Contact: ecosoc[at]bermun.de

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

Dear Participants,
Welcome to this year’s Economic and Social Council. The ECOSOC, with its long history, has always been an important part of BERMUN conferences. This year, the issues that will be debated in the ECOSOC are “Modernizing Global Institutions In Order To Adequately Reflect Today’s Global Economy”, “Addressing Corruption as an Obstacle to Global Welfare”, and “Combating All Forms of Forced or Indentured Labour”. In order for us to enjoy both productive and exciting debates, we urge every member of the committee to conduct sufficient research and to come to debate prepared. We recommend having at least two resolutions and some additional clauses or general ideas on the third topic. To ensure constructive debates and to introduce our topics, you can find some general information on these topics below. Make sure that you research these topics thoroughly and don’t rely solely on the information and overview provided below.

Modernizing Global Institutions In Order To Adequately Reflect Today’s Global Economy

At this year’s conference, the General Assembly will debate issues that were of importance at the recent G20 summit in Pittsburgh. One of these issues, recognized by the G20 as a necessity when combating the current economic crisis and its consequences, was the modernization of global institutions. This topic is of great interest not only to the G20, but equally to many other nations and NGOs, some of which have often asked for the reformation and/or modernization of global institutions. These concerns were voiced especially since the 1990s. The concepts and origins of many of the current global institutions, especially those concerned with economic issues, date back to the cold-war era. These institutions, therefore, reflect and represent policies of different times with different issues and global conflicts.

In today’s globalised world, the need to reform and modernize these institutions, in order for them to adequately respond to current economic developments and their social circumstances, is greater than ever. A close look into the origins of the major global economic institutions shows how far these date back. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, for instance, were established in 1944 (Breton Woods). These institutions were established in order to initiate and support economic development in times that had experienced and, in fact, still were experiencing, times of war and turmoil. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) emerged from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was signed by forty-four nations in 1948. The promotion of international trade, which was the origin and concept of this institution, has undeniably been successful in today’s globalised world. However, new challenges and issues have arisen concerning international trade, which the WTO must respond to adequately.

The modernization of global institutions is seen as a step towards restructuring the institutional landscape and as a foundation for ensuring sustainable development and combating poverty. The ECOSOC, being the UN council responsible for addressing economic issues and their social consequences, is going to debate this issue and, if successful in passing a resolution, will send this resolution to the General Assembly on Saturday. This resolution will be presented to the General Assembly by the ECOSOC’s Rapporteur and will serve as an enhancement and advice to the General Assembly concerning the issues they will debate.

Addressing Corruption as an Obstacle to Global Welfare

Corruption is a major threat to every government or its establishment and thereby an obstacle to global welfare. Due to the economic and social entanglements in a corruptly ruled nation, its inhabitants inevitably turn to organized criminal actions in order to ensure their living.

This creates an atmosphere of distrust on both the private and public level, which damages community life. Integrity among the government and the people, therefore, has to be re-established. The disadvantages resulting from corrupt activities, especially in the economic, social and political sector, have to be addressed with international support. Additionally, corruption seriously harms and threatens the free market. The introduction of law enforcement and public education programs is needed to reconstruct a stable economy, raise awareness for the importance of integrity, and to ensure transparency in political affairs.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has published the "Anti-corruption toolkit" in 2004, which suggests strategies for governments to re-establish and instil elements in their communities aimed at combating corruption. With a special focus on African nations, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) held a conference in 2008. This conference was held in order to work out new policy options against the problem of corruption.

Some helpful links:

• http://www.uneca.org/gpad/codesria.htm
• http://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/toolkit/f1tof7.pdf
• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/print_2116.html

Combating All Forms of Forced or Indentured Labour

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) considers Forced Labour to be “all work or service that any woman, man or child is coerced to do under the threat of a penalty, and for which they have not offered themselves voluntarily.” Even if this sounds unbelievable, over 12 million people are exploited by forced labour. It is thus implausible for this to still be existent in modern society – in a society, in which most people are content.

Commonly a person is kidnapped, or trafficked. Then (s)he needs to borrow money from his trafficker in order to pay for the transportation. (S)he is often then in a debt bondage with the trafficker for the rest of their life, because the worker receives almost no money for his work. This work usually includes commercial sexual or labour exploitation. In order to keep victims against their will there is penalty, such as torture or sexual abuse.

Your job, as delegates, is to find possible solutions to this, composed in a resolution. A few ideas are presented here.

1. Enforcing laws and making clear policies by the governments, especially ratifying ILO conventions;
2. Creating initiatives for companies to stop forced labour;
3. Cooperation and Collaboration on a global frame, especially the coordination of migrants;
4. Strengthening data collection and research;
5. Strengthening alliances and trade unions;
6. Addressing forced labour and trafficking issues in bipartite and tripartite negotiations and agreements;
7. Monitoring of employment agencies as well as companies, including their supply chains, to detect and combat forced labour and trafficking practices;

If you are still looking for a point to start, here are some good websites.

1. ILO Background Paper "Fighting Human Trafficking: The forced labour dimensions"
   "This background paper provides background information on the issues of the ILO‘s primary concern, with a particular focus on trafficking for forced labour exploitation, and raises questions for further discussion. It begins by discussing the concept of forced labour and assessing the current state of knowledge. This is followed by a discussion of demand recruitment systems. A final section discusses concrete measures that can now be taken to prevent and identify forced labour, particularly by employers and workers in cooperation with other national and international partners."
   http://www.ilo.org/sapfl/Events/ILOevents/lang--en/WCMS_090236/index.htm
2. Special Action Programme to combat Forced Labour
   Created in 2001, as a part of the ILO, the SAP-FL is the primary organisation that combats Forced Labour.
   http://www.ilo.org/sapfl/lang--en/index.htm
3. International Labour Organization
   The ILO is devoted to advancing opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Its main aims are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue in handling work-related issues.
   http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/lang--en/index.htm
4. Forced Labour Statistics
   General Statistics about Forced Labour.
   http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/manila/downloads/flstats.pdf

All the best with your preparation to BERMUN. If you should have any questions/concerns please don’t hesitate to contact us at ecosoc[at]bermun.de or in the Bermun forum. We are looking forward to seeing everybody in November!

Tenzin Sekhon, President of the ECOSOC
Feline Moje, President of the ECOSOC
Berni Reifeld, Rapporteur to the ECOSOC