UNA-USA Santa Barbara & Tri-Counties Chapter Newsletter
Spring 2012
UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION
of the U.S.A
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY CHAPTER
(805)-961-3916
[email protected]
www.unasb.org
July 2012
Human Trafficking Awareness Event
July 19th 2012
The United Nations Association, Tri-Counties
Library from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Human trafficking
Chapter, would like to invite you to attend the
is a crime against humanity that occurs in every
Human Trafficking Awareness Lecture on July
country in the world. It involves the act of
19 . Vanessa Lanza of CAST (Council to Abolish
recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or
Slavery and Trafficking) will deliver the keynote
receiving a person through use of force, coercion or
speech. Wine and Appetizers will be provided .The
other means. CAST’s mission is to abolish all …
th
event will take place at the Santa Barbara Public
Continued on
High School Essay Contest
Carl Christol Memoriam
Our Annual High School
Essay Contest Kicks Off To
Complement Our July 19th
Event
U.S. Ambassador-at-Large
Delivers on the International
Court in Libya and Sudan.
Page 2
Page 3
4
Out-Sourcing and
Hegemonic effects on
Developing Nations
Michelle Tokunaga gives her
thoughts on the subject.
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UNA-USA Santa Barbara & Tri-Counties Chapter Newsletter
Executive
Board
President
Catherine Dishion
Vice President
Saher Hamdani
Treasurer
Cathy Beh
Secretary
Evelyn Chang
(Intern)
Administrator
Karen Akiskalian
Spring 2012
President’s Message
Although North Korea tries hard to stay in the spotlight, the world
is watching Syria. The UN's Security Council recently authorized
United Nation observers to enter Syria for 90 days. 300 unarmed
military observers will be sent to oversee a cessation of the violation
of cease fire and the implementation of a peaceful plan. Past
attempts by a number of Middle Eastern countries have failed so we
are hopeful that progress will be made with the UN involvement.
Another hot spot is Sudan. After South Sudan withdrew from
Heglig, an oil-producing region of Sudan, the UN has urged talks
between Sudan and South Sudan in order to resolve their
differences. The UN chief is increasingly concerned that a possible
war may break out between these two countries In response to the
broken global economy, the UN has been holding meetings focused
on the promotion and implementation of development-centered
globalization.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Catherine Dishion
President
Communications
Melanie Monifi
(Intern0
Web Master
Matthew McCurdy
High School Model
UN Chair
Jeremy Vaa
UNESCO Chairs
Bill Allway & Sarah
Blackmun & Dr.
Steve Eskow
2012 High School Essay Contest
Every year the Santa Barbara chapter of the United Nations
Association sponsors an essay contest for high school
students. Students submit a short essay and the top entries
receive cash prizes and the recognition from all UNA
members. This year?s topic is Human Trafficking Around the
World. Participants may choose to focus on the history of the sex
trade globally, human rights abuses related to sex slavery or
indentured servitude in a specific region, or even the story of a
specific survivor. Creativity and a demonstration of writing skills
are all that?s required. The deadline is June 5th and applications
are available on UNASB.org. Completed essays may be sent to
UNA-USA, P.O. Box 91844, Santa Barbara, CA 93190-1844 or
emailed to Essay Contest Committee
Chair, [email protected]
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UNA-USA Santa Barbara & Tri-Counties Chapter Newsletter
Spring 2012
Carl Quimby Christol Memoriam
1913-2012
Carl Quimby Christol,
who pioneered the field
of international space
law, died of natural
causes at his home in
Santa Barbara, Calif.,
on Feb. 22, 2012, at age
98.Christol was born in
1913 on the farm
homesteaded by his
grandparents in what
had
been
Dakota
Territory at the time of homesteading. He grew
up in Vermillion, South Dakota, and graduated
in 1934 from the University of South Dakota,
where his father was a history professor.
Christol received his Ph.D. degree from
the University of Chicago in 1940 and studied at
the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in
Massachusetts, followed by a year at
the University of Geneva and the Institute of
Higher International Studies.
He earned a law degree from Yale Law School,
where he studied from 1940-1941 and from
1946-1947; his studies at Yale were interrupted
by his service in the infantry during World War
II. In the summer of 1950 he attended
the Academy of International Law at The
Hague. During the summer of 1980 he was a
scholar in residence at the Rockefeller
Foundation Bellagio Conference and Study
Center. He was a retired Army colonel and a
recipient of the Bronze Star. He served in
the 69th Infantry from 1941-1946, including at
the Battle of the Bulge in Germany, and was
among the forces that made initial contact with
Russian forces east of the Elbe River in 1945.
His World War II experiences in Germany
resulted in a lifetime interest in human rights.
Christol served for six years as chairman of
the Department of Political Science during his
tenure at USC. His research and writing focused
on international space law, international law,
U.S. constitutional law, American foreign
policy, security issues resulting from terrorism,
and human rights.
From 1970 to 1975 he was a member of
the State Department’s Advisory Committee
on International Law. As a member of the
Commission to Study the Organization of
Peace, he became an observer at the U.N. law
of the sea conferences in Geneva during the
early
1970s.
He
became
acquainted
with Ambassador Arvid Pardo of Malta, who
became a world figure as a result of his
“Common Heritage of Mankind” proposal for
the ocean. When Ambassador Pardo’s official
status later ended with a change of government
in Malta, Professor Christol was able to obtain
an appointment for him on the faculty of USC.
Together they offered a graduate seminar in
which Ambassador Pardo took the lead on
ocean subjects and Professor Christol on outer
space. After moving to Santa Barbara in 2004,
he renewed his interest in the work of
the United Nations Association of the United
States (having served as president of the Los
Angeles organization in the 1970s). His
interest in arms control and disarmament
resulted in his appointment as chairman of the
committee dealing with anti-personnel land
mines and cluster bombs. This resulted in a
cooperative
political
involvement
with
community leaders on the subject and
subsequent communications with the White
House and congressional leaders.
Dr. Christol is survived by his daughter,
Susan, her husband, Jim Deacon, and by
grandsons, Dekker C. Deacon and Kyle Q.
Deacon of Goleta, California. Memorial gifts
honoring Professor Christol’s father, may be
made to the Carl Christol History Award,
University of South Dakota Foundation,
Vermillion, S.D. 57069 to support scholarships
for undergraduate students.
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UNA-USA Santa Barbara & Tri-Counties Chapter Newsletter
July 19th Event
Continued
…forms of slavery
and assist persons
trafficked for the
purpose of forced
labor and slaverylike practices and
to work toward
ending all instances
of such human
rights
violations.
CAST’s activities are interconnected by a
client-centered approach that seeks to
empower survivors of trafficking to fully
realize their individual potential while
advancing the human rights of all trafficked
survivors. CAST is providing the momentum
for these survivors to plant the “seeds of
renewal” that will give them the freedom to
grow in the direction of their potential and
dreams.At CAST, we believe that policy,
grassroots advocacy and outreach can only
be as good as the direct client experiences in
which they are based. For this reason, CAST
begins all of its policy initiatives by engaging
our
main
constituents
–
survivors
themselves. Through
broad
community
outreach on local, state and national and
international levels – via advocacy, the
media,
public
education,
leadership
development, and coalition building – CAST
spotlights the issue of trafficking so that more
victims will be free and empowered. CAST is
realizing the fullest expression of its mission
by impacting the policies that directly affect
those we serve and their ability to create selfsustaining lives.
Spring 2012
San Marcos Model U.N.
Inez Kaminski
On Saturday, April
21st, San Marcos’
Model
United
Nations team hosted
the
first
annual
Royal
MUN
College-Prep
Conference.
Expected to become
an annual affair, the successful assembly
boasted delegates from Carpinteria and Lompoc
High School, as well as from San Marcos.
One General Assembly was held. The
two topics discussed were the current
Palestinian crisis and cyber-warfare. The
assembly was chaired by Inez Kaminski,
Lauren Klammer, and Alosha Schnackenburg.
