian state under Boris Yeltsen.36 At the time, Yukos was a conglomerate of many failing businesses and had over $3.5 Billion in debt, yet it was worth significantly more than the price Khodorkovsky paid in Russia’s “fire sale.”37 In 2003, immediately following a criticism by Khodorkovsky towards the Kremlin, Yukos was hit with $27 billion in tax demands and Khodorkovsky was arrested on his private plane for tax evasion.38 In 2004, Yukos’ assets were sold off by government officials to a state-owned oil giant, Rosneft, and in 2006 the company was declared bankrupt which led to the sale of a majority of its remaining assets to the same company.39 In 2013, Khodorkovsky was pardoned by Putin, freed from prison and moved to the Netherlands where he met up with former Yukos shareholders and promptly filed suit against Russia in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the 30 Handy, Jim. ”The Most Precious Fruit of the Revolution": The Guatemalan Agrarian Reform, 1952-54. The Hispanic American Historical Review 68, no. 4 (1988). https://www.jstor.org/stable/2515678?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents 31 Central Intelligence Agency. CIA History: Operation PBSUCCESS: The United States and Guatemala, 1952-1954. 1994. Archive.org. Accessed October 17th, 2017. https://archive.org/details/CIA-Guatemala-Coup-Report 32 UNITED Fruit, The cia, and counter-Revolution. Revolutions.truman.org. Accessed October 17th, 2017. http://revolutions.truman.edu/guatemala/united%20fruit,%20the%20cia,%20and%20counter%20revolution.htm 33 Ibid34 Ibid35 Streeter, Stephen M. Managing the counterrevolution: the United States and Guatemala, 1954–1961. Ohio University Press. 2000.36 Williams, Christopher. Yukos oil battle flares up 13 years after Putin's Kremlin crushed critic Khodorkovsky. Telegraph.co.uk. 21 May 2016. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/05/21/yukos-oil-battle-flares-up-13-years-after-putins-kremlin-crushed/ 37 Ibid38 Ibid39 Ibid

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

Hague, Netherlands.40 The court issued a record-breaking award of $50 billion to the shareholders, and stirred Russia into a desperate counter-offensive.41 Through the New York law firm, White and Case, Russia appealed in a Dutch district court, and won on the grounds that Yukos shareholders, as Russian citizens, were not protected by such international courts.42 As it stands, neither side has made a decisive victory and Yukos shareholders have yet to collect any of the $50 billion award. Though Yukos shareholders have had significantly less success than UFCO in reclaiming their assets, they have taken advantage of the modern invention, investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) and in doing so have saved both money and lives.

Investor-state dispute resolution or settlement (ISDS) was unheard of in the fifties and only became possible in the late eighties thanks to the drafting of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), and free trade agreements such as NAFTA. Previously, nations would practice diplomacy or “utilize military force to protect foreign investments.”43 The first form of ISDS was established by the US in their Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (FCN) treaties shortly after World War II. These bilateral treaties were established with over two dozen ally nations between 1946 and 1956 and allowed investors to dispute the application of the treaty with foreign governments, so long as they could lobby the active support of their own government.44 This is much different from the type of dispute settlement applied today, drafted in the nineties, which allows corporations to not only dispute the application of the treaty, but to dispute the lawfulness of government actions under the treaty and to seek substantial damages for wrongdoing. Furthermore, it is worthy of note that under these treaties, governments have no option to sue or counter-sue non-government entities, only to defend themselves or settle out of court.45 This imbalance of initiation has caused some problems for smaller countries that can’t afford to cough up large legal fees in their defense, and has even led to some “vulture funds” that purchase failing government assets at a bargain deal to secure their sticker value in international arbitration.46

One such alleged case started in 2001, when Argentina defaulted on its debts and was unable to make scheduled, contractually obligated payments on government bonds. It attempted to renegotiate its debts, but several foreign investors who only recently picked up the bonds held out of the deal to seek a better payout through arbitration.47 The investors had no formal relationship to the original bonds, yet they bought into them when they were selling cheap and Argentina was likely to default. Without ISDS, the purchase of these bonds would have never been profitable or came with extremely slim returns, and to the average bondholder, the Argentinian middle class, ISDS wasn’t an option. Nevertheless, the holdouts won their initial

