Committee topics for SOFIMUN 2015:
UN Security Council
Under the Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.
The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.
The Security Council also recommends to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and the admission of new Members to the United Nations. And, together with the General Assembly, it elects the judges of the International Court of Justice.
Topic 1: Improving Security Cooperation in the South China Sea
Topic 2: The Drug War in Colombia as a threat to regional and International Peace and Security
UN Human Rights Council
The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year. It meets at the UN Office at Geneva.
The Council is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly. The Human Rights Council replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Topic 1: The international Status of Refugees and Asylum-seekers from the Middle East and North Africa
Topic 2: Global challenges to the freedom of expression
SOFIMUN – STUDY GUIDE – UN HRC
UN Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the United Nations’ central platform for reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable development.
ECOSOC, one of the six main organs of the United Nations established by the UN Charter in 1946, is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as for implementation of the internationally agreed development goals.
ECOSOC serves as the central mechanism for the activities of the United Nations system and its specialized agencies, and supervises the subsidiary and expert bodies in the economic, social and environmental fields.
ECOSOC has undergone reforms in the last decade to strengthen the Council and its working methods, giving special attention to the integrated and coordinated implementation of, and follow-up to, the outcomes of all major United Nations conferences summits in the economic, social, environmental and related fields.
Topic 1: Post 2015 Development Agenda: Mistakes in financing the MDGs; more effective ways to finance the Sustainable Development Goals
Topic 2: Allocation of financial aid developing countries; a threat or an opportunity for improvement in the Sustainable Development Goals
SOFIMUN – STUDY GUIDE – UN ECOSOC
NATO
NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO’s headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, one of the 28 member states across North America and Europe, the newest of which,Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009. An additional 22 countries participate in NATO’sPartnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70 percent of the global total.
Topic 1: NATO’s future involvement in the Middle East: Afghanistan Reflections and the issue of ISIS
Topic 2: The role of NATO in the building of an international cyber warfare combat system