MUNOG 2011

Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunication in the Context of International Security

The issue has been discussed several times in the last decades. It was discussed last on 11th January 2011. However, being of high importance, the Disarmament and International Security Committee (also known as MC1 or DISEC) has submitted the issue again for its session held between 23th and 26th October 2011.

States, economies and citizens are becoming even more and more reliant on Networked Information Systems. (Also known as NIS). With the expansion of the Networked Information Systems the threat level of electronic attacks (also known as hacker attacks) has been risen significantly. The main problems are:

Governments, states, economies are exposed to malicious intrusions of and cyber-attacks on their information systems.
An example for this kind of threat is the hacker attack on Iran's nuclear facilities carried out by Israel, which set back Iran's nuclear development aims at least by 5 years.

http://packetstormsecurity.org/news/view/18482/Hack-Attack-Delayed-Irans-Nuclear-Program.html

- People are threatened
Government institutions, banks, multinational companies and even individuals are also facing hacker attacks. A recent example is Sony, where several names, credit card numbers and other personal information were stolen.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13206754

- Global media
The spread of information via the Internet seems to be unstoppable. It is nearly impossible to control the flow of news in the media to which people are exposed. On the other hand, it is easier for today’s governments to use propaganda, disinformation or psychological operations in order to achieve their strategic, political or economic goals.
- Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA)
As always, the military benefits from “Information revolution” as well, which leads us to new doctrines, new organizations and modes of warfare, where conventional armed forces will be smaller, more lethal, more operative at a higher speed, and will be able to react more rapidly over long distances.
http://www.futurefirepower.com/

Resolutions on this issue:
- From 2002 - http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs/background/resolutions/57-53.pdf
- From 2009
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N08/473/01/PDF/N0847301.pdf?OpenElement
- From 2010
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N09/463/33/PDF/N0946333.pdf?OpenElement
- From 2011
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N10/515/00/PDF/N1051500.pdf?OpenElement

General information about the issue:
- http://www.unidir.org/pdf/activites/pdf3-act81.pdf
- http://www.unidir.org/pdf/articles/pdf-art2642.pdf
Report from the secretary general related to this issue:
- From 2007 http://disarmament.un.org/library.nsf/e5e236cc645fcd048525731d006514e5/eb8151fef5a2f1ec85257328004c4bf4/$FILE/a-62-98.pdf
http://disarmament.un.org/library.nsf/e5e236cc645fcd048525731d006514e5/eb8151fef5a2f1ec85257328004c4bf4/$FILE/a-62-98.pdf

by Thomas Neumer
Maintenance of International Security - Good-Neighbourliness, Stability and Development in South-Eastern Europe
Objective Information on Military Matters, Including Transparency of Military Expenditures

GA - Main Committee III (SOCHUM: Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee)

Chairpersons:

Chair Ms Karolin Baitinger

Vice-Chair Mr Christian Keller

Vice-Chair Ms Jasmin Franz

The dancing boys of Afghanistan
Hundreds of men come together. Most of them bring their boys with them, who all have to dance one after the other. Female clothes, sometimes even make-up and bells on their hands and feet are part of their covering. Later at night the young boys are raped by their masters.

Those scenes are not at all part of an innocuous Afghan village tradition. They’re rather part of the Afghani child prostitution practice.It is called Baccha Baazi - boy dancing - and, according to UNICEF, it has been practised for centuries. Young boys are kept as slaves and trained as male dancers for the sex parties of the Afghani warlords.
In most cases those boys come from really poor backgrounds. Between the age of 10 and 15 they are taken away from their families and according to state officials “recruited for the police or the army”.

In fact they’re made sex slaves and status symbols of the powerful warlords. Those men have often several “Bacchis” for their sexual satisfaction. Being of no more use for the warlords as soon as the boys’ beard starts to grow and their faces lose their soft feature, they are replaced.

