Committees & Topics 

The Horn of Africa is facing a significant food insecurity crisis as crops fail and livestock dies. Over 54 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and South Sudan are currently experiencing acute hunger. This situation is influenced by years of conflict, instability and prolonged drought conditions, with five consecutive failed rainy seasons marking the region’s longest dry period in four decades. Additionally, both the COVID-19 pandemic and disruptions to supply chains due to the situation in Ukraine have contributed to rising food prices and limited access to essential imports. The combination of these issues has impeded humanitarian operations and displaced millions across the region. In response to this challenge, the UN and its agencies, including the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), have made significant efforts to alleviate the crisis. However, despite these interventions, funding remains a significant constraint. Humanitarian appeals for the Horn of Africa fall short of their targets, such as the 2023 UN appeal for Somalia receiving less than half of the required $2.6 billion. To address the food insecurity crisis, ECOSOC must develop an international framework which integrates the financing of immediate food security relief with measures to enhance long-term resilience.

Sovereign debt entails the money borrowed by national governments from foreign or domestic lenders, including other governments, international financial institutions and private entities. While sovereign debt can fund public expenditures and stimulate economic growth, excessive borrowing can lead to debt distress, bank runs and asset fire sales. Sovereign debt crises have far-reaching consequences for domestic economic stability, social welfare and international relations. UN Trade and Development’s 2023 report on the global debt crisis notes that debt servicing in low-income states consumes nearly 16% of government revenue, diverting critical funds from development priorities. Although the issue is widely recognised, states are divided between debt restructuring and sweeping debt forgiveness to foster development on the one hand, and enhancing borrowing accountability and reducing reliance on external financing on the other. As such, initiatives such as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments have had limited efficacy. ECOSOC is asked to spearhead the formation of a framework allowing for an accessible global sovereign debt market, whilst ensuring that debt agreements take into account Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the world, offering transformative solutions in healthcare, education and economic development. However, access to AI is unequal, because the Global South has less access to AI-benefits due to limited infrastructure and resources than the Global North. Meanwhile, the environmental toll of AI, fuelled by the immense energy demands of data centres and AI-hardware production, is largely suffered by the Global South. International actors have just started to address the intersection between AI, sustainability and social equity. For example, the 2022 UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence emphasises the importance of aligning AI-development with environmental and social equity. However, global regulatory frameworks remain fragmented, leaving significant gaps in addressing the dual challenge of equitable access and environmental sustainability in AI-development. ECOSOC is asked to strive towards a framework, which guides the use of AI towards economic development, without thereby leaving behind the Global South.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into asylum processing systems is transforming how governments manage immigration and refugee applications by increasing the efficiency to reduce application backlogs and optimising resource allocation. However, these tools have sparked concerns regarding fairness, transparency and the protection of fundamental rights. One of the most prominent examples of the risks associated with AI-deployment in migration systems is the iBorderCtrl project, a European Union-funded pilot program. iBorderCtrl utilised AI-powered lie detection and biometric tracking tools to assess the credibility of asylum seekers. The system faced widespread criticism for its reliance on pseudoscientific methods, including detecting "micro-expressions" as indicators of deception. Researchers, human rights advocates and media reports highlighted that iBorderCtrl's algorithms exhibited significant inaccuracies and potential biases, particularly against ethnic minorities. The United Nations Refugee Agency acknowledges the potential of AI to improve efficiency, but underscores the need for safeguards to ensure compliance with human rights norms. Disparities in technological and regulatory capacity between states further exacerbate these challenges, leaving refugees at risk of discrimination and harm​​​. The UNHRC is asked to develop a balance between efficient asylum processing and protection of human rights, focusing on high-stakes cases such as deportations or biased asylum rejections.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) affects over 200 million women and girls worldwide. Despite being outlawed in different states, the practice persists through cross-border FGM, where families exploit weak laws in other states and travel abroad to have the procedure performed. For example, in Egypt, 87.2% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 have undergone FGM. The existing legal loopholes, such as unclear liability for participants and weak reporting mechanisms, allow offenders to escape punishment. Moreover, across East Africa, families transport girls across borders between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, to avoid prosecution. While in Europe, the concept of "vacation cutting" sees girls taken back to their families' home states during school holidays to undergo FGM. These legal gaps enable a hidden transnational crisis. In some political debates urgent action is stalled, arguing that FGM is a cultural rite, while in other debates accountability, stronger laws and survivor support are demanded. The UNHRC must reach a resolution discussing protection to girls and women at risk of undergoing the harmful practice.

