• UN News

  • First round of talks ahead of UN sustainable development conference ends January 28, 2012
  • General Assembly President confers with Security Council counterpart January 28, 2012
  • Countries adopt UN-backed declaration to enhance protection of marine environment January 28, 2012
  • Cholera fight in DR Congo receives $9 million boost from UN fund January 27, 2012
  • UN staffer held in Yemen released unharmed January 27, 2012
  • UN welcomes launch of business initiatives to end HIV among children by 2015 January 27, 2012
  • UNICEF appeals for nearly $1.3 billion to assist children in 2012 January 27, 2012
  • Côte d’Ivoire must ensure secure space for political participation - UN expert January 27, 2012
  • UN honours memory of children who perished in the Holocaust January 27, 2012
  • Senior UN humanitarian official urges end to West Bank home demolitions January 27, 2012

• Guardian World News

  • UN nuclear inspectors arrive in Iran January 29, 2012
  • Yemeni president arrives in US for medical treatment January 29, 2012
  • Herman Cain endorses Newt Gingrich for president January 29, 2012
  • Fire kills 27 at drug rehabilitation centre in Peru January 29, 2012
  • Police use tear gas on Occupy Oakland protesters January 29, 2012
  • Sandy Gall: 'I fear Afghanistan will become like Vietnam' January 29, 2012
  • We can now see the true cost of globalisation | Observer editorial January 29, 2012
  • The camera does sometimes lie. Ask a female politician | Barbara Ellen January 29, 2012
  • Apple hit by boycott call over worker abuses in China January 29, 2012
  • Globalisation can work, but only with a unified international plan | Will Hutton January 29, 2012

U.N. creates post for women caught in war (UPI)

U.S. President Barack Obama praised the unanimous vote, saying in a statement, “Today, the United States joins with the international community in sending a simple and unequivocal message: violence against women and children will not be tolerated and must be stopped.”

Clinton to chair Security Council session on sexual violence (Christian Science monitor)

“Meeting with survivors of rape, which is now used increasingly as a tool of war, was shattering,” Clinton told a New York audience in the run-up to last week’s UN General Assembly meeting. Addressing a separate gathering of female heads of state and foreign ministers, she said, “There are people who say, ‘Well, women’s issues is an important issue, but it doesn’t rank up there with the Middle East or Iran’s nuclear threat or Afghanistan and Pakistan.’ I couldn’t disagree more.”

YOU GO, HILLARY CLINTON.

-Trish

Widespread violence against women in Afghanistan is being ignored in a culture of impunity that neither challenges nor condemns this violence, says the United Nations in a new report calling for an end to the prevailing abuse.

What they said.

Women’s rights [HUMAN rights] are not a “luxury.” Any society that sacrifices a little liberty for a little security will… oh, you know the rest.

-trish

I know this doesn’t have to do specifically with the club or with the UN, but this photograph is amazing on so many levels:

A Palestinian woman peers from a hole at a house near a UN school Pope Benedict XVI is due to visit at the Aida refuge camp in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on May 12, 2009. Pope Benedict XVI heads to the occupied West Bank on Wednesday to celebrate mass in Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, meet refugees and hold talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. AFP PHOTO/MARCO LONGARI (Photo credit should read MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images)

source (and bigger version of image).

-trish

UMWMUN would like to thank everyone who helped out and donated their textbooks to EDUrelief this semester. This is the first time we’ve done this and it was definitely a HUGE success! We were able to collect over 400 books and fill up 11 boxes to ship off to EDUrelief. WOW!  The organization will now sell these textbooks to pay for school books and learning materials for primary school students in Mongolia. We’re so amazed at the response and we’re so proud of the generosity of the students here at Mary Washington. We’ll definitely be doing this again next semester so look out for those big white boxes around campus! Thanks again, guys!  We hope everyone has a fantastic summer!  (below are some pics of the final results)

all the books piled together...

sorted by size and type... by far it seems the least liked book on campus is Mathematics All Around (that big stack of red ones). I don't blame you guys for getting rid of it. I hated that class.

-trish

Surprise! Amadinejad said something inflammatory.

-trish

From CNN:

The United States is boycotting a U.N. conference on racism next week over a document that “singles out” Israel in its criticism and conflicts with the nation’s “commitment to unfettered free speech,” the U.S. State Department said Saturday.