This is a flourishing business of male child prostitution in Afghanistan. Up to now there are hardly any consequences for the systematic child abuse of Afghanistan’s dancing boys.It’s this committee’s duty to take measures and to find solutions to improve the situation of Afghanistan’s children.

For more information look at:
http://greenprotest.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/vielfalt-vielfalt-uber-alles-bacha-bazi-als-kulturbereicherung-fur-padophile/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacha_bazi

Karolin Baitinger
Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Territories
Since the late 15th century the European world powers have expanded into the world and conquered foreign territories. They have oppressed the indigenous peoples who lived in the occupied countries and have exploited their natural resources.
While most of the American colonies reached their independence during the 18th and 19th century, especially the African territories were maintained until the 20th century when the end of the Second World War and the revolts in the African colonies marked an point of inflection in international foreign policy. The colonialist scheme wasn’t in accordance with the international law and morality and thus a change in the international law and policy was needed.
The Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Territories was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 14th December 1960, when especially the African decolonisation had already started. It was written as a gloss upon the UN Charter adapting it to the new and progressive international community and law. It has also been a guidance for the development of international and national law systems.
The Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Territories is the main base for further legislative acts which ensured the sovereignty over natural resources and wealth.
But even if it reached its main aims - there are still territories in which the Declaration has not been implemented (e.g. Western Sahara) and there are also unanswered questions concerning the postcolonial frontiers which disrespect the indigenous and ethnical communities and frontiers. This has caused many conflicts and it still causes them. That’s why the MCIII deals with this topic and searches for new ideas since the recent situation can have devastating consequences for many people(s) in the world.
Christian Keller
Persecution of People with Albinism

GA - Main Committee VI (LEGAL: Legal Committee)

Chairpersons:

Chair Ms Sophie Scheuble

Vice-Chair Ms Camille de Clerq

Vice-Chair Ms Katharina Rommel

Drug Cultivation Control
Implementation of the Resolutions of the United Nations
Each year, several resolutions are adopted by the UN. This is a fact, but how are those resolutions implemented in the world?
In 2000, the 1325 resolution called each member state to set up a national action plan, but only about twenty of them elaborated such a plan. The main problem for the implementation of the UN resolution is the fact that those resolutions do not have a binding power towards the member states. Therefore, some states are often slow in following the international recommendations, since these issues don’t have priority for them.
Moreover, some resolutions can be difficult to implement and can take time to be applied. For example, the Middle East tensions are still present and violence still occurs, although resolutions have been taken by the UN since 1967 (resolutions 242, 338, 1322, 1397, 1435). The issue that can be raised nowadays can deal with the delays between the adoption of a resolution and its concrete implementation.
Camille de Clerq
Prevention of Youth Crime and the Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Youth Offenders
“Violent crime carried out by children and teenagers has gone up by a third in only three years. The number of under-18s convicted or cautioned over violent offences rose from 17,590 to 24,102 - an increase of 37 per cent.” (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1576076/Violent-youth-crime-up-a-third.html)
First of all “youth” should be defined. “Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood (maturity)” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth). In general, youth offenders are teenagers aged from 13-19 or young adults aged 20 or 21.
Youth crime is a global problem, thus everybody is confronted with it: in their own home town or city, in capital cities, at holiday resorts and in other places. Their dictums to commit a criminal act are different from those of adults. Not only is the number of these young offenders rising, but you can also witness a growth in the level of crime in all countries of the world. Although it gets punished in every country, combatting it remains one of the most serious global problems although it is much easier to understand the underlying causes and to do something for the its prevention.
First steps for save cities were done in 1996. The safer city programme of the UN-HABITAT was founded. “It’s initial focus was on Africa, at the request of African mayors who were concerned by the extent of violence in their cities and wanted help with the development of prevention strategies at city level.[…] The programme has been extended to Latin America, Asia and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, catering for an increasing need for exchange of information, knowledge and good practices between national, regional and local governments as well as civil society, non-governmental organisations and the international level.”
This programme was founded for the undeveloped countries. But youth crime is not only a problem in those countries. Also developed and industrialised countries combat with this problem.
Programmes for the prevention of youth crime often take effect in places where they are not really needed. The coordination between the organization, the programme and the people who are responsible for the success has not been developed enough.
Also, the question how youth offenders could be reintegrated is not discussed well enough.
If a young person was in prison or has a criminal record, he or she will be automatically avoided - avoided by other people and disadvantaged regarding jobs, although everyone knows that youth offenders have the lowest rate of criminal relapse.
The questions is: How could youth crime be prevented sustainably and how could youth offenders be reintegrated in society?

