Restrictions on Adoption
Topic Summary:
Each nation has a different policy or restriction regarding adoption. Many of these
restrictions are related to age, marital status, and religion of the parent(s) who are trying
to adopt a child. There is often a lack of shared data, which creates limitations in
thoroughly assessing prospective parents. Further, some nations explicitly ban
international adoptions from some or all foreign countries. Recently, the Russian
Federation banned the adoption of any children by parents living in the United States.
Adoption is important for ensuring that children can grow up in homes that give them good
opportunities and compassion, but many nations worry about foreign adoption as a threat
to the size and stability of their populations. Further, domestic adoption policies can make
it extremely difficult for couples to adopt within their own country, while the policy for
foreign adoptions can be far too easy in comparison, especially in India.
Background Information:
1986: UN Declaration Relating to the Welfare of Children affirms the right of a child to
grow up securely, wherever possible, with parents.
1989: UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires that states ensure that adoptions
are authorized only by competent authorities, and not be used for financial gain
1993: The Hague Adoption Convention requires states to authorized adoptions through
their own central adoption agencies, rather than through private adoption agencies, which
were notorious for fraud.
2012: Irish couples and Mexican women discovered in illegal child smuggling adoption
scheme
2013: US-based international adoption organization VFAS discovered misrepresenting
children’s adoptive status to speed up their adoption into the United States
Issues to be addressed in a Resolution:
1. When, if ever, is it permissible for a state to ban a foreign nation from adopting children
who live in that state?
2. How can international adoptions be more sensitive to the cultural differences involved in
adopting children who have had some time growing up in their home country, prior to their
adoption?
3. If a child is in danger and needs to be brought to a better environment, should they
remain in the same country with a different family, be returned to their original country, or
some other policy?
4. What can be done to reduce fraud in adoption systems?
5. Most internationally adoptive parents prefer to adopt girls. Should policies be
established to encourage or require the adoption of children regardless of gender? If so,
what kind of policies? If not, why?
Bibliography:
http://international.adoption.com/foreign/restrictions-requirements-in-internationaladoption.html
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/vitalstatkb/Attachment482.aspx
http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/adoption2010/child_adoption.pdf
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2554843/Lawyers-blast-massiveadoption-racket-Foreigners-easily-buying-babies-Indian-couples-languish-waitinglist.html
http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/04/24/kathryn-joyce-s-the-childcatchers-inside-the-shadowy-world-of-adoption-trafficking.html
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/46020446/ns/world_news-americas/t/women-held-mexico-toireland-adoption-racket/#.UwEcd4X8gVB
http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=1315
Honor Killings
Topic Summary:
Honor killings, or honor-based violence, is the killing of a family member or a citizen within
a society who has done what is considered by the community as a shameful act. Most
commonly, the victim of an honor killing is killed because they were the victim of a rape.
However, a variety of reasons, such as refusing an arranged marriage, being a homosexual,
or dressing inappropriately have all been cited as reasons for honor killings. Every year
roughly 5000 honor killings, mostly of women occur throughout the world, most commonly
in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Yemen, Turkey, Palestine, Pakistan and India.
However, the prevalence of honor killings varies widely, even within certain countries. For
example, one city in Pakistan may have many more instances of honor killings than another
city. Further, some observers have noted that the victims of honor killings are often also
the victims of domestic abuse. Discouragingly, some honor killings are concealed through
the power and status of members of rich and powerful families in some nations. Most of
the UN action on this topic has revolved around condemning honor killings, with no further
concrete steps.
Background Information:
2000: United Nations Condemns Honor Killings for the first time.
2004: United Nations passes resolution calls upon states to use the human rights
instruments that already exist to prosecute honor killings
2008: United Nations Secretary General’s Campaign to End Violence Against Women
(UNiTE) launched
2012: Reuters Reports that Honor Killings in India are often socially accepted, with policy
not treating the murders as crimes.
2013: UN Condemns Honor Killings in a Resolution
Issues to be addressed:
1. How can honor-based violence practices be reduced while also remaining sensitive and
respectful of culture, religion, and national sovereignty?
2. How should states with police forces who actively ignore honor killings proceed?
3. What can the UN do to help surviving victims of Honor based violence?
Bibliography:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33971#.UfXNTo3VCSo
http://hbv-awareness.com/today/
http://hbv-awareness.com/history/
http://theahafoundation.org/issues/honor-violence/
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/11/honour-killings-india-crying-shame20131127105910392176.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/11/us-palestinians-women-killingidUSBRE9BA06420131211
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5010892.stm
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp/story.asp?NewsID=33971&Cr=violence+against+w
omen&Cr1=#.UwEiY4X8gVA
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/04/02/india-women-honour-killingidINDEE8310GP20120402
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/12/opinion/honor-killings.html
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp/story.asp?NewsID=33971&Cr=violence+against+w
omen&Cr1=#.UwEiY4X8gVA
http://endviolence.un.org/
Dying Languages
Topic Summary:
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates
that, without intervention, half of the 6000 plus languages spoken today will disappear by
the end of this century. The cultural wealth and ancestral knowledge of indigenous
languages is scientifically and historically extremely valuable. The extinction of a language
is comparable to the extinction of a species. The UNESCO recognizes this and works
towards language preservation through the UNESCO Endangered Languages Program. This
program works toward maintaining and revitalizing indigenous languages in order to
instruct younger generations on how to use them. The UNESCO also supports outside
organizations which aim towards the same goal. Communities, experts, and governments
surrounding a dying language are all involved in efforts to record language data, assist in
the teaching of the language, and advocate for the preservation of dying languages. In
order to further these efforts the UNESCO must continue to receive funding towards
documentation, revitalization, and maintenance of dying languages.
Background Information:
1946: UNESCO founded and ratified into effect
1992: UNESCO supervises International Congress of Linguists convention and formation of
Endangered Languages Committee
1993: UNESCO begins and published Red Book of Endangered Languages which is
continuously expanded
2003: UNESCO Expert Meeting on Safeguarding Endangered Languages convenes
2009: UNESCO launches online Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger which is
continuously updated
Issues to be Addressed in a Resolution:
1. To what extent should preserving dying languages still be a priority for the
United Nations? Why is it important, or why should it be deprioritized?
2. A number of programs already exist to preserve dying languages, including
the Atlas of the World’s Languages, the Rosetta Stone Endangered
Languages Program, and the Foundation for Endangered Languages. Some of
these are for-profit companies, some are non-profit organizations, and some
are part of the UN System. Are these programs redundant?
3. What kinds of organizations should be taking the brunt of the work to
preserve dying languages: Governments, for-profit companies, non-profit
organizations, the UN?
4. Should efforts be made to increase the number of speakers of dying
languages through the public education system?
Bibliography:
http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/
http://www.rosettastone.com/endangered
http://www.ogmios.org/
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?newsid=29950&cr=unesco&cr1=#.Uw3Ws4X8gVA
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-Issues/2010/0427/World-s-18-mostendangered-spoken-languages
http://melbourne2013.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/SOCHUMStory1.pdf
http://lingsib.iea.ras.ru/en/articles/smeets.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-11935464
http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/