Background Guides

For a long time, the forests of Central Africa have served as shields, not for states, but for shadows.

One such is Lord’s Resistance Army, which confined its activities to northern Uganda but has continued to survive its military defeats through mere neglect and silence of international fatigue instead of through strength and power. Survival is not an accident but rather its consequence.

Regional anti-LRA strategies have been presented and proven to be military successes on paper: joint task force efforts, intelligence-sharing mechanisms, and joint international efforts approved by this very Council. However, there exists an inherent paradox. How does an LRA that seems so weakened by numbers continue to cause regional instability and chaos and to terrorise by sheer presence alone? It becomes clear that military force alone does not provide an answer.

You are charged with assessing the effectiveness and viability of the current regional strategy. Has the strategy initiated by the African Union been dynamic in its response to the ever-changing nature of the LRA, or has it degenerated into gesture diplomacy? Do military-led strategies treat the symptoms of recruitment, or change the location of the problem? What constitutes the distinction between containing a problem and treating it like an acceptable reality?

Instead of another operational review, this agenda calls for a moral audit. Every year that the LRA continues to exist is a reflection of poor coordination, selective international attention, and the ease with which unresolved atrocities can be rebranded as “low-intensity threats.” Suffering civilians, kidnapped children, devastated villages, and generations of terrified people are signs of systemic failure rather than collateral damage. This Council must decide if the current regional strategy is intended to manage the LRA’s continued existence or to eradicate it.

In an international system marked by shifting power dynamics, rapid technological advancement, and renewed geopolitical tensions, global peace and security face unprecedented challenges. The proliferation of conventional and unconventional weapons, alongside the erosion of trust in multilateral arms control regimes, has intensified the urgency for collective international action. As conflicts grow more complex and weapons more sophisticated, the effectiveness of existing disarmament and non proliferation frameworks is increasingly tested.

Arms control and disarmament treaties have historically played a central role in limiting the spread of weapons, reducing the risk of escalation, and fostering strategic stability. However, gaps in compliance, uneven enforcement, and the emergence of new domains such as cyber warfare, autonomous weapons systems, and space based military capabilities demand a comprehensive reassessment of current global frameworks. The challenge before the international community lies not only in preserving these treaties, but in strengthening, modernising, and adapting them to contemporary security realities.

The United Nations General Assembly First Committee (DISEC) serves as a critical platform for dialogue on issues of international peace, arms regulation, and collective security. Through inclusive deliberation and consensus building, member states must address concerns of sovereignty, security, and equity while advancing shared responsibility for global disarmament and non proliferation.

It is May 3rd, 2043. Just hours ago, a catastrophic explosion ripped through the region of Moquegua, destroying critical infrastructure and claiming civilian lives. You have been called into an emergency session at the heart of Peru to guide the state through a national emergency.

In the years leading up to the event, there was a rapid rise in the demand for critical minerals, which were found in large quantities in the Moquegua region of Peru. To satisfy this demand, Peru sped up its mining activities, relaxing environmental and security standards. Due to its own weaknesses in the region and rising discontent among locals and labors, Peru was taken advantage of by other foreign players who wanted to compromise Peru’s role in mineral supplies. A stealthy cyberattack disrupted the control system of a major mineral processing plant, affecting safety measures. On May 3, 2043, the detonation system at a mining site was remotely triggered out of sequence, resulting in a disaster of over-pressurization and subsequent explosions of chemical and fuel tanks.

What was initially classified as an industrial accident has now been revealed to be a deliberate sabotage, masked as operational failure, after evidence came to light. This explosion caused significant casualties, disrupted national energy supplies, brought mineral exports to a standstill, and sparked diplomatic fallout with regional and global powers, a critical escalation in Peru’s internal and external security crisis.

Now, you are the Council of Advisors to the Republic of Peru. Your task is not limited to crisis management but extends to a strategic response. What you do now will point the way that Peru takes after this disaster. The decisions and resolutions you will make will dictate the way Peru reasserts control over its security, infrastructure, and sovereignty.

Nuclear safety today extends beyond technical safeguards to encompass global security, international law, and humanitarian responsibility. In an era of geopolitical conflict and emerging security threats, the protection of nuclear facilities has become a critical international concern. The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant—site of one of history’s most severe nuclear disasters—continues to require sustained global oversight decades after the catastrophe.

The construction of the New Safe Confinement marked a major achievement in containing radioactive material and reducing long-term environmental and human risks. However, recent conflict conditions have exposed new vulnerabilities, including structural stress, disruptions to maintenance operations, and the proximity of military activity to sensitive nuclear infrastructure. These developments raise urgent questions regarding the adequacy of existing international safety mechanisms and the preparedness of global institutions to respond to nuclear risks in conflict and post-conflict environments.

