Committee Topics

1. Supporting Access to Justice for Female Victims of Violence

Within one century the situation regarding women’s rights has changed and reached an impressive level of improvement. Does it necessarily ensure equality between men and women? Do equal rights go along with equal access to justice? To which extent can this development guarantee fair treatment for female victims of violence?

In spite of the great achievements that have been reached, there is still controversy regarding the reliability of the judiciary system, and, consequently how to effectively counteract injustices.

‘Supporting access to justice for female victims of violence’ is a topic which raises questions regarding the reliability of the existing judiciary system, identifying loopholes within the system and poor enforcement of law. More importantly, reasons for women’s struggle to exercise their rights shall be debated, these include lack of awareness and traditionally/ culturally related intimidation, only to name two examples.

Prior to these directions for discussion, analyzing the meaning of “justice” requires a special attention. Female victims of violence perceive it slightly differently across the world. Consequently, it means fair reward for work or enjoying opportunities, it can be equal to exercising autonomy over their lives or a dignified process of seeking justice in the numerous cases where sexual abuse is a war practice. Moreover, what leads to these different perceptions?

Consequently, the topic of ‘Supporting access to justice for female victims of violence’ is of utmost importance in order to identify flaws within the system of justice, exchanging ideas how to counteract these flaws and find congruent solutions to make a difference for women worldwide.

2. Promoting Political Participation of Women

It is no exaggeration to say that discrimination against women has existed for thousands of years. It is only over the last few decades that we can see what may be called “real” change in this respect. Considering the history of Women’s Rights, they are now emerging at a truly astonishing pace. However, it is also obvious that we shouldn’t rest on our laurels – recent successes should rather give hope and new verve for new undertakings. The mission of the CSW is to further impel this development and one way of doing so is to enable women to participate in politics. This is particularly important because most aspects of our daily life are governed by (regional, national, or supranational) policies. And, slightly simplifying, it can be expected that female decision makers will respect Women’s Rights in their actions and thus reinforce the process.
So how can this be achieved? The task before the commission will be to show innovative approaches of easing women’s ways to suffrage   and into political positions. Which intermediate goals need to be reached, both in legislation and in people’s minds? How can new technology be used? For example, it has been argued that with widely spread mobile phones and the possibilities of networking they provide for, entirely new opportunities of democracy and equality present themselves.
The committee work could include reviewing efforts that were recently made in the field and trying to use these experiences to come up with improved projects and proposals.
Where should the CSW further advance its tradition of intense collaboration with NGOs to benefit from their knowledge and experience? Are there best practices which should be looked into more closely?
The overall aim should be to make this commission’s outcome a keynote speech in global discourse on the matter.

Bernard Dröge, Director

Bernard Dröge is a student of “Anglistics/Americanistics” and “Culture, Individual and Society” at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. He is getting prepared for MUIMUN in the United Kingdom, where he is currently doing a semester of ERASMUS exchange studies. Since 2006, he has been a member of Amnesty International and represented the German section at the European Youth Meeting in 2008. After finishing high school, he took a gap year to help organising international youth meetings in Taizé, France, and to carry out a voluntary service with a local TV/radio station and the Protestant Academy. In 2011, he served as Vice Director of the ECOSOC at MUIMUN and was also part of MUIMUN’s delegation to the National MUN in New York City. Now, he feels honoured and excited to return to Münster as President of the Commission on the Status of Women. He hopes for enthusiastic delegates and is certain that the Commission’s debating will be both targeted and enjoyable for all participants,

Sinziana Iancu, Vice Director

I’m Romanian, I study International Relations in Cluj-Napoca in the last year of Bachelor. I have participated twice in a MUN conference which made me interested in UN and International politics. Moreover, being part of the field of my studies, I considered MUIMUN 2012 a perfect opportunity to learn by doing in spite of the theoretical background I already have. This says already something about me, that I’m very active, I enjoy quite a dynamic style of life. I see myself as an empathic person, I like to get in touch with people and to learn from them as much as possible.