Letter from the Executive Board

Dear Delegates,
My name is Parth Bansal and I will be serving as the Chairperson of United Nations Office
on Drugs & Crime at JUMUN 2022.
I have attended a total of over 30 Model United Nations Conferences as a delegate and have
won several awards including an unbeaten top 3 streak in college MUNs. I have served on the
Executive Board of over 25 Model United Nations Conferences. I sincerely hope that each
and every one of you delegates enjoys and appreciates the work my team and I have put into
this committee and I look forward to an exciting committee full of innovate ideas and
solutions, encompassed in intellectual debate.

Remember, delegates, that this background guide is where you start your research but by no
means where you end it- a committee such as this requires both technical and general
research that should not be restricted to this study guide. The Executive Board recommends
that delegates do research in co-ordination with your country’s foreign policy, as violation of
foreign policy would be counter-intuitive to what you may wish to achieve as a delegate in
committee. This agenda is such it will evoke opinions and stances from every country in
committee as the ramifications of the discussion will affect the international community in its
entirety, hence we expect contribution to debate from each and every delegate that will be
present in committee.

I look forward to interacting with you and chairing this committee.

Regards,

Parth Bansal Ahan Bose Rishit Kejriwal

Chairperson Co- Vice Chair Co- Vice Chair

For any queries: parthb7@gmail.com

Use of the Background Guide

Study Guides are, contradictory to popular belief, not supposed to contain all the
information on a certain topic. A good study guide consists of information that a delegate
can use to gain basic information on the issue at hand and the links for further research that
they must use to prepare for the final conference. All the information given in this guide is
from an unbiased perspective and we have refrained from making judgments as much as
possible if none has been made by the United Nations.

This study guide is divided into sections to permit a delegate to comfortably understand the
implications of various aspects of the issue. The first section is about the committee and
most probably the most fundamental of all. The functions and powers of all councils and
committees are outlined by their mandate, which also defines the scope of debate in
council. The mandate also defines what kind of actions can be taken by the committee
and how it is separate from the actions taken by other councils.

The second section is a very practical and integral aspect of being a delegate in this
particular Council. It will also help you in future MUNs. It clearly marks out the sources
that will be accepted as proof/evidence in Council. There are two important things to be
kept in mind regarding this section. Firstly, that in situations where the Executive Board
asks a delegate for proof/evidence to back up their statements, no other sources will be
accepted as credible besides those mentioned here. Secondly, these are the only sources
which will provide you with correct facts as they themselves follow strict monitoring and
checking while reporting or collaborating data. Research can be done from any source as
such, but make sure you cross-check your statements and speeches with these sources
to be on a safe side.

The category titled QARMA outlines the scope of debate in the council. What a delegate
must understand is that this issue is not being discussed in the committee for the first time,
and therefore, debate must take place on current problems rather than historical incidents
and issues. The last category provides links for further research that cannot be used as
proof/evidence in council, but explain some issues better than the verified sources can
because they are more analytical or use simpler language. An advised pattern of research is
the following

1. Understanding of the UN and the Committee – Mandate, etc.

2. Research on the allotted country, especially with respect to the agenda, policies or
actions taken
3. Understanding the Foreign Policy of the allotted country by studying past actions,
their causes and consequences
4. Reading the Study Guide
5. Researching further upon the Agenda using the footnotes and links given in the guide
6. Prepare topics for moderated caucuses and their content
7. Assemble proof/evidence for any important piece of information/allegation you are
going to use in committee
8. Keep your research updated using news websites given in the Proof section.
Mandate and organization of the UNODC

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is mandated to aid Member States in their efforts
against crime, illicit drugs and terrorism. Member States, in the Millennium Declaration
reaffirmed their will to intensify efforts to combat transnational crime in all dimensions, to
further the efforts to implement the commitment to counter the world drug problem and to
take concerted action against international terrorism.
The three pillars of the UNODC work programme are:
● Field-based technical cooperation projects to enhance the capacity of Member
States to counteract illicit drugs, crime and terrorism
● Research and analytical work to increase knowledge and understanding of drugs
and crime issues and expand the evidence base for policy and operational decisions
● Normative work to assist States in the ratification and implementation of the
relevant international treaties, the development of domestic legislation on drugs, crime and
terrorism, and the provision of secretariat and substantive services to the treaty-based and
governing bodies

