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A Bloc is a group of countries that form together to work toward a common goal, whether economic, political, or otherwise. Most countries are in more than one bloc. Depending on current politics, some countries may drop out or abstain from participating in some blocs, while other countries simply remain as observers.

Blocs are unstructured and are allowed to form and grow on their own. This may be a frustrating process. A country must always keep its political stands and goals in its negotiations with other countries as it participates in bloc decisions. The view of a particular nation must always take precedence over a bloc’s views, unless the country feels it will receive some benefit from its continued adherence to a bloc’s views.

BLOC’s develop resolutions based on their respective committees purpose and shall remain together for the duration of the conference. The resolutions developed in these committees may be specific or broad in nature. BLOC’s operate under the Parliamentary Procedure Guidelines provided in the manual.

The conference has the following BLOC’s:
European Union (EU)
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Organization of American States (OAS)
African Union (AU)
Arab League (AL)

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Topic 1: Women’s Rights/Expansion of CEDAW

Although, in recent years, Southeast Asia has made significant progress in achieving greater gender equality by way of increasing awareness with lectures and seminars, the region still faces many challenges. These challenges include but are not limited to injustices in the workplace and at home and a general treatment of women as subordinate by society. Until recent rapid industrialization, women were overwhelmingly employed in the home or in agriculture. Increase in industry has opened up many factory jobs, which women fill. China’s export industry relies heavily on female labor. Unfortunately, those women employed are often subjected to terrible working conditions, harassment, and abuse (1). Since society has deemed women of Southeast Asia less valuable than men, these countries display a very high abortion rate of female fetuses. Women are even provided with less education and fewer healthcare benefits.

Lately, increasing numbers of Southeast Asians have been rallying for change in the treatment of women. Women’s movements and organizations have developed throughout the region as women demand fair treatment in the workplace and in the world. In Japan, for example, women have filed lawsuits against major Japanese companies seeking equal employment opportunities and equal pay. Groups have also spoken out against women trafficking and AIDS.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has made commendable strides toward improving the standard of living for women in Southeast Asia (2). CEDAW is a legally binding international agreement to protect and promote women’s human rights. As of this time, only Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam have joined CEDAW in the quest for gender equality and achievement of women’s human rights. The other nations of Southeast Asia continue to demonstrate severe injustice towards women. Some nations have attempted to better the gender inequality issue but have been largely unsuccessful. In addition, although the seven aforementioned nations have entered into the agreement, programs have not fully been implemented. UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, in accordance with CEDAW, cites projects that have been completed, as well as those which have been underway for some time but have not shown significant progress (3). Some constraints to CEDAW implementation have been a culture of ‘non-compliance’ with human rights standards, a lack of means to access justice and redress discrimination, and cultural norms and practices based on the idea of inferiority of females.

Questions:

• How can your country benefit from joining an organization such as CEDAW?
• What restrictions such as powerful government parties or cultural practices keep your nation from joining CEDAW?
• Can international regulations regarding the rights of women be set without imposing on a nation’s sovereignty or specific cultural practices?

Works Cited:
"Changing roles in a changing society." Women's Issues in Japan. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.sg.emb-japan.go.jp/JapanAccess/women.htm>.

UNIFEM East and Southeast Asia Regional Office.” Good Practices To Protect Women Migrant Workers. 14 July 2006. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.unifem-eseasia.org/projects/migrant/mig_pub.htm>.

"Projects and Activities." UNIFEM East and Southeast Asia Regional Office. 14 July 2006. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.unifem-eseasia.org/projects.htm>.

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Topic 2: Environmental Concerns

As in many other regions of the world, environmental degradation is a serious concern for those living in Southeast Asia. Many cities around the region have open sewage systems, oil-slicked and contaminated waterways, garbage piled along roads, and overflowing landfills (1). In some cities, residents have to wear masks to protect themselves from the thick smog that exists in the air. Not only is this pollution and destruction of the environment harmful to humans, but plant and animal populations have been greatly affected by the change shrinking of their clean living environment.
Recently, Indonesia’s tropical forests, which are among the richest in the world, have been threatened by illegal logging as well as forest fires. Previously, Indonesians had intentionally set fire to forests as a quick and cheap means of clearing the land. This method, unfortunately, had disastrous effects on the environment, not restricted to Indonesia. Among nations covered by a blanket of smoke half the size of the United States were Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines (1). The toxic haze left life miserable for entire populations. In this case, a method for clearing land employed by one nation of Southeast Asia had a direct negative effect on many surrounding nations.
Another environmental issue which has continued to pose significant threat since it began in 1994 is China’s Three Gorges Dam project which is scheduled to be complete in 2009. This is the world’s largest-ever hydroelectric and flood-control undertaking which will eventually lead to the submersion of an area nearly 400 miles long and the necessary resettlement of up to 2 million people (2). The effects of the project are being disputed among scientists and China’s politicians. Critics of the project argue that it is causing massive ecological and archaeological damage to the region which would inevitably have a ripple effect, thereby upsetting ecosystems throughout Southeast Asia in its entirety. Supporters of the Three Gorges Dam counter that it is necessary to provide sufficient energy to China’s booming economy and to control the floods of the Yangtze River.
Exponential population growth, urbanization and industrialization, and government inaction have combined to pose severe threats to the Southeast Asian regional environment. Environmental degradation continues to accelerate as large projects such as China’s Dam project are encouraged by corporations and demanded by industry. In addition, as China, Japan, and other major Southeast Asian powers struggle for economic control of oil in the region, the environment is slowly torn apart (3).

