GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY High School Model United Nations 2015

Transcription

1 GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY High School Model United Nations 2015 UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME BACKGROUND GUIDE 2015 Director: Joshua Kim Assistant Director: Adrienne Schuchman

2 Delegates of United Nations Development Programme, We are pleased to welcome you to the 2015 Georgia State University Model United Nations Conference (GSUMUN)! This year s staffs for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are Director Joshua Kim, Assistant Director Adrienne Schuchman, and Rapporteur Brian Dolerus. Joshua Kim is a junior at Georgia State University, pursuing double major in Political Science and Managerial Science. He is excited to be hosting the UNDP delegates at the GSUMUN. Adrienne Schuchman is a senior at Georgia State University. She will be graduating this May with a B.A. in Philosophy with a Pre-Law concentration and minor in Gerontology from the College of Arts and Sciences. The topics under discussion for UNDP are: I. Improving Natural Disaster Recovery Coordination Among Member States II. Improving Access to Education and Infrastructure for Post Conflict Societies III. Building Developing Nations Capacity for Crisis Management The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is an organization in the United Nations created to promote development by improving cooperation and interaction between the various stakeholders of development including, but not limited to, governments, corporations, civil societies, and United Nations. This year s GSU MUN theme is ensuring peace and security through effective post-war reconstruction. Development is crucial part of bringing peace and security in the post-war society. UNDP has been involved in the post-war development projects in Afghanistan, Palestine, South Sudan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, and many other nations. Your work as delegates of this committee should focus on adopting resolutions that address the needs of each topic as presented in the Background Guide. We hope to see each delegation working diligently and cooperatively to find solutions both in your position papers and during the conference. This Background Guide serves as a starting point for your research into your countries policies regarding these topics. We hope this Background Guide will assist you into doing more in-depth research into each topic. In preparation for this conference, each delegation will be submitting a position paper. Please take note of guide on the position paper on the website. Please also take a careful look at Delegate Handbook for this conference regarding plagiarism, code of conduct, and rules of procedure. If you have any question regarding the preparation for this committee or for this conference, please fill free to contact us. We wish you all the best for the preparation for the committee and the conference! Sincerely, Joshua Kim, Director Adrienne Schuchman, Assistant Director Brian Dorelus, Rapporteur

3 Introduction: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations network coordinating the development work in 177 countries and territories to help people build better life by encouraging sustainable development, democratic governance and peacebuilding, and disaster resilience. UNDP collaborates with people at all levels of society to build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive sustainable growth that improves the quality of life. 1 UNDP provides strategy for its network to achieve overall goals, set by the UNDP Executive board. One of the major responsibilities of the UNDP is implementing and tracking Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). MDGs are the most effective global poverty reduction program in history. UNDP and its work are closely associated to MDGs. The mandate of MDGs comes to an end this year and Post-2015 Development Goals are replacing MDGs. Therefore, the major focus of UNDP today is the formulation of Post-2015 Development Goals. UNDP also heads the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), the inter-agency group that coordinates development efforts across UN system. 2 Together, UNDP and UNDG set development guideline at the global level. For the Georgia State University Model United Nations (GSUMUN) conference, we will be simulating the works of UNDP Executive board. In the midst of increasing levels of conflict, development is becoming more important in bringing peace and stability. High level of unemployment, wide gap between the rich and the poor, and low level of accessibility to basic services contribute greatly to increasing social unrest in a society. UNDP s three topics are important to address the challenges that the international community faces today. History: United Nations Development Programme was formed by General Assembly Resolution 2029 of November 22, 1965, calling for a merger between two UN programmes: United Nations Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance and United Nations Special Fund. 3 Prior to the merger, United Nations Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance provided economic and political support to the less developed nations. On the other hand, Special Fund worked to provide technical assistance. 4 As the demand for development increased, the size and the responsibilities of two organizations also increased. Therefore, there were many overlapping responsibilities between the two organizations. The aim of the merger was to decrease any overlapping responsibilities, thereby increasing the efficiency in UN s development work. The merger was completed in Since 1971, UNDP worked with the Member States to build capacity for development by bringing knowledge, experience, and resources. One of the major milestones for the UNDP was the implementation of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In 1995, the international community made a commitment to collectively tackle and reduce global poverty. ECOSOC tasked UNDP coordinate the implementation of MDGs with the Member States. 1 New Zealand Foreign Ministry, United Nations Hand Book United Nations Development Programme. Our Partners Global Information Society Watch, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities, United Nations Development Programme

