STUDY

GUIDE

UNGA-DISEC
CHAIRPERSONS’ ADDRESS
“Limits only exist in your mind.”
It has always been a pleasure to be a part of the MUN
circuit from the past three years and get involved in
various school and college level conferences in West
Bengal. But, being a part of my own school MUN from
its very inception has given me a different level of
satisfaction. Being on the other side of the desk and
forming the executive board of a committee gives me
immense pleasure. I would like to take this
opportunity to introduce you to my executive board.
Your rapporteur will be Divyanshu Singh who is a
budding MUNer in school. Your director Nikhil
Agarwal has a very fine knowledge about
International Law and has received various accolades
in different college and school MUNs. We promise to
make you feel at home and provide you with a
knowledgeable and fun-filled experience on the three
days of the conference. Please go through this study
guide thoroughly and decide how the committee
proceeds.
Regards
Aman Sinha- Chairperson
C0MMITTEE INTRODUCTION

The Committee on Disarmament and International

Security (DISEC) serves as the First Committee of the
General Assembly (GA) of the United Nations. The
committee works in conjunction with the Security
Council and the Conference on Disarmament to take
measures in pursuing one the fundamental goals of
the UN: the promotion of international security and
relative peace among nations. It is a primary organ of
the UN which deals with promoting and enforcing the
principles of disarmament and the non-proliferation of
weapons in the international community. Its mandate
enforces the primary function of the United Nations in
ensuring security, minimising conflict, preventing
escalation, and promoting peace and stability. It
might be a recommendatory body to the Security
Council but it still plays a great role in determining the
legality of the actions taken by member states in the
United Nations since when general assembly
resolutions are formally adopted by the Security
Council, they become legally binding to all the
member states of the UN under Article 25 of the UN
charter, considering the general assembly resolution to
be a decision undertaken by the Security Council.
General Suggestions by the
Executive Board

 Carry a United Nations Charter and the Study

Guide either as a soft copy on your device or on
paper.
 Your performance in this committee will depend
on how much you have researched on the agenda
and the given subtopics in a stupendous way,
therefore please try to be well researched.
 Be particular about your country‟s foreign policy.
The best way to be sure about your country‟s
policy is by following its external affairs website.
 Be confident during the proceedings of committee
even if you are not as well prepared or
experienced as other delegates.
 Try to refrain from simply reading out the
research and try to refer to them as rarely as
possible while speaking. This practice helps you in
creating a better impact in committee.
 Try to make more than three points in one speech
pertaining to the topic of discussion to make it a
good speech.
AGENDA: Combatting
transnational organized
crimes with emphasis on role
of cyber-crimes in fuelling
conflicts.
INTRODUCTION

Advancements in information, technology and

scientific developments have both civilian and military
applications, which have led to the creation of wide
ranging forms of transnational organised crimes
(TOCs). Transnational organized crime as a broad
topic can be sub divided into illegal traffic in arms,
terrorism, money laundering, sea piracy, human
trafficking and many other concerning topics in the
current global scenario. Cybercrime is an evolving
form of transnational crime. The complex nature of
the crime as one that takes place in the border-less
realm of cyberspace is compounded by the increasing
involvement of organized crime groups. Perpetrators
of cybercrime and their victims can be located in
different regions, and its effects can ripple through
societies around the world, highlighting the need to
mount an urgent, dynamic and international
response. We strongly believe that the aforementioned
concerns must be scrutinized and debated upon for
moving a step forward towards combatting
transnational organized crimes. I hope that we witness
impeccable co-operation amongst member states in
solving the issues at hand.
PARAMOUNT SUBTOPICS THAT MUST
BE COVERED IN THE COMMITTEE
UNDER THE AMBIT OF THE GIVEN
AGENDA:

 Illicit trade of small arms and other weapons

 International Drug Control
 Money Laundering
 TOC‟s impact on Terrorism
 The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East
 Threats to cyber security
 Human Trafficking
 Border Security and Porous Borders
 Cyber Crime
Arms Trafficking

„There is no universally accepted definition of a „small arm‟

or of a „light weapon‟ though one of the most widely
accepted definitions comes from the 1997 report of the
United Nations Panel of Governmental Experts on Small
Arms. In general terms, „small arms‟ are designed for
personal use and may be carried by one person; „light
weapons‟ are used by several persons or a crew and may be
transported by two or more people, a pack animal, or a
light vehicle (UNGA, 1997a, paras. 25, 27(a).
UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and
Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons
in All Its Aspects—known as the Programme of Action or
PoA—adopted by UN member states in 2001. Four years
later, UN member states adopted a spin-off of the PoA, the
International Instrument to Enable States to identify and
Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms
and Light Weapons—known as the International Tracing
Instrument, or ITI.
Another important instrument is the UN Protocol against
the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their
Parts and Components and Ammunition—known as the
Firearms Protocol. Adopted by UN member states in 2001,
the Firearms Protocol formed part of a separate process
focusing on transnational law enforcement challenges. The
final component in the suite of principal global instruments
governing small arms control is the Arms Trade Treaty
(ATT), adopted by UN member states in April 2013.
Drugs Trafficking

