The Disarmament and International Security Committee is the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and will hold its 62nd session at the 2008 edition of the UNGA. Its membership comprises of all 192 UN member states, as well as some observer missions. Its mandate, as one might infer from its name, is to “deal with disarmament and related international security questions.

Historically, the Disarmament and International Security Committee has dealt with perhaps more ‘obvious’ security issues such as the regulation of the arms trade. Such issues were generally explicitly related to arms and weaponry, and were often related to specific regions e.g. the establishment of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. A perusal of past agendas will also show that virtually all discussions for this topic were confined to the role that states could play in resolving these problems.

As you can see from our topics, the Disarmament and International Security Committee at SMAMUN 2008 will diverge from this well-trodden path, reflecting the shifting international debate on what constitutes “security”. As Walter Lippman explains, traditional security is about a state’s ability to defer or defeat a military or terrorist attack which involves traditional weaponry like guns. With a broader conception of security however, a broader range of threats must be considered, including the impacts of climate change. Furthermore, newer conceptions of security undermine the notion that the state should be the sole referential actor – if the Disarmament and International Security Committee is to fulfill its mandate, then it must consider the role of non-state actors such as private companies and nongovernmental organizations. Human security should not be seen as a be-all-and-end-all conception, and it has been criticized, notably for its implications for state sovereignty.

But it is certainly a useful framework for initially approaching our committee’s topics.

DOWNLOADS:
- TOPIC A: Situation in North Western Pakistan.
- TOPIC B: Landmines.

As the Third Committee of the General Assembly, the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural committee takes on the wide ranging responsibilities of issues concerning social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues. SOCHUM has been focusing on Human rights and its interpretation and implementation, in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the establishment of the newly erected Human Rights Council. Over half of the resolutions passed in this committee last year have been concerning the conservation and promotion of human rights. Other topics which the committee considers include the advancement of the rights of oppressed peoples, eliminating discrimination, reintegration and even the right to education. It takes on an important role in fulfilling the UN Millennium development goals as well as the obligations and aims which the United Nations has committed to these last couple of decades. It is one of the few committees where more harmony is seen than discourse. Though a lot of bureaucracy is involved in terms of investigations into the appropriate actions, there have been many famous successes.

Unlike other branches of the UN, the Third Committee joins itself with other organizations, both regional and Non-Governmental, in efforts of resolution. UNICEF for example often acts in agreement with this committee. African Union receives resources as well as SOCHUM’s support in fighting drug trafficking. Even the World Health Organisation has completed tasks assigned to them by this very committee. In its most recent session, the 62nd session, the Third Committee discussed issues such as the advancement of women and the implementation of the outcome of Fourth World Conference on Women, the promotion and protection of human rights, especially for children and those of displaced and indigenous peoples such as self-determination, the elimination of racism racial discrimination and international drug control. So many and wide spread are the issues that SOCHUM covers, that one cannot begin to contemplate the effect this committee has on the world. Thus since it convened in 1948, this committee has been a crucial element of the United Nations, after all nearly all topics have a social or humanitarian aspect to it, moreover, often these social and humanitarian issues do become the center point of discussion. These are the themes which affect us, the human race the most, and so all national and international issues come at one time or another under the scrutiny of the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee.

DOWNLOADS:
- TOPIC A: Treatment of Prisoners War.
- TOPIC B: Children in Armed Combat.

As many of you will know the Crisis Committee has no counterpart in the real UN’s structure which makes it a very different experience from most other MUN committees. As such it does not have a committee background and history in the way that one of the General Assembly committees might (e.g. Special Political and Decolonization). Instead it was created specifically for MUN conferences with the intention of giving delegates the chance to see how well they could deal with emergency situations if they were put in the shoes of world leaders.