Modern Domestic Slavery, a practice which predominantly impacts women and children, affects at least 1 in every 1000 people across Southeast Asia. This practice includes forced labour, wage theft, psychological and physical abuse as well as prohibition from leaving the employer's home. The International Labour Organization (ILO) further estimates that at least 21 million people are employed as domestic workers across the world. 11 million of them can be found in Southeast Asia, especially girls under the age of 16, driven by systemic socio-economic inequalities, gender-based discrimination, weak labour protections and unregulated migration pathways. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery highlights domestic work as one of the sectors most vulnerable to exploitation. Unregulated recruitment agencies and restrictive migration policies further exacerbate the vulnerabilities of these workers, while societal norms devaluing domestic work perpetuate their marginalisation. This dynamic underscores the tension between economic imperatives and the obligation to protect human rights across South-East Asia. The UNHRC needs to provide a resolution about protection against human trafficking by strengthening and expanding current frameworks.

The Republic of Mali faces a significant security crisis as extremist groups such as Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) escalate their attacks on civilians, state institutions and peacekeepers. The September 2024 attack in Bamako, where jihadists targeted the presidential plane, underscores the growing boldness of these groups and the fragility of Mali’s security infrastructure. Years of political instability, including repeated military coups have created fertile ground for extremism, worsening humanitarian crises and threatening regional stability. The ongoing violence has also led to deteriorating relations between Mali’s government and international actors. Recent restrictions placed on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) are raising concerns over the state’s capacity to manage its security effectively. The UNSC will have to shape a resolution that balances immediate security, accountability and long-term stability to address the expansion of violent extremist groups in Mali.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated disinformation, designed to deceive audiences, includes deepfakes (synthetic media altering or falsifying a person’s likeness), automated misinformation campaigns (mass-produced content using AI algorithms) and tailored propaganda (AI-curated information aimed at influencing specific groups). Beyond its immediate impact on electoral campaigns, AI disinformation poses a significant threat to global peace and security. False narratives amplified by AI can incite violence, exacerbate social divisions and create distrust in institutions, thereby destabilising democracies and creating conditions for conflict. State and non-state actors also use disinformation as a tool of hybrid warfare, escalating diplomatic tensions and threatening international stability. Recent examples, such as the 102 Russia-linked AI websites disseminating false information ahead of the German elections in February 2025, as reported by fact-checking firm Newsguard and German investigative outlet Correctiv, highlight the growing use of these technologies to manipulate political discourse. The UNSC is asked to create a framework to protect societies from the destabilising effects of AI-generated disinformation, safeguarding state institutions and global security.

Water scarcity is a growing global crisis that threatens human security and international stability. Over 2.4 billion people live in regions facing severe water stress, a number expected to rise due to population growth, poor water management and climate change. The World Resources Institute (WRI) highlights the vulnerability of regions relying on transboundary freshwater systems, which can lead to disputes when resources are mismanaged or overexploited. Ethiopia’s unilateral filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2023 intensified tensions with Egypt and Sudan, illustrating the need for effective mechanisms to mediate water-sharing conflicts. In 2016, the Netherlands convened an informal UN-meeting to examine the link between water risks and conflict, emphasizing the need to address water scarcity as a source of instability. The UNSC has since integrated water risks into resolutions addressing regional security, such as Resolution 2349, which recognized water scarcity as a contributing factor to instability in the Lake Chad Basin. However, international frameworks like the UN Water Convention and regional agreements remain limited in their ability to prevent conflicts over shared water resources, particularly in areas with weak governance and enforcement mechanisms. The UNSC must address the global security implications of water scarcity by promoting cooperative water governance, improving resource management and creating mechanisms to prevent water-related conflicts before they escalate.