1. POSITION PAPER
Of the
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
February 15th, 2015
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
AMBASSADOR: SIMON BOSMANS

2. TOPIC A: FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM)
The United States of Americawelcomes the discussion of this topic in the United Nations
Human Rights Council, and recognizes its importance. The American federalrepublic feels directly
addressed by this issue, especially since it has come to light that thousands of girls and women from
certain specific ethnic communities living within the bordersof the United States are at risk of
undergoing FGM as these words are being written. Female genital mutilation is mainly observed in
immigrant communities stemming fromNorthernAfrica, especially ethnic groups with rather
primitive beliefs concerningmarriage and sexuality. Those culturesare most found in countrieslike
Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti, Guinea, Mali and SierraLeone, but also in Burkina Faso and
Ethiopia. In fact, FGM is omnipresent in most northernregions of the Africancontinent.
Thissituation thus endangers severalmillions of women all over the world, and the USA has
come to the conclusionthat this cannot be toleratedany longer. The people of America, indubitably
followedby all the other citizens of this planet, shall take immediate action to stop the widespread
mutilation of youngwomen everywhere. Indeed, since the very dawnof its History, Americahas
provenitself as the true defender of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Those three concepts
are the basis of our Declarationof Independence, our one united country under God. This Human
Right to Life, as proclaimed by the Declaration of Human Rights and our Declaration of
Independence, is the cornerstone uponwhich the USA shall build a lasting resolution against FGM.
Specifically, the UnitedStates is convincedthat there is but one way of eradicating female
genital mutilation: simply weeding out possible reasons why FGM is undertaken. Essentially, the
USA feels that FGM is nothing more than the expressionof a deep-seeded distrust in women: in all
cultureswere the practice is present, locals simply don’t trust that women can remain virgins until
marriage without undergoing FGM. The remedy to the practice in such culture would then be
twofold: either virginity needs to be removedas a prerequisite for marriage, or localsneed to be
made to trust non-mutilated women to limit their premarital sex life: FGMs (or more precisely,
clitorisamputations) are supposed to discourage premarital sex by taking the pleasure out of the
sexualexperience. The aforementioned remedy could then be achievedby a deeper focuson (sexual)
education, severalmedia campaigns underlining the (equal) rights and capacities of women, more
lobbyingagainst FGM to culturaland national leaders directly involvedwiththe practice in countries
and communities with a high FGM prevalence, and countlessother measures.
Concretely, the delegationof the United States will strive towardsthe totalinternational
eradicationof FGM through multiple objectives. First and foremost, we will push for a formal
international condemnation of the practice of female genital mutilation: the international
community cannot come to a durable agreement without seeing eye to eye on the deeply unethical
nature of FGM. Secondly, the United States will encourage all nations willing to actively combat
FGM to developadaptedlegislation in order to prevent it as much as possible. Thirdly, the USA will
strongly urge all bona fide nations of this world to enforce strict sanctions on any violationsof anti-
FGM laws, while still respectinginterculturalethnic diversity. Fourthly, the US will encourage all
nations affectedby the calamity of female genital mutilation to invest in general and specifically
sexualeducation in order to resolve gender inequality, restore trust in women as mentioned above
and solve any and all problems that stem froma perceiveddifference instatus, mentality or
capabilities between men and women. Fifthly, the US urges the UN to (co-)fund educational
measures like the aforementionedas well as media campaigns as a means of resolvingthe issues of
FGMs and gender inequality. Because, as the Americanauthor Bryant McGill wrote, “Assaults
against women and children are assaults against any potential positive future for the world.”

3. TOPIC B: FREEDOM OF PRESS AND SAFETY OF JOURNALISTS
The United States of America welcomes this discussion in the Human Rights Council. We,
the people of America, believe this topic to be one of paramount importance, especially in times
where the terroristsof the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria(ISIS)have taken to the most ruthless
violence in repressing rights otherwise securedin all civilizedcountries on the planet. The murders
of James Foley, StevenSotloff and Peter Kassig (all three Americancitizens) are prominent examples
of these shameless violations of Human Rights and international law. However, their deaths will not
be forgotten, and neither will they remain unavenged. As we speak, Americantroops are involvedin
air strikes and other operationsin order to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS, accordingto the
ordersof our Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama.
Furthermore, the United States is determined to take decisive actionto ensure maximum
safety of its citizens abroad. Thisincludes all civilians, journalists and military personnel. In order to
achieve this, the USA recognizes the importance of establishing and enforcingbinding resolutions
safeguarding Human Rights, such as the Right to Life, Freedom of Opinion, Freedom of Expression
(which includes the Freedom of Press), and Freedom of Assembly;all of which have been violatedby
ISIL, Boko Haram, other terrorist groupsand evensome member states of the UN. The USA shall
stop at nothing to bring an end to these horrendousviolations, bring justice to those who have been
wronged, and righteously punish violators.
First of all, recognizing that the primary requirement for the observance of Human Rights is
for them to be enforceable, the United States strongly urges all nations of this world to establish and
accordingly enforce legislationsafeguarding these Human Rights. The US hereby stresses the
importance of durably enforced legislation on Freedom of Press and safety of journalists. Secondly,
acknowledging that not all perpetratorsof these Human Rights violationswill subject themselvesto
this legislation, the USA strongly encouragesthe UN to sanctioninterventionsin areas where local
laws safeguarding Human Rights are being durably broken. Thiswould specifically apply to regions
of Iraq and Syriawhere ISILis active and Boko Haram-controlled regions of Nigeria. Thirdly,
focusingon the specific issue of safety of journalists, the US government strongly encourages
individuals representing the press to minimize risksas much as possible. The USA strongly
recommends that journalists act with extreme care in predetermined dangerous regions: it is
preferable to avoiddangerous zones unless one’s assignment forcesone to act contrarily, to travel
with military escortswhenever possible, and to never roam a conflict zone alone or evenin
inappropriate clothing. In the end, the first precaution should always be the use of commonsense.
As always, the United Statesshall seek to lead the debatesduring this discussion so as to find
an effective solutionto the issues in question. In this case, making the culprits accountable for their
Human Rights violationsis of prime importance, and in that regard, the USA underlines the
existence of the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the Permanent
Court of Arbitration, and national and international courtsof justice, and emphasizes the important
rolesthat these courts need to play in the convictionandcorrectionof known criminals, Human
Rights violatorsand their accomplices. Additionally, the US is willing to provide human, logistical
and financial means to a reasonable extent so as to proceedto the arrest, conviction, imprisonment
and possible executionof Human Rights violators. The US expectssimilar commitments from all
bona fide nations of this world, as well as all other UN member states present at the Human Rights
Council. The people of America are convinced that a durable solution to Human Rights violations
can and must be found in this council;because, as Americannational civilrights hero Martin Luther
King Junior once said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.