Committee Description
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a United Nations office that aims to establish concrete measures and networks to target the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs and to address global issues such as crime prevention, international terrorism, and political corruption. For over 2 decades, the UNODC has been promoting transnational programmes that encourage global collaboration to tackle the threats to the well-being of individuals and corruption-related problems in drug trafficking zones. Despite the continuous effort of the UNODC, other organizations and agencies, the fight against drug-related problems is far from ending. A few reasons why it is extremely hard to put an end to this issue are first, drug trafficking and abuse involve almost every country, and second, the solutions that are adopted have major impacts on the other aspects of society, such as gender equality and equity. In this committee, delegates representing different countries will first have further discussions on drug trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs (Topic 1) and will draft Resolutions for concrete solutions to this threatening global issue. To be more equipped to find a measure to solve the problem while protecting the equity of individuals, delegates will also need to deal with the current consequences caused by the War on Drugs (Topic 2), an effort of the US to limit drug trafficking and whose benefits are debatable.
Topic 1 - Drug Trafficking
The delegates are first going to discuss one of the world’s most serious and endangering issues – drug trafficking. The UNODC defines drug trafficking as the “global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws”. Ever since the UNODC has been established, it has attempted vigorously to monitor global illicit drug markets. Many countries from different continents are involved in drug trafficking, rendering the issue harder to target. Given the negative and sometimes, fatal impacts that drug has on people, countries from across the world is trying to regulate illicit trading and hopefully put an end to drug trafficking. As delegates representing various countries, you are united to find solutions to this issue.
Topic 2 - War on Drugs
While the first topic consists of solving the problem of drug trafficking in general, Topic 2 focuses on one example of a solution to the production of illegal drugs. The War on Drugs is an effort made by the United States since the 1970s to combat the abuse of illicit drugs. Some of the solutions include increasing penalties, enforcement, and incarceration that illegal drug dealers are subjected to. Although this effort comes with a certain level of success, many argue that it does more harm than good. Some pointed out that by focusing on eradicating drug production, a huge amount of money has been invested. Moreover, the heavy incarceration and the other measures and drug policies adopted in the War on Drugs resulted in inequality, a wider gap between rich and poor, and exacerbating health threats (such as HIV/AIDS). Delegates will debate on whether or not the War on Drugs is the right action to take when it comes to regulating and hopefully eradicating the illegal use of drugs. They will also draft Resolutions to solve the problems and impacts created by the current War on Drugs.
UNODC Country Matrix
The Dais
Yuqing Zhou (she/her) is a grade 11 (secondary 5) student living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is a full-time student at Villa Maria High School and a half-time student at Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. Her first Model United Nations experience was back when she was in grade 9, and after her first conference, she immediately fell in love with the debates and the social networking that take place in MUN. She participated in multiple conferences and won several awards. Outside of MUN, she spends most of her time practicing the piano and stressing out for concerts and music theory final exams. She also likes to figure skate, read, and take long walks. This year, it is her honour to be able to serve as the Online Director of GA for CANMUN 2024. She looks forward to watching this conference come to life and is ecstatic to meet everyone!
Yuqing Zhou
Director & Chair