“It was a fun caucus to moderate,” said
Kaminski. “Well prepared delegates make a
conference, and we could run a smooth debate
without the usual hiccups.” Kaminski, a junior,
has been a part of MUN for two years. She is
the club President/Secretary-General, and is
slotted for the same position next year.
“Model UN is a great way to learn about the
world and meet new people. I really enjoyed
spending time with the team, we had a blast!,”
said Klammer. This is Klammer’s first year in
San Marcos Model United Nations. She plans
on participating again next year in a leadership
position. However, next year’s prospects are
blighted by a change of advisors and budget
deficiencies. Club leaders remain optimistic.
“We [including Kaminski] have
excellent plans for next year,” said Klammer.
“In addition to hosting another competition, we
hope to attend some state-wide assemblies, and
further prepare our delegation for collegiatelevel MUN.”
“I’m very proud of the delegation, they
did so well,” said Mr. Jeremey Vaa, club
advisor. “It was a fantastic note to end our
season on.”
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UNA-USA Santa Barbara & Tri-Counties Chapter Newsletter
Spring 2012
UN Day 2011
Nuclear Energy- Safe and Sane?
Mary Jo Terrill, UNA Executive Board
Member and Programs Chair moderated our
2011 UN Day, Nuclear Energy – Safe and
Sane? Although our attendance was slightly
less than we anticipated due to the Occupy
Santa Barbara event the same day, UN Day
2011 was a great success. We had three
Speakers, each of whom presented a different
picture of Nuclear Power. Our Keynote
speaker was Geoffrey Shaw, Representative to
the UN of the Director-General of the
International IAEA, Atomic Energy Agency
in New York. He gave a riveting account of
the UN Nuclear Safety Summit which was
held the previous month and attended by
representatives of nations around the
globe. He also explained why the IAEA was
created in 1957 in response to the deep fears
and expectations resulting from the discovery
of Nuclear Energy. Rochelle Becker, co-founder of the San Luis
Obispo Mothers for Peace and founder of the
Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility was slated
to speak but one of her colleagues, filled in for
her. He primarily focused on the CPUC
Nuclear Power Plant located in San Luis
Obispo County. Their organization maintains
a strict agenda regarding license renewal for
CPUC and water quality under and around
the plant. Professor Monreal, Professor of high-energy
physics
at
UCSB
was
our
third
speaker. Professor Monreal spoke in more
technical terms regarding the disaster in
Japan, comparing the Chernobyl and Three
Mile Island nuclear failures. His powerpoint
presentation was extremely informative and
interesting. 5
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UNA-USA Santa Barbara & Tri-Counties Chapter Newsletter
Spring 2012
Out-Sourcing and Hegemonic effects on Developing Nations
Michelle Tokunaga
Imanuel Wallerstein defines the worldsystem as “a multicultural territorial division of
labor in which the production and exchange of
basic goods and raw materials is necessary for the
everyday life of its inhabitants”. This ‘division of
labor’ leads to the creation of core and peripheral
nations, areas that differ in their production
techniques. One nation is focused on laborintensive production and the other on capitalintensive production. Advanced countries, such as
the United States, produce under a labor-intensive
technique. This includes training of employees,
recruitment, and inclusion of highly skilled
individuals that are willing to contribute important
intellectual skills to a corporation. Peripheral
countries
function
under
capital-intensive
techniques, which consists of the operation of
machinery and maximized efficiency of
production. Core countries educate their citizens
in creating ideas, forming plans, and designing
products, and results with the outsourcing of those
creations to other countries where they can be
assembled at the lowest available price. In this
way, the United States as a hegemonic power is
able to reinforce their strength by exploiting this
system of development in peripheral nations,
which are not allowed the opportunity, financial
backing, or resources to develop independently in
a labor-intensive technique.
But how does this outsourcing benefit the
advanced countries such as the United States?
Since the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fires,
American policy on working conditions and
adequate wages have been strictly enforced by
various worker’s rights organizations. Because of
this, a minimum wage has been implemented on
American companies, and they must follow
restrictions in order to legally operate. However,
these laws are not universal. In this way, many
American corporations have resorted to the
outsourcing of their production to areas outside of
the United States. With wages incredibly low in
other countries, and working conditions hardly
regulated, American companies are able to receive
the same number of products for only a portion of
the cost.