Ensuring the long-term integrity of the New Safe Confinement demands continuous monitoring, technical reinforcement, and adaptive safety protocols. Equally vital is safeguarding nuclear facilities against military threats, cyber risks, and political instability while maintaining uninterrupted radioactive containment. Any failure would have consequences extending far beyond national borders, posing serious transnational humanitarian, environmental, and security risks.

The International Atomic Energy Agency remains central to coordinating global nuclear safety standards, inspections, and cooperation. Yet evolving conflict dynamics necessitate a reassessment of international oversight frameworks to ensure they remain effective and resilient.

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) stands as the premier international forum for space diplomacy, mandated to ensure the cosmos remains a domain of shared benefit rather than exclusive privilege. In this assembly, delegates must look beyond terrestrial borders and act as true custodians of the global commons. Your mission is to operationalize the Space 2030 Agenda, a visionary framework designed to transform outer space from a theater of geopolitical rivalry into a driver for sustainable development on Earth. This is about harnessing the final frontier to foster global prosperity, ensuring that the scientific and economic benefits of exploration are accessible to all.

You will navigate the intersection of advanced astrophysics and high stakes statecraft. The era where space was the sole playground of superpowers is over, today’s orbit is crowded with emerging nations and private entities. Delegates must engage in strategic discourse aimed at bridging the space divide, the technological gap between established space faring nations and emerging powers. You must negotiate consensus based frameworks that democratize access to critical assets, such as satellite telemetry for climate action and disaster response, ensuring no nation is left behind in this new industrial age.

Challenges revolve around sustainability and equity. As humanity rushes toward the Moon, you must address existential risks like orbital overcrowding, space debris, and the potential weaponization of the heavens. Solutions must be visionary yet enforceable, upholding the principle that space is the province of all mankind. We must ensure the stars remain a legacy for future generations, preserved as a realm of discovery rather than becoming the next battlefield for conflict.

The Americans are bound not only by geography, but by routes carved through jungles, coastlines, ports, and financial systems by networks that do not recognize borders, laws, or sovereignty. Transnational narcotics syndicates and organized crime groups have transformed from scattered cartels into sophisticated parallel powers, exploiting institutional weaknesses, corrupting governance, and thriving in the gaps between states rather than within them. Their influence is no longer confined to violence alone, but instead seeps into elections, economies, law enforcement, and the everyday lives of civilians.

For decades, nations across Latin America have fought this battle largely in isolation, constrained by political sensitivities, mistrust, and asymmetries in capacity. Intelligence is withheld, jurisdictions clash, and responsibility is quietly deflected across borders. The result is a vicious cycle: pressure in one state displaces crime into another, while these networks adapt faster than the institutions meant to stop them. The question is no longer whether cooperation is necessary, but whether states are willing to surrender strategic comfort for collective security.

Join us at CMSMUN 2026, as this body of the Organization of American States confronts an uncomfortable truth: transnational crime cannot be defeated by national effort alone. Delegates must examine how multilateral security cooperation can move beyond symbolism into enforceable action without eroding state sovereignty, militarizing civilian spaces, or ignoring the social conditions that sustain these networks. The challenge before you is stark, continue addressing an interconnected threat through fragmented and patchwork responses, or redefine regional security ambitions before organized crime outpaces the authority of the state.

In today’s world, where communication and information are largely digital, governments rely heavily on surveillance technologies to protect national security. In 2013, public disclosures revealed that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting large amounts of phone and internet data, including information from ordinary citizens. These revelations raised serious concerns about privacy, government transparency, and whether such surveillance respected constitutional rights. The issue quickly became a major national and international debate, affecting public trust in government institutions and relations with other countries.

The NSA disclosures highlighted weaknesses in existing laws and oversight systems meant to regulate intelligence activities. While intelligence agencies play an important role in preventing terrorism and protecting national security, surveillance conducted without clear limits or accountability can threaten civil liberties and democratic values. Many of the laws governing surveillance were written before modern digital technologies existed, making them ill-suited to address mass data collection, online communication, and global information sharing. Policymakers therefore face the challenge of updating these laws to reflect technological change while ensuring that individual rights are protected.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is responsible for reviewing the actions of government agencies and ensuring accountability. In this context, the Committee must examine how surveillance programs were approved, whether oversight mechanisms were effective, and what reforms are needed. This includes reviewing intelligence laws, improving transparency, and strengthening checks and balances to prevent misuse of power.