Basically, the United States, Canada, Israel, and possibly most of the EU are boycotting a conference on racism because the document the conference is meant to discuss (2001 Durban Programme of Action) contains language which could be taken to criticize Israel and its actions in the Palestinian conflict. The United States refused to support this document from its inception.

It’s interesting that the US criticizes Durban because of supposed threats to free speech- language concerning “incitement to religious hatred,” yet refuses to even meet to discuss such a document unless the offending language is removed. Based on what I’ve seen, this conference wouldn’t result in any binding, mandatory policies; it’s simply a discussion of what has changed since 2001. By removing the “objectionable” language you turn this into little more than a venue to pat yourself on the back for all the great things you’ve done. Which has its place, but it’s a mistake to whitewash over any problems because they might involve you. The Obama administration has said from day one that it supports dialogue with all nations- even those with whom we disagree (ie venezuela and Iran, who interestingly enough will be attending), yet that is exactly what the US is refusing to do by boycotting the Durban Review Conference.

Part of the agenda of the conference is to discuss prejudice against Muslims and Arabs, which the US, EU, and Israel are obviously having problems with. So, instead of acknowledging the problem, we choose to deny its existence? Ignoring the elephant in the room will not make it go away. I could easily see this turning into a huge America-bashing party- instead of the “open dialogue” Obama ostensibly desires. If the US really wants to ‘seek broader engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect’, we’d have people going to Geneva on Monday. But instead it looks like we’re afraid of getting our feelings hurt.

See also:
UN: Durban Review Conference, Geneva, 20-24 April 2009

BBC:US boycotts UN racism conference

CNN: U.S. boycotts racism conference, says it ‘singles out’ Israel

IACenter: Behind the U.S. government boycott of Durban Review Conference – International Conference Against Racism

The Guardian: Iran jails US journalist Roxana Saberi as spy

UPDATE:
BBC: Boycott blow for UN racism forum
4/19: More western nations back out, UN officials and human rights groups are disappointed etc etc.

-trish

P.S. Disagree with me? Awesome! Leave a comment and tell me how wrong I am. At least then I know someone’s reading. Better yet, come to our meetings next semester and disagree with me in person. We’d love to have you.

PSS. Books for Books starts Monday! Drop boxes in all dorms/academic buildings! Donate donate donate!

Tired of buying that math book for $100 and then getting next to nothing for it at buyback? So are we. This year, donate your textbooks and make a difference. UMWMUN is pleased to announce their participation with EDUrelief, an organization that works to make education possible for children in Mongolia.

From their website:
Edurelief was founded in 2006 in response to an issue that is affecting thousands of Mongolian children and their families. Due to economic decline in the country, a lack of funding in the education system is forcing families to either purchase textbooks required for their children’s education or have their children drop out of school. Because of low wages and high unemployment rates, the cost of these textbooks, often the equivalent of a month’s salary per child, is simply out of reach for many families. edurelief works with local school systems across Mongolia to provide these textbooks to the neediest families ensuring that every child receives their right to education and a brighter future.

As part of EDUrelief’s Books for Books program, UMWMUN will be collecting textbook donations in all residence halls and academic buildings from April 20-May 1. Drop off your unwanted textbooks in the boxes provided. 100% of the proceeds from selling these books will be used by EDUrelief to buy schoolbooks for disadvantaged kids in Mongolia. It takes $20 to buy books for an entire year for these kids. You’ll be lucky if you get that much from the folks at the bookstore.

Donations are, of course, not limited to textbooks. Any and all books are accepted. Look at this as a chance to clean out your bookshelf.

Snappy video from the folks at EDUrelief:

Books for Books Promo from Edurelief on Vimeo.

Any questions? Feel free to comment here or post on our facebook event page.

-Trish

hellooooo everyone!

Welcome to the BRAND NEW UMW Model UN website…blog… thing.  Hopefully it’ll look less bland soon, but for the moment I’m glad I got the thing working.  Stay tuned for more updates.  Yay MUN!

-Trish “Madam Secretary” Greene

• Welcome to the official website for Model UN at the University of Mary Washington. We are a long established club on campus and attend several conferences per year around the United States. Our other activities include community service events and bringing speakers and encouraging debate on campus about relevant issues.

• Recent Posts

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