KAMUN 2022

Topic

MUN Refugee Challenge - Statelessness

About the committee

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Committee (UNHCR) data suggests that 10 million people in the world today are stateless, meaning they do not hold the nationality of any country. Without a nationality, stateless people are often denied their fundamental rights, from access to education, health care, and economic opportunities, to freedom of movement and protection from abuse. The vulnerability created by these human rights violations can result in higher rates of exploitation and incarceration of stateless people, also putting them at greater risk of gender-based violence and mental health issues. These phenomena spread beyond the individual scale as they are often root causes of widespread poverty, social unrest, displacement and conflict, making statelessness a scourge on society as a whole.  The challenge awaiting UNHCR delegates will be twofold, as their mission will consist in finding solutions to both eradicate statelessness and protect the rights of stateless people in the process. In order to address those weighty issues, delegates will be expected to come up with innovative, long-lasting solutions, finding the right balance between creativity and viability. From changing laws that create statelessness in the first place to protecting the social and economic rights of stateless people, the challenges of this committee will be manifold and require the support of local and international actors. Hopefully, the delegates will be up to that daunting task!

Chairs

• Daria Kisseleva
• Alex Dietz

Countries

Topic

Microfinance with a focus on women empowerment

About the committee

The United Nations General Assembly Second Committee is one of the six main committees of the UNGA. It deals with global finance and economic matters. In this committee, the focus will be on investment in micro-finance programmes, which have increased in recent years. However, services such as loans, insurance, or savings are still considered to be biased when it comes to gender equality. The loans and savings facilities need improvement in order to empower women. Structural development should focus on the increasing benefits of women while ensuring effective strategies for diminishing poverty. To achieve financial sustainability, donors and NGOs should make the micro-finance process accessible for women. In this committee the delegates will have to bridge financial needs and differences between the global north and the global south, while at the same time focusing on gender discrimination and equality. Focusing on tackling the SDGs 5, 8, and 10 will for sure spark interesting debates for the ECOFIN delegates.

Chairs

• Rezwan Ahmed
• Tara Shokouhzadeh

Countries

Topic

Use of the Arctic

About the committee

The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum composed of Arctic bordering countries, (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States), the Arctics indigenous peoples as permanent representatives as well as observer states (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, China, Poland, India, Korea, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom). Promoting cooperation and dialogue between member states is the Arctic Council’s main goal and has led to the negotiation of three legally binding agreements in the past (strengthening international cooperation on issues of search and rescue at sea, marine oil pollution, and scientific cooperation in the Arctic). At KAMUN, delegates will discuss ways to ensure a sustainable use of the Arctic Marine Environment, an urgent issue, as the region belongs to those most impacted by climate change. With the ice cover of the Arctic decreasing however, new trade routes are being revealed and offer new opportunities for commercial use and economic exploitation of the Arctic Sea, as well as the potential for a militarization of the Artic Zone. Beginning commercial usage of these new routes may well cause lasting damage to the fragile ecosystem as well as the inhabitants of the Arctic. While first steps towards a more sustainable use of the Arctic have been achieved through the Polar Code negotiated in working groups of the IMO, the need for more comprehensive and far-reaching legislation to protect the Arctic marine environment remains evident.

Chairs

• Charlotte Stange
• Leah Mathiesen

Countries

Topic

1995 Dayton Agreement

About the committee

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” As delegates of the Security Council, blessed with the knowledge of what has transpired while burdened by the present, you have the unique opportunity to change history. You will jump back in time and be given the responsibility of fulfilling your role in the peace process following the violent collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The horrific atrocities of 1995 and earlier will be as close to you as the year 2022, armed with this knowledge you may be able to strengthen accountability within the UN, associated Partners and service providers. Entrusted with the power to establish binding international law, through resolutions, it is up to the UNSC to answer the call of the Dayton Accords. You can rely on the extensive historic record, academic analysis after the fact and the original resolutions, but you must overcome the failures of 1995. As the Security Council you will be able to debate the harms of international assistance missions and will grapple with fundamental tenants of international law. You will have read, how Peacekeepers exploited their position, how UN Police Advisors failed the people they were supposed to protect and now you will try to prevent past mistakes. As Delegates you may create a better path forward…

Chairs

• Dahlia Arora
• Manon Ponsolle

Countries

About the committee

In our International Press Corps, our delegates will have the opportunity to write editorials about the debates, to conduct interviews with the delegates, to lead press conferences and much more... The delegates will take up the role of one well-known international newspaper, hence representing their views and perspectives in their work! During the conference, the delegates will have the chance to influence the debates and collect high-level journalistic experience.

Chairs

• Jonas Pardamean Simorangkir
• Manuela Ramos Barroso

Countries