2025 Committees
ALTMUN high School Conference | nov. 13-16 2025 |
– The information below is offically outdated as it is from the 2025 Conference cycle. Please check back in late summer for updated 2026 information. –
This page contains all the committees that will be present at the 2025 ALTMUN High School Conference. This year we have nine standard committees and two advanced committees, ICJ and SecCo, which both require special registration. Our two 'special guest committees' or 2025 Ad hocs are IMO and UNESCO. A new feature this year is that UNEP and WHO share a joint topic. Use the buttons above to help jump to the various committees.
DISEC
Disarmament & International Security
Organised to combat the growing need for cooperation regarding security and disarmament after World War Two, DISEC focuses on “disarmament, global challenges and threats to peace that affect the international community.” This Committee’s jurisdiction includes the governance of disarmament and regulation of armaments, as well as the promotion of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and the strengthening of stability through disarmament.
As climate change continues to skew the very fundamentals of our world, the Arctic region faces unprecedented warming, and subsequently a massive increase in geopolitical importance. In order to control exposed natural resources and trade routes, various nations have been rapidly militarizing in order to maintain assets in the region. Stemming from increased competition of marine resources and militarization with each passing global conflict, this issue was temporarily deescalated after the Cold War. But, with increasing military activity as a result of recent conflicts and mass warming, nations across the world are mobilizing for climate regulation and their own national benefit. The DISEC Committee is tasked with the deescalation of tensions in the region, staying within the jurisdiction of international security.
The UN secretary-general has stated that DEW’s, or weapons that concentrate electromagnetic energy, are a crucial developing technology due to their possible impact on international security and disarmament. With their paramount benefits in stealth, speed, accuracy and portability, the lack of current legislation to regulate their potential negative impact is highly alarming. Moving from an experimental technology for global superpowers to controversial usage in various incidents, this topic’s regulation has stalled for nearly 50 years. As this technology becomes increasingly cheaper with drones and offensive superiority, the DISEC committee is tasked with the regulation of arms races, the definition of the aspects of these weapons, and the general debate of security and disarmament in the context of this topic.
ECOFIN
Economic and Financial Committee
Operating since the United Nations formation, ECOFIN has served as a forum for topics pertaining to global economics, finance, growth and development. This Committee’s jurisdiction is according to the concepts above, with more recent issues being globalization/interdependence, financing development, agricultural and sustainable development, eradication of poverty, and much more.
Accounting for over 150,000 deaths and $900 million in damage over the last four years, natural disasters have crippling effects on local economies and the greater financial world alike. The UN has often responded with central funds for affected regions, aiding in the upkeep of housing, trade, power, etc. These disasters cause long-lasting effects on poorer and frequently impacted nations, with climate change and COVID-19 only exacerbating this trend. NGOs have been successful in efforts to mitigate some disasters, yet the specific aid given and possible sovereignty issues can limit their effectiveness. Recent events have seen disaster prevention frameworks set in place, but actions on how to provide stimulus and protection have not been addressed. ECOFIN is tasked with mitigating the issues above, as well as promoting reflection on past actions and general cooperation with this issue
As technology has grown to reach and aid nearly every corner of the financial world, AI and its lack of regulation internationally and even locally has left millions susceptible to deepfakes and cyberattacks. The Guidelines of Consumer Protections have set guidelines for various fiscal violations, yet the broadened scope of potential victims and ever-changing methods have left this code outdated for this topic. Various nations have approached this issue differently, with many having temporary or no solutions, of which will not address the issue with the proper legislation or resources. Considering AI has warranted serious concern from both consumer rights NGOs and governments alike, ECOFIN is tasked with debating the merit in AI regulation in terms of consumer protection, addressing current civilian dangers and those in the future.
ICJ
International Court of Justice (Advanced)
Established as the principal judicial body for the United Nations, the ICJ aims to settle international disputes between two sovereign states and provide legal consultation for other committees. This committee’s jurisdiction does not extend to enforcing laws, but rather developing the precedence other committees work to administer. The ‘How to ICJ’ tab above contains more information relating to the court’s rulings and criteria of jurisdiction.
