Professional Documents
Culture Documents
UNITED
IN
DIVERSITY
DREAM OR
REAL ITY
WELCOME LETTER
Welcome delegates to the ECOSOC Committee of VYMUN 2016!
This years committee takes into consideration two of the most pressing
issues on the international stage: informal settlements and drug control.
The first topic of this year's committee focuses on the question of
securing socio-economic and cultural rights for population groups that are
currently living in different forms of informal settlements. According to
UN-Habitat, by 2050, more than two-thirds of the world population will be
living in urban areas/cities. As the influx of people into urban areas increases, the capacity of these areas to provide urban dwellers with basic necessities such as housing, basic sanitation, water, nutrition, education,.. is
diminished. Therefore, the number of slum dwellers and those living in
other forms of informal settlements has not only increased, but those living
in informal settlements are also stripped of basic human rights. This topic is,
therefore, of high importance to stabilizing the socio-economic situation
both regionally and internationally.
The second topic takes international drug control mechanisms into
consideration. Even though past treaties, programs and bureaucracies have
achieved commendable results in the combat against illicit drug manufacture, distribution and trade both on the regional and international level, the
global fight against drugs has shown signs of regressions into stagnancy.
To exacerbate the situation, illicit drug trade has been increasingly utilized
by terrorist and extremist groups as a means of financing their operations,
making drugs a malady not only to public health but also international
peace and security.
We welcome you to this year's conference, hoping that all delegates
will garner extensive knowledge and experience of not only Model United
Nations, the United Nations itself, but also of current affairs that are pertinent to the wellbeing of citizens all over the globe.
CHAIR INTRODUCTION
Hello delegates! I am Vu Son Tung, and I have just finished my
freshman year at Vassar College with intended majors of International Studies and Economics. Having been involved in Model UN
since 2014, I have had experiences both as a delegate and as a
committee chair. VYMUN 2016, however, is the first conference in
which I have the chance to prepare the background guide for delegates, directly engaging myself with the materials and the topics
being discussed. I welcome you to VYMUN 2016 - ECOSOC Committee, and I hope that you all will have an intellectually engaging
and fun experience with our committee.
Hi. My name is Nguyen Tien Thanh and I just finished my senior
year at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School, specializing in English.
My background in MUN is perhaps among the humblest here.
Having gone to 2 conferences and chaired at 1, I still feel challenged by the prospect of acting as a co-chair at VYMUN 2016.
With specific regard to this conference, after learning about
VYMUN 2014 a few days too late and wistfully looking on as
VYMUN 2015 passed by since I was abroad at the time, I seriously
cannot wait for VYMUN 2016, unlike you. No, it's actually because
we have to prepare for a lot of stuff so that you all have the most
enriching and fun experience. Welcome to ECOSOC.
First and foremost, I would like to send my warmest of welcomes
to all of you delegates. Secondly, lets talk about one of my favorite
topics: Me. My name is Le Thanh Trung (however, you can call
me John) whichever you prefer, although you have to call me Chair
whenever we are in session, of course. Im a student at HUS High
School for Gifted Students, a Chemistry major, currently in grade
10. I have been both the delegates and chairs of numerous MUN
conferences, however every conference was so different that it
helped create a lot of memories. Therefore, I hope the streak still
continues, meaning I entrust all of you in the quest of creating
heated debates, a joyful experience and a memorable time.
ABBREVIATIONS
ATS
Amphetamine-Type Stimulants
CND
CRPD
CRC
ECOSOC
FARC
Habitat I
Habitat II
Habitat III
ICERD
ICESCR
MDG
PWID
SGD
UN
United Nations
UNODC
UNGASS
COMMITEE OVERVIEW
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the
principal organs of the United Nations (UN), responsible for coordinating the
economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, their functional commissions and five regional commissions. The council is at the heart
of the UN system, charged with the advance of the three dimensions of sustainable development: Economic, Social as the name stated, as well as Humanitarian and Cultural. Being the central platform to the UN system,
ECOSOC is the council that fosters substantive debate and innovative thinking, forging international consensus on ways forward, and coordinating
efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals.
HISTORY
Alike the other main organs of the UN, ECOSOC was established in
1946. However, the system consisting of 54 Member States as it is right now
has varied greatly in time. Initially, the council was established with 18
Member States. Then, membership expanded from 18 to 27 in 1965 and
again to 54 members in 1973.
Due to the complex nature in of the governance of the multilateral
system, thus the limited the capacity of the ECOSOC to influence international policies in trade, finance and investment, there has been numerous
reform proposals aim to enhance the relevance and contribution of the council. One of the major reforms was based on the proposals submitted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and was subsequently approved by the 2005
World Summit. The Summit aimed to establish the ECOSOC as a quality
platform for high-level engagement among Member States, international
financial institutions, the private sector and civil society on global trends, policies and action. With its high-level segment responsible for reviewing trends
in international development cooperation and promote greater coherence in
development activities, the Council was to hold biennial high-level Development Cooperation Forums at the national-leadership level. Additionally, it
was also assigned to hold annual ministerial-level substantive reviews to
assess progress in achieving internationally agreed development goals, particularly the expired Millennium Development Goals and the recently adopted
Sustainable Development Goals.
MANDATE
Being one of the six main organs of the UN, ECOSOC follows the purposes and principles of the UN, which was established in the first chapter of
the UN Charter 1945. Accordingly, the Council serves to foster international
cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural,
or humanitarian character, and promoting and encouraging respect for human
rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex,
language, or religion. Unlike its twin the Security Council ECOSOC enjoys
little authority in international policymaking. However, the Council is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations
on aforementioned fields, as well as for implementation of the internationally
agreed development goals; it has also been strengthening its working methods, giving special attention to the integrated and coordinated implementation
of, and follow-up to, the outcomes of all major UN conferences summits.
MEMBERSHIP
The Council has 54 member states out of the 193 UN Member States,
which are elected by the UN General Assembly for overlapping three-year
terms. Seats on the Council are based on geographical representation with 18
allocated to African states, 13 to Asian states, 8 to East European states, 13
to Latin American and Caribbean states and 13 to West European and other
states. Since 2010, all five permanent members of the Security Council have
been continuously reelected because they provide funding for a large share of
the budget of ECOSOC, which is the largest of any UN subsidiary body. Decisions are taken by simple majority vote. The presidency of ECOSOC changes
annually.
Annually, the programmatic cycle of ECOSOC includes the high-Level Segment, the Integration Segment, Operational Activities for Development Segment, the Youth Forum and the Partnership Forum. Additionally, there are Coordination and Management Meetings (CMM) held throughout the year, as well
as the Humanitarian Affairs Segment, taking place in alternate years.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ECOSOC, the UN Charter, Chapter X, 1945, art. 61 - 66;
ECOSOC, ECOSOC at a Glance, ECOSOC Background Information;
ECOSOC, Wiki Gender, United Nations Economic and Social Council;
Encyclopdia Britannica, Economic and Social Council,
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Economic-and-Social-Council
ECOSOC, ECOSOC-70: Taking Action to Improve Lives, 2016;
ECOSOC, United Nations Elections, Economic & Social Council, 2011.
ECOSOC, United Nations Economic & Social Council, Subsidiary Bodies of
ECOSOC, 2011.
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CURRENT SITUATION
Despite aforementioned achievements, the global situation on combating the illegal production, use and trafficking of drugs has been stagnant,
showing no signs of improvements in the last three-year period, thereby continuing to pose challenges that need to be addressed to the international drug
control system. In addition, health consequences of illegal drug use emerge as
a major global concern, as approximately 10 percent of drug users (an equivalent of 27 million people) are problem drug users, suffering from drug dependence and drug use disorders. To further exacerbate the situation, the majority
of problem drug users continue to have no access to treatment due to the lack
of infrastructure and shortfall in the provision of services. A joint study conducted by the World Health Organization/UNAIDS/the World Bank/ UNODC finds
that the 2013 global estimate of People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) is 12.9 million, corresponding to 0.26 per cent of the adult population aged 15-64. This
large proportion of global drug users, more alarmingly, are prone to the high
risk of HIV infections. Indeed, PWID account for more than 30 per cent of new
HIV infections. Moreover, the annual number of drug-related deaths remains
unchanged (estimated at 187,100 in 2013).
While the global use of opioids and opiates has remained stable, with
the former having 32.4 million users and the latter 16.5 million users worldwide, the opium poppy cultivation and production have soared to 7,554 tons
in 2014, reaching a historical height since the 1930s. Similarly, drug trafficking
has shown signs of evolution. Although the locations in which drug cultivation
and manufacture take place have experienced little change, drug trafficking
routes have been in a constant state of flux, as exemplified in the diversification
of drug routes or the advent of new smuggling platforms. Seizure of these substances, on the other hand, has declined by 6.4 per cent from 2012 to 2013,
signaling inefficiency in the drug supervision and control. Therefore, the objective of eliminating or reducing significantly the illicit cultivation of the coca
bush, the cannabis plant and the opium poppy by the year 2008 delineated in
the 1998 UNGASS, has not been achieved. In addition, it is obvious that the
primary goal of the three pillar conventions, which is to restrict the use of psychoactive substances to medical use only has not been achieved.
The UNODC has also launched drug user-centric initiatives that seek to
battle against illicit drug trafficking and drug trade from the demand side. These
programs target all relevant sectors of any communities, providing families,
schools and working places with treatment, information and education regarding
the prevention of substance use. Of all active programs, TREATNET has been a
longstanding program with a commitment to health-centered and community-based treatment of drug dependence. TREATNET was launched in 2005 and
is currently operating in 27 countries spreading over five regions all over the world.
Similarly, the UN has also been active in addressing the linkage between
illicit drug trafficking and the financing of terrorism. The UN General Assembly
spearheaded this effort by adopting the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, prohibiting state sponsorship of terrorism as
well as requesting Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that all
criminal acts within the framework of the Convention are held liable. Similarly, the
UN Security Council has also been an important contributor, having passed resolutions pertaining to the suppression of the financing of terrorism such as resolutions S/RES/1373 (2001) and S/RES/1566 (2004).
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Although the international drug control system has have made certain
achievements in the global combat against drugs, it has given rise to five unintended consequences. The first consequence is the aforementioned diversification of smuggling routes and the advent of black markets such as the deep web.
The second consequence called policy displacement, arises as the two aspects
of the fight against drugs, namely law enforcement and public health, compete
with each other for resources. The third unintended consequence is the geographical displacement of drug production, meaning that successfully controlling
drug issues in one region will inadvertently cause the issue to increase in another
region, as exemplified by the emergence of the Golden Triangle after the successful containment of the Chinese drug epidemic in the 20th century. The fourth consequence is substance displacement the phenomenon describing drug users
switching to other psychoactive substances once their commonly used ones have
been contained. The last unintended consequence is the perception of drug use
of governments and policymakers, failing to create an inclusive social system for
drug users, thereby further denying drug users of treatment and rehabilitation.
Therefore, given the aforementioned challenges and also failures of the international community in achieving some of its goals, a few areas of concern remain:
(1) improving public health, (2) reducing drug supply and demand, and (3) minimizing drug-related crimes.
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The UNODC has pointed out that progress in the global combat against
drugs can be achieved if at least three objectives are realized: (1) the reaffirmation
of basic principles in the fight against drugs, (2) the improvement and strengthening of the drug control system, and (3) the containment and eradication of the
aforementioned unintended consequences.
As the combat against international drug use and trafficking showed signs
of regressing into stagnance, the international community has been having discussions on potential changes for the improvement of the international drug control framework. The first consideration is the Alternative Development (AD) strategy, which aims at addressing the question of drug control from the supply side.
AD has been recognized by the UN as one of the comprehensive approaches to
the elimination of illicit narcotic crops. AD is intended to provide and promote
lawful, socio-economically sustainable options for communities and population
groups that have resorted to growing illicit narcotic crops as their only livelihood.
Previous experiences showed that the success of AD projects is situation-specific, and that there was hardly any template applicable to all cases. However, with
the adoption of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development
in 2014, the UN as well as the international community has made a great stride in
utilizing AD as a tool to improve international drug control mechanism through the
supply side.
The second consideration is the decriminalization of drug use, which seeks
to remove prosecutions and penalties related to the consumption of drugs. This
alternative is based is on the argument that the current global control mechanism
under the war on drugs framework has failed, posing devastating economic and
social consequences, and thus, a paradigm shift to one that treats drug users as
matters of public health rather than criminals would allow better communication,
prevention and treatment, thereby reducing net drug consumption. Opponents of
decriminalization, on the other hand, claim that this method is counter-productive,
since it would provide everyone with percussions-free access to drugs, thereby
increasing the number of drug users and drug-related crimes.
The third consideration in the discussions is the improvement of the international monitoring system. The Joint Ministerial Statement of 2014 identifies the
deficiency in the monitoring and interdiction of drug-related criminal organizations
mechanism on both the national and international scale. Therefore, the proposal
of an international monitoring system that allows for timely exchange of information as well as enhanced cooperation of law enforcements has received much
attention in the recent years.
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FURTHER RESEARCH
In order to craft policies that hold the potential to effectively address
drug-related challenges facing the UN and the international community, delegates should consider these following questions prior to the upcoming sessions
of ECOSOC: Does your represented State belong to one of the main manufacturing locations/trafficking routes of drugs? If yes, how can the international framework address these issues without infringing upon your internal affairs and self-determination? If no, what can your represented State and the international community contribute to the battle against illicit drug trafficking? What should the role of
other stakeholders, such as Civil Society Organization (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), be in this combat against the global drug problem?
Should the de-criminalization of drug use be realized? What should be taken into
account should such a paradigm shift be implemented? How the regulation on
drug-related crimes can be improved, and how the international cooperation on
the issue be enhanced? Have the international reporting and information sharing
been effective? How should the international reporting and monitoring mechanism
be improved, given the situation that some Member States do not even have an
adequate ones themselves? Has AD been an effective strategy? What can be
done improve AD programs? What can be done to weaken the inter-linkage
between illicit drug trade and terrorism?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2015 World Drug Report
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2011 World Drug Report
- Olayemi Jacob Ogunniyi and Bonifacio Aderemi Britto, Historical Perspective of International Efforts at Eradicating Illicit Drug Trade and Abuse (European Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 2 No. 3, 2014)
- UN ECOSOC, Resolution E/RES/9(1) On the Establishment of a Commission on Narcotic Drugs, 1946
- UN ECOSOC, Resolution E/RES/1999/30 - Review of the United Nations International Drug Control
Programme: Strengthening the United Nations Machinery for International Drug control within the Scope of
the Existing International Drug Control Treaties and in Accordance with the Basic Principles of the Charter of
the United Nations, July 28th, 1999
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, A Century of International Drug Control, 2008
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Status of Treaty Adherence Single Convention on Narcotic
Drugs, 2007
- United Nations - Department on Public Information, Uncivil Society: Crime, Illicit Drugs and Terrorism, 2004
- United Nations General Assembly, Third Committee, A/70/491: International Drug Control - Report of the
Third Committee, December 2nd, 2015
- Global Commision on Drug Policy, Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, June 2011
- Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, Drugs and Democracy: Towards a Paradigm Shift,
2010
- Drug Watch International, Against the Legalization or Decriminalization of Drugs,
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Joint Ministerial Statement: 2014 High-Level Review by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the Implementation by Member States of the Political Declaration and Plan of
Action on International Cooperation Towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug
Problem, March 2014.
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Society Organizations (CSOs); it also calls for the need to strengthen regional
as well as international cooperation in protecting universal human rights,
including the right to adequate shelter for all, by comprehensively addressing
unsustainable consumption and production patterns as well as unsustainable
population changes, determining that priority should be devoted to homelessness, unemployment, social exclusion and lack of adequate planning.
According to UN-Habitat, informal settlements are defined as the residential areas where: 1) inhabitants have no security of tenure towards the land
they inhabit, with modifies ranging from squatting to informal rental housing, 2)
the neighborhoods are usually lack of basic services and city infrastructures, 3)
the housing may not comply with current planning and building regulations,
and is often located in geographically and environmentally hazardous regions.
Often having poor sanitation, limited access to health service, substandard
food storage facilities and drinking water quality, inhabitants living in informal
settlements face with high range of pathogens. Basic cooking and heating
facilities also pose an excessive risk of explosion and indoor pollution. The
complex nature of these regions incorporates with numerous social problems
overcrowding, drugs and violence to name a few.
Ensuring economic, social and cultural rights for residents of informal
settlements is an important goal discussed in the first ever Integration Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, focusing on Sustainable Urbanization. It also goes in line with the Sustainable Development Goals
adopted by the UN in 2015. To achieve this goal, Member States of ECOSOC
need to address obstacles to ensuring the rights for residents of informal settlements by incorporating all economic, social and environmental dimensions
and their inter-linkages.
CURRENT SITUATION
The UN estimates that by 2030, approximately 70 percent of the world
population of the world will be living in cities, making urban areas the dominant
form of habitat for mankind. As the influx of people into urban areas increases,
the capacity of these areas to provide urban dwellers with basic necessities
such as housing, basic sanitation, water, nutrition, education,... is diminished.
A large number of those living in informal settlements are low-income,
common laborers or workers working in informal sectors. As the number of
urban dwellers increased, those living in slums and informal settlements find
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QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Previous to the 1980s, most governments approach to solving the
problem of informal settlements are either negligence, which assumes that
informal settlements are inevitable but temporary phenomena; eviction, meaning removal of such settlements due to the fact that the lands they were built
on had been illegally acquired; or resettlement, meaning uprooting and
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FURTHER RESEARCH
Delegates are advised to research on the current situation of informal
settlements in their respective countries, as well as actions that they have
taken on an international level. Suggested questions for research are: How
extensive is the problem of informal settlements/slums/shanty towns in your
country? Has the problem been on the rise lately? If yes, what countermeasures have your country taken against the rise of informal settlements? If no,
what solutions have proven effective? How can the participation of slum-dwelling communities, commitment of the government, and knowledge-sharing of
international experts be motivated and sustained? Is self-help enough, or
should government play bigger roles in providing dwellers with adequate housing and facilities? What should the role of local authorities, NGOs and CSOs,
and the private sector be in addressing informal settlements? How can the
problem of unclear ownership and organized land acquisition be solved?
Should the international community adopt a universal approach to solving
informal settlements, or should they be treated on a case-by-case basis?
Should land tenure regulation be put in the hand of the central government,
local agencies, or non-governmental, civic society, and international organizations? Who stand to gain or lose the most from the status quo, or a change to
the status quo?
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
- The United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.
- The United Nations, Resolution A/RES/47/180, December 22nd, 1992.
- The United Nations, The Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements, 1996.
- ECOSOC, ECOSOC 2014 Integration Segment
http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/integration/pdf/programme.pdf, Accessed April 13, 2016.
- UN-Habitat, State of the Worlds Cities 2012/2013: Prosperity of Cities, 2013.
- UN Economic and Social Council, 2014 Integration Segment: Sustainable Urbanization, May 29th, 2014.
- The United Nations General Assembly, Resolution A/RES/66/207: Implementation of the Outcome of the
United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and Strengthening of the United Nations
Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), March 14th 2012.
- Citiscope, What is the New Urban Agenda:
http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/explainer/2015/06/what-new-urban-agenda, Accessed June 15, 2016.
- The United Nations, Pretoria Declaration for Habitat III, April 8th, 2016.
- United Nations Human Settlements Programme. (2003). The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human
Settlements. Earthscan Publications Ltd.
- United Nations Human Settlements Programme. (2010). State of the World's Cities 2010/2011 - Cities for
All: Bridging the Urban Divide. UN-Habitat.
- Turner, J. F., & Fichter, R. (1972). Freedom to build; dweller control of the housing process. New York: Macmillan.
- UNISDR. (2011). Global Report on Human Settlements 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2016, from http://www.unisdr.org/files/2585_2432alt1.pdf.
- Midheme, E. (2007). State Vs Community-led Land Tenure Regularization in Tanzania. M. Sc Dissertation,
International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation,(ITC), Enschede, the Netherlands,
Retrieved June 16, 2016, from http://www.itc.nl/library/papers_2007/msc/upla/midheme.pdf.
- United Nations Human Settlements Programme. (2003). The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human
Settlements. Earthscan Publications Ltd.
- Werlin, H. (1999). The Slum Upgrading Myth. Urban Studies, 36(9), 1523-1534.
- Tshikotshi, V. (2010). The Challenges of Eradicating Informal Settlements in South Africa by 2014: the Case
of Seraleng, Rustenburg Local Municipality, North West Province.
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