Advisory Staff

STUDY GUIDE Admissions Debate

2013



LGBT Rights






















Lima, Peru June 23
rd
, 2013

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Dear Candidates,

It is our distinct pleasure to make available to you the Study Guide for the Admissions
Debate for the AENU Per 2013-2014 Peruvian University teams. The topic which you will
debate on July 7th is LGBT Rights. We find the subject matter to be of great importance
as it questions the recognition of certain rights to a group of individuals.

The discrepancies of the issue stem from the idea that not all ways of life should be
abetted by States via legal recognition, for example. Therefore, certain rights cannot be
universally enforced as human ideals vary from culture to culture and State to State. With
different populations viewing the States involvement in the regulation of LGBT rights
through opposing values, can any of these rights be effectively established across all
borders political and cultural?

We genuinely hope you are all as excited as we are for the debate and that the topic both
interests and inspires you, as much as it does us. We very much look forward to seeing
you all debate. Happy researching !

Sincerely yours,

The Peruvian Universities Advisory Staff
AENU Peru



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I. INTRODUCTION
Article 5 of the UN Declaration of
Human Rights states that no one
shall be subjected to torture or to
cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. Yet every
day, across all cultures and regions
of the world, gay, lesbian,
transsexual, and bisexual individuals
experience violations of their basic
human rights including the right to
life, the right to express freely, the
right to recognition as a person and
equal treatment before the law, the
right to privacy (between consenting
adults), and the right to bodily
integrity.
Nations are at different stages of
addressing LGBT rights. Today,
same-sex relations are still
criminalized in at least 76 countries
and punishable by death in seven
(Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates, Sudan, Yemen,
Mauritania, and Iran). In contrast,
only 14 countries have laws that
protect gays, lesbians, and bisexuals
from discrimination. LGBTs face
discrimination that includes
vilification, unprovoked violence,
refused health treatment, lack of
recognition for same-sex
relationships, and unequal pay and
work benefits.
In 2009, Uganda proposed an Anti-
Homosexuality Bill that prescribes
the death penalty for being gay and
prison sentences for friends, family
members, and coworkers who
believe someone is gay, but do not
report that person to the authorities.
Under Article 347 of the Cameroon
Penal Code, those who engage in
sexual contact with members of the
same sex will face a penalty of six
months to five years in prison and a
fine of 20,000 to 200,000 CFA
francs. It is the responsibility of the
General Assembly to tackle these
violations of basic human rights and
offer protective solutions for this
persecuted community.
Members of the LGBT community
are subjected to aversion therapy,
such as electroshock therapy, or are
victims of correctional rape in
unpunished efforts to change their
identities. Perpetrators of
correctional rape are rarely punished
and in many cases these
perpetrators are friends or family
members of the victim. Defenders of
LGBT rights are also constantly
subject to threats, violence, and
many have even been killed for
advocating for LGBTs. In January
2011, David Kato, one of Ugandas
most prominent gay rights activists,
was beaten to death with a hammer
for his role in the gay rights
movement.
In April 2012, a man using
homophobic slurs murdered
Raymond Taavel, a gay rights
activist in Nova Scotia. Every day,
members of the LGBT community
live in fear of violence and
discrimination and the rates of
suicide by members of the
community are alarmingly high. In
2008, the Suicide Prevention