Catharina-Linda Rommel

ECOSOC - Economic and Social Council

Economic and Social Council Presidency at MUNOG 2011:

President H.E. Ms Anna Wieszt

Vice-President H.E. Ms Melanie Schray

Vice-President H.E. Mr Akshat Agarwal

Empowering the Poor through Micro-financing
2005 has been proclaimed the International Year of Microcredit by the United Nations General Assembly. The phenomenon of microfinance is used to provide small loans for income-generating self-employment activities. The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) defines microfinance as "the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor."
This is needed since traditional banks do not lend to the poor since they have no collateral or income to secure. But with poverty spreading throughout the world and the lack of resources and credit, effective measures must be taken to eradicate poverty and to battle against sub-standard living conditions and exploitation.

Essentially, the problem comes down to the fact that without jobs and any access to credit there is no opportunities for the poor, especially for women that do not have the capital necessary to buy the equipment needed to successfully start a small business.

The access to microcredit is an effective tool and has proven to be a sustainable solution to finance loans, insurances and training for people who live in poverty.
Microfinancing benefits the poor across the world, provides them with the opportunity to establish their own businesses and guarantees wealth and well-being for the individual, their families and the overall community.
Intentions of microcredits are on the one hand the realization of long-term economic development in less developed countries and on the other the improvement in the daily lives of poor people including the improvement of the quality of life of those living in poverty.

Further use of microcredits and their possibilities of improving the living conditions of the poor in countries such as Samoa, Cambodia or Kenya - just to name a few - will be discussed in the Economic and Social Committee.

Anna Wieszt
Question of Health Care
Health Care is about prevention, diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation for all kinds of physical and mental diseases and injury.
Important for an efficient health care/ health insurance system is a well-functioning health financing system with sufficient funds and an efficient use of available resources.
Considering that every country has a different health care system and that some are better developed than others, it is difficult to establish international standards to improve all the diverse health care systems.
But there is a need of a universal health coverage that all people - regardless in which country they live or how rich they are – can rely on good health services when they need them.
People in countries with less developed health care systems must not be disadvantaged compared to people in countries with better developed health care systems. But at the moment the facts tell us that in a developing country the risk for a woman dying from a pregnancy-related cause during her lifetime is about 36 times higher compared to a woman living in a developed country.
This is not acceptable. Things must change.
See: World Health Report 2010
http://www.who.int/whr/2010/10_summary_en.pdf

Melanie Schray
Economic and Social Repercussions of the Israeli Occupation on the Living Conditions of the Palestinian People in the Occupied Palestinian Region
One of the gravest examples of global fanaticism is the Israel-Palestine conflict. Since 1948 both countries have argued, fought for and lost areas which they both claim to be theirs. In spite of the numerous peace accords (Oslo Accord, Camp David Summit, Taba Summit), the battle is still going on and its consequences on the people of both countries have been horrendous.
Israel has occupied several portions of Palestine including the East Bank, East Jerusalem and The Gaza Strip and, since 1967, has boosted its Jewish population to the great detriment of Palestinians. According to WHO’s report there are 27 camps in the occupied Palestine which house approximately 1/3 of the 1,885,000 Palestinian people.
An Israeli court ruling recently allowed settler groups to move into dozens more homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, which is a clear violation of the articles 12 and 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The situation and conditions of the Palestinian people in these occupied regions are horrifying. According to a global survey about 8,000 Palestinians have died, among those around 1600 children. Palestinians are continually evicted from their homes in East Jerusalem. It is estimated that 180,000 or more Palestinians have been affected.

