IGA (Introductory General Assembly)

Issues:

International Water Shortage Pandemic Response

Members:

• Region A
• Region B
• Region C

Directors: Coming Soon

The General Assembly program is the single largest organ of the Hope College Model United Nations conference. The General Assembly sessions serve to introduce students to the nature of the United Nations system and give them an awareness of some of the issues this body debates.

The Introductory General Assembly is for beginning students who want an introduction to the UN simulation. The Introductory General Assembly considers resolutions that have been drafted by Hope College students.

The issues facing the Introductory GA include: Global AIDS Epidemic and the U.N. Definition of Terrorism. This resolution has been created especially for the Introductory General Assembly and is not an actual UN resolution. Students participating in the IGA are expected to research the topic and resolution to which they are designated, and prepare amendments to be submitted.

The following is a change to the IGA as of 2004. On Thursday night an optional event for overnight IGA delegates will be provided. This will entail a speaker, as well as a captivating documentary, both of which will deal with the IGA issues.

On the day of the Model UN, delegates will arrive in the morning, hear panel discussions on their topics, give a brief statement on their standing on the issues, caucus for support of their amendments, and submit their amendments to the steering committee. After lunch, the General Assembly will then hold a plenary session on each topic and discuss the selected amendments. All delegates are expected to accurately represent their countries in submitting and cosponsoring amendments, debating, and voting.

In the caucusing portions of the morning, the time will be devoted to obtaining support from other countries, and compose amendments. There will be two delegates per country; therefore they both should be equally qualified to support their amendments during the caucusing period and during the actual debate.

Global Energy Crisis

Helpful Sources:

http://www.iea.org/textbase/speech/2008/Tanaka/cera_notes.pdf
http://www.german-renewable-energy.com/Renewables/Navigation/Englisch/root.html
http://www.peakoil.net/
http://www.odac-info.org/
http://www.eia.doe.gov/
http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/
http://www.energy.gov/
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/aboutepa.htm
http://www.energypublisher.com/
http://www.unep.org/
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/review.htm
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=2696
http://www.iaea.org/
www.isn.ch

Other resources
“ Achieving a Sustainable Global Energy System: Identifying Possibilities Using Long-Term Energy Scenarios” Edward Elgar Pub. 2004. Cheltanham.

Thomas B. Johansson “Renewable Energy: sources for fuel and electricity” Island Press 1993. Washington D.C
As well as any country-by-country political reference guide, every library carries at least one current edition.

Resolution Preliminary Draft: Subject to Change

SUBMITTED TO: GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SUBJECT: Global Energy Crisis

ALARMED by the recent global increase in demand for oil, now up to 85 million barrels per day, as well as increased demand for other unsustainable and environmentally hazardous fossil fuels

FURTHER ALARMED by the over-consumption and the disregard for environmental safety by leading fossil fuel consumers around the world

RECOGNIZING that fossil fuel resources are finite and that increased population and economic growth leads to a global increase in demand for energy

BELIEVING that swift global action is needed to protect both the environment and the world from a global energy crisis

FURTHER BELIEVING that without swift action, the unsustainable habits of leading energy consumers around the world will lead to an abrupt depletion in fossil fuels and subsequent energy crisis

REQUESTS that the international community meet these goals:

• Reduce fossil fuel consumption by 20% by the year 2020 and 50% by the year 2030
• Increase the number of nuclear power reactors around the world from 439 to at least 800 by the year 2020
• Exploit the growing popularity of wind power, increasing global electricity production from 1% to 10% by 2025
• Create a committee to report to the General Assembly yearly on cooperative, international efforts to avoid a global energy crisis.
• Continue to research and apply new energy technology in developing countries around the world

Natural Disaster Response

Helpful Sources:

“2005: Year of Disasters”. Oxfam International. 27 Dec 2008. <http://se1.isn.ch/serviceengine/FileContent?serviceID=ISN&fileid=79D5E94D-776F-60FA-B10D-1AB555759DA4&lng=en>.

This article was taken from the Swiss Database: http://www.isn.ethz.ch/

Cristol, Hope. “Natural disasters on the rise: Third world countries are at highest risk for devastation”. AllBusiness. 1 March 2003. 30 Dec 2008. <http://www.allbusiness.com/professional-scientific/scientific-research/469212-1.html>.

“Is your community ready for a natural disaster?”. National Weather Service. 29 Dec 2008. <http://www.weather.gov/stormready/resources/Storm&TsunamiReadyHandout.pdf>.

“Mission and Objectives”. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. 27 Dec 2008. <http://www.unisdr.org/eng/about_isdr/isdr-mission-objectives-eng.htm>.

“Natural Disasters”. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 27 Dec 2008. <http://www.hhs.gov/disasters/emergency/naturaldisasters/index.html>.

Schmid, Randolph E. “Experts say global warming is causing stronger hurricanes”. USA Today. 15 Sept 2005. 5 Jan 2009. <http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2005-09-15-globalwarming-hurricanes_x.htm>.

Resolution Preliminary Draft: SUBJECT TO CHANGE

SUBMITTED TO: GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SUBJECT: Natural Disaster Response

RECOGNIZING the importance of the principles of neutrality, humanity, impartiality, and independence for the provision of humanitarian assistance

EMPHASISING ALSO the responsibility of all States to undertake disaster preparedness, response and early recovery efforts in order to minimize the impact of natural disasters, while recognizing the importance of international cooperation in support of the efforts of affected countries which may have limited capacities

NOTING that local communities are the first responders in most disaster, and underlining the critical role played by incountry capacities in disaster risk reduction, including preparedness, response, and recovery

TAKING NOTE the significant role played by The National Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, as part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, in disaster preparedness and risk reduction, disaster response, rehabilitation, and development

RECALLING that efforts to achieve to economic growth, sustainable development and internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, can be adversely affected by natural disasters, and noting the postive contribution that those efforts can make in strengthening the resilience of populations to such disasters

REQUESTS that the international community meets these goals:

• All States, to adopt, where required, and to continue to implement effectively, necessary legislative and other approrpriate measures to mitigate the effects of natural disasters and integrate disaster risk reduction strategies into development planning, and in this regard requests the international community to continue to assist developing countries as well as countries with economics in transition, as appropriate