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JESUS & MARY COLLEGE MODEL UNITED NATIONS15

JESUS & MARY COLLEGE MODEL UNITED NATIONS15

Guantanamo Bay is No
Ones Business
-USA
In the land of the free and the home of the brave, a melting pot of cultures boils far too hotly, reports
Abhishek Bhan.

In a discussion regarding a draft resolution

authored in part by the delegate of
the United States, clauses regarding
workshops to sensitize the populace
towards marginalized communities and
anti-discriminatory legislation to combat
incitement to hatred led to some rather
controversial remarks in discussions in
the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Delivering an accusation, the delegate

of Argentina pointed to the tendency of
people who appear to be Middle Eastern to
be randomly selected for airport security
checks and being generally ill-looked
upon. The delegate of Montenegro inquired
about the conditions in Guantanamo

Bay, where prisoners (122 as of January

2015) have been suffering injustice in
all kinds of horrific forms for over a
decade, and the delegate of USA promptly
reminded the concerned delegate that
Guantanamo Bay is none of your business.

While receiving some appreciation, this

singular comment has a dark background to
it. Ever since the September 11 attacks, the
US has become a breeding ground for racial
profiling and stereotyping. Condemners of
the attackers were justified, but the more
extreme ones need to understand that
Sikh, Arabic-looking or Muslims people
had nothing to do with the tragic event.
Such individuals in great numbers or

with great power can make life needlessly

difficulty for the minorities concerned.
In an extension of the same ideas, one must
also recognize the discrimination present
in the Western world even today against its
own citizens, i.e., African Americans, Latinos,
Asians, Arabs, LGBTs and more. Statistics
show injustice against these groups, such as
the recent shooting in Ferguson, Missouri
wherein a policeman gunned down the
unarmed Michael Brown and was released
without charge. The world must see that
even the most developed of nations are
corrupted with racism and stereotypes, and
only then can we achieve equality for all.

JANUARY 24, 2014 | CLOSING ISSUE

UN COMMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW

Trade Secrets Viable as

Collateral against Debts
- Germany
The German delegation puts forward a novel method of clearing debts while Russian Federation
disagrees. Naseer Jafri reports.
The delegate of Germany cited the use
of trade secrets as an efficient form of
collateral to be used against debts. The
delegate listed out many forms of nontraditional forms of Intellectual Property
(IP), including domain names, websites,
and geographical indicators. The delegate
proposed that such property rights
should be clearly defined as it will go a
long way in helping companies to clear
large debts. Germany cited an example
of the California-based tech company,
Uber, which cleared a debt of $4 billion,
using their trade secrets as collateral.
This was seconded by the delegate

of Brazil, who added that secrets

like a consumer database can be
beneficial to the firm who gives the
debt as well as the one who receives it.
This was criticized by many delegates,
on the ground that, unlike patents, the
parent company has the power to reveal
the secret to a third party which will
render the collateral as worthless for the
company holding it as collateral. This
was elaborated on by Italy, which stated
that even if there is a partial leakage
of the secret, the value of the collateral
would depreciate rapidly, and the
lending party would incur heavy losses.

The whole concept of sharing customer

databases with other firms, whether as
collateral or otherwise, was strongly
criticized by the Russian delegate
in harsh terms, calling it a breach
of trust, and a highly immoral act.
As a whole, it remained an inconclusive
motion, with many voices supporting
this innovative, yet unreasonable
method of clearing debts by using trade
secrets as collateral, but they were
opposed by a plethora of comments
which pointed out legal, economical as
well as moral anomalies in the same.

JANUARY 24, 2014 | THE EXPOSITOR

UN COMMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW

Questions of Qualm
As the UN CITRAL gradually moves towards drafting a universal and uniform model law for
the protection of trade secrets and other non-traditional intellectual property, Journalist Nikita
Biswal presents an alternate perspective.

To question a question is often a bigger

question. It is often vital to look at our
most colossal and powerful measures
in critical retrospect and contemplate
their capacity of creating impact in light
of the very integrity of such impact.
Having closely witnessed the recent
modern debate over the need for an
international model trade secret law,
I take it as my prime responsibility to
disclose the many conclusions within
this symmetric window. There are
no two ways to the fact that secrecy
impedes the diffusion of information. It
is interesting to note that by rewarding
secrecy and enhancing the protection
measures available, trade secret law
shall encourage enterprises to maintain
confidentiality, thus posing threats to
innovation and increasing potential
costs. Robert G. Bone has remarked
- When one firms stronger trade
secrecy prevents other firms from
building on the information, the pace of
innovation is likely to slow with negative
effects on economic productivity.
Though many might label this opinion
as typically Marxist, however, I implore
you to follow my argument on lines of
practicality and feasibility, and view it
as the larger debate outside the typical,
boxed Marxist versus Capitalist battle.
By default, trade secrets offer economic

