Download Representative: Josh Hamlet

Delegate: Josh Hamlet and Josh Novack
Country: Georgia
Committee: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Topic: Cultural Reconstruction in Post-Conflict Regions
School: Blind Brook High School
As a representative of Georgia, we feel that something must be done in order to
aid our war with Russia. Even though we have been affected culturally by this turmoil,
we have been affected in other ways as well. Our fight against Russia has been going on
ever since we separated from the Soviet Union. The two main areas that we are fighting
against are South Ossetia and Abkhazia. As soon as Russia invaded, we have been
affected politically, economically, and most importantly, socially. Because of this war,
many policies have been broken, mainly dealing with UNESCO. One of these laws is the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This states that people should be free to practice
and demonstrate their culture. Russia is trying to take back Georgia, while in doing so;
they have tried to implement laws against our culture. A more specific act that has been
violated is the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Since we
are at war with Russia, this law pertains very strictly to us because our country is being
destroyed and there have destroyed cultural sites such as churches and schools.
Even though we have received help from the United States and other European
countries, we also need the support of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in order
to achieve success. For example, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
and the UN Human Rights Council are needed in order to help our fight. Another major
NGO is the International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS). This law protects the
cultural heritage during times of conflict. Another NGO that has had an important role in
helping out is the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). This
NGO provides security among nations to prevent conflict. One way that they have aided
us has been by barring access to South Ossetia.
Even though we need the help of NGOs and other nations, there are some things
that we have to do in order to protect our culture and protect our nation. One way we can
do this is by establishing a international body to hear both our claims and Russia’s claims
in order to solve our problems. We also should adopt a free trade arrangement to gain
supplies and communicate with other countries. We also need to forget it about South
Ossetia and Abkhazia in order to be replenished with military equipment. In order to
strengthen our democracy we should create a constitutional reform that will limit the
presidential power. We as a nation should have more say in what the people believe in
rather then having our president make all the decisions for us. We should establish
elections in order to begin to behave more democratically. In doing so, we may end up
having a positive influence on Russia. We also have to become closer with the Western
World in order to have a more positive influence on us and they could set a better
example and help us more. We should also promote more minority rights in our
constitution in order to fight discrimination.