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Introduction

The 36th annual UNIS-UN Conference highlights the unique connection between the United Nations International School (UNIS) and the United Nations. It will be held on March 1 - 2, 2012, in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations. The title of this year’s conference is "Human Exploitation: Exposing the Unseen."

This year's conference aims to explore the hidden world of human exploitation through the various subsets of the topic, including child labor, human trafficking, and the sex trade, often caused by poverty, conflict, and more. The goal of this year’s conference is to view the topic of Human Exploitation through a global perspective.

Over the course of the conference, distinguished guest speakers will address the various aspects of Human Exploitation. Afterwards students will be given the opportunity to interact and engage in dialogues with the speakers in question-answer sessions. There will also be opportunities for students to discuss the conference topic and gain further insights through the Student Panel and Student Debate sessions.

We aim to develop a better understanding of Human Exploitation and its implication in our global society and in culture, and expose its many facets whilst encouraging participants to objectively develop their own opinions. Our ultimate goal is to raise awareness to the participants on Human Exploitation, a topic sometimes obscured from the media and news spotlight.

Visiting Schools

This year, we will have participants from 51 schools representing 20 countries:

Argentina Argentina Instituto Lange Ley
Bermuda Bermuda Berkeley Institute, Bermuda High School for Girls, Bermuda Institute, Cedarbridge Academy, Mount St. Agnes, Saltus, Warwick Academy
China China Shanghai Foreign Language School, The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing University
England England Ardingly College, Maria Fidelis Convent School, Mulberry School For Girls, South Camden Community School, St Edward's School
Finland Finland Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu
Germany Germany Alfred-Wegener-School in Kirchhain, Altes Kurfuersliches Gymnasium, Hohe Landesschule Hanau, Leibniz Secondary School, Oberstufen-Kolleg Bielefeld
Ghana Ghana St. Augustine College
India India Calcutta International School
Jamaica Jamaica Ardenne High School, Jamaica College, Munro College, St. Hugh's High School, The Queen's School, Westwood High School
Japan Japan Haguro High School, Kagoshima Joho High School, Senzoku Gakuen High School, Yamate Gakuin High School, Yokohama Municipal Senior Higashi High School, Yokohama Shogyo High School
Luxembourg Luxembourg International School of Luxembourg
Norway Norway Berg VGS, Oslo Katedralskole
Russia Russia School N10 Zlatoust Chelyabinsk Region Russia
Singapore Singapore Crescent Girls' School, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' School
Spain Spain Frederic Mistral Tecnic Eulalia
Sweden Sweden Frans Suell and Jörgen Kock
Switzerland Switzerland International School of Geneva
Togo Togo British School of Lomé
Turkey Turkey Istanbul Bahcesehir High School
United States United States Lakeridge High School, Locust Valley High School, Razi School, Santaluces Community High School, St Dominic High School

Speakers

This year's conference is entitled "Human Exploitation: Exposing the Unseen." Distinguished speakers including H.E. Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, Ms. Katherine Chon, Kenneth Johnson, Daniel Persico, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Lynn Stratford, Johanna Esposito, Helen Benedict and Rachel Lloyd will be in attendance to address the conference participants.

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Speaker Photo

Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro

Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro of Tanzania has been the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations since 1 February 2007. She has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Tanzania. She helped coordinate elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and supported the elections in Zambia and Madagascar. Dr. Migiro obtained a Master of Laws degree from the University of Dar-es-Salaam and a Doctorate in Law from the University of Konstanz in Germany.

Speaker Photo

Katherine Chon

Ms. Katherine Chon is the Co-Founder of Polaris Project, a leading non-profit organization combating modern-day slavery in the United States and Japan. Sparked by a local newspaper article describing the enslavement of women in a brothel a few miles from where she lived, Katherine has spent the last ten years creating innovative solutions to fight human trafficking. The organization works directly with victims, operates the national hotline on human trafficking, and has passed landmark legislation across the country. Katherine received her M.P.A. from Harvard Kennedy School, Sc.B. in Psychology from Brown University, and completed the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

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Kenneth D. Johnson

Ken D. Johnson is part of Devconia LLC, an international development and cross cultural management firm specializing in private sector development and sustainability management with a focus on Africa. He has worked with several African governments and local businesses, to promote economic growth and reduce poverty. Mr. Johnson has received a certificate in business studies from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Royal Society of Arts, and is a Baruch College alumnus.

