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Economic and Social Council Study Guide

Topic A: The Adverse Effects of Illegal Immigration upon the Global Economy and how to prevent it Topic B : How to Combat the Growing trade of Drugs and Narcotics Globally

By Joseph Jung and Rishi Kumar, chairs for the ECOSOC committee of OAKMUN 2011

Letter From The Chairs


Dear Delegates, Welcome to the Economic and Social Council of the Oakridge Model United Nations 2011! My name is Rishi Kumar and I am really looking forward to being your director this year! I was born in Mumbai, but Ive spent most of my life in Toronto, Canada. About one year back, I moved to Hyderabad and have really fallen in love with all aspects of this wonderful city. Right now, I am a senior at Oakridge International School and Im currently taking the International Baccalaureate program. Learning about different cultures has always excited me and this is probably what fuels my love for travel. This has also led to my love for History, which currently is one of my favorite subjects, tied with Economics. As far back as I can remember, my fathers side of the family has always practiced Law and this has influenced my choice in choosing this area as my future career. Aside from this, Ive always had an interest for the Humanities; Ive never liked the Sciences. Thus, it was only natural that I took a liking to MUN as its something I really enjoy and also is a method for me to improve myself in all aspects. Furthermore, one of the main benefits is that I can meet new people and learn about different cultures. Aside from this, Im also a strong fan of American Football and Hockey. When I have free time, which since I started grade eleven has been extremely rare; I either listen to my favorite music or play football with friends. The Economic and Social Council of the UN is one of the most important decision making bodies as it improves the standards of living by facilitating economic development and promoting full employment. Our session in Oakmun 11 will be extremely thoughtprovoking as we will be discussing two very controversial issues; Illegal Immigration and Sustainable development. I hope you all do extensive research into your respective countries as it will ensure that our session will be not only informative but also exciting. I am thrilled to meet you at the conference this year! Rishi Kumar Director of the United Nations Economic and Social Council at OAKMUN
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Dear delegates, It gives me a great pleasure to have you all in the first MUN of Oakridge International School. My name is Joseph Jung, and I will be chairing Economics and Social Council. I am a student of 12th grade of Oakridge International School, Hyderabad. I was born in South Korea but moved to India when I was in the 5th grade. I like economics and world history and I actively take part in formal debates like MUN, where I can display my skills in these areas. Im also the Sports Captain of my school and I try to arrange as many matches with different schools as possible both domestically and internationally, so that I can interact with different people from different environment. The topics for the ECOSOC are Illegal immigration and Drug trade. I thought that these are some of the major social problems that the world is facing today and therefore Im looking forward to listen to different opinions about these matters. I strongly believe that you will not only enjoy the conference but also come across the importance of unity of nations at the time of such crisis. I hope that OAKMUN gives you the maximum opportunity in displaying your art of diplomacy to help you build yourself as a successful leader of India and the world as a whole. I really look forward to meeting you all as soon as possible. Wishing you the best of luck Joseph Jung (josephjung93@gmail.com) ECOSOC Chair OAKMUN 2011

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About The Economic and Social Council


The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations was established under the United Nations Charter as body responsible for the coordination of the economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. The Economic and Social Council serves as the central forum the debate of said issues, and to create policies related to Economic and Social development for member states and the United Nations Itself. Some of the main goals of this committee are to facilitate international co-operation for the general betterment of economic and social conditions for all humanity, such as promoting higher standards of living and full employment, encourage awareness and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and find solutions to the plethora of economic and social problems faced by countries. It has the power to make or initiate studies and reports on these issues. It also has the power to assist the preparations and organization of major international conferences in the economic and social and related fields and to facilitate a coordinated follow-up to these conferences. With its broad mandate the Council's purview extends to over 70 per cent of the human and financial resources of the entire UN system.

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Topic A: Illegal Immigration-

Chapter 1: Introduction to illegal immigration


In a simple definition, illegal immigration is the migration of a foreign citizen who is not authorized by the government of the nation to which the person has migrated. When we say unauthorized it means that the person does not meet the legal requirements for immigrating in that country, that is, when they are violating the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. People emigrate from one country to another for a variety of complex reasons. Some are forced to move, due to conflict or to escape persecution and prejudices, while others may voluntarily emigrate. Although such a move may be necessary, it can be quite traumatic on top of the challenges experienced so far. From another perspective, immigration can also represent an act of courage. For example, Moving to a different country with different culture and norms can be quite daunting; The potential loneliness to be suffered is not always easy to overcome; There may be the additional pressure to earn enough to live (in a more expensive-to-live-in country) and send back meager savings. An economic migrant, a person searching for work, or better opportunities, will be stepping into the unknownan exciting prospect if the person is already well-to-do, or daunting at least, if out of desperation. As Inter Press Service (IPS) reported, the European Union has recently acknowledged a concern about immigration that has not received much media attention. That is, a large number of people are attempting to leave the devastation of their own country caused by the current form of globalization and other political and economic policies, which, as well as creating winners, is creating a large number of losers, and increasing inequality. Tackling poverty and addressing issues of development and opportunity are important aspects of tackling this type of immigration.

