The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime AUDMUN Background Guide

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2 Dearest Delegates, We are absolutely honored to be the directors of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime this year at AUDMUN We hope that we can offer you a productive and memorable experience that you will never forget. We are positively thrilled to meet you all, and hope to see spirited and vigorous debate throughout the weekend. The first topic is the issue of fraudulent medicines. The war on drugs is broad and complex. It centres around the complex world of fake pharmaceuticals and the myriad threats they pose to the general population, economy and national security. Concentrating on the criminal aspect of the circumstance, absence of international coordination and proper legislation has given an organized crime groups a low risk, high benefit condition and environment in which they can flourish in. The second topic pertains to human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The issue of human trafficking is difficult one as the trade of humans for forced labor, the harvest of organs, and sexual exploitation goes back a great many years. Numerous factors add to this inhumane practice, as poverty and hunger have driven people into the trap of exchange. Human trafficking and migrant smuggling (HTMSS) comes under the Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch (OCB); which is under the authority of the Division of Treaty Affairs (DTA). This barrage of information, close by the two backgrounders, may appear to be intimidating, however will prove very rewarding during the conference. In the event that you have any inquiries or concerns, kindly don t delay getting in touch with us. We formally welcome you to AUDMUN UNODC Sincerely, The Chairs of UNODC

3 Topic 1: Issues of Fraudulent Medicine Introduction A standout amongst the most unsafe and widely neglected violation in the world today is the production and circulation of fraudulent medicine. As indicated by the World Health Organization (WHO), fraudulent medicine is one which is intentionally and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source. Duplicating can apply to both branded and generic products and counterfeit products may include products with the correct ingredients or with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with fake packaging & quotes. Fraudulent medicines represent an extensive public health risk as they fail to cure diseases, harm-patients, and now and again result in death. These threats to public health has driven the international network to call for a fortified and coordinated response to overcome fraudulent medicines. Fueling this public health and wellbeing risk is the supply chain for medicines that operate at a worldwide level, and therefore a cooperative, cohesive effort at the international level is essential to viably identify and combat the introduction of fraudulent medicines in the world. Imitation drugs pose extraordinary danger to the general public and have the potential of killing people who take them. These dangers, alongside the expansion of fake medicines delivered and sold, have driven the international community to call for change. These medicines are frequently sold at much reduced and discounted prices, making it convincing to those lacking health insurances or proper means of paying their recommended medicines. Once impoverished families buy these subpar alternatives, they are thrust into a deprivation cycle. Compelled to deal with gigantic financial difficulties and declining health, they have no choice except to resort to these medications yet again.

4 In one case, diethylene glycol was packaged as cough syrup and caused several hundreds of deaths in Haiti, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Argentina and India. Fraudulent medicine may expand the treatment time frame and increase antibacterial resistance due to lowered or no doses of active ingredients. Aside from the significant human life loss that occurs from fraudulent medicine there is additionally, a vast economic loss. In 2006, $40 billion U.S.D was lost due to medication falsifying business. The losses appear to be increasing every year. Numerous pharmaceutical companies are losing their profits due to the competition that has been created, a few companies have also been collapsed from the loss of these profits. Creating and selling these medicines have exploded into an overall market, with an estimated value of $75 billion a year. History A World Health Organization (WHO) survey conducted between January 1999 and October 2000 in 20 different countries, found that 60% of counterfeit medicines cases happened in developing countries and 40% happened in industrialized nations. In parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, fraudulent medicines are thought to add up to as much as 30% of the market. UNODC presently estimates that the trafficking of fake drugs from Asia to South-East Asia and Africa is a multi-billion dollar activity. In April 1999, reports of 771 instances of substandard medicines have been entered into the WHO database on counterfeits, 77% of which were from developing countries. Data analysis demonstrated that in 60% of the 325 cases an active ingredient was not present in the product, implying that the medicine would not be effective in treating the sickness it was planned for.

5 During the meningitis plague in Niger in 1995 more than 50,000 individuals were inoculated with fabricated vaccines, received as a blessing from a country which presumed their safety. This exercise brought about 2,500 deaths. The consumption of paracetamol cough syrup prepared with diethylene glycol (a dangerous chemical used in antifreeze) prompted 89 deaths in Haiti in 1995 and 30 infant deaths in India in Of the one million death that happen from malaria every year, as many as 20,000 could be avoided and these lives can be saved if the medicines which are given to individuals are effective, of good quality and monitored correctly. A study conducted in South-East Asia in 2001 uncovered that 38% of 104 (40) antimalarial medications on sale in store did not contain any active ingredients and had resulted in numbers of preventable deaths. Analysis The issue of fraudulent medicine still remains a growing issue until this very day. Although the rise of technology through the last few years has helped with the challenge of identifying genuine medication, it has also brought along with it some other issues in addition to the already existing ones. Fraudulent medicine traders now have the ability to reach a wider range of customers at a more international level easier than ever before. This adds to the pressure on law enforcement to try and manage and control the flow of fraudulent medicine in and out of the countries. Another issue that exists is the lack of education regarding the identification and avoidance of purchasing fraudulent medicine. Compared to just a few years ago, many more people now have the ability to access and purchase medication, however the awareness and education towards purchasing these medications still remains lacking. With some investment in education citizens about fraudulent medicine, the issue will be much easier to control.

