AUDMUN 2017 1 DISEC

Dear delegates,

The Disarmament and International Security Committee is the first committee in the General

Assembly of the United Nations. GA1 includes all the member states of the United Nations. The

committee deals with an array of topics that include disarmament, peace-keeping, warfare, besides

facing the challenges that threaten global peace. Article 11 of Chapter IV of the UN Charter states,

“The General Assembly may consider the general principles of co-operation in the maintenance of

international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and the regulation

of armament.” DISEC is the sole committee of the General Assembly that reserves the right to

verbatim coverage. In other words, it is the only GA committee that can record exact words used in

an original meeting.

The sessions of the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly are structured

as follows:

1. General debate that consists of the General Speaker’s list which allows delegates to

present their country’s stance on a set topic in which the delegates will address the

subtopics their respective country wishes to tackle.

2. Discussions that will involve both moderated and unmoderated caucuses to further

examine and explore the subtopics and the solutions each country proposes.
3. Constructing and debating working and draft resolution papers with the aim of reaching

solutions that best fit the topics.

The objective is to draft solid resolutions that will aid member states in overcoming current

conflicts. Keys to consider while researching the topics should include national capabilities and

limitations, mitigation of conflict, as well as oversight and monitoring mechanisms. Because of the
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nature of these topics, the delegates’ research and resolution must be very detailed in nature and

focus on the operationalization of concepts. Finally, due to the divisive nature of the majority of the

topics discussed in the committee, the most effective ideas and delegates will be included and focus

will be on international cooperation.

However, we believe that the target of MUN is to ascertain that all delegates accomplish

three things: Learn something new, improve skills and enjoyed their time. We urge all delegates to

contribute to the debate and engage in productive conversation with other delegates. Enjoy your

time, do not be stressed, connect with others and build friendships. Should you need any further

information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us on the e-mail attached below.

Respectfully,

Youssef Khalil, Sana Ashraf, and Aryan Kolapkar


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Topic 1: Cyber Warfare and Weaponization of Social Media.

1. Who is weaponizing social media?

2. Is weaponization of social media an act of cyberwarfare?

3. How is social media weaponised? What are the strategies used?

4. How should states that misuse cyber capabilities be held responsible?

5. Are states infringing upon the most basic human rights by spying on other states and citizens

and stealing their information? How can this be addressed and what measures should be

taken?

6. What is your country’s stance on both state and non-state misconduct?

7. If your country has any cyber capabilities, what are they used for?

8. Past incidents that may or may not have affected your country.

9. How does your country deal with cyberwarfare and the weaponization of social media?

10. What international policies have been implemented? Have there been any resolutions

addressing this problem? If so, did they pass or not, and why?

11. The utilisation of social media in politics: is it negative or positive? Why? How have leaders

used social media in the past in order to gain more power?

12. What can we do in order to eradicate or minimise cyberwarfare and the weaponization of

social media by state and non-state actors? Should they be censored or not? Is prohibiting

the use of social media an infringement of human rights?

Helpful Links

 Chinese Cybercrime

 Snowden Leaks Timeline

 The Specter of Cyberwar

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 Weaponization of Social Media

Topic 2: Regulations Concerning Unmanned Aerial Systems

1. UCAVs have accepted military advantages. Do the legal and moral issues concerning their

use outweigh these?

2. Do states using UCAV’s violate the principles of international law regarding the protection of

civilians?

3. Which measures can be taken to increase transparency and allow for data collection on UAS

strikes without compromising intelligence operations or national security interests?

4. What can be done to keep UCAVs out of the hands of violent non-state actors?

5. Is an international framework on the use of non- commercial UAS viable?

6. How can the notion of disarmament be brought into this agenda?

Helpful Links

 Drones Study

 Types of Drones

 International Committee of the Red Cross

 International Crisis Group