16 February 2021
In the last year, we have witnessed the making of brutal history. Many of us have spent the last twelve months in varying states of mourning for those we have lost to the pandemic, to brutality and violence, and to the divisive and hateful rhetoric that has found a public home in many of our nation’s leaders. To pretend that the gaps in how we have experienced the last year are not tied to centuries of institutionalised discrimination and systematically crafted barriers is a literal whitewashing of history.
Current events make it impossible to ignore inequalities and discrimination within our communities, and as the home of debate, BarMUN prides itself on providing a platform for constructive debate over issues past, present, and future in a variety of settings. Yet the work does not end with discussion: we must now actively acknowledge and combat the systemic issues which have often made Model UN a hostile environment for Black and Indigenous people of colour, disabled people, religious minorities, women and non-binary people, and the LGBTQ+ community. It is not the job of minority groups to lead us step-by-step through their world and comfort us when we realise how our experiences with the law, with our peers, or with everyday society, differ. Instead, we must examine our internalised biases ourselves, be unafraid to admit our mistakes, and commit to improvement.
Thus, it is the mission of the BarMUN XIV Secretary-General, backed by the rest of the secretariat and staff, to commit BarMUN to fostering a culture of growth, mutual respect, and inclusion. Our objective is to create a future which is safe and sustainable for everyone. This includes taking steps to address the natural power imbalances that occur in the committee room, training our staff to recognise hostile or discriminatory behaviour, and amplifying the voices of historically marginalised groups, particularly women and non-binary people, the LGBTQ+ community, religious minorities, people of colour, and disabled people. Microaggressions and harassive behaviour will not be tolerated at any point before, during, or after the conference, and delegates or staff who persist in inappropriate behaviour of any sort will be reminded of the conference policy against discrimination before further disciplinary action is taken.
For more information, please contact Peyton Coel, our Chief of Staff, at staff@barmun.org, or reach out directly to sg@barmun.org to share your questions and concerns.