Clashes between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and the coalition of Western states have in the past days grown ever more severe. A few days after the United State Congress voted to intensify drone air strikes against the self-proclaimed Caliphate, a series of nearly simultaneous, coordinated terrorist bomb attacks were conducted against the train system of Paris, killing 252. The self-proclaimed Caliphate claimed responsibility for all of the attacks. While France instantly evoked NATO's Article 5, the principle of collective defense, other key NATO members such as the United Kingdom remain far more hesitant fearing that any Western intervention could lead to another prolonged and costly conflict in the Middle East.

Furthermore, given that Russian Federation already operates on the ground in Syria supporting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on whose removal the West insists, putting NATO troops on the ground in Syria next to Russian troops could have disastrous consequences, UK military strategists claim. Germany, seeking to resolve the conflict on an international level rather than behind the closed doors of NATO has summited a Security Council meeting, attempting to include the possibly indispensable Russia in the talks, and hoping for a mutual solution. However, voices within the United States of America remain strongly reminiscent of their Cold-War tune and are reluctant to closely cooperate with Russia. In any case, there can be no doubt about the fact that the role of the upcoming Security Council meeting should be to attempt to resolve the issue of the Islamic State on an international level as this is probably the only viable path to prevent future terrorist attacks and deaths of more Western citizens.

The autumn of 1956 was a period ripe with geopolitical developments and a very busy time for the United Nation’s most important body, the Security Council. In Soviet Union, the Stalinist political system has been dismantled during the Khrushchev Thaw, hence the whole regime has grown less coercive. This led to the yearning for more liberal communism and higher national autonomy within the Eastern Bloc. While Poland, despite the reluctance of the Soviet Union, was able to secure for itself a new, more liberal communist government led by Władysław Gomułka, the uprising starting in Hungary was seen by the Soviet Union as too liberal and possibly posing a threat to the whole Eastern Bloc. The armies of the Warsaw Pact were on standby, waiting for the superpower to decide.

Meanwhile, there was a situation developing on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, in Egypt. The country was governed by a relatively new political establishment that had emerged from the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Its agenda was that of an Arab nationalist, anti-imperial state that preferred non-alignment to any of the Cold War powers. As such, the government decided to nationalize The Suez Canal Company, which was previously owned mainly by British and French stockholders. Great Britain and France, infuriated by the loss of an important strategic location and a financial asset, immediately began negotiating a joint military invasion. Israel, for which the use of the canal was promptly banned by Egypt, was supportive of the European powers’ plans. Yet there was another player, whose position required close attention; potential Soviet involvement would bring an unwanted escalation and potentially increase its influence in the region dramatically.

The autumn of 1956 was therefore a time in the history of Cold War that more than ever before required a very careful juggling of powers’ global and regional interests. If successful, there was a chance to shift geopolitical distribution of influence. If failed, the Cold War could get hot at any time.

Institutional racism, defined as “the collective failure of an organization to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin” [The Macpherson Report, 1999], is an often overlooked and an extremely threatening form of racism. It is still today present in varying levels of explicitness across both the developed and developing world. It ranges from discrimination in intentionally racist post-colonial countries to unfair unavailability of social welfare and protection based on the rule of law for some minorities in the global West. While framework for combatting institutional racism already exists in some form in the United Nations, fastening and improving the process of implementation is crucial to, in words of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, “address the scourge of racism and place the victims at the centre of the efforts of the international community to prevent, combat and eradicate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The hopes of millions of victims are pinned on the implementation of these documents” [United against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, 2012].

In the digital era, when enormous amounts of personal data are always just a simple internet search away, can an individual protect himself from the shackles of their past? A right to be forgotten is an idea mainly developed by the European Union to allow people to develop their lives autonomously and freely of stigmatization based on specific past events concerning them. However, the idea is still vague – mainly, it has not been yet established in cases colliding with freedom of expression. It also raises concerns regarding the possible rewriting of history and thus decreasing the quality and freedom of internet. The United Nations can play a crucial role by taking a stance the merit and practical applicability of this principle.