The UNODC also assists Member States in the following capacities:

1. Organized crime and trafficking
2. Corruption
3. Crime prevention and criminal justice reform
4. Drug abuse prevention and health
5. Terrorism prevention
Organisational Structure of the UNODC

Alignment with the UN Charter, the Sustainable Development Goals and other
transformational agendas:
The mandates of UNODC guide the subprogrammes in producing the respective deliverables,
which contribute to the attainment of each subprogramme’s objective. The objectives of the
subprogrammes are aligned with the Organization’s purposes to maintain peace and security,
develop friendly relations amongst nations and achieve international cooperation in solving
international problems, as stipulated in article 1 of the Charter. In the context of 2030
Agenda, and for UNODC, these purposes are embodied in a number of Sustainable
Development Goals.

The text below summarizes the specific Sustainable Development Goals that the objectives,
and therefore the deliverables, of the respective subprogrammes, are aligned with: UNODC is
especially committed to supporting Member States in the implementation of the 2030
Agenda, which explicitly recognize the interrelationship between sustainable development on
the one hand, and the threats from violence, organized crime, terrorism,

corruption, access to justice, prevention of drug use, and providing health and social services
to people who use drugs, on the other. The strong connections between rule of law, security
and sustainable development increasingly require greater coordination and cooperation
among national agencies as well as among United Nations entities.

UNODC, with its specific mandates and experience in mobilizing transnational cooperation,
is working together with other stakeholders, Member States and UN sister agencies at the
country, regional and global levels to help Member States to both, better understand the
nature of the threats they face, as well as to design coherent programmes and policies to
address these threats within the context of targets under Goal 16 that pertain to its’ mandates.

In the area of health, UNODCs work is framed largely by targets 3.b, 3.3, 3.5 and 3.8
pertaining to drug use prevention, treatment care and rehabilitation of drug use disorders,
access to controlled substances for medical purposes while preventing diversion and abuse as
well as prevention, treatment and care of HIV/AIDS. While also contributing to various other
goals directly (such as Goals 1, 4, 8, 10, 11, 14,15 and 17) the Office recognizes the universal
and unified nature of the 2030 agenda by actively pursuing initiatives that cut across goals
and targets. The Office is committed to strengthening a gender perspective as part of its
normative and technical support efforts to Member States and, thereby, ensuring that Goal 5
is effectively integrated across all its mandated areas of work. It should be noted that despite
being a relatively small Office, UNODC is the custodian of 15 SDG indicators at the global
level and an active co-facilitator of the Global Alliance for Reporting Progress on Peaceful,
Just and Inclusive Societies, a coordinating platform for UN Member States, private sector,
civil society, and
International entities.

The objectives of relevant sub-programmes are also aligned with the 2015 “Doha Declaration
on integrating crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider United Nations agenda to
address social and economic challenges and to promote the rule of law at the national and
international levels, and public participation” (A/Conf.222/L.6) and the outcome document of
the Thirtieth Special Session of the General Assembly of 2016 “Our joint commitment to
effectively addressing and countering the world drug problem” (A/S-30/L.1).

While recognising the strong inter-connections between the programmatic work of UNODC
and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including inter alia, building peaceful,
just and inclusive societies, and promoting health, the Office’s work emanates from its
foundational mandates and its normative role. The office also contributes to the 2030 Agenda
for sustainable development and the other purposes of the United Nations laid out in the
Charter, including the maintenance of international peace and security.