The nature of the Crisis Committee as a much more informal, fast paced and rapidly evolving committee also means that it will test different skills than other committees and necessitates some different approaches to preparation. Firstly delegates will not be representing a country with stated positions to follow. Instead they will be representing the position an individual or interest group in the formulation of a specific countries policy towards the topic. This means that as well as knowledge of what your county’s position has previously been it will be useful for you to know why it is their policy and who approves or disapproves of the policy. Delegates are also expected to represent what THEY (as in their character) personally would want rather than necessarily doing what is best for the country as a whole. The acting involved in this is one of the more difficult, important and fun parts of a crisis. If all this seems daunting, don’t worry about it too much as an especially important bit of information to get a feeling of is what your character’s “price” is for given issues (i.e. how much political capital would another character have to expend in order to get you to agree with them). This will prove especially useful when horse trading in negotiations as well as make the negotiations more realistic and exciting. The quick paced and evolving nature of the crisis also necessitates having different types of knowledge about the topic to be discussed. Where as in other committees in MUN you need to research about the technical nature of a topic and stick closely to the issues involved in discussing it in the Crisis Committee you are expected to have a much broader spectrum of knowledge about the region. For example one minute you could be talking about refugees and aid supplies, the next you may need to come to a decision on how to react to riots or an invasion. While dealing with all these individual emergencies delegates will also need to keep track of the “big picture” of how the narrative of the crisis is going. This means it is often best to take a “jack of all trades” approach and get a general overview of what is happening in the region as a whole. This doesn’t mean you have to be an expert on everything about the whole Middle East, it just involves knowing enough to apply some educated common sense and your skills at talking authoritatively on an unfamiliar subject.

Thirdly due to the contemporary and secretive nature of much of the information being researched it will not be likely to be likely that there will be a lot of academic articles answering the questions being asked by delegates. Although there will probably be plenty of these around for background factual information, for more up to date information of the situation on the ground delegates will have to turn to reputable news sources much more than they would have in a normal MUN committee. Also for information on the current attitudes of people in the affected areas it may be advisable to use blogs and other unconventional sources that would not otherwise be used for MUN research. These can be useful but delegates must always be careful when using them and must always take into account the author will probably be biased. Do not take any single one to be true and always take into account who is writing it.

DOWNLOADS:
- TOPIC A: Youth Endangerment.
- TOPIC B: Terroism or Religious Extermism; Whats the difference?

The Economic and Financial Committee is an important branch of the General Assembly, it was established as a platform for discussion on economical issues that would contribute to the settlement of a dialogue between developing and developed countries. From the very beginning of its existence, the committee was used by the member states to highlight national problems of development and coordinate international efforts in order to provide stability and prosperity in the most problematic regions of the world.

The Economic and Financial committee, in spite of its title, doesn’t treat the questions of internal budget of the organization, nor that of financing its special programmes and operations. These questions are usually considered by the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly. The Second Committee (ECOFIN) recommends possible solutions to economic crisis that affect Member States, however it doesn’t tackle social issues that impact development. Social problems are considered by the Third Committee. It is necessary to point out the growing importance of the Economic and Financial Committee connected with the process of globalization. Since the Second World War countries became more interdependent, national economies confronted the necessity of increasing openness towards international trade without borders, financial flows and direct foreign investments. That is why an international forum, provided by the Second Committee is vitally essential nowadays for creating a new economic order that would lead to stable development and avoid international military conflicts.

DOWNLOADS:
- TOPIC A: The Subprime Mortgage Crisis and the Global Credit Crunch.
- TOPIC B: Promoting Economic Growth of Less Developed Countries through Regional Cooperation.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA / GA) is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. Its powers are to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint the non-permanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the United Nations and make recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions. It has also established a wide number of subsidiary organs.

The General Assembly meets under its president or secretary general in regular yearly sessions which last from September to December, although it can reconvene for special and emergency special sessions. Its composition, functions, powers, voting, and procedures are set out in Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter.

Voting in the General Assembly on important questions – recommendations on peace and security; election of members to organs; admission, suspension, and expulsion of members; budgetary matters – is by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. Other questions are decided by majority vote. Each member country has one vote. Apart from approval of budgetary matters, including adoption of a scale of assessment, Assembly resolutions are not binding on the members. The Assembly may make recommendations on any matters within the scope of the UN, except matters of peace and security under Security Council consideration. The one state, one vote power structure theoretically allows states comprising just eight percent of the world population to pass a resolution by a two-thirds vote.

The General Assembly consists some of the other committees being simulated here.