Join us at the CMS MUN 2026, where delegates gather in the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to discuss legislative reform and intelligence accountability following the 2013 NSA surveillance disclosures, working toward solutions that protect both national security and the fundamental rights of citizens in the digital age.

For a nation as diverse and dynamic as India, democracy is upheld not only through constitutional institutions but through the responsible exercise of power, speech, and governance. As the world’s largest democracy, India’s political framework is built upon a delicate balance between individual liberties, institutional accountability, and federal cooperation, each increasingly tested in a rapidly evolving socio-political environment.

In recent years, the rise of digital media, polarised narratives, and trial by media has reignited national debate on hate speech, freedom of expression, and the State’s role in regulating public discourse. While free speech and an independent press remain pillars of democracy, unchecked misinformation, sensationalism, and prejudicial reporting risk undermining social harmony, judicial integrity, and public trust. The challenge before Parliament lies in ensuring effective oversight and regulation without eroding constitutional freedoms or democratic dissent.

Alongside these concerns, questions surrounding India’s federal structure have gained renewed prominence. With expanding central legislation, fiscal dependencies, and administrative oversight, apprehensions have emerged over whether states are gradually losing autonomy within the cooperative federal framework envisioned by the Constitution. This debate is not one of fragmentation, but of equilibrium preserving national unity while safeguarding the legislative, administrative, and financial independence of states.

Together, these issues demand nuanced parliamentary deliberation, constitutional foresight, and political maturity. The Lower House of Parliament must navigate the fine line between regulation and restraint, unity and autonomy, authority and accountability without compromising the democratic ethos of the Republic.

Join us at the CMS MUN 2026, where delegates step into the Lower House of Parliament of India to deliberate on India’s approach to regulation and oversight of hate speech and trial by media, and reviewing the federal structure to assess whether states are losing autonomy, engaging in rigorous debate on the challenges shaping India’s democratic future.

You are seated at the world’s highest judicial forum as a case unfolds that tests the boundary between international law and national security. It is 8 May 2017. Just days ago, India approached the International Court of Justice, seeking urgent relief in Jadhav (India v. Pakistan) after a Pakistani military court sentenced Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav to death on charges of espionage and terrorism.

At the heart of the dispute lies Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. India argues that Pakistan has denied consular access to its national, violating binding international obligations. Pakistan, on the other hand, believes the charges against Jadhav are of national security and espionage in nature, and therefore, the matter falls beyond the scope of conventional consular protections. The Court is not asked to determine guilt, but rather to decide whether international law has been breached and to determine the appropriate remedies.

The urgency is undeniable. Execution remains a possibility, diplomatic efforts have failed, and provisional measures are being evaluated to prevent irreversible harm. The Court must weigh sovereignty against treaty commitments, and judicial restraint against the consequences of inaction. Every decision will reverberate beyond the immediate parties.

As proceedings unfold, every argument presented and every question posed will shape the legal precedent to be used in similar cases for the future, highlighting the Court’s role in ensuring that justice prevails even at times of diplomatic politics.

Join us at CMSMUN 2026, as delegates step into the International Court of Justice to determine whether the rule of law can prevail when diplomacy fails and national security claims challenge the limits of international justice.

The International Press serves as the definitive voice of the Model United Nations, bearing a responsibility that goes beyond simple observation. As the vigilant fourth estate, it ensures the complex world of diplomacy remains transparent. In this committee, you are the bridge between the intense debates inside the room and the public sphere. Your job is to cut through diplomatic jargon and reveal the reality of international relations. You are here to challenge the official narrative, scrutinizing if the policies being discussed are truly for the greater good or if they are just empty promises serving personal interests.

Reporters here are not merely taking notes, they are investigators. Your duty is to dig deep into proceedings, asking tough questions about whether a resolution is practical and pointing out when delegates contradict themselves. This role requires a sharp mind to distinguish between a rehearsed speech and real progress. You must look past the podium to understand the strategies at play, ensuring that the truth is not just recorded, but actively chased down and reported accurately.

The visual team captures the raw atmosphere that words alone cannot convey. Photographers show the human side of politics, their lens freezes the raw moments, documenting everything from the exhaustion of late night negotiations to the relief of a final agreement. Meanwhile, Caricaturists utilize political satire. By sketching the unique ironies of the room, they provide witty commentary that keeps egos in check. This artistic side is vital, reminding us that authority needs humility and that a single image can often speak clearer than a thousand words.

Join us at CMS MUN 2026 to take on this vital watchdog role. We invite you to an arena where your words and images hold power,where you do not just watch history happen, but shape how it is remembered. Come be the voice of truth, challenge the narrative, and immortalize the spirit of diplomacy through your lens and pen.