United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Authors: Iván Jaramillo Rincon and Samuel Quevedo Velasco. Time for opening speech: 90 seconds The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was established in 1997 through a merger of the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention. The main function of the UNODC is to address the threat posed by crime, drugs and terrorism, specifically assisting Member States of the United Nations (U.N.) to eradicate these issues. As a joint office of the U.N, the UNODC can recommend solutions to the Member States, as well as perform Annual Reports on the current status of the topics it works to eradicate. The UNODC can build legislative and regulatory frameworks that align with existing international regulations, and work with States to implement relevant policies to solve specific issues. As it is not part of the General Assembly (GA), it can not directly pass a resolution to the U.N., but rather it can recommend both the GA and the Security Council (SC) on these issues. Topic 1: Fraudulent medicines and corruption on the pharmaceutical industry

Fraudulent or falsified medicines pose a very serious threat to public health in all States, specifically in more vulnerable states such as Liberia. The population may fall victim to subpar medicines or placebo-like pills (pills that have little to no real effect, but make the consumer believe that they are effective), affecting the overall trust of the inhabitants of a country on the health system and funding criminal organizations worldwide. In the same order, corruption in the pharmaceutical industry affects the safety of consumers around the world, by intentionally making low quality medicines to cut costs in order to benefit the public health officials and private shareholders of these industries, as stated by The Independent, a newspaper in the UK, “World governments and Big Pharma companies are "turning a blind eye” to bribery and corruption that allows a few to make vast profits while damaging the health of many of the poorest people on Earth.“ (The Independent, 2016). Another prime example of corruption in this industry is how the pharmaceutical companies bribe doctors to prescribe their medicine, even if it's not the best course of treatment for the patient. These actions are not illegal in most countries however, as they fall into the category of commissions, but rather are an ethical dilemma. Historical context

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On 2009, the UNODC published a report that stated that in 2010 the estimated market value for medicine smugglers would be of 75 billion dollars, making this practice one of the most lucrative counterfeiting and smuggling operations in the world. The same report published that the global revenue for this style of operations was worth $438 million dollars, much higher than the GDP of Guinea Bissau (at the time of the report), an internationally recognized State. The imitation of antimalarial and anti-HIV drugs has been widespread in Africa. This happens because the manufacture of medicine can be extremely cheap, by only using a fraction of the necessary active ingredients, completely replacing the ingredients with flour or chalk or using low quality plastic for the casing.

Distribution of pharmaceutical crime incidents in 2011 (retrieved from un.org) Current moment The reason these problematics have become so consistent in the last couple of years can be summarized in 5 essential points:

1. The low cost of counterfeiting several medicines that fight autoimmune diseases (Cheap

plastic wrapping and subpar ingredients),

2. The continuous funding of criminal organizations, fueled by the counterfeit of medicines,

3. The HIV epidemic in Africa, 4. The Ebola epidemic in West

Africa, 5. The ineffective actions taken by

international bodies, such as the European Parliament, on the crackdown on counterfeit medicines inside Europe.

Repercussions When organized criminal organizations counterfeit medicines, and when the pharmaceutical industries perform corrupt actions to ensure a profit, the most economically affected communities become the most affected groups in this problematic by a series of repercussions. These repercussions cover a wide spectrum of issues which include distrust of the health sector of a State, self medication for treatment of autoimmune diseases and the funding of groups that operate outside the law. Distrust of the health sector in a State When the large players of the pharmaceutical industries bribe doctors to recommend their medicines over others, simply on the basis that the patient may respond better to their treatment over others, a breach of both the law and the Hippocratic Oath (An oath stating the obligations and proper conduct of doctors, taken by those beginning medical practice) happens.