4 As the challenges to global development increases, so does the role of UNDP in the international development. Climate change, the gap between the developed and developing countries, and increasing levels of conflict are few of the recent challenges to the international development. UNDP is evolving to effectively tackle these issues. Mandate: Through its decision 94/14, Executive Board of UNDP set the overall mission of UNDP as to assist programme countries in their endeavor to realize sustainable human development, in line with their national development programmes and priorities. 5 Today, UNDP helps countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable human development, improving the quality of life for all global citizens while conserving the environment and natural resources for the future generations. 6 Structure: The UNDP Executive board consists of 36 Member States. 7 The 36-member Executive Board provides inter-governmental support to and supervision of the activities of the UNDP. It is also responsible for overseeing the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) as well as the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). UNDP Executive Board works under the policy guidance of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and General Assembly. 8 The Executive Board members are elected by ECOSOC in May each year. Members are elected for three-year terms, with the exception of the Western European and Other States Group, which determines its own internal rotation policy. Each term expires on December of 31. The Executive Board meets in one annual and two regular session each year. The annual meeting is held in New York and Geneva alternatively. The regular sessions are held in New York. The Executive Board Bureau includes one president and four vice-presidents. They are elected from the members at the first regular session each year. President and vice-presidents are usually elected with the consideration for the equitable representation for each region. 9 The Bureau s primary functions are to prepare and organize Board meetings, facilitate transparent decisionmaking and promote dialogue in decision-making. 10 UNDP Executive board works with local offices to promote development worldwide. Each local office focuses on specific development priorities of the host country. For example, UNDP in China aligns its development work with the priorities set in the Five-Year Plan by the Chinese government. 11 On the other hand, UNDP in Russia focuses on environment and sustainable development addressing environment challenges. 12 On yet another hand, UNDP in the Pacific 5 Same as above 6 Encyclopaedia Britannica, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Members of the UNDP, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) New Zealand Foreign Ministry, United Nations Hand Book United Nations Development Programme, Information Note about the Executive Board of UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS. 10 New Zealand Foreign Ministry. United Nations Hand Book UNDP China. Our Work UNDP Russian Federation. United Nations Development Programme Russian Federation.

5 seeks to strengthen linkages between countries to reinforce programme s impact in the Pacific region UNDP Fiji Multi-Country Office. What We Do.

6 Topic I: Improving Natural Disaster Recovery Coordination Among Member States Introduction As the world is becoming more interconnected, the natural disaster recovery coordination is becoming increasingly crucial in reducing the human cost and increasing the recovery efficiency. In 2004, Indian Ocean earthquake affected 15 South East Asian countries with estimated 180,000 people dead and 1.74 million people displaced. In 2010, Haiti earthquake killed 220,000 people dead and inflicted damages worth millions of dollars. With the climate change and development gap in the poor counties, natural disaster will cost innumerable human lives and development setbacks. UNDP is actively involved in recovery effort to improve natural disaster recovery coordination. UNDP focuses on three areas of natural disaster recovery coordination: Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change, and Resilient Recovery. 14 In Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), UNDP works with the Member States to incorporate disaster reduction into development. For example, UNDP is supporting Haitian Directorate of Civil Protection to better prepare for emergencies, implement a national disaster risk management system, improve risk management and development projects that support recovery and sustainable development. 15 UNDP also organize more than 20 disaster response simulation exercises across Haiti since In Climate Change, UNDP tackles vulnerabilities to natural disasters posed by environmental degradation. It identified the lack of forests and the degradation of ecosystems in increasing Haiti s vulnerability to natural disasters. Working with Haitian government and Norway, UNDP has planted 5.5 million seedlings on 5,000 hectares of land between 2010 and To better understand the natural disaster recovery coordination, United Nations and the Member States held three World Conferences on Disaster Reduction. In the second World Conference on Disaster Reduction, United Nations and Member States agreed on Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA), providing a plan to reduce disaster losses worldwide by Hyogo Framework for Action, also known as UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/6/195, calls for three strategic goals and five priorities for action in disaster reduction. 19 The focus of disaster recovery coordination has been disaster management where a country will respond to a natural disaster after it happened. During the Second UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, the focus of natural disaster recovery shifted to early detection of the disaster and infrastructure to support early dection such as disaster detection centers. Disaster Risk Reduction Disaster Risk Reduction is the concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyze and manage the causal factors of disasters, including reduced exposure to hazards, lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and 14 United Nations Development Programme. Climate and Disaster Resilience United Nations Development Programme. Rebuilding Haiti Same as above. 17 Same as above. 18 United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) United Nations General Assembly. A/RES/6/