UNODC has expanded and consolidated its integrated programming approach that aims at
better and consistent support to member states in their responses to drugs and crime. In line
with the principles of the UNDS reform and new generation of UN Country teams (UNCTs)
and UNDAFs rolled out in 2019, UNODC integrated programmes aim at:
a) field-based support to member states for meeting the priority needs of national and
regional
counterparts.
b) cross-sectoral integration of all relevant drugs, crime and terrorism elements and a
clearer contribution to Member States’ efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development.
c) stronger synergies and joint programmes involving other UN entities and working across
borders and regions.

Essential to this further expansion of UNODC support to member states is the full
participation in, and alignment of UNODC field presence with, UNDS reform, to ensure
strong presence and delivery capacity in key countries.

This also includes the provision of technical expertise and advice in UNODC mandate areas
to UNCTs and local counterparts, so as to develop sound and needs-based UNDAFS, and
resulting technical cooperation programmes, also in the context of more joint UN
programmes.
The overall plan for 2020, is further detailed under each of the subprogrammes. It should be
noted that in some subprogrammes the variances between planned deliverables in 2019 and
2020 is driven by the shift from counting outputs to enumerating deliverables and the
methodological changes that that has implied. With regard to external factors, it is based on a
number of planning assumptions, including:
• Availability of extrabudgetary resources, as well as less strictly earmarked special purpose
contributions, allowing the office to respond to the constantly changing nature and scope of
transnational organized crime networks
• Willingness on part of member states to recognize and address challenges related to
security, justice and the rule of law, as part of an integrated, nationally owned effort at
implementing the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
• Increased willingness on part of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to build issues of
combatting
drugs, crime and illicit financial flows as part of their technical advice to States, allowing the
UNODC to
provide technical expertise to member states in strengthening their fiscal governance systems
preventing leakage from licit to illicit economies and laundering of the proceeds of crime
• The willingness of Member States to share real-time and other operational data with their
counterparts across borders to mount effective, intelligence- led responses to dismantle
organized crime networks.

In terms of Inter-Agency coordination UNODC has established various joint projects and
coordination groups that involve other entities of the UN System. These areas include access
to justice for children (UNICEF), gender equality and women’s empowerment
(UNWOMEN), drug prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation (WHO), border management
(WCO), corruption

(UNDP), human trafficking and migrant smuggling (IOM, UNHCR and the Inter-Agency
Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), and terrorism prevention
(UNOCT and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities).Since all
these areas and partnerships are relevant for the 2030 Agenda, UNODC and its partners have
linked their work and are showing to external audiences their impact on achieving the SDGs
through various publications, and in regular dialogue with Member States, including within
the context of UNODC's governing bodies, including the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and
the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The office remains an active co -
sponsor of UNAIDS and
is the substantive lead on HIV prevention treatment and care amongst people who use drugs
and in prison settings?

Regarding cooperation with other entities, UNODC will remain actively involved in the
Global Alliance for Reporting Progress on Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, a
coordinating platform for UN Member States, the private sector, civil society, and
international entities to work together to promote Goal 16. Also, UNODC is active in the
Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies Initiative, a group of Member States,
International Organizations, global partnerships, and others to focus on SDG16+. In addition,
UNODC has concluded agreements with an array of international organizations to enhance
common approaches and synergies in various areas of work related to the 2030 Agenda.
These include, but are not limited to: the African Union (AU), the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS), the Council of Europe (COE), the International Criminal Police
Organization (INTERPOL), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO).

UNODC pursues a coherent and coordinated implementation of global commitments on

gender equality in line with the 2006 CEB Policy on Gender Equality and the Empowerment
of Women and continues to strive for gender parity in staff at all levels and ensuring that a
gender perspective is actively

and visibly mainstreamed in all its practices, policies and programmes. The UNODC Strategy
for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (2018 - 2021) continues to provide a
framework for coherence and safeguarding the Office’s alignment with the 2030 Agenda and
SDG5. A Gender Team is located in the Director General/Executive Director’s Office to
coordinate the implementation of the Gender
Strategy, thus ensuring that programme approval processes are gender mainstreamed;
programme managers integrate gender perspectives in the operational activities of each sub-
programme, as applicable, and Gender Focal Points are consulted in programme
development; gender analysis is integrated into all UNODC mandated areas; staff are
receiving and benefitting from capacity building and tools on gender mainstreaming; a
systematic exchange of lessons learnt and good practices within the UNODC Gender Focal
Point network and that UNODC keeps abreast with new developments in
the field of gender equality, both through the UN Women led systemwide network of focal
points and through inter-agency cooperation.

