FORUM: Economic and Social Council Sub-Commission 2

FORUM: Economic and Social Council Sub-Commission 2

QUESTION OF: Preventing Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

SUBMITTED BY: Republic of Korea

THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL,

Reminding that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and that everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration, without distinction of any kind, including sexual orientation and gender identity,

Bearing in mind that according to the 2013 NHIS data collected from 34,557 adults aged 18 and over, 1.6% identified as gay or lesbian, 0.7% identified as bisexual, and 1.1% of adults did not reveal,

Affirming that many member nations have deep rooted homophobic beliefs present in their population that permeate the legislation of the country, leaving people who are various sexual orientations and genders vulnerable,

Deploring that some member states have discriminatory legislature, some of which legally penalizes consensual same-sex sexual relations, the act of being homosexual, the act of being transgender, same-sex marriage and enacts heavy penalties for such things, and infringe upon those individual's respect of rights to life, security of person and privacy,

1.  Strongly urges member states to enact laws granting people of all sexual orientations and gender identities equal basic human rights that will prevent them from being discriminated against based on their sexual orientation and gender identity through methods, such as, but not limited to:

a)  granting same sex marriage by issuing marriage certification, which will allow family rights through methods, such as, but not limiting to adoption and surrogacy

b)  encouraging freedom of public expressions, speeches and parties of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA) community

c)  repealing laws that strip LGBT people of their basic human rights so that LGBT members do not live in fear, including:

i.  laws that prohibit same-sex conduct between consenting adults

ii.  laws that prohibit transgender people from expressing their preferred gender

iii.  laws that allow imprisonment or even the death penalty for homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender people

d)  preventing discrimination in health care centers based on sexual orientation and gender identity, such as, but not limited to:

i.  allowing blood donations from everyone as long as long as they pass medical requirements

ii.  allowing transgender surgeries

e)  identifying all gender identities on governmental issuing documents;

2.  Urges for the partnership of the government with Non Government Organizations (NGOs) and United Nations Organizations (UNOs), such as International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) for the cooperation in the sharing of knowledge, plans, and solutions regarding the enforcement of existing legislatures that explicitly address the problem of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity through methods, such as, but not limited to:

a)  requesting establishment of annual meetings by asking governments and relevant organizations to come together to provide comprehensive resources and cases regarding gender identity in ways such as but not limited to:

i.  providing strong incentives for local police and law enforcement personnel to monitor and act upon the issue of discrimination based on sexual orientation and discussions regarding the results from these implemented programs

ii.  discouraging federal law agencies or any other organizations from discriminating against the LGBTQIA populations while analyzing and monitoring gender discrimination rates that have been influenced from the measurements taken into action to enhance existing solutions

b)  seeking economic and political support in the implementation of new programs improvised for the sustainability of gender monitoring by the guidance from UNOs and NGOs such as the ILGA as well as other international partnerships that are in dedication;

3.  Requestsmember states to raise public awareness on gender discrimination that will target prevention on inequality of sexual orientation and gender identity in creating fair environments regarding workplaces, schools and academies in ways such as, but not limited to:

a)  employing specialized experts in marketing in order to design clear and concise messages with the public audience to emphasize within each community in forms such as but not limited to:

i.  advertisements created with the guidance from a variety of social awareness firms in various places across member nations that productively communicate information to the public in regards to the issues concerning gender discrimination

ii.  designing and creating websites such as blogs for web searchers to fully access all the conveyed information regarding the crucial need for effective implementations on monitoring gender discrimination in workforces

iii.  inviting lecturers that speak for LGBTQIA rights organizations to give free lectures to communities

b)  promoting programs that enable the countries to efficiently develop and construct effective ways to estimate and supervise the various issues regarding gender identity discrimination in ways such as but not limited to:

i.  presentations of such advertisements including magazine and news articles related to the subject in regards to gender discrimination to successfully disperse facts to the general public

ii.  mass media broadcasting systems aired mostly in More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs) not only on local sites, but also on regional, international levels that highlight the critical state of the unfair treatment of women

c)  publishing reports available to the general public on local, regional, national, and international level on the progress and impact of the implementation of various sustainable gender equality programs in each member nation with the assistance of the Transparency International (TI)

d)  encouraging NGOs, such as, ILGA, to help with raising public awareness in developing nations in ways, such as, but not limited to:

i.  taking campaign groups to rural areas, villages and slums to make people aware of the issue

ii.  set up awareness and help centers in rural areas to promote equal rights for people of all sexual orientations and gender identity;

4.  Urges all member states to make it compulsory for all schools to provide their students with factual and unbiased information about sexual orientation and gender identity in ways but not limiting to:

a)  making sure the information has been specifically and critically tailored so it does not offend or hurt beliefs of any student or create conflict between students with opposing point of views on the issue and most effective in allowing students to understand the issue in ways, such as, but not limiting to:

i.  censoring information according to age group in order to make sure children are not exposed to information they are not mature enough to understand

ii.  tailoring the information according to the different ethnicities and cultures present in the school and country however remembering to be unbiased on the issue

b)  employing a specialized counselor of sexual orientation and gender identity to aid students with any questions or concerns regarding sexual orientation and gender identity

c)  allowing and inviting organizations or individuals against discrimination due to sexual orientation and gender identity, after being verified by the school authorities, to come to the school the and educating students on the issue;

5.  Requesting member states to implement legislation for different work forces so that there is a reduction in discrimination against those of different sexual orientations and gender identity, such as, but not limited to:

a)  creating training programs that will help police, teachers, and other labor forces to be more sensitized to the LGBT community

b)  creating written policies against discrimination based on gender identity or expression in workplaces

c)  encouraging businesses to reach out to qualified LGBT individuals who are unemployed or underemployed during job openings

d)  holding blind job interviews that will help reduce discrimination on gender identity and sexual orientation

e)  dedicating a police branch towards regulating and ensuring that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity does not occur.