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Legal and Political Hello delegates! We are Adam Barrer and Henry Chionuma, and we will be your Chairs for the Legal and Political Committee during the upcoming UNYMUN 2003 Conference. Adam is a junior at Jamesville-Dewitt who, in addition to participating in Model UN, skis, plays tennis, plays the trumpet in the jazz ensemble, and serves as a student senator for his class. Henry is a sophomore at Jamesville-Dewitt. He enjoys tennis and basketball, as well as playing the percussion in the band. Henry is also active in an international volunteer effort to curb the spread of AIDS in sub-Sahara Africa. Both of us are looking forward to some stimulating debate and insightful resolutions from our delegates. This committee will run Resolution Style, meaning that delegates should prepare resolutions prior to the day of the conference. We will not be accepting resolutions in advance and, unfortunately, will not be able to make copies the day of the conference. Therefore, we request that delegates bring approximately 40 copies of their resolutions the day of the conference. The Legal and Political Committee is the 6th committee under the General Assembly. It deals with ratification of treaties, international law, and territorial disputes. Your chairs have selected the following three topics to debate during the conference. Extradition of PrisonersThe process of extraditing international fugitives has long been a sticking point for global diplomacy. Extradition is the process of returning a fugitive from one nation to the nation in which he has committed a crime so that he may be tried. Although many documents and resolutions exist regarding this topic, conflict always seems to occur. Your job as delegates is to compose and hopefully pass a new resolution that would make clear the requirements for extradition, and the actions that each nation would take to make the process successful. Questions to Think About: Ø What crimes are worthy of extradition? Ø In what manner should nations proceed with extradition requests? Ø What timetable should be expected for a swift extradition? Ø What are the consequences of non-compliance with extradition law? Ø Should an international agency supervise and facilitate all international extraditions? Helpful Websites: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/E-23.01/ http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/024.htm The Legality of United States Treatment of Prisoners Captured During the War on Terrorism During the American crusade know as the War on Terrorism, the United States has captured and detained thousands of people from the Middle East on the grounds that they are suspected of terrorism. Though the question of its right to take these prisoners is not a question for the Legal and Political committee, we are concerned by the prolonged detention of these men and whether they have been given their due rights. It is rumored that the US government has been shipping out these prisoners to foreign nations for the purpose of a more “thorough” interrogation. The point of the matter is that although these men were captured in a war, they have not been declared as Prisoners of War by the United States. Prisoners with this distinction are only required to provide their name, rank, and serial number, and are allowed basic human rights as outlined in the Geneva Convention. Questions to Think About: Ø Are these captives Prisoners of War, and must they be designated as such? Ø If not, is it legal for the United States to detain them for interrogation purposes for this long? Ø Has the United States acted recklessly and violated international law or the Geneva Convention? Ø If so, what should be the consequence, and is extradition to their native country an option? Helpful Websites: http://193.194.138.190/html/menu3/b/91.htm http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/dec2001/pows-d07.shtml The Legality of Measures Taken to Control the Threat of
Overpopulation
Current world population is growing exponentially and, if unchecked, our Earth will be overrun and human life will cease in a relatively short number of generations. People are starving, they lack water and shelter, and disease ravages many overpopulated nations of the world. Additionally, overpopulation results in conflict, due to the competition for resources. Fortunately, modern methods of population control have proven effective on a small scale. However, there is no unified global effort to curb the growing population. Many nations disagree on the proper course of action. For example, contraceptives and abortion are effective measures, but some religions will not endorse them. China has instituted a successful One-Child Policy, but critics claim that this policy has led to the infanticide of baby girls. Other nations say that education and family planning are the keys to population control. What can the world do to unify and solve this problem? Questions to Think About: Ø Where does your nation stand on current measures of population control? Ø Is it possible to draft a resolution that will set guidelines for global population control that all nations can agree to follow? Ø Are human rights violations being violated in the People’s Republic of China, and if so, what should be the consequence? Ø What else can be done to share the resources of the world to meet the needs of all people? Helpful Websites: http://www.overpopulation.net/ http://sycophants.info/overpopulation.html |
