SOCIAL, HUMANITARIAN, AND CULTURAL COMMITTEE
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
The Sixty-Eighth Session
,Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
FROM THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
Dear Delegates and Faculty Advisers,
It is my privilege to welcome you to Harvard National Model United Nations 2022! My name is Andrew Young Jun Kim
and it is my honor to serve as your Secretary-General for the 68th Annual Session of HNMUN. I am originally from
Seoul, South Korea and I am currently a senior at Harvard studying Economics with a secondary in Sociology. Model
UN has proven to be a defining part of my college career, and I am grateful to have been part of HNMUN throughout all
four of my years at Harvard. Last year, I served as the Under-Secretary-General of Operations at HNMUN 2021, and at
HNMUN 2020 I directed the South Korean Women’s Presidential Advisory Board committee. HNMUN every year for
me is a truly transformative learning experience and I am excited to welcome you back to an in-person conference format
after our virtual session last year.
This document will provide you with Welcome Letters from your Under-Secretary-General and your Director, the
Background Guide for your committee, and the a Guide to Delegate Preparation for HNMUN 2022. The entire Secretariat
and Senior Staff have committed countless hours to ensure that the substance and presentation of this document are
of the highest quality and that you are provided with the most useful tools to succeed at conference. Each Director has
worked tirelessly since March 2021 to prepare these documents, and we look forward to working with you to continue
HNMUN’s tradition of substantive excellence.
Apart from this document, you will also be able to access a number of additional documents that will aid in your
preparations for conference. Our Guide to Delegate Preparation reviews the substantive side of HNMUN, highlights
differences between our session and other MUN conferences, and explains our policies on substantive matters, such as
the award selection process and position papers. It also includes our updated Rules of Parliamentary Procedure, which
are also found at the end of this document. Available online is our Guide to First Time Delegations, which provides
information regarding substantive and logistical issues for those new to HNMUN and includes a timeline for delegate
preparation. The Guide to Starting a Model UN Team outlines the steps necessary to establish and expand a university’s
MUN organization. Both documents can be found on our website. Finally, we’re excited to introduce committee blogs that
seek to either expand upon or highlight developments in the committee topics. Written by Assistant Directors, these blogs
will be posted and made available by mid-December on our website.
If you have any questions about this document, the other Guides, or your committee in general, please do not hesitate to
contact your Director or your Under-Secretary-General. They are truly excited to meet you all and are eager to address
any concerns you may have before, during, or after the conference. I hope you enjoy reading the following guide, and I
cannot wait to meet you and to hear about your ideas come February!
Best regards,
Andrew Y.J Kim
Andrew Y.J. Kim
Secretary-General
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
1
, General Assembly
FROM YOUR UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL
Dear Delegates,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the General Assembly of Harvard National Model United Nations 2022! My name is
Choetsow Tenzin, and I am your Under-Secretary-General for the General Assembly. I am a junior at Harvard studying
Social Studies with a secondary in Education. I was born in the states and grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, but my
family is originally from Tibet. I have been involved in MUN for most of my life. At Harvard, I have directed the Legal
Committee for HNMUN in 2021 and HMUN in 2022. Outside of MUN, I am heavily involved in the Institute of Politics
On Harvard’s campus. In the IOP, I participate in the Politics, Race, and Ethnicity group and Policy Writing Program. I
am also a writer for our Harvard International Review. On the weekends’ people can often find me at Bonchon or Kung
Fu Tea spending way too much money on food. I am a huge foodie so feel free to ask for recommendations during your
time here. Words cannot express how excited I am to meet you all and make the 68th session of HNMUN the most
rewarding and memorable experience yet!
Your directors, crisis directors, assistant directors, moderators, and all other members of HNMUN 2021’s staff have
worked tirelessly over the course of a year to prepare for the best possible conference experience. Directors especially have
spent many long nights researching and writing their background guides, and I am certain you will find their earnest
effort and genuine passion reflected in every line below. Every committee in the General Assembly offers something
unique; from determining the role of cryptocurrencies in our global economy to the decolonization of annexed states,
your directors have diligently crafted the settings for substantive, engaging debate that will prompt your creativity and
critical thinking. Importantly, the General Assembly should be a safe and welcoming space to all, regardless of identity,
background, or experience where you should feel to learn and grow as an individual.
