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The General Assembly (GA) is the main body of the United Nations. Since the creation of the UN, the GA has been the focal point for matters of general as well as international concern. As such, each country has an Ambassador to the General Assembly. This Ambassador should be seen as the coordinator of the country’s delegation and is responsible for assimilating information gathered by the country’s representatives.

A GA ambassador represents the final view of their nation on all issues discussed in the General Assembly and is usually asked to comment to the press on issues concerning their nation. A GA ambassador’s comments are considered powerful due to the political environment in which they operate. The immense responsibility placed on the GA ambassador is shown in the broad range of actions taken in the General Assembly. Countries may be negotiating a peace accord or teetering on the brink or war. Debate is enriched, but also made more difficult, by this degree of freedom of action.

The General Assembly deals with topics of a broad nature and requires delegates to be versed in a wider range of international issues than expected in other bodies. This does not mean, however, that a delegate should be an expert on each topic. Rather, an Ambassador to the General Assembly should have a working knowledge in most of the issues that drive the country and will be able to extrapolate sufficiently to determine their country’s position. The General Assembly operates under the Parliamentary Procedure Guidelines.

Economics and Finance Committee A & B
Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee A & B
Political and Security Committee A & B
Legal Committee A & B
Environment and Technology A & B

The Committees of the General Assembly develop resolutions based on their respective committees purpose and shall remain together for the duration of the conference. The resolutions developed in these committees may be specific or broad in nature. Since the resolutions crafted in these committees may be forwarded to the General Assembly for consideration, students are encouraged to craft detailed and accurate proposals. Since resolutions may be forwarded to the General Assembly, delegates from these committees may be allowed to address the General Assembly, but are not guaranteed that right. Therefore all comments and discussion points from a country of this committee should be forwarded to their General Assembly Ambassador. 

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Topic 1: Drug Abuse

Drug abuse has become a growing issue on the U.N. agenda. The U.N. defines “drug abuse” as the illicit (non-medical) use of the drugs listed in its various conventions during the 1960s and 1970s. The United Nations Office of Drug and Crime has tried to identify the causes of drug abuse and make in depth analysis as to the specific drugs being used. Nevertheless, the proliferation of these types of drugs and the abuse of them by people of all ages has become a global problem that must be combated immediately.

Several different types of drugs are being spread illicitly throughout the international community. Psychoactive drugs such as heroin and cocaine are being injected and much stronger effects being produced due to developments in chemistry and pharmacology. During the past years, the United Nations conventions restricted the sale and manufacturing of the illicit drugs to medical use only, but apparently this has fallen on deaf ears. In the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1972 Protocol, the creation of rehabilitation services was emphasized. The 1988 Convention attempted to deal with the drug trafficking aspects and the manufacturing of illicit drugs. The Global Assessment Programme (GPA) began in 1988 in order to gain more knowledge on drug consumption in nine different regions of the world. The UNODC seeks to reduce the supply and availability of the illicit drugs in order to begin combating drug abuse. However, numerous large corporations are producing drugs for medical use and as a result many products are being “lost” to the black market in the process. Through the black market, drugs are then transported across borders throughout the world.

Many people make their income from illicit drug selling or growing, as in the case of those who cultivate crops like the coca bush and opium poppy. In most instances, these people are living in poverty and receiving over 50% of their income from the cultivation of these plants. Traffickers of narcotic drugs are taking advantage of the cultivators and creating a black market industry of these drugs. Suitable alternatives must begin to be offered in order to help diminish the black market. The youth of the international community are also becoming addicted to these illicit drugs, not just adults. Several programs have been instituted in order to gain more knowledge upon the reasons for drug abuse in youth and to find out the methods they are using in order to obtain drugs.

Questions:

• What alternatives can be provided to those people whose only source of income is through the selling/production of drugs?
• How can drug trafficking be better monitored in the global community? Who would monitor it?
• What can be done in order to ensure that the production of drugs by manufacturers goes directly to medical use and doesn’t matriculate into the black market?
• How can the black market be diminished?
• What are the ways that drug abuse can be prevented and by whom?

Works Cited:
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. World Drug Report 2006. United Nations Publications: New York, New York. <http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/world_drug_report.html>

Keh, Douglas I..Drug Money in a Changing World: Economic Reform and Criminal Finance. January 1996. <http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/studies_drugs_crime.html>

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Drugs and Development. June 1994. <http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/studies_drugs_crime.html>

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Topic 2: World Crime

Crime has been augmenting in the past few years in our global community. It is present in a prodigious amount of forms in the global community. Several committees in the U.N. are dedicated to preventing crime, such as the Centre for International Crime Prevention (CICP) which deals with prevention, law reform, and criminal justice.

Corruption is one of the major facets of crime that has become prominent in government institutions today. According to the Global Programme Against Corruption (GPAC), corruption is creating government instability and forming bureaucratic leaders whose sole desire is to make themselves prominent through the solicitation of bribes. In several areas, economic development is halted due to corruption. Findings have shown that small businesses are having trouble paying the “start-up” costs in countries due to corruption.

