Table of Contents:

History of the Committee ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Topic 1: Battling Corruption in Impoverished Nations​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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Background Information​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3

Case Studies​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 5

Questions to Consider​​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7

Helpful Websites​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 7

Topic 2: Human Rights Abuses Throughout the Russia-Ukraine Conflict​ ​

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Background Information​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 8

Case Studies​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 12

Questions to Consider​​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 14

Helpful Websites​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 14

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History of The Committee
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
is an “intergovernmental body” (as per the UNHRC
website) within the United Nations that promotes and
works to protect the human rights of individuals
around the world. The committee, as of 2022,
contains 47 member states, 25 of which will be
represented during this conference. Each member
state serves a three-year term on the council and can
serve a maximum of two consecutive terms on the
council before stepping down for at least one term.

Immediately following the 1946 creation of the United Nations, the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights was formed to help promote the fundamental freedoms
outlined in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, it was disbanded in
2006 due to the high levels of corruption found in many of its member states, an issue that
will be dealt with during this committee’s deliberations. After the removal of the UN
Commission on Human Rights, the UNHRC was introduced to fulfil the same duties as the
previous commission, but with fewer member states at a time and more accountability
between member states.

Since its inception in 2006, the UNHRC has carried on the legacy of the UN Commission on
Human Rights by intervening in many of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises of the last
two decades, a prime example of this being the ongoing Syrian Refugee Crisis. Ever since the
Syrian Civil War broke out in early 2011 in the country of Syria, thousands of innocent
residents of the country have been displaced as a result of the incessant fighting that has
occurred. Over the past 10 years, the UNHRC has continually provided humanitarian support
to Syria by sending food, water, first aid supplies and much more to the country, as well as
making pleas to other countries to increase the number of refugees admitted into them to
accommodate the crisis.

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In this committee, you will be faced with the mammoth challenges of battling corruption in
impoverished nations and dealing with the human rights conflicts present in the ongoing
Ukraine-Russia conflict. Over this conference’s six committee sessions, we hope to see some
positive, constructive debate and effective solutions created to help deal with these issues.

Topic 1: Battling Corruption in Impoverished Nations

Background Information

An impoverished country is defined by the Borgen

Project as a country that is subject to “high poverty rates,
economic instability, and lack[s] basic human
necessities such as water, shelter, or food for its citizens.”
Currently, the WorldVision foundation estimates that
107 countries across the globe are considered
‘impoverished’ by this definition.

One of the main reasons for this continued poverty is corruption, both on a governmental and
industrial level. Corruption can be considered any dishonest or immoral action conducted by
a person in a position of power, but this word most often refers to illegal monetary
transactions and will be the main focus of this topic. Impoverished countries around the world
are notorious for being plagued with corruption in their respective governments.

The causes of corruption in impoverished nations are

numerous. Often a lack of faith and instability of legal
systems serves as a driving factor. Often the lack of
trust in these institutions is due to minimal government
transparency. This limited transparency gives way for
powerful actors to not be held accountable for
engaging in corruption. A lack of law enforcement
abilities, largely due to the inability of impoverished
states to invest in such activities, has enabled corruption through force. This is illustrated by
organized crime syndicates providing another outlet for corruption, by participating in
extortion against bureaucrats and elected
officials.

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Another prominent set of ways in which corruption is perpetrated is through complex
bureaucratic structures. Every new link in a bureaucratic chain of command provides an
opportunity for a bribe or other corrupt practice, adding to the economic inefficiency of an
already large bureaucracy. The bureaucratic nature of these large systems also provides
limited incentives for increasing efficiency by minimizing corruption.

Corporate-bureaucratic collusion is also present in complex bureaucratic structures, as

oftentimes corporations are only able to make revenues by winning the bureaucracy’s
support and funding for projects. The normalization of corruption in the state apparatus often
breeds complacency for change, as governments realize they can still survive without being
penalized for implementing anti-corruption measures

Examples of corruption throughout history

are common and can be found ever since
the start of organized governments. Ever
since our classification of countries into
groups that state their developmental
progress, corruption has become easier to
gauge. Before then there were also many
notable incidents of widespread corruption
in what we now refer to as developing
nations. For instance, Bangladesh has had a
long and significant history of corruption, ever since it entered the classification of an
impoverished nation. After its split from the rest of Pakistan in 1971, its government quickly
fell into a cycle of civilian-led and military-led takeovers that exemplified the corruption and
instability that already existed. Top officials would often switch decisions made on
infrastructure and notably government budgeting for whoever could pay the most, and unfair
distribution of funding and care to different public sectors depending on how receptive they
were to the rule of the new government.

