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ACADEMIC GUIDE

SOCHUM

Natalia MachucaSebastian Trujillo

Presidents

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INDEX

1. President’s Letter -----------------------------------------------------------------------3

2. Commission Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------4

3. Agenda Development: South Sudan’s Humanitarian Crisis ---------------------6

4. Glossary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------10

5. Qarmas -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------10

6. Bibliography-----------------------------------------------------------------------------11

7. Countries List ---------------------------------------------------------------------------12

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1. PRESIDENTS’ LETTER.

Dear delegates,

Our names are Natalia Machuca and Sebastian Trujillo, we are both cursing tenth grade in

Colegio Bilingüe Diana Oese and we are deeply honored to be your presidents. Together, we

sum up 12 MUN’s of experience and we assure you that we’ll be extra prepared for the

model. While Sebastian has enjoyed all the models he’s been to, I’ve had a few not so good

experiences. However, that’s the reason I’m here, to make sure your time in the model is the

full learning experience it is supposed to be. We can tell you that we are here to guide you in

your path to become the best delegate that you can be.

We fully understand the fear that comes with public speaking, specially when you’re

representing a whole nation in front of other powerful countries of the world. You need to

remember that you are here to learn, to grow and to fulfill your nation’s role in the global

community. As presidents it is our job to help you in any way needed, so don’t hesitate to

solve any doubts that you may have with us. We ask of you to be really prepared and gather

as much information as you can for the debate to be successful; remember, you are the ones

that make up the commission and the quality of it. We want you to fully trust us and not be

afraid to speak your mind, especially if this is your first time in the model.

We expect to see you soon in order to share the wonderful experience that are UN models.

Feel free to contact us through the commission's email (sochum.muncon@gmail.com).

Sincerely,

Your presidents,

Natalia Machuca & Sebastian Trujillo.

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2. COMMISSION INTRODUCTION.

The Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Commission (SOCHUM) is the third committee of the

United Nations General Assembly. It was created in 1948 after World War II and is based on

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. SOCHUM’s agenda focuses on social,

humanitarian affairs and human rights issues that affect peoples all over the world. It is

closely related to the Human Rights Council as it examines the reports and human rights

questions.The Committee also takes into account issues like the development of gender

equality, the protection of children, indigenous groups, refugees and minorities ensuring the

elimination of racism and racial discrimination.. The Committee also addresses important

social problems to be solved by crime prevention, criminal justice and drug control, and it

also focuses on the issues regarding global society, such as the youth, disabled population,

family and youth.

Currently there are 193 nations that make up the United Nations General Assembly and the

group of countries play an important role in shaping the rules of International Humanitarian

Law (IHL). According to the Charter of the United Nations, the UN Assembly has the

obligation to ensure international peace and security, that includes its subsidiary organs like

SOCHUM, be the mediator in international conflicts promoting a weaponless resolution that

benefits both sides of the conflicts as well as the civilian population.

SOCHUM is one of the most important committees because it takes into account the social

and cultural issues that armed conflicts generate and seeks a way to solve them. Because

SOCHUM targets cultural and social arguments it is a very diverse commission that can play

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#BETHECHANGEan important part in the debates that other commissions are engaged in. This diversity makes

SOCHUM a commission that requires out-of-the-box thinking to tackle the main

humanitarian issues that are been developed all over the world, and for once considering

culture and social impact as an important agent that shapes the final resolution. SOCHUM

bases itself in parameters like the promotion of sustainable development as a tool for

economic growth, international peace and security and the International Declaration of

Human Rights

Throughout time, SOCHUM has certain important achievements worth noticing. up to 2016

has come to notable social resolutions like the ones involving sexual orientation and gender

identity of each individual, the LGBTI community’s rights are considered universal rights

and SOCHUM has highlighted the work of some countries like the United States for their

work on the defence of said rights.

Another example is the social development achievements showed in World Summit on Social

Development in Copenhagen, 1995. It has also established the 2030 agenda for sustainable

development in hopes of eradicating poverty worldwide.

