Berlin Model United Nations

Berlin Model United NationsNovember 19 - 22, 2008

BERMUN - ICJ - YA - Press - Forum

Economic and Social Council

Dear delegates,
Welcome to this year’s BERMUN Economic and Social Council!

We are Nicholas Erb and Gesa Tamcke, the Presidents of the ECOSOC, as well as Yolantha Jürgens, this year’s rapporteur. To ensure that our committee sessions are not purely of a jocular nature but also productive, we would like to present the topics. Every delegate should conduct research on all of the topics. It is vital that a well formulated resolution on at least one of the issues be in hand when you arrive in Berlin for the Conference. Only if all delegates participate in the discussions, can we have a truly satisfying and dynamic debate. As experienced MUNers, we can say from experience that the conference is definitely the most fun when everyone contributes. Please be aware, however, that the summaries presented below in no way substitute your own research! In addition to what you will read below, you must conduct extensive research on the topics!

Furthering the Integration of LEDCs in International Economic Dialogues and in World Trade

Although there are organs that specify the topic at hand, such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and UN councils that actively debate the topic, the Economic and Social Council plays a unique role in the integration of Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) in world trade and international economic dialogues, since it still remains a problem without permanent solution. This became especially apparent with the failure of the WTO conference in Geneva 2008.

Ever since the days of colonization, it has always been the More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs) who harvested the majority of profit through world trade and economic agreements, even though there are many more LEDCs than MEDCs. Today, many of the old structures are still apparent. Due to globalization it is still the MEDCs trying to secure cheap resources and deals from LEDCs in order to widen their own margin of profit. For a very long time this problem was seldom discussed, since an international structure had been established in which MEDCs felt they have the right to take from LEDCs, as those are the nations that still need to prove themselves in this international structure, looking for gratitude of the MEDCs.

In the recent past, especially through the founding of the WTO in 1995, nations decided to establish rules of trade for the world. It was especially important that neglected LEDCs have the possibility of flourishing economically as a result of world trade. The problem now is however, that MEDCs are experiencing problems themselves in maintaining a stable economy. In order to stabilize it they feel the need to put tariffs on certain products that they export and/or import. LEDCs cannot afford tariffs in the same dimensions as those nations of for example the European Union. This is especially problematic in the agricultural sector, leading to higher prices for products from LEDCs, which makes them harder to sell.

The question that the BERMUN 2008 ECOSOC needs to ask itself is at what cost the development of lesser privileged countries comes to the more privileged countries. The WTO conference in Geneva failed because MEDCs had to secure certain tariffs and agreements benefiting mostly themselves, which led to discrepancies in opinions and finally a failed resolution. Now the losers will be the LEDCs again, as they are still not fully integrated into international economic dialogue and world trade. It is now up to the international community to find the correct steps and compromises to enforce rules for fair trade, as well as more solidarity upon all nations. To do this you can have a look at the following links, but also have a look at more sources; information on the topic is abundant!

General Research Links:

Combating Forced Prostitution and the Enslavement of Women

If one hears the word “slavery,” one often thinks about ancient times in the Greek city states, Roman Empire or the experience of African – Americans in the United States. However, for many people it is surprising that today in our modern world there are still many enslaved people.

Nowadays there are four types of slavery: Chattel Slavery, where the slave is the property of the owner (still very common in Northern Africa); Debt Bondage, in which owners lend money and slaves have to work to pay the money back, which is mostly very difficult though due to deceptive methods of slave owners, it is the most common form of slavery nowadays;

Contract Slavery, in which slave-owners bind people to them with false employment contracts without paying loans (this is most common in Thailand); lastly Sexual Slavery, in which people are sold to slave-owners and are used as prostitutes in the sex industry. This last form of slavery is especially important for our topic as it pertains for the most part to women.

Although many conventions and resolutions were passed, starting most importantly with the Slavery Convention, which entered into force in 1927, the forced prostitution and enslavement of women still remains a problem. Human trafficking is fostered especially in environments of poverty and unemployment, the best example being the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, which led to a dramatic increase of human trafficking.