Individual actions of corruption and negligence were also easy to come by, both then and
today. Police officers and law enforcement at large performed corrupt actions that so often
occur in impoverished nations by ignoring crimes or prosecuting crimes more heavily
depending on bribes they received. Local politicians and members of larger political parties
would commonly abuse their positions to sabotage local elections in the rare case that they
were not already skewed and would distribute resources and even approval for

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developmental projects based on the number of bribes or favours they acquired. Fault cannot
however be that easily pinned on any one person. Corruption in impoverished nations such as
Bangladesh are formed through cycles and circumstance, and delegates will need to consider
both.

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Case Studies

For 32 years leading up to his downfall in 1998, president Mohamed Suharto of Indonesia, a
country in south-east Asia, stole $35 B from the Indonesian people through corruption. This
was possible due to a system his political opponents called KKN, an Indonesian acronym
meaning “corruption, collusion, nepotism.”
Those closest to him such as family and
friends were handed state-run monopolies,
kicking back millions in tribute payments in
turn. (This system of a select few individuals
owning powerful monopolies that amass vast
amounts of wealth closely resembles that of
modern-day Russia, with its system of
oligarchs). Another source of his wealth was
the ordering of financial institutions to
contribute a portion of their annual profits. Additionally, wealthy Indonesian citizens were
required to “tithe” a percentage of their salaries.

This did not improve the state of the impoverished country in the slightest, which also
suffered from Suharto’s wrath through the exploitation of its natural resources. An example
of this was the privatization of Jarkata’s (Indonesia’s capital city) water system in the
mid-1990s, with the owner having to give Suharto’s son 20% of the venture’s sale (similar to
before when it was seen how the close family of Suharto received large monopolies). Another
example of the exploitation of natural resources by Suharto’s regime is his involvement in the
Indonesian oil and gas industry. The state oil company, Pertamina, was forced to import and
export its oil through two Suharto-family trading companies, charging up to 35¢ a barrel for
the service. An estimate puts the total at $6.1 B that had been stolen through Suharto-related
companies’ favourable contracts to provide the oil monopoly with everything from cafeteria
food to insurance.

Attempts to prosecute president Suharto started in 2000 when the former president was set
to face trial concerning $571 M of embezzled money. This, however, never happened due to
numerous claims from doctors that the man was too ill to withstand court proceedings.
Another attempt at prosecution in 2002 was also shut down after physicians insisted
Suharto was suffering a “brain disease”, which was oddly never specified. An article that
entailed a lawsuit involving the Suharto's gave a lowball estimate of $15 B when it came to

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the family’s fortune. By the time of his passing in 2008, Suharto had been able to
single-handedly detriment the Indonesian economy, without ever having to face the
consequences of his corruption.

Case Study #2
​
Corruption in Jamaica has been a hot topic in the country for the last few decades, especially
when it comes to the dispersion of public funds. The financial state had gotten so inadequate
that, in the 21st century, the Caribbean island nation was forced to turn to the IMF for
financial aid. Through numerous loans and conditions placed on the country, its economy
continued to sink, now even faster with the added debt from the international organization.
Delay in the fulfilment of anti-corruption
and anti-crime agreements is a big factor
in the hole the country has dug for itself.

One of the key principles of democracy is

accountability, not only for regular citizens
but also for those in positions of power;
nobody is above the law. However, in
Jamaica, it is seen how time and time
again, high-level officials, members of boards, and executives of public bodies, responsible for
gross violations of the Procurement Act amongst others seem to be exempt from Jamaica’s
legal system, with the failure of the country to bring those individuals before a court of law.

A common theme in corruption case studies, the awarding of public funds and in some
circumstances, state-run monopolies, to the close family and friends of the ruler is also
observed in Jamaica. The diversion of public funds into corrupt pockets is common, having

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adverse results, especially with Jamaica’s infrastructure. The roads remain broken, water
systems are not maintained, and underfunding of police leads to even more corruption
between its ranks. This is due to contracts being given to political friends instead of
competent contractors.