Although seemingly beneficial, there are
many drawbacks to this tactic of production. First,
there are many drawbacks to this tactic of
production. First, many laborers in the periphery
and semi-periphery nations are faced with horrible
working conditions and unfair wages.
For
example, in China, a factory by the name of
Foxconn has recently dealt with over a dozen
suicides and suicide attempts as a result of their
treatment of employees. With over 900,000 young
Chinese employees in the factory, Foxconn
manufactures products for several American
companies, including Apple, HP, Dell, IBM,
Samsung, Nokia, Hitachi, and others. These
employees, in despair because of their salaries and
treatment in the factory, have resulted in protest
through the form of suicide. In estimation by
economists Erin Lett and Judith Banister in 2009,
the compensation in these factories was $0.81 US
dollars, roughly 10% of legal compensation in the
United States. These are conditions that don’t
allow for these employees to live comfortably, and
would never be accepted by American standards of
employment. While Foxconn laborers and others
in their position are in constant struggle to make
ends meet, CEO’s of these companies are making
millions, and sometimes billions. In a guest
speech by Scott Nova at UC Santa Barbara Orfalea
Center, it was stated that Apple profited 34 billion
dollars last year, yet their wage bill was around
one billion dollars. The CEO of Apple could
easily triple the wages of their employees, allow for
acceptable living conditions and wages, and still
make a 32 billion dollar profit (Scott Nova 2011).
Another shocking statistic uncovers that Tim
Cook, the CEO of Apple made more in one
minute than over 50,000 of his foreign employees
would have made in a year. This shocking data
displays the power that corporations in a
hegemonic country have over the weaker countries
that they influence. The peripheral and semiperipheral nations often have no choice in the
matter of worker’s rights because they depend on
the money and business brought by American and
western corporations.
These trends in global production and
trade have also led to the global “race to the
bottom”. Businesses strive for the cheapest form of
labor, with the fewest regulations and
environmental standards, in order to maximize
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UNA-USA Santa Barbara & Tri-Counties Chapter Newsletter
Spring 2012
Continued From Page 6
their profits to the fullest potential. Although highly
beneficial to the powerful countries in the exchange,
this trend greatly exploits the weaker countries and
further subjugates them. While corporations such as
Apple, Nike, Microsoft, and countless others strive to
access the cheapest labor characterized by the
weakest environmental regulations and most lenient
worker regulations, they often refuse to acknowledge
that this is leading to the suffering of the employees in
these underdeveloped regions. The weaker countries
are oppressed by the hegemonic attempts to control
their method of labor and exploit both foreign laws
and resources.
The continued reinforcement of economic
inequalities perpetuates the existence of the
hegemonic power of the United States. Through
monopolizing certain markets, it becomes nearly
impossible for peripheral countries to develop their
own forms of technologies and products because they
are continually oppressed by the control of the
hegemon. What trends will this lead to in the future?
With an increasing gap between the wealthy and
poor, it is becoming nearly impossible to counteract
the consequences of unequal outsourcing.
The
United States’ impact as a global superpower has
made it difficult for developing countries to create
their own modes of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Without allowing countries the opportunity
to develop their own ideas and products,
underdeveloped nations face difficulty in rising out of
their current status of exploitation. However, China
has recently advanced closer towards core-status by
their focus on education and engineering. This
strategy is aimed at promoting exportation, while also
paying attention towards its domestic market and the
growth of high-technology industries. China hopes to
continue
domestic
production,
while
also
contributing valuable products to the global market.
This technique harbors on foreign study for Chinese
students in the United States, where they will receive
their degrees. In these scenarios, Chinese students
are able to gain knowledge at reputable universities
and then return after graduation to apply their skills
to China’s growing economy. This trend, supported
by the Chinese government and various other
Chinese organizations, hopes to promote internal
entrepreneurship and innovation on Chinese soil.
Michelle Tokunaga is a U.C.S.B Junior majoring in Global
Studies.
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UNA-USA Santa Barbara & Tri-Counties Chapter Newsletter
Spring 2012