Besides, the education of these Palestinians has been cut down, since the Israeli government has banned the import of construction material into the Gaza Strip, which leaves students without any classrooms. Only 6% of these Palestinians attend university.

Furthermore, the people in Gaza are being deprived of the basic amenities of life - which includes water supply, sewage treatment and removal, and the functioning of health services.

As a result, the population of the occupied Palestinian territory is facing the socio-economic consequences of the growing prevalence of invalidity related to communicable diseases and the economic burden of the growing number of patients suffering from chronic diseases and requiring medical care. Thus, despite the numerous efforts by the UNRWA Palestinian people are victims of poverty and health inequalities.

Given the vital importance of health as a fundamental human right, indivisible from other human rights, it is critically important for all nations to exert every effort to ensure sustainable access to health care for Palestinian refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Akshat Agarwal

HRC - Human Rights Council

Human Rightsl Council Presidency at MUNOG 2011:

President H.E. Mr Konrad Barth

Vice-President H.E. Ms Claire Guillaud

Vice-President H.E. Ms Viktoria Meyer

Protection of Journalists in Situations of Armed Conflict
Every day independent journalists (internet reporters, photographers, broadcast reporters, columnists, etc.) report from crisis areas of the world and accept the risks they are exposed to: usually these are the risks of death, kidnapping, imprisonment or injury, day by day.

Actually, there are more than 30 armed conflicts over the world (view map). Of these areas the most dangerous country for journalists is the Republic of Iraq. Since the invasion of the US troops in Iraq more than 230 journalists have been killed by suicide attacks, crossfire or similar actions while doing their jobs. In the Vietnam War (1955 - 1975) “only” 66 journalists were killed. Each week two journalists die in a crisis area on average. Currently (May 2011) 21 journalists have been killed in 2011 and 145 have been taken into custody while doing their jobs. Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, for example, were killed by a rocket-propelled grenade on April 20, 2011 in Libya.

Many journalists have been abducted in situations of armed conflicts in order to force money or a withdrawal of troops. Florence Aubenas, for example, was held in captivity for 157 days after she had been abducted by Islamist hostage-takers. Because journalists are afraid of losing their lives, they are not willing to report any longer from areas of armed conflicts. Consequently, if this happened, the world would not find out about any changes there, for example those affecting the civilian population.

The UN Security Council has already discussed about a resolution (resolution 1738, 2006) to protect journalists in situations of armed conflicts. Today the issue has not been solved yet. Still journalists are being killed in such situations. The UN has to discuss this topic again to ensure that journalists can do their jobs safely and we will be briefed with the news from crisis areas.

Konrad Barth
Combating Defamation of Religions
Also called calumny or vilification, defamation is the communication of a statement that makes a claim and that can give a negative aspect of the topic “discussed”. In common law jurisdictions slander refers to a malicious, false, and defamatory spoken statement or report, while libel refers to any other form of communication such as written words or images. A person who destroys another's reputation may be referred to as a famacide, defamer, or slanderer.
Defamation interferes with the freedom of speech. Indeed Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights permits restrictions on the freedom of speech when necessary to protect the reputation or rights of prosecutors. Fortunately, the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states in Article 17 that “no one should be subjected to unlawful interference with neither his privacy, family or home nor his honor or reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks”.
According to the state where the fault is committed, the punishment is different. Indeed, when defamation “could only constitute a criminal offense, not a civil wrong” in the Russian Federation it may result in “a fine up to 500 times the amount of minimum salaries” in Azerbaijan. In European countries criminal codes are set up so as to prevent citizen from defaming in general. Our Asian neighbors, such as the Islamic states, have expressed concerns that Islam is sometimes associated with terrorism and human rights violations, especially after the attack on the twin towers, and they argue that the resolutions are necessary to combat Islamophobia.
Since 2001 there has been a clear split, with the Islamic bloc and much of the developing world supporting the resolutions, and mostly Western democracies opposing. Support has been waning in recent years, due to increased opposition from the West, along with lobbying by religious, free-speech, and human rights advocacy groups. Some countries in Africa, the Pacific, and Latin America have begun switching from supporting to abstaining, or from abstaining to opposing.
These theories have led to its topicality: recently, countries of the Organization of the Islamic conference and also Pakistan have proposed a resolution to the HRC aiming at fighting the defamation of religions, a resolution hardly criticized by European countries. Nowadays, the debate about criticizing religions has appeared after a caricature on Mohammed. But let’s be careful, it is certainly not a problem about Islam in general but about Muslim minorities. All countries have to be open-minded now. and think about freedom and well being of its citizens before the economic or personal interests.