leverage to the holders, and it is natural for

a trade secret owner to want to safeguard
its secret and thus push for broader legal
protection. Simultaneously, however it
is important to note that such incentives
are not necessarily optimal for the world
at large. This results in the generation of
externalities such as expensive litigation,
and most importantly, concentration
of commercial information in the
hands of few which creates marginal
divides. There also exists the solemn
threat of misuse of the trade secrets by
the owner itself. A Trade Secret Law
impedes dissipation of philanthropic
information, especially common in
the health and security industry, and
given this empirical uncertainty, my
skepticism regarding the very creation
of the model law is augmented. The
world must recognize that the proprietor
of a trade secret is rendered at a loss
until and unless they acquire sufficient
technology to put the information to
use; hence, it is often important to
share some amount of the information,
resulting in partnerships, and increases
awareness of the secret. The very utility
of a secret, thus, almost rhetorically
poses a threat to its remaining a secret.
It is vital to affine my comment with
another basic, parallel concept. Whereas
misappropriation of trade secrets relates

only to the usage of improper acquisition

of secret trade information, scholars
have prescribed that there is a host of
other fairly legal pathways for the same.
Professor Nasheri writes about a few such
methods - including but not limited to
scanning trade-show floors, combing
through websites, and reviewing
filings with regulatory agencies, as
tools of the espionage community. The
line of argument here is not to defy the
essence of trade secrets, but to recognize
their capacity to bolster economies. The
question raised, is not whether trade
secrets are healthy or not, but to study
the infringement they inherently cause
to the freedom to commercial enterprise,
and to remark that the model law in
progress pays no heed to this aspect.
Is it not the policy of law, to both foster and
protect commercial enterprise? Indeed.
New legislature must be drafted keeping
in mind that the public has a manifest
interest not only in the maintenance
of commercial ethics but also in
commercial renovation and development.
This bigger question must hence be
asked by each global citizen, for it
leads to more comprehensive answers,
that hold the dramatic capacity to
mold our commercial experience
at both micro and macro levels.

JANUARY 24, 2014 | THE EXPOSITOR

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY: DISEC

Nations Stress Collaboration as Solutions to Arms

Trafficking Emerge
Havisha Khurana reports on the deliberations of the Disarmament and International Security Committee
The final day of deliberations saw
delegates attempting to locate the
loopholes that had existed for a long time
in the context of conventional weapons.
Republic of Korea suggested that a
unification of treaties should take place.
According to the delegate, there are
many simultaneous agreements that are
being signed upon which point towards
the same goals. Instead of having many
papers with the same goal, one complete
treaty should be signed that aims towards
the similar purpose. The delegates from
Nicaragua and Afghanistan talked about
the need to strengthen ground control
by improving border security, setting up
more check points, and collaboration of
various sectors within a region mainly,

military, civil servants, and the police force.

This discussion was furthered by the
delegations from Spain, Mali, and
Sweden. They recommended several
steps to keep a watch on the supply
of arms. They suggested that every
supplier should ask the purchaser to
fill a form where they mention their
motives behind the purchase and that
the license for manufacturing and
supplying should be given only after
inquiries. Kenya suggested that the
government should be in constant talk
and have candid relations with the
suppliers to gain information about the
costumers. In order to regulate the reach
of arms, manufactures should print
their logo or barcodes on the weapons.

A GPS chip inside the weapon would

help in recognizing the terrorist hubs.
Bangladesh boldly took their stand
in support of arms transfer. They
emphasized that it is crucial for countries
that dont produce any arms to have
access to these weapons. However, the
delegate of Albania stated that most of
the oil and diamond mines were owned
by rebel groups, and they would hence
exchange their resources for weapons.
Uganda specified the extent of the
issue by mentioning unemployment
and little involvement of women.
It remains to be seen however whether
the actual implementation of these
suggestions will be successful or not.

JANUARY 24, 2014 | THE EXPOSITOR

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

The Many
Faces of
Jihad

Sanjana Ahuja argues that jihad and

terrorism are not two sides of the same
coin.

