Committees & Topics
ALTMUN Middle School Conference | April 25th 2026 |
STANDARD COMMITTEES
SOCHUM
Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Issues
As climate change worsens to unprecedented levels, more and more civilians are being displaced from their homes by severe environmental changes and natural disasters like floods and wildfires. Climate refugees have limited access to food, shelter, and education. While many frameworks and definitions of climate refugees have been made, there is still no collective standard on how to address their growing numbers. In fact, the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention does not extend protections to climate refugees except in extremely rare cases. Thus, it is imperative for SOCHUM to decide how climate refugees should be protected and recognized.
Although infectious diseases have long been countered with medicine, even today’s treatments can be rendered ineffective due to anti-microbial resistance (AMR), where microorganisms become resilient to the drugs that neutralize them. Disparities in medical resources and healthcare systems have caused unequal progress in preventing AMR among member nations, causing increased infection and mortality rates. Moreover, pharmaceutical corporations and antibiotic misuse are also contributing to the AMR crisis. WHO has campaigned for increased public awareness, data collection, and healthcare facilities to fight AMR. Now, the WHO committee must assemble to decide how to combat AMR on a global scale.
WHO
World Health Organization
2026 Topic:
Mitigating the Impact of Antimicrobial Resistance
ADVANCED
Legal
UN Legal Committee
2026 Topic:
Defining Ecoterrorism
Rising public awareness on environmental issues has led to the advent of ecoterrorism– illegal and destructive forms of climate activism. These include burning construction sites and damaging industrial equipment, inadvertently harming environments and people. Although ecoterrorists may have good intentions to advocate for wildlife preservation with their actions, it is currently difficult to determine whether they are committing crimes from a place of malintent or simply being activists. Therefore, the Legal committee’s objective is to draft a clear definition of ecoterrorism, allowing for a line between freedom of expression and terrorism to be drawn.
COMMITTEE TYPES
Standard
SOCHUM, WHO
Delegate Prep Work: PP and LoPS
Conference Experience: These committees are our conference standard with all skill levels welcome! In this committee, delegates will begin learning the mechanics of debate through the low-stakes environment of a mock debate. Then high school staff will guide them into formal debate and provide continuous support as delegates begin applying these parli pro and debate skills. Once in formal debate, high school staff will then also teach delegates about writing and introducing resolutions (the high school equivalent of LoPS).
Advanced
Legal
Delegate Prep Work: PP and Resolution
Conference Experience: This committee is for the delegate who is ready to elevate their experience. The topic in this committee is a little more challenging than the others and may require more research. Instead of writing a List of Possible Solutions (LoPS) like the other committees, Legal delegates will prepare resolutions (the high school standard) ahead of the conference. At the conference they will still start with a mock debate but will spend less time on teaching the fundamentals of parliamentary procedures. This committee will have a docket, in which some pre-written resolutions will be selected to start the debate. This committee most closely resembles our high school experience and will surely prepare them for the next conference in the ALTMUN system.