Drugs continue to represent a major source of revenue for

organized crime networks, but business models are
changing, with criminals exploiting new technologies, such as
the dark web, that are altering the nature of the illicit drug
trade and the types of players involved, with looser,
horizontal networks and smaller groups becoming more
significant. New ways of delivering drugs further point to the
need to involve other sectors such as postal services in the
fight against drug trafficking.
Clearly, countries must be able to act and react to an ever-
changing and formidable array of threats and problems.
UNODC is fully engaged in strengthening responses, working
closely with our United Nations partners and in line with the
international drug control conventions, human rights
instruments and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, which are themselves complementary and
mutually reinforcing.
Although most identified international organized crime
groups in the European Union remain hierarchically
organized, Europol suggests a trend away from vertical
structures towards horizontal crime groups operating along
a network organization model (cellular structure and less
rigid or permanent hierarchies). Loose criminal networks
represented 30-40 per cent of organized crime groups
identified by Europol in 2017. Although they exist in all drug
markets, loose criminal networks are particularly present in
the trafficking of herbal cannabis and synthetic drugs,
including new psychoactive substances (NPS). This type of
network is often more nimble than other types and their
members.
Europol identified some 5,000 international organized crime
groups operating in the European Union in 2017, over 35 per
cent of which were involved in drug trafficking — more than
in property crime, the smuggling of migrants, trafficking in
human beings, excise fraud or any other illicit activity.
Compared with organized crime groups operating in other
crime areas, such as financial and economic crime, property
crime and counterfeiting, organized crime groups involved in
drug trafficking tend to be larger.

Money Laundering

Money laundering can lead to volatility in exchange rates

and interest rates owing to unanticipated inflows and
outflows of capital, all of which tends to have a negative
impact on overall economic growth.
The term “illicit financial flows” is often used in different
contexts where it may be associated with different meanings
and objectives. An Early literature on illicit financial flows
focused on capital flight from developing countries and
disregarded whether the sources were licit or illicit. Critics say
this methodology fails to capture processes such as bulk cash
transfers, hawala payments or other transactions completed
outside the official financial system.
Studies suggest that the flow of laundered money, including
drug proceeds, back into the domestic economy is associated
with reductions in overall annual economic growth rates,
particularly in smaller and less developed countries. One
estimate, based on a study of 17 OECD countries, suggested
that a $1 billion increase in money laundering can reduce
overall economic growth by between 0.03 and 0.06
percentage points.
Several tax havens around the globe have been involved in
money laundering activities — actively or unwittingly — and
seem to have thrived economically, having witnessed an
expansion in their financial service sectors. But international
tolerance towards such behaviour is wearing thin, and calls
have been made to develop strategies to prevent and
combat all illicit financial flows. Financial centres that do not
adhere to international rules and regulations face legal
sanctions and may eventually lose access to global financial
markets, which could have potentially negative
consequences for their own economic stability.

Cyber Crime

In less than two decades, Internet has transformed to turn

from a curiosity to an essential element of modern life for
millions. As with other aspects of globalization, its rapid
expansion has far exceeded regulatory capacity, and this
absence of authority has left space for many abuses. The
problem is compounded by the fact that the Internet was
fashioned on a military system designed to circumvent
interference and external controls. But even those who most
loudly champion its creative anarchy have come to realize
that the Internet can only reach its full potential if some
basic ground rules are established and if antisocial behaviour
is vigorously discouraged. The challenge remains how,
exactly, to do this. “Cybercrime” has been used to describe a
wide range of offences, including offences against computer
data and systems (such as “hacking”), computer-related
forgery and fraud (such as “phishing”), content offences
(such as disseminating child pornography), and copyright
offences (such as the dissemination of pirated content). It has
evolved from the mischievous one-upmanship of cyber-
vandals to a range of profit-making criminal enterprises in a
remarkably short time. Of course, criminals, like everyone
else with access, make use of the Internet for communication
and information gathering, and this has facilitated a
number of traditional organized crime activities. But the
growing importance of the Internet and our collective
dependence on it has also created a number of new criminal
opportunities. This chapter considers two of the most
problematic: the well-established fraud of identity theft and
the previously unprofitable trade in child pornography. The
former is an acquisitive crime, an updated version of check
kiting. The latter is a kind of electronic trafficking,
transmitting contraband across borders through the Internet.