The United Nations’ General Assembly was established in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations. It is the only organ of the UN in which all 193 members nations have equal representations. Additionally, it was a founding institution and stood as the “Deliberative policymaking and representative organ of the UN”. The General Assembly is responsible for making vital decisions concerning the United Nations namely; Appointing the Secretary General, electing the nonpermanent members of the Security council and approving the regular budgets of the UN. Due to the variety of diverse global issues treated by the United Nations’ General Assembly, it found the opportunity of establishing six sub-commissions upon which the topics may be divided. The six main committees are as follows: Disarmament and International Security Committee, Economic and Financial Committee, Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, Special Political and Decolonization Committee, Administrative and Budgetary Committee and the Legal Committee.

This year, and for the first time in OIMSUN we are introducing to our delegates The United Nations’ Fourth Committee: The Special Political and Decolonization. Originally the committee was established in order to decolonize non free lands and to obtain the freedom of its people. It takes the role of dealing with various political issues that strive to achieve world peace. As a result, resolving the issues of the middle east and territorial disputes is its main focus. It takes the responsibility of discussing the matters surrounding outer space regarding territorial disputes and outer space safety, without forgetting it’s important presence concerning the palestine situation and the israeli-palestine conflict.

This year’s topics, for the General Assembly Fourth Committee are:

1. The territorial dispute over Western Sahara
2. The Kashmir conflict

In addition to The United Nations Sixth Committee: Legal. It is the primary forum for considering international legal questions. Therefore, it addresses issues regarding international law. It  helps in creating new laws but also offer interpretations of already existing ones, all with the means to ensure peace, order and justice. Most global concerns relate to international law, so this committee is a vital UN body.

This year’s topics, for the General Assembly Sixth Committee are:

1. Discussing the legal responsibilities of correctional institutions to criminals
2. Examining the criminal accountability of political leaders

For OISMUN’s annual General Assembly plenary session, the delegates will discuss the following topic:

1. Discussing the restructure of veto power

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six main UN organs.  It is charged to maintain peace and security under the principles of the UN charter. The UNSC determines the existence of a threat to international peace or an act of aggression. It holds frequent sessions regarding these threats. It’s first sessions was held on the  17th of January 1946.  It is only UN organ with the power to implement ceasefire , start UN peacekeeping missions and deploy UN troops named “blue helmets” who are sent to enforce peace in various regions. Under the UN Charter, all member States of the UN are obligated to enforce and carry out decisions of the council. The UNSC is composed of 15 members; 5 of them being permanent veto holding members (The United States of America, China, The United Kingdom, The Russian Federation and France).  As for the 10 other members, they are rotating non-permanent members that are elected by the General Assembly every 2 years.  The Security Council also recommends to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and the admission of new Members to the United Nations. And, together with the General Assembly, it elects the judges of the International Court of Justice. In conclusion, the UNSC’s goal is to develop solutions and implement resolutions in order  to prevent aggression and maintain security

This year’s topics are:

1. Rebuilding Security and combatting terrorism in the Mena Region
2. The Kurdish Crisis

The Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 Member States, which are elected by the United Nations General Assembly. In fact, this Council was created on March 15th 2006 by resolution 60/251 of the UN General Assembly. The Human Rights Council is responsible for strengthening the protection of human rights around the globe. As basic as the concept of human rights may seem at first, numerous countries and organizations have opposed and infringed these rights due to reasons such as cultural beliefs or financial needs. The dilemma stands where the protection of human rights, and the benefit of a country meet. The Human Rights Council aims to find sustainable solutions that would be applicable to any country or body, in order to bring true equality to those who feel injustice because of who they are or where they live.

This year’s topics are:

1. Arbitrary deprivation of nationality and stateless people
2. Extrajudicial killings and excessive use of force by security officers