Based on an article by the Jamaica Gleaner in 2019, around $738 M has been stolen by the
government from the Jamaican people through the vile act of corruption, all money that its
citizens worked hard to earn. The country still suffers dearly from the practice, with an
estimated 5% of the GDP lost each year, amounting to millions of dollars.

Questions to Consider
-​ What policies can be implemented to minimize corruption?​

-​ Can other solutions be created?​

-​ Would decreasing poverty in these countries decrease corruption?​

-​ What can be done to enforce corruption laws?​

-​ What can your country do to help decrease corruption in impoverished countries?​

-​ Why does corruption exist?​

-​ Can the root cause of the corruption be removed?

Helpful Websites
The Human Rights Case Against Corruption | OHCHR

How did Suharto steal $35 billion?

Corruption in Jamaica

Gleaner Article - $738 M Corruption in Jamaica

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Topic 2: Human Rights Abuses Throughout the
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Background Information

Human Rights Abuses: Human rights abuses are acts that contravene an individual's rights.
This includes political, social, economical and cultural rights. In the Russia/ Ukraine conflict,
human rights laws have been disregarded, from threatening Ukrainians' physical safety to
limiting access to food, medicines, adequate housing, and schools. The Covid-19 pandemic
worsened these trends. Travel restrictions imposed by Russia-backed armed groups in parts
of eastern Ukraine and by Ukrainian authorities in response to the pandemic had a
devastating impact on economic and social rights, creating hardship for civilians and driving
them deeper into poverty. Older people, women, children, and people with disabilities were
hit the hardest. Armed groups controlling parts of the Donetsk and Luhanska regions
continued to carry out arbitrary and incommunicado detentions and use ill-treatment and
torture in conflict-related cases, including to extract confessions. Justice for conflict-related
abuses by government forces, including arbitrary detentions, torture or ill-treatment
remained elusive. Members of groups advocating hate and discrimination continued putting
ethnic minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and rights activists at
risk, subjecting them to physical attacks and hate speech. The government proposed
legislative amendments that threaten freedom of expression and media. Journalists and
media workers faced harassment and threats
connected to their reporting.

Ukraine was part of Russia before becoming

an independent country on August 24th,
1991. Since then there have been issues
between Russia and Ukraine. War: 20
February 2014 – present (8 years, 2 months
and 5 days) Russian invasion of Ukraine: 24
February 2022 – present. This has been the largest European crisis since World War II. Over
5.3 million Ukrainians are fleeing, 9,398–24,398+ civilians killed, 3,818 - 4,000+ wounded
civilians, 2,500–3,000 soldiers dead, and 7.7 million people displaced. NATO estimates that,
in total, 30,000 to 40,000 Russian troops have been killed, wounded or taken prisoner in
Ukraine, an estimate based on the assumption that for every soldier killed, three are
wounded, the official added. Russian President Vladimir Putin has seen NATO's expansion as

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an existential threat, and the prospect of Ukraine joining the Western military alliance as a
"hostile act", a view he invoked in a televised speech, saying that Ukraine's aspiration to join
the military alliance was a dire threat to Russia. The Russian leader's initial aim was to overrun
Ukraine and depose its government, ending for good its desire to join the Western defensive
alliance Nato. He failed to capture the capital Kyiv and after a month of setbacks turned his
ambitions to Ukraine's east and south. This started the war Feb 24, 2022 when Russia
attacked Ukraine.

It is Russia that is now accused by

the international community of
carrying out atrocities. Several
countries including the US and
Canada go further and call it
genocide. A month into the war,
Russia declared that the main goal
was the "liberation of Donbas",
talking about Ukraine's eastern
regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
More than 1/3 of this area was already captured by Russian proxy forces in a war that began
in 2014, and now Russia wants to seize all of it. Ukraine's leader has said despite the atrocities
committed by Russian troops on Ukrainian soil he will continue to pursue negotiations
"because Ukraine must have peace. We are in Europe in the 21st Century". Volodymyr
Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine has accepted that Ukraine will never be part of NATO.
There is a possibility that Russia may use a small nuclear weapon against Ukraine.