With original tensions spanning hundreds of years prior, the Aegean Sea and its continental shelf has long been a topic of debate for Greece and Turkey. After various filings to the court, both parties have recently requested attention be brought to their territorial claims. Greece claims the shelf spanning 200 miles from its nautical border, being supported by UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), and Turkey is currently exploring and extorting their territory under this. But, this directly violates Turkey’s EEZ rights to the area, as well as the previous Treaty of Lausanne (1923). This dispute nearly boiled over into a conflict in a naval interaction in 2021, when Turkish research vessels entering contested waters caused military exercises and naval mobilization. This has raised questions over the ambiguous nature of an EEZ’s limitations, convoluted geographical standards of UNCLOS, and the lack of centralization with past maritime continental shelf cases. The ICJ will convene to discuss the limitation of the aforementioned shelf, the territorial waters allotted to each state, and rights to be allotted to each state after considering the conflicting statements in treaties.
Haiti, through instability of democracy and national security, is near collapsation which has only been further exacerbated by interventions, failed democratic transitions, the 2021 assasination of President Moise and Prime Minister Henry’s failure to hold elections. Haiti officially requested international assistance in 2022, and Kenya could not aid in the situation on their own accord, even in good intention, as they needed UN authorization. So, they volunteered to provide military assistance, with the UN Security Council’s MSS mission approval, to the Haitian National Police in order to mitigate gang violence. As Henry was in Kenya in early 2023, violence erupted in airports and other locations, preventing his return and causing his resignation. With the subsequent prohibition of the local government, many international entities consider Haiti to be a failed state. The lack of an effective government and legal standards creates problems for the UN and its organs to act accordingly, as well as ambiguity of the legal precedent of international law pertaining to this issue. The ICJ will convene to clarify the international standard above, as well as the responsibilities of failed states, discuss the validity of their case legally, and the legality of Haiti and Kenya’s bilateral agreement and its extent.
Serving as the first advisory case in ALTMUN history, this case surrounds continental shelves, each state’s subsequent Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) rights, and how the standards set out by the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) currently apply to the limitations of these rights. The UNCLOS currently defines a continental shelf as the submarine natural prolongation of a state’s territory to the outer edge of the continental margin 200 nautical miles from its baseline, yet this statement has long been found ambiguous in various cases. Oftentimes, claims from states overlap, and the unclear boundaries stated above can cause conflicts of varying degrees. For example, this committee’s Contentious Case #1 regarding the dispute between Greece and Turkey stemming from this very topic, the definitions of EEZs and continental shelves are instrumental to this ongoing debate. This paramount example of these ambiguities in action also stem from varying definitions of the standards above set out in various treaties, giving justification for both sides throughout these events. It is imperative that delegates are committed to understanding these complexities to ensure a connected and thorough transition between cases. The ICJ will convene to determine the legal limitations of continental shelves past 200 nautical miles, the interpretation of “natural prolongation,” and the rightful distribution of maritime and resource rights between states under UNCLOS. (Once again, the ‘How to ICJ’ tab above goes into more detail regarding Advisory Cases and their parameters)
IMO
International Maritime Organization
Formed during the 1948 Geneva Conference, the IMO was established to “promote safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient, and sustainable shipping.” As a specialized agency, this organization functions on its own as committees and subcommittees, with these groups adopting conventions (international agreements) rather than resolutions, which cover all aspects of international shipping (Parliamentary Procedure will function identically to other committees for ALTMUN’s purposes).
Human trafficking operations, smuggling, black market trade and espionage are commonplace in the legal exploitation performed by Dark Fleets. Often engaging in dubious activity relating to fishing or oil, these ships are a top priority of the IMO due to their violation of UN policy in terms of environment, insurance, etc. This is done by utilizing the Flag of Convenience, obscuring ownership, or disabling the Automatic Identification System (AIS). This runs the risk of possible ship collisions, environmental disasters, and crews being unaware their ship is illegal. The SOLAS requires ships to enable AIS, yet current dark fleets completely ignore this guideline. Oil spills, such as the extreme catastrophe of the Russian dark fleet oil tanker spill, have been rampant due to the deregulated nature of these ships and their steerage. Oil tankers and fishing ships alike have seen workers tortured and even killed, causing various NGOs to aid in ship detection and empower at-risk communities. Delegates are asked to focus solely on Dark Fleets pertaining to Oil and Fishing activities and to combat their usage in concealing illicit activities.