One of the most recent proposals has to do with the digital era, and SOCHUM has considered

the digital rights that every individual has such as privacy and liberty of expression on the

Internet, as well as tackling important issues of our times involving media like cyber-bullying

and extortion through the web.

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3. AGENDA DEVELOPMENT: SOUTH SUDAN’S HUMANITARIAN CRISIS.

a. Historical Background.

South Sudan is the newest additioned delegation to the United Nations. The former country

of Sudan split into two separate nations in July 2011 for various political differences. South

Sudan’s in the centre of Africa bordered by countries like Chad, Congo, Uganda. It has a

great amount of oil on its territory, but itis one of the least developed countries in the world

today.

The tension grew between two sides of the conflict, directed by presidentSalvaKiir and

deputy Riek Machar. This also involves an ethnic confrontation, which started in December

of 2013, because the two leaders are from the two largest ethnic groups in the country, Dinka

and Nuer respectively.

Then, Sudan’s People Liberation

Movement was formed with the supporters

of President Kiir, this being a political

party with the objective of seizing control

of the newborn nation. On the other hand,

deputy Machar created the Sudan’s People

Liberation Movement In Opposition to

challenge the authority of Kiir.

The clash between the two groups has generated a series of repercussions in the country’s

economy, politics and society.

Violence spread around the country quickly, bringing damaging consequences such as

413,000 displaced civilians in just the first month since the eruption of the conflict; due to

this, several UN bases were turned into emergency displacement camps. The number of

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#BETHECHANGEInternally Displaced People (IDP) goes up to 4 million according to the USAID (U.S Agency

for International Development) and over 50,000 have been killed since December 2013.

In August, 2015, a peace agreement between the rebels (SPLM-IO) and the government was

signed, president SalvaKiir supported this due to the threat of international sanctions. To

indicate the initiative to end the civil war, Machar returned to South Sudan as vice president

(2016) after two years since he first left. Shortly after his returned, violence broke out once

again between the government and the opposition. Because of this, Mashar fled again the

country and Kiir replaced him with now first VP General Taban Deng Gai, Kiir states that

Mashar’s actions are illegal under the circumstances and that he is still first VP.

The South Sudan’s crisis includes international involvement of countries such as China, this

delegation in particular stands out since it possesses a longstanding principle of non-

interference in other countries internal situations, this can be explained from an economical

and political point of view, since it’s well known that nations that get involved in internal

conflicts seek something for itself rather than actually helping the state.

b. Current Situation.

The conflict has left a balance of over 50,000 people dead, between civilians and armed

forces of both sides, and more than 1.6 million sudanese residents have been forced to leave

their homes in order to save their lives, leaving everything behind since the civil war broke

out in December 2013

The United Nations regional protection force has already started working to solve the

problem, sending peacekeepers all around the war zones in the capital, Juba, and its planning

to expand their presence to other areas beyond the epicenter of danger.

The UN Security Council, in the Resolution 2304

(2016), authorized the deployment of over 4,000

regional protection units to alleviate the situation in

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#BETHECHANGESouth Sudan. These units will guarantee the protection of key facilities in the capital and

routes

in and out of these cities, as well as the civilian’s safety.

Another alarming consequence of the civil war is the great famine that the south sudanese

people are suffering, due to the presence of armed forces in the main roads that have ceased

the supply run to different villages. This, as well as affecting the people’s quality of life and

nutrition, has an impact in the economical stability of the families since their wealth is

determined by the size of their cattle.

The deplorable conditions has forced the sudanese families to leave their land and migrate

into other bordering countries.

Violence against civilians include targeted attacks, gender and ethnic-based crimes,

kidnappings and murders, as well as the burning and pillaging of the people’s homes and

crops.

The constant assaults and looting of the aid convoys full of supplies makes it extremely

difficult to reach the families that need this kind of support to survive, making South Sudan a

hostile area to both the inhabitants and the UN soldiers.

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#BETHECHANGEThe refugee families have had to move more than once to escape from the growing violence.