The situation in the North-African region is unfortunately very unstable at the moment. Yemen is torn apart by civil war and South Sudan is in a similar situation. The UN has fairly successfully engaged in peacekeeping operations in the region, but little or no effective effort has been made to ensure the welfare of the local civilians. Sadly, locals suffer from a shortage of both food and water, basic medicine, and educational opportunities. What should the UN do to tackle these dangerous issues and what can be done in order to create a widely applicable framework for such situations in the future?

Malaria and tuberculosis are some of the best-known killers in today’s world. Comparable in viciousness are also the lesser-known Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Although the danger coming from all of these diseases is undeniable, they are also curable. But the countries most affected by these are often in no economic or political condition to provide sufficient prevention, vaccination, or medical help to those afflicted. As an example, tuberculosis kills 1.3 million people each year. What role can the United Nations play in further reducing the prevalence and the death toll of these diseases beyond the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)?

In this model of ICJ, three fictional cases will be tried and 12 students will participate. Each student will once act as the Applicant, the Defendant and the Judge. Therefore, there will be 4 students for each case as Applicants, 4 Defendants and 4 Judges (+ 1 President represented by the Chair). Every student will prepare two pleadings before the Conference – one for the Applicant and one for the Defendant. Students´ roles in each of the cases will be assigned to them by the organizers before the Conference.

During the Conference, before a case is heard, the 4 students representing a Party will decide who will be the two of them to present their pleading orally to the Court. During the oral presentation, the Judges will pose questions to the Parties, evaluate all the facts and arguments and pronounce the judgement.

States A and B are in an armed conflict. State A destroyed during an airstrike a building where 50 members of state´s B army were present. However, the building lied only 300 metres from a hospital, which was also damaged by the attack and 300 patients and medical staff members were killed and 300 more injured.

The Court will have to decide the question of legality of a strike conducted partly against a civilian object. The Law of Armed Conflicts is mostly embodied in the four Geneva Conventions from 1949 and their Additional Protocols from 1977.

The ambassador of state C in state D is arrested by the police of state D on the basis of suspicion that he smuggles drugs. When his belongings are searched, the original suspicion is not confirmed. However, it is found out that he participated in espionage and transferred information about state´s D defence system. The arrested ambassador then manages to flee to the state C and the state D decides to detain his family members on its territory.

The Court will address the problems of diplomatic immunities, public interest and legitimate reprisals. Important source of law is the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations from 1961.

A citizen of state E commits a terrorist attack in which over 100 people are killed and then flees to the state F. State F is not willing to extradite the perpetrator to state E, which wishes to prosecute him. Furthermore, a member of parliament of state F writes on his public Facebook profile that he approves the terrorist attack. Agents of state E kidnap the perpetrator from state F and put him in a detention.

The Court will consider the problems of universal jurisdiction, state´s responsibility and sovereignty. Custom international law will be an important source.

Territorial disputes in South China Sea have dominated the region for centuries, but it has not been until recent years that the tensions brought this regional problem into international awareness. The clashes concern mainly the Paracel inslands and Spartly islands alongside with other islets, reefs and shoals in the region. Further on in the East China Sea, it also concerns the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Apart from national sovereignty that comes into question, the countries wrangle over this area as it is potentially rich in natural resources (especially gas and oil), it is home to about 8% of the world fishing catches and it presents one of the most important business routes in the world (270 ships pass daily).

China claims the so-called 9-dash-line area with reference to historical background, which is; however, unclear especially due to WW2 when the area was invaded by Japan. Now, the region is home to the conflict between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia and Japan (in East China Sea). Without international discussion, this area could be a target of armed conflict so it is crucial to agree on basic policies regarding the dispute.

