Here are the resolutions for the April 27, 2023 General Assembly session. The schools attending are Maplewood Richmond Heights and Rogers Middle School. The General Assembly will be at the Creve Coeur Drury Inn from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm. We will be posting resolutions as we receive them. Some of these might be rough drafts and will have changes before the session.
| Status: | Sponsored By: | Topic: |
| GA-01 | Ecuador Rogers Middle | Wildlife Trafficking in Ecuador |
| GA-02 | Bolivia Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle | Sustainable and Equitable Lithium Mining in the Salar de Uyuni |
| GA-03 | Monaco Rogers Middle | Healthcare to South Sudan |
| GA-04 | Ukraine Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle | Torture and Police Brutality in Ukraine |
| GA-05 | Switzerland Rogers Middle | Resolving Somalia’s Hunger Issues |
| GA-06 |
Resolution GA-01 April 27
Re.: Wildlife Trafficking in Ecuador
Submitted to: General Assembly
Submitted by: Ecuador
Date: April 27, 2023
Whereas Sustainable Development Goal #14 is Life Below Water, and
Whereas Sustainable Development Goal #15 is Life on Land, and
Irritated that, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the illegal wildlife trade generates revenues ranging between $7 billion and $23 billion per year, and
Appalled by the amount of wildlife that is being trafficked. According to Insight Crime.org, Authorities in Ecuador have rescued around 8,000 animals from eco-traffickers in the last decade, a number that likely represents just a fraction of a trade threatening the fauna in one of the world’s most biodiverse countries. The trade is ranked as one of the principal threats to the 182 species the Environmental Ministry classifies as “vulnerable,” the 118 animals listed as endangered, and the 68 animals listed as critically endangered, and
Disgusted that many fishermen practice shark finning, a brutal practice of catching a shark, pulling it onboard a boat, cutting its fins off, and tossing the still-living shark back overboard. Unable to swim properly and bleeding profusely, the sharks suffocate to death or die of blood loss,
Be It Hereby Resolved That The General Assembly:
- The United Nations will enact a Program called Secure Wildlife Enforcement and Education for Trafficking or SWEET for short. This Program has two parts, Education and Enforcement. The enforcement part of the plan involves training Wildlife Enforcement officers and stationing them at Ecuador’s 2 airports, near borders, and around the Galapagos islands and Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest to help stop wildlife trafficking In Ecuador and other South American countries, and can later be expanded to African countries. The education part involves educating the general public of Ecuador and other South American countries and can be expanded to other countries that struggle with wildlife trafficking, specifically China. We would need about 50 SWEET agents for Ecuador. More agents for wildlife trafficking hotspots.
- We will Educate people by advertising on tv, YouTube, sponsoring YouTubers, and billboards, and we will have people that go to schools (middle and high schools) to teach them about wildlife trafficking.
- This Program will cost about $100,000 USD per year.
- The Irwin family, the Jane Goodall Foundation, the world wildlife fund, etc are all invested in wildlife conservation and have agreed to donate money to this program.
- This plan has a 5 to 10-year time span but can be extended if we decided to expand to other countries.
- If it does not have an effect after 5 years on how many people are caught for wildlife trafficking, the program will end prematurely. But if there is a significant increase in people arrested for wildlife trafficking we will expand to other countries, such as Siberia, New Guinea, and other wildlife trafficking hotspots.
- Any wildlife that is still alive and is confiscated by SWEET agents will be taken to a specialized veterinarian to be treated, then our committee will decide what to do from there.
