Be sure that you understand your committee thoroughly prior UPMUNC, including its history, mandate and purpose, jurisdiction, its goals for the future, function within the UN System and its voting procedures. Most of the committees simulated at UPMUNC operate their own Web sites that are regularly updated.

Depending on your committee, you may find books or scholarly articles which describe its history in considerable depth. Important past decisions or resolutions of your committee often shed light on its powers, the types of actions it takes, and the methods by which it acts. Our conference focuses on the following 5 committees. Further information can be found on their respective websites.

The Security Council (SC): http://www.un.org/Docs/sc

The Security Council is the primary organ of the United Nations functioning to maintain international peace and security. It is comprised of fifteen Members: ten serve two-year terms and five are permanent Members with veto power (China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States). The passage of any substantive decision by the Council requires an affirmative vote of any nine Members, including affirmation or abstention by the permanent Members. If a permanent Member votes against a resolution before the Council, the resolution is vetoed. Unlike GA resolutions, which are recommendations, Security Council resolutions are binding on the Member States of the United Nations.

Topic 1: Situation arising from the dispute over sovereignty of islands in South China Sea

Topic 2: The conflict in Syria

Countries: Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, China, France, Guatemala, Luxembourg, Morocco, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Togo, Syria, United Kingdom, United States of America

Economic and Social Council www.un.org/ecosoc

ECOSOC was established under the United Nations Charter as the principal organ to coordinate economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. The Council also receives reports from 11 UN funds and programs.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to Member States and the United Nations system. It is responsible for: promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress; identifying solutions to international economic, social and health problems; facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation; and encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

It has the power to make or initiate studies and reports on these issues. It also has the power to assist the preparations and organization of major international conferences in the economic and social and related fields and to facilitate a coordinated follow-up to these conferences. With its broad mandate the Council's purview extends to over 70 per cent of the human and financial resources of the entire UN system.

Topic 1: The promotion of ICT education

Topic 2: Intercultural education for the promotion of mutual understanding in formal and informal education

Countries: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Senegal, Spain, Turkey, UK, US, Zambia

NGOs/Observer States: UNESCO, Save The Children, Education International

Human Rights Council: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/

The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the UN system made up of 47 States responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. The Council's main purpose is to address situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them. The Human Rights Council also continues to work closely with the UN Special Procedures established by the former Commission on Human Rights and assumed by the Council.

Topic 1: The protection of externally displaced persons in natural disasters

Topic 2: The protection of whistleblowers

Countries: Angola, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Uganda, USA

NGOs/Observer States: Amnesty International, International Federation of the Red Cross/Crescent, Government Accountability Project

United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP)http://www.unep.org/

UNEP coordinates UN environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing economically sound policies and practice. UNEP has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and six regional offices and various country offices throughout the world. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. Its activities cover a wide range of issues regarding the atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystem. UNEP has aided in the development of guidelines and treaties on issues such as the international trade in potentially harmful chemicals, trans-boundary air pollution, and contamination of international waterways.

Topic 1: Promoting use of Biofuels in light of the threat to global food security

Topic 2: Exhaustion of marine life in the world’s oceans

Countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Central African Republic, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Zambia

NGOs/Observer States: GreenPeace, CGIAR (Consultative Groups on International Agricultural Research), Grassroot International

UN Women: http://www.unwomen.org/

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization's goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment: Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). The main roles of UN Women are to support inter-governmental bodies in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms; to help Member States to implement these standards and to forge effective partnerships with civil society; and to hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality.

Topic 1: Strengthening the role of women in transitional periods

Topic 2: The achievement of MDG #3: Gender Equality

Countries: Belgium, Brazil, China, Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gambia, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malawi, Maldives, Mexico, Nigeria , Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand , UAE , UK, Ukraine , Uruguay, USA, Venezuela

NGOs/Observer States: Awid Women’s Rights, Oxfam, Women’s Campaign International, Women for Women