Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

Issues:

Illicit Trade Goals for African Development

Members:

Members

 

ECOSOC Request Form

Directors:

Cory Sicard Year: 2012 Major: Management Fact: I spent spring 2011 in Washington D.C. Email: cortlandt.sicard@hope.edu	Emily Evans Year: 2012 Major: Economics Fact: I LOVE to travel Email:emily.evans@hope.edu

Under the authority of the General Assembly, ECOSOC coordinates the economic and social policies of the United Nations. The 54 members of ECOSOC are elected by the General Assembly for three year terms; 18 are elected each year. ECOSOC meets yearly, alternately between New York and Geneva, for a four– to five-week plenary period. Among the many well-known organizations encompassed by ECOSOC are the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The Economic and Social Council is one of the most advanced simulations in the Hope College Model United Nations. It consists of two committees, an Economic Committee and a Social Committee. These committees will hold separate sessions on Thursday evening, and a combined plenary session of the entire ECOSOC will be held on Friday afternoon. There will be 54 delegations, representing the 54 members of the Council, with two students per delegation. Each delegation will have one member involved in the Economic Committee and the other member in the Social Committee. Each delegation should research their issues thoroughly. In addition, each delegate should be familiar with the other committee’s issues.

On Thursday night, delegates will meet for a general meeting, then divide into four subcommittees: two Economic and two Social Subcommittees. One member of the delegation will serve on an Economic subcommittee and the other on the Social subcommittee. Each subcommittee will have approximately two hours to debate and approve one to three resolutions dealing with its particular issue. Resolutions may also be drafted during this first meeting.

On Friday morning, the four subcommittees will combine to form separate Economic and Social Committees. The two Economic subcommittees will form the Economic Committee and the two Social subcommittees will form the Social Committee. Each committee will discuss the resolutions approved the previous evening. The best one to two will be selected and brought to the combined ECOSOC Council.

On Friday afternoon, the two main committees will form the ECOSOC Council. The resolutions from each main committee will be presented before the Council. Each will be discussed for approximately 1.5 hours; if more than two resolutions are to be discussed, time will be reapportioned accordingly.

The ECOSOC simulation requires a considerable amount of research, speaking, writing, and diplomatic skill in comparison to the rest of the Model UN. It is advised that the more experienced students be registered for the ECOSOC simulation.

Illicit Trade

Illegal trade has become a prominent issue in the United States as a result of the narcotics trafficking that takes place in many countries in the region.  This however is not the extent of the illegal trade that takes place in the world.  Other items that are traded illegally include animals and animal products, arms, and even humans.  Some of these types of trade produce immediate and undesirable effects, such as the arms trade and human trafficking.  Other illegal trading practices, such as the animal and natural materials illegal trade, produce moral conundrums as to what humanity needs to do to promote the survival of the wonders of the natural world for future generations.

Whichever aspect of illicit trade is being focused on, a similar theme can be seen throughout the trades.  There is a lack of control over what is being traded.  Whether the lack of control manifests itself in the inability to control the means of production, harvesting, and transportation, or the lack of enforcement capabilities, this is not an easy problem to solve.  The amount of money changing hands in these transactions is enough to override much of the deterrents currently in place to prevent illicit trade.

Questions to Consider:

Helpful Sources:

Goals for African Development

The United Nations has set forth a number of goal sets relating to development, most notably the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  These goals are aimed at improving the health of the third world, solving some of the problems related to human rights, and promoting economic development.  The MDGs were set with the intent of having measurable goals for development throughout the world.  There has been progress made on the MDGs since their conception in 2000, but many regions of the world are still lacking progress toward the goals.

Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, has been among the regions that is progressing most slowly toward these goals, as noted by the 2010 Millennium Development Goals Report.  Health and lifestyle goals have provided a large challenge for nations in these regions.  The economic downturn has played a role in the slowing progress; there has been talks of how to improve the progress toward the goals more effectively.  Specifying the problems and pushing toward realistic, measurable goals for African Development in the areas of is an important step in moving toward eliminating the problems Africans face on a daily basis.  Economic and health goals are important, but social and human rights goals are extremely important as well.

Questions to Consider:

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