Nowadays, the terms jihad and terrorism

are often used interchangeably but how
closely linked are these two notions?
Jihad is roughly translated as holy war,
i.e. religiously sanctioned warfare and
has been around for more than 1300
years. On the other hand, terrorism, as a
doctrine, is little more than two centuries
old when we take the Terreur phase
of the French revolution as a point of
reference. Since then, both terrorism
and jihad have evolved to some extent.
It is commonly acknowledged that the
United Nations has not managed to
arrive at an internationally binding
legal definition of terrorism. There
is however, a greater degree of
agreement on a definition of terroris
The next pertinent question that arises
then, is what exactly is the role of
terrorism in jihad? The subjugation and
subsequent radicalization of Islamist
oppositional groups in the latter half
of the 20th century in the Middle East
and North Africa steered in a period of
streamlined and politicized theological
interpretations as Islamic warfare
doctrines were re-interpreted by young
radicals, lacking formal religious
education. These sub-state actors adopted
bits and pieces from classical jihad
theories to fit their needs. Since the 1990s,
there has been a shift away from the mere
use of terrorist tactics to the construction
of genuine terrorist strategies. Doctrinaire
jihadis regard terrorism as legitimate,

since their goal establishing a just

Islamic orderallegedly justifies wholesale
political violence. Militant Muslim
actors like Osama Bin Laden and Abu
Musab al-Suri have formulated intricate
doctrines merging terrorism and jihad by
cherry picking verses from the Quran.
m in the academic world which
characterizes terrorism as a ...
conspiratorial practice of calculated,
demonstrative, direct violent action
without legal or moral restraints, targeting
mainly civilians and non-combatants,
performed for its propagandistic and
psychological effects on various audiences
and conflict parties. However, terrorism
also refers to a doctrine of irregular
warfare and indeed, jihad can contain
elements of terrorism in terms of
philosophy, strategy and methods. At
the same time, jihad also has various
different meanings in modern Muslim
culture, such as an effort towards a
religiously commendable goal, or simply
a crusade, such as a crusade against
alcohol, which might, for example, be
used as a slogan in an Islamic country
to further a public health campaign.
The broader concept of Islamic warfare is
not a revolutionary one but is dominated
by an imperialist worldview, which has
at its core the conquest of territory. In
the broader concept of Islamic warfare,
terrorism is but one element and it is
mainly used for deterrence and for
tactical purposes. Classical expansionist

jihad is first and foremost a collective,

which is considered to be fulfilled
once a certain number of warriors
appointed by the ruler are sent into
battle. Sub-state actors, on the other
hand, mostly interpret contemporary
terrorist jihad, as an individual religious
obligation that depends on personal
initiative and on Gods guidance.
While many Westernes regard Islams
martial culture as inferior due to its
gruesome connection to terrorism, this
view does not stand the test of careful
historical analysis but is based on cultural
bias. War crimes, including terrorism,
have been, and continue to be, frequent
occurrences in Western forms of conflict
waging. Moreover, many academics have
drawn out several parallels between
jihad and the crusades, which remain till
date a blot on the history of Christianity.
In conclusion, jihad stands for a broad
complex culture of Islamic warfare by
state and, more recently, sub-state actors.
On the one hand, it includes certain
defined concepts related to terrorism and
psychological deterrence. Yet, on the other
hand, it also includes clearly formulated
rules regarding the safeguarding of
civilians and non-combatants in times
of war. So no, jihad should not instantly
create for us a picture of extremely angry,
sword wielding Muslims waging holywar against the world. And needless to
say, jihad is not a synonym for terrorism.
JANUARY 24, 2014 | THE EXPOSITOR

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

The Diary Entry of a Paranoid Father

Paris
January 9, 2015
Today, I had to pick my 5-year old
daughter from school. I rushed from
office to work because I already was
fifteen minutes late. When I reached her
school, I found her buying toffees from
a woman. I normally would not have a
problem with that, but that woman was
wearing a Burkha, so I ran to her and
threw away the toffees she had bought
from that woman. I told that woman to go
away and never come near my child again.
After she left, my daughter asked me why
I had done so. I didnt really know what

to say to her, so I explained to her that

people who keep their heads and faces
covered are called Muslims, people who
kill in the name of God. She was terrified
and asked me if all Muslims killed in the
name of God. I told her that most of them
do. Even though there are Muslims who
dont, there is no way of knowing who
has what intention. I advised her to stay
away from Muslims to keep her safe.
I later wondered if I had done the correct
thing. Did I tell her the right thing to do?
The recent attacks in the Charlie Hebdo
office have terrified me. Im scared of
going to work. Im scared of sending my
children to school. Maybe in the process

of telling her to protect herself from

people who might harm her, I ended
up planting preconceived notions in
her mind. But what choice did I have?
Leave her aside, even Im afraid of
talking to the Muslim colleagues in my
office now. Ive begun to keep a distance
from them. Maybe I am stigmatizing
them, but for the sake of my safety, that
is a very small price to pay. Since the
attacks, Ive begun to see every Muslim
as a potential terrorist. I dont know if Ill
ever be able to talk to them again. Maybe
they are good people, maybe they are
not. Whatever it is, Im too afraid to try.

