UNGA “Cuba Is A Communist Nation And We Are Proud Of That” Alimah Rehan in conversation with the Delegates of Cuba and the United States of America on their very different economic ideologies.
IP: The United States of America has imposed a trade embargo on Cuba and has put it in a list named ‘state sponsors of terrorist’. Will this move not affect Cuba’s economy? Cuba: Cuba is not a reluctant economy towards the United States of America. Cuba is a communist nation and we are proud of that. According to the Marxist principles we follow, we have equality, not only in education but in each and every thing. Considering the embargo imposed on us by the United States of America, it is trying to supersede all of us. USA: Without USA’s help would you be able to manage your government without economic crisis? IP: Why not? USA: Cuba is totally dependent on tourism. Without tourism can Cuba manage? The United States of America cannot overpower any nation. We try to be supportive of every country who wishes to be any ally. Cuba: America is like a pencil with a broken lead, typically pointless. IP: The United States of America has put forward its hand to improve relations with
Cuba, however Cuba is reluctant to give up its communist ideals, put an end to one party rule and state controlled economy. What are your comments on this? Cuba: Discrimination based on caste, religion and gender happen all over the world, even in countries like India, but not in Cuba. We treat the rich and the poor as equals. USA: Do you believe that in the United States of America we discriminate between the poor and the rich? The delegates of these two nations now break into a fight on the kind and amount of discrimination that takes place in both of these states. This member of the International Press had to pull the warring cats apart. IP: Considering the recent global outrage following the Charlie Hebdo case, does Cuba not consider freedom of expression a fundamental right of the citizens? Cuba: We have some freedom of expression, but negative feedback of the state is illegitimate. USA: Exactly, in any crisis situation, the President invites a bunch of people, talk to them and come to solutions. What Cuba has is one man rule.
1
UNGA “China: Beyond the principles Alimah Rehan goes back in time to trace how far China lies from Communism. An evolutionary journey through the dynamic principles of democracy and communism explored through global debate. The International Community was left in jeopardy when the Delegate of the People’s Republic of China said, “We are not communist, and we have a people’s elected government.” This has forced us to go through the history of China’s political and economic evolution in order to conclusively understand whether really this P-5 member nation is no longer communist. Communism in China has had its own cognomens. When, in the 1950s, China became distant from the Soviet Union, Mao Zedong split from traditional Marxism-Leninism and developed Maoism, the Chinese interpretation of communism. He was unsettled with Khrushchev's position on peaceful coexistence between the communists and capitalists. His successor, Deng Xiaoping came up with an economic system termed as “market socialism”- a Chinese form of socialism with its own characteristics. In the words of Karl Marx, “democracy is the road to socialism”. In this post-soviet era, the Chinese political system has tried really hard to manifest itself as a democratic nation. The 1982 Constitution includes civil rights like those of free speech, press and the right to own private property. Yet, consider this, The Communist Party of China, with its 80m strong membership, is considered to be the largest party in the world, yet has only a quarter as women members. Did Marx also not say, “Social progress can be measured by the social position of the female sex?” Further, China’s media environment remains the most restrictive in the world. Questions arise when one of the most pressing issues in the international polity are that of freedom of press and freedom of expression. With the largest number of Internet users in the world, China also leads in extent of virtual censorship. This
duality confirms that the government of China is leading people into believing they are as free and advanced as any other capitalist country in the world, when at the same time this seems more like a ‘communal dictatorship’. The state is suffocating the media by forcing it to be ‘state friendly’. Had Charlie Hebdo been a citizen of this country he would have long gone been sentenced to a life behind these communist bars. China professes a very narrow definition of human rights. Even though the Constitution immortalises very ‘western democratic’ promises of protection of these rights, none of these freedoms, nor the authority of the Constitution goes so far to protect anyone who challenges the Communist Party. Ilham Tohti, a university professor was sentenced to life imprisonment in September 2014 for questioning the party’s ethnic policies! If one goes through the very elaborate official internet site of the country, she would want to beat her head against the wall. The country says it’s proud to home followers of different religions and ethnicity, when at the same time it does not recognise the rights of the Tibetan people! We come to the conclusion that while trying to answer if China still remains communist, we end up answering instead whether China has taken up the path of democracy, and if it has, how much exactly has it treaded. China’s stand on communism remains much like Marx’s statement, “If anything is certain, it is that I myself am not a Marxist.” The country at the moment is driven by communist interests of a certain few. The actual implementation of the provisions of the still shining constitution clearly state, that the noble ideal of democracy is being mocked. So while China may have started walking away from communism, or so it says, it is not so far from home.
