Study Finds Over 9,000 Brothels Masquerading as Legit Businesses

Hey guys,


I hope everyone's having a great week (and getting pumped for conference)! I wanted to bring to light an issue concerning the growing worldwide sex trafficking industry, mainly the branch that deals within warranted establishments, namely businesses masquerading as massage parlors. These are an example of the sex trafficking industry within developed western countries, namely the US and Europe, and the article cites a study by the national anti-human trafficking organization Polaris stating that over 9,000 of these brothels in the US alone are claiming to be legitimate.

Outwardly, they pose multiple issues to law enforcement: visitors have an immediate alibi of "just wanting a massage", most workers are brought from places like China or South Korea, and so speak little to no English, and there are no immediate warning signs; Esther Lai, a Polaris consultant on survivor experiences explains that "Women are rarely locked or chained inside massage parlors, but this does not mean that they feel empowered to leave". This is an example of implicit, rather than explicit, sexual slavery; women are bound by financial and social pressure to stay in their circumstance, but these reasons are quick to be shut down by the traffickers or store owners in any legal scenario.

Media outlets focus on the brothel industry in Southeast Asia, namely Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines; these countries have an outward acceptance of sex trafficking and tourism, and government interference is basically nonexistent. For example, according to the US Department of State 2008 Country Narrative, foreign domestic workers in Singapore often face "unlawful confiscation of their travel documents, restrictions on their movements, confinement, and/or physical and sexual abuse". However, through this coverage, western nations are partially exonerated in their contribution to the global sex trafficking system, however, this couldn't be further from the truth, establishments such as these are just as prevalent in places like the US, but fall under the radar for both law enforcement and media coverage.

Delegates should ask how, as members of an international community, how outwardly-legitimate brothels can be identified and prosecuted with limited overhead. How should countries change their legal frameworks to stop putting blame on the women and girls, but rather on traffickers and sex-buyers? What steps should be taken on an international scale to combat new techniques for marketing brothels and sex tourism, such as through internet forums and websites?

Discuss down below in the comments! And if you have any questions about this post or conference logistics, feel free to email us!

Article
Country Narratives


~ Soham

Sex Trafficking in the US - the Super Bowl

Hi delegates,

I came across some interesting articles commenting on the relationship between sex trafficking and one of the world's most high-profile sporting events - the Super Bowl. With the event in Minneapolis and the Eagle's unexpected victory fresh in our minds, sex trafficking is probably one of the last things that you typically associate with the spectacle.

However, sex trafficking in the US spikes considerably around large events such as these, setting off alarm bells for organizations trying to keep the public safe. The commotion and excitement of the event creates a supposed cover for captors to seek out and take advantage of unweary individuals. It's also been said that the influx of new visitors flooding local hotels and additional facilities blurs the situation further, making it difficult for authorities to intervene appropriately.

This is an interesting read that introduces sex trafficking in relation to the Super Bowl: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/03/super-bowl-sex-trafficking_n_2607871.html

Clearly, this is just an introduction and I encourage you to do your own additional research.

If you choose to do so, you'll definitely come across just as reputable articles arguing against the connection between the Super Bowl and sex trafficking. Critics call into question to the motive behind perpetuating this "myth" and speculate that the story is just a cover up for government entities and police organizations to wield additional influence. Attendees have described the scene at the event comparable to a "police state" where there were multiple armed officials at various checkpoints. Moreover, some critics have suggested that ICE officials capitalize on the situation by arresting undocumented individuals at the event under the guise of protective services against sex trafficking.

Read one perspective here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-football-nfl-superbowl-trafficking-an/is-the-super-bowl-really-the-u-s-s-biggest-sex-trafficking-magnet-idUSKBN1FL6A1

What do you think? 

How can government authorities keep the public safe without infringing on personal rights?

Are the current preventative measures used the most effective to combat this issue?

Does the issue of sex trafficking at the Super Bowl at larger social and political implications? Are they being addressed appropriately?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below. See you in a few weeks!

Banning the Burqa

Hello All!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend! We are now just a mere 24 days out from the first day of conference, so I hope that everyone is having fun with their research. Today's blog post is going to be in relation to the religious freedom topic, pertaining especially to the Burqa (covering that hides a Muslim woman's face) and the news surrounding it.

This article was taken from The Economist and talks about how many nations around the world have taken up the responsibility of banning women from wearing clothing that covers up their faces. Reading such articles, one may find that the only reason such actions are promoted is due to the culture of terrorism that is promoted - criminals like those from Boko Haram use such clothing to hide strap on bombs which make it hard for security teams all around the world to stop such attacks. Attacks like those in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, and Cameroon do not help restore faith. However, such attacks should not justify banning a certain type of clothing that promotes ones religion and has gained ones faith. There have been several situations in Chad when women wearing Burka's were throw in jail with the threat of being "charged with complicity in terrorism".