JANUARY 24, 2014 | THE EXPOSITOR

NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

Battling Feasibility
Issues through
Alternative
Actions
As the Indian security apparatus gears up
to chart out a course of action to ensure the
safety of its citizens, Rukma Singh reports
on the deliberations and negotiations in the
National Security Council.

With the news of the hijacking of IC

814 and several subsequent updates
from the Prime Ministers office coming
in, members of the National Security
Council raised several questions about
the plausible solutions to the issue of
human security at hand. Amidst this
discussion centred on an urgent and
crucial next step, the most fundamental
suggestion was the usage of paratroopers
for a covert operation on IC 814 in
Lucknow.
This debate arose due to pertinent
feasibility issues. The need of the hour
was to ensure the safety of the citizens,
but getting the National Security Guard
to Lucknow within a specified time
frame was not a feasible option. Hence,
the usage of paratroopers was heavily
deliberated upon so as to be able to reach

a substantive conclusion at the earliest.

In strong support of the suggestion
was the Minister of Defence, who
believed that after creating a diversion,
the paratroopers could act swiftly and
neutralize the terrorists, which would
help them to further secure the aircraft.
However, this viewpoint was out rightly
rejected by several members, including
the Minister of State for External Affairs
and Director of Intelligence Bureau.
According to them, any covert action
would put the lives of the passengers at
risk and there was no guarantee of 100%
success.
The update which highlighted that the
hijackers had agreed to land the plane at
the Lucknow airport due to low fuel was
a major catalyst in fuelling this debate

about the alternative courses of action

that could be taken. The Indian security
officials believed that they needed to
act fast to ensure that the aircraft does
not leave Indian airspace. This is where
the Chief of Air Staff came up with
his suggestion of a covert action plan
through the paratroopers.
Towards the end, however, another
update resulted in the cancellation of
this move. When the plane was landing
at the Lucknow airport, the hijackers
found a sniper positioned in a building
and sensing some disturbance, they
went ahead and killed a passenger.
Post this activity, the National Security
Council conclusively gathered that any
further action that might antagonize
the terrorists and put the lives of the
passengers further at stake.

JANUARY 24, 2014 | THE EXPOSITOR

UN COMMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW

The Overarching Grey Areas of Law

Nikita Biswal records the deficient nucleus of the proposed model law for trade secret protection.
While I checked the gash on my toes, I
almost missed the speck right under my
nose.
The international model law being
proposed in the United Nations
Commission on International Trade
Law is an ambitious one. It seeks to
take bolstering measures to empower
legal mechanisms and address a jungle
of issues pertaining to trade secret
protection. However, I am afraid, its
basis is formed on rather muffled
foundations, and grey areas loom large.
The creation of criminal liability in
international and national law for
the misappropriation of trade secrets
advocates for strong legal reform, stirring
the idiomatic glass of question juice and
generating fresh debate. In a recent case,
the United States V. Cotton, a defendant
pled guilty to stealing and attempting to
deliver military trade secrets to a foreign
nation. The trade secret essentially
pertained to radar jamming, electronic
countermeasures and the ability to
pinpoint enemy signals during warfare.
The number of such federal trade
secret cases quadrupled between 1988
and 2004, and is expected to double
again within six years. This acts as a
demonstration of the fact that not only
has the number of trade secrets being
misappropriated magnanimously grown,
but also the information hence acquired
is of immense significance to possessors.
Albeit legal thinkers suggest that
despite critical trade secrets being

misappropriated with greater frequency

is astonishing, it is not adequate by itself
to justify such strong legal protection.
It is well known that stronger legal
protection leads to heightened expenses.
Intrinsically, it is said, we need to know
how much trade secret theft is taking
place before we can balance the benefits
of stronger legal protection against
the costs. Herein it is suggested that in
order to speak in absolute terms and to
tailor legal pathways to address diverse
and varying cases, it is rudimentary
to perhaps sufficiently articulate a
normative framework which helps in
quantifying and analyzing such cases
before universal models are created.

the difficulty of collecting judgment

in criminal law. It is however often
suggested on the international forum
that civil enforcements alone, often,
prove to be insufficient methods to
address such lawsuits and civil courts
end up under-enforcing judgment.

