• The issue of prisoners of conscience

• The issue of individuals’ freedom to religion

Ms Jeziorski is a librarian at UNIS Hanoi. She has been at UNIS for three years, and she previously worked in various countries such as Egypt and Nigeria. She became a librarian after working as an elementary teacher. She has yet to experience the excitement and stimulating debates of UNISMUN. “MUN is a way for you to be leaders and work towards solutions for the problems,” Ms Jeziorski said. “I think it is very important for students to look at the world from a global perspective.”

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Although Ms Jeziorski has no prior experience with MUN, she has very strong opinions on our two topics: the issue of prisoners of conscience and the issue of freedom of religion. Many of her opinions come from living in different countries and experiencing influences from culture and religion. “When I was in Egypt, a lot of my friends were journalists,” Ms Jeziorski said. “During the Arab Spring, some of my friends - Westerners - were put in jails.” Furthermore, when we asked about the topic of freedom of religion, Ms Jeziorski said: “I believe people should be allowed to celebrate whatever religion they want, as long as it doesn’t harm others.” Ms Jeziorski then commented, “I think others need to respect religions that are not their own.”

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As for advice to delegates, Ms Jeziorski said, “Go in open-minded. Be willing to listen to the perspectives of other delegates and be open to hearing their ideas. If you want to have strong arguments for discussion of issues, have well-documented evidence from reliable sources.” The discussions we had with Ms Jeziorski really made us think deeply about our topics, and we hope that you will learn about the different perspectives on these issues while engaging in a thoughtful discussion. 

Ms Davis is the inclusions coordinator at UNIS. She has worked at UNIS for three months, previously working in schools in Japan and Luxembourg. Ms Davis was an avid debater and debate coach in her previous schools. She has some experience with MUN at her old school. “MUN is a powerful opportunity for students to dive deeply into global issues, and to develop their understanding through gathering different perspectives and using their perspective to advocate for change,” Ms Davis said. 

In connection to our two topics of the November conference, Ms Davis strongly believes in the right to expression: “We need to promote the idea of freedom of speech and freedom to allow everybody to have their perspective.” We talked about how some governments might view these perspectives as contrary to the philosophy of the government in power. For freedom of religion, Ms Davis wishes for people to be able to have their beliefs while still being safe. 

When we asked about her thoughts on our conference theme this year, she responded, “It’s about creating a pathway and strategies that will help move people along. How do we do that while still honoring people and bringing them along in the process?” She believes that changing mindsets, beliefs and ideas take time as nothing is a quick fix. “We are better together,” Ms Davis said. For the upcoming conference, we hope that delegates will be able to work together to create long term solutions for our two topics.

Ms Maggie is the grade 1 leader and teacher. She has worked at UNIS for 5 years and worked at other schools in Indonesia and Romania. She does not have much experience with MUN, but she is excited to learn more and help secondary students with world issues. To Ms Maggie, “MUN is students coming together who are passionate about learning and global issues. It also builds collaboration skills since it takes a lot of courage to work with other people.” 

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Growing up in the United States, Ms Maggie has always witnessed people having the right to express their beliefs and religion: “I think it’s a really important aspect in life.” We had a discussion on dissidents and how people are imprisoned for expressing their thoughts. “I can’t imagine not being able to speak your mind and then being persecuted for that,” Ms Maggie said. She believes that human rights play a huge role in making progress towards creating a more sustainable world, and it would not be possible if people do not work together. “I think that it is important for students to discuss these topics now so that, as adults, you can continue these conversations and make change possible.”

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Ms Maggie encourages all delegates to take risks and voice their country’s perspective, even when it is hard: “It takes a lot of courage to collaborate with other people and to speak your mind.” MUN is an opportunity to debate about global issues from different perspectives. “When you have this awareness, you’re going to look at the world differently,” Ms Maggie said. We hope that delegates will enjoy researching about their country and we look forward to seeing everyone in action!