Claire GUILLAUD
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism
The Human Rights Council is the UN response to a 21st century that brought new challenges to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The HRC has the difficult mission to pursue the universal application and implementation of Human Rights in every country of the world.

The issue of terrorism and human rights has long been a concern of the United Nations. Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, and subsequent surge in acts of terrorism worldwide, it has become even more urgent. While condemning terrorism unequivocally and recognizing the duty of States to protect those living within their jurisdictions from terrorism, the United Nations has placed a priority on the question of protecting human rights in the context of counter-terrorism measures.
The defense of human rights and upholding the rule of law while countering terrorism is indeed at the heart of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which was adopted by member states on 8 September 2006. This strategy, in the form of a resolution and an annexed Plan of Action, is a unique global instrument that will enhance national, regional and international efforts to counter terrorism. This is the first time that all member states have agreed to a common strategic approach to fight terrorism. Their goals are not only to send a clear message that terrorism is unacceptable in all its forms and manifestation but also to resolve to take practical steps individually and collectively to prevent and combat it. Those practical steps include a wide array of measures ranging from strengthening state capacity in order to counter terrorist threats to better coordinate United Nations system’s counter-terrorism activities. Member states acknowledged that effective counter-terrorism measures and the protection of human rights are not conflicting goals but complementary and mutually reinforcing aims. They pledged to take measures aimed at addressing violations of human rights and to ensure that any measures taken to counter terrorism comply with their human rights obligations.
Measures to ensure respect for human rights for all and the rule of law as the fundamental basis of the fight against terrorism reaffirm that the promotion and protection of human rights for all and the rule of law is essential to all components of the strategy. Recognizing that effective counter-terrorism measures and the protection of human rights are not conflicting goals, but complementary and mutually reinforcing , and stressing the need to promote and protect the rights of victims of terrorism.

Vicky Meyer

UNECA - United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

Chairpersons:

President Ms Ioana Subasu

Vice-President Ms Silan Derin

Vice-President Ms Kristin Wohlgemuth

Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa
Africa is well-know all over the world for its charged atmosphere caused by the conflict, generally speaking, between different countries. Namibia, Mozambique, Liberia, Libya, Somalia, Rwanda are relevant examples of states that chose to follow their interests and have refused to compromise with others within the same continent for a real solution.
However, the civil wars in Rwanda (where almost one million people became victims of cruel genocide within 100 days), Burundi, Chad, Kongo, Cote d’Ivoire, the conflicts of interests based on the territorial administration of natural resources (diamond, oil, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum), the suppression of political pluralism, all these lead to violence, diseases, high death toll, insecurity, that is to say chaos. The concept of chaos involves a smaller number of people engaged in work activities, without a stable job, no human resources, low standard of education, no efficient industry and thus, no durable development.
Taking the statistics (Chen & Ravallion, 2000) into consideration that show the incidence of extreme poverty is 2.39 percentage of the Africans earning in the area of 1$ ( USA) per day, it is easily noticeable that the continent is ruled by no medium power, just the poor and the non-poor. There is every indication to suggest that the abject poverty is both a cause and a consequence of conflict, a destructive agent for the country’s economy. Therefore, we can state that the current financial situation stems from the negative effects of the wars.
Moreover, the UN has tried to eradicate the conflicts and poverty to achieve durable peace and to promote democracy by implementing the UN Millenium Declaration in 2000 among both rich and suffering nations. Three years later, a drastic conclusion was drawn from the statistics: the report met with little succes, with Africa recording a rise in economic instability. Even Kofi Annan published a progress report (April, 1998) with a view to explaining all the possible causes of the extension of conflicts, having envisaged that the strength of democracy, the transparency in public administration and the positive environment for investment and economic growth can provide fertile grounds for Africa to release itself from the throes of its worst economic and social crisis on record.
In conclusion, this committee has the honoured mission to ensure the situation of Africa does not any longer persist. Notwithstanding differences in mentality, in the goals of previous documents wishing to abolish the conflicts, every nation has the unprecedented obligation to voice their opinions, their statements and to spring into action in accordance with the needs of Africa.