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Resource Center reported that LGBT
youth attempt suicide at a rate 2-4
times higher than their heterosexual
peers.
Terminology varies greatly across
the globe to address LGBT
individuals since terms such as gay
and lesbian appeared only recently
after new research. People began to
self-describe as gay in European
and North American cities in the
early twentieth century, but the term
gay appeared in the developing
world in the 70s. A variety of
terminology such as moffies in
South Africa, desi dykes and desi
gay men in India, maricones in
Latin America and the Caribbean,
and toms in Thailand is used to
refer to homosexual men and
women. As a result, a universal
solution for how to address
legislation that invokes harsh
punishment and human rights
abuses on LGBTs is quite
complicated, as the adoption of a
universally accepted legal definition
of this community has been elusive.
Religious orthodoxy continues to
serve as a great obstacle to LGBT
rights. In countries where the
Catholic Church has a powerful
presence, homosexuality is severely
condemned and members of the
LGBT community are victims of
brutal attacks and discrimination. In
countries that use Islamic or Sharia
law, governments often invoke
severe penalties in many cases
execution for same-sex relations.
Penalties are often administered
without proper evidence or due
process of law and are in direct
violation of international and national
laws.
Furthermore, transgender (trans)
individuals are largely ignored in
political discourse and health
initiatives, but are increasing targets
of discrimination. Trans individuals
are those who do not fit the
conventional male/female mold and
inhabit socially constructed gender
roles that contradict their biological
ones. According to The New
Scientist, 1 in every 500 babies is
born with chromosomes that do not
match up with their anatomy. Trans
individuals experience discrimination
in the labor market to the extent that
sex work is often the only viable
option for income (IGLHRC 2004;
Morino 2005 in Lind). Sex work
makes them extremely prone to
suffering from rape and sexual
violence.
II. LGBT HISTORY

Research on the history of
homosexuality is concentrated in the
Greco-Roman civilization. The first
recorded civil stance on same-sex
relations dates back to ancient Crete
around 650 B.C. In ancient Greek
society, the Spartans looked
favorably on same-sex relations as a
way of combatting against
overpopulation and promoting a
militaristic lifestyle.

Homosexual relations were in
popular practice by leaders of

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ancient societies in Rome, Japan,
and China, but governments rarely
included such practices within their
legislations. Homosexuality was
common among Assyrian priests
who wore womens clothing, but in
the VII century, King Josiah of
ancient Jerusalem began a
campaign against homosexuality.
With the establishment of
Christianity as the religion of the
Roman Empire entered new laws
decrying capital punishment for
sodomy and other homosexual
activity that stemmed from preceding
Jewish and Zoroastrian laws. In the
history of ancient Islamic societies,
there is a great collective denial of
homosexuality and homosexual
practices. Despite the commonality
of practices, the lack of public
address resulted in even the lack of
adequate terminology to address
homosexual behavior.

Northern Africa and southwestern
Asia are the regions of the world with
the history of the most visible and
diverse understandings of
homosexual relationships, but little
research has been conducted to
describe this in detail. Persian,
Arabic, Turkish, and Urdu poetry
reflect the common practice of male
same-sex relations. Cross-dressing
and sodomy in the Ottoman Empire
and ancient Egyptian societies were
practices recorded and seen as
morally repugnant by European
travelers to the region.

Along with religious influence,
viewpoints from theorists such as
Thomas Hobbes on social legislation
to promote population growth
dominated the Middle Ages in
Europe and western influence made
its way to China in the 1700s.

With the success of the French
Revolution came a time of rapid
social and political development
resulting in the removal of sodomy
from the list of sexual offenses by
the new French Assembly.

In 1897 the Scientific Humanitarian
Committee was founded in Berlin by
a group of professionals with the
intent to campaign for the rights and
social recognition of homosexual,
bisexual, and transgender
individuals. After WWI, there was a
rise in gay and lesbian liberties and
a distinct presence of the
homosexual community in Berlins
city nightlife. A drastic turn of events
and what would be one of the
biggest setbacks in the movement
for LGBT rights occurred when the
Nazis took control of Germany and
orchestrated one of the worst cases
of gay persecution in history: the
Holocaust. An estimated 5,000 to
15,000 homosexuals were forced to
wear a pink triangle, as opposed to
the black triangle that other
criminals wore, and sent to
concentration camps where many
died from inhumane living conditions
or murder.


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Approximately 50,000 were also
convicted in prison on the basis of
their homosexual identity and an
unknown amount sent to mental
hospitals. Despite the lack of formal
prohibitions of homosexuality in
other parts of Western Europe,
persecutions continued across the
region all throughout the 19th
century and into most of the 20th
century.