I strongly urge you to read through your director’s background guide meticulously. These guides are the best source
of information for understanding the relevant history of your committee and the most critical elements of how it will
function. However, you should not limit your research to simply reading your background guide, as these guides by
no means cover all of the complexities and intricacies underlying the topics you will confront. Your performance in
committee will only be strengthened with further self-directed research.
It has been almost two years since our last in-person conference. We are so incredibly excited to welcome you back into
the physically invigorating space of HNMUN and work together once again to tackle some of the world’s most grappling
issues. We hope this weekend will teach you a lot about yourself, others, and our global community. Most importantly, we
hope you have fun and make lasting relationships. Your dais and I look forward to seeing how you will shape debate and
the course of your future. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at regarding any questions, concerns,
or comments..
Sincerely,
Choetsow Tenzin
Choetsow Tenzin
Under-Secretary-General for the General Assembly
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
2
, Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee, 2022
SOCIAL, HUMANITARIAN, AND CULTURAL COMMITTEE
TOPIC A: ABSENCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES ON ADMINISTERING
POWERS
TOPIC B: PRESERVATION OF HERITAGE AND CULTURAL TRADITIONS
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to Harvard National Model United Nations 2022 and the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee! I
cannot wait to welcome you all to our committee in February!
I am a junior at Harvard originally from Boston, Massachusetts. At Harvard, I am concentrating in Government
and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, or Modern Middle Eastern Studies. As you can probably guess, I am
especially interested in international relations with a focus on the Middle East, where my family is originally from, and
decolonization.
Outside of class you can find me at the Institute of Politics, where I co-Chair Politics of Race and Ethnicity programs, at
community events for the Society of Arab Students and the Harvard Islamic Society, or working at the Admissions Office
on the Undergraduate Admissions Council. And of course, most importantly for us here, I am a part of the International
Relations Council, where I travel for our competitive Model UN team and staff HMUN and HMUN Dubai, our high
school conferences.
Our topic on the preservation and protection of cultural heritage sites will likely involve more abstract thinking
than other SOCHUM committees because it questions the UN’s very authority to determine what heritage sites are of
value. The question of heritage sites is one of interest for me personally because the issue of ownership of cultural artifacts
continues to put disenfranchise former colonies as the former colonial powers both hold and profit off of these artifacts.
Physical heritage sites are the one aspect states undoubtedly hold because of their physical permanences, yet the resources
offered to protect these sites is determined by the UN, an external third party removed from the culture itself. Hopefully,
by the end of the conference, in committee you will be able to grapple with the issue of protecting heritage sites and re-
evaluate how the UN assesses value in the 21st century.
HNMUN 2022 will be my third HNMUN, after serving as Assistant Director of WTO and Legal for the past
two years. Within the network of Harvard conferences, it will be my eighth conference as I competed all four years of
high school, served as an Assistant Director of SOCHUM at HMUN 2020 and Director of SPECPOL at HMUN 2021 and
DISEC at HMUN 2022. Beyond bringing my time with HMUN full circle, Model UN as a whole has offered me so much.
As an Arab-American, I began participating in Model UN during the start of the Arab Spring. Model UN offered a space
where my identity and connection to other nations mattered, where straddling dual domestic and international identities
held value.
As you likely know, collegiate Model UN offers a unique sense of community as you see many familiar faces conference to
conference across the circuit. Whether it is your first college conference or your last, I hope Harvard National Model UN
will serve you in the same way, linking you to the collegiate Model UN community and ensuring you leave with at least
one more circuit friend.
This committee may involve some more abstract and original thinking on your part as you come up with resolutions, but
it is meant to be an opportunity for creativity and collaboration as no one delegation will have the answers to it all. I hope
it will challenge you to be constructively critical of the institution we all simulate.
As we approach the conference, please reach out to me if you have any questions, concerns, or just want to introduce
yourself. I truly cannot wait to meet you all!