Resolution GA-02 April 27
Re.: Sustainable and Equitable Lithium Mining in the Salar de Uyuni
Submitted to: General Assembly
Submitted by: Bolivia
Date: April 27, 2023
Whereas Sustainable Development Goal #7 is Affordable and Clean Energy, and
Whereas Sustainable Development Goal #12 is Responsible Consumption and Growth, and
Whereas Article 23 section 1 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.”, and
Whereas Article 23 section 2 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.”, and
Whereas Article 23 section 3 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.”, and
Whereas Article 25, section 1 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care, and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”, and
Whereas we recognize that Bolivia, the 68th poorest country of the world in terms of GDP per capita, has the largest lithium reserves in the world, worth approximately $777,000,000,000 USD, which would likely help alleviate the poverty in the country, and
Whereas we know that the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt lake in the world, is a fragile and important ecosystem, and lithium mining would destroy it, however, Bolivia does not have the needed infrastructure to mine the lithium, but have received an offer from the Chinese firm Catl that has been accepted, and
Aware that we see that rural and indigenous workers are not getting a fair share of the lithium payments from mines that already exist as well as being much more affected by droughts caused by the lithium mining processes; and are affected by poverty more than others; and that lithium is needed to create rechargeable batteries, especially in electric cars, and therefore needed for a sustainable future, and
Concerned that the workers in the lithium mines and the farm workers around that mines are not getting paid enough to maintain a stable living standard based on how much they work, and that the farmers affected by the droughts are not getting compensated; seeing as the monthly minimum wage for these workers is 1,800 bolivianos ($250 USD), which is not enough to support a family or own a house, and
Aware that the carbon emissions produced by the current method of mining the lithium is not offset by the use of the lithium itself, and that the current mining methods are unsustainable, but direct lithium extraction technology can solve this problem,
Be It Hereby Resolved That The General Assembly:
- A program (named Sustainable Lithium Extraction Bolivia, or SLEB) started by the UN and funded by the World Bank will be created to oversee this project. The Bolivian government will declare the Salar de Uyuni a national park, with the exception of the current lithium mines and the land surrounding them within a radius of five miles (8.04672 kilometers). All current mining activities will be paused as lithium mining infrastructure is improved and replaced. CleanTech Lithium, a lithium developer, will be funded to not only research the effects of lithium mining and direct lithium extraction technologies (DLEs) over a six-year period, but also to send and install aforementioned direct lithium mining technologies. The extraction process of the lithium-rich brine under the Salar de Uyuni has caused droughts nearby, impacting farmers and other communities, which will be compensated for losses they have suffered as a result of the droughts. The money for that will come from the lithium profits made by Catl, the Chinese firm that is developing the lithium. In addition, SLEB will send a committee of fifty people to monitor the wages of the lithium miners and step in if there is unfair treatment of the workers. CleanTech Lithium is not only carbon-neutral, replacing the carbon-powered mining refinement process of the past, but also speeds up the lithium extraction process (months to a few hours) and provides higher yields (80-90% as opposed to 74%). CleanTech Lithium will work with Catl, the Chinese firm that has agreed to develop the Salar de Uyuni, by sending the materials needed to build sustainable DLE (direct lithium extraction) plants. The DLE plants will replace the lithium evaporation pools.
- The cost of this project will be around $10 million to start, then the profits will cover the rest. The project will be funded by increasing the UN dues of the five largest lithium consumers and five largest fossil fuel consumers by 0.5%, as it is in their best interest to sustainably develop the lithium. A country can be on both lists and will need to pay both times. Since this only amounts to $8,208,263.37, the rest will be provided by CleanTech Lithium and Catl. If Catl declines, then the World Bank, an organization that provides funds for sustainable development of energy, will provide the rest.
- The project is expected to take around six years to replace the infrastructure of the mines and make it fully operational. CleanTech Lithium will begin surveying and working on the lithium mines directly after the Salar de Uyuni is protected. Manufacturing the lithium plants required will take around two years, and the project will start in 2025 (after the equipment is manufactured and shipping to Bolivia has begun). The installation of the DLE plants will take approximately two years to fully replace the evaporation pools, and around a year to become fully operational. After that time has passed, the mine should be able to operate. The DLE technology will be able to speed it up significantly (by at least 50%) due to the quicker method of separating the lithium carbonate from the brine.
