LOCAL NEWS:

UMBC's Model UN To Debate International Community's Role in Preventing Genocide

The Workshop will join high school and college students in a simulation of international proportion to debate and explore the international community's role in the prevention of genocide. The workshop will feature two instructional sessions, a luncheon lecture on the prevention of genocide and a five-hour simulation of the General Assembly Plenary Committee. The topic of the international community's role in the prevention of and response to genocide will be the prevailing discussion before the simulation.

"By combining both groups, students are presented with a unique collaborative environment to share tips and experiences with fellow Model UNers," said Jennifer Searfoss Miller, chair of the Model United Nations Foundation, in a prepared statement to the press.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, where, over the period of 100 days, more than half a million people lost their lives in a bloody conflict between two ethnic groups. Speaking at the event on the role of the international community in the prevention and response to genocide will be Ms. Hadar Harris, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of the American University Washington College of Law. She will address the workshop at noon and speak on how countries can and should become involved in conflicts that may result in genocide.

Participating high schools include the Academy of the Holy Cross, Kensington; McDonogh School, Owings Mills; and North Harford High School, Pylesville. Also, DC public schools will participate as part of a delegation from the DC Global Classrooms program.