UNODC, in line with the ongoing United Nations reform process, recognizes that evaluation
is a powerful tool for learning, accountability and improving impact. The independent
evaluation function at UNODC manages independent evaluations covering UNODC’s
portfolio, offering results that are key for learning and accountability of resources entrusted to
UNODC by Member States. It provides norms, standards and tools, quality assurance as well
as management of strategic evaluations, reporting directly on evaluation results to Member
States and the Executive Director. In this sense, the evaluation function acts as an agent of
change: it provides incentives to modernizing institutional practices and structures to inform
strategic direction. Moreover, responding to information needs by Member States, it ensures
diversified and innovative products and services for aggregate results, which is key in the
SDG context. Additionally, in coordination with UNEG and UN country teams, UNODC’s
evaluation function aims to further increase its support for national evaluation capacity
building.

Evaluation activities:
The following self-evaluations completed in 2018 have guided the programme plan
for 2020:
(a) Centralised evaluations:
• the Cluster Mid-term In-depth Evaluation of five global research projects of the
Research and Trend Analysis Branch contributing to the Thematic Programme on Research,
Trend Analysis and forensics 2015-2016 (sub-programme 6; status: finalised);
• the Mid-term In-depth Evaluation of the Paris Pact Initiative Phase IV- A partnership to
combat illicit traffic in opiates originating in Afghanistan (sub-programme 1 and 8; status:
finalised);
• the Thematic Cluster Evaluation of five Law Enforcement projects in Central Asia (sub-
programme 1; status: ongoing); and,
• the In-depth Evaluation of Western Balkans Counter-Serious Crime Initiative under the
Integrative Internal Security Governance mechanism (the EU provided funding to UNODC to
conduct this independent evaluation) (sub-programme 1; status: ongoing).
(b) Decentralised evaluations of the following UNODC projects (sub- programmes 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6):
1) Sustainable Livelihood and Development in Myanmar;
2) Assisting Nigeria to strengthen rule of law-based criminal justice responses to terrorism;
3) Implementation of the Doha Declaration;
4) Strengthening drug law enforcement system for criminal intelligence collection, analysis,
and exchange;
5) Support to the implementation of the ROCA programme;
6) Strengthening Anti-Corruption Institutions in Indonesia;
7) Strengthening and Enhancing the capacity of Law Enforcement Officials in Combating
Child Sex Offenders in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam;
8) Support to Demand Reduction of Drugs in Andean Countries;
9) Increasing capacity for prison reform in Panama;
10) Consolidating prison system improvement in Panama;

11) Strengthening of security and justice structures in the State of Coahuila de

Zaragoza.

The findings of the self-evaluations referenced above have been considered for the
programme plan for 2020 of all sub-programmes. As a result, cooperation and coordination,
including between UNODC HQ and Field Offices, will be further strengthened across sub-
programmes. Moreover, UNODC’s sub-programmes will increase collaboration and
partnerships at national and regional levels, building on the already existing structures and
mechanisms also for example in relation to global SDG reporting mechanisms. As a result of
the above-reference devaluations, sub- programmes in UNODC will continue strengthening
the approach to gender equality. For evaluations to contribute to the review mechanism of the
SDGs, strategic evaluations, in coordination with the United Nations Evaluation Group
(UNEG) and oversight functions, will be undertaken. This approach will allow the
identification of potential joint evaluations, in particular in relation to the principle of
common country programming and the assessment of UNDAFs.
The following evaluations and self-evaluations are planned for 2020, however, changes in
information needs of Member States may influence the evaluation plan:
• Selected priority areas in subprogramme 2;
• Selected priority areas in Latin America and the Caribbean (cross-cutting sub-
programmes);
• Selected priority areas in Africa (cross-cutting sub-programmes);
• Decentralised evaluations covering various sub-programmes and regions.
History and Current situation of curbing Latin
American Drug Trafficking

As a consequence of globalization and cross-border networking, Europol concluded that non-

European Union crime groups involved in the drug trade in Europe are nowadays made up of
citizens from a large number of countries; most likely countries in Latin America, the former
Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Pakistan and countries in East Asia and in North Africa. Seventy
percent of organized crime groups in Europe are composed of
members of many different nationalities.

