The General Assembly (GA) of the Winthrop Model UN runs very much like the General Assembly of the United Nations, which is comprised of 193 Member States. The GA is the main body that debates policies and discusses issues that affect all Member States. Winthrop's GA Plenary will occur Wednesday night with all Collegiate Delegates and Friday with all High School Delegates.
The Legal Committee at Winthrop's Model UN Conference runs much like the General Assembly.
There will be set resolutions, written by high school delegates, to discuss and a
straw poll vote will decide which one to talk about first. Each resolution will be
discussed until it is voted on or tabled. In the United Nations, the Legal Committee, known as the "Sixth Committee" or GA-6, focuses on aspects of the law at the international
level, international terrorism, the administration of justice, and the protection
of peacekeepers and diplomats abroad.
Winthrop MUN's "PolSec," is modeled after a combination of the United Nations' General Assembly First and Fourth Committees. These committees deal with subjects pertaining to decolonization, peacekeeping troops, nuclear weapons, disarmament, and matters of war. This committee is essential in keeping international peace and security.
Sometimes called "SocHum," the Social and Humanitarian Committee is the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly. This body focuses on social problems, humanitarian aid, and human rights issues with help from the Human Rights Council. Issues under the realm of GA-3 are indigenous rights, elimination of racism and discrimination, rights of women, rights of children, refugees, and prisoners of war. A very useful resource for this committee would be the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Often considered the strong hand of the UN, the Security Council consists of 15 Member States, five of which are Permanent Members and 10 non-permanent members who serve two-year terms on the Council. Each Council member has one vote; but if a Permanent Member (China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US) votes "no," they invoke the "power of veto." "Veto power" is given only to the Permanent Members (P-5) and just one can strike down any resolution to be passed, even if all other Council Members vote "yes."
The Security Council at Winthrop actually writes resolutions, rather than debating pre-written resolutions. This body is given the duty to determine threats against and maintain the peace, recommend action, use military force against aggressors; the Security Council ("SecCo") is the only UN body allowed to take punitive action against a Member State. More details about the workings of the Security Council are available on the Delegates page.
With the theme of “The Future We Choose: Sustainability and Intergenerational Equity in Space, Soil, and Sea,” we want delegates to challenge themselves to look beyond immediate political horizons and safeguard the environment and resources that our planet, and what may lie beyond, hold for generations to come. To tackle these interconnected dilemmas, the 51st Annual Winthrop University Model United Nations Conference will offer four special committees, each uniquely addressing a specific pillar of our theme. The Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) will address equitable access and technological developments to the cosmos in space. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will largely confront land degradation and food security to preserve our soil. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) will present resolutions to protect marine ecosystems and promote green shipping lines across the sea. Finally, to bridge the gap between these distinct pillars, for the first time we will offer the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to move beyond political debate to examine how inter-state legal disputes can legally enforce the preservation of a sustainable future. Together, these special committees represent a diverse range of issues to consider when choosing a just and equitable path forward on an international scale.
For the 51st Annual Winthrop University Model United Nations Conference, we are focusing on our path forward, for future generations, and the world. For this reason, we found it prudent to include a focus on technological advancements, on a global and intergalactic scale. Situated in the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was created in 1959 to oversee “the exploration and use of space for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development.” (COPUOS). The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is the only committee in the United Nations entrusted with exclusively monitoring international legal and space-related issues that arise from space exploration, including space debris mitigation and scientific cooperation for long-term sustainability. In addition, the committee discusses technological developments related to space exploration and the usage of the cosmos, operating through two main expert groups: the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee (COPUOS). Overall, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space tackles national, international, and cosmic geopolitical issues within or between member-states. To ensure the sustainability of the future, bodies like the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space build governance for concepts that seemingly are out of our present scope, and world, but are integral to the future progress of our children and their posterity.
According to the United Nations, the Convention to Combat Desertification is “the voice of the land” (UNCCD), and this statement is the exact reason for which we chose this committee. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification strives to mitigate the effects of climate change in regards to desertification, serious drought, and land degradation. In order to achieve this goal, long-term integrated strategies that concentrate on increased land productivity as well as the conservation, rehabilitation, and sustainable management of land and water resources in impacted areas are necessary to reduce these catastrophic conditions. Over three billion people worldwide are impacted by desertification and land degradation. In addition, the degradation of up to 40% of our land has already had disastrous effects on the climate, biodiversity, and livelihoods, and, without intervention, upwards of 95% of land could be degraded by 2050 (Earth.org). The actions of this committee are imperative to both present and future generations, which provides many diverse routes in which delegates can be successful in coming up with solutions for these issues, both internally and internationally.
The International Maritime Organization was established in order to more effectively promote maritime safety and sustainable shipping and trade patterns. As stated in Article 1 of the Convention, the purposes of this organization are to “provide machinery for cooperation among Governments in the field of governmental regulation and practices relating to technical matters of all kinds affecting shipping engaged in international trade; to encourage and facilitate the general adoption of the highest practicable standards in matters concerning maritime safety, efficiency of navigation and prevention and, control of marine pollution from ships" (IMO). As time has passed, and technologies advanced, the International Maritime Organization has had to broaden their scope of goals and responsibilities, including, but not limited to, pollution, satellite distress, biosafety, and more. We chose to include a mix of coastal and island member states to ensure the diversity of maritime perspectives as well as encourage international cooperation amongst differing geographically located member states with direct stakes in our oceans.
The 51st Annual Winthrop University Model United Nations Conference is proud to host a judicial court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a committee uniquely positioned to address the legal frameworks of our conference theme. While traditional committees debate international political compromises, the International Court of Justice approaches these topics through the lens of international law, examining how inter-state sovereign disputes and responsibility claims directly shape the protections of airspace, land, and oceans across generations. In the International Court of Justice, delegates will confront topics such as the critical boundaries of environmental protection, territorial sovereignty over shared river ecosystems and soils, jurisdictional and human right disputes that impact regional resource equity, and maritime boundaries that govern the future of marine resources and sustainability. WUMUN 51 will offer delegates a unique opportunity to move beyond traditional political debates and explore how international law can actively secure a sustainable and equitable future for generations to come.
The International Court of Justice is often referred to as the World Court, as it is the principal judicial branch of the United Nations. It is composed of 15 judges elected for nine-year terms by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council, and assisted by its Registry administrative organ. The International Court of Justice hears two types of cases: contentious cases and advisory proceedings. This simulation will focus entirely on preexisting contentious cases, or “legal disputes between States submitted to it by them,” (ICJ).
Delegates will represent the views of their Member State in the Court and try to get their Member State’s goals accomplished as either a Judge, Applicant Advocate, or Respondent Advocate. Under Articles 62 and 63 of the International Court of Justice Statute (ICJ), outside Member States can ask the Court for permission to intervene if they have legal interest affected by the case. Delegates will rotate roles of elected Judges, or one of three appointed ‘Co-Litigants’ for either side of the argument intervening as outside counsel due to massive global precedent stakes.
The International Court of Justice will simulate three predetermined cases: Pakistan v. India, Costa Rica v. Nicaragua, and Somalia v. Kenya, so they will function uniquely. With this in mind, there will be an International Court of Justice addendum, which will be posted to the Winthrop University Model United Nations Website soon.
This addendum will cover:
