TOPIC A: THE NEW NARCOS: COMBATING COCAINE-FUELED ARMED CONFLICT IN SOUTH AMERICA

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Long before cocaine is sold on the streets of Miami or London, it is harvested as coca leaves at plantations across the Andes Mountains in South America. These remote regions, often devoid of any police or military activity, have become the ground zero for armed conflicts between guerilla groups in the area. These armed military organizations use profits from the coca trade to fund wars amongst themselves, as well as their ongoing insurgency against their governments. Currently, entire regions of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and other nations in South America fall under the de facto control of these highly dangerous narco-trafficking militias. In this committee, delegates must weigh the political, economic, and logistical issues that complicate tackling the region’s drug crisis, while finding solutions to the decades-long conflict that has displaced and killed thousands of people.

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TOPIC B: THE DARK WEB AND CRYPTOCURRENCY IN THE TRAFFICKING OF ILLICIT GOODS

 

The rapid expansion of the dark web and decentralized cryptocurrencies has fundamentally transformed the way illicit goods are bought, sold, and financed across the globe. Online black markets operating on encrypted networks allow traffickers to conduct transactions with unprecedented anonymity, connecting buyers and sellers across continents without ever meeting in person. Despite notable law enforcement takedowns of platforms like Silk Road and AlphaBay, new marketplaces emerge almost immediately to fill the void, demonstrating the resilience of these networks in the face of conventional policing strategies. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime invites delegates to explore how the international community can provide topical and actionable solutions while navigating the deeply contested debate over privacy rights, state surveillance, and the limits of national jurisdiction in a borderless digital world.

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CHAIR: Kevin Keys

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