In Peru, the area under coca cultivation shrank by nearly 70 per cent from its peak in 1992 to
2015.135 During the same period, the number of people killed by terrorist, insurgent and
non-State armed groups fell from 818 in 1992 to six in 2015; most of those fatalities were the
result of operations by the Shining Path, which was behind 772 deaths in 1992, but just three
in 2015.136 Most operations by the Shining Path took place in, or close to, the Alto Huallaga
region, which used to be the main coca cultivation area in Peru. This is also illustrated by the
number of attacks and casualties suffered by the personnel of Proyecto Especial de Control de
Cultivos de Coca (CORAH). Between 2005 and 2012 there were around 30 attacks, with 133
injuries and 11 deaths of CORAH personnel. The number of attacks by terrorist, insurgent
and non-State armed groups over the past three decades shows a positive correlation with the
area under coca cultivation in the Alto Huallaga region, with declines in coca cultivation
since the early 1990s going hand in hand with declines in attacks. Similarly, in Colombia the
area under coca cultivation shrank by 70 per cent between 2000 and 2013 during a decline in
the number of operations by FARC.137 The number of victims of violence by non-State
armed groups also showed a marked decline over the same period.138 The number of people
killed by non-State armed groups fell from 426 in 2000 to 137 in 2013; among them, the
number killed by FARC declined by almost 60 per cent, from 256 in 2000 to 106 in 2013.139
However, the apparent connection between coca cultivation and violence has become less
straightforward in recent years. Cultivation doubled between 2013 and 2015 even as FARC-
related killings declined further, by more than half.

As the 2017 World Drug Report points out, although drugs continue to represent a major
source of revenue for organized criminal groups, business models are changing. Criminals are
exploiting new technologies and networks, such as the Darknet (i.e. an encrypted virtual
network), that are altering the nature of the illicit drug trade and the types of players involved.
For instance, it has been found that organized criminal groups operating in virtual networks
tend to have looser ties and to be organized in horizontal structures (as opposed to vertical or
hierarchical structures); also, studies have highlighted that smaller groups have become more
significant. In addition, fewer groups are exclusively dedicated to drug trafficking, since a
considerable number also operates in other illicit sectors. According to the Report, an
estimated quarter of a billion people - or around five per cent of the global adult population -
used drugs at least once in 2015. Overall, drug trafficking seems to have increased slightly in
2015 and some drug markets, particularly cocaine and synthetic drugs - including synthetic
opium - appear to be thriving. For cocaine trafficking, the vast bulk of the flow proceeds from
the Andean region in South America, and it is largely sold in North America (usually via
Central America) and Europe (for instance, via West Africa). The Report also shows that
consumption of cocaine in the United States has been in long-term decline since the 1980s.
The most recent decline could be attributed to renewed enforcement efforts in Latin America,
such as those aimed at supply disruption in Mexico, which might have resulted in poor
quality product in the US drug market.
Here are three ways that the war on drugs that was led by the UNODC has fallen short.

First, the war on drugs has utterly failed to reduce the supply of illicit drugs on international
markets. Fumigation, eradication, and crop substitution programmes have had almost no
effect on aggregate production of cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Despite massive investments
by the U.S. and others in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru - the countries responsible for almost
100% of cocaine production - coca cultivation is in fact stable over the past decade. If
anything, they've only succeeded in making life more miserable for poor communities and
farmers.