When thinking about this topic, be wary to not inflict your personal opinions, but think from the perspective of your assigned nation. Is it right to target the whole Muslim population for activities that are performed by a terrorist organization? Do you think that your country can perform a better role in helping member nations reach a level where Muslims, especially women, are treated?

Try and answer these questions when you read this article and see how your country can tackle this problem. You should think about possible solutions to this problem that are not only plausible, but also implementable in the near future. As usual, please feel free to state any thoughts, questions or concerns that you may have in the comments down below, or contact us directly on our emails!

Have a great rest of the week!

~Ruchir :D

Article : Banning the Burqa

Is Myanmar 'whitewashing' the Rohingya crisis?

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone has had a great week so far. I wanted to share this extremely informative video that provides a comprehensive overview of the Rohingya crisis in its present state. Additionally, this video brings into focus questions and perspectives that are crucial to the overall dialogue.

This video contextualizes key questions related to the crisis itself as well as proposed solutions from the international community. For example, many Rohingya people have fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape religious persecution and what can effectively be called ethnic cleansing spurred by Buddhist-majority militants. The present conditions for the Rohingya population residing in Bangladesh include living conditions that can only be recognized as interment camps. Clearly, this is a short-term solution to a larger problem. However, many Rohingya still refuse to leave these camps despite the conditions, suggesting they are still preferable to the situation they expect they would face if they returned to Myanmar.

Moreover, this video speculates the explosive decision of former US ambassador to the UN, Bill Richardson, to take an unexpected departure from the UN advisory panel on the Rohingya crisis, despite being one of the panel's most high profile guests. He claims that he couldn't standby while the body did little else than be "cheerleaders" for the government while his critics are accusing him of furthering a personal agenda. More broadly, many are now calling into question whether or not the problem-solving efforts of the international community have been more destructive than constructive since the majority of its members have been external guests invited to Myanmar to try and deal with the problem. It is undeniable that despite efforts put forth by these various external bodies, the original problems remain unchanged and the solutions more or less ineffective.

What are your criticisms/justifications of how international participants have dealt with the present situation? Is it harmful that external players have largely dominated the resolution efforts? What are the primary inhibitors of delaying Rohingya migration back to Myanmar? Is there an alternative that we're not seeing yet that needs to be considered as well?

I'd love to hear your thoughts as you interact with the material. Moreover, if you have additional research on this topic that you'd like to contribute, please submit both in the comments below. Thanks and I look forward to reading your comments!

Article link: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2018/01/myanmar-whitewashing-rohingya-crisis-180126190014218.html

- Lucia

German AFD Politician Accused of Hate Incitement over Anti-Muslim Tweet

Hey guys, 

I wanted to bring this event to light, as though it seems like a fairly regular occurrence of someone abusing their privilege of active social media opinions, the implications behind it are paramount to a proper legislative decision on the topic of religious freedom.

This article describes how German AFD politician Beatrix von Storch had her account suspended for a week as a direct result of an inflammatory tweet sent out in December. Storch's tweet read:

“What the hell is wrong with this country? Why is the official page of police in NRW tweeting in Arabic [...] are they seeking to appease the barbaric, Muslim, rapist hordes of men?”

The Alternative for Germany (AFD) party is a German far right, nationalist party that gained traction after German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided in favor of opening Germany’s borders to more than a million asylum-seeking migrants. The party is weakly aligned with Euroscepticism, but deny any support for Muslims within the framework of the German Constitution and is strongly anti-immigration; their support among the populace seems to be growing as it won 12.6% of the vote and received 94 seats in the 2017 German federal elections.

The Alternative for Germany (AFD) party is a German far right, nationalist party that gained traction after German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided in favor of opening Germany’s borders to more than a million asylum-seeking migrants. The party is weakly aligned with Euroscepticism, but deny any support for Muslims within the framework of the German Constitution and is strongly anti-immigration; their support among the populace seems to be growing as it won 12.6% of the vote and received 94 seats in the 2017 German federal elections.

When analyzing this article, take care not to question the validity of Storch's opinions based on your own views; as a delegate to the UNHRC, your committee's job is to protect the universal freedoms of belief within its jurisdiction.

Rather, questions that you should think about is the role of external services and organizations (in this case, Twitter) in maintaining universal freedoms and censoring dissident speech, especially in the views proposed by a politician in a foreign party. Do social media platforms have a social duty to cut-off hate speech and fake news, or are they simply a vessel for conversation to take place? What role does an international body such as the UNHRC have in regulating a platform based domestically in the US? Delegates should ask how a possible resolution would balance the freedoms of speech and religion, and what role new technologies should take in this.

Discuss down in the comments below, and try to think on these questions! And as always, if you have any questions, either on this topic or on conference logistics, feel free to reach our to us !

Source 

~ Soham

Getting Tough on Sex Traffickers

"Those who deny freedom for others deserve it not for themselves" - Abraham Lincoln

Hey All, 

The article I am sharing with you today is one that shows different ways in which we, as a community, and the Government, can come together to protect the youth of today from the most horrid form of Human Rights violation one can face in this day and age. 

