Committees

Topic: Conflicts in the South China Sea

The South China Sea (SCS) is a crucial region in international politics and security, containing critical international shipping routes and multi-trillion-dollar natural resource reserves. The South China Sea has long been a focal point of geopolitical tensions, with China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan asserting overlapping territorial claims. In recent years, China has expanded its efforts to assert control over various maritime boundaries and has engaged in island militarization following the controversial "nine-dash line." In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled against China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, stating they had no legal basis under international law. However, enforcing this ruling has proven challenging, as China continues to expand its presence in the region. The United States is wary of these military maneuvers and has since increased its naval presence in the region, working with the Philippines and other allies to run extensive military drills in the SCS.

Topic: The Migrant Crisis

Driven by conflict, economic hardship, and political instability in neighboring regions of the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, the European Union has faced an influx of migration flows in the past decade. The European Union has been divided in the debate concerning the exigency of border security, asylum system reform, and legal migration pathways. Faced with the largest movement of migrants and refugees since World War II, Europe has displayed the arbitrariness of its borders. The situation that emerged highlights the cornerstone of the international system of protection, dealing with the nature of forced migration that transcends the boundaries of individual countries. In the three years since the proposed Migration Pact, a set of rules for member states that will take effect in 2026, member states have claimed wide powers of discretion in managing migrants. Europe has discovered its’ lack of humanitarian channels and effective criteria for defining refugees, migrants, and borders. Delegates will work to create cohesive and comprehensive resolutions that balance security concerns with humanitarian rights within the European Union. 

Topic: Use of AI in Healthcare

The Commission on Science and Technology for Development is focused on addressing timely and pertinent questions regarding scientific and technological developments. It serves as a forum for multinational collaboration on issues with global impacts. Driven by the values of sustainable development, equity and inclusivity, and ethical usage, the CSTD aims to present solutions to issues surrounding access to technology, and it provides expert commentary on the standards and implications of technological and scientific developments. While AI has the capacity to dramatically improve access to high-level healthcare in the form of treatment planning, diagnoses, and patient care, limited access to the technology and education on AI prevents its implementation in nations that would most benefit from it. This committee session will address the problem of increasing disparities regarding the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare industry between countries with different levels of information technology infrastructure, funding, governmental support, and digital literacy programs.

The space race, an intense technological rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve superior spaceflight capabilities, is widely considered as one of the largest points of contention during the Cold War. For most of the race, central intelligence suggested that the US had a competitive advantage over their USSR. On October 4th, 1957, however, the situation would change—the Soviet Union had launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, into orbit. Delegates in this committee will collaborate to create new solutions on behalf of the US and decrease any public outlash. 

9:05 AM, Andrew Card (Chief of Staff of the United States): “A plane has hit the second tower, America is under attack.” 

On September 11th, 2001, President George W. Bush’s regularly scheduled photo-op at Sarasota Elementary School became the start of the United States response to the most deadly terror attack in American history. In this committee, delegates will lead the nation and the President through America’s most trying time: 9/11. Delegates will be tasked with making swift, high-stakes decisions in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, balancing national security, public communication, and international diplomacy. As information unfolds, they must navigate the uncertainty of the moment while shaping the United States’ response to an unprecedented crisis. Every action taken in this committee will have lasting consequences for both the nation and the world.

World War II had just ended. The British Raj had been so involved in the war that London had promised to liberate the subcontinent the moment the war ends. There are many rival factions with different ideas on how to divide the British Raj, and you are the representative of your own faction on how to proceed with the future of the Raj. Should it stay a unitary state? Should it be divided into Hindu and Muslim nations? You get to decide.