Questions:

• What environmental concerns are most prevalent in your country? What are the causes and effects?
• What has your country done thus far to alleviate some of these issues?
• How can waste disposal be modified to eliminate the ripple effect into other nations?
• Who should dictate the rules and regulations regarding the environment?
• Is it ethical to use tactics such as burning fires in order to industrialize if the result may be pollution of the air in other nations as well as the nation engaging in these tactics?

Works Cited:
Brown, Christopher L. "Social Issues, Human Rights, and the Environment." East Asia in Transition. 2007. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.southerncenter.org/ea_feb07_lesson4.pdf>.

Imhof, Aviva. “Three Gorges Dam – The Great Wall Across the Yangtze.” International Rivers Network. 2006. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.irn.org/programs/threeg/>.

"Sparks fly as China moves oil up Mekong." Asia Times Online. Ed. Marwaan Macan-Markar. 9 Jan 2007 <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IA09Ae01.html>.

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Topic 3: Drug/Weapon/Human trafficking

It is estimated that more than two million people worldwide are being trafficked each year, the majority of whom are women and children. Within the Southeast Asian region alone, over 225,000 are transported across borders, according to United States State Department statistics.

Trafficking was more often associated with the illegal trade of goods across borders, namely contraband and particularly drugs. However, over the past ten years this trade has taken a giant leap forward to include the trafficking of human beings, mainly women and children. Often tricked into believing they will be given legitimate work, these people soon find themselves caught in a web of exploitation and deceit, ending up in the sex trade, which generates funds that exceed the amount made in the drug trade, estimated at between $6 billion and $7 billion per year.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that in the past thirty years trafficking of women and children in Asia for sexual exploitation has victimized over 30 million people (1). These victims usually come from poor families, lured into promises of a better life for themselves and their families. They might be offered a job or an education, while others are kidnapped and sold by friends and family members for profit. It is a ruthless business where money overpowers basic human rights.

Traffickers often use local people in a community or village to find young women and children, and target families who are poor and vulnerable. In some situations, family members sell children to middlemen or traffickers. The parents are deceived into believing their children will get a good job or an education, and out of respect for their parents they will do as they are told. Most of the time, however, they end up in brothels.

In January of 2007, Cambodia closed down the Svay Pak brothel area, yet it remains a source, destination and transit country, and although the government has been pressured by the various international agencies that operate in Cambodia to address the issue, few arrests are made. Other countries in the Asia Pacific region which engage in illegal trafficking are Burma and Indonesia, which have made little or no effort to crack down on the exploitation issue. Thailand remains one of the major players—as a source, destination and transit country for trafficking purposes of women and children. Victims from the neighboring countries of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and China are trafficked through Thailand on their way to other destinations, such as the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and Europe (2).

Poverty will always remain one of the root causes for women and children to be lured into prostitution. In Asia and the Pacific alone, where roughly one third of the world's population of 7 billion lives, nearly one fourth lives on less than one dollar per day. To get out of their poverty cycle, they are easily led into disastrous situations and taken advantage of by middlemen and agents who see them only for exploitation purposes. Some, if they are lucky, find a way out, but for every one who survives there are those who remain at the mercy of being pulled into the reality of exploitation and daily survival.

Questions:

• How prevalent is drug, human, or weapon trafficking in your country? Which is most prevalent?
• What has the government of your country done to halt or eliminate the illegal buying, selling, and transporting of goods and services?
• What are the main causes of trafficking in your country?
• Do surrounding nations enable or ease trafficking for citizens of your country? How can agreements be made with these nations to eliminate illegal trafficking worldwide?

Works Cited:
Flamm, Mikel. "Exploited, Not Educated." United Nations Chronicle. 26 Apr. 2007
<http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2003/issue2/0203p34.html>.

"UNICEF Outraged By Cambodian Child Porn Trade." Human Trafficking.org. 11 Jan. 2007. 26 Apr. 2007 <http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/531>.

"Consular Information Sheet: Malaysia." US Department of State. 26 Apr. 2007.
<http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_960.html>.

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