With the field having 9% of the needed officer-level positions and a projected shortfall of 90,000 trained sailors by 2026, the Maritime is facing a 17 year high labor shortage across the globe. Stemming from overreliance on some nations, poor working conditions and public stigma, newer generations are turning away from the profession en masse, forcing companies to lower hiring standards and subsequently negatively affecting cost. Currently, this shortage is fueled by 400,000 stranded in ships from COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war affecting 14.5% of the world’s seafarers, physical and mental decline, etc. Along with this, 8.4% of workers have experienced rape, causing women to only account for 1-2% of seafarers. With over 80% of trade occurring via global shipping, these issues cause the overwork of seafarers, of which has been addressed in past conventions, but there is still a need to take greater strides towards these issues. Although many factors influence the seafarer shortage, delegates are asked to focus on the shortage itself.
Legal
Legal
Handling legal issues within the United Nations in addition to general matters of international law, the Legal committee was established to promote international cooperation by solving prominent legal issues. Whether by policy, treaties, or legislation, this committee has the power to set ideas and standards for what is acceptable for the United Nations to do, with either the revision of old laws or the creation of new laws.
In the face of atrocities such as the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, neighboring Vietnam staged a humanitarian intervention to stop the actions that had already killed nearly 1.5 million individuals. While this humanitarian intervention had good intentions, it caused a violation of the UN charter in its use of force. The sovereignty for both parties to act in these scenarios is often called into question, with the Security Council being able to bestow the right of humanitarian intervention when deemed necessary. Yet, some tragedies could have been prevented or deescalated with controlled humanitarian intervention. With the failure of the Somalia intervention being a factor of the Rwandan genocide, greater motivation to act led to increased invention and the invokement of the Right to Protect doctrine. But, as invention may invoke previous treaties or cause greater economic strife, the Legal committee is tasked with deliberating a standard of humanitarian intervention in regards to sovereignty and human rights.
Cyber espionage has become an ever-increasing issue with the development of technology, collecting intelligence from various institutions and governmental agencies. With this relatively new concept, international law regarding this topic is sparse, with a need to focus on a nation’s sovereignty and where cyber espionage fits into this concept in regards to private companies and governments alike. This, along with questions surrounding degrees of severity, the rights of those that commit this crime, and legality as a whole are necessary topics of debate. This practice grew exponentially over the turn of the century, with many western nations facing unofficial and official breaches of information, as well as corporations having their designs and sensitive data stolen. Even with cybercrime being addressed as a whole along with general-accepted manuals being set in place, there is little to no regulation of cyber espionage internationally. The Legal committee is tasked with identifying the various forms of this crime and degrees of punishment according to the specific situation.
SecCo
Security Council (Advanced)
Established in Westminster, London with the duty to maintain peace and security around the globe, the Security Council achieves this while focusing on internationally condemned policies and minimizing their economic and demographic impact. Composed of five permanent residents and ten assembly-elected members, the council has the ability to administer their goals with ceasefires or dispatching military personnel or peacekeeping forces. Using this ability to foster international cooperation in peace and security, the council may enforce diplomatic, economic, travel, or militaristic penalties through various means.
With the attacks by gangs and armed groups, over one million Haitians have been displaced, with one in eight children being forced to leave their homes. This violence has left nearly half of Haiti’s population in need of humanitarian aid, leaving the capital city of Port-Au-Prince virtually uninhabitable, as well as many individuals fleeing murder, rape, and starvation near their homes, rendering them as internally displaced persons. Haitians seeking asylum have been met with little international assistance other than Kenya’s peacekeeping troops. But, due to the past atrocities committed by UN troops, Haitians are hesitant to accept occupation and possible oppression. With the collaboration of local gangs being responsible for the assassinations of President Jovenel Moïse and others, Prime Minister Ariel Henry travelled to Kenya for troops, yet could not return due to the overtaking of the capital’s airport and prisons. Giving into pressures, Henry resigned, causing the MSS to attempt to stabilize the situation, which has been poorly funded and ineffective. The Security Council is tasked with determining if and what form of intervention should be taken in this crisis, taking into account the Haitian views on past peacekeeping and future implications in these operations.