Ioana Subasu
Genetically Modified Foods and their World-wide Impacts
Assistance to Survivors of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, Particularly Orphans, Widows and Victims of Sexual Violence
The genocide in Rwanda was responsible for the death of 1 million Tutsi and moderate Hutu in 1994 and lasted more than one hundred days. The persecuted Tutsi minority was treated excruciatingly painful, including rape and other abasing and inhuman tortures.
Meanwhile as well as in the period following the genocide, the United Nations (UN) and countries like the U.S., Britain and Belgium have been criticized for their inaction. Furthermore, France was accused of having participated in the genocide.

Already in January 1994, General Roméo Dallaire, commander of UN peacekeepers in Rwanda, warned the UN in New York in a telegram about the planned genocide and called for help. But the responsible department for peacekeeping missions, headed by Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General, refused the necessary intervention. Instead, Annan recommended the withdrawal of troops down to 270 men.
The former colonial powers - Germany, Belgium, led by France - who had trained the Hutu militias, did not intervene. In the U.S., the Clinton administration ignored their African experts’ warnings and supported the withdrawal of UN units from Rwanda.

The genocide in Rwanda also produced significant regional problems. After the Rwandan Patriotic Front had ousted the Hutu rulers in order to end the genocide and form a new government hundreds of thousands of Hutus fled to eastern Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) in the summer of 1994. Among the refugees there were many offenders who subsequently prepaired to recapture Rwanda.

Another problem a lot of women and children in Rwanda have been confronted with after this genocide is the high number of rapes. The exact number of women and girls who were raped during the genocide in Rwanda is unknown. According to UNICEF, the estimae is between 250,000 and 500,000. These women often suffer from social ostracism, because in Rwanda such acts mean a personal disgrace for the victims. Many raped women have become pregnant and have given birth – the number is estimated at 2,000 – 5,000. There’s a high percentage of the raped being HIV-positive. Often rape victims suffering from AIDS fall short of medical treatment due to the high cost of medication.

As the Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon said: “Preventing genocide is a collective and individual responsibility. Rwanda’s survivors have made us confront the ugly reality of a preventable tragedy. The only way to truly honour the memory of those who perished in Rwanda is to ensure such events can never occur again". The UN recognized its failure and started with missions like "Reconstruction in Rwanda: Reconciliation and Education" and The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. This court was adjudicated by the Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the genocide and other serious violations of the international law in Rwanda. By supporting this, the UN has sent a strong signal that the world will not tolerate impunity for gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. But still, justice and compensation have not been granted to widows and orphans of rape.

