UN Office on Drugs and Crime VIMUNC VI. March 1-2, 2019

Transcription

1 UN Office on Drugs and Crime VIMUNC VI March 1-2, 2019

2 Nick Hodge Secretary-General Lauren Fahlberg Director-General Oksana Vickers Chief of Staff Kavye Vij USG of Crisis Alex Marjanovic USG of General Assemblies and Specialized Agencies Letter from the Director General Esteemed Delegates and Sponsors of VIMUNC VI, This year s VIMUNC will be a truly diverse set of interesting and dynamic committees that stretch the boundaries of the imagination. From the important international issues to local crime and gang institutions, VIMUNC truly has it all. This year, we are committed to enhancing the delegate experience, and ensuring a positive community of chairs and staffers are attending to every need and issue. For both delegates and sponsors alike, we are going to create an experience that imitates the real United Nations, one of diplomacy and innovation. VIMUNC has a wide selection of twelve diverse high school committees, and five in-depth middle school committees. There is a committee and topic for every single delegate s interests, and we sincerely hope that this has a positive impact on the conference experience. As we continue to try and improve our service year after year, any feedback or questions can be directed to vimunc@gmail.com. Every issue, no matter how minute, is of concern to us, and we truly hope that we can help improve the delegate experience in any way. From all of us on the VIMUNC VI Secretariat, and from all of us at Langley Model UN, thank you for your commitment to VIMUNC. Sincerely, Lauren Fahlberg Director-General, VIMUNC VI

3 Topic 1: Human Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants Human Trafficking and the Smuggling of migrants are two major issues that continue to plague the international community to this day. Ever since Mauritania abolished slavery in 1981, there has been no legal slavery in any nation in the world and in its place criminals now turn to human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants in order to supplement slavery. Because of this, virtually all modern day slaves are human trafficking victims. Human trafficking has become a global crisis and a booming illegal industry that is worth an estimated 150 billion dollars annually and continues to trend upwards. The definition of human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants is the practice of facilitating the illegal entry to a location where they are not a resident, typically for financial gain. Also, the main distinction between the two is that the smuggling of migrants specifically refers to moving victims across borders. An instance of this is if a border transport for a refugee from Syria took them against their will for some sort of economic gain. The most common types of human trafficking are sexual, labor, and agricultural domestic. Of these sexual human trafficking is the most lucrative. 66% of all human trafficking is sexual and 29% of all human trafficking is labor with the rest being filled in by various other kinds. Women and children make up a large proportion of the population that is subjected to human trafficking with children making up about 20%. Although, this number is much higher in some regions like West Africa where some areas have almost 100% of the trafficked population being children. Some of the worst countries for human trafficking are Russia, China, and Venezuela. This is likely due to the fact that these nation have minimal labor laws, which can lead to an easier process to conduct human trafficking operations, and that these countries have large regions where government presence is not as strong such as Siberia and Tibet. One of the biggest causes of human trafficking in the first place is that fact that going into human trafficking is so lucrative. The average human trafficker can expect between a 300%- 500% annual return on what they paid to conduct their operations, and it is difficult to prevent human trafficking when the economic incentive is so high. Many of the human trafficking operations operate in areas that are more economically disadvantaged. This is because those regions

4 are the ones where the incentive to move into human trafficking is highest. This often occurs because many in the region are desperate for work and money which makes them vulnerable to human traffickers. One of the biggest difficulties with human trafficking is the fact that it is rarely reported. A major cause of this is that, because human trafficking is often conducted in less privileged areas, the people targeted typically are those without security such as migrants and orphans. One of the biggest issues with human trafficking in wealthier countries is when migrants obtain a temporary work visa and their employer uses there non guaranteed status to scare them into submitting. This is a particular problem in nations like the United States where worker laws are not as high as in other places and when there is a large number of migrant workers. Currently many nations have strong laws that combat human trafficking. Additionally, the international community has worked to pass legislature such as the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. This treaty helped to improve international law enforcement regarding human trafficking, but there is still much to be done. One issue is that many of the nations with the biggest human trafficking operations are those that do not have adequate policing like many West African nations. Additionally, it is very difficult to detect human trafficking in the first place. Although legislation has been passed it is only a first step and it is critical that the international community continues to work to combat this issue. Questions to consider: How can the international community limit the financial advantages of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants? What actions can be taken to stop these issues in underdeveloped nations? What sorts of legislation should be encouraged to combat these illicit activities? How can we deal with the mental distress dealt to victims?