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Patients may receive medicines that will have little to no effect on their current disease and/or affliction, which results in essentially taking a placebo (A placebo is a medicine or procedure prescribed for the psychological benefit to the patient rather than for any physiological effect). These situations often lead to a decay of the patients health, possibly resulting in death. As the criminal aspect of this issue has been ignored for a long period of time, doctors and nurses alike have become accustomed to not receiving any kind of reprimand for the continuous acceptance of bribes and the prescription of subpar medicines. Self medication for treatment of autoimmune diseases Individuals infected by autoimmune disease, (e.g HIV, Ebola, Malaria), especially in African States, often prefer purchasing the required medicines from black market street vendors than going to a certified doctor, mainly based on the exorbitant price of these medicines in the aforementioned countries. The main issue with this is the medicines found in the street are either expired, poorly assembled, missing key components or completely useless to the patient. Due to this, other diseases may erupt in the countries affected, ranging from viruses such as Cholera to autoimmune diseases, such as Lupus. These types of diseases are very costly to treat appropriately, so the public health sector of the country where this issue happens needs to spend more on treatments, making a more vulnerable economy.

The medicinal drugs supply in the U.S (retrieved from iracm.com) The funding of groups that operate outside the law As stated before, the money made by the trade of these subpar medicines often goes to the hands of criminal organizations, (e.g tribal guerrillas in Liberia have been reported to fill plastic wrappings with chalk in order to simulate a medicine for treating HIV. This is done to fund their current war on the central government in Monrovia.) destabilizing the countries even more. Unfortunately, most of this funding occurs in African nations, which are extremely vulnerable to diseases, poverty and tribal intolerance. This instability makes the State, often already in a critical state of poverty, less capable of creating an appropriate response to these criminal organizations. This issue has been addressed in the past by several international organizations, be it NGOs (e. g Transparency International) or international unions of States (e.g European Union). One of the most relevant treaties that has tried to solve the problem of counterfeit drugs, is

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Directive 2011/62/EU, presented by the European Parliament addressing the infiltration of falsified medicinal products into the local economy. This Directive only focused on the EU members while this issue mainly affects the African continent, reason being the low levels of public safety present in these countries. Needless to say, this Directive had little effect on the true areas affected by this illegal trade. Study cases: Liberia: Liberia is a country in West Africa, border by Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Côte d’Ivoire. The country has undergone a bloody civil war, caused by political differences between parties, proxy wars of global powers and tribal hatred. In 2013 Liberia suffered one of the deadliest outbreaks of the Ebola virus ever recorded in human history. This incident caused a massive spike in alleged medicines that would cure the autoimmune disease, a claim the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has disputed in several occasions. The drugs, which are often filled with an innocuous white powder (e.g flour), have been traced in several occasions back to either Chinese or Indian pharmaceutical facilities. This illegal drug market is particularly highlighted in the city of Monrovia (capital of Liberia) seeing as economic instability is extremely prevalent in this area, stemming mainly from the neglect of public spending on appropriate sanity and infrastructure.

China: China is a country in East Asia. China has undergone several crime reforms to combat commercial corruption, with an emphasis in the pharmaceutical industry. The biggest pharmaceutical corruption case in the world occurred in China in 2015, and it involved the United Kingdom’s biggest drug maker, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Chinese officials stated in several occasions that the GSK used a network of almost seven hundred travel agencies, used as fronts to launder money, to pay hospital directives and doctors in China, so they would recommend their product above any other. It was proven that the GSK funneled about 3 billion yuan, or $482 million USD into China, through the means of checks and/or expensive gifts. The BBC published that the overall cost of the bribes was ultimately added to the cost of the medicines, making the cost of these drugs several times higher than in other countries. This scandal made the Chinese government prove that they could handle corruption, even in such a high influence market. On the other hand, the GSK has publicly declared that the overall amount of money used for the bribes is not as high as Chinese officials have reported. This issue put a diplomatic strain between China and the United Kingdom, as the GSK is still a leading company in Great Britain and other countries around the world, without being sanctioned by the British government.