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Chapter 2: Illegal immigration in different countries


Angola In 2007 around 44,000 Congolese were forced to leave Angola. Since 2004, more than 400,000 illegal immigrants, almost all from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have been expelled from Angola. Argentina The preamble of the Constitution of Argentina states as its purpose to secure the blessings of liberty to all men of the world who wish to dwell on Argentine soil. Furthermore, the section 25 of its Constitution states that the Federal Government shall foster European immigration, and may not restrict, limit or burden with any tax whatsoever, the entry into the Argentine territory of foreigners who arrive for the purpose of tilling the soil, improving industries, and introducing and teaching arts and sciences. Although the Constitution of Argentina makes impossible the existence of such a thing as "illegal immigration", there are in the country, however, undocumented immigrants. Undocumented immigrants were estimated at 50,000 to 2,500,000 in the year 2001. Bhutan Immigration in Bhutan by Nepalese settlers (Lhotshampa) began slowly towards the end of the 19th century. In 1985, the government passed a new Citizenship Act which clarified and attempted to enforce the 1958 Citizenship Act to control the flood of illegal immigration. Those individuals who could not provide proof of residency prior to 1958 were adjudged to be illegal immigrants. In 1991-92, Bhutan expelled roughly 139,110 ethnic Nepalis, most of whom have been living in seven refugee camps in eastern Nepal ever since. The United States has offered to resettle 60,000 of the 107,000 Bhutanese refugees of Nepalese origin now living in U.N. refugee camps in Nepal. The Bhutanese government, even today has not been able to sort the problem of giving citizenship to those people who are married to Bhutanese, even though they have been in the country for 40 years. Brazil Brazil has long been part of international migration routes. In 2009, the government estimated the number of undocumented immigrants at about 200,000 people; a Catholic charity working with immigrants said there were 600,000 unauthorized immigrants (75,000
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of which from Bolivia). That same year, the Brazilian Parliament approved an amnesty, opening a six-month window for all foreigners to seek legalization irrespective of their previous standing before the law. Brazil had last legalized all immigrants in 1998; bilateral deals, one of which promoted the legalization of all reciprocal immigrants with Bolivia to date, signed in 2005, are also common. Clandestine immigrants in Brazil enjoy the same legal privileges as native Brazilians regarding access to social services such as public education and the Brazilian public healthcare system. Most unauthorized immigrants in Brazil come from Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, China (mainly from Fujian), North Korea and sub-Saharan Africa. A Federal Police operation investigated Chinese immigrants who traveled through six countries before arriving in So Paulo to work under substandard conditions in the textile industry. After signing the 2009 amnesty bill into law, President Lula said, in a speech, that "repression and intolerance against immigrants will not solve the problems caused by the economic crisis", thereby also harshly criticizing the "policy of discrimination and prejudice" against immigrants in developed nations. An October 2009 piece from O Globo, quoting a UNDP study, estimates the number of unauthorized immigrants at 0.7 million, and points out to a recent wave of xenophobia among the general populace

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Chapter 3: Consequences of illegal immigration: Economic and Social impacts of illegal immigration
Positive impacts: One of the prime advantages that the destination country faces because of illegal immigration is cheap labor. This keeps the economy moving smoothly as the immigrants fill up for the low-wage jobs. Illegal immigration increases the consumer base for the variety of goods and services produced in the country, hence boosting the economy in a big way. Quite often, the illegal immigrants contribute to the social security funds and then do not claim it back. This is add-on revenue for the state economy. It has been observed that illegal immigrants pay sales tax on time and diligently contribute to the revenue model of the country. Illegal immigrants, who are property owners and possess real estate properties, also pay real estate taxes and boost the economy of the state. While purchasing real estate, the immigrants, in turn, generate commissions for agents and brokers. Usually, the illegal immigrants take up properties in depressed locales, where finding tenants is a major difficulty. Illegal immigrants also contribute to mortgage loan profits. The financial and auto insurance loans immensely contribute to the insurers profit margins as well as to the countrys income. Since the illegal immigrants enjoy the banking services of the country, they pay interests and dividends to the banks, again strengthening the countrys economy.

