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Committees
World Health Organization (WHO) United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) United Nations Commission on Science & Technology for Development (UNCSTD) African Union (AU) Silicon Valley Summit (Specialized) Preamble to the Annexation of Hawaii: the Reign of Liliuokalani (Specialized) |
African Union (AU)Chairs: Cara Hsiao & Grace Chu
Email: carhsi22@bergen.org Topic A: Exploitation of Natural Resources Despite Africa’s status as one of the most, if not the most, natural resource rich regions in the world, it’s people have failed to thrive economically. In spite of decades of unprecedented economic growth, the number of people living in abject poverty has risen by over 100 million, and statisticians predict that the problem is set to become worse. Many of the region's nations have continuously ranked as some of the world’s poorest. On the surface, the region's economy appears to be booming as Africa’s GDP has become the second fastest growing of any region, growing an average of 4.6% annually from 2000-2016, yet it is clear that the people of the region have continued to suffer. Far too often in Africa, the discovery of natural resources acts as a curse rather than a blessing, and is followed by conflict, economic and political instability, and environmental losses. Resources from the extraction of these valuable resources, which should have been utilized for development and infrastructure of African nations have instead been used to fund violence and corruption. The topic of natural resource exploitation in Africa is complex, deeply tied to underlying social, economic, and environmental issues, and can largely be attributed to failure in governance, and immediate changes are imperative. Topic B: Child Soliders Child soldiers have been a concept ingrained in the African Union for a very long time as children are seen as easily manipulated and quickly replaced on the battlefield. This issue continues to rage on year after year only worsening in degree over time as currently there are 120,000 child soldiers in Africa. Many of these soldiers start off from a young age and at times may not even legally be allowed to serve in the army according to the United Nations’ provision on the rights of a child. These child soldiers serve both in easier capacities such as cooks, but also in very dangerous ways such as battling or being used as a spy. While the United Nations, NGOs, and other organizations have tried to raise awareness and pass legislation to prevent this from being such a large issue, these methods have been proven ineffective as countries continue to ignore warnings and legislation. 
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