Organized crime and terrorism are ever present on the global scene. Transnational organized crime is a threat to society and has grown through the trafficking of various items like human beings, drugs, firearms, migrants, money etc. The hierarchal form of organized groups has decreased, but rather there now exist many loose organized groups that collaborate for the same purpose of trafficking goods. There are hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children that are trafficked all over the world every year. In the European Union there are over 200,000 illegal sex workers alone. Many criminal organizations, such as the Yakuza, the Triads, and the Mafia control this economic and sexual slavery that has become an entire industry.

Organized crime groups have become prominent in regions such as West Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East. In the Middle East, the various militant religious/nationalist groups are considered by many to be terrorist organizations due to their violent ways. There are numerous religious and nationalist terrorist groups all over the globe, however. Their weapons are both manufactured (made by professional firearms facilities) and improvised (made in illicit workshops). The U.N. has attempted to institute its global strategy on counter-terrorism efforts within the past year. Another dire situation the U.N. must face is the notorious Genocide in Darfur, which has become an extremely controversial topic in the recent years. Some consider this to be one of the most important global issues while other member states think their should be less international involvement in the region.

Questions

• What can be done in order to prevent corruption in elections around the world?
• How can corrupt individuals now in office be dealt with?
• What can the U.N. do to assist those that have been affected by crime?
• How can organized crime and terrorist groups be combated?
• What further measures can be taken in order to halt illicit trafficking, especially human trafficking?
• How can the firearm industry be monitored so that weapons are not falling into the wrong hands?
• What can be done to stop the black market that currently exists?
  

Works Cited:
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. UNODC 2006. <http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/crime_prevention.html>

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Terrorism Prevention Branch. COUNTER- TERRORISM. <http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/terrorism.html>

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking.
<http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html>

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Topic 3: Global Currency

There are several advantages to combining today’s 190 currencies. The world trades about $1.2 trillion worth of currencies a day. (globalpolicy.org) The disappearance of this market would save billions of dollars a year in foreign-exchange costs. The new currency would be more efficient as a means of conveying true value. A global currency would eliminate national currency crises, which have occurred in Argentina, Mexico, Thailand, and Russia recently. The end of currency fluctuations would stabilize international business by allowing manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic to no longer adjust to huge changes, such as the value of the euro. It went from $1.17 initially in 1999 to 83 cents in 2005, and then back up to about $1.22. (David) The value of stocks and other assets in countries now subject to high currency risks and inflation would also soar hugely. A global currency would make it easier for countries to buy and purchase internationally, but it could raise or hurt a country's economy. An international economic zone would have to be created and economies would have to be of a certain minimum caliber to allow for the conversion. The economies do not have to be on the same level; for example, Italy and France both use the euro but are not equal in economic status.

However, there are many drawbacks of converting to a global currency. Nations would be unable to adjust their domestic monetary policy to fix any situations within their economy - interest rates could not be lowered to counteract an economic bust. Poland and Romania are not going to be adopting the Euro until 2010 because their economies are not stable enough for it. Losing a national currency is also a very personal concept. People's wages would stay the same, but the conversion would affect them because some might feel like they were being paid less when they really weren't. However, the mind of an uneducated farmer in a third world country might not see this. For example, they would be skeptical of trading 500 of their currency for 100 in someone else's currency.

There are organizations such as the Single Global Currency Association, who have dedicated themselves to the goal of implementing a single global currency by 2025. They advocate a single international central bank, with a representative governing board that would manage the global currency. (SGCA) Currency consolidation around the world has been attempted successfully, as can be seen with the euro and with the 8 former French colonies in Africa who share a common currency. Since 1981, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank has provided the EC dollar to about a dozen island nations, including Antigua, Barbuda, Dominica, Montserrat and St. Lucia. However, attempts at a common currency in Denmark and Sweden have failed because the people were not persuaded of the benefits. Soon, the Gulf Cooperation Council planned to launch a common currency for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Also in 2005, the West African Monetary Zone plans to introduce the eco to Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.

Questions:

• Would adopting a global currency be beneficial or hurtful to the global economy?
• Who would manage and work at these global banks?
• How would these people be hired - what qualifications would they need to have?
• Which countries would they be from?
• If a global currency were to be adopted, should some sort of education be enacted in third-world countries to better inform them of the provisions of the currency?
• What would the expected time frame be for this conversion to happen within?

Works Cited:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/glotax/currtax/index.htm

Francis, David. "The Esperanto of Money." Christian Science Monitor. 14 August 2004.

http://singleglobalcurrency.org

Ramirez, Anthony. "Automation Drives a Surge in Currency Trade Volume." New York Times 20 September 1995.

Veon, Joan. "Does the Global Economy Need a Global Currency?" August 2003. <http://www.newswithviews.com/Veon/joan.htm>.

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