General Assembly 2Chairs: Joanne Gotanco and Arjun Mishra

Dear Delegates,

Hello and welcome to General Assembly 2 at PrepMUNC XIII! We are very excited to be chairing the

committee and we can’t wait to meet you all. This committee will be chaired by alumnus Joanne Gotanco

and freshman Arjun Mishra.

Hey everyone! My name is Joanne Gotanco and I will be serving as head chair for GA2 this year. Last

year, I was Secretary-General of PrepMUN, and it is such an honor and blessing to be back. Currently I

am a freshman Medical Humanities major on the Pre-Med track with a minor in Public Health at Baylor

University in Waco, Texas. To keep myself busy down south, I am frequently seen at football games,

drinking coffee at Magnolia Press (Chip & Joanna Gaines’ latest venture!), volunteer to teach children in

impoverished communities on the weekends for the American Medical Women’s Association and am a

proud translator, mentor, and dance troupe member for Baylor’s Filipino Student Association. I cannot

wait to be back in New York and meet all of you! SIC ‘EM BEARS!

Hello! My name is Arjun Mishra, and I am a freshman here at Saint Francis Prep. This is my first time

chairing a committee and I’m very excited to be involved with this committee! I started MUN back in

September and so far, it's been pretty fun! Other than MUN, I’m part of the Seraph Newspaper and

Percussion Ensemble here at Prep. I also hope to make the tennis team in the Spring when the season

starts. I’m very excited to meet everyone and best of luck!

Sincerely,

Joanne Gotanco and Arjun Mishra

Topic A: The Illicit Trade of FirearmsStatement of the Problem

The illicit trade of firearms has been an issue that many governing bodies have had to

deal with. It occurs when firearms are initially manufactured in a legal manner, yet they enter the

black market and are traded, becoming illegal.

History of the Problem

Illicit arms trade and frankly, illicit trade, has always been and may always be among the

global community. Illegal arms trade has been around since the use of firearms in global

conflicts, and it still is prevalent today. Global arms trafficking, although rare, is costly to the

lives of many, and is responsible for many armed conflicts. Civil wars like the current Syrian

Civil War and Yemeni Civil War have been fueled by illegal firearms.1 In these areas of conflict,

buying illicit weapons is habitual,

and can be done anonymously with

no questions asked. Due to this

commonplace, armed conflicts and

violent altercations have sprouted up

and have been detrimental to society

in those areas.

Additionally, many of these

firearms are traded illicitly through

the online black market.2 Many of

these dealings are dangerous, and it

is possible to get hands on an illegal

weapon anonymously. These illicit

transactions fuel drug cartels in Mexico, exacerbates the Syrian Civil War, and puts many others

at risk. The United States has few regulations on the selling of firearms, especially automatic

1 Small Arms Survey, Illicit Trafficking http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/weapons-and-markets/transfers/illicit-trafficking.html2 Forbes, Where Guns are Sold Through the Darknet https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/03/22/where-guns-are-sold-through-the-darknet-infographic/#aae0116647ae

rifles. It is quite facile to acquire military grade automatic weapons in the US. This allows for

straw purchasers to send these weapons to drug cartels and human trafficking networks. In some

states, one only needs a valid United States form of identification to purchase weapons of that

nature. Cartels bribe these people and get their weapons without anyone noticing.

Moreover on assault rifles, the AK-47 is the choice of many organized criminals, gangs,

rebels, cartels, etc. The accessibility of this weapon and others of its nature has been increased

drastically. Due to the internet, AK-47s and other assault rifles are readily available to buyers.

Although they can be expensive when compared to other illicit means of obtention, they are easy

to find and get,

empowering criminals and

arms traffickers.3 However,

these other forms of

obtention are also available

to those in conflict zones.

Active war zones have a

large supply of assault

rifles, and they sell cheaper

compared to a rifle on the

internet.3 This is due to a

variety of reasons, one of

which being the leaving of these weapons behind. The United States sent weapons like the AK-

47 to the Lebanese army. After a battle with the rebels, the Lebanese were forced to retreat, with

their barracks filled with US equipment. This equipment was sold on the black market, hence the

reason for arms trafficking of these weapons to other neighboring areas like Syria.

