CommitteesGA Committees
ECONOMIC & SOCIAL COUNCILS
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[DOUBLE & NOVICE] Disarmament and International Security Council (DISEC)Chairs: Suzu Hirai & Aakrithi Ram Email: suzhir26@bergen.org & [email protected] Topic A: Weaponization of Bioterrorism According to Oxford Languages, bioterrorism is defined as ‘terrorism involving the use of biological weapons’. These include but are not limited to engineered viruses, bacteria, and other toxins to harm targeted populations. While bioterrorism is certainly not a new problem (it was used in 6th century BCE by the Persians), in the last couple of decades, its use has widely increased around the globe. The most recent case was 2001 in the US, when letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news media offices and two U.S. Senators, resulting in 22 cases and 5 deaths. This was following the 9/11 attacks on the world trade center. In fully developed countries, the current defense against bioterrorism is a strong public health system; however in developing countries, this isn’t a viable option. In order to combat the misuse of biotechnology, delegates must work together to come up with conducive solutions to counteract dangerous situations, mitigate the harmful effects, and manage responsibilities that come with exploration of new technologies. Topic B: Reducing Foreign Interference in Democratic Institutions and National Relations Foreign interference in Democratic Institutions and national relations is not a topic that is new, though it is one that rarely surfaces in public domains such as the mainstream news. Oftentimes the interference of political views hinder the ability to inform others of its occurrence or to even prevent it, as the playing powers are developed and dominating powers. This has mainly affected the European Union, and poses a major problem especially when a democracy is new, more prone to unstable and uninformed public views. Foreign interference is commonly in the form of disinformation and cyber attacks as well as the dissemination of intelligence. This topic may sometimes be referred to more specifically as democratic backsliding, which is a byproduct of the foreign interference in democratic institutions. This has affected multiple national relations, and delegates are expected to skillfully determine what events are appropriate to reason as much information is only speculated in this conflict. Furthermore, delegates are encouraged to undertake a view aligning with their country's policy, defending their country’s best interest while diplomatically coinciding with other countries as well. This is a double delegation committee, which means each country will be represented by two delegates from the same school. When assigning positions to this committee, we ask that you assign two delegates to every position assigned within the DISEC committee. This is also a novice committee, which is intended for delegates who are new to Model UN. |