Silan Derin

UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Chairpersons:

President Ms Evelin Sazalai

Vice-President Ms Hanna Harbeke

Vice-President Ms Wiebke Hangst

Education Gap between Developed and Developing Countries
Managing the Increasing Pace of Disappearing Languages
As we all know, language is an essential feature for our daily lives. We use it e.g. to talk with friends, at school, during work and only language makes a conference like MUNOG possible. Since we all come from different countries, we speak different languages but are able to talk with each other because we all know English. Besides the positive aspects of English as the world language, it entails a problem we should discuss about: the disappearance of many languages in the world.
UNESCO itself estimates that there are around 6,000 languages spoken in the world today, most of them in several dialects; however, if action is not taken soon to manage the rate of disappearing languages, many of these dialects will begin to fade away. Although there are a few languages that are not spoken but are being kept alive artificially - like Latin, ancient Greek, and Sanskrit - many languages disappear without being known in great detail by the international community.

Over the past three hundred years, the world has seen a significant decrease in the death of languages leading to our current situation in which around 3,000 of the languages being spoken are endangered or dying. This situation is significantly dire in Africa where among its approximately 1,400 languages at least 250 are threatened and 500-600 are on decline. The estimated death of twenty-five languages each year is an appalling statistic that threatens centuries of cultural heritage.

By adopting the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity in 2001, the General Conference reaffirmed the need for urgent action to promote linguistic and cultural diversity notably through
• safeguarding the linguistic heritage,
• fostering the learning of several languages from the youngest age on and
• promoting linguistic diversity in cyberspace.

To understand this issue, delegates must look at how these languages become endangered. Language endangerment is classified as the
• “language of any community that is no longer learned by children or at least by a large part of the children community (30%) of that community.”
However, language can also become endangered by
• splitting up communities that speak a certain language,
• aggressive interaction between a particular speech community and a larger, metropolitan one, and
• the destructive actions of another dominant culture that leads to the destruction of the livelihoods of speakers of local languages.

Hanna Harbeke
Fighting Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property

Countless grave robberies at archaeologically significant places, the plundering of antique cultural sites and the massive theft of art objects from churches and museums all over the world menace the scientific development, the preservation and the universal access to our cultural heritage. The sales of the illicit trade in cultural goods are in the billions, the caused loss is immense.
Sixteen years after the adoption of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Protocol of 1954, the international community has decided to extend this protection by adopting the 1970 UNESCO Convention, to curb the increasing illicit international trafficking of cultural property.
Under the provisions of this international treaty, states cooperate to protect the cultural property on their territory and fight its illicit import, export and transfer. Illicit trafficking of cultural property is a rapidly evolving issue that is attracting a significant political, media, diplomatic and legal attention.
Look for your countries policies on this issue and search for closer information on the internet and on the official website of the UNESCO.

Wiebke Hangst

UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Precidency of MUNOG 2011-COP of UNFCCC:

President H.E. Mr Lovis Nolting

Vice-President H.E. Ms Catharina Wittel

Vice-President H.E. Mr Rennik-Jan Neggers

Agricultural Trade Policies
Agricultural Trade Policy as it is today is unacceptable:Speculations do not only ruin farmers but distort the market. Farmers suffer from dumping prices and cannot trade fairly due to tariffs, import restrictions and irritating subsidies. The ongoing contest between the cultivation of food and fuel has lead to a dilemma which is hardly to be put aside without the developed nations finding a conclusion on the subject.
The agricultural sector today is too much affected by political instability, the price of fertilizers and transportation costs. The effects are dramatic and do not only
lead to even more hunger in the developing countries.
With the very beginning of the world food price crisis we have been facing since 2007 the agricultural trade policies have become obsolete and have to be changed to secure as much independence as possible on the price of agricultural products in our modern world.

We, as the COP, have the task to discuss what has already been focused by the WTO (World Trade Organization) and hopefully find solutions since the Doha Development Round has failed. Of course, as we stand for the fight against climate change and for biological diversity we have to remind the delegates that another serious problem to be regarded is the increasing demand of food in the world and that farmers frequently destroy nature to have more areas of cultivation.

