Letters From the Chairs

Esteemed delegates of the Disarmament and International Security Committee,

This year, I welcome you to Bodrum Marmara College Model United Nations not only as

your chair, but also the president of the general assembly and therefore, lucky for you, expect

only the best from our committee. I am excited to guide delegates to the best of my abilities

and help come up with applicable solutions to real issues which plague our world today.

While going through this chair report, please keep in mind that this is only a starting point for

your research, and surely not the end. Feel free to make the best of the links and citations. I

wish you all well until the conference. Happy researching.

Kind regards,

Lidya Delfin ERASLAN

President Chair of DISEC

Dear DISEC delegates,

Welcome to BMKMUN'20! As the co-chair of DISEC, I am more than pleased to be part of

this year's BMKMUN conference. We expect you to be ready and prepared, in order to have a

good MUN experience. I encourage all of you to be familiar with the issues which we will

tackle. I look forward to meeting you all. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to

contact me. I welcome you all again to BMKMUN'20, where we all will have a great and

beneficial time.

Best regards,

Burcu OKYAY

Deputy Chair of DISEC

Conference: BMKMUN ‘20

Committee: (GA-1) Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC)

Topic A: International terrorist financing

Topic B: Nuclear proliferation

Chair/Co-chair: Lidya Delfin ERASLAN, Burcu OKYAY

Introduction to DISEC

DISEC, Disarmament and International Security Committee,

Topic A: International Terrorist FundingA.1. Introduction

Terrorism is broadly defined as “the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of

fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective.” (Jenkins,

2018) Countering terrorism with combatting its funding has been proved far more efficient

and fewer in casualities compared to strategies dependant on hot military hostility. As such,

in an age where it is more relevant a topic than ever, it is vital that the United Nations’

judicial bodies and relevant instruments spot, distinguish and adapt their policies according to

new ways of money laundering and the like, but above all, be able to foresee other trends that

may emerge in the near future.

It is important to understand that although terrorists can act on an individual basis as well as

an organisation one, funding is more relevant when crime networks are concerned rather than

singled-out cases; terrorist networks require heavy investment and funds for the upkeep and

perpetuity of their activities.

The more conventional ways for

terrorist finance that are globally

known are drug smuggling, weapons

dealership and the infiltration of

financial markets along with petty

crime, although they can acquire

funds licitly as well, which will be

further discussed in section (1.4) in

the context of specific organisation

and their ways of funding.

The International Convention for

The Suppression of The Financing of Terrorism and Security Council Resolution 1373 both

include clauses calling on or urging Member States to combat terrorist funding any which

way possible, inter alia, including freezing the assets of terrorist organisations and finding

ways to combat their attainment in the first place by criminalisation.

Furthermore, expanding on the meaning of the results of terrorist funding, it is seen that it is

not only a means to an end for realising plans which will threaten global peace and security, it

also causes fluctuations and undermines economic development and stability.

It is highly suggested that the delegates read the documents listed in the following section as

they are legitimate resolutions which will be guides for the debate in the committee.

A.2 Definitions of Key Terms

- Terrorism: “The systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a

population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective.” (Jenkins, 2018)

- International Convention for The Supression of the Financing of Terrorism : A United

Nations treaty dating 1999 on combatting terrorist funding and the measures that

should be taken by member states. Also deliberates on responsibilities and crime.

- Security Council Resolution 1373 (S/RES/1373): A United Nations resolution by the

Security Council dating 2001, written close after the 9/11 attacks in The United States

of America.

- The Financial Action Task Force: An inter-governmental body established by the

ministers of the Member jurisdictions. As defined on their website: “The objectives of

the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal,

regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist

financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial

system.”

- Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate: A body of the UN which works

to improve the preventation of terrorist activity within Member States and across

borders.

A.3 Recent Developments

This section comprises a wide range of examples more than anything since any updates on

terrorist activities are quick to take place and it is not feasible to be up to date all the time,

hence the importance of delegates taking this into consideration while doing their research.

Not all may seem to be strictly relevant to terrorist funding at first sight.

- Christchurch mosque shootings: Two mosques were attacked by a lone gunman in

New Zealand in March 2019. Although these attacks were personally funded and led,

they led to serious arguments on gun control and consequently terrorism as a whole.

- London Bridge attack of 2019: An attacker first threatened to detonate a fake suicide

vest in the Fishmongers’ Hall in Central London and followed up by killing civilians

on the London Bridge until he was restrained and later shot dead by the police. He

was known to have connections to radical islamic terrorist groups, and was

imprisoned as a part of the plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange and more.

- Moroccan attack: This was a solitary attack in 2018 which was described by the

terrorists as attempts at impressing ISIS (Daesh). It resulted in the brutal murder and

decapatitation of two European women. A video that went viral on the Deep Web was

produced.

- The ongoing Turkish-Kurdish conflict: The armed conflict between Turkey and

Kurdish insurgents has been going on since 1978 with many claims ouf overseas

funding of the proclaimed terrorist groups on Turkey’s behalf. Recently, following the

declaration of the United States of America’s withdrawal from Syria, Syrian Kurds

who have fought in the Syrian Civil War alongside the USA have stated their concern

about the possibility of increased Turkish attacks, to which the president of the USA,

Donald Trump, responded by threatening to sanction Turkey if need be. Whether the

arms which were provided to the Kurds during the war will be returned to the US

military is still a topic of debate between the presidents of the two countries.