2
UNGA Russia advocates a Radical Change in Ideology Manpreet Kaur Badyal interviews the delegate of the Russian Federation [RF] in the General Assembly, about its change in stance from a Communist Society to one with a mixed ideology.
IP: Are you supporting a mixed ideology? Why? RF: Yes, the delegate of Russian Federation is supporting a mixed ideology. As we have seen US [which] calls itself a globally capitalist country, there has been a huge difference between the rich and the poor. We have seen that US has procured on various small markets worldwide which has lead to collapse of various national currencies for e.g. Russian Rubble. We can take some parts of communist ideas mix them with capitalist ideas to develop a better economy. IP: Russia has been involved with various Communist conflicts in the past with Vietnam, North Korea [DPRK] and Afghanistan. How does it justify its stance now? RF: I shall give an example of US in this regard. It has always exploited small economies for commodities like oil resources. It buys oil from them at cheaper prices and sells to other coun-
tries at higher prices to earn large profits unethically. The Russian Federation shall always support small countries and protect their interests internationally. Supporting DPRK is a validation of this statement. IP: How has Russian Federation achieved this in the near future? RF: It has done this in the near future by consolidating the Eastern Crimea, a small country, in its territory. Although Mr. Vladimir Putin was in peace talks with Ukraine, US lobbied in UN to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation. This lead many National Banks to crash in Russia, which devalued our currency and destabilised our economy. IP: How would you like to conclude? RF: In this day, it is important for us to adopt a mixed ideology which is a bit of communist, socialist and capitalist to progress as a nation.
3
UNGA Mexico Questions the Need of Digitalizing Currency General Assembly swings between agendas of digitised currency and URV, reports Manpreet Kaur Badyal.
The Delegate of Mexico urged fellow delegates to think beyond the measure of digitalising currency in the General Assembly. The delegate stated that the countries actually reeling under the repercussions of counterfeited currency are not neo-globalised and developed countries. Nations dealing with this issue are mostly developing economies with a largely poor and illiterate population. In this regard, the Delegate of Mexico said “.... we cannot expect hawkers to be paid with credit cards. Digitalising currency does not solve the issues at the grassroots level like unemployment and illiteracy.� Digital Currency has gained prominence on the global stage. It is a virtual and fictional form of currency. Unlike paper currency, it can be only exchanged electronically through specialized software. An online bank account is a prerequisite for trading virtual currency. Recent examples of a digital currency are Bitcoins and Apple Pay.
As a modification to the concept of digital currency, South Africa pushed a motion for an analysis of URV [Unidade Real de Valor], which was passed by the Executive Board for debate. URV is a non-monetary reference currency created as a part of the Plano Real in Brazil, in 1994. Brazil was facing hyperinflation and URV was initiated in the economy to combat it. URV is free from the effects of inertial inflation and thus helps Governments in regaining public confidence in national economy. South Africa further elaborated that URV has helped developing economies in the past in stabilizing economies suffering from inflation. As the world becomes more connected and goes online, adopting digital currency becomes relevant to many economies. However, this also increases the need to strengthen cyber security measures by countries to safeguard against cyber attacks like phishing and hacking.
