World Health Organization
By Lina Kanki
The World Health Organisation, also known as the WHO, is a public health agency established in 1948 to form as a part of the United Nations. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health” and it categorises its work into three areas of focus; advocating for universal health coverage, preparing for public health emergencies and coordinating a global response and serving vulnerable countries.
Cyberbullying or cyberharassment, also known as online bullying, is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. It consists of sharing, posting harmful, false or negative content about someone else. Furthermore, it includes sharing personal information that causes embarrassment or humiliation. This has become increasingly common among the younger generation, especially with advances in technology.
During ILYMUN conferences, students represent countries as delegates and join together to debate the issues we face today. This year, the students have gathered to discuss matters concerning the cyberworld. In the World Health Organisation Committee, one of the debates began with the following motion:
“This House calls for all member states to pursue corporations that host violent content that glorifies and normalizes suicide,self-harm, eating disorders etc.”
After the presentation of this motion, several countries took the floor explaining how they were in favor of this resolution. The arguments include the fact that the internet and social media can provoke a negative effect or influence, especially in front of a young public, therefore needing to do everything possible to protect their citizens.
However, some countries questioned these arguments with amendments, to add to and develop the motion. For instance, Korea added the amendment “and banning comments from social media that promote suicide/self-harm/eating disorder”, believing that the comments on the posts generally have more effect than the posted information, therefore it is important to ban the comments first to prevent hurting victims, then pursue the people commenting. While many countries agreed with this amendment, others such as Colombia disagreed, implying that IT cannot prevent all of the comments and that this process might not be a priority for all countries.
Following Korea’s stand, Iran took the floor proposing the amendment “Campaigns about the influence of social media on mental health and what can be shared or not on these media is strongly recommended to limit the risk of violent content. Countries need to do more campaigns, spread awareness”, believing that pursuing the negative comments on posts is not enough. Several countries argued in favor of this amendment, affirming the significance of spreading awareness and reminding the public of the importance of these delicate subjects.
After debating in depth on this topic, the House approved the final motion:
“This House calls for all member states to pursue corporations that host violent content, to ban comments from social media that promote suicide/self-harm/eating disorder and to install campaigns about the influence of social media on mental health and what can be shared or not on these medias is strongly recommended to limit the risk of violent content.”
Shortly after, the house moved to voting procedures. Due to an overwhelming majority, the motion was passed.
This concludes as one of the many influential debates concerning the cyberworld in the WHO committee and the entirety of the numerous committees presented during the conference. Overall, at the ILYMUN conference, by engaging students in tackling various issues, by attempting to find potential solutions and taking action, we will gradually make a difference.
