Model United Nations
Position Paper
Country: Brazil
Committee: 5
Delegate: Monica Morales
Opening Statement:
Pandemic breakouts and their prevention have always been a major focus of the global community because, as you all know, they can cause massive tolls on the economy, mortality rates, and even the economy. This new H1N1 pandemic introduces new risks of infection that are yet to be researched as well as a large threats to the mortality rates of each country it infects. It holds the ability to penetrate the lining of the passageways in the lungs and can evade the immune system, which means that it is extremely effective when infecting humans. However, scientist have not yet found a cure to this disease, which means that there is a higher risk of transmitting the virus to others. Already, this virus has spread widely from only a couple hundred cases in Rome, where it originated, to a global pandemic that has infected parts of Asia. If this virus infects any more countries, millions will die worldwide. The United Nations must take up action to prevent this virus from spreading even further.
National Actions:
Luckily, this disease has not yet breached Brazil, which puts us at both an advantage and a disadvantage over other countries. It has an advantage in the sense that it has more time to do research on the virus and possibly find a cure; but Brazil is also at a disadvantage because it does not have any cases to conduct its research on and would be dealing with an “alien” virus. In order to prevent transmission of the disease from one of Brazil’s neighboring countries, Brazil would like to set up stronger security checkpoints throughout the main points of entry to the country if needed. This would hopefully reduce the chances of getting the virus and becoming infected. We would try to avoid setting up strong military borders and blockades along all of its borders because it would have a big impact on the economy and put further limitations to the amount of money that could be put towards research and development for finding a cure.
UN Actions and International Actions:
Because of the fact that this virus has not yet reached neither Brazil or its surrounding countries, we have not yet taken direct action against this problem. Brazil has a pretty strong economy right now, so, like mentioned earlier, would be happy to aid countries in their research for a cure to the virus. Brazil also has a very good health care plan which allows for every person who is legally in Brazil to have access to the government's free health care program or be provided their own private health care plan. That being said, Brazil has very top of the line equipment and the privilege of having about 3,000 public hospitals as well as about 5,000 private hospitals that are available for patients.
Recommendation for Action:
We believe that if the virus were to spread to a larger scale, a limited quarantine would be a good idea to prevent the transmission and spreading of the virus in that country as well as provide more concentrated cases of the virus to be provided for detailed research. Our definition of a limited quarantine refers to the full quarantine of sections of hospitals that hold patients that are infected to prevent transition to others; and a possible quarantine in high infection risk areas such as very densely populated or inhabited areas of the country where cases are been reported. This limited quarantine would be set up until researchers and scientist discover exactly what it is we are dealing with and how strong or lethal the virus actually is. When this information is uncovered, further action should be taken to either keep or remove the limited quarantine depending on the severity of the virus. We would like the United Nations to pull together the best group of researchers and resources in order to find a definite cure for this virus so that if the situation comes where it reaches and infects parts of South America, we will all be prepared and have a plan to how to stop this virus.
Committee: 5
Delegate: Monica Morales
Opening Statement:
Pandemic breakouts and their prevention have always been a major focus of the global community because, as you all know, they can cause massive tolls on the economy, mortality rates, and even the economy. This new H1N1 pandemic introduces new risks of infection that are yet to be researched as well as a large threats to the mortality rates of each country it infects. It holds the ability to penetrate the lining of the passageways in the lungs and can evade the immune system, which means that it is extremely effective when infecting humans. However, scientist have not yet found a cure to this disease, which means that there is a higher risk of transmitting the virus to others. Already, this virus has spread widely from only a couple hundred cases in Rome, where it originated, to a global pandemic that has infected parts of Asia. If this virus infects any more countries, millions will die worldwide. The United Nations must take up action to prevent this virus from spreading even further.
National Actions:
Luckily, this disease has not yet breached Brazil, which puts us at both an advantage and a disadvantage over other countries. It has an advantage in the sense that it has more time to do research on the virus and possibly find a cure; but Brazil is also at a disadvantage because it does not have any cases to conduct its research on and would be dealing with an “alien” virus. In order to prevent transmission of the disease from one of Brazil’s neighboring countries, Brazil would like to set up stronger security checkpoints throughout the main points of entry to the country if needed. This would hopefully reduce the chances of getting the virus and becoming infected. We would try to avoid setting up strong military borders and blockades along all of its borders because it would have a big impact on the economy and put further limitations to the amount of money that could be put towards research and development for finding a cure.
UN Actions and International Actions:
Because of the fact that this virus has not yet reached neither Brazil or its surrounding countries, we have not yet taken direct action against this problem. Brazil has a pretty strong economy right now, so, like mentioned earlier, would be happy to aid countries in their research for a cure to the virus. Brazil also has a very good health care plan which allows for every person who is legally in Brazil to have access to the government's free health care program or be provided their own private health care plan. That being said, Brazil has very top of the line equipment and the privilege of having about 3,000 public hospitals as well as about 5,000 private hospitals that are available for patients.