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The biggest pharmaceutical companies in regards of sales, 2015 (retrieved from knoema.com) Focus of the committee It is expected from the delegates clear and concise solutions, both from their own country’s perspective and from an international viewpoint. The delegates should be aware of the reach the illegal medicine trade is in their country and if any cases of corruption in the pharmaceutical industry have ever been found. It's recommended that the delegates read previous UN resolutions on these issues, in order to avoid possible repetition on their new resolution. On the resolution, the delegates should provide solutions to both issues, be it the suggestion of creating an international taskforce to combat the counterfeit of drugs to recommendations to the UN Security Council to embargo countries that have been proven incapable of fighting corruption on their local markets. Delegates are encouraged to form blocks with like minded countries, in order to reach a diplomatic solution to these issues. It´s expected that at the end of the topic the committee can present a formal recommendation to both the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations

on how to solve these problematics, that affect all Members of the UN. Guiding questions:

1. To what extent does the counterfeit of medicine affect the public safety of your country?

2. Should there be a larger international response to corruption in the pharmaceutical industry? If so, how? If not, why?

3. How could developing countries be helped on eradicating the black market of falsified medicines?

4. Should States have a bigger role of regulating the pharmaceutical sector?

5. Has there been any international Treaties and/or Accords that have worked on eradicating these issues?

Sources:

Seven Pillars Institute. (2015). China and Corruption: The Case of GlaxoSmithKline. Seven Pillars Institute. Retrieved from http://sevenpillarsinstitute.org/news/china-and-corruption-the-case-of-glaxosmithkline

Sonpon III, L. (2017). Liberia: 'Counterfeit Medicines Cause More Deaths'. Daily Observer. Retrieved from http://allafrica.com/stories/201704110669.html

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Transparency International. (2006). GLOBAL CORRUPTION REPORT 2006: CORRUPTION AND HEALTH (pp. 76-101). Berlin, Germany: Pluto Press. Retrieved from http://issuu.com/transparencyinternational/docs/2006_gcr_healthsector_en?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222

Support links: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/index.html http://www.who.int/en/ http://www.iracm.com/en/ https://ec.europa.eu/health/ Topic 2: The firearms protocol

The Protocol against the illicit manufacturing and trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and ammunition is a treaty that acts as a supplement of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Convention, which began taking shape as early as 1998). It falls under the jurisdiction of the UNODC, and was adopted by the general assembly resolution 55/255 in May 2001, with 52 signatories. It did not enter into force however, until July 2005, when it passed the critical number of 40 ratifications required. Before this, although being already adopted, it didn't have any power

since it is a norm with most treaties to set a minimum of ratifying parties to execute said treaty. Amongst the protocol’s objectives are, “…to control and regulate licit arms and arms flows, prevent their diversion into the illegal circuit, facilitate the investigation and prosecution of related offences…”-unodc.org. In the words of the UNODC itself, the protocol is the only legally binding instrument on small arms at a global level, and it works as a legal framework for states to address firearms and related offenses.

Historical context It makes part of the Palermo protocols signed shortly after the (Palermo) convention itself. These are a series of international protocols promoted by the turn of the century that support and enhance the convention against transnational crime (palermo convention) which is almost unanimously supported worldwide. However, many parties to the convention didn´t ratify, or even sign at all this supplementary firearms protocol. For example, three of the four nations with the biggest industries of arms production, USA, Russia, and France, have neither signed nor ratified the protocol. This may suggest ties with the interests of gun industries and the governments, since this protocol aims to strictly regulate (and arguably reduce) civilian gun ownership.

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*Note that the European Union has ratified the Protocol as an additional party **Green=signature only, Red=ratifying party ***Grey=neither

Current moment When a state ratifies the protocol, it is committing more specifically to implement and enforce the following main measures to its law “…(a) establishing as criminal offence the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms in line with the Protocol's requirements and definitions; (b) adopting effective control and security measures, including the disposal of firearms, in order to prevent their theft and diversion into the illicit circuit (c) establishing a system of government authorizations or licensing intending to ensure legitimate manufacturing of, and trafficking in, firearms; (d) ensuring adequate marking, recording and tracing of firearms and effective international cooperation for this purpose…”-unodc.org. It is without doubt, a deep compromise with international law, and often, requires important modifications to local law. However, to this day the protocol has 114 parties, of which 10 signatories have not ratified, in contrast to the 185+ ratifying parties to the Convention itself. This can hamper with the convention´s objectives, since all supplements to it are to ideally be seen as a whole for full effectiveness and

compromise in the struggle against transnational organized crime.