The Soviet Union under the
Bolsheviks attempted a movement
for gay and lesbian rights, but
following the example of Nazi
Germany, Stalin recriminalized
homosexuality, and it remained a
crime up until the fall of the Soviet
Union in 1991.

New movements took hold of
Western Europe and North America
beginning in the late 60s. In 1964,
Canada decriminalized
homosexuality and in 1969, three
provinces adopted gay rights laws.
In 1967, the United Kingdom passed
the Sexual Offenses Act, which
decriminalized private homosexual
acts between men. West Germany
finally repealed article 175 in 1969.
In June 1969, after police raided a
gay bar called the Stonewall Inn in
New York City, hundreds of people
began rioting in protest. The event
would be commemorated each year
as a day for Gay Pride in the United
States and other countries.

A sexual revolution began to occur in
the 1970s when new terms such as
bisexual appeared to explore a
broader spectrum of sexuality than
the ones previously understood. In
the next two decades France,
Norway, New Zealand, and Israel
would all soon adopt national gay
rights laws and Denmark and
Sweden would legalize same-sex
civil unions.

In the 1980s however, the outbreak
of the AIDS epidemic brought a halt
to the progress that was being made
in the LGBT movement in the United
States. National governments tried
to suppress homosexuality and
manifestations of the LGBT lifestyle.
Government and NGO attempts to
prevent AIDS were comprised
mainly of discouragement and
sadistic portrayals of the LGBT
lifestyle rather than education on
safe sex practices.

While in the past, the Arab World
and Iran were silent on LGBT
matters, governments began to take
firm political stances in the 1980s
after the Iranian Revolution and the
rise of political Islam. The new
Iranian legal code in 1979 made all
sexual relations outside of a
heterosexual marriage illegal.
However, when Maryam Khatoon
Molkara (born with the male name
Fereydoon) began petitioning for a
sex change around the same time,
Ayatollah Khomeini issued a
religious ruling in 1983 granting her
permission to undergo the sex-
change operation. The Islamic
Republic of Iran still recognizes

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transexuality today and allows sex
reassignment surgery; because
Ayatollah Khomeini has stated that
there is no religious restriction on
corrective surgery.

In the last two decades or so, about
30 countries have decriminalized
homosexuality and various NGOs
have surfaced to fight for LGBT
rights and pick up where
governments left off.

In 1996 South Africa became the
first nation to ban discrimination
against people on the basis of
sexual orientation in its constitution.
In 1997, Fiji became the second
country to protect against sexual
discrimination, but as of 2002
explicitly bans government
recognition of gay marriage. In 1997,
Ecuador and China overturned
legislation that criminalized same-
sex relations.

In 2009, Ecuador granted legal
recognition of same-sex civil unions
and India decriminalized
homosexuality. Belgium, Canada,
Norway, Sweden, South Africa, and
Spain all offer full rights to same-sex
couples.

III. UN PAST ACTION
In 2003, Brazil introduced the draft
resolution Human Rights and
Sexual Orientation to the UNHRC,
which had the support of Canada,
New Zealand, and various countries
in the European Union. In 2004,
discussion on the resolution stopped
because many felt it would not pass.
In December 2008, 66 countries
signed a UN statement that called
for decriminalization of
homosexuality worldwide and
promoted the establishment of LGBT
human rights. The statement was
proposed by France and The
Netherlands on behalf of the
European Union, but did not pass
due to opposition by the Arab
League.

In March 2011, 85 countries signed
a similar statement by the Human
Rights Council entitled Ending Acts
of Violence and Related Human
Rights Violations Based on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity. On
June 17, 2011, South Africa
requested that the United Nations
Human Rights Council draft a report
on the human rights abuses of LGBT
citizens across the globe. The
resolution passed 23 to 19 with three
abstentions, marking the first
endorsement of LGBT rights in the
history of the United Nations. The
report was published in December
2011 and called on governments to
repeal discriminatory laws against
members of the LGBT community
and protect their rights.