Sincerely,
Janna Ramadan
Janna Ramadan
Director, Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
3
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
The Sixty-Eighth Session
,Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
FROM THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
Dear Delegates and Faculty Advisers,
It is my privilege to welcome you to Harvard National Model United Nations 2022! My name is Andrew Young Jun Kim
and it is my honor to serve as your Secretary-General for the 68th Annual Session of HNMUN. I am originally from
Seoul, South Korea and I am currently a senior at Harvard studying Economics with a secondary in Sociology. Model
UN has proven to be a defining part of my college career, and I am grateful to have been part of HNMUN throughout all
four of my years at Harvard. Last year, I served as the Under-Secretary-General of Operations at HNMUN 2021, and at
HNMUN 2020 I directed the South Korean Women’s Presidential Advisory Board committee. HNMUN every year for
me is a truly transformative learning experience and I am excited to welcome you back to an in-person conference format
after our virtual session last year.
This document will provide you with Welcome Letters from your Under-Secretary-General and your Director, the
Background Guide for your committee, and the a Guide to Delegate Preparation for HNMUN 2022. The entire Secretariat
and Senior Staff have committed countless hours to ensure that the substance and presentation of this document are
of the highest quality and that you are provided with the most useful tools to succeed at conference. Each Director has
worked tirelessly since March 2021 to prepare these documents, and we look forward to working with you to continue
HNMUN’s tradition of substantive excellence.
Apart from this document, you will also be able to access a number of additional documents that will aid in your
preparations for conference. Our Guide to Delegate Preparation reviews the substantive side of HNMUN, highlights
differences between our session and other MUN conferences, and explains our policies on substantive matters, such as
the award selection process and position papers. It also includes our updated Rules of Parliamentary Procedure, which
are also found at the end of this document. Available online is our Guide to First Time Delegations, which provides
information regarding substantive and logistical issues for those new to HNMUN and includes a timeline for delegate
preparation. The Guide to Starting a Model UN Team outlines the steps necessary to establish and expand a university’s
MUN organization. Both documents can be found on our website. Finally, we’re excited to introduce committee blogs that
seek to either expand upon or highlight developments in the committee topics. Written by Assistant Directors, these blogs
will be posted and made available by mid-December on our website.
If you have any questions about this document, the other Guides, or your committee in general, please do not hesitate to
contact your Director or your Under-Secretary-General. They are truly excited to meet you all and are eager to address
any concerns you may have before, during, or after the conference. I hope you enjoy reading the following guide, and I
cannot wait to meet you and to hear about your ideas come February!
Best regards,
Andrew Y.J Kim
Andrew Y.J. Kim
Secretary-General
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
1
, General Assembly
FROM YOUR UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL
Dear Delegates,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the General Assembly of Harvard National Model United Nations 2022! My name is
Choetsow Tenzin, and I am your Under-Secretary-General for the General Assembly. I am a junior at Harvard studying
Social Studies with a secondary in Education. I was born in the states and grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, but my
family is originally from Tibet. I have been involved in MUN for most of my life. At Harvard, I have directed the Legal
Committee for HNMUN in 2021 and HMUN in 2022. Outside of MUN, I am heavily involved in the Institute of Politics
On Harvard’s campus. In the IOP, I participate in the Politics, Race, and Ethnicity group and Policy Writing Program. I
am also a writer for our Harvard International Review. On the weekends’ people can often find me at Bonchon or Kung
Fu Tea spending way too much money on food. I am a huge foodie so feel free to ask for recommendations during your
time here. Words cannot express how excited I am to meet you all and make the 68th session of HNMUN the most
rewarding and memorable experience yet!
Your directors, crisis directors, assistant directors, moderators, and all other members of HNMUN 2021’s staff have
worked tirelessly over the course of a year to prepare for the best possible conference experience. Directors especially have
spent many long nights researching and writing their background guides, and I am certain you will find their earnest
effort and genuine passion reflected in every line below. Every committee in the General Assembly offers something
unique; from determining the role of cryptocurrencies in our global economy to the decolonization of annexed states,
your directors have diligently crafted the settings for substantive, engaging debate that will prompt your creativity and
critical thinking. Importantly, the General Assembly should be a safe and welcoming space to all, regardless of identity,
background, or experience where you should feel to learn and grow as an individual.