Over recent years, the Security Council has been labelled by some as “utterly useless,” with its inaction in recent conflicts calling its effectiveness and relevance into question. With the general structure of the council barely changing over the course of its eighty year history, it has been criticized for the overuse of veto power, often by Russia and the United States. Along with these principles, the lack of representation from Latin America and Africa among the P5 and rotating members has been called into question. Intended to be the “Four Policeman,” the council was created in an attempt to serve as ‘protectors,’ which may be deemed as outdated for the current political landscape. Groups such as the African Group have suggested permanent African member(s), as well as others calling for the removal of veto power and other globally influential nations being permanent. P5 nations are willing to expand the council in many ways except for veto power removal. As many different UN groups and conventions have recently been set in place for this topic, the Security Council is tasked with assessing possible alteration in the council’s structure, representation, and veto power.
SOCHUM
Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Issues
Engaging with special rapporteurs, independent experts, and chairs of treaty bodies, SOCHUM is designated to discuss questions relating to the advancement of women, the protection of children, the promotion of fundamental freedoms, and more. This committee is tasked with reviewing human rights questions across the globe, along with reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council.
Cobalt is prized as a critical mineral in batteries that power devices and vehicles alike, making it constantly in demand across the globe. With around 70% of the world’s cobalt supply, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among other nations, has been called into question for the rights of small-scale workers. This accounts for around a quarter of all mining operations, with often poor child workers having to endure inadequate wages and constant natural danger. The rise in demand has only exacerbated issues with toxic dust and mine collapses, with concern arising internally and internationally. But, the DRC and others have benefited significantly from cobalt, with questions arising of a lack of replacement if child workers cannot mine. COVID-19 saw the increase of this practice after years of improvement, with many using child labor as an economic coping mechanism locally. Considering the local attitudes towards the importance of labor and each nation’s own child labor laws, SOCHUM is tasked with mitigating the increase of child labor in this industry and its effect on children participating.
Humanitarian aid is the cornerstone of international cooperation in crisis situations, accounting for tens of billions in funds and affecting hundreds of millions globally. As aid is responsible for addressing food, health, educational, and shelter needs worldwide, recent funding cuts have left much of these forms of essential aid at risk. The U.S. pulling most of its funding, as it has often provided around a quarter of humanitarian funds, only furthers these struggles. Concerns have been raised over some funding efforts not raising enough in the past, as well as corruption using ‘top-down’ aid tactics. Along with this, many of the usual large donors have requested transparency with their funds due to these issues, with billions being pulled out of various UN institutions. These cuts have been infrequent across the world, with some requests like Ukraine immediately receiving funds and ongoing food crises in Africa and Latin America receiving little attention. As this committee cannot raise funds within its jurisdiction, SOCHUM is tasked with discussing the need to strengthen humanitarian assistance, focusing on efficiency rather than further fundraising.
UNEP
UN Environment Programme
Created following the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, UNEP was created to address issues such as increased pollution levels, biodiversity loss, and climate change. Working to help achieve the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, this committee works to create resolutions that set the priorities and policies for member states to foster a sustainable future.
Serving as the first joint committee in ALTMUN history, the jurisdiction of Topic A will span both health and environmental concerns in context to the topic. Resolutions will work to both address the threats to general health and wellbeing, along with the greater environmental impact of any action taken. In the preparation of research and debate, delegates are asked to consider the future implications of a resolution’s implementation in regards to each committee’s jurisdiction.
Used in a wide variety of everyday consumer goods, PFAs, or “Forever Chemicals,” are hazardous chemicals that cannot fully break down into the environment, water, or even the human body. This highly toxic substance may be in the drinking water of 200 million Americans alone, and this issue will only continue to grow with the flourishing of the chemical industry, which was worth $5 trillion alone in 2017. The hazardous impact to wildlife has spread across the globe, with Fish being the most affected in extremely contaminated waterways. Due to their ability to travel through air and water using maritime and aeronautical transport, these chemicals have even been found in the remote Arctic. Stemming from the rapid spread of this substance, the contamination of crop soil and release of greenhouse gases in production will cause catastrophic strain on the environment in the future. With the lack of current knowledge of the various compounds within its definition, PFAs and their rapid spread has been hard to track. Even after these substances were phased out of general commercial use, their usage is still apparent today, being lobbied for in some governments and not completely banned in others. Due to the international reach of PFAs in humans and the environment alike, along with some studies showing the substance’s possible correlation with certain cancers, the WHO/UNEP joint committee is tasked with the possible mitigation of PFAs, basing opinions on their state’s environmental and health policies in regards to this topic.