- If the project is successful, there will be a significant decrease – 10-25% – in the frequency and severity of droughts near the lithium mines within five years, and all of the evaporation pools will be replaced with the DLE plants. In addition, the workers are fairly compensated for their work (above the minimum required monthly wage to support themselves or their family), with their wages adjusting for inflation and the price of living. Bimonthly checks and surveys of the Salar de Uyuni and the surrounding region impacted by the droughts, as well as the wages of the workers there, will be conducted by the UN and Catl, as well as SLEB. After the six years are up, the bimonthly reports will become yearly and conducted without the UN, and CleanTech Lithium can move on to other countries in the “lithium triangle” near Bolivia – Chile and Argentina – to preserve their environments. In addition, during the six-year period, the UN will monitor the distribution of the lithium profits and distribute them evenly if the Bolivian economy does not improve. A success for the environment is measured by carbon emissions and reduced droughts – if emissions from the lithium mines are reduced by at least 50% due to the carbon-neutral DLE plants and if droughts decrease in frequency and severity by 10-25%, then it will be considered an environmental success. If the lithium miners are paid a livable wage (at least $7,956 bolivianos per month, or $1150 USD) and have the ability to join or create a union and if the farmers nearby are able to make a living wage, then the Bolivian economy is positively impacted by this project. If these metrics are not reached by the end of the six-year period, then it will be extended an amount of time deemed appropriate by SLEB, Catl, CleanTech Lithium, and the UN. If it fails again after that, then it was not a success and will need to be re-evaluated.
Resolution GA-03 April 27
Re.: Healthcare to South Sudan
Submitted to: General Assembly
Submitted by: Monaco
Date: April 27, 2023
Whereas Article 24 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.”, and
Whereas Article 25, section 1 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care, and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”, and
Whereas Article 25, section 2 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.”, and
Alarmed that South Sudan accounts for about 24% of global guinea-worm disease which is a terrible disease that kills off a lot of people each year, and
We are just appalled that the health system is fragile in South Sudan, with health indicators being consistently low and enormous disparities existing between the urban and rural areas and between rich and poor, and
We are sickened that Malaria is a major cause of sickness and death in South Sudan, especially among children and pregnant women,
Be It Hereby Resolved That The General Assembly:
- We will create the Help South Sudan Act (HSSA) which can provide help and healthcare to South Sudan. This act can enforce that South Sudan has the healthcare that they need and then when South Sudan has been helped and re-enforced, we can move on to other less-fortunate countries.
- This act will enforce all healthcare and help South Sudan. This will be the solution for most of South Sudan’s problems. Obviously, we cannot solve every problem, but we can do what we can to be sure that South Sudan can be as happy and healthy as any other country can be. We will be re-building hospitals, getting better doctors that have been trained with illnesses that South Sudan suffers from, and we can pay these doctors well and ensure they get the materials and the funds that they need, and we can enforce travel nurses to help with these skilled doctors. Costing an estimated $30 million dollars ($3,907,800,000 South Sudanese Pounds).
- To help with the need for nurses and doctors in this hospital, we want doctors who are educated. Doctors without Borders is a program that travels to countries to deliver emergency aid in crisis. They travel to over 70 countries to give medical aid to those in need. Since South Sudan has troubles with its healthcare accessibility it would be of great use to have more medical and healthcare aid for all who live and resides in South Sudan. Doctors Without Borders is a program that is completely donation-funded, meaning that this service will be completely free to residents of South Sudan. Because it is donation-funded, to help out Doctors Without Borders, we will donate $25 million ($3,256,500,000 South Sudanese Pounds) to Doctors Without Borders so their mission to help South Sudan will be easier.
- To monitor and to see if the measures that we have implemented have worked or have changed the number of people who are getting sick from malaria or other illnesses that could be fatal, we would check the rates at which people are getting sick from those illnesses, seeing how many casualties happened as a result to such illnesses. If the changes that we had first implemented had helped and then decreased the illness rate or decreased death rate from those illnesses after 5 years, we would then implement and create more places such as hospitals or urgent cares and get more doctors in South Sudan with an extra $30 million ($3,907,800,000 South Sudanese Pounds) due to the success of the prior added changes to the medical aid in South Sudan.