4
UNSC Un-Saturating the Solutions Security Council discusses on problems and solutions. Guncha Dhir reports
As the deliberations continued in the Security Council it discussed many problems and solutions regarding the civilians across the world. The discussion was kick-started by the delegate of France emphasizing what being a civilian by the international norms meant. Delegates raised arguments on how the civilians suffer in armed conflicts and also provided solutions in what way funds and aids can be contributed to these war-struck areas. Delegates took initiative to provide shelters in their own country and provided a solution for the nations who themselves can’t support these civilians due to national security reasons or the prevalent economic crisis. Representatives of some states found the suggestions viable; however, they also faced flak from countries that were expected to intervene in situations like these. Issues about the heinous crimes committed towards children in specific were taken into prime consideration. Other humanitarian issues of utmost importance, in the course of the affected civilians were also mentioned. Utmost importance was given to the National Security by the representative of U.S.A. Thus, suggesting an idea of running a background check without remembering the politics of re-
settlement in the country. This looked like an apocalyptic warning to other delegates, where the U.S.A was still unsure so as how to treat the refugees in their own country. The Security Council left no stones unturned in discussing problems and the solutions for the protection of the civilians in the various countries of the world. Though the committee was well equipped, delegates found some solutions unrealistic. The delegate of Israel claimed that providing tractors to the families of the killed civilians can be a possible solution, which was further mocked by Palestine. The representative of Luxembourg pointed out that the delegates need to stop accusing each other and should put a pause on the ‘Cat and Dog’ fight. The common solution taken up by the countries was to provide the civilians with economic and military aid, so that the civilians are able to lead functional lives. Though many solutions looked apt in theory, their practicality was not fully challenged. In the last hours, the committee saw interesting debate regarding the protection of the civilians and finally progressed with a more pragmatic approach.
5
UNSC One question – Two Answers! Guncha Dhir grills the delegates of Isreal and Palestine with similar questions and explores their answers.
Q) The Israel-Palestinian conflict has claimed many lives and the majority of the people who lost their lives were civilians. Are you willing to end this war for the betterment of the situation of civilians in the Middle-East? Palestine – Yes. We obviously want peace because we have the responsibility to protect our civilians and we do not want more and more bloodshed. But at the same time, we want the Gaza strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem as a part of negotiation. Israel – Israel is a ‘Peace Loving Nation’ and as always Israel wants the war to end. Nevertheless, persistence of the parties such as Hamas and Hezbollah has been constantly endangering our sovereignty and the territorial integrity. Thus, we’re not ready to negotiate. The moment Hamas subsides from the region, Israel would be open for the talk. Q) In the Gaza strip conflict, hundreds of tragedies took place in which thousands of civilians were injured and killed. What steps your country has taken to stop such tragedies from occurring again? Palestine – We’ve been asking support from the Arab league, European Union and African Union, so with their support we are able to put pressure on Israel for stopping the bombard-
ment on the Gaza strip and other areas. Israel – Of course we have. Recently, a minister of our government announced the increase in number of visas for Palestinian students, so that they can go abroad for the studies. Also, more than 50 tractors have been distributed in the West Bank. Q) The war in Gaza is now a war of databases. On one hand, the United Nations (U.N) claims that 7 in 10 Palestinians killed in Gaza were civilians and on the other hand Israeli general denies the same. What do you think of this? Palestine – We have more civilians than our army. In the conflict if we kill their one person, they kill 20 Palestinians which is not at all justifiable. The representative of Israel has been claiming that the country is a ‘Peace Loving Nation’, which is the most ridiculous joke I’ve ever heard. They’ve been continuously targeting our refugee camps and have been torturing the Palestinian women and children. So yes, the U.N is claiming it rightly. Israel – This is happening because U.N is being carried away by parties set up of Israel, which makes an emotional outcry, a highly false one. Israel is a ‘Peace Loving Nation’ and it will never attack civilians irrespective of the fact that from which country they belong.