7 the environment, and improved preparedness for adverse events. 20 UNDP coordinates multilayered capacity building effort in Disaster Risk Reduction to prioritize good governance and efficient use of resources to prevent, mitigate and prepare for disasters. Concretely, UNDP team helps establish early warning systems, design evacuation routes, and strengthen infrastructure. 21 Resilient Recovery UNDP works to improve the governmental capacities to conduct disaster recovery efforts and increase awareness about disaster recovery planning and preparedness among International Financial Institutions (IFIs), civil society, the UN system, donors, and other relevant organizations. 22 UNDP s strategy in recovery planning and preparedness is comprehensive. It seeks to strengthen pre-disaster recovery planning and the management of recovery process. UNDP aims to provide rapid post-crisis support to governments for the assessment of recovery needs. It encourages integration of the risk reduction considerations in recovery efforts. It provides support to countries to use recovery process as an opportunity to develop political, economic, and technical commitment to disaster reduction programmes. One of the most important part of natural disaster recovery is to get the much needed resources to the affected area as soon as possible. UNDP works with governments in Ecuador, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Niger, Rwanda, and Angola to build capacities of governments to conduct effective recovery efforts. Post-disaster Needs Assessment Natural disasters costs tremendous amount of human resources. They destroy infrastructure, disrupt basic services, and cause loss of human lives. After a disaster, countries devote vast amount of resources to recovery efforts in the areas affected by the disaster. However, many countries and organizations engage in the recovery efforts blindingly, not assessing accurately the needs of the disaster-stricken areas. This lack of accurate assessment is due to the lack of enough disaster risk reduction programs, rush to respond to the need of the community, and lack of access to assessment tools. Without strong post-disaster needs assessment, the recovery efforts can be biased, inconsistent, and even counter-productive. Conclusion Natural disaster recovery is a multi-faceted effort, requiring coordinated effort before, during, and after a disaster. An effective global coordination in natural disaster recovery can reduce the cost to human resources while increasing the development efforts. In regards to humanitarian relief to conflict and natural disaster, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon remarked, Today, we recognize the millions of people who count on us for their very survival. The one billion people afflicted by hunger. The tens of millions forced to flee their homes because of disaster and conflict. 20 United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. UNISDR Terminology United Nations Development Programme. Disaster Risk Reduction. 22 United Nations Development Programme. Recovery Planning and Preparedness.

8 The children who die from diseases we know how to cure. The women and girls who are brutalized by sexual violence. We need to tackle these problems at their root. But until we do, lives will hang in the balance. And the humanitarian community will be on the scene, rushing bravely towards danger, determined to help people in need Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Remarks to launch the first World Humanitarian Day