Greetings honorable directors, distinguished delegates, fellow chairs, and most esteemed guests,

My name is Khue (Molly) Le, a junior at Concordia International School Hanoi. I am very honored to be serving as the Head chair for this year's Human Rights Council. After being in the MUN community for one year, this November UNISMUN will mark my 2nd conference and my 1st time as a chair.

The theme of this November conference, “How do we ensure sustainability through multilateral cooperation?”, delves into the complexity of cooperation between delegates. To foster sustainability in every measure and action that is and will be implemented, multilateral cooperation plays a crucial role. For the upcoming conference, I hope to see fruitful and creative discussions between delegates to craft resolutions that address growing problems with sustainable operative clauses.

The Human Rights Council seeks to promote the protection and strengthening of human rights globally while also addressing human rights violations for the goal of equality. With regulations constraining human rights in many countries, measures should be taken into consideration to help and protect citizens. That being said, without multilateral communication between delegates, these social problems cannot be tackled globally. 

The two topics focused on for the Human Rights Council in the upcoming conference are: “The issue of prisoners of conscience” and “The issue of individuals’ freedom of religion”. There have been several instances of innocent people being arrested due to their political opinions, race, religious convictions, socioeconomic background, etc. Several instances of restricting religious freedom and penalizing people for their beliefs have also occurred. Both of these issues have heavily violated foundational human rights.

Regardless, I hope every delegate and chair in our council will be well-prepared to contribute to the discussions, and I look forward to seeing everyone at the conference. Good luck!

Honourable directors, distinguished delegates, and most esteemed guests,

My name is Sandra and I am currently a sophomore at the United Nations International School of Hanoi. I will be serving as the deputy chair for this year's November UNISMUN Human Rights Council. This upcoming November conference will mark my third Model United Nations conference and my first time as a chair. I am very excited to help deliver a memorable experience for delegates during the conference!

The theme of this November conference, “How do we ensure sustainability through multilateral cooperation?”, encourages all delegates to come together to create solutions for a better and more sustainable future. Sustainability in a social context is extremely important. During the upcoming conference, I hope that delegates will collaborate to create resolutions that meet the needs of the people and ensure a brighter future for others. 

The Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations that aims to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council discusses all human rights issues and situations and makes recommendations on them. 

This year, the Human Rights Council will be focusing on the issues of prisoners of conscience and individuals’ rights to freedom of religion. In recent years, we have seen an increasing number of human rights violations, such as in our host country Vietnam. It is vital that delegates come together to discuss these topics as freedom is becoming undermined despite the many treaties and policies created. 

I look forward to seeing all delegates participating in a fruitful debate at the November conference!

Honorable directors, most esteemed guest, fellow chairs, and delegates, 

My name is SungJoon Cho from UNIS Hanoi, a procedural chair for the Human Rights Council in the 2023 November conference. As a person who is in the second year of MUN experience, I am more than happy to learn more about MUN and further improve as a better member of the UNISMUN. 

The theme for this November Conference is “How do we ensure sustainability through multilateral cooperation?”. I believe that cooperation is always the key to solve an issue and I hope that the 2023 November Conference can also be a place for all delegates to cooperate and brainstorm together for a more sustainable future. 

The Human Rights Council is a UN committee which solves issues related to all kinds of human rights. This committee is mostly aiming to protect all the human rights for all global citizens starting from; disabled people, refugees, criminals and all other global citizens.

The two topics we will be debating in the HRC will be “The issue of prisoners of conscience” and “The issue of individuals’ freedom to religion”. For the issue of prisoners of conscience, we will be talking about all the criminals who are innocent but have been imprisoned only because of their race, sex, religion, and political views. As we live in a world where all human beings have the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and rights of equality, it is our role to further cooperate and build a solution to protect the rights of all innocent people. For the issue of individuals’ freedom to religion, all humans have the freedom of religion and no others should be able to violate their freedom. 

Overall, I am grateful to attend this conference and wish luck for all members in the HRC.