Although countries have sat together several times to discuss the topic there has not been any big effort yet. For your research you might respect the work of the UN World Food Program, the FAO, the WTO (Doha) and OXFAM.
Extracts from the 2011 Istanbul Declaration: Renewed and Strengthened Global Partnership for the Development of LDCs

- “We underscore that integrated and sustainable agriculture and rural development policies and practices, focusing particularly on small-scale farmers and agro-businesses as well as increased investments in LDCs are essential to the eradication of poverty and hunger and achievement of food and nutritional security.”
clause 8 e)

- “We acknowledge the great potential of regional economic integration and cooperation in creating new opportunities for trade, investment, production, supply chains, and markets through improved infrastructure and connectivity. We underscore that regional integration and cooperation efforts involving LDCs should be further enhanced and supported with the contributions of relevant regional organizations and institutions.”
clause 8 f)

- “We reaffirm that international trade remains a key driver of economic growth and sustainable development in LDCs. We strongly call on all WTO members to intensify their negotiating efforts to bring the WTO Doha Round to a successful conclusion. We commit to the realization of the timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access, on a lasting basis, for all LDCs, consistent with the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration adopted by the World Trade Organization in 2005. […]“
clause 9

source: http://ldc4istanbul.org/uploads/IstanbulDeclaration.pdf
Reviewing and Reinforcing the Davos Agreement on Climate Change and Tourism
The Declaration of Davos on climate change and tourism was made in Switzerland on 3 October 2007. The Declaration contains recommendations and objectives for dealing with the climate change. "Sustainable growth" in tourism can be achieved if the travel industry responds quickly to the challenges of climate change, as the Declaration of Davos states. The tourism industry is challenged by climate change and at the same time is not an insignificant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The conference has demonstrated that tourism has a potentially very important and positive role to play in sustainability challenges of our age.
The international community takes a further action against climate change around a commonly agreed framework led by the United Nations. This UN framework will seek to establish a long-term post-Kyoto declaration with rapid deployment and more efficient solutions.
The tourism sector has an important place, given its global economic and social value, its role in sustainable development and its strong relationships with climate.
The UNFCCC should maintain response levels and identify further needs and actions.
To incorporate climate factors in tourism policies, development and management plans, to ensure a sustainable future for the sectors the actions must be specified:

- to mitigate its Greenhouse Gas emissions, derived especially from transport and accommodation activities;
- to adapt tourism businesses and destinations to changing climate conditions;
- to apply existing and new technology to improve energy efficiency;
- to secure financial resources to help poor regions and countries.

Review and reinforcement are really necessary due to the failure to implement the Declaration of Davos. According to statistics the values of greenhouse gas emissions increase and the expected improvements have not been achieved.
While climate is a valuable and essential resource for tourism, there can be no complacency with respect to the power of climate hazards and climate change to affect the infrastructure, the people, the financial networks and the ecosystems that are vital to the success of tourism at all levels.

Catharina Wittel
Implications of Renewable Sources of Energy
To combat global warming and climate change, and to find replacements for fossil fuels, humanity is forced to switch to renewable energy sources, like solar- , wind and biomass energy. Some countries have already implemented renewable energy, and some countries are starting to do so. The implementation of renewable energy sources is a very important and urgent matter, but one should always make a decision after careful deliberation, which is essential since "every advantage has its disadvantage". Thus, this principle applies to renewable sources of energy, as well.
Environmental matters with possible impacts to be considered, are for example:
• the public opposition
• the neglect of wilderness area
• the sensible use of land
• the safety whilst constructing renewable sources
• the pollution of air and water
• the disposal of waste.
Recently the United Nations have written a Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN) in cooperation with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In a nutshell, the report states that by 2050 the renewables can provide the world with green energy at a rate of 80 percent. With this report they intend to explore the contribution of renewables to mitigate climate change. Renewables will have an important role in the future. However, the role it will play is very much dependent on the dedication of governments all over the world.
However, the question is: in what way will this vision affect our environment? Not all renewable energy technologies are appropriate to all applications and locations. Consequently, the task is to find the best way to cope with these matters without affecting the environment.

Rennik-Jan Neggers

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