Second, counter-narcotics policies have also been unable to contain transit of drugs from
Latin America to North American and European markets.
About 90% of the cocaine consumed in the United States comes from Colombia, while 90%
of the cocaine used by Europeans is from Peru. Virtually all of this product is transferred
through countries in Central America, the Caribbean and South America. Not only has it
persisted unabated, but its transfer has also greatly expanded corruption of politicians,
customs officials, police and has spread violence and increased consumption throughout these
regions.
Third, the drug war has been a complete disaster when it comes to demand reduction. In
2013, there were around 246 million people between 15-64 years old who are believed to
have used an illegal drug in the previous year. This represents an increase, not a decrease, in
previous years. What is more, consumption has increased dramatically in Latin America.
Abstinence only programmes have made no impact on levels of use. Meanwhile, life-saving
drugs are still heavily restricted.

To tackle a prominent and multifaceted issue such as the financing of armed militias, several
legal instruments, resulting from previous international action, are relevant to be considered
in tackling this problem. The three main international treaties on drug control have been
created between 1960 and 1990. In fact, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs dates back
to 1961, the Convention on Figure 2: A typical money laundering scheme Psychotropic
Substances has been firstly signed in 1971, and finally the 1998 UN Convention against the
Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The latter was not only the first
international convention to criminalise money-laundering but also the first UN convention to
tackle this issue at all. This breakthrough was followed by the establishment in 1997 of the
Law Enforcement, Organized Crime and Anti-Money-Laundering Unit of UNODC, with the
mandate to help the member states to address these pressing issues. The next year, in June
1998, the Action Plan against Money Laundering was adopted at the twentieth special session
of the United Nations General Assembly. In November 2000, The United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime was adopted by the General Assembly,
representing an important step forward in the fight against transnational organized crime and
recognizing the need to for close international cooperation in order to tackle this problem. In
2003, the United Nations Convention against Corruption is adopted. To this day, this
convention remains the only legally binding universal anti-corruption legal instrument.
Another specificity of this convention is the wide range of forms of corruption that it covers,
from bribery to abuse of functions. Regarding the problem of drug trafficking, the latest
important milestone to address this issue is the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on
International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World
Drug Problem adopted in 2009.
Apart from calling for international cooperation, this document also sets specific goals to
reduce the supply and the demand for illicit drugs. Finally, the FATF Recommendations,
adopted in 2012 and updated regularly since, represent a set of measures for states to
implement in order to counter money laundering and terrorist financing.
Impact of Illicit Drugs

As an impact of illicit Drugs, the highest crime rates persist in the Latin America.
Murders and violence are a common way of bloodshed in this region without any doubt.

A key region for the production and trafficking of drugs is Latin America. The largest
producers of cocaine worldwide are the Andean nations of Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia,
whereas the main routes for smuggling drugs into the United States and Europe are now
through Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. As a result of drug trafficking and US-
led eradication and interdiction efforts, the region's nations have seen a variety of negative
effects. In the countries where coca is produced, these include environmental and social harm
from aerial spraying used to eradicate coca crops as well as the funding of guerrilla insurgent
groups, most notably the FARC in Colombia and the Shining Path in Peru, through the
cultivation and sale of illegal crops.

The emergence of potent organised crime groups and drug cartels has resulted in an increase
in violence, corruption, impunity, the weakening of the rule of law, and breaches of human
rights throughout the whole region, in both places where drugs are produced and where they
are trafficked. Tens of thousands of people have died as a result of the brutal turn the drug
war in Mexico has taken in recent years. The drug trade has not ended as a result of law
enforcement efforts to put cartels out of business by apprehending important figures, but
rather as a result of deadly power conflicts. No matter how dangerous or violent it becomes,
the drug trade will always exist as long as prohibition supports drug prices.

Some of the most dangerous cities in the world are now situated in Central America, with
Honduras having the highest homicide rate in the world (82.1 murders per 100,000 people).
The area has become dangerous for those who defend human rights and work as journalists to
expose the violence, for those who work as politicians and security personnel and refuse to be
bought off by drug trafficking organisations, and, most importantly, for the locals who are
caught in the crossfire between rival gangs. Latin American decision-makers are increasingly
speaking out against prohibition and emphasising its catastrophic repercussions on the region.
In 2013, Uruguay became the first nation to legalise marijuana. To ensure that the discourse
on drug policy is informed, DPA works to keep Latin American leaders, government, and
civil society informed.

The major chunk of funds generated are used in illicit activities. The same is financed and
channeled via the routes of money laundering towards the terrorist organizations.
TERROR FUNDING

Terrorist financing provides funds for terrorist activity. It may involve funds raised from
legitimate sources, such as personal donations and profits from businesses and charitable
organizations, as well as from criminal sources, such as the drug trade, the smuggling of
weapons and other goods, fraud, kidnapping and extortion. Terrorists use techniques like
those of money launderers to evade authorities' attention and to protect the identity of their
sponsors and of the ultimate beneficiaries of the funds. However, financial transactions
associated with terrorist financing tend to be in smaller amounts than is the case with money
laundering, and when terrorists raise funds from legitimate sources, the detection and tracking
of these funds becomes more difficult.
Different ways of terror funding:

Charities
Donations were once the largest source of terrorist funding, coming mostly from charities and
wealthy individuals. For years, individuals and charities based in Saudi Arabia were the most
important source of funds for al-Qaeda, according to a 2002 CFR Task Force Report. A 2004
update to that report shows Saudi officials have taken steps to disrupt terrorist financing in
their country, yet charities continue to play a role in the sponsorship of terrorist groups.
Experts say some of the organizations raise funds with the express intent of supporting
terrorists; others seek to promote Islam through legitimate programs, but can be coopted by
jihadists who then use the funds to promote their own radical cause. One of the pillars of
Islam, zakat, is the compulsory giving of a set proportion of one’s wealth to charity. While
most of these charities in the Muslim world exist to help the poor and spread the message of
Islam, they have also been used, particularly in wealthy Middle Eastern nations, to finance
jihad.

Illegal Activities

Many terrorist groups have supported themselves through other illegal commerce as well.
The illicit cocaine trade also financed operations. Afghanistan’s flourishing poppy crops,
which the United Nations says are responsible for as much as 86 percent of the world opium
supply, are widely believed to be a major source of terrorist funding. Al-Qaeda reportedly
profited from the Afghan poppy trade before fleeing the country when the Taliban-led
government was ousted in 2001.

Front Companies

Many terrorist organizations attempt to operate legitimate businesses, which generate their
own profits and can also be used as a front for money laundering. Ties to terrorism have been
found amid the trade of livestock, fish, and leather. Businesses involved in agriculture and
construction have also been found to support terrorism. In 2001, the New York Times
reported that Osama bin Laden owned and operated a string of retail honey shops throughout
the Middle East and Pakistan. In addition to generating revenue, the honey was used to
conceal shipments of money and weapons.

Oil
ISIS is in control of 60 percent of Syria’s oil production capacity. Pre-conflict, Syria’s
production capacity stood at 385,000 to 400,000 barrels a day, so 60 percent would be more
than 200,000 barrels. But from what is being reported out of Syria, ISIS appears to only be
producing around 50,000 barrels.
The same thing is happening in Iraq. The capacity of the fields under ISIS control is about
80,000 barrels a day. The militants started producing around 20,000, increased to 40,000 and
declined again after the start of the U.S. strikes and the joint operations launched between
Erbil and Baghdad, between the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army.

