COMMITTEE: General assembly 3

COUNTRY: Republic of Honduras

AGENDA: Eliminating Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related

Intolerance

Racial discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than another

person in a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin or
immigrant status. Xenophobia is an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or
of that which is foreign or strange
Honduras is a constitutional, multiparty republic. Juan Orlando Hernandez won the
presidency on November 24 in an election that international observers generally recognized
as transparent, credible, and reflected the will of the Honduran electorate. Civilian authorities
failed at times to maintain effective control over the security forces. Members of security
forces committed human rights abuses and were turned over to the civilian justice system.
Among the most serious human rights problems were discrimination against women; child
prostitution and abuse; trafficking in persons; discrimination against indigenous
communities; violence and discrimination against persons based on sexual orientation;
ineffective enforcement of labour laws; and child labour.
He Constitution bans discrimination based on race or sex. The Constitution also bans
discrimination on the basis of class; however, in practice, the political, military, and social
elites generally enjoyed impunity under the legal system. Violence against women remained
widespread. The Penal Code classifies domestic violence and sexual harass The Government
works with women's groups to provide specialized training to police officials on enforcing
the Law Against Domestic Violence. There are few shelters specifically for battered women.
The Government operates 1 shelter that can accommodate 10 women and their families. Six
private centers for battered women offered legal, medical, and psychological assistance but
not physical shelter.ment as crimes, with penalties of 2 to 4 years' and 1 to 3 years'
imprisonment, respectively Although the Government during the year allocated 26.9 percent
of its total expenditures (including foreign assistance) to education (including salaries of
teachers and administrators), funding remained insufficient to address the educational needs
of the country's youth. The Government provides free, universal, and compulsory education
through the age of 13
Promote mutual respect between individuals who come from different cultural backgrounds.
Openly support and promote the University's Anti-Racism policy. If you observe racist
behaviour speak up and name it for what it is. Offer support to people who are being
harassed. If you are a supervisor, circulate information on the University's Anti-Racism
policy and ensure that it is adhered to in your area. We are all human beings, we need to see

past our physical appearances and realize that judging another simply based on their colour
is wrong. If we make it a priority to teach our children not to judge anyone by their outer
appearance or ideology then yes, that ultimately depends on each of us as individuals
whether or not we want to make that effort, granted not everyone will adhere to this but if
most of us do that would suffice