Negative impacts: Due to illegal immigration, the overall population of the country spurts and results in major difficulties. There is overcrowding and increased burden in public places and public transport to name a few.

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Serious judicial problems arise in case an illegal immigrant commits a crime and escapes the country borders. There is an increased crime rate among the population as well as increased risk of cases related to human trafficking. It is also seen that illegal immigration results in a burden on tax-based resources, costing taxpayers billions of dollars. Once the illegal immigrants fulfill the demand for cheap labor and low wages, there is a continued demand for it. There is a growing imbalance in the authorized immigration quotas which results in disparity between the legal immigrants who diligently follow every rule and those who dont and still live together within the aspired territories of a country. The country invests in quite a fortune for illegal immigrant maintenance cost and at the end of the day there is no government reimbursement of the fund. The illegal immigrants may pose a potential threat to the working and middle class citizens. It has been thoroughly observed that those who successfully trespass the border, inspire those who are left behind to tread on the same prohibited path. There is a lingering fear of a gradual imbalance in the ethnic diversity, which can lead to the dominance of one particular language or culture in the society.

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Topic B: How to combat the global narcotics and illegal drug trade
Chapter 1: About the Global Drug trade
Drug trafficking is defined by the United Nations as a global illicit trade involving the
cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition law. It is a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture,

distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. The United Nations is continuing its research into global illicit drug markets in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their dynamics as it is an imperative issue for all countries to combat. Globally, the United Nations estimates that between 155 and 250 million people (3.5 to 5.7% of the population aged 15-64) used illicit substances at least once in 2008. Globally, cannabis users comprise the largest number of illicit drug users (129 - 190 million people). Amphetamine-group substances rank as the second most commonly used drug, followed by cocaine and opiates

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Chapter 2: Major drugs which compromise the narcotics trade in drug-prone areas

A) Heroin
At current levels, world heroin consumption (340 tons) and seizures represent an annual flow of 430-450 tons of heroin into the global heroin market. Of that total, opium from Myanmar and the Lao People's Democratic Republic yields some 50 tons, while the rest, some 380 tons of heroin and morphine, is produced exclusively from Afghan opium. While approximately 5 tons are consumed and seized in Afghanistan, the remaining bulk of 375 tons is trafficked worldwide via routes flowing into and through the countries neighboring Afghanistan. The Balkan and northern routes are the main heroin trafficking corridors linking Afghanistan to the huge markets of the Russian Federation and Western Europe. The Balkan route traverses the Islamic Republic of Iran (often via Pakistan), Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria across South-East Europe to the Western European market, with an annual market value of some $20 billion. The northern route runs mainly through Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan (or Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan) to Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. The size of that market is estimated to total $13 billion per year. Figure 1- Trade routes of heroin in Asia

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B) Cocaine
In 2008, global heroin seizures reached a record level of 73.7 metric tons. Most of the heroin was seized in the Near and Middle East and South-West Asia (39 per cent of the global total), South-East Europe (24 per cent) and Western and Central Europe (10 per cent). The global increase in heroin seizures over the period 2006-2008 was driven mainly by continued burgeoning seizures in the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey. In 2008, those two countries accounted for more than half of global heroin seizures and registered, for the third consecutive year, the highest and second highest seizures worldwide, respectively.In 2007 and 2008, cocaine was used by some 16 to 17 million people worldwide, similar to the number of global opiate users. North America accounted for more than 40 per cent of global cocaine consumption (the total was estimated at around 470 tons), while the 27 European Union and four European Free Trade Association countries accounted for more than a quarter of total consumption. These two regions account for more than 80 per cent of the total value of the global cocaine market, which was estimated at $88 billion in 2008. For the North American market, cocaine is typically transported from Colombia to Mexico or Central America by sea and then onwards by land to the United States and Canada. Cocaine is trafficked to Europe mostly by sea, often in container shipments. Colombia remains the main source of the cocaine found in Europe, but direct shipments from Peru and the Plurinational State of Bolivia are far more common than in the United States market. Following a significant increase over
the period 2002-2005, global cocaine seizure totals have recently followed a stable trend, amounting to 712 tons in 2007 and 711 tons in 2008. Seizures continued to be concentrated in the Americas and Europe. However, the transition from 2007 to 2008 brought about a geographical shift in seizures towards the source countries for cocaine. Seizures in South America accounted for 59 per cent of the global total for 2008, compared with 45 per cent in 2007.

