Head Chair: Jennifer Park Vice Chair: Rahan Arasteh Hello, My name is Jennifer and I m a senior at Uni. I ve been in MUN since freshman year. I first joined to practice public speaking, research, and communication, but I found that it came with a greater specter of benefits that has shaped me and others into better leaders and more informed global citizens. In my free time, I watch movies/tv, eat pecans, and take care of my cuticles. This committee is meant to capture the dynamics of relevant global issues and ultimately foster a sense of responsibility to advocate for those who are suffering under an abuse of power and resources by non-state actors. I genuinely hope that it will help evolve your level of global awareness in this fast-paced modern world. I cannot wait to see how each of you formulates a plan to tackle these issues and how those it intertwines with those of other delegates to form realistic, innovative, and implementable resolutions. - Jennifer Park, Head Chair Hey guys! I m a senior this year and I ve been a part of MUN since my freshman year. I ve chaired twice before, one as a Vice Chair last Fall Conference and another as Head Chair at Spring Conference, both for novice delegates. Those of you who know me know that I am super into politics, and probably know more about recent American political history than half the politicians in Washington. Besides that, I enjoy wasting tremendous amounts of Netflix, Hulu,
Amazon, etc. and playing the new Spider-Man video game on PS4. Some of my possible aspirations in life: becoming a lawyer, becoming a Senator (maybe Secretary of State) and then becoming a high school or community college teacher. I remember how intimidated I was by seniors and upperclassmen and I just wanna tell you guys that we re people too. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have! - Rahan Arasteh, Vice Chair Reminder: Position papers are due by October 7th at 11:59PM to jenniferpark1026@gmail.com. Feel free to email us if you have any questions!
Committee: DISEC Topic: Central American Drug Wars Delegates will be asked to consider their country policy and history with this topic, whilst addressing how the international community should respond to the threat that drug cartels pose to short-term and long-term security. Delegates must also understand the line between international peacekeeping and national sovereignty. Together, this committee must consider the political, security, economic, and moral implications of various policies with the ultimate goals of stabilizing regions of immediate conflict and making the international community safer and more sustainable for the next generation. Plans and resolutions are expected to be original, detailed, comprehensive, realistic, constructive, and true to delegates country policy. Background: Nations have been dealing with drug cartels since the mid-20th century. Before the 90 s, the drug trade was effectively controlled by the Colombian Cali and Medellin cartels. After their demise, there existed a power vacuum, and Mexican/Central American-based drug cartels rose to take their place. Arrests of key leaders have only exacerbated the problem, causing wars between competing cartels for control of drug trafficking routes into the United States. Mexico and other countries have tried using their own federal police forces against these cartels, yet they almost always end up corrupted by the cartels, and numerous restructures have not helped. The United States, being motivated by its own drug crisis, one that it views as caused by these cartels, has attempted to help Mexico and others through its Merida Initiative -- where it gives training and equipment to Central American law enforcement agencies alongside advice on how to maintain strong national judicial systems. The Drug War has deeply affected Mexico, with estimates
ranging up to 120,000 deaths by 2013, 27000 missing, and widespread corruption. The effects do not simply stop at Mexico s borders, however, with 90% of cocaine in the United States being supplied by Mexican cartels, a large portion of drugs in Spain and Europe, and with one cartel (Las Zetas) controlling 75% of Guatemala -- through both violence and infiltration of the government. Possible Solutions: There are multiple aspects to consider when researching solutions for this issue. One, which has been gaining steam in recent years, is through the civilian sector. One part is the decriminalization of drugs. Some, such as the Netherlands, have found success in this method, with violent drug crimes decreasing, while others, such as the United States, believe that decriminalization validates the drug cartels, and that world governments cannot be seen as condoning this behavior. Another way the civilian sector can be used is for true and factual education on effects of drugs. This mostly affects the consumers, not the producers, but the loss of income to drug cartels could cause them to shrink their operations. Another aspect is through the government: to prevent and eliminate corruption. This is hard to accomplish, but it would yield multiple benefits, including a stronger fighting force and more trust in the government, pushing people away from the cartels. This could also lead to an effective pan-central American coalition against these cartels. Yet another aspect is through the military: hiring law enforcement. This would mostly be for countries who believe decriminalization is incorrect, however, more law enforcement with
proper training, alongside effective military forces, could cause a severe dent in the cartels businesses, but it would not necessarily cause their downfall. Questions to Consider: 1. What makes the Mexican drug cartels so powerful and difficult to eliminate? How can an international effort help to weaken these drug cartels? 2. Are there better alternatives to handling large criminal organizations rather than the use of force? If so, what are they? 3. Part of the success to Portugal s decriminalization policy was a smooth transition from one policy approach to another. Comparatively, how would this transition take place in Latin America considering that this approach would be assumed for multiple countries of different government/regime types? 4. How should DISEC combat narcoterrorism? Works Cited: 1. https://vmun.com/wp-content/uploads/vmun_2018_unsc_background_guide.pdf 2. http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/primera/36105.html 3. https://web.archive.org/web/20120530081337/http://america.infobae.com/notas/16232-el -cartel-mexicano-de-los-zetas-controla-el-75-de-guatemala 4. Vulliamy, Ed. Amexica: War Along the Borderline. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010.