Countries are helping Ukraine by sending military aid. The EU, US, UK and other Western
nations have targeted Russia's economy in a variety of ways: Russia's central bank has had its
assets frozen and major banks are shut out of the international SWIFT payment transfer
network. The US has banned imports of Russian oil and gas; the EU aims to cut gas imports
by two-thirds within a year, and the UK aims to phase out Russian oil by the end of 2022.
Germany has halted approval on Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, a major investment by
both Russia and European companies while Russian airlines have been barred from airspace
over the EU, UK, US and Canada. Personal sanctions have been imposed on President Putin
and his daughters, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and many other individuals. No peace deal
with Ukraine will bring these sanctions to an end, and Vladimir Putin knows that. Instead, he
has turned on Russians who have opposed the war. "The Russian people will always be able to

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distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors," he said. More than 15,400 anti-war
protesters have been detained and virtually all independent media have been silenced. The
UN’s refugee agency also believes at least 368,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighbouring
countries, mostly Poland.
On February 25, President Joe Biden instructed
the State Department to release up to an additional
$350m worth of weapons from US stocks to
Ukraine. In a memorandum to Secretary of State
Antony Blinken, Biden directed that $350m
allocated through the Foreign Assistance Act be
designated for Ukraine’s defence. Ukraine has been
asking for Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger
missiles to shoot down aircraft. The Pentagon said
the weapons included anti-armour, small arms, body armour and various munitions in
support of Ukraine’s front-line defenders. A State Department spokesperson said anti-aircraft
systems were also included in the material. The European Union is financing the purchase
and delivery of arms after leaders agreed to transport weapons worth 450 million euros
($502m) to Kyiv. The UK; “In light of the increasingly threatening behaviour from Russia and
in line with our previous support, the UK will shortly be providing a further package of military
support to Ukraine,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament. “This will include lethal aid
in the form of defensive weapons and non-lethal aid,” Paris said it has acted on earlier
Ukrainian requests for defensive anti-aircraft and digital weapons. The Netherlands will supply
air defence rockets and anti-tank systems to Ukraine, the Dutch government said in letters to
parliament on Saturday. The Netherlands will supply air defence rockets and anti-tank
systems to Ukraine, the Dutch government said in letters to parliament on Saturday. The
Dutch government agreed to a Ukrainian request to rapidly ship 200 Stinger air defence
rockets and 50 “Panzerfaust 3” anti-tank weapons with 400 rockets, the letters said. It is also
jointly considering sending a Patriot air defence system alongside Germany to a NATO battle
group in Slovakia. Germany will supply Ukraine with 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500
Stinger surface-to-air missiles from
Bundeswehr stocks for defence against Russia.
It is a major shift from Berlin’s long-standing
policy of banning weapon exports to a conflict
zone.“The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a
turning point. We have to do our best to support
Ukraine in defending itself against Putin’s

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invading army,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz commented. Canada; Ottawa is sending
lethal military weapons to Ukraine and loaning Kyiv half a billion Canadian dollars ($394m) to
help it defend itself.
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark; Stockholm is also breaking its historic neutral stance to send
5,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, with Denmark contributing a further 2,700. Norway is
sending helmets and body armour and up to 2,000 M72 anti-tank weapons. Finland; neutral
Finland takes the “historic” decision to supply weapons to Ukraine and will send 1,500 rocket
launchers, 2,500 assault rifles, 150,000 rounds of ammunition, and 70,000 servings of field
rations. Belgium says it will supply Ukraine with 3,000 more automatic rifles and 200
anti-tank weapons, as well as 3,800 tonnes of fuel. Portugal is giving Ukraine night-vision
goggles, bulletproof vests, helmets, grenades, ammunition and automatic G3 rifles. Greece,
which has a large diaspora community in Ukraine – 10 of whom have been killed – is sending
“defence equipment” as well as humanitarian aid. Romania – which shares a border with
Ukraine – is offering to treat wounded people from the crisis zones in its 11 military hospitals
as well as sending fuel, bulletproof vests, helmets and other “military material” worth $3.3m.
Spain says it will supply Ukraine with 1,370 grenade launchers, 700,000 munitions and light
automatic weapons. Czech Republic; Prague said Saturday it is sending Ukraine 4,000
mortars “in the next few hours” as well as an arsenal of 30,000 pistols, 7,000 assault rifles,
3,000 machine guns, many sniper rifles and a million bullets. Croatia; Zagreb will dispatch 16
million euros’ worth of small arms and body armour. Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro
Kuleba stated that as of 6 March, approximately 20,000 foreign nationals from 52 countries
have volunteered to fight. On 3 March,
Russian Defence Ministry spokesman
Igor Konashenkov warned that
mercenaries are not entitled to
protection under the Geneva
Conventions, and captured foreign
fighters would not be considered
prisoners of war, but prosecuted as
criminals. On 11 March, Moscow
announced that 16,000 volunteers
from the Middle East were ready to
join other pro-Russian foreign fighters alongside the Donbas separatists. Over 66,200
Ukrainian men have returned to Ukraine from abroad to fight.