6
UNSC An Interview with the Member States of the Security Council An interview by Dharvi Verma with the member states of the Security Council on the facets of peacekeeping operations for protection of civilians in armed conflicts. Q1. What steps has your nation taken to provide protection to women civilians? Russia: The government at various levels has ensured the setup of self-defense facilities for women. We have made sure that all refugees from Ukraine are welcomed to Russia and provided with jobs. According to the regulation of 1921, sixteen week vacations are given to women at work with full pay. Jordan: The Jordanian National Commission for Women is responsible for drafting national policies. It aims to help women in every sphere, be it political, cultural or educational. Palestine: The women of Palestine have suffered a grave lot in the Israel-Palestine conflict. They have been taken as hostages and been subjected to crimes which have traumatized them. We have requested the Human Rights Council and United Nations Relief and Works Agency to provide women and children with proper care and rehabilitation facilities, and to provide them with women doctors. Israel: Israel has always placed a lot of importance on the protection of women civilians and citizens. Women have not only broken the glass ceiling, they have shattered it. Israel was the third country in the world to elect a woman to its highest office. For the Israeli women civilians who may have been affected by armed conflicts, in Israel or in some other nation, proper rehabilitation facilities and assistance has been provided. Q2. What efforts has your nation made to combat the situation in Middle East? United States of America: As history has shown, United States has been known to end wars. We have provided assistance to contain
the unrest in Middle East. We have obtained permission from Iraq to conduct peace operations and are waiting for further permissions from the Syrian Government to help the situation in Syria. China: China has provided humanitarian aid to combat the situation in the Middle East. We believe that funding will provide the required assistance to the civilians there and fulfill their basic needs besides providing them with shelter. France: We are hlping the Free Syrian Army to help combat the despotic Assad regime. Also, France has been providing humanitarian aid in the Middle East and will continue to do so in the future. Q3. To what degree the member nations be accountable to the United Nations Security Council when it comes to the implementation of peacekeeping operations? How rigorous should the reporting of the efforts made by the nations to the UNSC be? Argentina: Argentina believes that member states should be absolutely accountable to the UN when it comes to the implementation of peacekeeping operations. France: It can be considered. However, a high degree of subjectivity is involved in the question of accountability with respect to PKF. Therefore, we’d have to approach the question on a caseby-case basis. Afghansitan: There should be accountability to the UN when it comes to execution of peacekeeping operations. UN also compels the states to present a local claims review to make them accountable which is a step in the right direction.
7
UNSC Protection of Civilians: Peacekeeping Operations Leave a Lot to Be Desired -Dharvi Verma Debates have raged on, years have passed, various resolutions have been drafted and, yet, there is still an area which leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to the issue of civilians in armed conflicts. And this is perhaps (read: definitely) the most important area, namely, the peacekeeping operations. The Security Council has mandated various peacekeeping operations for protection of civilians from violence. Protection of women and children has separately been included into the mandate in 2001. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) has made concerted efforts in this area, trying to work at the ground level to create solutions. The yardstick by which the work of UN peacekeeping forces is measured is the extent to which it has been able to provide protection to civilians against threats, vulnerabilities and regional conflicts. Needs of civilians- food, shelter to the displaced, rehabilitation facilities- should be ensured. Transparency is of paramount importance and a framework should be formulated which makes the nations accountable to the United Nations when it comes to implementation of peacekeeping operations. Such a system is bound to be challenged but the member countries need to understand that the effects of an armed conflict aren’t limited to a region, but are deeply linked to its neighbouring states, besides affecting the international community on a whole. CHALLENGES• Perennial problem of operations is described best by the fact that the actors seem to be unsure of what peacekeeping operations for protection of civilians mean. This problem exists in both practice and theory. • There is a lack of cohesion between mandates, intentions and expectations. Often the troops don’t know what exactly to do. Case by case, region-by-region analysis is usually impaired.
forces and the host government has to be based on mutual trust. Often, fractured relations have impeded the progress of peacekeeping operations. WHAT IS BEING DONE? • Legal reforms have been set up. For instance, UN adopted a new law against trafficking of children when it carried out its initiatives in Haiti. •
Deployment of advisers to the countries where children and women face a high risk of danger.
• Innovative solutions like setting up of MONUC in the Democratic Republic of Congo have proved effective in the past. They have established response centres, warning systems, etc. to prevent attacks and ensure protection. Other nations should follow suit. MOVING FORWARD- WHAT SHOULD BE DONE? • Provision of appropriate resources to mandates. • Stress on training facilities to better the peacekeeping operations. • The host government should make serious efforts to defer attacks on its civilians. • There is a need to put checks on funding as discrepancies have been reported when it comes to allocation of funds to nations in unrest, besides reports of misuse of funds and allegations of funding to terrorist groups. • The civilians should be trained in self-defence so that they are better empowered to deal with challenges in future, shall any arise. • Accountability of the states to the Security Council and regular reporting of peacekeeping operations which can measure. Thus, the protection of civilians is the primary responsibility of actors involved in the peacekeeping operations and in the decision-making process, directly or indirectly.