Resolution GA-04 April 27
Re.: Torture and Police Brutality in Ukraine
Submitted to: General Assembly
Submitted by: Ukraine
Date: April 27, 2023
Whereas Sustainable Development Goal #10 is Reduced Inequalities, and
Whereas Sustainable Development Goal #16 is Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, and
Whereas Article 5 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”, and
Whereas Article 7 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “All are equal before the law and are entitled without discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.”, and
Knowing since the start of the first Russian invasion of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Russia has been attempting to destabilize the Ukrainian government through invasions and sponsoring separatists groups in Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and
Aware while this has been happening, there has been an epidemic of torture across Ukraine, by the police, Ukrainian prisons, Russian-backed separatist groups, and, more recently, the Russian military, and
Concerned that in 2021, the estimated number of conflict related imprisonments by the Ukrainian government since 2014 is estimated to be around 3,800, and, since the start of the current war on February 24, 2022, there have been 91 more confirmed cases of arrests by the Ukrainian military, and of the 73 that were interviewed, over half (53%) said that they were tortured,
Be It Hereby Resolved That The General Assembly:
- Two teams of educators will go to the Oblasts of Zakarpattia and Lviv, and they will train state police officers and correctional officers.
- The educators will be hired from the Center for Innovations in Community Safety, a part of Georgetown University.
- Housing will be covered, and educators will be housed at the regional police academy where they will primarily be teaching.
- Each educator will be paid $50,000 for the first year and a stipend of $5,000 if the goal is achieved, and housing, transportation, and food will be provided in both oblasts, for an approximate total of $5 million dollars.
- These costs will be paid by increasing the dues of the nations that pay the highest amount of dues (Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, and the United States) by 0.3% This will create about $5.9 million dollars. The extra $900,000 will be used as collateral.
- After one year, if the cases of reported torture and harassment drop by 10%, the program will expand to other nearby regions of Ukraine.
Resolution GA-05 April 27
Re.: Resolving Somalia’s Hunger Issues
Submitted to: General Assembly
Submitted by: Switzerland
Date: April 27, 2023
Whereas Article 3 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.”, and
Whereas Article 25, section 1 of the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS states, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care, and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”, and
We are shocked to find that Somalia faces catastrophic hunger, with the country devastated by the extreme drought in the Horn of Africa. A total of 6.5 million people face acute food insecurity amid the driest conditions in 40 years, following five consecutive failed rainy seasons. (World Food Programme & CIA World Factbook), and
Astonished that ongoing fighting and the climate crisis have left Somalia dangerously reliant on imported food, with over 90 percent of wheat supplies coming from Russia and Ukraine. (International Rescue Committee), and
Depressingly, even without famine, Somalia is the world’s hungriest nation, as defined by the Global Hunger Index. This is both a cause and a consequence of being the world’s second poorest nation,
Be It Hereby Resolved That The General Assembly:
- The UN will be initiating a new program that will fight against world hunger called the World Against Hunger Initiative (WAHI). This program will be wrestling the issue of World Hunger across countries.
- The WAHI will be setting up food shelters in towns across Somalia, especially the hungriest towns and cities such as Baidoa, since it has a ginormous majority of Somalia’s population.
- Funding will be provided by partnering with food programs such as the Immediate Food Assistance (IFA) and taking 30% of the income they receive, in return, we will install food depots of an amount estimated around 35 food stands in Somalia and eventually other countries under the name of the IFA and the WAHI. Our monetary goal to start the program would be $2M. “Switzerland is donating $1M dollars to this initiative, will there be any other countries that would like to donate?”
- The food services that we are partnering with will be providing staff. In addition, we will be starting a non profit website that will make it easy for people to sign up for volunteering to be a part of the staff. Shelter, protection, and flights to and from Somalia will be provided through funding by our partner and donations.
- The program will operate for 3 years.
- To track our progress, we will be measuring the rate of hunger in Somalia. And if the rate decreases by 20% over the next 3 years, we will expand to other countries such as Ethiopia and Yemen.
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