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Case Studies

Russia Vs Ukraine; 2014

Although Russia has declared war on Ukraine,
this isn’t the first time. With an overarching
lead and use of power, Russia holds the
favours in its palm. In 2014 Russia took over
Ukraine in hopes of colonizing Crimea. In
2014 under Vladimir Putin’s command,
Russia annexed Crimea. At the start of the
war in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, and Russian-backed separatists seized part of the
south-eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, sparking a regional war there.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine had been building back up and recovering. In
2014 when Russian forces took over it, Ukraine’s national security was razed to the ground.
Months of popular protest swept pro-Russian
President, Viktor Yanukovych left office in
February, and he was immediately overthrown
by a pro-Western interim government. As the
interim government attempted to deal with a
reeling economy, heavily armed pro-Russian
separatists seized government buildings in
Crimea and, with the support of Russian troops,
declared independence from the central
government in Kyiv. Russia formally annexed Crimea in March 2014, a move that was
broadly criticized in the West as a violation of international law, and separatist activities
spread into eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian security services initially were unable to resist the
attacks, which were often conducted by soldiers with Russian arms and equipment but
wearing uniforms that lacked any clear differentiation. With tens of thousands of Russian
troops massed just across the border and the horrid thought of the 2008 conflict between
Russia and Georgia fresh in their minds, leaders in Kyiv were forced to weigh any possible
military response against the
likelihood of triggering a
complete Russian intervention.
As Ukrainian forces began
systematically reclaiming

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contested territory ahead of the May 2014 presidential elections, the United States and the
European Union (EU) expanded economic sanctions against an increasingly wide circle of
Russian companies and individuals. This gave Russia, Crimea, and power.

The war in 2014 led to many fatalities, rebels came in and shot down planes, took over
Crimea, and blood was shed. The takeover resulted in not only unsafe living conditions, fear,
and lack of proper food and hydration, but also constricted citizens' everyday lives, and basic
human rights. The government opposed protesters and created mayhem and violence in
which a normal life was impossible.

After Crimea was captured by Russia, it became Russian territory. Most of the residents there
now are Russian. In the current war between Russia and Ukraine, similarities are present.
Mayhem and violence are high, and so is the lack of normality in people's lives. Ukraine wishes
for a peace deal, however unlike before when Ukraine held back, this time it will fight. With
multiple aids and help from nations and countries internationally materially and with
volunteers, they hope to take back Ukraine. Many countries around the globe have stated that
Russia declaring war in 2022 is directly breaking human rights law, and some countries even
call it genocide. Many civilians have fled to neighbouring countries (mainly Poland). In hope of
a safer environment for them and their families.

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Questions to Consider
-​ What is the role of international cooperation and government organizations or NGOs
in helping to deal with human rights?​

-​ How does your country view human rights? And what action has been taken?​

-​ How important are human rights to you? ​

-​ When does diplomacy become obsolete when negotiating this crisis and what should
be done when this moment is reached?​

-​ Are there innovations to reduce human rights violations and how should the law be
applied to violations?​

Helpful Websites
Ukraine | | UN News​

Why has Russia invaded Ukraine and what does Putin want? - BBC News​

UNRIC Library & Info Point Backgrounder: Ukraine​

Corruption in Developing Countries

Ukraine Refugee Situation

Security Council Fails to Adopt Draft Resolution on Ending Ukraine Crisis, as Russian
Federation Wields Veto

Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Karim AA Khan QC, on the Situation in Ukraine: Receipt of
Referrals from 39 States Parties and the Opening of an Investigation | International Criminal
Court

Home | International Court of Justice​

Ukraine: IOM Hotlines for Persons Affected by the War | International Organisation for
Migration

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