9 Topic II. Improving Access to Education and Infrastructure for Post Conflict Societies Introduction Former South African President Nelson Mandela remarked, Education is the most powerful weapon with which you can change the world. 24 This is especially true for a society recovering from a conflict. Education is the most powerful weapon with which a post conflict society can transform into a unified nation. It is fundamental in bringing peace and security to a post-conflict societies. Since the end of the World War II, the post-conflict societies from Europe to Asia invested heavily on improving education. 25 As a result, these societies now experience strong peace and security. Infrastructure is also crucial in bringing peace and security in a post conflict societies. Without infrastructure, it is impossible to deliver essential goods and services, including education, to the people who need them. Therefore, education improvement and infrastructure improvement are intricately connected. Infrastructure is the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g., buildings, roads, and power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise. Without a functioning road, it is difficult for the students and teachers to commute to classrooms. The importance of infrastructure stretches well beyond improving the access to education. Infrastructure is essential in commerce, social development, and human development. Many post conflict societies benefited from improving the quality of their infrastructure. Reports confirm that countries emerging from crisis are exponentially more vulnerable to failed peace agreements. Education is a vital need that is difficult to obtain during the times of societal conflict. However, the UN has created and expanded nonprofit programs within international regions with the sole purpose of making sure education can be accessible even during times of conflict. Education leads to an easier transition back into society post a societal conflict. UNDP focuses its development effort on sustainable and inclusive growth. Inclusive growth is a development progress sustained over several years, which is environmentally sound and broadly shared across all individuals regardless of circumstances. 26 UNDP helps governments to create productive employment and job opportunities for youth and women. Millennium Development Goals and Post-2015 Development Goals UNDP has been actively involved in formulating and implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs established measurable, universally-agreed objectives for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, preventing deadly but treatable disease, and expanding educational opportunities to all children, among other development imperatives. 27 From 2000 to 2015, MDGs drove global progress on income poverty, access to improved sources of water, child mortality, and primary school enrollment. Between 2000 and 2012, MDGs 24 United Nations. Resources for Speakers on Global Issue, Youth. 25 United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Reports, Education Index. 26 United Nations Development Programme. Inclusive growth: Addressing inequality and social exclusion. 27 United Nations Development Programme. A New Sustainable Development Agenda.

10 increased enrollment in the primary education from 83% to 90%. 28 However, the goal fell short of its original target of universal enrollment and the recent decrease in the number of primary school enrollment has once again highlighted the need for international cooperation on education. At the end of this year, Post-2015 development goals will succeed MDGs in global efforts in combatting poverty and increasing education. Fighting Corruption in Education Sector UNDP identifies corruption as one of the main sources for insufficient progress in education programs. Corruption disrupts the flow of necessary resources to post conflict areas and makes it impossible for the poor and venerable to receive much needed education. 29 UNDP conducted a study to present methods, tools, and good practices to map corruption risks, development strategies, and sustain partnerships to address challenges and tackle corruption in all manifestations. Proposals to Establish Vocational Training Centers To Develop Education UNDP promotes education by with programs that teach vocational training skills to people in post conflict societies. The aim of these programs is to spur economic growth and stability. Many displaced people are in need of skills in order to create a source of income. In order to address these issues the UNDP works diligently to create programs designed to promote education. UNDP believes that an educated population is essential to ensure good governance and economic growth. 30 There are several UNDP education programs. In Armenia, UNDP helped reform Armenian vocational education and training programs by: 1) introducing competency-based qualification standards; 2) applying modular trainings; 3) using Armenian language professional manuals and teachers guides for vocational trades; 4) supplying selected colleges with new laboratories; and 5) providing large-scale vocational training and job placement for unemployed youth with a special focus on rural employed. 31 As a result, over 1,000 unemployed women and youth gained new vocational skills and knowledge, 21 colleges received state-of-the-art laboratory equipment, upgrading 24 percent of Armenian universities, and developed and published 12 manuals on topics such as agriculture, construction, tourism, food processing, and wine making. In Lebanon, UNDP and government of Lebanon cooperates to provide educational reform in the country. A UNDP Policy Advisory and Project Implementation Unit was established at the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education to support the reform process. The project supports the preparation, implementation, and monitoring of the reform plan by providing a team of technical assistants in the area of: 1) Information Technology; 2) educational project implementation; and 3) public administration. The goal of the reform is to 28 United Nations. The Millennium Development Goals Report United Nations Development Programme. Fighting Corruption In The Eduaction Sector: Methods, Tools and Good Practices. 30 United Nations Development Programme. UNDP Education Support Same as above.

