Issues for consideration by committees
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Committee #1: The Strong and the Weak
Members of this committee will consider the balance of power in the UN between large/small/strong/weak nations. Some issues to think about include:
1. How can countries as diverse in strength as—for example—the U.S. and Mali—get fair representation in the UN?
2. Who can vote, and when?
3. Should there be veto power for some nations?
4. Is the Security Council still a good idea? Should it be expanded, abolished, shrunk?
5. What should be done if a country doesn’t pay its dues?
6. Should voting rights be denied to countries under some circumstances?
7. How should voting be structured—one country, one vote, or proportionate to area, population, military strength, economic strength, contribution to UN, adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, etc.?
8. How could the UN Charter be revised to address these and other relevant issues?
9. What other issues need to be considered?
10. What UN policies—existing or revised—would best serve your country’s interests?
11. What UN policies would best serve the world as a whole?
Committee #2: My Country, My Culture, My Self
Members of this committee will examine the conflict between human rights and sovereignty, and between government policies/practices and individual beliefs/needs. Some issues and questions to consider might include:
1. Should the UN be structured to represent:
a) individuals
b) so-called sovereign nations
c) prominent cultures
d) established religions?
e) influential, non-governmental groups
2. When—if ever—do human rights issues override sovereignty?
3. Are human rights really universal? Is adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights a criterion for continued status as a member in the United Nations? Who decides?
4. Can the UN enforce a universal standard of human rights, or do cultural differences justify differences in human rights from nation to nation?
5. Should the UN be allowed to intervene when the official government policies and practices on human rights do not reflect the views of the population?
6. What other issues need to be considered?
7. How should the UN Charter be revised to address these and other similar issues?
8. What UN policies—existing or revised—would best serve your country’s interests?
9. What UN policies would best serve the world as a whole?
Special note about committee #2: Some delegates to this committee will play the roles of individual citizens of their countries, while others will play the role of official diplomats.
Committee #3: Visualizing Peace
Members of this committee will examine the UN’s role in promoting, monitoring and keeping peace. Some issues and questions to consider include:
1. Should the UN have its own, full-time peacekeeping force?
2. How would a UN peacekeeping force be structured?
3. When would it be used
4. Who would decide when to invoke UN peacekeeping?
5. Should the UN take on the responsibility of safeguarding weapons of mass destruction in countries that can’t do this job themselves?
6. What is the UN’s role in preventing and dealing with terrorism—including cyber-terrorism?
7. Does the UN have to wait for permission to send its forces into civil wars, border wars, or internal humanitarian crises?
8. What should the UN’s role be in refugee crises that threaten to destabilize neighboring countries?
9. What other issues need to be considered?
10. How would you update the UN Charter to address these and other similar issues?
11. What UN policies—existing or revised—would best serve your country’s interests?
12. What UN policies would best serve the world as a whole?
For more information, please go to www.civitas-stl.com/Tutorial.