Past UN Action

The United Nations has taken action when dealing with the illicit arms trade. The Arms

Trade Treaty set forth by the UN details many of the regulations surrounding arms trafficking,

and many General Assembly members have joined the treaty. Additionally, programs like the

3 Forbes, The Cost of an AK-47 on the Black Markethttps://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/03/30/the-cost-of-an-ak-47-on-the-black-market-across-the-world-infographic/#77e7dd1c7442

Programme of Action on Small Arms and its International Tracing Instrument and other

committees of its nature have been used by the UN for combating arms trafficking. The

UNODC’s Firearms Protocol also outlines measures which regulate the flow of licit arms trade

and the prevention of illicit arms trade.

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is an international treaty set forth by the UN Office for

Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).4 It promotes the regulation of the global arms trade, but it has

no regulations on implementation, due to national sovereignty. Thus, countries who sign the

treaty are responsible for implementing disarmament and cracking down on illicit arms trade in

their respective country.

The Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA) and its International Tracing Instrument

(ITI) is a UN program that has given measures on the global trade of small arms. Unlike the

ATT, the ITI requires countries who have agreed to partake in the program to properly mark

weapons and track the weapons.5 This requirement has helped in finding the source of many

weapons, but it has been obviated by filing off the identification numbers.

The Firearms Protocol by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is similar to the

ATT. It gives guidelines on the prevention of illicit trade of firearms and on the destruction of

such firearms.6 It also promotes the regulation of licit firearms, and how to make sure these legal

weapons do not fall into the black market. Countries support each other in making sure the

necessary requirements are met, such as a country providing training to the forces of another

country.

International Opinion

Nations condemn the illicit trade of firearms because of its disruptive and treacherous

nature. Illegal firearms have been the root of many armed conflicts, and nations do not want

these firearms in their borders. For instance, some Latin American insurgency groups will use

trafficked weapons in anti-government stunts. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, an

4 UNODA, Arms Trade Treaty Module 1https://unoda-web.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/2015-08-21-Toolkit-Module-1.pdf5 UNODA, The Programme of Action of Small Arms and its International Tracing Instrumenthttps://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/salw/programme-of-action/6 UNODC, The Firearms Protocolhttps://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/firearms-protocol/the-firearms-protocol.html

insurgency group, earned half a billion dollars from drug operations, which mainly spent on

illegal firearms.7 Another example of the repercussions of arms trafficking can be shown in how

traffickers acquired 5,000 AK-47 assault rifles from Yugoslavia and moved them from Serbia to

Liberia under the pretense of a Nigerian business transaction.7 These weapons were then used for

the Liberian Civil War. In both these instances, the Colombian and Liberian governments were

put at risk. They both condemned what happened, and these examples are the quintessence of the

dangers of arms trafficking.

Despite the hardships that these governments face, some nations have taken measures to

fight arms trafficking. For instance, Mexico has centers of firearm destruction, where illicit

firearms are destroyed with a saw, putting the weapon out of service.8 This obviates the

weapon’s reentrance into the market. Mexico has traced many of the weapons held by cartels to

be of American origin. It cracked down on arms smuggling, although it still struggles. The

European Union funded Conflict Armed Research (CAR), who developed a database of all the

findings of arms trafficking globally.

Many of the countries which do not produce weapons at the scale of those who produce

weapons massively are proponents of measures limiting the amount weapons countries can

manufacture. This has caused contention in UN meetings, as

the P5 are the top weapon exporters. These nations which

produce little to no firearms have asked the P5 and other

nations with large arms exports to limit their production.9

Topic Objective

The objective of the committee is to resolve the

flaws with the current system and bring new ideas to the

table. The committee should also debate over the need for a

cap on the amount of weapons manufactured globally.

Delegates should attempt to achieve to limit the amount of

arms trafficking worldwide.

7 Stohl, The Tangled Web of Illicit Arms Traffickinghttps://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/kf/TerrorinShadows-Stohl.pdf8 Journeyman Pictures, How Mexican Cartels Exploit American Gun Lawshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRqUiM4Fw1c9 UN GA, GA/DIS/3601 Meeting Coveragehttps://www.un.org/press/en/2018/gadis3601.doc.htm

Questions to Consider

1. What is the rate of weapon production in your nation?

2. How many arms are illicitly traded to, from or through your nation?

3. What is the scale of the arms trafficking issue in your nation?

Helpful Videos & Articles

Journeyman Pictures. How Mexican Cartels Exploit American Gun Laws. YouTube, Al

Jazeera, 28 Sept. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRqUiM4Fw1c.