Money laundering

Criminals use a wide variety of money laundering techniques to make illegally obtained
funds appear clean. Online banking and cryptocurrencies have made it easier for criminals to
transfer and withdraw money without detection. The prevention of money laundering has
become an international effort and now includes terrorist funding among its target.
There are many ways to launder money, from the simple to the very complex. One of the
most common techniques is to use a legitimate, cash-based business owned by a criminal
organization

Manipulation

Most often we see ups and downs in the stock market of various nations. This is used as an
opportunity by these organization and used as a source of terrorism funding. Manipulation of
stocks are a common way of doing so and has been the culprit for the same. Many cases of
forged trading have been observed leading to financers for terrorism. Since 2011 many
Demat accounts have been freezed in suspect of being involved in such cases.
Important Documentation

1. United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)

2. United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC)
Supplemented by three treaties, they are:
i. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children.
ii. Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.
iii. Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in
Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunitions.
3. International legal framework on drug control: These include three treaties. They are:
a. 1988 Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances.
b. 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
c. 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
4. International legal framework against terrorism
5. United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice
6. ST/SGB/1997/5, entitled “Organization of the Secretariat of the United Nations”
7. ST/SGB/2004/5, entitled “Organization of the United Nations Office at Vienna”

Questions A Resolution Must Answer

(QARMA)

• How is money-laundering tackled in their country and what measures could be

implemented to make it impossible for criminal organizations to launder their funds?
• What measures could be implemented in order to eradicate corruption of police forces
and high-level officials?
• What is the best way to raise awareness on the issue in order for public opinion to put
pressure on financial institutions and governmental bodies?
• What are the agencies the UNODC could work with in order to make sure the
measures already in place are well-enforced?
• Should Latin American governments systematically condemn the activity of all armed
militias (even those who commit to protect civilians against drug cartels)?
• What other illegal activities are performed by Latin American armed militias and how
to curb them?
Evidence or Nature of Proof

i. News Sources:

i. REUTERS – Any Reuters article which clearly makes mention of the

fact or is in contradiction of the fact being stated by a delegate in council.
(http://www.reuters.com/ )

b. State operated News Agencies – These reports can be used in the support of or against
the State that owns the News Agency. These reports, if credible or substantial enough, can be
used in support of or against any Country as such but in that situation, they can be denied by
any other country in the council. Some examples are:

i. RIA Novosti (Russia) http://en.rian.ru/

ii. IRNA (Iran) http://www.irna.ir/ENIndex.htm
iii. BBC (United Kingdom) http://www.bbc.co.uk/

2. Government Reports: These reports can be used in a similar way as the State
Operated News Agencies reports and can, in all circumstances, be denied by another
country. However, a nuance is that a report that is being denied by a certain country
can still be accepted by the Executive Board as credible information. Examples are,

i. Government Websites like the State Department of the United States of

America http://www.state.gov/index.htm or the Ministry of Defense of the
Russian Federation http://www.eng.mil.ru/en/index.htm
ii. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of various nations like India (http://www.mea.gov.in/ ),
People‘s

Republic of China (http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/),

France(http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/), Russian
Federation(http://www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/main_eng)

iii. Permanent Representatives to the United Nations Reports

http://www.un.org/en/members/ (Click on any country to get the website of the Office
of its Permanent Representative).

iv. Multilateral Organizations like the NATO

(http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/index.htm ), ASEAN (http://www.aseansec.org/ ),
OPEC (http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/ ), etc.

v. Please note that Xinhua(Government news agency from China will not be accepted as a
credible source)

3. UN Reports: All UN Reports are considered are credible information or

evidence for the Executive Board of the Security Council.

i. UN Bodies: Like the SC(http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/ ),

GA(http://www.un.org/en/ga/ ),
HRC(http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/HRCIndex.aspx ) etc.

ii. UN Affiliated bodies like the International Atomic Energy Agency

(http://www.iaea.org/ ), World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/ ), International
Monetary Fund (http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm ), International Committee of the
Red Cross (http://www.icrc.org/eng/index.jsp ), etc.

iii. Treaty Based Bodies like the Antarctic Treaty System (http://www.ats.aq/e/ats.htm ), the
International Criminal Court (http://www.icccpi.int/Menus/ICC ) Under no circumstances
will sources like Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/ ), Amnesty International
(http://www.amnesty.org/ ), Human Rights Watch (http://www.hrw.org/ ) or newspapers
like the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/ ), Times of India
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ ), etc. be accepted.