Organization of American States OAS

The Organization of the American States (OAS), along with being one of the major intergovernmental agencies, is the world’s oldest regional organizations. All 35 of the independent states in the Americas are members of this regional body. In particular, this body bases their forums on the following main pillars: ensuring security, fostering development and prosperity, defending human rights, and promoting democracy. The Organization of the American States aims to discuss two urgent topics at the 33rd session of MUNUC, which have sustained their importance on both regional and national discussion forums.

Topic A calls for discussions on the prevention of gender-based violence by safeguarding rights of the most vulnerable populations. Gender-based violence (GBV) has been defined by violence against women solely based on their gender. One of the most alarming concepts of violence against women is the fact that violence does not discriminate against age, geography, nor socio-economic status, leaving all women and girls especially vulnerable to experiencing it. While several Latin American countries have implemented the criminalization of this form of violence, there has been a lack of consistency in enforcing this legislation. Another area of concern is the normalization of these patterns of violence as a result of patriarchal cultural standards. In this session, delegates will cooperate in finding holistic approaches to ending this epidemic of violence, which has been particularly harming women and children in Latin American states.

Topic B addresses environmental governance by Latin American national bodies in response to climate change. There is undeniable evidence that changes in climate due to excessive fossil fuel emission has led to adverse indirect and direct effects, leaving several populations in the Southern hemisphere vulnerable to its impacts. Countries in Latin America are being faced with the challenges of implementing policies that must simultaneously fulfill the following: mitigating the effects of climate change, dealing with concerns over resource degradation, and developing sustainable socio-political frameworks that can maintain these policies. Delegates will hold diplomatic discussions on potential policy changes that will foster sustainable development in light of climate change, all while respecting the sovereignty of the nations in the Americas.

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