United Nations Human Rights Council
Introduction
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental organ of the United Nations responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights globally, aiming to ensure a global standard of basic human rights enjoyed by all. It is made up of 47 States and has the jurisdiction to deliberate upon all thematic issues pertaining to human rights and their violation, meeting thrice a year in the Geneva headquarters. It can exercise its powers through The Universal Periodic Review system, the UNHRC Advisory Committee and the Complain Procedure.
Agenda
Advancements in modern medicines have enabled the transfer of living organs from the “donor” to the “recipient” patient. Such surgical transfer of organs is responsible for saving thousands of lives globally, however, the current organ transfer system has many flaws. The most notable flaw is that patients often have to wait multiple years before they can receive the required organ, and the number of people entering the waiting list for organs far exceeds the number of organs available. Thus, demand heavily outweighs supply creating a large market for illicitly obtained organs to fill in the large supply backlog.
Little action has been taken to prevent this billion-dollar industry from growing, partly due to the complex transnational nature of organ trafficking, and the financial and international policy loopholes that facilitate such trade.
The United Nations Human Rights Council will be expected to deliberate upon solutions to this compounding problem, searching for innovative and wholistic solutions to the various types of organ trade, but also prepare a list of measures for the WHO to meet the growing demand for organ transplants. Since this is a conventional committee, it will be concluded with a draft resolution, however, with constant action in the form of crisis updates, delegates will be required to think on their feet and prepare action plans in the form of directives and press releases.