MUNA 2024 Resolutions

Each year our MUNA committee researches existing UN resolutions to provide MUNA delegates with relevant, interesting and challenging Resolutions for the debates. These are the four resolutions to be debated.

Resolution 1: The situation in the South China Sea

The General Assembly,

Urges all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the Convention on the Law of the Sea, in order to fully achieve the goal of universal participation,

Further urges all Member States with territorial claims in the South China Sea to refrain from aggressively asserting those claims by placing permanent or semi-permanent structures for either military or commercial purposes on any maritime or terrestrial territory that is subject to dispute, but instead to pursue the resolution of their claims through the relevant international courts and tribunals, 

Encourages States that do not have territorial claims in the region to refrain from inflaming the situation by commenting on the actions of specific claimants, or by unnecessarily or aggressively physically challenging those claims, including by the conduct of so-called ‘“freedom of navigation” and other military exercises,

Reminds all States of the importance to international trade that international waters remain open to all States to use in accordance with international law and consequently insists upon the obligation of all States to observe the relevant laws and respect the decision of the relevant international courts and tribunals, whatever their position on the claims advanced by others,

Insists that the rights of communities with traditional economic or cultural links to waters in their vicinity be upheld and that those communities not be subject to harassment or threat as they exercise those rights.

Resolution 2: Strengthening the role of the UN in the promotion of democratisation and enhancing periodic and genuine elections

The General Assembly,

Stressing the importance, generally and in the context of promoting free, fair and inclusive elections, of respect for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association and expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and noting in particular the fundamental importance of access to information and media freedom, including through accessible and easy-to-understand formats for new information and communications technologies,

Recognizing the potential online communication tools to promote freedom of expression and expand political participation, as well as to empower persons who belong to underrepresented groups and those who are marginalised,

Noting the importance of ensuring orderly, open, fair, and transparent democratic processes that protect the rights to peaceful assembly, association and freedom of expression and opinion,

Reaffirms the obligation of all States to take all appropriate measures to ensure that every citizen has the effective right and opportunity to participate in elections on an equal basis, and calls upon States to take measures to eliminate laws, regulations and practices that discriminate, directly or indirectly, against citizens in their right to participate in public affairs, including based on race, colour, language, religion, political views or on the basis of disability;

Strongly condemns any manipulation of election processes, coercion and tampering with vote counts, particularly when done by States, as well as other actors, and calls upon all Member States to respect the rule of law and the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons, including the right to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections.

Resolution 3: Preventing and combating crimes that affect the environment

The General Assembly,

Alarmed by existing research indicating that crimes that affect the environment have become some of the most lucrative transnational criminal activities and are often closely interlinked with different forms of crime and corruption and that money laundering and the illicit flows derived from them amy contribute to the financing of other transnational organised crimes and terrorism,

Recognising that crimes that affect the environment may also have a negative impact on economies, public health, human safety, food security, livelihoods and habitats,

Recognising the fundamental role of effective international cooperation in preventing and combating crime and to this end underlining  the importance of addressing, tackling and effectively responding to international challenges and barriers,

Urges Member States to adopt effective measures to prevent and combat crimes that affect the environment, such as illicit trafficking in wildlife, including, inter alia, flora and fauna as protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, in timber and timber products, in hazardous wastes and other wastes and in precious metals, stones and other minerals.

Calls upon Member States to make crimes that affect the environment, in appropriate cases, serious crimes.

Also calls upon States, in accordance with national legislation, to take all appropriate measures within their means to provide effective assistance and protection for those persons who contribute to combating in a peaceful manner crimes that affect the environment.

Resolution 4: State of global food security

The General Assembly,

Expressing deep concern over the current state of global food insecurity, with 811 million people affected by hunger in 2020, exacerbating humanitarian needs and increasing the risk of famine around the world, especially in developing countries, including African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States and middle-income countries,

Noting the unprecedented surge in international food commodity prices which, according to the Food Price Index of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, reached their highest peak in March 2022 since inception in 1990 in particular the rise in global prices of vegetable oil  and grain, including wheat, further affecting people in vulnerable situations,

Reaffirming the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger,

Determined to address the global food security crisis on the basis of unity, solidarity and renewed multilateral cooperation, and recognising the fundamental role of the United Nations system in catalysing and coordinating a comprehensive global response,

Calls upon the international community to urgently support countries affected by the food security crisis through coordinated actions, including the provision of emergency food supplies, food programmes, financial support, and increased and diversified agricultural production, and to promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organisation.

Calls upon Member States and other relevant stakeholders to keep food and agriculture supply chains functioning, including capacity for seeding, protecting standing crops, rearing livestock, infrastructure for processing food, and all logistical systems, ensure the continued trade in and movement of food and livestock, products and inputs essential for agricultural and food production to markets, minimise food loss and waste.

Resolutions MUNA 2024 (PDF)