• The relation between the UN peacekeeping
8
UNHRC Time for Protection Nabadip Deb highlights the contradictory statements and collective decisions taken in the UNHRC.
The delegate of People’s Republic of China in the Human Rights Council, in a total contradiction of their popularly perceived policies, summoned on countries to work together in protection of victims of reprisal and intimidation. With countries finally working together in terms of the intent of the solutions they want, if not in bloc formation, the delegate of China, along with fellow delegates focused on classification of victims of reprisal and intimidation and their protection. Setting up of a central fund from the United Nations for the protection and rehabilitation was suggested, and the improving of internal and international communication to prevent the act of intimidation was agreed upon. The contradictions from the part of the delegate of China, was of course visible for all to see and was well pointed out by the representative of Human Rights Watch and the delegate of Ireland who questioned the intentions of the communism driven country which has incidences occurring every other day and almost no instance of freedom of the press or speech with embargos in place on Facebook, Google apart
from a huge number of war-blogs and milblogs. Seemingly, countries like China and the Russian Federation after reacting to constant pressure from not just the human rights defenders but also from countries ranging from Mexico to Ireland and the Kingdom of Northern Ireland and Great Britain have come to the realization that its’ constant tirades against rights activists and members of the press now needs to be tackled. The countries present decided to take “strong and principled action at both the national and international levels to safeguard the right of all persons to communicate with the UN free from hindrance, threats and attacks, along with their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in multilateral arenas”. Country wise national action plans were also sought for to ensure the safety and protection the victimized. Question though remains on the intent of the statements made and if or not the Council can come up with a comprehensive resolution to safe guard the victims of reprisals and intimidation.
9
UNHRC Fighting for the Rights of Others and Their Own Lives Nabadip Deb opines on the agenda at hand for the UNHRC
The cooperation of entities with the United Nations in human rights in a free and safe manner is key to ensuring an efficient protection of the rights, and in achieving results that are informed by the reality of the human rights situations on the ground. These individuals or groups can be members of the world media, whistle-blowers through war blogs and military blogs, or more often than not, the human rights activists. It is perhaps widely agreed upon that all these agents who ensure human rights are now going through the worst stages of oppression from both state and non-state actors. Governments and non-state actors around the world are now in position to use modern technology to harass or at the least monitor journalists. The growing use of digital technology has empowered activists to embolden citizens around common causes and hold governments accountable, but it has also opened new doors for surveillance and harassment of activists and citizens’ activities online. While there are instances of war blogs and mil-blogs gaining viewership around the world and making people aware of exactly what is going on in countries carrying out the oppression or facing it, we also have instances of human rights activists killed in countries across the board, be it, Yemen or Libya or the People’s Republic of China.
The threat to journalists around the world is more alarming than ever. One-hundred-fiftyeight journalists have been killed since 2011, most of them in the hands of people trying to get rid of every notion of democracy through free speech and a free press. In the most recent attack, 10 journalists and two police officers were slain last month at the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris. Carried out by three heavilyarmed men, the attack on the employees of this satirical magazine is one of the deadliest in the world. It is high time that the world community takes note of the sacrifices of these human rights defenders. With existent framework like the council resolution 24/24 (which requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “to designate a United Nations-wide senior focal point on reprisals and aims at promoting the prevention of, protection against and accountability for reprisals and intimidation related to cooperation with the United Nations”) it is now time that apart from new measures, the ones already existing are strengthened and implemented on. It is now for the world’s leadership to decide how best they tackle this burning issue at hand, because as things go, life is too heavy a price to pay while fighting for others’ rights.
10
UNCSW The OC Encounter Sanjana Tewari catches up with Organizing Committee members, Rahul Gosain and Ravneet Kaur about their thoughts on the UNCSW session so far.