IV. DISCUSSION OF THE PROBLEM

4.1. LGBT Rights: An international matter
or an exclusively national issue?

There is no consensus on whether
LGBT individuals should attain legal
recognition on an international level,
as many States believe that
homosexuality remains a primarily
cultural and/or moral issue and

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therefore must be dealt with within
each States internal jurisdiction.

In light of the above, it is no wonder
that when discussing a gender-
related issue the matter is further
complicated by the concept of
Cultural Diversity; and in a more
direct manner, by Cultural
Relativism. In todays increasingly
multicultural world, we are more
aware than ever that what is valued
in one society may not be as highly
regarded in another. As a result,
human values tend to vary according
to different cultural perspectives.

Hence, discussion of this topic will
necessarily touch upon the question
of whether LGBT rights constitute
human rights in and of themselves.
The Organization of the Islamic
Conference, for example, has openly
refused to acknowledge the topic as
a human rights issue. Instead, it
states the subject pertains to the
social and cultural values of each
population. The Holy See does not
go as far as to deny the issues
relation to human rights, but it does
however uphold that as a definition
of this particular community has not
yet been established, it is impossible
to determine the extent to which
LGBT individuals can receive special
protection under law.

It is important to highlight that
homosexuality is banned in many
countries under punishment of
death, in some cases. Thus, a
discussion on the possible
decriminalization of homosexuality
would be a starting point before
assessing further rights.

4.2. LGBT Civil Rights: Inheritance,
Marriage, Adoption, etc.

While it has proven incredibly difficult
to reach consensus on these issues,
many western nations are expected
to put them on the agenda. Creativity
in their proposals will of course be
key to generating the kind of support
necessary for approval by the
Assembly.

Extensive research can be found on
any of these subjects, however,
special attention must be paid to
matters relating to inheritance and
other social benefits as they are vast
and tend to elude LGBTs.

In this sense, not many countries
include standards that allow same-
sex couples to receive pension funds
from their partners after they are
deceased. They also find significant
obstacles when attempting to
register themselves as beneficiaries
in insurance policies and alike.
Furthermore, and issue arises when
a same-sex couple which has
obtained certain rights in one
country, moves to a different country
and can no longer enjoy these rights.

Much can also be said on these
issues regarding the way they are
addressed, with many nations
proposing they be tackled as a
package of rights to be granted or

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denied as a whole. Whilst others
suggest they each have severely
different effects on society and
should therefore be examined
individually.

Lastly, education is of paramount
importance. Improvements must be
made in sexual education. It is
important to promote understanding
of the broad spectrum of sexuality
and move away from a hetero-
normative culture. Various religious
groups are beginning to speak out
and express beliefs that human
rights and anti-discrimination should
triumph on the topic of
homosexuality.

V. POSITION PAPERS

Position Papers are to be sent to the
dais on Monday July 01, 2013 via
the following e-mail address:
ep2013@aenuperu.org. They must
be constricted to one page (size A1)
and are to be written in Ariel font,
size 11.

It is recommended your Position
Paper at least include (i) your
countrys position towards the topic
at hand, (ii) past UN and/or your
countrys actions directed at solving
the issue, as well as your countrys
opinion of said UN actions, if
applicable and (iii) Your countrys
proposals on dealing with the issue
subject to debate.

VI. QUESTIONS A RESOLUTION
MUST ANSWER (QARMAs)

6.1. Should LGBT rights be granted at an
international level? Why? And what
should this regulation be it
international or local look like?

6.2. Should civil rights specifically
tailored to LGBTs be addressed as a
package of rights or examined one
by one? Why is your chosen strategy
on the tackling of these issues the
most beneficial?