5 Topic 2: Opiate Crisis Opioids as defined by the World Health Organization, psychoactive substances derived from the opium poppy, or their synthetic analogues. The word opioid is derived from the word opium, opioids are drugs formulated to replicate the pain-reducing properties of opium. Opioids are derived from opium poppy plants, most commonly grown in Asia, Central and South America. Opioid medications bind to the areas of the brain responsible for pain and emotions. Quickly increasing levels of the feel good hormone known as dopamine, creating an all consuming feeling of euphoria. Addiction develops when the brain demands more to produce the same level of pain relief and well-being. In 2015, about 450,000 people around the world died as a direct result of an opioid overdose, including both prescription and nonprescription drugs. Ranging from legal painkillers, that are prescribed by a doctor for acute or chronic pain, like morphine, oxycontin, codeine, methadone, percocet, oxycodone, and hydrocodone. Also, including many illegal drugs like heroin and fentanyl. While the opiate crisis is a pandemic, its affects are mostly felt in North America, parts of Africa, and the Middle East. The main concerns lie with the misuse of opioids. For example, fentanyl is widely used in hospital settings for addressing severe pain and anesthesia; its analogues, like tramadol, are used to treat moderate to severe pain. Opioids have highly addictive properties, once patients leave hospitals, they develop an addiction to the drug and continue using it, even after the pain has subsided. In 1912, the United States along with China, France, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, and others, signed the International Opium Convention. Serving as a base to regulate the importation, selling, and manufacturing of morphine around the world. Later in 1924, the Heroin Act was passed due to the readily increasing misuse of heroin. Which prohibited the importation, manufacturing, and possession of Heroin. Beginning in the late 1990 s, pharmaceutical companies like Merck & Co, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Glaxo, and SmithKline Beecham, assured the medical community and the public that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers. Thus, doctors and healthcare providers began prescribing opioids at greater rates. Originally intended to aid patients with chronic and severe pain, it became clear these prescriptions are highly addictive, quickly diverging to widespread misuse of opioids. All of which contributed to the modern opiate crisis known today.

6 The countries with the highest hectares of land dedicated to the cultivation opium poppies are, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Mexico, India, Laos, Pakistan, and Columbia. With Afghanistan producing nearly 85 percent of the world s supply. The Taliban has begun refining the harvested poppy plant in Afghanistan to heroin, making it significantly easier to smuggle the drug to pipelines in the West, rapidly increasing profits for the Taliban. Accounting for an estimated amount of 60 percent of their annual revenue. The Balkan and northern route is the most frequent corridor used to link Afghan heroin to the rest of the world. Access is gained to Western Europe through the Balkan route, crossing the Middle East to South Eastern Europe to Western Europe. Resulting in an annual market value of $20 billion. The northern route runs mainly through Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. Resulting in an estimated market value of $13 billion. In 2008, global heroin seizures reached to 73.7 metric tons. With most of the heroin being seized in Near and Middle East and Southwest Asia. In 2008, The Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey, accounted for half of global heroin seizures. In order to address and control an ever growing problem, there are numbers of groups and organizations attempting to set goals, guidelines, and regulations. In the United States, numerous amounts of federal and state government agencies such as, the IOM, the Joint Commission, the Department of Health and Human Services, the CMS, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are educating the public and providing treatment for recovering addicts. Investments are being made in research to better understand the neurobiology of pain and opioid use disorders to find non opioid treatments. A common opioid overdose reversal drug is Naloxone. Access to Naloxone is generally limited to doctors and health professionals in developing countries. Even in medical settings like hospitals and ambulances. Without this critical drug, reviving an opiate overdose becomes extremely difficult and nearly impossible. The Opiate Crisis has developed into an international, a public health complication with catastrophic consequences. Leading to detrimental health effects for users and a sharp increase in neonatal abstinence syndrome. Around the globe, babies are born addicted to opiates. Also contributing the spread of infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C due to the rise in injection drugs and the use of needles to administer the drug. The Opiate Crisis is on the rise, and immediate action must be taken to ensure an end to all the pain and suffering caused by opioid addiction.

7 Questions to Consider: How can the international community assist countries that are reliant on opium production to find another method to sustain their economies? What steps are necessary to assist underdeveloped countries with opioid addicts? Countries that are not capable of providing the most basic care, let alone aid recovering drug addicts. Should pharmaceutical companies who marketed the drugs and downplayed their addictive nature be held legally responsible for the consequences of the crisis?

8 Works Cited: UNICRI Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics The Hague, The Netherlands, Cyberbullying in the Workplace, Kevin Carvalho Content/Uploads/2016/09/Northeastern-Iuhrp.png, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 5 Of the Worst Countries for Human Trafficking. U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, Maia.mendjisky. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Integrity in the Criminal Justice System, What Is Human Trafficking? Anti-Slavery International, Deutsche Welle. US Opioid Crisis Leaves Heroin Users out in the Cold DW DW, Deutsche Welle, McCarthy, Niall. America's Overdose Epidemic In Perspective [Infographic]. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 July 2017, National Institute on Drug Abuse. Opioid Overdose Crisis. NIDA, NIH, 14 Jan. 2019, Opioid Crisis Fast Facts. CNN, Cable News Network, 12 Dec. 2018,

9 Semuels, Alana. Are Pharmaceutical Companies to Blame for the Opioid Epidemic? The Atlantic, Atlantic Media UNODC. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Integrity in the Criminal Justice System, The United Nations, Company, 2 June 2017, Zambo, Kristen, and Kristen Zambo. Heroin Anonymous Support Group Launches in Rockford. Rockford Register Star, Rockford Register Star, 18 Oct. 2017,