Repercussions

Non-ratifying parties then, fail to show their commitment before international standards to strictly regulate firearms, and fully criminalize the illegal production, distribution, ownership, and usage of said firearms and their accessories. Said parties have inconsequent stances; since all of the non-ratifying signatories of the protocol are parties to the convention, and those not party to the protocol have mostly ratified the convention.

Study cases

The UN charter clearly protects all nations’ sovereignty, and thus it cannot impose against any nation´s will. In the United States for example, the second amendment to the federal constitution protects the rights of individuals to own and bear firearms, and even so, as it is a federal nation, gun control varies from state to state. In this case, several US states have very little gun control, and this makes civilian access to firearms fairly easy, thus incrementing the number of units that have to be recorded, tracked, and eventually disposed of by the state. Another case of light gun control is the Czech Republic, where various types of handguns (and in some cases, semi-automatic rifles) are legally allowed for possession and concealed carry with nothing more than 21 years of age and a Shall Licence. This is the case of a very high gun ownership, with over 800,000 units registered in a nation of less than 11

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million inhabitants. bbc.com/news/world-europe-40438378

Certain correlation between higher civilian gun ownership and gun violence can be spotted in the last years. Evidence of this can be seen in a study done by the Washington Post, where USA, having the highest number of civilian-owned guns per 100 people in the world, has the highest number of gun murders amongst developed countries, almost tripling the next developed country in line.

Table 1: Worldwide ranking of civilian gun ownership

Table 2: USA gun homicides by 100k people vs its next developed country in the line, Switzerland

A common measure amongst signatory and ratifying parties with this protocol, was to take reservations/and or notifications regarding certain clauses and/or paragraphs of the protocol at the time of signature/ratification, but not so as to denature the treaty, rather for them to be able to abide by international gun control standards in a friendlier way with their laws and stances. This has proven to be successful since the number of parties to the protocol has increased by 32 during

the implementation phase, going from 82 to 114 in actuality. For example, amongst the more than 20 parties that held reservations to the treaty, a common one was the paragraph 2 of article 16, which states that if any two or more parties have a dispute as for the implementation, or interpretation, of the protocol, and negotiations and arbitration fails, any of the implied parties may refer the dispute to the international court of justice for solving. However, it is clear in paragraph 3 of the same article that parties are entitled to do so (take reservations on 16 (2)). This empowers each government in the cases above, by refusing to accept the International Court as a higher power for this instance, but same wise it may lend itself to loose ends and indefinite disputes.

Focus of the committee What is expected in the committee is mainly to address the lack of signatures and ratifications to the protocol from states that have signed the Convention, since; again, this protocol supplements the convention and is ideal for full effectiveness in the fight against organized crime and the reduction of gun violence. Signatory parties are entitled to modify the protocol, or perhaps unite to propose sanctions and pass action plans for the General Assembly to consider against states that refuse. The ultimate goal is to have more states take part in the protocol.

Guiding questions:

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1. Has your country signed/ratified the Palermo Convention? And The Firearms Protocol? Why?