I strongly urge you to read through your director’s background guide meticulously. These guides are the best source
of information for understanding the relevant history of your committee and the most critical elements of how it will
function. However, you should not limit your research to simply reading your background guide, as these guides by
no means cover all of the complexities and intricacies underlying the topics you will confront. Your performance in
committee will only be strengthened with further self-directed research.
It has been almost two years since our last in-person conference. We are so incredibly excited to welcome you back into
the physically invigorating space of HNMUN and work together once again to tackle some of the world’s most grappling
issues. We hope this weekend will teach you a lot about yourself, others, and our global community. Most importantly, we
hope you have fun and make lasting relationships. Your dais and I look forward to seeing how you will shape debate and
the course of your future. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at regarding any questions, concerns,
or comments..
Sincerely,
Choetsow Tenzin
Choetsow Tenzin
Under-Secretary-General for the General Assembly
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
2
, Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee, 2022
SOCIAL, HUMANITARIAN, AND CULTURAL COMMITTEE
TOPIC A: ABSENCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES ON ADMINISTERING
POWERS
TOPIC B: PRESERVATION OF HERITAGE AND CULTURAL TRADITIONS
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to Harvard National Model United Nations 2022 and the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee! I
cannot wait to welcome you all to our committee in February!
I am a junior at Harvard originally from Boston, Massachusetts. At Harvard, I am concentrating in Government
and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, or Modern Middle Eastern Studies. As you can probably guess, I am
especially interested in international relations with a focus on the Middle East, where my family is originally from, and
decolonization.
Outside of class you can find me at the Institute of Politics, where I co-Chair Politics of Race and Ethnicity programs, at
community events for the Society of Arab Students and the Harvard Islamic Society, or working at the Admissions Office
on the Undergraduate Admissions Council. And of course, most importantly for us here, I am a part of the International
Relations Council, where I travel for our competitive Model UN team and staff HMUN and HMUN Dubai, our high
school conferences.
Our topic on the preservation and protection of cultural heritage sites will likely involve more abstract thinking
than other SOCHUM committees because it questions the UN’s very authority to determine what heritage sites are of
value. The question of heritage sites is one of interest for me personally because the issue of ownership of cultural artifacts
continues to put disenfranchise former colonies as the former colonial powers both hold and profit off of these artifacts.
Physical heritage sites are the one aspect states undoubtedly hold because of their physical permanences, yet the resources
offered to protect these sites is determined by the UN, an external third party removed from the culture itself. Hopefully,
by the end of the conference, in committee you will be able to grapple with the issue of protecting heritage sites and re-
evaluate how the UN assesses value in the 21st century.
HNMUN 2022 will be my third HNMUN, after serving as Assistant Director of WTO and Legal for the past
two years. Within the network of Harvard conferences, it will be my eighth conference as I competed all four years of
high school, served as an Assistant Director of SOCHUM at HMUN 2020 and Director of SPECPOL at HMUN 2021 and
DISEC at HMUN 2022. Beyond bringing my time with HMUN full circle, Model UN as a whole has offered me so much.
As an Arab-American, I began participating in Model UN during the start of the Arab Spring. Model UN offered a space
where my identity and connection to other nations mattered, where straddling dual domestic and international identities
held value.
As you likely know, collegiate Model UN offers a unique sense of community as you see many familiar faces conference to
conference across the circuit. Whether it is your first college conference or your last, I hope Harvard National Model UN
will serve you in the same way, linking you to the collegiate Model UN community and ensuring you leave with at least
one more circuit friend.
This committee may involve some more abstract and original thinking on your part as you come up with resolutions, but
it is meant to be an opportunity for creativity and collaboration as no one delegation will have the answers to it all. I hope
it will challenge you to be constructively critical of the institution we all simulate.
As we approach the conference, please reach out to me if you have any questions, concerns, or just want to introduce
yourself. I truly cannot wait to meet you all!
Sincerely,
Janna Ramadan
Janna Ramadan
Director, Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022
3