IP: What do you guys think about being in a committee discussing the production of babies? Ravneet Kaur: Awkward. And funny! There were people talking about sperm, eggs and fertilization so casually. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat my omelette again in the morning without freaking out. What if the chicken was a surrogate chicken in an illegal farm? The horror. IP: Would you ever consider becoming a surrogate mother for another couple? Rahul Gosain: (Very seriously) Uh. It depends upon the situation, actually. Who is the woman in the situation? (Rahul is told that he is the woman renting out his womb for nine months) Oh. Well, if there were really close to me and it was really necessary, then maybe yes. IP: Which is the strangest request you have ever received from a delegate so far? Ravneet Kaur: Well, when I was calling up delegates and informing them of their committee allotments and registration fee, there was a delegate who started panicking on the phone,
saying, “I can’t travel to Ecuador! I don’t have a passport!” He thought being a delegate meant going to his allotted country in person. It was pretty funny. And Jaideep Singh told us about how a delegate asked for chocolates in another committee. They even arranged it for him. IP: If you could make a delegate do something right now, who would it be and what would you make him/her do? Ravneet Kaur: (Wicked pause) I would make the delegate of Tajikistan do a strip dance for the Executive Board. Rahul Gosain: I’d make them carry 10kg sacks of chits around the committee ten times. Q. Is there anything you’d like to change about the EB? Ravneet Kaur: (Hesitant pause) No, no. They’re really good. Rahul Gosain: (Remains suspiciously quiet and then whispers) They made us wash their socks yesterday.
11
UNCSW The Rainbow Infants Sanjana Tewari probes into what it’s like to be homosexual and want kids.
Surrogacy is pretty much a patchwork of problems that increase by the manifold as soon as they approach the ambit of the LGBT spectrum. Homosexual couples, whether male or female, face a tough time in society if they wish to bear children using an oocyte donor or a gestational surrogate. While surrogacy is an attractive option for these couples, the lack of an internationally established policy regarding assisted reproductive technology and the fact that several countries have no laws directly addressing surrogacy leaves several homosexual couples in a legal limbo more often than traditional couples. This raises a number of vexing legal, social and ethical issues involving parenthood, the best interests of children, and the rights of same-sex couples and other non-traditional families for the courts to resolve. Such couples also find it hard to seek out alternative solutions. Many argue against the concept of allowing LGBT couples to have children at all, claiming the idea to be ‘unnatural’. There are cases worldwide of homosexual couples being refused their surrogate children due to legal complications created by state authorities of the host and home countries. In 2014, 65 surrogate babies born to Israeli gay couples were refused Israeli citizenship even though the affected parents had followed all legal and bureaucratic procedures required of them from the Thai authorities. In 2013, an Australian trans-homosexual couple were not allowed to visit their surrogate baby in India because of difficulties that popped up in both states regarding the visa of the child.
on a much lower scale than those experienced by homosexual fathers. Apart from legal roadblocks, homosexual couples are also subjected to intense social scrutiny on the basis of ugly stereotypes such as child sexual abuse conducted by the fathers and the myth of ‘passing on their condition’ to the surrogate/adopted child. Research proves both these stereotypes as false; sexual abuse cases are extremely rare and the occurrence of homosexuality among surrogate children reared by homosexual couples is at the same rate as children reared by heterosexual couples. There are steps being taken to correct this sexual discrimination gap between couples interested in surrogacy. For instance, the Israeli Health Minister, Yael German, announced that she intends to implement a panel recommendation to open up the surrogacy procedure to Israeli homosexual couples. It is especially touching when one reads about cases of homosexual couples successfully resolving their surrogacy cases and forming bonds with their children. Several individuals have reported feeling self-fulfilled at the happiness of bringing up their own kids, which wouldn’t have been possible without surrogacy, be it commercial or altruistic. These gay-father families deserve the same attention (and lack of discrimination) in their care that other couples, lesbian and heterosexual, receive in fertility centres around the country.
There is no doubt that heterosexual couples face such problems as well. However, they occur
12
UNCSW In Conversation with the Delegates of UNCSW Ayushee Chaudhary brings to you the stands of the various delegates over surrogacy.