40 Ibid41 Ibid42 Ibid43 Vandevelde, Kenneth J., A BRIEF HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTAGREEMENTS, Accessed October 30, 2017. https://jilp.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/volume-12-1/van5.pdf 44 Ibid45 Hamby, Chris. The Billion-Dollar Ultimatum, 2016, Accessed October 30, 2017. https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrishamby/the-billion-dollar-ultimatum?utm_term=.vuemBX8B3#.ssrpKWdKk 46 Hamby, Chris. “How Big Banks Bled a Tiny Island Nation.” 2016. Accessed October 30, 2017. https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrishamby/not-just-a-court-system-its-a-gold-mine?utm_term=.ger2gxdgn#.rdwBPG4PJ 47 Ibid

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

case, and Argentina was blocked from borrowing abroad until it payed back the full debt. Most recently, Argentina has asked a US judge to lift the injunction blocking it’s foreign borrowing, and the judge has demanded that the biggest holdouts, Aurelies Capital Management and Elliot Capital Management explain why that shouldn’t be allowed.48 If the judge did decide to lift the injunctions, these two groups would be able to appeal that decision in court. While Argentinian litigators have called these companies “vultures,” the many lawyers and public policy professionals in support of ISDS simply say that the “issue… is basic fairness: Countries should keep their promises and pay their debts.”49

UN Involvement

In recent years, the United Nations, being the center-stage for international law, has become more deeply involvedin international investor-state disputes and expropriation. UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) and UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) are both organizations created by the UN with goals including facilitating the responsible use of expropriation and ISDS (Investor-state dispute settlement).

A 2010 study by UNCTAD goes into detail on investor-state disputes, and the alternatives that states and companies should familiarize themselves with. The paper recommends investors consider alternative dispute resolution which usually takes the form of negotiations or amicable settlement, and a set of “alert mechanisms” for States called dispute-prevention policies.50 Another publication of UNCTAD’s is its recurring “manual” on expropriation and trade law which it distributes freely as a guide to establishing better trade policies in developing nations.51

UNCITRAL is “recognized as the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international law.”52 UNCITRAL works to facilitate conventions, publish legal and legislative guides, provide information on case law and perform regional and national seminars on commercial law. In 2015, the UN ratified the UN Convention on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor-State Arbitration which will seek to allow any investor-state dispute filers to opt into the UNCITRAL rules on transparency. These rules will publicly disclose settlement awards and key documents, and allow open hearings and submissions by non-disputing parties. It is the goal of the Convention to eliminate the criticisms of the frequent lack of transparency in ISDS.

Questions to Consider

48 Wernau, Julia. Argentina Takes More Aggressive Stance with Bond Holders. 2016. Accessed October 30, 2017. https://www.wsj.com/articles/argentina-asks-u-s-court-to-lift-injunction-preventing-it-from-borrowing-in-global-bond-market-1455293753 49 See supra note, 4650 United Nations. Investor–State Disputes: Prevention and Alternatives to Arbitration. Unctad.org. 2010. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://unctad.org/en/docs/diaeia200911_en.pdf 51 See supra note, 2752 Unitral.org. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://www.uncitral.org/

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

1. What is the rationale for expropriation and how can it be done fairly?2. What is the effect of the World Trade Organization, and bilateral or multilateral

trade agreements such as NAFTA on investor’s rights?3. Does a universal standard for investor’s rights make sense? What would it be?4. Does an establishment of investor’s rights unfairly favor capital exporters, of

which most are developed nations?5. Can ISDS result in undeserved or ill-gotten gains? If so, what measures can be

taken to prevent this?

Further Readings

I. Investment Dispute Settlement Navigator: Find your country on this map to see how often you have been the respondent or the home state in an investment dispute. http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/ISDS

II. This entire document can be used as a source for information, but I believe the Glossary of Important terms will be the most useful section. http://unctad.org/en/docs/diaeia200911_en.pdf

III. United Fruit, the CIA and Counter-Revolution http://revolutions.truman.edu/guatemala/united%20fruit,%20the%20cia,%20and%20counter%20revolution.htm

IV. Article about a recent and controversial indirect expropriation in Indonesia https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/29/business/indonesia-freeport-mcmoran-grasberg-deal-majority.html?mcubz=1&_r=0

V. Article about increased use and misuse of ISDS. Please be especially aware of bias, and do follow up research to find your own country’s interpretation of these claims. https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrishamby/not-just-a-court-system-its-a-gold-mine?utm_term=.ger2gxdgn#.rdwBPG4PJ