It is very important to know that woman trafficking is a global issue. Every year international networks’ earnings are seven to twelve billion US dollars through woman trafficking and selling females to the sex industry. The United Nations estimates that there are four million women trafficked each year. Although they work, they earn very little money; if any at all, as it is often confiscated by the pander “owning” the women. After having been discovered, governments treat the trafficked women either as illegal immigrants or as criminals. This leads to either arrest or an immediate deporting to their home countries. Most trafficked women are from Eastern Europe, especially from the Ukraine. Prostitutes from regions of the former Soviet Union are trafficked to about 50 countries and are so prevalent that people in some countries call them collectively “Natashas”.

Through globalization it has been easier to create internationally operating crime organizations which profit from growing black markets, technologies like the internet, and increasing migration. Modern technology allows for detailed and complex plans and organizations for trafficking on a very large scale and to complicate financial transactions to hamper detections of their crimes. Migration is often used to cover trafficking in general. These organizations fill the holes a weak legal economy leaves. The weaker the economy and judicial systems become the more prospers the black market.

Another aspect that hugely affects the amount of human trafficking is corruption. In many countries the crime is not investigated and persecuted harshly enough. This is evident on a national level, as well as on the communal level, in which police officers are sometimes bribed with “free sexual services”.

We believe that also on this topic research sources are quite easy to find, and if everybody does the respective research we can have a very successful debate. Again the following links can greatly help you in your research, but you should also look for sources of your own.

General Research Links:

The Role of Women in Labor Markets

In 2000 the United Nations (UN) decided on 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that are to be fulfilled and implemented by the end of 2015. This year’s BERMUN ECOSOC will focus on Millennium Development Goal number three, which calls for redressing the gender disparities and empowering women. Greater focus on MDG3 is critical because –in addition to carrying a single value- it also sets the groundwork for achieving other MDGs: for example MDG2, universal primary education, and more importantly MDG1, the goal to reduce poverty.

Women make up more than half of the world’s population; however, not all females have the opportunity of visiting a school or receiving any kind of primary or secondary education. In order for women to play a greater role on labor markets, they need to attend school and receive both the same secondary and primary education as males. Even though the literacy rates have been rising, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization estimated that of the nearly 137 billion illiterate youths in the world, 63 percent are female. Education is one of the first steps to lead women into a fair and beneficial labor environment. If only men have a decent education, women have no chance of receiving jobs, except in low-skilled labor, such as agriculture/farming.

Women remain disadvantaged, especially in the poorest countries of the world. Their opportunities to receive a proper education and social and economic advancement are usually remarkably more inferior to those of men. Letting women take over a more important role or higher position in labor markets, wouldn’t only help females in terms of their personal well-being. It is proven that women, who have greater control over their families’ spending of household resources, foster the well being of their children by purchasing household necessities. Because more investment in education is linked to greater economic growth and because the spending of money on necessities rather than on luxuries, raising women’s economic influence within the household may enhance overall economic growth and reduce economic instability.

Women play a significant role on labor markets. They can have a large impact on a country’s economic stability, ultimately leading to a reduction of poverty and improvement of maternal health. All these factors -education, a woman’s social environment, and cultural and ethnic backgrounds- need to be considered when attempting to write a fair resolution that truly aims to empower women and prove the social impact a gender-equal labor market can have on the economic stability of a nation.

Here are some research websites that can help you, with writing the resolution concerning this topic.

We wish you all the best of luck with your research, if you have any questions you can also reach us at ecosoc[at]bermun.de. We are looking forward to seeing all of you,

Nicholas Erb, President of the ECOSOC
Gesa Tamcke, Deputy President of the ECOSOC
Yolantha Jürgens, Rapporteur to the ECOSOC

News:

2008-12-08:

2008 Conference Photos

2008-11-23:

2008 Newspapers

2008-10-15:

Student Officer Team
Committee Letters