As the FAO has stated that 40% of global crop production is lost to pests, with $220 billion lost annually, as well as invasive species being a factor of 60% of all extinctions, pesticides have been regularly used in an attempt to mediate these statistics. As past conventions have called for the eradication of these species and have not provided in-depth preventive measures, the usage of pesticides has been implemented in many concentrations. Their usage has raised concerns over the highly hazardous nature of certain versions, targeting both invasive and natural species recklessly. As regulations with pesticides have increased over the years, the prioritization of human health has furthered these issues, along with the popularization of synthetic pesticides causing even worse natural damage. But, the limitation of pesticides would cause a disastrous loss of food production. UNEP is tasked with discussing the benefits of pesticide usage on invasive species, assessing possible benefits and negative effects worldwide.
UNESCO
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Created to address the sizable destruction of cultural heritage as a result of World War Two, UNESCO is devoted to strengthening global peace and security by promoting the sharing of knowledge and resources to accelerate mutual understanding and the different ways of life. This committee is divided into five main sectors to support human rights without distinction: Education, Natural Sciences, Social and Human Sciences, Culture, and Communications and Information.
Indigenous people, inhabiting around 25% of the world, interact with their unique surroundings and have developed a deep understanding of their local ecosystems. This knowledge has led to unique beliefs and practices specific to local regions But, many of these practices which provide such useful information about local life are under threat of being lost to time with culture. While the UN Declaration of Right protects these local environmental practices, no UN action has been taken to document these traditions. Some individual states have made an effort in reaching out to and preserving the rights of the indigenous, yet some have simply given them their rights and have not planned any outreach. Stemming from a variety of lingering colonial attitudes or legal frameworks, much of the indigenous knowledge around the world remains vague and undiscovered. But, with growing worldwide efforts in preserving indigenous culture, the preservation of languages that carry these environmental traditions has been emphasized. But, due to the direct impact of climate change and other events to the preservation of indigenous culture, UNESCO is tasked with finding methods to record and document Indigenous knowledge relating to environmental practices.
Created by the People’s Republic of China as a global initiative to promote connectivity through economic and cultural policies, the Belt Road Initiative (a.k.a. The New Silk Road) is a worldwide project to promote trade, infrastructure, and educational policy. This program has an Education Action Plan, with its stated goal being to cultivate talent, achieve development, and promote mutual benefit. Through aiming projects in the direction of the UN’s Sustainable development goals, the initiative partners with the United Nations to promote education across the world. This committee has not specifically partnered with the BRI, but it has promoted STEM education with Chinese scientific institutions in Africa. While this organization is commonplace in various nations, some Western and Asian states are reluctant to join over concerns of debt traps, indoctrination, etc. But, various nations believe this education is beneficial to their nation as a whole, with varying opinions on what limits should be set for this initiative. UNESCO is tasked with finding ways to foster a partnership between UNESCO and the BRI’s educational policy, staying within this committee’s jurisdiction.
UNODC
UN Office of Drugs and Crime
Established in 1997 through a merger between the UNDCP and the CICP, the UNODC aims to provide coordinated and comprehensive global action to address the intertwined issues of drugs, crime, corruption and terrorism. Working to support its three core pillars of analysis, international standards, and technical assistance, this committee assists member states in strengthening legal frameworks, enhancing criminal justice systems, and promoting the rule of law.