III. International Food Aid and Development

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

Introduction

Food insecurity has been a major problem throughout history and continues to be a chief concern of the United Nations. Estimates by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization claim that over 794.6 million people worldwide are currently undernourished or starving.53 This is down 23.4 percent from similar studies conducted in the 1990’s, yet the problem remains that 13.5 percent of the world’s population is going without basic nutrition. The World Food Summit of 1996 set out to reduce the world’s hungry population of the time by 50%, so why is it that they could not accomplish that goal?54

Unfortunately, providing adequate and positive food aid to those most in need is not as simple as dropping rations in desperate countries. While large shipments of food to governments of malnourished populations can help in the short term, long-term food aid applied haphazardly has been shown to detriment the people and economies that it attempts to boost.

Background

Of the many organizations that seek to provide food to those most in need, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is one of the top contributors and is estimated to fund over half of the annual food aid to developing nations by their own reporting.55 Alongside USAID is a number of international organizations including but not limited to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Development Project (UNDP), the World Food Program (WFP) and EU Food Facility (EUFF). Many of these organizations rely on financiers and independent organizations to fund their projects which include the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, UN member nations, private donors, and charitable organizations such as CARE, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC) and Action Against Hunger (AAH).56 While these many organizations make up a large portion of the world’s food-aid funding, this is by no means a comprehensive list.

While it’s clear there are a large number of individuals and organizations in support of international food aid, there are also detractors that claim its economic costs in the long run are not worth the nutritional benefits in the short run. Food aid advocates often argue that aid increases resources necessary for growth and development, improves nutrition and income inequality of disadvantaged groups, and is an effective instrument of diplomacy for international organizations.57 However, detractors argue that aid dis-incentivizes local food production and effective government policy, distorts food consumption habits, creates aid dependency and

53 2016 WORLD HUNGER AND POVERTY FACTS AND STATISTICS. Worldhunger.org, 2016. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://www.worldhunger.org/2015-world-hunger-and-poverty-facts-and-statistics/ 54 Ibid55 USAID. Impacts of Food Aid: Niger’s Impending Crisis. USAID.org. April 2, 2010. Accessed October 17, 2017 http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pnadm069.pdf 56 Bhatt, Sunny. Top 5 Humanitarian Aid Organizations. Borgenproject.org. January 2014. Accessed October 17, 2017. https://borgenproject.org/5-top-humanitarian-aid-organizations/ 57 Farzin, Y. Hossein. Food Aid: Positive or Negative Economic Effects in Somalia? The Journal of Developing AreasVol. 25, No. 2 (Jan., 1991), pp. 261-282. Accessed October 17, 2017. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4191966?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

undermines the local government’s own economic development projects.58 One notable food aid project which showed positive and negative effects was deployed in Somalia in 1970 and increased in funding at a rate of 20% per year through 1984. Despite a majorly agricultural economy, Somalia became increasingly dependent on these food aid imports and slowly lost its self-reliance.59 While Somalia’s rate of production did not decline, it did stagnate while the rate of consumption increased markedly. In 1970, international food aid made up little to none of the country’s consumption, but almost one third in the early 1980’s. These food-aid packages mostly made their way to the government’s Agricultural Development Corporation which fixed grain prices below market value and offered domestic producers no viable way to compete. Furthermore, donors to the Somalian government allowed a majority of the money to be used in whatever way desired with no assurance that it would be used on food and agricultural development projects. With no effective counterbalance measures taken by the central bank, this increased spending led to inflation over the period and played yet another role in undermining domestic producer’s prices.60 The most major shortfalls of the aid program in Somalia were the incompetence of the domestic government and the lack of attention given by foreign financiers. With better targeting of funding, and more guidance from multilateral organizations, Somali’s future food crises may have been avoided.61 While it should be obvious that many citizens in need were fed thanks to these programs, the WFP estimates that as of September 2017, there are still 3 million Somalis not meeting daily food requirements and 800,000 on the brink of famine.62

