General Assembly
Chairs: - Claire Mooney (cmoonpi@verizon.net) - Ciara Murphy (cmurphy927@gmail.com)
Topics: - Measures Against International Terrorism - Globalization and Interdependence
Download Chair Letter as: pdf doc
Hi, my name is Claire Mooney, and I’m a junior at Jamesville-DeWitt High School. This is my third year in MUN and my first time chairing. I’m looking forward to a great committee! In case you were wondering, while I’m not involved with MUN I enjoy several pastimes — tennis, badminton, photography, writing and editing for the city and school paper, and spontaneous dance parties, to name a few.
Hi, my name is Ciara Murphy and I’m a senior at Manlius Pebble Hill, and I’ve been doing MUN for five years. This will be my fourth time chairing, and my last MUN conference. When I’m not doing MUN, I enjoy dancing, music, and am involved in our theatre department acting and teching. In the fall, I'm starting school as an International Relations major.
Chairing this committee, we’d like to see the delegates come to the conference well researched and prepared to adhere to their country’s policies, while demonstrating a degree diplomatic finesse in and outside of committee. UNYMUN is a resolution-style conference, and any delegate wishing to be considered for an award in committee must bring a resolution to the conference. They should also bring between 20 and 30 copies of their resolution for everyone on the committee, as there won’t be opportunities at UNYMUN to make copies.
Good luck with your research, and if you have any questions about the GA, the topics, or anything else, our e-mails are cmoonpi@verizon.net and cmurphy927@gmail.com. Please feel free to contact us at any time.
This year we will continue our poster contest, which will be taking entries as your school registers the day of the conference. For more information on the event and rules, please see the Important Information page.
Background
The General Assembly is the central body of the United Nations. The General Assembly is in charge of policy making for and representing the United Nations as a whole. Each year, the General Assembly meets from September to December (and as needed throughout the year), often making decisions that affect international law entirely. Aside from making suggestions on any situation threatening the peace and security of the world when it is not already being handled by the Security Council, GA is responsible for revising the UN Charter, preventing the unfriendly relations between nations, handling the UN budget, appointing non – permanent members to other bodies, and upon the Security Council’s recommendation, appointing the Secretary-General. The most important function of the General Assembly is regulating international peace and security where it is not already being discussed in the Security Council. The General Assembly is looked upon by international leaders as the most important, precedent setting body in the global community.
Measures Against International Terrorism
Unfortunately, terrorism has struck the world countless times in recent history, with thousands dying at the hands of militant rebels in the last year alone. Generally, terrorists commit acts of violence against leaders or groups they consider corrupt and hope to bring attention to their cause or even spark a revolution with their actions. In their opinion, they are fighting for a cause. However, the lives of too many have been the cost of these ideas, and so it is time for the world to take more effective action against these widespread crimes.
One aspect of this problem is that the definition of terrorism must be revised in order to implement a more effective plan of action. In 1992, the United Nations definition of terrorism was decided to be, "An anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby - in contrast to assassination - the direct targets of violence are not the main targets.” But in a December 9, 2008 Security Council meeting, it was agreed that a more clear and current definition was necessary. In light of this, a new definition and related suggestions may be necessary to appropriately address this issue.
In addition, acceptable world plans of action against terrorism must be refined. Many nations are clearly not taking appropriate action towards the terrorist groups in their country, so standards for this should be established which are realistic and helpful to countries dealing with these situations. The December 9 meeting also called for international dialogue and cooperation on terrorism—a method to achieve this should be created as well.
It is quite clear throughout the world that terrorism is increasing in prevalence and that action must be taken to reverse this pattern. The United Nations has addressed this in several resolutions in the past, but as terrorist groups continue their existence and violent methods of challenging authorities, these actions must be enhanced in order to become more effective on a global basis.
Questions to Consider
While writing your position papers, please consider your country’s view on the following:
- How can the United Nations define terrorism?
- What international measures can be taken to prevent acts of terrorism?
- How should previous UN actions be modified to more effectively prevent terrorism?
- What are appropriate actions for a nation to take in dealing with terrorism?
Further Research
-- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/sept_11/changing_faces_01.shtml -- http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sc9524.doc.htm -- http://www.terrorism-research.com/Globalization and Interdependence
Defined by DevelopmentEducation.ie as a process whereby an increased portion of economic or other activity is carried out across national borders, globalization is a relatively modern phenomenon (picking up since the late 1990s) that describes an increasing world-wide integration of markets for goods, services, and capital. The term globalization also encompasses a variety of other changes perceived to occur at about the same time, such as an increased role for large corporations in the world economy and intervention into domestic policies and affairs by international institutions (like the IMF, WTO, and World Bank).
Today is seen as a golden age for businesses, commerce, and trade, as the opportunity to sell as many goods to as many people has never been greater. Not only big companies are involved in this explosion, as instant communications and information have allowed indigenous populations to market goods anywhere in the world. However, it's debatable whether or not this connection to the international market is a help or a hindrance to these economies, most of which are in the process of developing.
Kofi Annan observed in a report presented to the Millennium Summit that the benefits of globalization are not shared equitably, as its costs are being burdened disproportionately on the poor. Little progress has been made in reducing disparities in income and wealth between nations thus far. The challenge before the international community is to maximize the benefits of globalization while minimizing its negative impacts.
Questions to Consider
Some things to keep in mind when researching this topic are your country's policies on the role of the UN in promoting development, how to manage international migration and development resulting from globalization, preserving culture when faced with development, how to prevent and combat corrupt practices and transfer of illicit assets, and how to successfully integrate economies in transition into the world economy. Also keep in mind if international companies have any hold within your nation.
Further Research
-- http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/globalization.htm -- http://www.bsr.org/ -- http://www.corpwatch.org/