As states discuss the prospects of cyber warfare in the UN First Committee, fully autonomous weapon systems pose increasing concern as they have been included in more than 30 states’ statements only in 2015. According to Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, a total of 62 states have spoken on the topic since 2013. United Nations feels the need to create a set of rules to address legal, ethical, political, and humanitarian imperatives. Some states have described the technological progress of developing “killer robots“ as a “risk of crossing a very dangerous threshold.“

The medical and research fields involving organs, tissues and cells are constantly expanding, as technological possibilities develop. Nowadays the global demand for organs is significantly higher than the possible supply. The average waiting time for a suitable transplant is 3,5 years worldwide. The inaccessibility has led to a massive growth of trafficking with the OTC amongst the black market. It is extremely hard to track the market’s extent and evolvement. The overall controversy of the OTC trade and traffic raises important ethical issues. It is crucial to suppress and prevent trafficking within the global market. Yet the only possible way of achieving such goal is through international cooperation. The aim of the human trafficking committee is to raise a debate addressing the possible solutions of this complex issue.

Although often illegal, forced marriages still represent one of the gravest global human trafficking issues. The victims of forced marriages are usually young women from financially problematic backgrounds as well as children, who make up over 25% of people compelled to marry without a sound consent. Recently, victims of forced marriages include an increasing number of mentally disabled individuals powerless to make any rational decision. The aim of the Human Trafficking Committee is to address this momentous problem and try to find possible solutions by raising a debate about topics such as education or a universal minimum age for marriage. The committee will also try to discuss circumstances often met by victims of forced marriage later on, such as sexual, physical or psychological abuse. Areas with the highest concentration of inhabitants getting married without their own approval, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Afghanistan will be paid special attention.

The Arctic: the pristine, immaculate eggshell that caps the tip of the earth and holds unique life, ancient and new. Its hills of ice and snow are receding, making way for cruise ships and offshore oilrigs. Thousands of individuals join to protest and many organizations promise to protect. Nonetheless, preservation does not exactly go hand-in-hand with expansion and exploitation. The melting Arctic may be a temporary economical benefit, but will eventually cause environmental consequences on a global scale. The rising sea level, the release of greenhouse gasses, and the endangerment and extinction of indigenous species are just a few. The Arctic itself lacks an effective environmental governance system to lay down definite, all-encompassing rules, thus intergovernmental consensus must be reached. Sustainable development may be the key, but is it worth the compromise?

For the last 200 years or so, growth in energy consumption has been associated positively with rising levels of prosperity and economic opportunity in large parts of the world. Now, however, humanity finds itself confronting an enormous energy challenge. It has become evident that the current patterns of energy use are environmentally unsustainable. There is an overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels, and this in particular, threatens to change the Earth’s climate to such an extent that could have huge consequences for human and natural systems in the future. At the same time, access to energy continues to divide the ‘haves’ from the ‘have-nots’ – the rich and the poor.

Globally, a large part of the world’s population - at least 1.3 billion people currently live without electricity and 2.6 billion people are without clean cooking facilities. More than 95% of these people are either in sub-Saharan African or developing Asia and 84% are in rural areas. Developing and emerging economies face a significant energy challenge in the 21st century. Access to reliable and affordable energy services is a important to alleviating extreme poverty and meeting other societal development goals and should be one of the main objectives for developing countries. However, access to sustainable modern energy services not only contributes to poverty eradication, improves health and helps provide for basic human needs, but is also essential to social inclusion and gender equality, as well as energy being a key input to production.

As emissions from developing countries are growing rapidly and consequently contributing to climate change and worsening air quality, they also put the health and prosperity of especially people in poor countries at risk. Sustainable energy is necessary to help curb climate change and improve air quality once again. We should be striving towards towards increased energy efficiency and lower-carbon energy sources. Goal 7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. It encourages international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promotes investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology. The main aim is to expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services.

