Topic 1: Responding to food insecurities in Syria (Chair Report)
Food insecurity is defined as a state of being unable to access to the decent amount of nutritious food due to lack of money and other necessary resources. According to the United Nations (UN), currently, in Syria, over 6.5 million people are facing life-threatening food insecurity, and an additional 4 million people are at risk of becoming food insecure if not assisted sufficiently. Due to the eight-years-long crisis in Syria, Syrian refugees are especially vulnerable to worsening food insecurity as they depend only on emergency food assistance. The conflict is caused by three main factors, including a lack of financial and physical access to food, instability, and depletion of livelihood. Therefore, it’s crucial to tackle these three main factors to resolve the issue of food insecurity in Syria.
Topic 2: Eliminating the plastic wastes disposed in ocean (Chair Report)
71% of the Earth is covered in water, that which is essential for life. When plastic waste enters the oceans, it tethers itself onto our life supply. Not only are our (human) lives affected, but the overall environment and the lives of marine plants and animals are damaged as well. Animals can become entrapped in plastic underwater, or ingest it, poisoning themselves with toxic chemicals. But the death doesn’t stop there, often these toxic chemicals get passed along the food chain, as the predator consumes the “poisoned” prey. As a cheap, single-use item, plastic is used a lot and is almost always disposed of immediately after use. Furthermore, plastic is non-biodegradable, this means it takes a very long time for the plastic to decompose, and therefore the effects of one piece of plastic are long-lasting. The aim of this topic is to find solutions to the accumulating plastic pollution in oceans. Astonishingly, less than 14% of plastic packaging is recycled. The lifestyles of people must change in order to benefit society and improve the condition of the oceans for all life on earth.
Topic 3: Declining the financial and sexual exploitation committed by UN peacekeepers (Chair Report)
Throughout the past few decades, a visible shift from interstate to intrastate conflicts has taken place. This is where the vast majority of victims are civilians and the implementation of nonconventional tactics of war has emerged. These methods include sexual violence, such as systematic rape, which is increasing insecurity among civilians in nations. Now known as one of the greatest stains on UN history, is the increasing number of horrific crimes of sexual abuse perpetrators which are not terrorists or militias. Instead, they are UN peacekeepers. They have taken advantage of conflict zones and exploited vulnerable civilians, engaging in sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). It is alarming that the blue helmets, seen as symbols of peace are now seen as a dominating source of insecurity for those that should be protected. Through the statistical analysis, it is evident that SEA is a constant problem within Un peacekeeping, with an average of 50 cases a year since 2010. This is extremely alarming, as only a fraction of cases is reported, due to the victims’ fear of retribution, causing them to feel uncomfortable and scared to seek redress.
Topic 4: Declining human organ trafficking (Chair Report)
Human organ trafficking is a lucrative global trade, holding a critical place with transnational organized crime groups due to high demand and relatively low rates of law enforcement. The trade predominantly involves the movement of people, instead of organs.
Due to a severe shortage of legally sourced organs around the world, organs have become a conventional commodity to be illicitly traded, with the desperation of recipients and vendors being a major cause. With vendors seeking to often times escape poverty or alleviate debt, whilst unless they receive a transplant, the recipients are facing death.Despite both parties breaking the law, neither one fits the image of a typical crime. Instead, it is the brokers and scouts that portray the characteristics of a criminal, striving to profit from the suffering of others.It is estimated that illegal organ trade generates between 840 million and $1.27 billion annually. Global Financial Integrity (GFI) estimates that 10% of all organ transplants are done through trafficked organs. The most illicitly trafficked organs are kidneys, with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating that 10,000 kidneys are traded on the black market worldwide annually.