SOCHUM

SOCIAL, HUMANITARIAN & CULTURAL COMMITTEE

Topic: Ensuring the Safety and Protection of Journalists

Committee Profile

The Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee is the UN General Assembly’s third (of six) main committee, tasked with advocating for—and the protection of—a broad range of socio-cultural issues, from human rights to social development. SOCHUM is a critical component of the United Nations’ ability to raise public awareness and drive forth mechanisms of change. Globally, journalists play a vital role in both keeping citizens informed and holding powerful actors, whether they are governments, corporations, or others, accountable for their actions. Simultaneously, with over 1,500 journalists being killed in the past two decades—and many more facing harassment, censorship, and imprisonment—the international community must come together and devise new ways to better protect these cornerstones of an informed society and save the voices of those brave enough to seek the truth.

Committee Chair

A young man with tousled hair wearing a black suit and light blue shirt standing in front of textured gray artworks on a light-colored wall.

  • Stanford University

    Daniel van Schewick is a first-year at Stanford University, and is as of yet still deciding on a major. In 2024, he graduated from Henry M. Gunn High School, and has been on a gap year since. Daniel has been participating in Model UN since 8th grade, and began chairing at conferences his junior year. Since then, he's chaired at GMUNC, Saratoga MUN, PacMUN, and SCVMUN. Having attended PacMUN as a delegate his junior and senior year, and returning as a Chair after his graduation, Daniel is excited to once again chair at PacMUN and help create an opportunity for everyone, regardless of skill level, to enjoy all that MUN has to offer. Outside of MUN, Daniel loves reading sci-fi (Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains” is a favorite), lifting weights, and spending time at the beach in Santa Cruz, California.