A.4 Questions to Guide Your Research

- Which clauses of the related resolutions by the UN can and should be further

specified to tackle this issue better?

- What more can be done to prevent the abuse of NPOs and NGOs to meet terrorist

ends?

- As it has been decided by the Security Council (UNSC) that all Member States are to

prevent and suppress terrorist funding, how can this decision be carried out to its full

extent?

- To what extent can crowdfunding be abused to fund terrorism?

- Considering that UNSC has also decided that Member States shall “refrain from

providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in

terrorist acts” what can to ensure that this clause is followed through and what can be

done when it is not?

- What can be done to provision other Member States with information regarding

terrorist funding as an addition to current measures?

- How can this topic be handled without meddling with the domestic regulations of

Member States?

- What role does the Deep Web play in this issue?

A.5 Useful Websites

- United Nations Security Council Counter-terrorism Committee Executive Directorate

(CTED).

- Security Council Resolution 1373 (S/RES/1373) .

- Security Council Resolution 2178 ( S/RES/2178).

- International Convention For The Suppression Of The Financing Of Terrorism .

- The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) official site.

- Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Awareness Handbook for Tax Examiners

and Tax Auditors.

TOPIC B: Nuclear ProliferationB.1 Introduction

Nuclear proliferation, most commonly known as ‘’the spread of nuclear weapons, nuclear

weapons technology, or fissile material to countries that do not already possess

them’’(Britannica). However, it is also essential to acknowledge nuclear proliferation refers

to “the possible acquisition of nuclear weapons by terrorist organizations or other armed

groups.”

One of the ways UN tackled this issue in the past is by establishing Nuclear-Weapon-Free

Zones (NWFZ). It is a regional approach to strengthen global nuclear non-proliferation and

disarmament norms and consolidate international efforts towards peace and security. There

have been urgent attempts toward nuclear-weapon-free zones in the Middle East, Antarctic

Treaty, Treaty of Bangkok.

Various multilateral settlements have since been set up with the point of avoiding atomic

expansion and testing, while at the same time hastening advancement in atomic

demilitarization. These remember the Treaty for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(NPT), the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests In The Atmosphere, In Outer Space And

Under Water, otherwise called the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT), the Comprehensive

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Recently, top US diplomats rejected North Korea’s deadline over nuclear talks. North Korea

singularly pulled back from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

in January 2003, has not signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and

has directed six progressively complex atomic tests since 2006. The DPRK isn't involved

with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and is expected to have an enormous

concoction weapons program. In spite of being a state gathering to the Biological and Toxin

Weapons Convention (BTWC) and Geneva Protocol, proof proposes North Korea may keep

up a hostile natural weapons program.

B.2 Definition of Key Terms

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT): ‘’A landmark international treaty whose objective is to

prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote

cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving

nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.’’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): International organization which promotes

the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose,

including nuclear weapons.

B.3 Developments in Recent Years

- 2020 NPT Review Conference

- 2019 Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review

Conference

- 2015 NPT Review Conference

B.4 Questions to Guide Your Research

- To what extent does Nuclear-Free Zones inhibits the risk of invading security?

- What is the role of Non-Proliferation Treaty and are there any way to strengthen it?

- Are there any dominant UN related organizations which can tackle this issue?

- What is the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency on this issue?

- The danger of weakening deterrence and stability contributed to slowing the pace of

nuclear reductions over the last decade, what more can be done concerning nuclear

disarmament?

B.5 Useful Websites

https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/

https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/

http://disarmament.un.org/treaties/t/npt

https://www.un.org/en/conf/npt/2015/

Bibliography 1. https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/counter-terrorism/fight-

financing-terrorism_en

2. https://www.coe.int/en/web/moneyval/implementation/financing-terrorism

3. https://www.un.org/sc/ctc/focus-areas/financing-of-terrorism/

4. https://www.oecd.org/tax/crime/money-laundering-and-terrorist-financing-awareness-

handbook-for-tax-examiners-and-tax-auditors.pdf

5. https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Terrorism/Tracing-terrorist-finances

6. https://www.baselgovernance.org/publications/understanding-terrorist-finance

7. https://recherche.lefigaro.fr/recherche/terrorisme/

8. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/397.html

9. https://www.reuters.com/search/news?blob=terrorism

10. https://www.cfr.org/interactive/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-between-

turkey-and-armed-kurdish-groups

11. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2018/12/05/deadliest-terrorist-groups-

in-the-world/#580fe2d62b3e

12. https://www.infoplease.com/international-terrorist-organizations

13. Jenkins, J. P. (2018, October 26). Terrorism. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/terrorism.

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https://www.wikizeroo.org/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly9lbi53aWtpcGVkaWEub3JnL3dpa2kvTnVjbGVhcl9wcm9saWZlcmF0aW9u

15. https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/

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proliferation