Information Supplement Booklet
Dear delegates,
As Director of the General Assembly, I take immense pleasure in inviting you all to the General Assembly of EMUN 2007. This is the second MUN hosted by Ecole Mondiale and the Secretariat is looking forward to this event with anticipation. All of us have put a great deal of effort and enthusiasm into its execution, and I sincerely hope that you will contribute to its success.
Being the only major organ of the UN in which all the members are represented, the General Assembly provides a platform for each member nation to effectively voice its opinions and constructively put forth solutions. This year the topic areas are “Combating illicit drug trade” and “The legalization of stem cell research”. These topics have great potential for healthy and stimulating debate. I hope each delegate will work seriously and cohesively with the rest of the committee. From prior experience, I know that the General Assembly can be one of the most constructive committees and at the same time can also be the most entertaining. You can expect a balance of hard work and of entertainment.
On a more serious note, please make sure you are equipped with your research, and even if you are a first time MUNner please make it a point to speak in committee and contribute to the debate. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to approach or contact me. Lastly, come with a positive attitude to making a difference.
Thanks and I hope to see you soon,
Alisha Shirodkar
Director, General Assembly
Topic Area 1: The Issue of Combating Drug Trafficking
The topic essentially deals with the issue of illicit drug trade and the possible solutions to curb or stop this practice including punishments for drug traffickers. The topic may include strengthening of previously established legislations as well as laying down stricter and more effective laws.
The illegal drug trade is a global black market activity consisting of the production, packaging, distribution, and sale of illegal psychoactive substances. Rich nations consider drug trafficking a very serious problem. Major consumer countries of illegal psychotropic drugs include the United States and European nations, although consumption is world-wide. Major producer countries include Afghanistan (Heroin) and Colombia (primarily Cocaine, but to a rising level Heroin, too). Some estimates place the value of the global trade in illegal drugs at around four hundred billion U.S. dollars in the year 2000. That sum and the trade value of legal drugs, totals to an amount higher than the amount of money spent for food in the U.S.
The 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was established to facilitate confiscation of the proceeds of drug trafficking and to restrict the freedom of movement of drug traffickers. One of its provisions concerns the tracing, freezing and confiscation of income and property derived from drug trafficking. The Convention also contains provisions for the extradition of major drug traffickers, mutual legal assistance between states on drug related investigations, and the transfer of proceedings for criminal prosecution from one jurisdiction to another. In addition to criminalisation of drug trafficking offences, the Convention also underlines the commitment of parties to eliminate or reduce illicit demand for narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. This Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is the international treaty against illicit manufacturing and trafficking of narcotic drugs that forms the bedrock of the global drug control regime. Previous treaties had only controlled opium, coca, and derivatives such as morphine and heroin.
Topic Area 2: The issue of Legalizing Embryonic Stem Cell research.
Stem Cell Research is the latest way of trying to cure a host of diseases ranging from Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s to cancer. Millions of people worldwide suffer from chronic and acute disease, and stem cell research holds the promise to ease the suffering of these people. Medical researchers believe stem cell research has the potential to change the face of human disease by being used to repair specific tissues or to grow organs. But the technology comes with a range of controversies, and the subject is currently highly debated. The harvesting of stem cells for research involves the use of human embryos, a process which has many detractors and critics. The widespread controversy over stem cell research emanates from the techniques and sources used in the harvesting and usage of stem cells. Presently, starting a stem cell 'line' requires the destruction of a human embryo and/or therapeutic cloning. Opponents of the research argue that this practice is tantamount to the usage of a potential human being. Contrarily, many medical researchers argue that it is necessary to pursue embryonic stem cell research because the resultant technologies are expected to have significant medical potential. The ensuing debate has prompted national and international authorities to seek suitable regulatory frameworks and highlighted the fact that stem cell research represents a social and ethical challenge.
The United Nations debate over cloning came to a committee vote last month, but the result appears to have done little to resolve global differences over the ethics of stem cell research.
Some scientists feel that the 2001 ban imposed by President Bush should apply only to the cloning of human beings -- known as "reproductive cloning" -- while letting researchers pursue "therapeutic cloning" studies with enormous potential for treating disease and saving lives.