6.3. What measures can be taken to
effectively establish civil rights for
LGBTs?

6.4. What measures can be taken to
pave the road for future progress on
these issues down the road?

It is mandatory for UPDATES
presented during the debate to be
included in all Working Papers and
Draft Resolutions presented to the
dais.

Please note that these issues
represent the bare minimum that a
Resolution must contain in order
to be accepted by the dais. The
dais will not accept any document
signed by delegations who have not
actively taken part in the debate.

FINAL COMMENTS

The admissions debate will take
place Sunday July 7
th
at the Maes
Heller Auditorium of the
Universidad del Pacfico.
Registration for the debate will
begin at 8am and the conference
will culminate at 6pm, with a break
for lunch at 1pm. Make sure you
bring either a sack lunch or cash for
eating out.

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Debate attire is formal. Delegates
are expected to maintain proper
dress code throughout the event.

Delegates may bring any research
documents they deem necessary
and laptops are encouraged.
However, any and all electronic
devices including but not limited to
laptops, mobile phones, tablets,
etc. may only be used by
delegates outside the auditorium.
Inside, only pens and papers can be
used. Therefore, all drafting must be
done outside the conference room.

Dont forget to send in your
Position Papers by the deadline of
July 1
st
. In that e-mail, you must
indicate the conference which you
would rather participate in either
Harvard National Model United
Nations (Boston) or the World Model
United Nations (Brussels). You can
apply to both conferences; however,
you must indicate which is your
preferred conference.

To do so, please write in your
email attaching your Position
Paper one of the following
options:

OPTION 1:
ONLY
Harvard National Model United
Nations (Boston)

OPTION 2:
ONLY
World Model United Nations
(Brussels)

OPTION 3:
BOTH
Harvard National Model United
Nations (Boston) 1
World Model United Nations
(Brussels) 2

Or

OPTION 4:
BOTH
Harvard National Model United
Nations (Boston) 2
World Model United Nations
(Brussels) 1

Lastly, in the following pages you will
find the country assignment list.

We hope this Study Guide was
helpful and wish you the best of luck
for the Admissions Debate !

















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Country Delegate
Gambia Aracelli Chocano Ugarte
State of Israel A. Sebastin Guzmn Garca
People's Democratic Republic of Lao Adriana Bellido Ludowieg
Lesotho Al Arenas Lozada
Indonesia Alessandra Merkt
Kyrgyzstan Alessandra Ximena Della Rossa Leciana
Lebanon Alexandra Beran
India Alexandra Gutirrez Traverso
Ghana Alfredo Villavicencio Vieira
Kuwait Alison Gabriel
Jamaica lvaro Andrs Alonso Donayre Delgado
Italian Republic lvaro Vsquez Hidalgo
Liberia Alyssa Meier von Schierenbeck Suito
Mexico Ana Kristanovic Djordjevic
Paraguay Ana Roque Padilla
Philippines Andrea Dayna Medina Stein
Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Andrea Garca Caldern
Poland Andrea Samaniego Fiestas
Switzerland Angela Soriano Quevedo
Republic of Korea Ariana Portilla Balczar
Qatar Aura Arbulu
Portugal Bishara Salomn Abusada
Uruguay Carlos Che Leon Sarmiento
Thailand Carlos Manuel Francisco Caldern Gonzlez
Syrian Arab Republic Carlos Neyra Chumbes
People's Republic of Bangladesh Carmen M. Rodriguez
Kingdom of Belgium Chelsea Medina
Azerbaijan Christian Ramrez Romero
Bahamas Cronwel Bazn Denegri
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Daniel Velasquez Cabrera
Kingdom of Bahrain Daniela Benzaquen Bellido
Austria David Eduardo Gmez Boluarte
Kingdom of Bhutan Dayane Elizabeth Talavera Ramrez
Republic of the Congo Diana La Torre
Plurinational State of Bolivia Diego Alonso Noronha Val
People's Republic of China Diego Quesada Nicoli
Kingdom of Denmark Edgard Mejico Salinas
Ivory Coast Elizabeth Marces Everness