As Suma highlighted in her topic synopsis, there are various different forms of trafficking, one involving sex and sadly, this fight is nowhere near over. In 2014, the Urban Institute estimated that the underground sex economy ranged from $39.9 million in Denver, Colorado to $290 million in Atlanta, Georgia. This just shows that the noose on such gruesome acts needs to be tightened and the government plays a key part in doing so. 

The article states that Congress passed a Sex Trafficking Statute which is a part of the 18th Chapter of the US Code, which introduces mandatory minimum punishments for those who commit such crimes, and that is a good way forward. But possible problems are not what we do with those who are caught, but how do we catch those who repeatedly perform such crimes? There have been many laws passed, but why do such atrocities keep happening? 

These are just some initial thoughts on this topic, but I would encourage everyone to delve in deeper and see how or why these issues arise and how they can possibly be tackled. I would encourage everyone to post comments and discuss their opinions and if you have any questions, you can state them below or email me at rsharma@bmun.org!

Article Link :- Getting Tough on Sex Traffickers 


~ Ruchir :D

Position Paper Guidelines

Hi delegates!

I hope you all had a well-deserved, relaxing winter break! We now have only 35 days until BMUN LXVI! I hope you're all as stoked for conference as we are :)

In this post, I just wanted to go over our expectations for your Position Papers, which are due in the coming weeks. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of what to write in your papers, here are the deadlines:

• February 5th 2018 - this deadline is ONLY if you want your paper to be considered for the Best Position Paper Award. 
• February 12th 2018 - this deadline is for all other papers, for consideration for any committee award. 

Please do keep in mind that these deadlines are very strict, especially the first one. If your paper is submitted after February 5th, it will not be considered for the Best Position Paper Award.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's go over what the dais expects from you for Position Papers. Each delegation is required to write two papers, one for each topic (1. Religious Freedom and 2. Exploitation, Forced Labor and Trafficking). Each paper should be between 5-10 typed pages (Times New Roman font, size 12, double-spaced with one inch margins), and note that your bibliography does not count in the page count.

The paper is broken down into four sections, along with the following weightage in terms of grading:

• Past and Current International Action (15%) 
• For this section, you must provide a brief overview of any past and current action taken by the international community in solving the issue. You are more than welcome to explore issues beyond the jurisdiction of the United Nations, and the UNHRC.

• Country's Position (25%) 
• This is perhaps the most important section in terms of preparing you for conference. In this section, explicitly state your country's position on the topic. This can be their general attitudes towards the issue, actions they may have taken (like ratifying certain treaties), or even certain negative forms of behavior. For example, you may state your country's position on the Trafficking in Persons tier list for the second topic. 

• Proposed Solutions (30%) 
• In this section, you are to propose a plan of action for solving the issue. We encourage you to be as detailed as possible, and to truly think critically of every solution you propose in terms of feasibility, measurability and other such parameters. This is an extremely important part of the paper, especially for us as a THIMUN committee. 
• I'm going to ask you to write at least two solutions in the form of operative clauses. This means that you must use proper formatting (consult the BMUN Learn website, links provided below), and that they must be well constructed. This is to get you prepared for resolution writing during our first committee session. 

• Questions to Consider (20%)
• For this section, you are to choose two of the Questions to Consider given at the end of each topic in the topic synopsis to answer thoughtfully. Please only respond to two questions, no more and no less. 

In addition to these guidelines, there is a 10% of the grading which is up to the Chair's discretion in terms of discerning the overall quality of the paper. I'm also going to ask you to please use these subheadings for the four sections in your paper, as it helps the dais understand exactly where you finish each section. 

Now, a very important note on citations and plagiarism. The Position Paper is a research assignment. Therefore, you are required to consult reputable sources during the writing process. You must NOT cite the topic synopsis in your paper - the purpose of the paper is to go beyond the scope of the topic synopsis and for you to hone in on your specific country's stance on the issue. You are required to cite your sources in MLA format, to use footnotes/in-text citations, and to provide a fully formatted works cited section at the end of your paper. 

Plagiarism is not tolerated in any way, shape or form. All position papers go through an extensive screening process when they are submitted, and if you are caught plagiarizing, you will not be eligible for any committee award. 

The full, detailed Position Paper Guide is available here on the BMUN website, and additional help is available here on the BMUN Learn website. You'll find a lot more help on there, such as sample position papers and the full rubric :) 

Also, a quick reminder to check out the THIMUN rules of procedure on the BMUN Learn website! It's best to start familiarizing yourself with it as soon as you can.

That's all from me for now! Thank you for bearing with me for this long, long post. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us via this blog, or shoot me an email at sthati@bmun.org! I'm very quick with my responses :)

Have fun, good luck, and see you all in March!
Suma