2. Where does your country rank in civilian gun ownership/gun murders per 100,000 inhabitants? (see control/ownership (Entire Protocol is merely 11 pages)

3. How big/influential to your economy, is the firearm production industry in your country? (Bear in mind imports/exports and contrast to question 1)

Support links:

Gun homicides and gun ownership by country - The Washington Post. (2017). The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 July 2017, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/gun-homicides-ownership/table/ Unodc.org. (2017). Homepage. [online] Available at: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/.html [Accessed 8 Jul. 2017] The Firearms Protocol. (2017). Unodc.org. Retrieved 19 July 2017, from https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/firearms-protocol/the-firearms-protocol.html UNTC . (2017). Treaties.un.org. Retrieved 20 July 2017, from https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12-c&chapter=18&clang=_en

Topic 3: Maritime crime and piracy

Currently, the international community faces several looming threats to the safety of the largest trade and transportation medium in the world; maritime transportation. Maritime crime is understood mainly as piracy, but also covers human trafficking, drug trade, arms trade and terrorist networking, etc. The entirety of the aforementioned are addressed through the Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP). This is an integral programme with a wide scope that started in this decade, from the previous workings of the office in respect to piracy. This programme aids local governments in the long process of becoming self-sufficient, crime fighting forces. It has a very wide scope, providing tools in several different areas. Amongst these are; improvement of the judicial systems with courthouses and prison complexes so the pirates can be adequately processed, sentenced and reinserted, on site advisory with trainings and equipment for the improvement of the coastal forces and their facilities, and the implementing of a network for efficient and humane extradition so offenders can serve their convictions in their culture. Historical context This issue is of international concern given that it serves as the backbone of the human and substance trafficking complex that funds unlawful armed groups all over Africa and the Middle

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East. All of the mentioned issues date back to as far as the 1960’s, however, modern maritime crime as we know it took shape since the 1970’s. There was a transformation of global maritime transport in this decade that shaped modern economy, and set the foundations for globalisation. Advances in Container technology and naval capabilities allowed for this, making new naval objectives of extremely high value circulate all over the oceans, as it is today. Thus, criminal activity adapted accordingly. As for piracy in particular, it drastically fluctuates across time. The most recent situation consisted of a steadily increasing pattern that peaked around 2010, and has slowly decreased since. This decrease is possibly due to the implementation of the CPP in 2009. “The GMCP (Global Maritime Crime Programme) grew out of the UNODC’s Counter Piracy Programme (CPP), which was established in 2009 response to Security Council…to address piracy off the Horn of Africa…” (unodc.org).

Global Piracy attacks in the first halve of the decade (taken from MarketWatch)

For crime in general, the continuous global effort to reduce human and narcotics trafficking has failed to reduce this dangerous phenomena. This is the next great challenge for the Office, to effectively confront the maritime routes that make possible most of the transcontinental illicit trade. Maritime crime itself is as old as civilizations sailing the sea. However, the phenomenon of globalisation has escalated this crime to the global issue it is today. Instability in underdeveloped countries with large coasts and weak law enforcement allows for organised crime networks, which operate internationally in the vast majority of the cases, to exploit the vastness of the sea and the maritime transport infrastructure fairly silently. Illegal international exploitation of maritime resources, like fishing, is also a major contributor for the poverty and dissatisfaction that pushes men into armed crime. As well, the lack of a robust judicial system that strongly prohibits and condemns maritime crime impedes a thorough and lasting fight against it. Repercussions The consequences of maritime crime impact local communities directly, and the entire world indirectly. This impact can be classified into economic and social, respectively. The acts of piracy alone endanger a significant portion on the global trade-based economy. “As over 90%* of global trade is carried out by sea, the economic effects of maritime crime can be crippling”

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(unodc.org). Unsafe trade raises transportation costs, since the sole delay a hijacking causes, not counting the large ransoms and/or lost goods, is counted by the millions of dollars per day of delay. These repercussions indirectly affect the global economic dynamic, and thus is an issue that motivates every single nation to take action, since everyone benefits to a certain degree form maritime trade. As for social impacts on a local level; piracy and maritime crime elevate the levels of violence in the already vulnerable populations of the countries with high piracy exports. This vulnerability consists of poverty, plus a weakened or non-existent state. Smuggling hotspots bring hyperinflation to the communities as well, due to the high flow of illegal, carelessly spent monetary resources. Additionally, these vulnerable individuals, be it free men or convicted criminals in prison, are very prone to be recruited by extremist religious belligerents outside the law. The seed of violent extremism them, spreads and flourishes with maritime crime, ultimately resulting in an exportation of recruited men from these vulnerable communities and an import of weaponry and violence into them. It is worth mentioning as well that most pirate ships lack the basic sanitary measures crucial for international sailing, potentially harbouring diseases that end up spread over large areas. Current moment Currently, the office has designated the GMCP and its four main