Aysha, Rami. Lebanon's Illegal Arms Dealers. Performance by Aris Roussinos, YouTube,

Vice News, 24 Feb. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxumsOQMxLE.

UNODC. “Country Fact Sheets.” UNODC, United Nations, 2015,

www.unodc.org/documents/firearms-protocol/Country_Factsheet_WEB.pdf.

Topic B: Education InequalityStatement of the Problem

Gaining an education is considered a human right, and receiving an education has a major

impact on social and economic development. There are many countries in the world, however,

where education is not accessible due to gender inequality.

History of Problem

Gender inequality has been an issue plaguing the world since society began developing.

Throughout history there has been a recurring ideology that men are the ones to make the

greatest impact on society. Due to this way of life, women’s education wasn’t made an issue

until the 19th century. Since then, great strides have been made, and in most countries women

are given the opportunity to attend

school. In today’s world there are

over 265 million children who are

unable to attend school, and about

22% are supposed to be in primary

school.10 In many countries, gender

inequality is still a very prevalent

issue, and this can be a huge barrier

for girls wanting to attend school.

Also in developing countries

schools either don’t exist or are

scarce.

10 https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/

Every year more and more girls are being enrolled in primary educational institutions, but

there are still many countries where girls are not allowed to receive an education. In some

regions up to 48.1% of girls are not enrolled in any level of education, and a large percentage of

girls who are in primary school will drop out before secondary school to help out at home.

Attending school lowers the risk of girls getting trafficked or having early pregnancies.11 Some

areas where this is a big issue is the Arab States, sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia.

In South and West Asia 80% of the

girls are out of school, and over 9.5

million girls are out of school in

sub-Saharan Africa.

In many third world countries

and countries that are in the midst

of war the issue is accessing the

schools themselves. In poor

countries there is not a lot of

funding to build up schools or offer

transportation, so the one school

available might be an hours walk

from the child's house. The few

existing schools might not even

have basic necessities like running

water or adequate teachers. When girls living in poverty are not given the opportunity to get an

education the cycle of poverty repeats itself.12

Past UN Action

In the July of 2010 the United Nations General Assembly created U.N. Women to help with

the empowerment of women and to help achieve equality. Since its formation U.N Women has

aided in gaining women’s rights and maintaining gender equality.13 U.N. Women has a target to

11http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/twice_as_many_girls_as_boys_will_never_start_school_says_une/12 https://worlded.org/WEIInternet/international/expertise/display.cfm?tid=1004&id=75613 https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-4-quality-education

increase the number of global scholarships available to developing countries for higher education

by the year 2020. U.N. Women has also set many goals to complete by the year 2030. They

hope by 2030 to ensure all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood education to

prepare them for secondary education. Another goal is to have complete free, equitable and

quality primary and secondary education, and equal access to affordable vocational and tertiary

education, including university. Another goal is to increase the number of men and women

globally who achieve literacy and numeracy.

International Opinion

The majority of the global community agrees that education is a basic necessity and every

child, including young women, should be given the opportunity to receive a quality education.

There are still countries though where women are denied basic rights, and believe women should

not be allowed to receive an education.

Topic Objective

The objective of this committee is to find a way to have all women be able to access

education even those living in poor countries. A solution must be found to not only allow women

the right to receive an education, but to also guarantee the goals set by UN women for the year

2030.

Questions to consider

1. What is your country doing to resolve the issue of education inequality?

2. What are the standards of education in your country?

3. What has your country done to try and reach the goals set by U.N. Women?

Helpful links

- http://www.ungei.org

- https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-and-gender-equality

- https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/goal-of-the-month-february-2019-quality-

education/

Citations

(n.d.). Retrieved December 23, 2019, from

https://worlded.org/WEIInternet/international/expertise/display.cfm?tid=1004&id=756.

UN Women. (n.d.). Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality education. Retrieved December

20, 2019, from https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-4-

quality-education.

UNESCO. (n.d.). Twice as many girls as boys will never start school says UNESCO eAtlas

launched in advance of International Women's Day: United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved December 21, 2019, from

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/twice_as_many_girls_as

_boys_will_never_start_school_says_une/.

United Nations. (n.d.). Education - United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved

December 21, 2019, from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/.