6 In addition to lack of education, some drug shortages in official pharmaceutical institutions may cause some customers to turn to black market alternatives for their required medication. This not only hurts the country s economy, it also poses a significant threat to national wellbeing. In order to combat this, countries must work together to ensure that their citizens are able to access real medicine when they require it. Delegates must work together to tackle these issues in order to stop the issue of fraudulent medicine from growing and with that we may hope to start a new age of general well-being and improved health. Questions a resolution must answer 1. As high medicine cost drives the fraudulent medicine industry, in what manner will countries stop the rising demand of fraudulent medicine? 2. How will developing countries deal with the economic effect of fraudulent medicine? 3. What is currently lacking in the UNODC response due to which its failing to cope up with this issue of fraudulent medicine? 4. What measures do UNODC have to take to effectively enforce the regulations in order to deal with these criminals? 5. What possible solutions your country can come up to prevent fraudulent medicine from entering or leaving its border? 6. Will there be punishments for those countries that do not monitor medicine production and transportation? References General Information on Counterfeit Medicines. WHO. N.p., n.d Web. 13 Aug

7 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Fraudulent Medicines. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July World Health Organization. (2003, November). Substandard and counterfeit medicines. World Health Organization:

8 Topic 2: Transnational operations of human trafficking with a focus social and sexual exploitation Introduction Human trafficking is a worldwide issue that has not spared any part of the world regardless of the country s development and international status. The UN Trafficking Protocol defines Human trafficking as the recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring or receipt of a person by such means as threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception for the purpose of exploitation. This definition bares in mind 3 core elements as described in the table below. Action refers to the medium of recruitment and transfer process. Means refers to the various schemes used to lure and maintain possession of recruitments, usually through abuse of power and exploiting the individual s vulnerability in the situation. Lastly purpose is the cause of abduction, exploitation. This includes exploitative purposes such as prostitution, forced labor, slavery and black-market organ trade. According to the United Nations Organization against Drugs and Crimes database on types of exploitation 87% commercial sex, 28% economic forced labor and the remaining are linked to untraceable sources. Global trends show that women (77%) are the most affected

9 stakeholders when it comes to human trafficking, followed by children (33%) and then men (9%). This is consistent with the high demand for female prostitution that make up the 87% commercial sex section of exploitation. Furthermore, according to the World Bank database, Total annual profit from all traffic forced laborers globally adds up to US$31,654 million. However, it vital to acknowledge the difference between Human trafficking and Migrant smuggling, as there seems to a blurred line in differentiating between the two.

10 Essentially, there are 4 main differences acknowledged by the UN: Consent, Exploitation, Transnationality, and Source of profits. This is further explained in the analysis of this topic. History Human trafficking has been a prominent issue that has plagued humanity as a whole for many generations. Back around the 1400s however, human trafficking was called slavery and was a legal trade. As the years went on, more countries became involved and the slave trade was one of the largest trades in the world. In 1865, progress was made to stop slavery by officially abolishing it by law. This did not mean that the problem was over, since it just evolved to a more advanced form, human trafficking. In 1904, the United Nations passed the International Agreement for the Suppression of White Slave Traffic, which aimed to protect women from sex trafficking. Later on, in 1995, the United Nation further expanded the definition of human trafficking to recognize it as an act of violence against women. Although many efforts have been placed to help prevent the human trafficking market from expanding, it still remains a very significant issue that remains to be solved to this day. Analysis As mentioned previously, in the case of Migrant smuggling, there is often some form of consent that is established by the victims and the smugglers, regardless of how hazardous the conditions may be. Whereas, Human trafficking victims in majority of the cases have either not given their consent in the first place, or were misled into giving initial consent under the threat of violence and abuse by the traffickers. Similarly, the abuse and neglect associated with migrant smuggling is usually put to an end once the migrant has successfully been transported

11 to their destination. However, this is not the case for human trafficking victims, they continue to be further exploited and passed around various locations for an indefinite period of time. Furthermore, migrant smuggling is at a transnational level, hence the term migrant, in contrast, trafficking can take place at local, regional, and international levels. Finally, when it comes to the source of profits in smuggling cases profits are obtained after the successful illicit entry or settling of the individual/group into the foreign country. Unfortunately, many individuals from all over the world fall victim to traffickers as they find themselves vulnerable and in compromising situations with no other immediate solutions. Traffickers identify these helpless individuals and target them to lure them into their schemes. Reasons for vulnerability may include: debt-bondage, starvation and imprisonment. Furthermore, traffickers use techniques such as but not limited to: verbal and physical abuse, confiscation of victims identification documents, and forced drug use. In addition, another major issue faced by authorities is the lack of sufficient data and knowledge due to corruption and insider work. UNODC collaborated with the International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), launched the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) in March Collectively, 10 objectives were created that were: Awareness, strengthen prevention, Demand, Support and Protect Victims, Law enforcement, Data, Partnership, Resources, and Members State participation.

12 Questions a resolution must answer 1. How can the challenges faced by international governing bodies be resolved? 2. What can be implemented on an international scale to restrict the movement of human traffickers? 3. How to identify and block illegal checkpoints of human traffickers? 4. Should undercover whistle blowing tactics be implemented to gather evidence against trafficking organizations? References Report: Majority of Trafficking Victims Are Women and Girls. United Nations, United Nations, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Strengthening Capacity to Counter Terrorism in Nigeria, Liam.MCLAUGHLIN. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Strengthening Capacity to Counter Terrorism in Nigeria, Extended Reading AnOverview.pdf