11 provide quality education to 1,000,000 students in the educational system. 32 The project is still ongoing and has a budget of US$ 2.4 million. UNDP has several programs internationally that are specifically for the promotion of education the youth in order to prevent future societal conflicts. Since 2008 UNDP has estimated that they have been able to contribute over 230 billion dollars to crisis relief programs. Over the past six years the UNDP has sent over 2100 people to educate the peoples of West Africa on safe sex education in order to prevent future contraction of the AIDS virus due to sexual intercourse. UNDP created special centers for woman who had contracted the AIDS virus in order to educate them on how to care for their newborn. The immediate response of educating people has a long term effect to prevent future virus outbreaks. Conclusion Making education accessible for peoples within post conflict societies is a top priority of the UNDP. Educating the population by means of vocational training results in social and economic progress. Education prevents future conflicts. UNDP strives to create and establish programs for vocational training and is determined to have these education centers easily accessible and established worldwide where it is needed. 32 Same as above.

12 Topic III. Building Developing Nations Capacity for Crisis Management Introduction The report by the Secretary General of the UN highlighted the importance of rebuilding a post-conflict society and the cost of failure to do so. Furthermore, a study by the International Studies Association shows that natural disasters significantly increase the risk of violent civil conflict. 33 Natural disaster can give motives, incentives, and opportunities that encourage and facilitate political unrest. An effective crisis management can address the motives, incentives, and opportunities to civil unrest before they occur. Stability is a vital for any rebuilding process that moves that society from conflict to peace. It is essential to have crisis management centers readily available in case of crisis or natural disasters in order to restore societies that experience instability due to natural disaster. Coordination in establishing crisis management centers is essential to initiate recovery process and post-conflict development for the people whose lives are affected from natural disasters or from conflict that has broken out within their society. These centers will further provide economic growth while also promoting peace within communities. Proposals To Further Develop and Create Programs Aimed to Maintain Stability Post Crises UNDP is expanding previously established International Humanitarian Relief (IHR) programs in nations prone to natural disasters. Establish centers designed to stabilize people who have been affected from natural crises by means of providing medical relief as well as basic necessities. Involving local non profit organizations as well as NGO s that are also involved in aiding areas that have been affected by natural disasters or conflict societies will ensure proper installment of relief centers Past Failed Attempts of Crisis Management as Well as Future Plans to Ensure Stability Outbreaks within International Humanitarian Relief efforts have resulted in outbreaks of viruses and illnesses as a direct result of unhygienic conditions Over the past decade the UNDP has made vast improvements in expanding IHR programs to areas that are prone to natural disasters yet did not have centers designed for relief post crisis. UNDP has worked closely with international non profits in order to expand and enhance centers in order to maintain peace and stability within societies affected from crisis As recently as 2015, the UNDP been actively involved in creating a program overseas in Nepal, aimed to restore damaged the vegetation in Nepal which was a result of the horrific flooding Nepal recently endured. Floods and landslides account for more than ¾ of economic 33 Natural Disasters and the Risk of Violent Civil Conflict. Philip Nel and Marjolein Righarts. International Studies Associations

13 loss caused by natural disasters in the country. More than 2,000 communal volunteers were actively involved in disaster risk management. About 49% of direct beneficiaries of the programme are women. The UNDP program created a center to train and educated the peoples of Nepal who lived in areas at risk of high floods. The center provides educational training of planting bamboo stalks and using other forms of gardening in order to allocate the small amount of vegetation available and prevent further damaging of crops from ongoing floods. The program assisted in planted over 10,000 bamboo stalks which are used to barricade the water and channel the floods which ultimately prevents further damage to the scarce vegetation that exists. The bamboo stalks are estimated to prevent the annual loss of 1.3 million dollars of vegetation. Conclusion The UNDP has been rapidly and diligently expanding their international programs, specifically aimed to manage crisis in areas prone to natural disasters and societal conflicts. Their efforts have aided in providing relief in areas affected by crisis and conflict. By solidifying stability in With more connected international community, natural disaster is no longer an isolated issue for an individual country. Rather, natural disasters are becoming regional and international crisis. In order to effective address this issue, the international community needs to unite its effort to disaster risk reduction, effective recovery process, and coordinated post-disaster recovery.