Marymount Model of United Nations
Marymount Model of United Nations
MARYMUN 2011
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
Handbook
Topic B: Media Censorship
Marymount Model of United Nations
Background
Censorship is the act of removing or withholding information from the
public by a controlling group or body. This means that no one can
broadcast or publish anything considered immoral or harmful, or that
threatens the country’s “stability”. Censorship manipulates information
and ideas circulated within a society. In the 20th Century, censorship can
be found when the content of books, plays, films, television and radio
programs, news reports are questioned, and it is used to alter or restrain
ideas found to be inappropriate or offensive.
Censorship has followed free expression like a shadow throughout history.
Although it is usually associated with communist or authoritarian regimes,
it is also imposed by religious groups, corporations or the mass media, as
well as by democratic governments.
In the modern age, with the advanced technology that is available,
information is shared much more easily and a lot more quickly. It is very
simple to be aware of issues and controversies from countries all over the
world. The right to free expression in the media is a delicate and fragile
liberty that can be easily trampled upon through a variety of means,
including outright censorship or insidious intimidation.
Article 19 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas through any media and
regardless of frontiers.”
The rationales for censorship have varied, with some censors targeting
material regarded to be immoral or obscene. Ideas have been restrained
under the guise of preserving social institutions such as the family, the
church, and the state. Censorship varies in different times, and societies.
Marymount Model of United Nations
Every society has different customs, taboos, or laws by which speech,
dress, religious observance, and sexual expression are regulated.
Censorship is often concerned about some issues such as vulgarity
(sexually explicit content), violence and racism. Sexual content is a target
for censorship because opponents claim the public have the right to be
provided instruction on sexuality, while some consider the topic strongly
related to religious and moral overtones. Censorship also argues that
violent content is a popular entertainment, that some books, movies and
video games trivialize violence.
Racial discourse in media is often
considered as insensitive because it may lead to the creation of
stereotypes.
Most of the countries have freedom of speech and expression, yet some
others restrict this freedom. Each country censors the media in different
ways at different levels. There are different types of censorship; the most
common is the age limit set for viewing different branches of the media.
As these levels of censorship exist, some people will always ask for it to be
removed completely. But some situation always comes up where more
rules and limits are asked for.
Marymount Model of United Nations
Pros and cons of media censorship
Pros:
 To reduce the amount of violence on TV, mostly for children. We
need to teach what is right. Certain people believe it may be
beneficial to young people who have come of age to realise that
killing people is illegal and immoral.
 Sex is another important topic in censorship. With sex, we mean
porn and its impact on children. As is the case with violence, it may
be shown to people of a certain age because of their maturity.
 Advertisements of alcohol and cigarettes. Some countries believe
this type of products have a negative effect on their society.
 Security of secrets. This helps governments to keep some
information for themselves, information that might put the security
of their society in danger. Society needs to believe in their
government’s trustworthiness. One example of where this trust was
broken was in the recent situation with Wikileaks.
 Media as a powerful force. This can happen only if the information
is used properly.
Cons:
 Government interests. The government can decide what can be
published and what not. Obviously they will always want to appear
perfect, a fact that is rarely so. In this situation, media censorship is
used to keep the people ignorant.
 Sex was mentioned before as a pro, used for sex education which
needs to be spread. But the doubt is whether to decide what to
publish or not.
Marymount Model of United Nations
 Ignorance is a big problem world-wide. The media help them know
more and to be better informed. The media also helps people to be
communicated with each other worldwide.
 Freedom, because people say it limits their rights of speech. If there
is no one to listen you, what’s the point of expressing yourself.
Situation in Egypt: There are some countries that have media censorship.
The most recent country that has applied media censorship is Egypt. Hosni
Mubarak was Egypt’s president for over thirty years. His government is
claimed to have been corrupt and with a lack of justice. The Egyptian
people were tired of the way he was governing the country. In late
January of 2011, people started to revolt against him and his presidency.
The revolts were all over the news causing tremendous concern. The
president decided to calm the people down by censoring their media. But
this only caused people to be angrier and a hostile environment
developed. Violent clashes occurred between pro-Mubarak and antiMubarak protestors, and after days of unrest, Mubarak announced that he
would leave the presidency.
During the problem, 91% of the internet networks of the country were not
working. The government ordered the four local Egyptian ISPs to switch
off their services. Some mobile services were down too, on orders of the
Egyptian government. The internet is a global form of communication, and
by taking it away, it is taking away their freedom of expression. Egypt’s
economy and society were deeply affected by these few days of media
blackout.
Marymount Model of United Nations
Objectives
The main objective is to get to know the different point of view of every
country on the topic. Some countries are in favor of censoring the media,
and this might be helpful for other countries. The key is to listen to
everyone’s ideas and solutions so that we can reach the best resolution
for everyone. The delegates must be informed about the latest news, as
there’s always something new about the topic. So even when you have
your position paper ready, you must keep watching the news about your
country, related to the topic, so that in the Model you can discuss the
latest news. Our main goal is to regulate the freedom of expression in
such a way that both liberal and freer-thinking countries are satisfied.
Countries : China, Egypt, USA, North Korea, Cuba, Mexico
Questions to consider:
1. Does your country have any type of censorship?
2. Are there any laws that promote freedom of speech?
3. Does your country have a history related to censorship?
4. Does your country allow every type of information to be public?
5. Is your country’s society dependent on religious laws?
Sources for further research

http://www.cpj.org/censored/censored_06.html

http://munofsiii.wikispaces.com/file/view/ECOSOC,+Media+Censorship+and+Social+Development.p
df

http://www.wanttoknow.info/mass_media/media_censorship_09

http://www.cpj.org/censored/censored_06.html

Latest News: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/censorship
Marymount Model of United Nations