Yet it must be argued that reliance

on anecdotal evidence only provides
analogy and does not present firm
principles, which in fact, is the prime
purpose that drives this assembly at the
(UN CITRAL). However so, even when the
abovementioned concerns deliquesce,
one major grey area of conflicting
practice
remains
unaddressed
-

Though these two features of the wider

picture under debate are salient, they
form the fundamental alkalis of an
international model law. While the
commission must take note of the relative
expediency of legal cultures, we must also
take cognizance of the fact that though
federal criminal law cannot substitute for
civil law, a combined enforcement shall
deter misappropriation better. It must be
noted that the purpose of this analysis
is not to establish but to de-establish, so
that prototypical markers may shift and
horizons may widen, and to provide a
sterner overview to the universal law being
drafted, in order to maneuver nothing
but the most superlative legal model
for the growing international world.

In this day and age, most legal cultures

utilize civil law to litigate cases of
misappropriation, as it provides greater
litigation control, cost effectiveness and
better speed while litigating trade secret
cases where national interests arent
implicated and international parties are
not involved. This preference of civil
law over criminal law is often associated
with the increased cost of litigation and

Questions are also raised about the

creation of secondary liabilities on third
parties, and whether or not they offer a
constructive method to effectively litigate
trade secret cases and save potential
expenses. Professor Rustad suggests that
such liability along with the addition
of a private cause of action will add
import to existing universal mechanisms.

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUCNIL

We the (Judgmental) People

Naina Kataria contemplates the impact of prejudice in everyday life.

Imagine a world where homophobia,

sexism, and racism do not exist. People
would accept each other for who
they were. Can you? I surely cant,
because I cannot help but crack a joke
every time I see a south Indian whose
complexion is darker than my hair.
Thinking about prejudice, I realize how
prejudiced I am about the people I meet

every day. Women are bad drivers,

Muslims are potential terrorists, and
homosexuals are unnatural and weird.
Weird. This got me thinking on
what constitutes our definition of
weird. Anything that is not normal
to our understanding within our
specific societal spheres is weird.

Analyzing statistics from the USA for

example, African-American comprise
13% of the US population and 14% of
the monthly drug users, but 37% of the
people are arrested for drug-related
offenses. The police are more likely to pull
over and frisk Latinos than the whites.

Cont. on Page 9
JANUARY 24, 2014 | THE EXPOSITOR

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUCNIL

Cont. from Page 8

Even after being arrested, AfricanAmericans are 33% more likely than
whites to be detained while facing a
felony trial in New York. In 2010, the
US Sentencing Commission reported
that the African-American convicts
receive 10% longer sentences than
whites through the federal system for
the same crimes. For a country whose
leaders had dreams of uprooting
racism, this is surely a disappointment.
In our own lives we are, of course,
aware of gross injustices and events
that have happened to us. It could
be a rejection by family or friends, a
violent attack, or being fired from a job
or not receiving a promotion because
our boss is homophobic. But we take
thelittle injustices for granted. We do
not realize that it is the little injustices
that foster hatred and gradually give

birth

to

violence

and

bloodshed.

Muslims, who have been largely

stigmatized for no fault of theirs, will
probably spend their lives in alienation
and misery and their children will grow
up feeling suffocated. This will further
aggravate the tension between the
citizens, thereby leading to social unrest
in the country. Is that what we want? We
may not realize it, because to us, cracking
a joke or out casting people simply on the
basis of their gender, religion, or sexual
preferences would be normal. But if there
are many like us, who have the seeds
of prejudices planted in their brains,
the sufferers would bear the fruits,
namely discrimination and intolerance.
Moreover, prejudices are not only
harmful for the society and the people,
but for those who judge as well. Think of

it this way. If we managed to fight our

mental barriers and be accommodating
towards people, if we found it in
ourselves to accept and love people
despite our preconceived notions against
them, wouldnt we be happier people?
If we learnt to diversify our definition
of the word normal, we would be
making our own little contribution to
making this world a peaceful place.
In conclusion, I feel that more than the
steps that can be taken by the governments
and the international agencies, we, the
people can contribute to the combatting
prejudice. If we, despite all our differences
place love and humanity above all,
well be doing our own bit towards this
cause. So let us keep this mind, for it
is the little drops that make an ocean.

JANUARY 24, 2014 | THE EXPOSITOR

The International Press

Chief Editor
Anushka Kaushik
Creative Head
Anushree Malik
Journalists
Naina Kataria
Abhishek Bhan
Rukma Singh
Nitika Biswal
Sanjana Ahuja
Shaina Ahluwalia
Naseer Hussain Jafri
Havisha Khurana
Photographers
Ankit Kumar Srivastava
Yatharth Buddhiraja
Raunaq Singh Ahluwalia