KENYA MODEL UNITED NATIONS

20TH SESSION

1st MOCK DEBATE

THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY THIRD

COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL, HUMANITARIAN AND

CULTURAL ISSUES

BACKGROUND GUIDE

AGENDA:

ADDRESSING SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION AS A CAUSE FOR POLICE

BRUTALITY.

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

1

LETTER FROM THE DIAS

Greetings Delegates,

It is with immense thrill and sheer enthusiasm that we as the dais members of the third General

Assembly committee on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues welcome you to the 1st Mock

Debate of the 20th session. The Dias shall consist of the following diligent team members Charles

Musee (Chair), Pauline Wambui (Co-chair), Lindsay Kagendo (Committee Secretary) and

Samah Rustam (Committee Rapporteur).

Indubitably, this session is unlike any other Mock debate you have ever encountered, after

elaborative and fierce discussions the team has strategically selected the most sought-after and

lucid predicament majority of the world currently faces. Based on the sustainable development

goal number 16 (Sixteen) on Peace, Justice and Strong institutions, the topic chosen entails a

certain enigma that has recently flooded the news and shattered the hearts of many police brutality.

In light of your designated countries’ foreign policies, we anticipate you will engage in purposeful

and constructive discussions as well as strive to forge agreements. In order to benefit from this

background guide, it is utterly crucial that you dissect the information given in complete depth and

assimilate its’ message.

As enriching as this background guide is it is also an opportunity for you to cultivate your research

skills as well as enhance your comprehensive and critical thinking abilities, and hence it is

advisable to remain receptive to other sources of information. Kindly keep in mind that position

papers are to be sent on this email: sochum@kenyamodelun.or.ke. The deadline for sending

position papers is on 28 October 2020

This debate offers unparalleled delegate experience and we assure you that you will enjoy a

plethora of invigorating, friendly and substantive arguments.

We look forward to hearing from you soon

Warm Regards,

SOCHUM Dias.

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

2

MANDATE OF THE COMMITTEE

The operation of SOCHUM is crucial to perpetuating and maintaining human dignity and

compliance with international humanitarian law worldwide. A principal part of the agenda of the

committee is scrutinizing of Human rights concerns, reports from special rapporteurs, special

representatives and working groups as well as from the Human Rights Council.

Some of the proliferating issues include the rudimentary right to liberation through diminishing

social discrimination, concerns entailing indigenous affairs, the moral devoir towards asylum

seekers and refugees as well as other marginalized groups, crime prevention, protection of women

and children, the rights of persons with disabilities and international drug trade.

The member states have the responsibility to find solutions that will shape the world and social

issues so as to decrease the possibility of a trivial dispute.

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

3

INTRODUCTION

Social discrimination is defined as sustained inequality between individuals on the basis of

illness, disability, religion, sexual orientation, race, or any other measures of diversity. Social

justice is aimed at promoting a society which is just and equitable, valuing diversity, providing

equal opportunities to all its members, irrespective of their disability, ethnicities, gender, age,

sexual orientation or religion, and ensuring fair allocation of resources and support for their

human rights. (online, 2016) Any number of diverse factors, including those mentioned above,

but also education, social class, political affiliation, beliefs, or other characteristics can lead to

discriminatory behaviors, especially by those who may have a degree of power in their hands,

which includes the police.1

Police brutality is the unwarranted or excessive and often illegal use of force against civilians by

police officers. Forms of police brutality have ranged from assault and battery (e.g., beatings) to

1https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540261.2016.1210359#:~:text=Social%20discrimination%20is%20defined%20as,any%20other%20measures%20of%20diversity.

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

4

mayhem, torture, and murder. Some broader definitions of police brutality also encompass

harassment (including false arrest), intimidation, and verbal abuse, among other forms of

mistreatment.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

There has been a sharp increase of cases of police brutality all around the globe, The United

Nations human rights chief has warned that countries flouting the rule of law in the name of

fighting the novel coronavirus pandemic risk sparking a “human rights disaster”. UN High

Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on countries to refrain from violating

fundamental rights “under the guise of exceptional or emergency measures, Emergency powers

should not be a weapon government can wield to quash dissent, control the population, and even

perpetuate their time in power,” she warned in a statement. (Gulf today, 2020).