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Ecuador Ernesto Cabrera
Dominican Republic Fabrizzio Valdivia Llerena
Djibouti Fiamma Mara De Vinatea Gonzalez
Croatia Fiorella Cadenas
Costa Rica Francesco Enrique Romero Valderrama
Commonwealth of Dominica Francisco Jos Florndez
Colombia Franco Ernesto Velit Sandoval
Chile Gabriela Carolina Leal Rodriguez
Cameroon Galo Alberto Garcs valos
Arab Republic of Egypt Geancarlo Garca Huaman
El Salvador Gian Franco Ivano Guerra Padilla
State of Eritrea Giuliana Bilibio Aragons
Estonia Gladys Hernandez
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Gonzalo Aquino Rojas
Fiji Gonzalo Eduardo Tenorio Guzmn
Finland Hilda Rojas Sinche
French Republic Ian Forsyth
Brazil Ivet Johana Huamn Zenteno
Bulgaria Joaqun Cuadros Camacho
Kingdom of Cambodia Johana Cceres Martnez
Sierra Leone John Prado
South Africa Jorge Andrs Timoteo Prado
Angola Jorge Manrique de Lara
Argentina Juan Ignacio Chavez Salas
Commonwealth of Australia Juan Pablo Pinto Liendo
Gabonese Republic Katherine Macuri
Morocco Katherine Roco Vergara Gonzales
Myanmar Kira MiloudCrdenas Ramn
Spain Kuayleen Kimberly Hip Villavicencio
Sweden Lucas Daniel Ghersi Murillo
Nepal Lucciana Belllina Castro
Netherlands Luca Alejandra Jimnez Perales
Cuba Luis Alberto Narro
Cyprus Luis Fernando Roca
Czech Republic Luis Miguel Vivanco Loomer
Democratic People's Republic of Korea Manuel Arturo Augusto Marreros y Campumana
Democratic Republic of the Congo Manuel Ferreyros Perez Izaga
Ukraine Mara Fe Aguilar Lynch
United Arab Emirates Mara Fernanda Cabrera Zuazo

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United Kingdom of Great Britan & Northern Ireland Mara Ximena Yarlequ Cafferata
Nigeria Marlenny Fernanda Zevallos Labrin
Norway Melanie Wong lvarez
Pakistan Melissa Macher
Tunisia Micaela Elas Flechelle
Turkey Micaela Villalobos
Uganda Naara Cancino Daz
United States of America Nerio David Escobar Venero
Russian Federation Olenka Norena
Rwanda Paola Caicedo Safra
Saudi Arabia Paola Torres
New Zealand Paolo Benza
Nicaragua Pedro Antonio Fuentes Rivera Saavedra
Panama Priscila Vera Schmidt
Guatemala Priscilla Coria Palomino
Guyana Roberto Jos Fiorentino Ferreyros
Haiti Rodrigo Uriarte Changana
Honduras Romina Castaeda Lpez
Canada Rosa Fiorella Ramos Espinoza
Central African Republic Saily Catina Valencia Gamez
Chad Samantha Gisella Johnson Garca
Japan Sandra Carazas Snchez
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Seiji Fujii
Kazakhstan Silet Becerra Orihuela
Kenya Silvana Vidal Torres
Islamic Republic of Iran Silvia Otarola
Iraq Sofa Avila Bedregal
Ireland Stephanie Ugarte
Georgia Tanny Loli Avalos
Federal Republic of Germany Valeria Martnez Boucher
Liechtenstein Valeria Silva Yong
Luxembourg Vanessa Torres Saldaa
Malaysia Veronica Miyagusuku
Hellenic Republic Walter Rengifo Crdenas
Grenada William Castillo Stein
Hungary Winnie Michi Trujillo
Iceland Ximena Davila
Afghanistan Xiomara Alejandra Castro Beran