Recommendation for Action:
We believe that if the virus were to spread to a larger scale, a limited quarantine would be a good idea to prevent the transmission and spreading of the virus in that country as well as provide more concentrated cases of the virus to be provided for detailed research. Our definition of a limited quarantine refers to the full quarantine of sections of hospitals that hold patients that are infected to prevent transition to others; and a possible quarantine in high infection risk areas such as very densely populated or inhabited areas of the country where cases are been reported. This limited quarantine would be set up until researchers and scientist discover exactly what it is we are dealing with and how strong or lethal the virus actually is. When this information is uncovered, further action should be taken to either keep or remove the limited quarantine depending on the severity of the virus. We would like the United Nations to pull together the best group of researchers and resources in order to find a definite cure for this virus so that if the situation comes where it reaches and infects parts of South America, we will all be prepared and have a plan to how to stop this virus.
Model UN Reflection
Monica Morales
June 9, 2013
Model United Nations Reflection
When we started to learn about global issues such as global warming, human rights, and education at the beginning of the year, I had no real insight on these topics. I knew that they existed in the world, but was not very aware of what or how these issues had anything to do with myself or the community, and had never really bothered to enhance my perception about these issues. I knew that they were very much existent in the world around us, and that millions were joined in the fight to help solve all of these problems. I knew, or at least thought, that there was really nothing I could do to drastically change the current situation of any of these problem. Adding onto that, when we started the Model United Nations project in early May, I faced the same dilema. I had heard of the United Nations before, but knew only the basics of what it was set up to do- keep the peace and try to settle global debates between countries. I never thought to delve deeper into the topic, however. I had never really pictured International Relations as a subject that I would be interested in studying or learning about. However, by then end of this project, I can definitely say that I have come to form a different opinion and change my mind.
Throughout the whole process of completing this projects,I learned all about how historical events can play out to cause major global issues. One example is the Industrial Revolution, where millions of factories around the world were created, which inevitably caused an excess carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses to be released into the atmosphere and cause Global Warming. We read many articles, textbook readings, and short clips regarding these topics and got to the point where we could form our own judgements and defend our stand-points when we debated about these issues. Eventually, we all never wanted to stop debating these issues. I, personally, liked discussing whether human rights should be universal or dependant on each country. I thought that this was such a stimulating topic because everyone had such strong and different opinions, so we always had a good debate; and this is, to me, such an important issue that has to be faced in the real world, especially in the United Nations, so it gave us a small taste of what it would be like to actually have to settle disputes in a very diplomatic way.
Throughout the whole United Nations Model Simulation, I learned the real value of debating, which was not only to see who was right, or to want to just win the debate, but to fight for your position and be able to defend your opinions. It taught me the value of unity, of strength in numbers, which we saw when we were drafting the resolutions, when we needed as many signatures and sponsors as possible to actually pass the resolution and make a difference. Lastly, it taught me just how strong the power of education can be. It was a lot easier to understand and support someone who made their point strong and clear, who knew what they were talking about, and could provide examples to support their opinion; as opposed to listening to someone who had no idea what they were talking about because they did not read all of the articles they were supposed to. All in all, I was able to see exactly how challenging it is to actually be able to be a part of the UN, advocate for peace, and still try to prove your point. I definitely see the world so much more complicated than I did before.
June 9, 2013
Model United Nations Reflection
When we started to learn about global issues such as global warming, human rights, and education at the beginning of the year, I had no real insight on these topics. I knew that they existed in the world, but was not very aware of what or how these issues had anything to do with myself or the community, and had never really bothered to enhance my perception about these issues. I knew that they were very much existent in the world around us, and that millions were joined in the fight to help solve all of these problems. I knew, or at least thought, that there was really nothing I could do to drastically change the current situation of any of these problem. Adding onto that, when we started the Model United Nations project in early May, I faced the same dilema. I had heard of the United Nations before, but knew only the basics of what it was set up to do- keep the peace and try to settle global debates between countries. I never thought to delve deeper into the topic, however. I had never really pictured International Relations as a subject that I would be interested in studying or learning about. However, by then end of this project, I can definitely say that I have come to form a different opinion and change my mind.
Throughout the whole process of completing this projects,I learned all about how historical events can play out to cause major global issues. One example is the Industrial Revolution, where millions of factories around the world were created, which inevitably caused an excess carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses to be released into the atmosphere and cause Global Warming. We read many articles, textbook readings, and short clips regarding these topics and got to the point where we could form our own judgements and defend our stand-points when we debated about these issues. Eventually, we all never wanted to stop debating these issues. I, personally, liked discussing whether human rights should be universal or dependant on each country. I thought that this was such a stimulating topic because everyone had such strong and different opinions, so we always had a good debate; and this is, to me, such an important issue that has to be faced in the real world, especially in the United Nations, so it gave us a small taste of what it would be like to actually have to settle disputes in a very diplomatic way.
Throughout the whole United Nations Model Simulation, I learned the real value of debating, which was not only to see who was right, or to want to just win the debate, but to fight for your position and be able to defend your opinions. It taught me the value of unity, of strength in numbers, which we saw when we were drafting the resolutions, when we needed as many signatures and sponsors as possible to actually pass the resolution and make a difference. Lastly, it taught me just how strong the power of education can be. It was a lot easier to understand and support someone who made their point strong and clear, who knew what they were talking about, and could provide examples to support their opinion; as opposed to listening to someone who had no idea what they were talking about because they did not read all of the articles they were supposed to. All in all, I was able to see exactly how challenging it is to actually be able to be a part of the UN, advocate for peace, and still try to prove your point. I definitely see the world so much more complicated than I did before.