Cornell Model United Nations Conference

Large Committees

Disarmament and International Security (DISEC)

A returning favorite, DISEC is a crash course in managing the eternal “security dilemma” and balancing core concerns of power and sovereignty in order to maintain peace in the increasingly fractured international system of the 21st Century. This year, DISEC will address the reduction of illicit trading in small arms and light weapons, blood diamonds and conflicts in West Africa, and a futuristic topic on the Russian retaliation to a completed US/EU joint missile defense system in Poland.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

UNDP is a programme of the UN General Assembly, and is the UN’s global development network. As an organization which advocates for change and connecting countries to knowledge, UNDP’s experience and resources help people build a better life. Topics discussed by UNDP at CMUNC 2009 will include infrastructure rebuilding in nations affected by natural disasters, global efforts for sustainable development, and strategies for empowering workers.

Specialized Committees

Organization of American States (OAS)

The Organization of American States is an international organization whose members include the thirty-five independent states of the Americas. Focused on hemispheric issues and international politics, OAS is the region's principal multilateral forum for strengthening democracy, promoting human rights, and confronting shared problems. Topics discussed this year at CMUNC include the proliferation of the drug trade, free trade in the Americas, and the effects of kidnapping and terror techniques used by both legitimate and illegal groups.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)

In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a court-like body created after the abolishment of apartheid. During the TRC's operations, high profile South Africans, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, investigated human rights abuses, worked to restore victim's dignity, formulated proposals to assist with rehabilitation, and considered applications for amnesty. The TRC represents a crucial component of South Africa's transition to a full and free democracy. This year's simulation of the TRC at CMUNC will be an exciting, unique committee, whose topics will include the trial of Winnie Mandela, the Sharpeville Massacre, and the Church Street Bombings.

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

The UNHRC is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, and was established in March 2006 to replace the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). THe UNHRC is made up of 47 states, which are responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. Topics debated by CMUNC 2009's UNHRC will include the rights of indigenous peoples, HIV/AIDS and human rights, and human trafficking and contemporary slavery.

Crisis Committees

Iraq 2003: Post‐Mission Accomplished

This crisis committee will take an in‐depth look at the conditions within Iraq following the invasion of the United States and coalition forces in 2003. Run by a dais of experts on the region, it is sure to be an enlightening committee which will also discuss the issues currently faced in Iraq. Topics discussed will include Iraqi national security, political structure, economy, and foreign relations. Intertwined with all these topics, the issues of sectarian divide, the prominence of certain (primarily Islamist) groups, and the differing visions for Iraq between US and Iraqi officials will feature prominently.

Peloponnesian War

Fought between 431–404 BC, the Peloponnesian War is a historical conflict of unarguably epic proportion. In this historical crisis committee, delegates will represent the military and diplomatic leaders of major city‐states in the warring Grecian Leagues. Starting well into the fray, delegates will have to address the ongoing conflict as well as threats from innumerable other forces in the ancient world. Delegates should have some familiarity with ancient history.

United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

The most visible committee of the United Nations organization is often its most dramatic. At the Security Council, delegates are required to take rapid, decisive action within the boundaries of their national policy. Its flexible structure is designed to handle urgent and demanding crises simultaneously, and delegates must remain conscious of overarching goals while immersed in immediate crisis relief. As representatives of the most powerful international governing body, delegates’ decisions reflect on the efficacy and viability of not only the Security Council, but of the UN as a whole in its ability to address interwoven issues. Topics which will begin discussion include the interaction between the UNSC and regional organizations, the legality of the independence of Kosovo, and women in conflict, with an emphasis on the Democratic Republic of the Congo!

World Health Organization (WHO)

Rather than presenting WHO as a traditional committee, this year CMUNC will continue its tradition of running WHO as a crisis committee focused on coordinating international public health concerns. One of the faces of a shrinking world is the rate at which international health crises can spread and impose incredibly humbling human tolls and economic costs on developed and developing nations alike. The recent bovine spongiform, SARS, and avian flu crises expose how disease respects no borders and the vulnerability of the international system. The WHO committee combines the imperatives of crisis management with the science and politics of international health. Delegates will have the opportunity to discus bioterrorism, TB drug resistance, and the environment and human health, as well as reacting to the world health crises which are sure to ensue over the course of the weekend. Delegates should have some science background and exposure to basic issues of disease.

World War I: Alliance and World War I: Entente

In the context of contemporary debates about European cohesiveness and nationalism, it is particularly fascinating to revisit the debates, divisions, and discussions in the inner decision‐making circles of the Alliance and Entente coalitions of World War I. Run by two separate daises, delegates in each of these joint committees will have to work to react to the events following the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914. Individual and national representatives will have the opportunity to change alliances, negotiate agreements, mobilize troops, and prevent or replicate the conditions which ultimately led to the destruction and devastation of the Great War.