SPECPOL - World Model United Nations

More documents

Recommendations

Info

important as well. Look for periods of rapid growth or industrialization, as these will be the times when migrant labor is likely to be at its peak. Colonialism is often a factor in the destination of migrant workers; if your country was a former colony, try to research how many migrants still travel to the former ruling nations. Equally important and informative are projections about the future of development in your country. If your country is expected to grow steadily within the next few years, it is likely that it will continue to serve as a destination for laborers, and understanding the projected growth of these populations will inform your policy decisions. The International Labor Office will most likely be the most useful source in finding your country’s policy regarding migrant workers. Their website contains numerous reports detailing the treatment of migrant workers and labor policies in various countries around the world, categorized both geographically and by sector of employment. Using these reports, you can identify the sectors most heavily dependent on migrant labor. In addition, the World Bank also drafts many reports detailing the use and distribution of migrant laborers as part of a country’s workforce. Non-governmental organizations can also prove useful during your research. The Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International often work to represent workers and lobby governments to change their labor policies, and so it might be useful to look at reports and articles from groups such as these. Other groups, such as the OECD and individual governments will also contain information on the laws governing migrant labor within their borders as well as the experiences of their migrant laborers abroad. Hopefully, everyone will come with a different story to tell and different perspectives on the problem and its solution. With the age of globalization, geographic location becomes less and less meaningful during the search for employment, and so it is essential that countries begin to look for an international standard to govern migrant labor. Your research will direct your goals when drafting resolutions, and thus it is of the utmost importance that you understand what aspects of migrant labor are advantageous to your country, as well as the aspects that are harmful. if you have any questions or need help finding a source, don’t hesitate to contact me via e-mail. Topic Area B: Foreign Mining Interests Statement of the Problem Mineral resources have long been among the cornerstones of society. entire time periods such as the Bronze and Iron Ages speak to the importance of metals and minerals in the course of human development. Much like every other non-renewable resource, the quest for minerals has become much more competitive in recent years, owing to the progression of technology and population growth that have increased demand. As an increasing number of countries seek to build their infrastructure and move toward industrialization, the demand for coal, iron, copper, tin, aluminum, and hundreds of other minerals swells. Numerous major industries, such as energy, transportation, and manufacturing of all kinds, are heavily dependent on the output of such mines, and thus procuring new sources of minerals has become very competitive in recent years. As the world’s non-renewable mineral resources are stretched thin, any new major deposits immediately attract attention from multinational mining corporations and resource-hungry nations alike, often prompting a flurry of foreign investment. Procuring incredibly valuable mining rights becomes an intense competition that can threaten to overwhelm tinier nations that might not have as much influence. In particular, the considerations of the 26 Melbourne Host Directorate PTY LTD | Office of Media and Design
country seeking to sell the mining rights, such as the safety of its environment and people, as well as the use of profits to develop the nation’s infrastructure, might be subordinated to those of the companies and foreign nations looking to invest. Many countries have long histories of mining that date back to the colonial era and even before. during this time, the empires controlling the colonies in Africa and Asia gave preferential treatment to specific companies owned by Europeans, including royal charters and virtually unchecked authority. This fostered the development of a large and powerful private mining sector that continued to exert its influence long after the colonies received independence. South Africa, long under British rule, still struggles with finding a balance between governmental oversight and the liberal mining policies of previous decades. Worldwide, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Vale represent three of the largest companies in a US$1 trillion industry, each with its own diversified interests on several continents. The enormous influence of the private sector can overshadow the ability of a nation to regulate the mining development within its borders. Yet it is also important to note that oftentimes, foreign investment through these companies is crucial to the development of the economies of these nations. Mongolia serves as a perfect case study: finding itself blessed with enormous mineral resources and surrounded by wealthier, larger, and more powerful countries, it is trying to develop a system that allows it to balance its own growth with the desires of various mining companies as well as nations such as China and Russia, which seek to gain a foothold into the country’s mining sector. The United Nations must first decide what role it has to play in the arbitration of such rights, if any, and then create framework that can be used to mediate disputes over mining rights as well as protect the interests of all parties involved and ensure that no nation succumbs to pressure from outside forces. History of the Problem The allure of mineral resources has been simultaneously a constructive and destructive force throughout history. The discovery of gold in Australia and the United States led to the explosive growth of the city of Melbourne and the admission of the state of California, respectively, while in South Africa, the Boer Wars began largely with disputes over the British annexation of diamond mines. that these resources have become scarcer in recent years has only increased their pull. The global mining industry is currently worth over US$1 trillion, with the top three companies, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, and Vale, accounting for over $300 billion alone. The growth of the mining industry has continued steadily, and with it the power and influence of such companies. This has led to a clash between the business interests of the mining companies and the competing interests of the state. A Brief History of Mining The world’s oldest mine is currently dated at 43,000 years old, and beyond that numerous findings indicate that mining has been prevalent throughout a large part of human history. Such is the importance of these minerals that entire ages are named after them: the Stone, Bronze, and Iron ages each mark during which prehistoric humans used the respective metal to create weapons and tools, and each advance in material wrought a distinct change on the course of human development. Evidence of mining activity over thousands of years old has been found on every continent except Antarctica, indicating the importance of the activity and the minerals it produces for even the earliest of civilizations. in the past, great empires such as that of the egyptians and the Romans engaged in mining activity, searching for both precious metals such as 27 Melbourne Host Directorate PTY LTD | Office of Media and Design
Page 1 and 2: Special Political and Decolonizatio
Page 3 and 4: Letters Melbourne Host Directorate
Page 5 and 6: Letter from the Under-Secretary-Gen
Page 7 and 8: Introduction SPeCPOL is one of the
Page 9 and 10: Similarly, the ability of the Unite
Page 11 and 12: The Bracero Program saw thousands o
Page 13 and 14: the region’s leaders in economic
Page 15 and 16: Despite the war, progress continued
Page 17 and 18: The Philippines Overseas Employment
Page 19 and 20: The GCC states have some of the hig
Page 21 and 22: With many job opportunities in cons
Page 23 and 24: in the Philippines and abroad that
Page 25: limited influence. They are restric
Page 29 and 30: Africa is one of the most resource-
Page 31 and 32: The Development of the Private Sect
Page 33 and 34: BHP Billiton is the world’s large
Page 35 and 36: Consolidated Ltd, a subsidiary of t
Page 37 and 38: egan mining coal in 1922 near the p
Page 39 and 40: to address how the united Nations m
Page 41 and 42: China has emerged as the world’s
Page 43 and 44: elations, and poverty reduction are
Page 45 and 46: Hansen, Randall. Migration to Europ
Page 47 and 48: indices/factSheet/G3.PDF in the Pit
Page 49 and 50: 42 issues, policies” Ibid. 43 “
Page 51: PARTNERS Supported by Australian Ai

SPECPOL - World Model United Nations

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?