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Figure 2- Global Cocaine Trade Routes

Figure 3- Global Trade Routes for Heroin and Cocaine

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C) Cannabis
The United Nations estimates that the cannabis herb production ranged from 13,30066,100 metric tonnes and the cannabis resin production from 2,200-9,900 metric tonnes. The resulting total area under cannabis cultivation was estimated at 200,000-641,800 hectares. Trafficking of cannabis derivatives continues to affect most countries worldwide. Of the 147 countries and territories for which were surveyed, 137 had seized at least one of the cannabis derivatives: 129 had made seizures of cannabis herb, 92 of cannabis resin, and 26 of cannabis oil. Based on 2003-2008 data, approximately one half of seizure cases related to all illicit drugs worldwide involved cannabis herb, resin or oil. Cannabis herb was the most frequently seized drug in Africa, the Americas and Oceania, while cannabis resin was the most frequently seized drug in Europe, followed by cannabis herb. Globally, the number of people who had used cannabis at least once in 2008 is estimated between 129 and 191 million, or 2.9% to 4.3% of the world population aged 15 to 64.

D) Amphetamine-type Stimulants
Trafficking of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), along with their production, has come to affect the entire globe. The number of reported ATS( Amphetamine-type Stimulants)-related clandestine laboratories increased by 20% in 2008, and for the first time revealed the existence of manufacturing laboratories in Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka. Information on the 8,408 detected laboratories came from 32 countries, with the largest numbers reported from the United States of America, the Czech Republic, Australia, China, Slovakia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Canada and Mexico.

The type and form of ATS manufactured vary across regions. For example, in East and South-East Asia, manufacture of methamphetamine is primarily in tablet form (yaba) and high purity crystalline form (ice), although there are increasing incidents of ecstasy (MDMA) manufacture. Tablets sold as Captagon in the Near and Middle East often contain amphetamine and are sourced from South-East Europe and from within the region. In
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Europe, ATS manufacture is mainly powder and tableted amphetamine and ecstasy (MDMA), with methamphetamine (pervitine) manufactured primarily in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and other eastern European countries, with evidence that manufacture is further spreading. South Africa-based manufacture is predominately methamphetamine (tik) and methcathinon. Global methamphetamine laboratory counts increased 29% in 2008 to 8,295, With the largest numbers reflected increases reported from the United States (7,226).

Chapter 3- Consequences of the illegal drug trade- the economic and social impacts on the countries which they plague and ways of combating the problem.

At the core of drug consumption lie the problem drug users: those who inject drugs and/or are considered dependent, facing serious social and health consequences as a result. Based on the global estimates of the number of cannabis, opiate, cocaine and ATS users, it is estimated that there were between 16 and 38 million problem drug users in the world in 2008. This represents 10% to 15% of all people who used drugs that year. It can be estimated that in 2008, globally, between 12% and 30% of problem drug users had received treatment in the past year, which means that between 11 and 33.5 million problem drug users did not receive treatment that year. Thus it is clear that drug users place a significant strain on countries healthcare systems, as each year, millions of dollars are used to treat drug related afflictions and diseases which are transmitted through drug use, such as the H.I.V virus which is spread through infected needles which are often used by heroin addicts. Furthermore, to prevent and discourage drug usage, governments around the world require large amounts of funds to pay for law enforcement and prisons to correct those who frequent drugs. Furthermore, unemployment, which can often be seen in populations of drug users coupled with a financial burden on healthcare systems is extremely detrimental to a countrys economy. Research indicates that spending on treatment produces savings in terms of a reduction in the number of crime victims, as well as reduced expenditures for the criminal justice system. At a minimum there was a 3:1 savings rate, and when a broader calculation of costs associated with crime, health and social productivity was taken into account, the rate of savings to investment rose to 13:1. These savings can improve disadvantaged situations where opportunities for education, employment and social welfare are undermined, and increase possibilities for families to recover battered economies, thus facilitating social and economic development. Nonetheless, huge amounts of funds are required to provide such

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treatment, and it is thus not feasible for many countries to do so. This is especially the case for developing countries As they have many other priorities and fewer resources and are not in a position to absorb the consequences of increased drug use. As a result, there is now the risk of a public health disaster in developing countries that would enslave masses of humanity to the misery of drug dependency. Thus, while options such as extensive seizures of drug stocks could be useful, it may only last for a short-term basis as significant resources are required to maintain such actions. Thus, while traditional methods are somewhat useful, newer methods which are much more effective are necessary to combat the growing drug trade lest it progress further.

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Useful Sources for Further Study


http://www.globalissues.org/article/537/immigration http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/drug-prevention-and-treatment/index.html

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