IP: Do you envision surrogacy as a boon or a bane? Congo: Surrogacy is the epitome of human trafficking, and nothing short of buying and selling of children. IP: How essential is it to legalize surrogacy? Thailand: We believe it is essential to provide concrete legislature precedent to ensure that surrogacy is carried on in a regulated manner. We need legal guidelines to tackle the various facets associated. Further expanding on that notion, the present Thai cabinet has approved a draft bill banning commercial surrogacy and allowing altruistic surrogacy in a regulated environment. IP: How feasible is it for the government to intervene and keep a check in the
process of surrogacy? Also, where do you think the international community is lacking? United Kingdom: A government can keep checks in regulation and licenses and proper domestic frameworks. International community lacks in their stance on surrogacy and must allow altruistic surrogacy. IP: Is prior testing workable in the process of surrogacy? Russia: It is very much workable because prior testing will include the psychological screening which is very important before the process of surrogacy. This comes under the responsibilities of physicians of potential surrogate mothers and must include the process of counselling and screening.
13
UNCSW A Woman, not a Mother Arushi Walecha delves into the stereotypes surrogate mothers are cast into. A surrogate mother, a rented womb, a personified incubator. Every time a mother willingly or unwillingly parts with her new born child, she undergoes immense psychological trauma and hazardous depression. Or does she? Accusations hurled, fingers raised – surrogacy has been on gunpoint by human activists around the world. Often denounced as baby selling, surrogacy is deemed harmful even for the altruistic surrogate mother, regardless of the fact that her motives are in no way monetary. It is commonly believed that surrogacy has a detrimental effect on the mental health of the mother bearing the child. However, there are no proven studies to back the belief. On the contrary, a study conducted in Japan that was designed to study the maternal-foetal relationship declares that there is no direct correlation between the maternalfoetal attachment and depression. Rather, surrogate mothers are proven to have less attachment with the foetus and the intended mother is shown to display much more severe signs of anxiety than the surrogate mother. Why, then, do we have to stuff our women into the mould of motherhood, regardless of what they desire?
It is perfectly normal for me, as a female, to not want to be a mother. No, there is nothing wrong with me. Yes, I am perfectly feminine. I am a woman in all senses of the word even if I do not wish to be a mother. Research has further proven that surrogate mothers are perfectly capable of flat responses in regard to their babies, thus eliminating the possibilities of any postnatal psychological effects. In such a scenario, denying prospective impotent parents a chance to gain happiness that another third party woman willingly wishes to provide is blatantly unfair. Burdening females with societal expectations, and using the same to ban an intricately sensitive issue such as surrogacy is not only incredibly anti-feminist, but also denial of a woman’s basic right over her own body. Rub your eyes clear of the haze. Do not darken the horizons of anyone who wants a chance at happiness; be it the surrogate mother, who wishes to provide a beacon of happiness to a unrelated third party, or the intended parents, who wish to obtain a related progeny; only on your misled notions of femininity.
Due to the stringent gender roles we have established for the females in our society, we tend to forget that being ‘female’ does not necessitate being ‘maternal’. While abandonment by a father comes as no big surprise, any woman who proposes giving up her child is given the evil eye. We are unconsciously forcing the female population into a stereotype they’re not ‘born with’ but rather are expected to conform to.
14
Cartoon Scape by Aarushi Mahajan
15
The Organizing Committee and International Press
16
International Press Team HEAD OF PRESS Pallav Kumar Singh HEAD OF PHOTOGRAPHy Srijan Jain EDITORS Amlan Das Antara Raychaudhury Arushi Walecha CARICATURIST Aarushi Mahajan DESIGNER Amlan Das REPORTERS Ayushee Chaudhary Guncha Dhir Sanjana Tiwari Manpreet Kaur Nabadip Deb Dharvi Verma Alimah Rehan PHOTOGRAPHERS Debjeet Sarkar Pankit Arora Umang Arora Harshit Goel Raunaq Gupta Anshumaan Singh Ayushi Pandey Vangmay Shubham Sharma Akshmohan singh Narula Divya Beri 17