Welcome to Legal Committee
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee! My name is David Rinder, and it is my distinct honor to be serving as your chair during ILMUNC 2012 while we tackle some of the world’s most pressing legal issues.
To give you some background about myself, I am a sophomore in the Wharton School planning on majoring in Finance and minoring in Spanish. I live in Marlboro, NJ and have been pursuing my strong interest in international relations since high school. At Penn, I have immersed myself in the International Affairs Association. As a freshman, I served as an Assistant Secretary-General for UPMUNC, Penn’s college conference, and I currently serve as a Business Director for UPMUNC. In addition to my Model U.N. exploits, I serve on the board of the Wharton Management Club. Sports are another one of my passions, and I participate in hockey, soccer, tennis, and curling.
Our two topics this year, Digital Property Rights and Water Wars, will hopefully prove to be stimulating and challenging for you. Ways you can prepare include: putting in extra hours on Facebook, practicing your aim with a Super Soaker, and studying the background guide. I encourage you to use the background guide as a starting point for your research, and to further explore these fascinating topics. Your preparation will determine the quality of debate, and I look forward to the innovate resolutions that I am sure you will come up with.
If you have any questions at all about the topics, background guide, or conference please do not hesitate to contact me. I am excited to meet all of you and hope that you have a great conference!
Regards,
Dave Rinder
Chair, Legal Committee
Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXVIII
Distinguished Delegates,
My name is Maria Jose Lamadrid and it is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference. I am extremely excited to serve as your Moderator for the Legal Committee.
This year marks a decade of my stint in Model UN. I first began in 2001 when I paged for a small conference in my hometown of Monterrey, Mexico. Over the past ten years, I had the opportunity to be a delegate, Chair, ASG, Director of Special Events, teacher, serve on five different secretariats and attend over twenty-five MUN conferences. Now, I am happy to bid adieu my favorite hobby by getting the chance to serve as Chief of Staff of my all-time favorite conference, UPMUNC (ILMUNC’s sister conference). Graduating in May of 2012, I am a Philosophy, Politics and Economics major with concentrations in Globalization and Portuguese. When not obsessing over all things Model U.N., I spend my time attempting to cook things at whim, and planning random adventures. Most importantly, I believe in always having fun in whatever I do, therefore, look forward to an incredible weekend at ILMUNC!
This year, the incredible staff of the Legal Committee and I have carefully selected distinctive topics for debate and prepared a background guide to assist you as you prepare for the best conference you will ever attend. Please feel free to contact our USG – Alice Kissilenko – if you have any questions or concerns, or to simply introduce yourself. I look forward to meeting all of you in January!
Sincerely,
Maria Jose Lamadrid
Moderator, Legal Committee
Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXVIII
Topic Summaries
Topic A: Water Wars
“Water wars” are defined as disputes over water rights. They are particularly complicated because so many different parties are involved: individuals, corporations, state governments, environmental activists, etc. Furthermore, water is slowly shifting from a common good to private property. Traditionally, water has been seen as a free element, but modern extraction technologies have required state involvement, and privatization of water resources has become increasingly popular in many states as well. Conflict over the water coming from the Sierra Nevada in California is one recent example, after the city of Los Angeles constructed an aqueduct that diverted water from the Owens Valley, limiting access to the water by the Valley’s residents. Even more contentious are water wars over resources that span international boundaries, as the governments of sovereign nations become embroiled in disputes that can escalate to issues beyond the rights to water. The Legal Committee must determine how to equitably share the ever more scarce fresh water resources of our world.
Topic B: Cyber Property Rights
The topic of cyber property rights has been debated multiple times by the United Nations, but each technological development brings with it a new set of legal issues. Internet fraud such as infringement upon intellectual property rights, computer intrusions (hacking), economic espionage (theft of trade secrets), online extortion, international money laundering, and identity theft all threaten to damage the Internet’s potential for progress. The prevention of these Internet crimes protects incentives for innovation and the positive exchange of information between the originators and consumers of knowledge. However, any action requires international cooperation, as the Internet can hardly be limited by state boundaries. As delegates to the Legal Committee, you must navigate the gray areas between freedom of information and intellectual property rights, as well as the economic, moral, and political implications of your decisions on national legislation of the Internet.