UN Conference on Human Security

A WebQuest for 11th and 12th Grade Honors International Studies

Designed by

Brian Whitley
Old Mill High School


Introduction

The United Nations (UN) began in 1945 with 51 nations signing the UN Charter. Today, 191 nations across the globe are members of the UN. The UN's goal is to bring nations together who are "committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security." The UN has, however, come under a lot of criticism for its lack of results.In this task, you will take the role of a member nation of the UN. You will examine what role your chosen country has played in the UN, and you will participate in a classroom simulation of a UN Conference.

By completing this task you will attempt to answer the question, "Is the UN an effective body for implementing change on a world wide scale?" You will ccomplish this by examining the UN's past attempts at accomplishing World Peace and create a UN Resolution to be presented at the fictional UN Conference on Human Security to be held in our classroom.


The Task

You have recently been appointed as Ambassador to the UN for your country. You were chosen for your knowledge of your country's history, political workings, economy, and your understanding of the direction your country is trying to take. (The favor your country's leader owes you did not hurt either.) After your initial excitement with getting the job of your dreams, you have quickly realized the awesome responsibility you have in front of you.In one week's time, you must attend the UN's Conference on Human Security. Before you arrive you must have several deadlines met and you must:

  • define the term "Human Security"

  • research recent developments around the world and in your country

  • explain to your nation's leader what you feel your country's stance should be at the conference;

  • write a resolution that furthers your national interests and meets the goals of the conference;

During the conference you will:

  • lobby other member nations to support your resolution or join forces with other nations with similar goals to form a joint resolution;

  • debate the merits and shortcomings of the resolutions that reach the General Assembly;

  • vote on the passage of the resolutions presented to the UN.

Following the completion of your research and simulation you will prepare a follow-up report on the effectiveness of the UN to present to your nation's leader.


The Process

To accomplish the task, you must take several steps.

  1. First you must choose a country to research. You must be an expert on your country's basic history, political system, economy, human rights record, and role in the UN.
2. Next, you must prepare a one to three page paper to present to your nation's leader. Remember he/she is a busy person and may not have time to actually meet with you so be concise and to-the-point. Your leader has requested that you outline several components: a) a definition of what is meant by "Human Security"Read the introduction to Global Agenda 2002-2003 for an understanding of the term. b) you must read what the UN has been working on in one of the following categories:
  • Peace & Security,
  • Humanity/Human Rights,
  • Drug Control & Crime Prevention
  • AIDS

Visit the Official UN Website for Information on your chosen category:

http://www.un.org/partners/civil_society/agenda.htm

c) Pick one current issue in the news that is relevant to one of the aspects of Human security from above, preferably with an impact on your nation, and explain what you think your stand should be at the conference.

d) Finally, tell your leader what the goal for your country should be at the conference. (for example: peace for your region, increased visibility for your nation, better relations with other countries, gaining trade partners, etc.)

3. Now that you have a better understanding of your new job, it is now time to create a written UN resolution to present at the conference. This is your first experience writing a resolution so it might be a good idea to look at some examples of ones that have already been written.

4. Once you have reported to your nation's leader. Download and print out the guide sheet on how to plan and write your resolution:

http://www.amun.org/Handbook02/RP_02_ch5.pdf

When writing your resolution you want to use the language of UN Resolutions and use previous UN resolutions, existing UN treaties, and the UN Charter to help provide facts to back your Resolution. Make sure your resolution meets your country's national interest, will garner support from other countries, and meets the UN goal of Human Security for people of the world.

5. Once your resolution has been written, you are ready to pack your bags to head to your first UN conference. There you will lobby support for your resolution, debate for or against various resolutions, and vote on formal adoption of the resolutions. See your guide to the Model United Nations Conference Agenda for your daily schedule. (Conference Agenda.doc)

6. Your final step towards a better understanding of the UN, and its complexities, is your opinion on its effectiveness. You must write a 3-5 page paper that analyzes the UN and answers the big question of our Webquest, "Is the UN an effective body for implementing change on a world wide scale?" Your paper must include the following components: a discussion of some of the past successes and failures of the UN you found in your research; how your nation has been effected by the UN; the successes you saw and the challenges/frustrations you witnessed as a delegate to a UN; and a final conclusion on whether or not the UN will become obsolete or become a major player in shaping future world events.

Evaluation

Your grade for this assignment will come both from your work alone and your work together as a class in role-playing the UN. Guidelines are as follows:

Beginning

1

 Developing

2

 Accomplished

3

 Exemplary

4

 Score
 

Country Position Paper

 

Paper lacks clear definition of Human Security, Issue Chosen Fails to Correlate to Human Security, Country's Position Not Clearly Outlined, Many Spelling or Grammar Errors

Definition of Human Security Unclear; Issue Chosen Correlates weakly to Human Security; Country's position not well defined; Some Spelling or Grammar Errors

Clear Definition of Human Security; Issue Chosen Correlates to Human Security; Country's Position Defined; Few Spelling or Grammar Errors

Precise Definition of Human Security; Issue chosen correlates to Human Security and Country itself; Country's Position clearly defined; Little or No Spelling or Grammar Errors


 

Resolution

 

 

Resolution fails to deal with goal of Human Security; Does not match country's goal for conference; No use of history/facts to justify resolution; Does not use resolution specific language; Many Spelling and Grammar Errors.

Resolution Weakly deals with goal of Human Security; Questionable connection to country's goal for conference; little use of history/facts to justify resolution; Uses resolution specific language sparingly; Some spelling or grammar errors.

Resolution meets goal of Human Security; resolution meets country's goal for conference; uses history/facts to justify resolution; resolution specific language used; Few spelling or grammar errors.

Resolution creatively reaches world goal of Human Security; resolution is in country's national interest, meet's country's goal of conference and meets needs of many other nations; history/facts used effectively to support new solution; resolution specific language used; Little or no spelling or grammar errors.


 

Participation in UN Conference on Human Security

 

 

Student Makes No Attempt to Get Resolution Adopted or merge resolution with like-minded nations; Student fails to participate in General Assembly Debate; Off-Task Behavior exhibited.

Student makes minimal effort to lobby resolution or meet national goal; student's participation in debate is scripted and no participation in question/answer portion; some off-task behavior exhibited

Student lobbies to get resolution passed; student's participation in debate is partly scripted; some participation in question/answer portion; student is on-task throughout

Student lobbies successfully to get resolution passed that benefits their nation; knowledge of country is so extensive that no script was needed to be a convincing ambassador; participation in debate exhibits analysis of issues and knowledge of nation.


Assessment of the UN Paper

Components are not addressed; no history or facts used to back opinions; no voice and no organization of thought; many spelling and grammar mistakes

Paper fails to address all components; little history or facts drawn upon to back opinions; voice is lacking and thought is disorganized; many spelling and grammar errors.

Paper touches on all components and uses some history and facts to back opinions; voice is not strong and there is weak organization of thought; few spelling or grammar errors.

Paper addresses all components; uses history and facts to back opinions to effectively convince reader; keeps consistent voice throughout and is well organized and thought out; no spelling or grammar errors.

Conclusion

By participating in this lesson, you now have a better understanding of the complexities of the UN. You can appreciate how difficult it is for the UN to accomplish anything when its members are trying to juggle their national goals with those of the UN. You have now developed your own opinion on the controversial role of the UN in the World. We will have to wait and see what the future holds for the UN.

Credits & References

The UN Charter-

A Global Agenda

The Official UN Website:http://www.un.org

www.cnn.com

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page