Gold has been an expensive material for thousands of years, being shown for its prestige and heralded for its rarity. With limited supply and high demand, many investors have devoted their assets to this stable commodity, which has increased to six times the price in the 21st century. This increasing value causes gold to be used as a vessel for illicit financial flows (IFF) in many criminal activities. The portability and low market risk makes this material perfect for money laundering, disguising the illegal earnings of various crimes. Criminal organizations often use small-scale mining efforts to extract this gold, with environmental and economic conditions being terrible for the workers inside. Due to the lack of differences between legal small-scale mines and illegal ones, issues arise with a lack of criminal detection and false arrests. Recent UN resolutions have attempted to mitigate this issue, yet a resurgence in the price of gold due to COVID-19 has led to an increase in IFF’s. Taking into account the economic importance that this material has in many communities, the UNODC is tasked with addressing the criminal dimensions of illegal gold mining and its exploitation across the globe.
The UNODC’s mission on drug control began with three UN treaties brought forth at the Single Conventions, laying out general protocol of drug trafficking to address in each state. But, the last of these treaties was 55 years ago, and there has been growing recognition of the shortcomings of the treaties’ prohibitionist approach. With a 1% increase in individuals who have used a drug over the last ten years, the ‘War on Drugs’ approach to the situation and its emphasis on enforcement tactics has been called into question. Many drug operations have been embedded into communities, with punishments often given to street-level dealers. Some governments have not given due-process to some of those convicted, with inhumane punishments and the use of corruption through these charges. With the anti-drug movement spreading from the U.S. through its sphere of influence, this commonplace viewpoint was changed later on with harm reduction strategies. Due to the increase of dangerous trafficking and harsh punishments with current methods, the UNODC is tasked with addressing the concerns surrounding the weaponization of drug policy, and how to adapt legal frameworks to the modern world.
WHO
World Health Organization
Founded in 1948 to “promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable,” WHO acts as a global authority on an expansive range of health related issues, such as emerging diseases and their global awareness. Helping to educate and aid the public in their everyday lives, this committee covers disease outbreak, research, care and prevention, sanitation, resource access, environmental factors, etc.
Serving as the first joint committee in ALTMUN history, the jurisdiction of Topic A will span both health and environmental concerns in context to the topic. Resolutions will work to both address the threats to general health and wellbeing, along with the greater environmental impact of any action taken. In the preparation of research and debate, delegates are asked to consider the future implications of a resolution’s implementation in regards to each committee’s jurisdiction.
Used in a wide variety of everyday consumer goods, PFAs, or “Forever Chemicals,” are hazardous chemicals that cannot fully break down into the environment, water, or even the human body. This highly toxic substance may be in the drinking water of 200 million Americans alone, and this issue will only continue to grow with the flourishing of the chemical industry, which was worth $5 trillion alone in 2017. The hazardous impact to wildlife has spread across the globe, with Fish being the most affected in extremely contaminated waterways. Due to their ability to travel through air and water using maritime and aeronautical transport, these chemicals have even been found in the remote Arctic. Stemming from the rapid spread of this substance, the contamination of crop soil and release of greenhouse gases in production will cause catastrophic strain on the environment in the future. With the lack of current knowledge of the various compounds within its definition, PFAs and their rapid spread has been hard to track. Even after these substances were phased out of general commercial use, their usage is still apparent today, being lobbied for in some governments and not completely banned in others. Due to the international reach of PFAs in humans and the environment alike, along with some studies showing the substance’s possible correlation with certain cancers, the WHO/UNEP joint committee is tasked with the possible mitigation of PFAs, basing opinions on their state’s environmental and health policies in regards to this topic.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), or the transfer of biological matter in order to artificially impregnate an individual, is widely considered as the best method for treating infertility. This committee has not given an official definition of the practice, but it estimates that around one in six people of reproductive age will experience infertility. With the exponential growth in popularity of this procedure, concerns have grown over the lack of coordinated international action, as well as controversy surrounding gamamete donation and treatment access. Regarding legality, IVF is not banned in any country, along with WHO recognizing reproductive health as a human right. Regulations regarding the practice are very diverse, with far less respect to typical divides in medical treatment. The only ‘bans’ set in place for IVF procedures target techniques immediately adjacent to or necessary for IVF to function, such as bans against donor gametes and commercial surrogacy. WHO is tasked with convening to address IVF usage, creating a common definition, debating morality/ethicality, and setting a medical framework. Delegates are encouraged to move away from proposing further research and instead focus on the defining of this modern medical ambiguity.