Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural

SOCHUM

SOCHUM is the third of the six principal bodies of the United Nations General Assembly. Its primary focuses are human rights issues and sociocultural concerns, and it encompasses both country-specific and worldwide affairs.

The Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee is concerned with the examination of human rights and fundamental freedoms along with their social implications. Through these practices, it is meant to protect minority groups as well as promote the abolition of systematic oppression in various contexts. While it lacks the ability to enact international legislation, its role is largely defined by the aid it is delegated to provide.

Topic 1: Improvement on children's rights in Least Developed Countries with a focus on child prostitution and sex tourism.

Although there are legal frameworks that advocate for children’s rights, there are many circumstances that depict the contrary. Commercial sexual exploitation of children is an occurrence all around the globe, and in many nations, it is illegal. However, some travel to countries where it is legal just to engage in child sex tourism. There are an estimated 60,000 child prostitutes in the Philippines and 400,000 in India. Furthermore, a report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund found that a third of African countries report trafficking to Europe with mostly women and children, who work as prostitutes. The report said that in Malawi, European tourists drive demand for child prostitutes, and some of those children are sent to Europe as sex slaves. It is in the best interest of children to focus on the improvement of children’s rights in regards to child prostitution and sex tourism.

Topic 2: The fight and promotion for effective and fair democracy with a focus on post-war communities.

Democracy is based on freedom and equality for all people; hence it seeks to give power to the people. While democracy promotes fairness, there has been a disjoint in the theoretical and practical aspects of this. Democracy has been more of an option rather than a choice, especially in post-war countries. Post-war countries all across the globe have struggled for a long time with the execution of free and fair democracy. Thus, it is imperative that all people have access to effective and fair democracies, especially in areas that were previously involved in war.