This issue involves the rights, health, and well-being of transgender youth, a

vulnerable group facing unique development challenges. It is UNICEF’s responsibility to

ensure that these children have a voice and receive adequate protection during their transition

process, as the decisions and procedures involved have a profound impact on their identity,

physical and mental health, and social integration.

Transgender people make this tough decision for several reasons, the first of these is

that even at a young age they feel they were born with the wrong gender, one of the cases

that show it is "It was then that his mother, Kerry McFadyen, realized that Daniel was,

definitely, Danni, born with the wrong sex." (BBC, 2016) This minor questioned the reason

for his gender and has tried 3 times to cut his penis with scissors. The second reason is

gender dysphoria which refers to “A strong desire of having the sex characteristics of the

other gender” (Olson-Kennedy,2019), which means that some minors may want to have

some of the characteristics of the other genre. The third reason is related to “A strong desire

to be treated as the other gender” (Olson-Kennedy,2019), this happens because transgender

people do not feel appropriate to be treated for their gender of birth, also has to do with

transgender people wanting to have pronouns.

 In order to continue talking about this problem, we must remember that the objective

of our commission is “protecting children’s rights in more than 190 countries and territories

around the world” (UNICEF, n.d.). It is a non-political and impartial organism whose

mission is to “save children's lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their

potential, from early childhood through adolescence” (UNICEF, n.d.). Let us also remember

that we fear principles "The first is Child Protection which refers to all children must develop

in a safe and inclusive environment regardless of their age, gender, and physical disabilities.

The second is Child survival, which refers to UNICEF, tackles all factors related to the

increase in child mortality. The third is Education, which refers to the organization focusing

on guaranteeing education for all children, including those in emergencies. The fourth is

UNICEF in emergencies, which is key to managing the negative impacts of emergencies in

children like disease, malnutrition, and violence. The fifth is social policy, which this

objective refers to the equitable chances of life for all children, in other words, preventing

child poverty and tackling the consequences of wars and natural disasters. The sixth is

gender, meaning that girls and women have the right to participate in political, social, and

economic scopes. The seventh is Innovation for Children which refers to UNICEF’s “Office

of Innovation” and other collaborators are in charge of developing and implementing

innovative solutions for current children’s issues and crises. The eighth is supply and

logistics which refers to Children affected by various global receiving emergency supplies

like vaccines, medicines, personal hygiene kits, clean water, nutrition, and temporal

education spaces. Last but not least is Research, evidence, and analysis which refers to

developing pertinent plans and programs, UNICEF researches and analyzes in-depth

children’s current situation” (UNICEF, n.d.)

 These situations are relevant to discuss in the commission because these situations

that children go through can affect them physically and mentally, and it is important to

remember that the goal of Unicef is that all children can grow and move in a healthy and fair

environment. And if we find solutions to this situation, we will not only help the Cambodian

delegation but also thousands of children from other countries.

The position of the Cambodian delegation on the problem is relatively in favor

because, although it has not taken measures such as laws to prevent discrimination against

LGBTQ communities and transgender people, neither it has declared it illegal to belong to

any of these communities or to prove that it is against these situations.

This problem affects the Cambodian delegation because citizens are affected, the first

reason is unemployment since there are some people or companies that do not agree with

transgender people, and this would cause them not to provide work. The second reason is for

possible deaths because if during surgery there are difficulties, the patient could die. The

third reason is related to psychology as they may suffer various types of mocking or

discrimination.