The police are quick to use excessive force, which is unlawful causing death, injury, and

devastation as a response to protests or demonstrations. Unlawful force by police can also violate

the right to be free from discrimination, the right to liberty and security, and the right to equal

protection under the law. (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) , 1948)

According to the Amnesty International in a study they under took in countries with high rates of

killings by police , there is often a combination of factors including inadequate laws, racial or

other forms of discrimination, insecurity or conflict, and entrenched impunity. Governments who

routinely trample on other human rights like freedom of expression and peaceful assembly often

authorize heavy-handed police responses to protests and demonstrations. We’ve seen this

recently in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Hong Kong and Nicaragua.

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

5

Impunity for killings by police often leads to a deadly cycle of violence. In Brazil for

example, officers routinely kill people who pose no threat – mostly young Black men – safe in

the knowledge that these killings are rarely investigated or prosecuted. (AMNESTY

INTERNATIONAL SUBMISSION FOR THE UN UNIVERSAL PERIODIC, 2017) No one

should be treated differently by law enforcement because of their race, gender, sexual orientation

or gender identity, religion or belief, political or other opinion, ethnicity, national or social

origin, disability, or other status. Everyone has the right to equal treatment under the law.

Yet racism and other forms of discrimination are built into law enforcement and justice systems

around the world; from racial profiling and discriminatory police checks, to selective

enforcement of drug policies and broad application of anti-terror laws. International human

rights law strictly prohibits all forms of discrimination. 2

Most of these injustices or discrimination seem to heavily target individuals of color. The

massive protests on the streets in Europe and the United States of America of people supporting

the movement of BLACK LIVES MATTER are quite heartwarming and helps to increase

diversity and tolerance, but the actual target should be to change the balance of power in our

societies. Class is a major factor that contributes to how structural racism is experienced on a

day-to-day basis, working class black communities all over the world face daily harassment from

the police while also experiencing worse health outcomes, trauma and poor housing. That fight is

not a choice for black people, as this is the situation, they were born in. The biggest problem

barring this social justice we seek are the lack of proper legislation in many countries.3 Many

2 https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/police-brutality/ 3 https://www.livescience.com/evidence-police-brutality-reform.html

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

6

reforms are needed in the criminal justice system of most countries, including improved police

training; data collection and accountability; repairing the fractured relationship between police

and community; and, in instances where lives are taken, the promise of a diligent, independent,

and thorough investigation and prosecution, when appropriate.

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

7

PAST UN ACTIONS TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM

African countries called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to urgently debate racism

and police brutality amid the unrest in the United States and beyond. Several speakers endorsed

the idea of creating an independent commission of inquiry, urging the Council to take action and

not become a passive observer.4

The UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution by consensus, on June 19th, condemning

racist practices by security forces and mandating that the UN high commissioner for human

rights, Michelle Bachelet, together with UN experts prepare a global report on systemic racism

and excessive use of force against people of African descent by law enforcement. The approved

text underwent many alterations subsequent to the original version presented by Burkina Faso,

representing the group of African countries. In the initial proposal, an inquiry commission was to

be set up to investigate these violations in the United States and in other countries with a history

of violence against black people. According to Asano, Brazil could also become a target given its

history of police brutality against black people.5 The United Nations represented by the UN High

Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet called for an end to police violence. In her

statement, she asked those in charge to also reflect on what has driven people to boiling point, to

listen and learn and to take actions that truly tackle inequality and called on countries to refrain

from violating fundamental rights under the guise of exceptional or emergency measures.6

4https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25971&LangID=E.

5 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25981&LangID=E.

6 https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066722.

