SPRING 2001 CPIN SIMULATION

 

CPIN Conference Agenda

These conference agendas are designed to help you focus your research on the issues within your sub-game.  The agendas serve three purposes: 

First, they guide the discussions that take place during the conferences. Conference sessions are not free-for-all discussion, but structured debates moderated by SIMCON.  Issues that are not outlined in the conference agenda will not be discussed during that conference session. 
Second, the agendas offer a direction for your research. You must be familiar with your country’s position on the issue areas and the questions posed in the conference agenda.
Lastly, the agendas set the tone for your negotiations over the normal mail system prior to the conferences. Since you know what will be discussed in the conference, the days and weeks prior to the conference should be spent building coalition and trying to negotiate rough outlines of agreement so the conferences will be productive.

Prior to each conference, a somewhat more detailed conference agenda will be posted. These agendas might reflect a discussion of proposed treaties addressing pertinent issues. The conference agendas listed below are broad guidelines concerning the points that will be addressed. According to the normal conference format, after the first agenda item is discussed, the conference will move on to the next agenda point, and so on.

 

International Crime: Terrorism

Both Economically Developed Countries (EDCs) and Less Developed Countries (LDCs) alike have a difficult time combating terrorism. For decades terrorism was used as a means to draw attention to a particular issue when it otherwise received little attention in the international community. In the post-Cold War era, terrorism has taken on different motives and even methods, making it an even more difficult and complex problem to solve.

Conferences I & II
  1. What can be done to combat terrorism?   What is the best strategy or combination of strategies to reduce terrorist threats, movement of terrorists, and access to weapons?
  2. At a time when terrorism increasingly defies political boundaries, are joint international efforts a more effective approach to addressing terrorism than individual state efforts?
  3. What are some of the factors that motivate terrorism? Can these factors be eliminated or controlled?
  4. Money laundering is one means that finances terrorism. How can money laundering be eliminated? Would an international effort increase the likelihood of success against money launderers?
  5. With increased reliance on computers and the Internet, should countries work together to find ways to combat cyber-terrorism, or would sharing electronic security secrets compromise state security?
  6. What is the best strategy or combination of strategies to control cyber-terrorists acts of hacking, viruses, and e-bombs?

 

Global Environmental: Biodiversity

The international community has made a number of efforts towards conserving biodiversity. Yet, many treaties go unsigned and countries do not commit to the Convention on Bio-Diversity framework. Treaties and conventions can be signed or rejected. Sometimes, however, a country will sign a treaty, but not implement the changes to conform to the terms of the treaty. Not implementing the policy could be a result of disagreement with the terms, indifference to the decision, or even because a country does not have the means---money, personnel, resources---to implement the policy. The ineffectiveness of a number of environmental treaties can in part be attributed to these implementation problems. For example, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is opposed by many of the Southern African and intermediary countries including Mozambique, Malawi, Uganda, Oman, Yemen, and Burundi that do not benefit from big game tourism but do benefit from ivory sales.

One obvious dividing factor in the implementation of these treaties and conventions is the economic gap between the EDCs and the LDCs. Countries also fear that a commitment to these pacts might infringe upon their sovereignty. However, without a real international effort to protect the diverse species and ecosystems throughout the world, every day species become extinct.

Conferences I & II
  1. In what ways does the loss of biodiversity impact states throughout the world? What efforts need to be made to entice all countries, individually or jointly, to cooperate and work for conservation?
  2. Merely signing or not signing a treaty or convention does not mean that countries will try to follow the laws or implement the changes necessary to protect the environment. What efforts can be made to better ensure that countries abide by international law?
  3. Should LDCs be expected to follow the same standards as those set for EDCs, even if it requires assistance by the EDCs to get the LDCs up to code?
    4.
  4. EDCs use a majority of the energy and natural resources in the world. What efforts can be made on the part of EDCs to reduce their reliance on and overuse of natural resources like water, electricity, fishing, and so on?

 

 

International Economics: Intellectual Property Rights

Globalization has had a significant effect on international economics:  the demand for information, pharmaceuticals, technology, and even products of culture, such as music and movies, has increased dramatically.  With this demand, however, comes piracy of these ideas and products.  While this piracy is prone to happen in the domestic market of the originating country, it is even more prone to happen abroad.  Products ranging from textbooks to CDs, computer software to medicine, movies to team logos are reproduced without compensating the inventors, designers, or companies that originally developed and own the rights to these products.  

An unfortunate consequence of patenting, copyrighting, or trademarking products is that the authors and inventors must be appropriately compensated for their work.  For instance, it would be illegal under the set international conventions for a newly developing entertainment company to copy and market CDs or movies instead of importing them from the proper owner of these goods.  However, this type of piracy occurs on a regular basis, pushing many EDCs, including the United States and the UK, to seek retribution for these crimes.    LDCs, on the other hand, claim that adhering to these international conventions is to their detriment, greatly reducing their chances to develop.

Conferences I & II
  1. What are the issues involved with IPR?  
  2. In the pursuit of IPR, how do the issues differ for EDCs and LDCs?  Should EDCs be more lenient in terms of educational materials or technical software that might help LDCs towards development?  If the terms were changed to favor LDCs, for instance if LDCs were exempt from the patents, etc, that protect inventors’ rights, would EDC entrepreneurs lose their incentives for product development and betterment?
  3. Many international conventions have been passed regarding intellectual property rights, though in many cases, even when countries sign on to the treaties, they are not implemented or enforced. Where does the responsibility lie in enforcing these international treaties?
  4. Is it up to the individual nations whose intellectual property rights are being abused?
  5. Is the international community responsible for enforcement, given that these are international conventions?
  6. How might international law such as this be enforced, considering that there is no international police force?

 

 

World Health: Organ Trafficking

In many countries, the sale or purchase of bodily organs is illegal. Yet, there is a thriving underground market for these commodities.  Many countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany, have laws prohibiting the sale or purchase of organs.  In some countries, like Japan, organ transplants go against cultural norms.  In other countries, such as India, Mongolia, and China, organ sales are big business.  As a world health issue, both the supply and demand for bodily organs must be considered.  

 

Conferences I & II

  1. Is organ trafficking an LDC matter only, or are EDCs equally responsible for trying to eliminate the illegal sale of organs and tissue? Should countries be individually responsible for dealing with this matter at their discretion, or should there be an international convention specifically addressing organ trafficking of any kind?
  2. What alternatives are there to an underground international market? How useful would education and awareness programs about organ donation be for helping to reduce illegal organ procurement?
  3. What can the international community do to encourage people not to sell their organs when it might be their only means to feed themselves or their families?
  4. Is this an issue that governments should address? How might such illegal transfers of organs or humans unwillingly designated to be donors be stopped?
  5. At what level should this issue be addressed? Is this strictly a national issue, or is it of international concern?
  6. To what degree can and should the world health agencies like the World Health Organization (WHO)---an agency that does set guiding principles on organ donations and transplants---be responsible for intervening in the matter of organ trafficking, given that the illegal organ trade threatens world health because of its potential to increase spread of disease?