With the above information, we can have a greater understanding of why it is

completely important to address and solve this problem in committee, recalling that it is

essential to guarantee respect for their rights and the existence of protection mechanisms

because these young people face risks of discrimination, harassment, and violence. In

addition, the gender transition process involves significant physical and mental challenges,

so the commission must guarantee their access to comprehensive health services. Also with

the above information we can understand why the Cambodian delegation is involved in this

problem, but before we begin we have to remember that the delegation of Cambodia is not
completely involved historically because it has not taken positive or negative measures, but

they still protect and support them because after all they protect the rights of any human

being despite any decision taken there, and are planning to start formally protecting LGBT

communities. The second is related to economics since discrimination against companies or

individuals could cause transgender people to be unemployed. Politically, the Cambodian

delegation might have difficulty in creating treaties or doing economic business with

countries that were against such situations. The last one is related to geography because cities

are affected. After all, citizens who present these situations can be directly affected.

We can re-emphasize that the position of Cambodia in the face of the problem

presented, which is in favor of youth consent for transgender procedures, even though it has

not taken drastic measures, we first show it considering that "the law does not recognize

LGBT people and is silent on discrimination against LGBT people" (Human Rights, 2014),

this shows that they have not taken the necessary measures. The second argument is that "but

same-sex partners are not prohibited from adopting children." (Human Rights, 2014) shows

that transgender people have the right to adopt a child like any other human being in

Cambodia. The third argument is very important already been reported that "Cambodia is

poised to make strides towards the full social integration of gay, bisexual, and transgender

(LGBT) people, protecting them from violence and discrimination" (The United Nations

Office at Geneva, 2023) this is very important as it shows that the Cambodian delegation is

already initiating procedures to protect these communities. The fourth and possibly most

important argument is that it was reported that “Recognizing the need to bridge the

healthcare gap and build trust within the LGBTQ+ community over time, the Reproductive

Health Association of Cambodia (RHAC), an IPPF Member Association, rises to the

challenges. Under the RESPOND project, RHAC takes a proactive stance in dismantling

stigma and improving access to clinical services for the LGBTQ+ community, especially

transgender individuals in Battambang. Their multi-faceted approach encompasses

education, advocacy, counseling, and specialized care” (IPPF, 2023), this is the most

important argument because it shows that the delegation of Cambodia understands how these

communities can be affected and is taking the necessary measures to stop discrimination,

even they are already planning a project.

Thailand and China, which have come a long way in protecting the rights of

transgender people, would be countries that could become economic allies of Cambodia,

China has a great economy "The Chinese economic growth of the last ten years is largely due

to investment and not so much to its exports"(BBC, 2015), this economy would help

unemployment by discrimination in Cambodia. Italy and the United States are recognized for

their commitment to human rights and gender equality. In the case of Italy, they have a law in

which they recognize their gender change "develop fast, transparent and accessible

procedures, based on self-determination, to change both the name and the registered sex of

trans persons in their birth certificates, identity documents, passports, academic certificates,

and other similar documents".(Newtral, 2021) , these countries have policies and laws that

can help Cambodia promote consent for young people who want to be subject to transgender

procedures.

It is important to state two solutions that could have great results against youth

consent for transgender procedures, the first solution would be to increase the areas of

physiology since many of the people who are subject to transgender processes are affected by

discrimination by other citizens. The second solution would be to create campaigns against
discrimination against transgender people to normalize transgender people since they can go

so far as to kill transgender people. “Transgender Europe reported in 2012 that 1083

transgender people became victims of homicide from 2008 to 2012.” (Human Rights, 2014).

These solutions are completely viable to have great results, not only results in Cambodia but

also in other delegations that present this problem, and in this way the minors who submit to

these processes to all delegations can live a fair and normal life so that all children have the

same possibilities.

The solutions can be implemented since the Cambodian delegation has the minimum

resources to be able to elaborate on these solutions, because if we take into account, that

agriculture is able to support 85% of Cambodians living in the countryside, and the part of

agriculture that is possibly the main source is fishing, as Cambodia is connected to the Gulf

of Thailand. It is also important to consider that when the problem is solved, Cambodia will

have several economic advantages due to tourism and politicians, since they will have a

better international image. If additional resources were needed, the Cambodian delegation

would ask its allies for resources; if the allies provided resources, the solutions would have a

greater impact on the problem.