Amendments to the Development Policy:

I really liked the set up of the simulation on Friday. The movies were funny but informative and it was effective to have the groups answer questions right after showing their movie. It was difficult to address the multiple topics needed to be discussed regarding a development plan in only five minutes. Therefore, answering questions directly after the movie allowed for more clarification and additional information to be shared.

I want to elaborate on my group's stance on the proposed amendment. First of all, I understand this is a project where people are supposed to be looking out for what's best for their country or corporation, but including human rights in a development plan just seems humane. When developing a nation one of the main purposes, all business and money making aside, is to improve the lives of the citizens of that country. How can we do that without including human rights in the proposal? In response to what India said, by proposing this amendment my group is not trying to FORCE gender equality on other countries. We are "promoting it"; allowing that option for the nation and helping them work towards it. We understand that this process could take time. As far as environmental standards go, these would be put in place to ensure that big companies don't come in and industrialize a nation to the point where their land becomes wasteland. Also, this is connected to human rights because it can ensure cleaner drinking water and breathable air for the people. I think labor standards can only help countries because it gives workers more incentives to be productive. For example, farmers in Venezuela will be more willing to produce quality crops if they know they are not going to be oppressed for it.

I have a feeling that if we had motioned to vote for this proposal on Friday it would have been voted into the development proposal. Although, it will be interesting to see where the discussion can take this amendment and who votes in favor of it in the end...