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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, March 20, 2013 | 10 Students get a first-hand lesson in diplomacy by Dominik Kurek Oakville Beaver Staff After a 20-year international career as a human rights officer -- including three missions with the United Nations (UN) -- Canadian Jasteena Dhillon has seen and learned much of the world. Earlier this month, Dhillon visited Rotherglen School on Neyagawa Boulevard. Dhillon was there to give students on the Model United Nations (MUN) committee a firsthand lesson on the workings of the UN and a leg up before they head off to the annual MUN conference being hosted at Appleby College April 6. "The UN is very complex," said Dhillon after speaking with the students. "The most important thing I wanted them to know is everything you say, and everything anyone else in the United Nations context thinks you're saying, or how they perceive you, is so important." In her career, Dhillon has championed women's rights and worked all over the world on human rights and legal development issues in regions in crisis, helping create stability. Her three missions representing the UN were in Iraq, Afghanistan and the occupied territories of Palestine. Dhillon spoke to students about some of her international work and then observed the school's Model United Nations mock confer- A 20-year international career as a human rights officer -- that has included a trio of missions with the United Nations -- Canadian Jasteena Dhillon visited Rotherglen School to give students on the Model United Nations (MUN) committee a firsthand lesson on the workings of the UN. photo by Nikki Wesley ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) ence, where students represented various countries of the UN, speaking about the issue of sexual assault in India. Dhillon advised the students that at the UN, every word has to be chosen very carefully and a speaker must be diplomatic. "They're under that pressure of time and your online source for FREE online coupons when you buy any two flatbreads Save $2 precision and they also have to be very culturally sensitive," she explained of UN representatives. A person representing a nation at the UN, is bound to speak the opinion of their nation, and not a personal opinion. "That was a great debate on violence in a particular country where people found it difficult to say things about violence and make judgments," she said after the mock session. "Syria (as portrayed by students) went on and on about that and they themselves have a lot of violence in their own culture. That happens." Dhillon also wanted the students to know that the UN must choose issues it can solve, which is difficult for it to do, because member states generally choose to handle their problems internally. "It's difficult to decide which issue is for the UN and which is an internal issue because the core member of the United Nations is the state. Most states want to deal with their issues internally. They don't want the extra scrutiny," Dhillon said. "We can't intervene unless they invite us... or we get a Security Council resolution. There are only two ways to go about it," she said. This `teacher' was there Grade 9 student Cameron Lutzko said he learned a lot during Dhillon's presentation, including the inner workings of the UN, a day in the life of a UN officer, the organization's history and more. Learning it from Dhillon provided students something they could never get from a book or the Internet. "It's a firsthand experience rather than reading something online or hearing it. You're hearing it from someone who's actually been there," said Grade 9 student Ryan Neate. "She's a lot better at explaining it and gives you a better understanding," said Grade 9 stu- Most states want to deal with their issues internally. They don' t want the extra scrutiny. We can't intervene unless they invite us... or we get a Security Council resolution. There are only two ways to go about it. Jasteena Dhillon Get your coupon at www.save.ca While supplies last. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/savedotca is a division of dent Madison McNevitts. "Even though I've been in Model United Nations for a couple years, I heard a lot of different things that I didn't know," McNevitts told the Oakville Beaver.