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Dr. Daniel F. Persico

Dr. Daniel F. Persico, Vice President, Strategic Marketing and Business Development, was named such in July 2007. He originally joined KEMET in November 1997, and served as Director of Tantalum Technology, Vice President of Tantalum Technology, and Vice President of Organic Process Technology. Prior to his return to KEMET in December 2006, he held the positions of R&D Director at Cabot Corporation and Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of H.W. Sands Corporation, a manufacturer and distributor of specialty chemicals. Dr. Persico holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Texas and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Boston College.

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Radhika Coomaraswamy

Radhika Coomaraswamy is the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict since April 2006. She serves as an independent moral voice for the rights and protection of boys and girls affected by wars. Ms. Coomaraswamy, a lawyer by training and formerly the Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, is an internationally known human rights advocate who has done outstanding work as Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women. Ms. Coomaraswamy has won many awards from the International Law Award of the American Bar association to the Robert S. Litvack Award from McGill University for her outstanding achievements. Ms. Coomaraswamy is a graduate of the United Nations International School in New York, Yale University (B.A.), Columbia University (J.D) and Harvard University (LLM). She has written extensively on ethnicity, gender and human rights issues.

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Lynn Stratford

Lynn Stratford is the Senior Vice President of Program and Strategic Partnershipsand oversees the US Fund's work with U.S. based NGOs (non-governmental organizations), educators, school children, campus groups, and other volunteers.

Lynn is also responsible for helping ensure program coherence between UNICEF and the U.S. Fund staff in areas related to child survival. These include health care, nutrition, clean water and sanitation, education and protection.

Previously, Lynn served as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, where she was responsible for working with the Board of Directors and staff across the organization, managing the organization's strategic planning process, the Management Council and the U.S. Fund's Annual Meeting.

Ms. Stratford has been with the UNICEF family since 1991. From 2002 until 2007, she helped create and manage UNICEF's Global Campaign on Children and AIDS. She has worked with UNICEF in New York and various country offices. Her positions at the U.S. Fund have included Director of Marketing and Development, Special Assistant to the President and Assistant Director of Communications.

Ms. Stratford is a graduate of the Catholic University of America with a degree in International Relations.

Johanna M. Esposito

Johanna M. Esposito has been a Special Agent with the FBI in New York for over 15 years. She currently investigates Civil Rights violations which include matters involving Human Trafficking and Hate Crimes. Special Agent Esposito has also conducted extensive investigations into international major theft rings and was an original member of the FBI's Art Crime Team. Prior to joining the FBI, Special Agent Esposito was a practicing attorney in downtown Manhattan specializing in Labor and Employment as well as Entertainment Law.

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Helen Benedict

Helen Benedict, professor of journalism at Columbia University, is the author of six novels and five non-fiction books. Her most recent novel is Sand Queen, which concerns female soldiers and Iraqi civilians. Helen Benedict's books, Sand Queen, and The Lonely Soldier, along with her articles on the sexual assault of women in the military, inspired a class action suit against the Pentagon and the award-winning documentary, The Invisible War. Benedict has testified twice to Congress on behalf of women soldiers, and has won several awards for her work, including the 2010 Exceptional Merit in Media Award from the National Women's Political Caucus.

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Rachel Lloyd

Rachel Lloyd is the Executive Director and Founder of GEMS and the author of Girls Like Us (HarperCollins). Girls Educational & Mentoring Services (GEMS) is the only organization in New York State specifically designed to serve girls and young women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking. She earned her BA in psychology from Marymount Manhattan College, and an MA in applied urban anthropology from the City College of New York. She has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Reebok Human Rights Award. Lloyd is an Ashoka Fellow and a Prime Mover Fellow, and was a leading advocate for the Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act, which makes New York the first state to protect, not prosecute, sexually exploited children. She lives in New York City.

Student Debate

RESOLVED, that adult prostitution is a violation of the individual's human rights and should be deemed illegal by governments internationally.

Student Panel

Discuss/investigate human exploitation in your country, society, culture and/or community. Possible topics include but are not limited to: the effect of human exploitation on certain areas of the country, opposing opinions on human exploitation, how certain governments are choosing to react to human exploitation, etc. One could even find out how human exploitation indirectly (or directly) affects them. There are many ways to approach this panel since there are so many forms of human exploitation around the world.