Topic: Workplace Sexual Harassment
Country: Netherlands
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Netherlands position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
Hello fellow delegates. Sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment has plagues organization and industries all over the world for as long as women have worked in male dominated sectors. United Nation supported organizations do not protect their workers to the extent they need to. The occurrences involving the Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) shows that sexual harassment in UN organizations remains an unsolved crippling problem. As our prime minister Mr. Mark Rutte eloquently stated during the general assembly of the 73rd session “This kind of misconduct undermines the core principles of UN.” Today we are here to reaffirm that “Sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment committed by people working for Un missions and organizations is unacceptable. In every case and in every place. No exceptions.”
The first step towards eradicating sexual harassment from UN si to realize that the problem is complex. It requires the experience of experts and commitment of resources. In the Netherlands we have experienced sexual harassment in our governmental organizations and have implemented effective solutions based on evidence from research studies. These studies have shown that comprehensive policies are required to curb the frequency of sexual harassment in the workplace. These policies should include:
Establishment of confidential advisors to serve as the contact point where grievances can be directed by the victims. Confidential advisors must be easily approachable through various confidential communication means. “We must make sure that victims feel heard and supported, and that whistle-blowers are protected.”
Active preventive efforts through education of the workforce. These must consist of in person educational sessions such as roleplaying that are conducted by experienced educators. The supervisors and managers should be active in the education process as well as all other employees.
Active promotion of women to leadership position. Sexual harassment is a direct result of inequality in distribution of gender between supervisory and entry level jobs. Therefore, to uproot the problem this problem needs to be eliminated.
To conclude, we propose that there must be an organization that oversees implementing these services into all UN organizations. We propose establishing the UN sexual harassment task force to accomplish the comprehensive policies outlined above across all UN organizations. The Netherlands is committed to the financial support of this task force and we ask other countries such as the United States to join us in the support of these imperative and overdue efforts. Together we can protect the victims and achieve UNs mission “To save and improve lives.”