Since this is the Historical General Assembly, it shall deal with issues of the past. It will be locked in an era of the past and pretend that it has no knowledge of what has happened in the future years and then pass a resolution (Possibly with a better outcome) than one that has already been passed.

DOWNLOADS:
- TOPIC A: India/Pakistan, 15 November 1971.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for military purposes. Though established independently of the United Nations under its own international treaty (the IAEA Statute), the IAEA reports to both the General Assembly and the Security Council.

The IAEA is a specialized agency of the United Nations. The IAEA is not under direct control of any UN body; unlike most other specialized agencies, it does not do most of its work with ECOSOC. The IAEA’s structure and function is defined by its founding document: the IAEA’s Statute (see below). The IAEA has three main bodies: the Board of Governors, the General Conference, and the Secretariat.

In the current situation it is crucial for this specialized agency to be simulated as a committee of any Model UN conference.

DOWNLOADS:
- TOPIC A: Iran's Nuclear Threat.
- TOPIC B: Nuclear Proliferation.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations' global development network. The UNDP is an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP Administrator is the third highest ranking member of the United Nations after the United Nations Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General.

The organization works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity. Additionally, the UNDP works internationally to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

UNDP provides expert advice, training, and grant support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. To accomplish the MDGs and encourage global development, UNDP focuses on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS, democratic governance, energy and environment, and crisis prevention and recovery. UNDP also encourages the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women in all of its programs.

Furthermore, UNDP publishes an annual Human Development Report to measure and analyze developmental progress. In addition to a global Report, UNDP publishes regional, national, and local Human Development Reports.

Like SOCHUM and WHO it is a ‘peaceful and cooperative’ committee. The members generally agree with one another on future courses of action and very little politics is involved in the decision making process.

DOWNLOADS:
- TOPIC A: Sustainable Water Management.
- TOPIC B: Is Pure democracy the answer?.

Counter Terrorism (CT) is not an actual organization or committee. It is pretty similar to the ICC in this respect. Of late terrorism has been a key issue and the centre of attention of the whole world and therefore such a committee is necessary. This committee is tailor made for MUN conferences to allow the youth to come up with better solutions than the current generation that is running the world.

Where as in other committees in MUN you need to research about the technical nature of a topic and stick closely to the issues involved in discussing it in the CT you are expected to have a much broader spectrum of knowledge about the region.

Due to the contemporary and secretive nature of much of the information being researched it will not be likely that there will be a lot of academic articles answering the questions being asked by delegates. Although there will probably be plenty of these around for background factual information, for more up to date information of the situation on the ground delegates will have to turn to reputable news sources much more than they would have in a normal MUN committee. Also for information on the current attitudes of people in the affected areas it may be advisable to use blogs and other unconventional sources that would not otherwise be used for MUN research. These can be useful but delegates must always be careful when using them and must always take into account the author will probably be biased. Do not take any single one to be true and always take into account who is writing it.

DOWNLOADS:
- TOPIC A: Eradicating Biological and Chemical Weaponry.
- TOPIC B: The Evolution of Global Terrorism.

This is the third committee of the conference that is tailor made for MUN conferences only and does not exist in itself. The Middle East Multilateral Summit tries to address the crises that continually arise in the Middle East and also work on long standing issues like the Palestine crisis.

Where as in other committees in MUN you need to research about the technical nature of a topic and stick closely to the issues involved in discussing it in the MEMS you are expected to have a much broader spectrum of knowledge about this region only. This means you need to get a general overview of what is happening in the region as a whole. This doesn’t mean you have to be an expert on everything about the whole Middle East, it just involves knowing enough to apply some educated common sense and your skills at talking authoritatively on an unfamiliar subject.

There will probably be plenty of these around for background factual information, for more up to date information of the situation on the ground delegates will have to turn to reputable news sources much more than they would have in a normal MUN committee. Also for information on the current attitudes of people in the affected areas it may be advisable to use blogs and other unconventional sources that would not otherwise be used for MUN research. These can be useful but delegates must always be careful when using them and must always take into account the author will probably be biased. Do not take any single one to be true and always take into account who is writing it.

DOWNLOADS:
- TOPIC A: US Withdrawal from Afghanistan & Iraq.
- TOPIC B: Israel/Palestine.