Some have fled to the more rural parts of the country, with their children on their backs, few

possessions they managed to save or nothing at all. In this conditions there is little to eat but

wild plants like grass, roots and water lilies, certainly not enough to feed a family of five, but

these people would rather live with the risk of starvation than face the violence that has

consumed their villages.

There are several refugee camps, but the food and clean water supply is not enough to sustain

every person lodging there. The deplorable sanitary conditions have generated a series of

diseases like cholera and malaria and other infection that cause dehydration, weight loss and

even death, all because of the contaminated water and poor disposal of human residues.

The poor infrastructure and lack of technology has ruined South Sudan’s agricultural

potential, so growing enough crops to feed thousands of people has never been easy for the

country. The agriculturist have struggled, but the food supply was starting to improve since in

2013 there were rich harvest of crops like millet, maize and sorghum that boosted the

economy and people’s quality of life. This was before the current conflict began.

Since half of the available fertile land is now a war zone, farmers have been unable to plant

seeds, prepare the land and harvest food for sustaining their families.

Because of the humanitarian crisis that South Sudanese people are living, several NGOs have

taken action to provide help with health, emergency response and livelihoods and food to the

IDPs in the country. Some of these organizations include: ACTED, GOAL, among others.

c. To Take Into Account.

● Despite the peace agreements that were reached, the conflict has not stopped.

● If the civil war continues, the population is expected to reach a critical level of

malnutrition and extreme poverty.

● As of now, South Sudan has the third largest refugee crisis, only after Syria and

Afghanistan.

● There is not a stable political leader in the country.

● Other countries have interfered in the civil war.

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#BETHECHANGE● The UN forces are also being attacked by rebels.

● The existence of NGO’s that provide aid to South Sudan’s population that experiences

health issues and extreme hunger.

● The need of a final stop to the conflict in order to prevent future fatalities and IDPs.

4. GLOSSARY

-IDP. Internally Displaced People.

-NGO. Non-Governmental Organization.

-SPLM-IO. Sudan’s People Liberation Movement In Opposition.

-USAID. U.S Agency for International Development.

-VP. Vice-president.

-UN. United Nations.

5. QARMAS

QARMAS (Questions A Resolution, Must Answer) are a series of questions that will set the

guide for you to develop your investigation as a delegate of a nation. It is of extreme

importance that you have the answer to these questions as they are crucial for the

development of the debate and your performance in the model.

● Has your country experienced a civil war, present or past? How did the internal

administration of your country handled it?

● Does your country have a non-interference policy?

● Is your country receiving South Sudanese refugees? if so, what are the action plans

that are being held to address the issue?

● Is your country supporting the South Sudan’s Government or the rebels?

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6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

- Humanitarian Crisis in South Sudan. (2017). CARE. Retrieved 21 November 2017,

from http://www.care.org/emergencies/south-sudan-humanitarian-crisis

- (www.dw.com), D. (2017). Little progress two years after South Sudan peace deal |

Africa | DW | 25.08.2017. DW.COM. Retrieved 21 November 2017, from

http://www.dw.com/en/little-progress-two-years-after-south-sudan-peace-deal/a-

40241953

- Mercy Corps. (2017). Quick facts: What you need to know about the South Sudan

crisis. [online] Available at: https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/south-sudan/quick-

facts-what-you-need-know-about-south-sudan-crisis

- South Sudan: What is the fighting about?.(2017). BBC News. Retrieved 21 November

2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-25427965

- China’s Foreign Policy Experiment in South Sudan. (2017). Crisis Group. Retrieved

21 November 2017, from https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/south-

sudan/288-china-s-foreign-policy-experiment-south-sudan

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7. COUNTRIES LIST

1. Republic of South Sudan

2. Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition Representative

3. UnitedStates of America

4. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

5. People’sRepublic of China

6. Republic of Kenya

7. Republic of Uganda

8. ArabRepublic of Egypt

9. SyrianArabRepublic

10. DemocraticRepublic of Congo

11. Republic of South Africa

12. Federal Republic of Nigeria

13. Republic of Chad

14. RussianFederation

15. French Republic

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