Another, more encouraging example is that of Bangladesh. Working closely with USAID, the WFP and the World Bank, Bangladesh has created and successfully run a number of food aid programs specifically targeted at their most destitute citizens.63 Despite increased domestic food production and declining poverty rates over the last few decades, the WFP estimates that one-quarter of the nation’s population is still food insecure.64 The first program launched by Bangladesh in 1974 was called Food-For-Work, and it provided foreign aid rations to citizens willing to work on government construction and infrastructure rehabilitation projects. The primary goal was targeted employment and food relief for the rural poor with possible gains to production being secondary. In 1975, with the help of the WFP, the Vulnerable Group Feeding program was started and it quickly gained traction with the European community and most of the developed world. It provided a monthly wheat ration to landless or otherwise vulnerable women and later sought to train women in necessary skills for self-reliance such as growing savings. Since 1992, the government of Bangladesh has taken over and integrated some of these such programs, and as a result the responsibility has slowly shifted from international funders to the government.65 Despite food production growing faster than population and a stable macroeconomy, Bangladesh had another severe food crisis in 2008. The World Bank intervened, funding a 130-million-dollar project, but ended the project only six months later when the 58 Ibid59 Ibid60 Ibid61 Ibid62 Somalia. WFP.org. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://www1.wfp.org/countries/somalia 63 David A. Atwood, A. S. M. Jahangir, Herbie Smith, Golam Kabir. Food aid in Bangladesh: from relief to development. Ifpri.org. 2000. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://www.ifpri.org/publication/food-aid-bangladesh-relief-development 64 Bangladesh. WFP.org. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://www1.wfp.org/countries/bangladesh 65 See supra note 56, 161

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

country had gotten back on its feet. By no means is Bangladesh an oasis of food, but well-guided targeted programs and a smart balance of aid and development by the government has led them to a much better outcome than some other cases and put them on the path to ending hunger.

UN Involvement

The UN has made significant contributions to the fight against hunger since its founding and has created a number of organizations through its efforts. In 1945 in Quebec, 40 nations met at the UN Food and Agriculture Conference and founded the FAO.66 Since its creation it has established the first complete census of the world’s agricultural production, provided research and technology to underdeveloped nations and provided aid to malnourished citizens in times of crisis.67 The FAO hopes to use its influence to “help eliminate hunger,” “make agriculture more productive and sustainable,” “reduce rural poverty,” “enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems,” and “increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crisis.”68

Another important arm of the UN involved in food aid is the World Food Programme initiated by the UN General Assembly and the FAO in 1961. Immediately following its creation an earthquake struck northern Iraq, and the WFP went to work. Over 1500 metric tons of wheat, 270 tons of sugar and 27 tons of tea were sent to the affected area, and the WFP experiment was declared a success.69 While the WFP’s main focus is crisis relief and rehabilitation, the WFP went on to start school meal project’s and development projects such as the one in Bangladesh all while responding to some of history’s most terrifying crises such as the Rwandan Genocide and 2010 earthquake in Haiti.70

Lastly, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was funded in 1977 for the specific purpose of promoting agricultural development and reducing rural poverty.71 IFAD has developed significant supervision policies, targeting practices and overall “best practice” measures for theirs and other’s development programs. They have development programs active all over Asia, Africa and Latin America, and plan to continue to expand their projects.

Questions to Consider

1. What is the appropriate balance between food aid and food development? How would your country allocate these scarce resources?

2. Is long-term food-aid a necessary evil or inherently a good thing? What safety measures should be taken considering food aids potential for harm?

3. What is your country’s relationship with international food aid? Are you a donor, receiver or neither?

66 FAO 70th Anniversary. Fao.org. 2015. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://www.fao.org/70/1945-55/en/ 67 Ibid68 What we do. Fao.org. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://www.fao.org/about/what-we-do/en/ 69 History. Wfp.org. Accessed October 17, 2017. http://www1.wfp.org/history 70 Ibid71 Development effectiveness. Ifad.org. Accessed October 17, 2017. https://www.ifad.org/en/what/development_effectiveness/tags/1803467

UGAMUNC XXIVGeneral Assembly, Third Committee

4. How should governments be encouraged to respond when they are offered food aid? What are their responsibilities in that relationship?

5. Should non-government organizations involved in food-aid be regulated? If so, how and why?

Additional Readings

I. Food Aid: Positive or Negative Economic Effects in Somalia. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4191966?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

II. Food Aid in Bangladesh. http://www.ifpri.org/publication/food-aid-bangladesh-relief-development

III. FAO, IFAD and WFP reach 22 million people with massive EU investment in agriculture. http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/115616/icode/

IV. Global Issues; Food. http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/food/index.html V. Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics. http://www.worldhunger.org/2015-world-

hunger-and-poverty-facts-and-statistics/