sub-branches to combat the problem, which has had success and failure in different areas. The sub-branches are: Indian Ocean (IO), Atlantic Ocean (AO), Horn of Africa (HoA) and the Detention and Transfer Programme. Each division consists of the following: GMCP IO; Based on the fourteenth sustainable development goal, it helps littoral states in the area to coordinate their efforts to enforce Blue Justice. “...(this is) Maritime security and countering maritime crime, also termed Blue Justice …The GMCP IO team works with coastal states of the Indian Ocean to enhance and coordinate their efforts to effectively respond to maritime crime” (unodc.org) The situation here is far from resolved. GMCP AO: the scope is divided between the drug trafficking in the Caribbean and piracy off West Africa. This is a recent programme that launched in 2014 with the GMCP guidelines of assistance in law enforcement and legal reinforcement. Its effectiveness is yet to be evaluated by the office before the turn of the decade. HoA: a near integral programme. It provides legal assistance, actual on-site port facility improvements and trainings, and most importantly, waterfront assistance directly with local forces. It has succeeded in reducing piracy, but has allowed for the proliferation of different types of trafficking. “…the presence of international navies off the Horn of Africa has suppressed piracy…” (unodc.org). Moreover, this branch has an ultra-specific focus in Somalia and its maritime corridor.

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Detention and Transfer Programme: operates in Africa has provided humane prison space relatively successfully, while simultaneously reinforcing the local judicial systems for effective and efficient trials and extraditions.

Prison space delivered by the D&T (taken from unodc.org) Focus of the committee For this committee, it is expected that delegates take into account the GMCP and all its branches to assess their effectiveness. Once that is established, proposals are to be made on the future of this programm(es), and collaboration/fusion with other agencies and their programs is to be considered. This is not a legal committee; it has more of an executive nature, although law can be taken into account superficially. Also, the various facets of the repercussions are to be considered (economics, society, law enforcement etc…) It is important to remember that all delegates have an important say here; whether they benefit from maritime trade, they actively/passively engage in fighting the issue, or the hosts themselves of these criminal acts, or all of them. Working papers with feasible modifications or creations of programmes are expected. Delegates are also to discuss the level of intervention of the west and the international community in the

underdeveloped nations closer to the conflict. Finally, measures to address terrorism and its derived crimes in maritime aspects are to be taken into account in the papers. Guiding questions:

1. How is your country affected/involved in maritime crime and its eradication?

2. How close (geographically and politically) is your country to the conflict? How can this closeness affect your position in the debate?

3. Where is your country located in the international trafficking routes of drugs/people/weapons? Are these crimes grave in your country?

Sources: Global Maritime Crime Programme. (2017). Unodc.org. Retrieved 13 December 2017, from https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/piracy/index_new.html UNODC's Global Maritime Crime Programme. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 13 December 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLP1rrIC89eFCcOzBqR6a-ZO-bLAXZtCmn&v=fqXVZJIkVmM (2017). Unodc.org. Retrieved 13 December 2017, from https://www.unodc.org/documents/Reports/GlobalMaritimeCrimeProgramme_AnnualReport2016.pdf Support links:

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https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/piracy/index_new.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLP1rrIC89eFCcOzBqR6a-ZO-bLAXZtCmn&v=fqXVZJIkVmM

https://www.unodc.org/documents/Reports/GlobalMaritimeCrimeProgramme_AnnualReport2016.pdf

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/piracy/horn-of-africa.html

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/piracy/atlantic-ocean.html

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/piracy/detention-and-transfer.html https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/piracy/Indian-Ocean.html https://www.marketwatch.com/story/forget-somalia-this-the-new-sea-piracy-hot-spot-2015-10-07

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