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

8

In the UK, Amnesty International has documented how the Gangs Matrix, a racially biased

database used by London’s Met Police, criminalizes and stigmatizes young Black men. Many

people have been labelled as suspected gang members for reasons as trivial as the music they

listen to or the videos they watch online. Once on the Gangs Matrix, individuals are targeted for

stop and search operations by police, while the stigma of being associated with a ‘gang’ can

make it harder to find jobs, housing or education. Amnesty documents how police officers who

unlawfully kill or injure people often get away with it.7

In a resolution (A/HRC/43/L.35) on the promotion and protection of human rights in

Nicaragua, the Council urges the Government of Nicaragua to respect the rights to freedom of

peaceful assembly, of association and of expression, and the independence of the media, the

prosecution authority and the judiciary by authorizing peaceful and public demonstrations,

restoring the legal registration of civil society organizations and independent media outlets that

were cancelled, and returning seized assets, and encourages continued and strengthened

cooperation between the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights

Council and its mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua. The

Council also requests the High Commissioner to enhance monitoring by the Office of the High

Commissioner and to continue to report on the situation of human rights in Nicaragua.8

7 https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/police-brutality/ 8 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25981&LangID=E

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

9

BLOC POSITIONS

Countries organize their police agencies variedly ranging from single or multiple forces controlled

nationally to regional semi-autonomous forces9. Different approaches are used when it comes to

redress for disciplining members of the police force.

THE AMERICA’S

This region has been on the spotlight for the use of the police force as an agent of social

discrimination. Violence against people based on sexual orientation, race and economic status has

been displayed severally having one of the highest numbers of incidences10

Laws in some of these countries such as Peru do not put any restraint on policing agencies in use

of force11. Mexico has abandoned the policing system and chooses to use the military due to

entrenched impunity. Most of the countries have internal mechanisms that protect or slacken the

prosecution of law enforcement officials. The system prevents actual action from being taken as

most manage to appeal and successfully get their jobs back or go unpunished12.

EUROPE

It’s considered one of the safest regions to live in worldwide. However, migrants and refugees face

the highest levels of discrimination. This has been demonstrated through the EU’s securitization

9 ‘Peru: Law Protects Abusive Policing’ (Human Rights Watch, 12 May 2020)

<https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/peru-law-protects-abusive-policing> accessed 6 October 2020. 10 ‘Shielded from Justice’: <https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/police/uspo28.htm> accessed 7 October 2020. 11 Ainhoa Ruiz Benedicto and Pere Brunet, ‘35 CENTRE DELÀS REPORT’ 58. 12 ‘Hundreds of Police Killings in India, but No Mass Protests’

<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/world/asia/india-police-brutality.html> accessed 8 October 2020.

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

10

agenda by beefing up security at borders13. The larger problem is that governments fail to

acknowledge the violence perpetrated by the police force and it’s scarcely documented14 .

The region uses the European Court of Human Rights to adjudicate issues. Strikingly, South East

Europe is notorious as many cases go unreported because many people assume that they will go

uninvestigated. Groups that are targeted in this region are minorities such as the Roma and colored

people15.

ASIA

Most governments in the region deny the occurrence of police violence. Protests in areas such as

Hong Kong go unheard in a totalitarian regime16. In India, it has become the norm that Muslims

and lower-caste Hindus. The level of violence has been normalized to the extent that it’s considered

as part of the process of the police interrogation17. Others defend police actions as war on drugs

but it targets the poor. Police are incentivized to prosecute people by the head and have built rackets

with funeral homes. The people feel afraid to seek help as the and hence the chances of them

seeking help are narrow as the people expected to protect them are the ones fund and instigating

for their deaths.18

13 ‘Global Focus on Police Brutality Strikes Chord in Southeast Europe’ (Balkan Insight, 12 June 2020)

<https://balkaninsight.com/2020/06/12/global-focus-on-police-brutality-strikes-chord-in-southeast-

europe/> accessed 8 October 2020. 14 ‘Hong Kong and US Protests Are Different – in the Outcome’ (South China Morning Post, 16 June 2020)

<https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3088985/hong-kong-and-us-protests-are-different-how-

police-brutality-claims> accessed 8 October 2020. 15 ‘Hundreds of Police Killings in India, but No Mass Protests’ (n 6). 16 ‘Philippines: The Police’s Murderous War on the Poor’

<https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/01/philippines-the-police-murderous-war-on-the-poor/>

accessed 9 October 2020. 17 Patrick Egwu, ‘As the World Marches for American Victims, Police Brutality in Africa Goes Unnoticed’

(Foreign Policy) <https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/17/black-lives-matter-protests-africa-police-

brutality/> accessed 9 October 2020. 18 Darrel W Stephens, ‘Police Discipline: A Case for Change’ 27.

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

11

AFRICA

The forces used in Africa are engaged for pushing their political agenda. Scores of people die in

the hands of law enforcement officers by the use of excessive force. This makes it an unsafe area

as people to hold peaceful strikes, or demonstrations as forces constantly retaliate. Moreover, it

taints the image of Africans as we are seen to be discriminated not only by others but also by our

own. This has been illustrated through South Africa’s integrated police force that was thought to

be a solution towards violence minorities faced but it has proven problematic.

There are attempts in the region to persecute the officers that are culpable but they are few and

spaced as most governments deny the allegations and processes are often very slow.

QUESTIONS A RESOLUTION MUST ANSWER 1. What reforms should governments implement in order to reduce police brutality?

2. What role should the civil society take up in addressing police brutality?

3. How can governments get more involved in taking care of both its citizens’ rights as well

as those of the police?

4. How can the UN bring about cohesiveness in society as a means to reduce if not end

discrimination?

5. How can the UN facilitate the creation of a good relationship between a country’s

citizens and police force?

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

12

REFERENCES (n.d.).

1. The Human Rights Council holds an urgent debate on current racially inspired human

rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests.

Ohchr.org. (2020). Retrieved from

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25971&LangID=E.

2. UN raises alarm about police brutality in COVID-19 lockdowns. Aljazeera.com. (2020).

Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/4/28/un-raises-alarm-about-police-

brutality-in-covid-19-lockdowns.

3. What is police brutality? Amnesty.org. (2020). Retrieved from

https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/police-brutality/.

4. Human Rights Council calls on top UN rights officials to take action on racist violence.

UN News. (2020). Retrieved from https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066722.

5. OHCHR the Human Rights Council adopts 14 resolutions, including on excessive use of

force by law enforcement officers against Africans and people of African descent. Ohchr.org.

(2020). Retrieved from

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25981&LangID=E.

6. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SUBMISSION FOR THE UN UNIVERSAL PERIODIC. (2017, May).

Retrieved from 27TH SESSION OF THE UPR WORKING GROUP:

https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AMR1954672016ENGLISH.pdf

7. Disciplinary actions. (1998, June). Retrieved from Human rights watch:

https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/police/uspo28.htm

8. EWU, P. (2020, JUNE 17, 2020 17). As the World Marches for American Victims, Police Brutality

in Africa Goes Unnoticed. Retrieved from https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/17/black-lives-

matter-protests-africa-police-brutality/

9. Gulf today. (2020, April 27). Retrieved from

https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2020/04/27/pandemic-could-create-human-rights-disaster-un-

rights-chief-warns

10. Kammerer, P. (2020, June 16). Uncover important stories from China that affect the world.

Retrieved from South China Morning Post:

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3088985/hong-kong-and-us-protests-are-

different-how-police-brutality-claims

11. Latal, S. (2020, june 12). GLOBAL FOCUS ON POLICE BRUTALITY STRIKES CHORD IN SOUTHEAST

EUROPE. Retrieved from https://balkaninsight.com/2020/06/12/global-focus-on-police-

brutality-strikes-chord-in-southeast-europe

12. Maizland, A. C. (2020, july 30). How Police Compare in Different Democracies. Retrieved from

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/how-police-compare-different-democracies

SOCHUM COMMITTEE FIRST MOCK DEBATE BACKGROUND GUIDE

13

13. online, T. a. (2016). International Review of Psychiatry. Retrieved from

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540261.2016.1210359#:~:text=Social%20disc

rimination%20is%20defined%20as,any%20other%20measures%20of%20diversity.

14. P, B. A. (n.d.). , ‘35 CENTRE DELÀS REPORT.

15. Peru: Law Protects Abusive Policing. (2020, May 12). Retrieved from

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/peru-law-protects-abusive-policing

16. Philippines: The police's murderous war on the poor. (2017, January 31). Retrieved from

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/01/philippines-the-police-murderous-war-on-

the-poor/

17. Stephens DW. (n.d.). ‘Police Discipline: A Case for Change’ 27.

18. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) . (1948). General Assembly resolution 217 A

(p. 8). Paris on : United nations.