Some people argue that the number of female representatives can, and will affect the outcome of any peace negotiation and others actually think that their presence or absence has no absolute effect or influence on any result of a negotiation. This topic is quite challenging and raises a couple of questions that can be controversial. It may show that women can look at a crisis or at an issue from a different point of view, moreover it sheds light upon the inconceivable social problems of women connected to a certain problem. Meaning that women might try to solve the dilemma during peace negotiations however they might also try to link the solution to a certain complication and by that hit two birds with one stone. And there are quite so many examples and cases like Afghani women who worked hard on presenting their arguments and their opinions in order to pave the path of a better future for all the female individuals in Afghanistan. However, it’s crucial and imperative to bear in mind that the vast majority of these women are sometimes ignored, leaving them with no other choice but to force their opinions and resolutions one way or another. And cases like these leave us with questions like: is enforcing a women’s quota system efficient? Should women form committees that are subjugated to bigger ones in order to echo their opinions and resolutions?

It’s 2016 already and we are hearing about women’s problems more than ever. We are becoming aware of the inequality between men and women, moreover every single day we hear about new problems and issues that demand our attention. Women nowadays suffer things that we thought were long gone. Rape and domestic violence are one of the most complex topics that are actually quite challenging. Moreover, finding a solution can be even more challenging. Furthermore, women face the problems of double standards and misjudgment. Nowadays women are picked for the looks in the majority of interviews, even though people argue that that’s not the case. In addition, women are judged by the way they dress and some are even blamed for whatever happens to them. But the most problematic issue of all is maternity, an issue that is accompanied by several others. Like whether or not breastfeeding in public is ethical or the maternity discrimination, where women are either fired, not hired, or otherwise discriminated against due to their pregnancy. This is all but the tip of the iceberg and those one of the many dilemmas that call for our attention.

Official development aid has, in the recent past, proved insufficient for achieving the amount of financing needed to address global challenges. The need for further and more stable development financing inspired the United Nations and the global community to agree on the merit of „the value of exploring innovative sources of finance provided that those sources do not unduly burden developing countries“ [Monterrey Consensus, 2002]. The potential innovative finance mechanisms are numerous, for example Currency Transaction Levy (CTL) or auctioning of permits to emit greenhouse gases. The time is high to reach a an agreement that could be put into effect, so that the new era of UN development work heralded by the Sustainable Development Goals could profit from a stable stream of the much needed financial support.

The last decade has seen unprecedented growth in the price of basic agricultural commodities. In 2006, corn prices soared by as much as 70% in a matter of months. In 2007, until the end of the first quarter of 2008, rice price more than doubled. In 2010, the FAO price index broke the records, topping the historical highest prices up until then. Although this situation seems to be calming down in the 2010s, the world is still shocked about the levels of volatility in the agricultural commodity market. This volatility significantly threatens the food security especially in developing countries. As some of the factors that contributed to the price spike are often mentioned the speculation in commodity markets, increasing energy prices and demand for biofuel and trade liberalization. Furthermore, the lack of interest in the once successful campaign for improving agricultural technology in the developing world that was known as the Green Revolution has led to stagnating food supply in the world of ever-increasing food demand. Global action is needed to establish safeguards to prevent another food crisis from happening.

Drug trafficking is one of the biggest illegal markets in the world. Even though UN has introduced three major drug control treaties in the last 50 years ( the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs - 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances - 1971, the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances - 1988), which prevent basic illegal trafficking from happening, it is still existing and it's growing. Countries with the biggest heroin flow are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iran, Gulf states, Africa, China, RF, Europe and USA and the biggest cocaine trafficking happens in Latin America, Mexico, USA, Canada, Africa and Europe.

Terrorism continues to pose a major threat to international peace and security and undermines the core values of the United Nations. In addition to the devastating human cost of terrorism, in terms of lives lost or permanently altered, terrorist acts aim to destabilize governments and undermine economic and social development. Addressing this threat is that much more difficult given the complex and constantly evolving nature of terrorist activity. Its motivations, financing, methods of attack and choice of target are constantly changing. Terrorist acts often defy national borders; one act of terrorism can involve activities and actors from numerous countries. Given this complexity, strong coordination and cooperation within national governments and between states and organizations at the regional and international level is essential to effectively combat terrorism, to share best practices and lessons learned and to assist with the investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases.