The president is the "head" of the state. He is the one who gets to approve or disapprove in anything that is related to the state of Sri Lanka. The president is usually elected every six years by the Universal Adult Suffrage. The Universal Adult Suffrage is an organization that gives the people the right to vote to whom THEY want to be president. Without looking to their race, color, sex, or economic or social status. In which they are the ones who give the country a president of its own. The president may dissolve the parliament after 12 months after he is elected to be president. The president can be re-elected again, which means that the total amount of years for a president to rule the country is for 12 years in total. The Parliamentary System of Sri Lanka is democratic socialist republic. The two main political parties are the United National Party and the Sri Lankan Freedom Party.

There are many struggles between the president and the Prime Minister, where both have different decisions and different ideas for Sri Lanka. The president has part of the ministers with him, on his side, but the prime minister has more ministers on his side, which means that the Sri Lankan parliament is suffering from a division of the candidates and ministers in it, which also leads to having a bigger problem in the country (other than the civil war).

An island in the Indian Ocean off the southeast tip of India, Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is about half the size of Alabama. Sri Lanka is a small island in the Indian Ocean of 65,000 square kilometers. Many of the major shipping routes through the Indian Ocean lie very close to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has a population of 18.5 million, a tropical climate, lush green forests and rich history.

Even though most of the land is not easily cultivated, the natural resources of Sri Lanka are chiefly agricultural. The mineral deposits of the country are limited. About 29% of Sri Lanka's land area is under cultivation. Tea accounts for about 1/4 of the country's export earning even though it covers only 12% of the cultivated acreage. In the early 1990's, tea, rubber, and coconuts together made up nearly 35% of Sri Lanka's export earnings.

Rice is a really heavy use of water and is the basic food of the people and the island's principal crop. More acreage is devoted to the cultivation of rice than to any other crop. Mostly cultivated for private consumption, vegetables are grown in small amounts. Sugar, wheat, and rice are imported in considerable quantities.

Animal husbandry is of comparatively little importance to the economy of Sri Lanka. The island contains about 1.6 million cattle, 896,000 buffaloes, 503,000 goats, and 9 million chickens. Pigs and sheep are also raised.

Other natural resources of Sri Lanka include limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, and hydropower.

Sri Lanka has a very diverse culture. The population of Sri Lanka is 20,222,240, which is the 53rd largest population in the world. Altogether since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and the armed Tamil nationalists in the middle of the 1980s some hundred thousand Tamil civilians have left Sri Lanka and over 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West.

Sri Lanka is also ethnically diverse. The Sinhalese make up 74% of the population. Most Sinhalese live in the densely populated southwest of Sri Lanka. Their main language is Sinhala, which is also Sri Lanka’s official and national language. The Sinhalese language and religion, Buddhism, sets them apart from the main ethnic minority of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Tamils. The Sri Lanka Tamils make up 12% of the population. The Tamils live in the north and east. Their main language is Tamil, which is only Sri Lanka’s national language and it is spoken by 18% of the population. Minority ethnic groups include Muslims, both Moors and Malays; Indian Tamils; Burghers, who are descendants of European colonists. The main languages in Sri Lanka are Sinhala and Tamil. English is used in the government and is spoken by 10% of the population and is widely understood.

Sri Lanka is a religiously diverse country; the main religion is Theravada Buddhism. Most of the population, approximately 69.1% is Buddhists. Other religions in Sri Lanka include Hinduism, which is practiced by 15% of the population; Islam is practiced by 7.6%; and Christianity is practiced by 7.2%. Sri Lanka is the country with the longest continuous history of Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism has been the major religion in Sri Lanka ever since Venerable Mahinda, a Buddhist monk and the son of the Indian Emperor Ashoka, introduced it to Sri Lanka in 2ND century B.C during the reign of Sri Lanka’s King Devanampiyatissa. The King converted to Buddhism and the royal family encouraged the spread of Buddhism by helping Buddhist missionaries and building monasteries. It has been the official religion of Sri Lanka since 200 BC However, afterwards Hindu and European colonial influences helped the decline of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. But by the middle of the 19Th. century, Gunananda, a Buddhist monk, started a renewal movement in Sri Lanka to bring back Buddhism. The movement ultimately helped the return of Buddhist dominance in Sri Lanka.

Thread Buddhism promotes the concept of Vibhajjavada, the "Teaching of Analysis." This principle states that insight must come from the candidate’s experience, critical investigation, and reasoning instead of by blind faith. However, the book of the Theravadin tradition also stresses the importance of listening to the advice of the wise, which are considered to be elders. According to the Four Noble Truths, the Theravada goal is liberation and freedom from suffering. You can become liberated from suffering when you achieve Nirvana, also known as Unbinding. Nirvana also ends the repeated cycle of birth, old age, sickness and death.

This effects the non-Tamil society because they are influenced by the Buddhists way of thinking and by their meditation techniques. Many Sinhalese are very religious and use Buddhist principals in their daily lives. They take advise from the elders and respect them and they also meditate daily so they can achieve valuable insight on themselves and so that they can get a better understanding of the concepts of Dhamma, which is the teachings of the Buddha.

The GDP (gross domestic product) grew at an annual rate of about 5.5% in the 1990s, but due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife, 2001 saw the first contraction in the country’s history by 1.4%. Following the 2002 cease-fire and subsequent economic reforms, the economy grew more rapidly, recording growth rates of 6.0% in 2003 and 5.4% in 2004.

Sri Lanka's most dynamic divisions of its economy now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 1970, plantation crops made up 93% of exports. It dropped to a 15% in 2003, while textiles and garments accounted for 63% of exports. Exports in Sri Lanka account for $6.442 billion f.o.b. (free on board). Some other export commodities include textiles and apparel, tea and spices, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, coconut products, rubber manufactures, and fish. The following countries heavily depend on Sri Lanka’s exports: the US (30.9%), the UK (11.6%), India (6.9%), Belgium (4.8%), and Germany (4.5%).

Imports account for $8.37 billion f.o.b. in Sri Lanka. Some import commodities include textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery, and transportation equipment. There are quite a few import partners in cooperation with Sri Lanka. These include the following: India (16.8%), China (10.5%), Singapore (7.6%), Iran (5.8%), and Hong Kong (4.8%).

The service sector is the largest component of GDP (54%). In 2003, the service sector continued its strong expansion, fueled primarily by strong growth in telecom, tourism, and financial services. Public administration and defense expenditures have remained steady. Earnings of Sri Lankans working abroad continued to be strong. There also is a small but growing information technology sector, especially information technology training and software development and exports. Manufacturing accounts for about 16% of GDP. The textile, apparel, and leather products sector is the largest, accounting for 44% of total industrial output. The second-largest industrial sector, at 24% of total manufacturing output, is food, beverages, and tobacco. The third-largest industrial sector is chemical, petroleum, rubber, and plastic products. Agriculture has lost its importance to the Sri Lankan economy in recent decades. It accounts for 20.1% of GDP and provides employment to 33% of the working population. Rice, the staple cereal, is cultivated extensively. The plantation sector consists of tea, rubber, and coconut; in recent years, the tea crop has made significant contributions to export earnings and saw production slightly decrease in 2003. Tea prices have remained stable. The construction sector accounts for 7.4% of GDP and mining and quarrying 1.8%. In recent years, the government has eliminated many price controls and quotas or shares, reduced tariff levels, eliminated most foreign exchange controls, and sold more than 55 state-owned companies and 20 estate-holding companies.

Sri Lanka’s economy faces many challenges. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. The future of Sri Lanka's economic health is uncertain but is primarily dependent on continued tsunami relief and reconstruction, political stability, continuation of the peace process, and continued policy reforms, particularly in the area of fiscal discipline and direct management. Completion of major reforms in the civil service and education sectors and more disciplined spending and improved revenue collection would help generate stronger economic growth. If export orientation strengthens, weaknesses in government will have less impact on growth.

Sri Lanka has a wide militant group, like the Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, and the Sri Lankan Air Force. All these forces and militants are used for Sri Lanka and used against Sri Lanka, meaning that some are used in the Civil war 5they are having, and in the Civil Wars they used to have. $606.2 million is the amount of money paid for the militants. Which means that the range of this money is over enlarged. This money should be stopped at once.   2.6% of all Sri Lankan money is used for the army, and the US (which is known for their unique army, uses 5% only). Knowing that the war between the Tamils and the Sinhalese started at 1983 and ended at 2001 then was renewed again, which lead to the death of more than 65,000 people of Sri Lanka. Until now, no changes had occurred, meaning that they can not defeat the Tamils, knowing that more than 74 million Tamils all over the world, who can defend their pride and country.

The Tamils are getting use of being in an Island between many countries, which leads to have those many countries send all the money and weapons needed to the Tamils. That’s the main reason for having the Tamils fight and destroy.

Sri Lanka traditionally follows a nonaligned foreign policy but has been seeking closer relations with the United States since December 1977. It participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations, where it seeks to promote sovereignty, independence, and development in the developing world. Sri Lanka was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The Non-Aligned Movement, or NAM, is an international organization of over 100 states which consider themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. The purpose of the organization as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979 is to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their "struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, racism, including Zionism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics". It also is a member of the Commonwealth, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, and the Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while also stressing the importance it places on regionalism by playing a strong role in SAARC.

The term "Non-Alignment" itself was coined by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during his speech in 1954 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In this speech, Nehru described the five pillars to be used as a guide for Sino-Indian relations, which were first put forth by the contemporary Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.

Called Panchsheel, these principles would later serve as the basis of the Non-Aligned

Movement.The world's "non-aligned" nations declared their desire not to become involved in the East-West ideological confrontation of the Cold War. Bandung marked a significant milestone for the development of NAM as a political movement. The founding fathers of the NAM were five prominent world leaders: Nehru of India, Tito of Yugoslavia, Sukarno of Indonesia, Nasser of Egypt and Nkrumah of Ghana. Their actions were known as The Initiative of Five.

The history of the Sinhala people began when an Indian prince named Vijaya and his followers arrived on the island. When the prince arrived, there were already people, known as Yakshas, living there. Vijaya then married Kuveni, the queen of the Yakshas, who gave birth to a son and daughter. Buddhism arrived from India in the 2ND century BC when the Buddhist monk Mahinda, son of the Buddhist Indian Emperor, was sent to Sri Lanka on a missionary to convert the Sinhalese King Devanampiyatissa at Mihintale. Subsequently, the Sinhalese people became Buddhists. The presence of Tamil-speaking people in the island is mentioned in the history of the island, but it is not certain when they arrived.

The 12Th. century is considered Sri Lanka’s "golden age" because the Sinhalese King, Parakrama Bahu I, united the whole island under his rule. The King also invaded India and Burma

The colonial rule began when the Portuguese arrived on the island in 1505. When the Portuguese first arrived, the island was made up of three kingdoms: Yarlpanam in the north, Kandy in the central hills, and Kotte on the Western Coast. The Portuguese captured most of the coastal regions of the island but were not able to conquer the center, hilly section despite many battles. This section remained an independent kingdom with its capital in Kandy.

The Dutch arrived in the 17Th. Century and after the battle with the Portuguese, gained control of the Portuguese territory. In 1796, Great Britain replaced the Dutch. In 1802, the coastal regions became a crown colony. In 1815, the Kandian Kingdom fell to the British after a rebellion by the Kandyan aristocracy against the King. In 1818, for administrative purposes, the British united the kingdom with the ‘low country’ Kingdom.

A fight for independence followed, with rebellions against the British rule starting from 1817 and slowly gained momentum during the next century, and continued to intensify in the 1930s when the Youth Leagues opposed the "Ministers’ Memorandum" which asked the British to increase the Powers of Ministers instead of moving towards independence.

The British found that the high lands of Sri Lanka were perfect for coffee, tea, and rubber cultivation, and by the mid 19Th. century Ceylon tea became a principle in the British Market and brought great wealth to a small class of white tea planters. The white tea planters brought large numbers of Tamil workers as "indentured laborers" from south India to work in the plantation economy. These Tamil workers soon made 10% of the island’s population and they had to work in slave-like conditions and to live in line room. However, through hard work, they worked themselves out of this position. They’re resented by the Sinhalese as intruders brought by a foreign power.

The pressure for independence increased following the role played by Ceylon during World War II. After the War, in 1948, the island became independent of the British and became a Commonwealth realm under the name Ceylon. Later, in 1972, the island became a republic within the Commonwealth and the name was changed from Ceylon to Sri Lanka.

In the early 1980s, in the northeast region of the island, an ongoing war broke out between the Sri Lankan government and the terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In 2002, a cease-fire was announced but it has slowly broke down and discontinuous fighting has started again.

Policy Statements:

Commission: Disarmament: Fawwaz Al-Khaled

Issue 1. The Arms Race in Space:

Sri Lanka thinks that no country in the world can have that kind of "technology". It is affecting the people, and changing their life style. in which the privacy the people had will never be the same, because any of the countries that are racing in arms can just put the satellites on towards that specific person at any time THEY want. Sri Lanka is not against the new technology that is happening, but against how it is used. The Arms race in Space include the space-ships that are going back and forth, and the billions and billions of dollars that are used every year, for exploring things that are known in history books a long time ago. Again, Sri Lanka is not against the NASA perhaps, but is again against the "performances" that are happening these days from some countries in our world. Meaning that LOTS and LOTS of things are happening for no such reason. Weapons and missiles are another type of arms in space. Where people are dying for no such reasons, in Sri Lanka, we are trying our best to stop all the eduction and "wars" that are happening in our land, but what is the outside world doing?

Again, Sri Lanka is with all development and technologies that MAKE SENCE. Things like curing some types of cancer or building a new type of hospital are the desperate meanings for development that are needed in our world right now, and not any other thing. The developing nations are nations who have factories, a n economy that is rising by the minute, a nation who its people work in agriculture, business, and can work in anything they can get hold of. But other nations do not. Sri Lanka is developing, but it may take time to such countries. If those countries were developing, then who gives the right to "non develping" countries to interfere? But again, they interfere if they see that a country is losing its money for something that is not that important, something that has no meaning, or something useless. It is THEIR money, we have no right on it, but we do have the right of the speech and lecture we give to such countries.

Weapons seem to be spreading out everywhere. Which means that there are some problems in the markets that are selling those weapons, with or without a license. Some weapons in some areas can create civil wars, like the ones in Sri Lanka. Others may lead to murder, and Brazil is the number one country in the world to have that happen in their country. Weapons may also create the imagination of destruction in a child's mind, which can also lead to terrorism.

Many treaties and organizations have been "created" over the years, but again, no use. We can never stop listening to the news, when broadcast that this organization has formed, and that treaty had been signed...We know that they are trying their best, but it seems that their best is not enough. Problems lee these need years and years to work on one treaty only, but it seems that the treaties formed take a couple of months, or maybe weeks only. Time wasting is a problem that we are facing in treaties. Where some organizations and countries watch the dumbest details on the most important treaties of our lives, just to stop peace from occurring. But it is not their faults, it's the leader's/president’s fault. Who is giving them the time and freedom of doing what they are doing right now.

Sri Lanka believes that great attention should be given to the circumstances created by armed conflict. This includes the millions of war-affected children and their families being forced to flee their homes, to be displaced within their countries or crossing borders as refugees. During armed conflicts, children and women also face a heightened risk of rape, sexual humiliation, prostitution and other forms of gender-based violence, which are downplayed as an unfortunate but inevitable side effect of war. Children are increasingly participating in war as combatants, and government or rebel armies are deliberately recruiting them. Both during and after conflicts, children remain exposed to the dangers of landmines and millions of pieces of unexploded ordnance - bombs, shells and grenades that fail to detonate on impact.

The facts according to the UNICEF state that an estimated 20 million children have been forced to flee their homes because of conflict and human rights violations, more than 2 million children have died as a direct result of armed conflict over the last decade, and at least 6 million children have been permanently disabled or seriously injured. Moreover, more than 1 million have been orphaned or separated from their families, between 8,000 and 10,000 children are killed or maimed by landmines every year and finally an estimated 300,000 child soldiers - boys and girls under the age of 18 - are involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide. This shows that there is a serious crisis in our hands involving the dangers of a child in armed conflicts. As for the women, they are being sexually exposed to harassment in armed conflicts, which caused widely spread diseases to spread even more, according to the World Health Organization.

The International law in the Geneva Convention prohibits the recruitment of children under the age of 18 by non-state armed groups, and all participation of children in active hostilities; the recruitment of children under the age of 15 is now considered a war crime. Sri Lanka would like to recognize the Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations General Assembly, which formed the Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict, and would like to thank them on their efforts.

You would think that as time goes on, there would be more equality between men and women. Unfortunately, trends are moving in the other direction.As Amnesty International also points out, "Governments are not living up to their promises under the Women's Convention to protect women from discrimination and violence such as rape and female genital mutilation." There are many governments who have also not ratified the Convention, including the U.S. Many countries that have ratified it do so with many reservations.

Moreover, it is a proven fact that women work more than men but are paid less. According to the Inter Press Service, "On a global scale, women cultivate more than half of all the food that is grown. In sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, they produce up to 80% of basic foods. In Asia, they account for around 50% of food production. In Latin America, they are mainly engaged in subsistence farming, horticulture, poultry, and raising small livestock." These women who work much harder when men are barely recognized and sometimes even unpaid. "Ukraine has eclipsed Latin America as the top exporter of women into international trafficking", reported the Digital Freedom Network.

It is often argued that women are the main care givers in the society, and are less aggressive than men. Feminists argue that women could counter-balance a male dominated world, which is characterized by aggression in attitude, thoughts, and society, and, ultimately, war. Moreover, the rights of women have been strongly neglected in armed conflicts. They are usually sexually harassed and abused by soldiers in armed conflicts in war. They also use prostitution to "encourage" their soldiers in combat, according to the article on Lack of Women’s rights.

Discrimination against migrant workers (which are usually women these days) in the field of employment takes many forms. These include exclusions or preferences as regards the types of jobs, which are open to migrants, and difficulty of access to vocational training. These workers work to earn money to usually send back to their country to support their families.

Article 25, paragraph 1, of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families establishes that "Migrant workers shall enjoy treatment not less favorable than that which applies to nationals of the State of employment in respect of remuneration" and other conditions of work and terms of employment. Paragraph 3 of the same article requires States parties to take all appropriate measures to ensure that migrant workers are not deprived of these rights. However, female workers such as maids have faced violations of their rights. According to the Human Rights Watch, some female workers are also exposed to sexual harassment when working abroad.

Sadly, the world has continued to neglect this very important issue. Women continue to be trafficked and abused. However, certain actions have been taken towards this issue and Sri Lanka would like to show its gratitude to Kenya and China. This is because in 1985 there was a conference in Nairobi, Kenya to formulate strategies for advancing women’s rights. This was followed by a plan of action defined in 1995, in Beijing, China. Sri Lanka hopes that the United Nations will truly see the major conflict that our world faces today towards the derelict rights of women.

In April 2004, the New Yorker magazine revealed the "systematic and illegal abuse of detainees," including torture and degrading treatment, by US interrogators and guards at Abu Ghraib prison, outside Baghdad. Since then, many reports have established US mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners, and published hundreds of gruesome photographs taken by prison guards. These reports (some produced by the Pentagon) have exposed the widespread abuse and torture of detainees and a number of deaths under detention and interrogation, as well as the hiding of prisoners from International Committee of the Red Cross inspectors.

World public opinion has condemned the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers as a war crime and a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions. Washington has attributed the events to "bad apples" and failed to accept responsibility or to hold seriously accountable mid- and high-level military officers and civilian officials even though these people had established policies and issued orders that led directly to the abuses. Military courts have only tried and charged low-ranking individuals.

Each year, some 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide, according to the United Nations. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe estimates that 200,000 individuals are trafficked annually from Eastern Europe, a significant proportion being children. Some become unpaid domestic servants, or work in sweatshops, but many more-boys, girls, teenagers-are forced into prostitution and crime.

The global increase in poverty is most evident in eastern Europe, rising from 1 million to 24 million people between 1987 and 1998-defined as those forced to live on less than $2 a day. The percentage of the population below the poverty line is 30 percent in Albania and over 44 percent in Romania, according to the CIA World Factbook. According to the French Human Rights Organization, Albania is the county most involved in the sex trade, with women and children being lured to go to the West with false promises of marriage, jobs or education. When they get there, there is no husband, no job and no education. Alone in a foreign land without any means of support, violence and coercion ensure they are soon earning money for their new "owners."

According to Amnesty International’s 2005 report on world poverty, poverty is one of the main causes for human trafficking. Because some people have so little or no money, they are forced to travel abroad and work in different nations around the world to earn a living. Most people come from third-world countries (poor countries) and work abroad. Poverty causes human trafficking, which in return causes some violation of human rights. Females who work abroad are sexually abused and are sometimes forced into prostitution. This includes teenagers who deal with drugs for some money. Human trafficking has indeed become a foremost disturbing issue which should have attention given to.

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 1984, based on Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which provide that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment entered into force in 1987, seeking to make the struggle against torture more effective. Moreover, the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War is also one of the main conventions working on this issue.

A public school is a government-funded primary or secondary school. Public education, in most countries, is available to all the population. The funding for public schools comes from tax revenues; therefore even the people who don’t go to school help certify that the society is educated. That is the reason why countries that require the population to pay a high tax usually have good public schools that are better than private schools. For example, the United States, who require their citizens to pay a high tax, have excellent public schools. Countries who do not require their citizens to pay tax usually have bad public schools and their citizens opt to go to private schools if they can afford it. In most countries, it is obligatory for all children to attend school up to a certain age. But, in poverty stricken societies, authorities are negligent on compulsory school attendance because the children in those countries are important workers.

Article 26, sub-clause1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit." In most countries, public schools are free. However, students have to pay for schoolbooks, uniforms, field trips, and many other things that some families cannot afford to pay for. Therefore, in many countries, families decide not to send their children to school because they cannot afford to pay those fees and instead send their children to work.

Sri Lanka believes that education is the key to a better future. In Sri Lanka, the literacy rate is 96% because of our country’s free education system. Sri Lanka believes that all countries should have a free education system so that families would be able to send their children to school. In addition to free education, countries should provide the students with FREE uniforms, FREE books, and FREE food instead of paying for the food in the cafeteria. With education, the percentage of poverty will reduce and under developed countries will slowly become developed countries. Moreover, they will be educated on HIV/AIDS and will know how to prevent themselves from getting HIV/AIDS.

Every minute of every day, a child is affected with HIV, also known as the human immunodeficiency virus. AIDS, also known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is a "collection of symptoms and infections in humans resulting from the specific damage to the immune system by the human immunodeficiency virus." Since its recognition in 1981, AIDS has killed over 25 million people which makes it one of the most destructive epidemics in history. The AIDS epidemic has infected between 2.8 million to 3.6 million lives in 2005, an average if 8,500 per day. More than half a million of those infected, around 570,000, were children.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDs estimates that in the Middle East and North Africa, 67,000 people were infected with HIV in only 2005; roughly 58,000 adults and children died from the disease in 2005. Moreover, it is estimated that about 510,000 people are living with HIV in the region. No country in the Middle East and North Africa does methodical and organized surveys of groups at high risk of infection. That is the reason why UNAIDS estimates that the total number people with HIV/AIDS in the region can lie within a wide range of possible cases, from 200,000 to 1.4 million people. Furthermore, merely 5% of Middle Easterners and North Africans who need anti-retroviral treatment receive it. The assumption of low rates of infection has made governments think that disease is an unimportant problem according to a 2003 World Bank report on HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa. Most government in the Middle East and North Africa are met with pressing housing, employment, and education problems that HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment is a low priority. Other governments think that social and cultural conservatism will prevent an HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, the report says "low prevalence does not equate to low risks." HIV/AIDS transmission shows that "once infection rates exceed a certain threshold, the virus spread very fast, sometimes increasing by as much as tenfold in five years" just like what has happened in numerous southern African countries.

Sri Lanka believes that this is an alarming issue because people are getting infected with HIV and they don’t even know it. There are four ways a person can get infected with HIV:
a. By a blood transfusion,
b. By sexual intercourse,
c. Transfusion from an infected mother to her baby at birth,
d. By sharing needles,

Sri Lanka believes that the Middle Eastern and North African countries should do surveys of how many groups are infected and provide centers for their citizens to go and get tested to see if they have HIV/AIDS. Also, these centers should explain what are HIV/AIDS and should educate the people on how to prevent getting HIV/AIDS. Middle Eastern and North African countries should also provide anti-retroviral treatment to people who need it.

Article 26, sub-clause 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace." Educating prisoners is a good way to make them understand human rights and be tolerant to people of other races, religions, or countries. It will help them understand why they were imprisoned for what they did. Hugo Rangel, a researcher at the International Watch on Education in Prison says, "education in prison must not be conceived as mere skills for jobs but as a path to personal empowerment, enhanced citizenship and better health. Non-formal, innovative approaches must be used." Education in prison empowers prisoners to believe that they have a future after the time they spend in prison. It escalates their confidence and makes them feel as if they accomplished something in the time they spent in prison.

Introducing physical labor to prisoners is a way that helps them maintain their health and muscles. Prisoners spend most of their time sitting in cells so physical labor will make them not feel weak. It helps them to not look as if they are spending time in prison; it helps them look like normal human beings. Physical labor is very important for a person’s health and with exercise the heart will work better, more oxygen can be reached to the lungs, prisoners will have more energy, and they would be able to maintain a healthy weight.

Sri Lanka believes that education is a life long process. You start learning from the day you are born to the day that you die. Education is the right of any human being as said in Article 26, sub-clause 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sri Lanka believes that physical labor is important for prisoners so that they can maintain their health and for them to develop muscles. Sri Lanka believes that at least practical education should be given to prisoners and physical labor, like playing basketball, soccer, bicycling, and running should be provided to prisoners so that they can get healthy if they aren’t and preserve their health.

Developing a standardized international disease outbreak control plan is crucial since new diseases are being discovered and people are dying because of it. For example, the bird flu pandemic that started in 2004; the HIV/AIDS pandemic that started in 1981 and still no cure has been found for it; the SARS disease outbreak. SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome first appeared in November 2002 in China and was first reported in February 2003. The illness quickly spread too more than two dozen countries in Asia, North America, South America, and Europe before the SARS global outbreak of 2003 was contained. Approximately 8098 people became sick with SARS during the 2003 outbreak and 774 of these people died because of it according to the World Health Organization. However, in May 2005, the disease was declared to be eradicated by the WHO. SARS became the second disease to ever receive this label, the first was smallpox.

Sri Lanka believes that it is quite alarming that only two diseases were declared eradicated. Sri Lanka believes that developing a standardized international disease outbreak control plan is very important so that the world will know what to do and will be prepared to fight a disease whenever a disease epidemic starts again.

Resolution

Affirming that the US Secretary of Defense has begun to restructure the operation of US space programs, and to create a commission, AND this commission is to assess United States National Security Space management and Organization,

Reaffirming to the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, in which it is stated that in order to prevent an arms race in outer space further measures should be taken and appropriate international negotiations held in accordance with the spirit of the treaty, 

Noting that in June 28Th., 2002, The Chinese and Russian delegations submitted their work on decreasing the arms in space to the UN, but when the United States of America read the submitted work, the country started moving against it. In which the United States sees no such need for a new outer space, and opposes the idea of negotiating a new outer space treaty,

Defining that the arms race in space is a competition between two or more countries for military supremacy: Each country competes to produce larger numbers of weapons, greater armies, or superior military technology in technological environment,  

Knowing that not all countries are having a part of the arms race in space, but most developed countries are. The US, UK, Canada, China, Japan, Russia, and many other countries are,

Understanding that this has led to an increase in anger against such countries,

Knowing that some countries believe that this is the only one option for nations that feel unsecured by other countries, meaning that those countries buy to get the protection they need by increasing arm purchases, 

Recalling that satellites can be part of the arms race in space.

1. Affirms the formation of the United Nation’s Arms in Space Organization (UNASO),

2. Resolves that (UNASO) will be doing the following:
a) Place representatives in each country that follows the agreement,
b) Build a branch in each country that signs this resolution,
c) Have its headquarters in Paris, France,
d) Accept monthly reports from all the branches (which will be sent to France),
e) Go to destroy areas in the countries, and check weather the country is following the rules and regulations; if not, consequences will be given to the country,
f) Track devices and weapons and space ships; in which we will check the destinations,
g) As for the weapons and ships that will be sent, they will be checked at first, then will be processed to France, then they will be confirmed to weather to go or not;

3. Further resolves that there will be an annual meeting of the heads of each branch in the world, and then the following will be discussed:
a) Discuss the achievements of the branch,
b) Discuss what is wrong, incorrect or any UN-improvements happening in their own branch,
c) Discuss or solve any problems that need to be solved,
d) Discuss ways or solutions to improve the nation's race in space;

4. Confirms that there are many treaties that are still not formed, even though they have everything needed in them, like: 
a) Treaty of Banning Space Weapons,
b) Outer Space Arms Control Proposals Treaty,
c) The international Global Treaty of Arms Race in Space.

Defining an environmental disaster as a natural occurrence which causes deaths, environmental destruction, and economic loses,

Expressing its appreciation towards United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and people to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations,

Distressed about the fact that over 300,000 people were resettled because of the Chernobyl disaster; millions lived and continue to live in the contaminated area, and caused previous birth defects and intake of contaminated air into the lungs of many innocents,

Recalling the The Dust Bowl incident in the United States, which was the result of a series of dust storms in the central United States and Canada from 1931 to 1939, caused by decades of inappropriate farming techniques, with buffalo herds that fertilized the soil displaced by wheat farming, followed by a severe drought, and left 500,000 people homeless,

1. Urges all nations to consider the dangers of environmental disasters and their long-term effects on the environment, economy, and human health,

2. Resolves the formation of the Environmental Disaster Relief Committee (EDRC), under the supervision of the UNEP, which consists of:
A. A research field which works on:
i. Basically researches the disaster and areas of destruction,
ii. Finds out specific details and effects of the occurance,
B. An inspection team, which works on:
i. Going to the area in which the disaster caused the damage,
ii. Checking for deaths or people in need, and contacting the relief/rescue team to inform them about findings,
C. A relief/rescue team, which works on:
i. Providing medical aid to victims of environmental disasters
ii. Rescuing people in emergency situations such as floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc,
D. A charity team, which works on:
i. Organizing events, shows, etc to collect donations for the disaster,
ii. Using the donations to provide aid and shelter to victims of the disaster,
iii. Collecting donated food, water, and clothes for those who are need of them,

3. Announces that there will be meetings on a monthly bases in Nairobi, Kenya to:
A. Discuss improvement towards the issue as a result of the aid given by the committee,
B. Come up with new methods and strategies to better aid victims of enviromental disasters,

4. Further resolves that EDRC will act under the following procedures:
A. A country in need will contact the EDRC asking for help, and informing them about their disaster,
B. The research team will evaluate the needed actions which should be taken towards it,
C. The inspection team will locate any areas with people in danger or in need of help and contact the rescue team,
D. The rescue team will help people by providing them with medical aid, and a shelter until a replacement is found,
E. The country will sign an agreement to:
i. Using the donations for environmental reasons ONLY,
ii. Using medical aid for those affected by the disaster,
iii. Allow the injured or homeless to stay in shelters provided by the committee.

Defining the abuse by soldiers in an armed conflict to women and children as a violation of human rights towards women, such as prostitution/ sexual harassment, and children, such as forcefully recruiting child soldiers, etc.,

Showing Gratitude towards the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which helps create a protective environment for children that fortifies them against abuse, and draws attention to the duties of governments, families, communities and individuals to respect those rights and supports them in doing so,

Noting that International law in the Geneva Convention prohibits the recruitment of children under the age of 18 by non-state armed groups, and all participation of children in active hostilities; the recruitment of children under the age of 15 is now considered a war crime,

Expressing its Appreciation towards the Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations General Assembly, which formed the Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict, which works on mending this issue,

Deeply Disturbed by the fact that the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka have recruited at least 3,516 children since the start of the February 2002 cease-fire with the government, according to cases documented by UNICEF,

Fully Alarmed by the facts according to the UNICEF which state: an estimated 20 million children have been forced to flee their homes because of conflict and human rights violations, more than 2 million children have died as a direct result of armed conflict over the last decade, at least 6 million children have been permanently disabled or seriously injured; more than 1 million have been orphaned or separated from their families, between 8,000 and 10,000 children are killed or maimed by landmines every year and finally an estimated 300,000 child soldiers - boys and girls under the age of 18 - are involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide,

Bearing in Mind that women and children constitute some 80% of the world's millions of refugees and other displaced persons, including internally displaced persons, according to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China,

Distressed about the fact that women’s rights are being completely neglected in armed conflicts, and are putting up with sexual harassment and prostitution, causing wide spread diseases such as HIV/AIDS, etc., according to the World Health Organization (WHO),

1. Urges all nations to discourage the use of child soldiers and abuse to women in armed conflicts,

2. Resolves the formation of the Children and Women Protection Organization (CWPO) under the supervision of the Human Rights Watch, with its headquarters being in New York, which will do the following:
A. Create a research team which will work on:
i. Researching a nation’s conditional standards regarding the issue,
ii. Locating areas of abuse to women and children in armed conflict,
iii. Contacting different media in the nation (newspapers, magazines, etc.) to see their viewpoints on their condition and other needed facts,
iv. Writing monthly reports concerning the improvements made,
v. Cooperating with the inspection team and informing them about areas which are mostly affected with this matter,
B. Open different branches in nations who are in need of help to:
i. Recruit the teams (both research and inspection),
ii. Operate as a work office for all members of the organization in order to keep them organized and in cooperation with each other,
C. Create a inspection team which will work on:
i. Checking the locations in which mistreatment is happening,
ii. Checking for evidence of any suspects in the area which caused the crime,
iii. Contacting the generals for an explanation as to why a mistreatment was afflicted on the woman/child,
iv. Writing reports for the oversight team about findings of abuse in an area,
D. Create an oversight team which will work on:
i. Reading reports submitted by the inspection team,
ii. Keeping track of how medical aid is being used in a nation,
iii. Keeping track of a nation’s condition regarding this issue to ensure that the abuse and recruitment of women and children stops or is at least reduced;

3. Declares that the annual meeting with the United Nations will be held in the New York headquarters in order to:
A. Discuss the improvements made because of the organization,
B. Discuss the amount of medical and financial aid given to each nation which called for help from the organization,
C. Read reports submitted by the oversight team to agree on a departure date depending on a country’s progress;

4. Further Resolves that the CWPO will act under the following procedures:
A. A country or combative party will formally contact the CWPO requesting aid in protecting the women and children involved in a local armed conflict,
B. The research and evaluation team will confirm the suitability of sending a team to the aforementioned country,
C. The country will sign an agreement to:
i. Use the given medical aid to help those that were injured or hurt in an armed conflict only,
ii. Allow the inspection team to inspect the area for abuse and recruitment,
iii. Use the given financial aid for the victims of abuse and recruitment in an armed conflict only,
iv. Allow crisis counseling for victims of armed conflicts,
v. Provide financial assistance for education of child soldiers,
D. The oversight team will send periodic reports to the headquarters regarding compliance of the host country, progress, and a date for departure.

Defining general education as "the process by which an individual is encouraged and enabled to fully develop his or her potential,"

Noting With Deep Concern that, according to cia.gov, that over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries: India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt,

Fully Alarmed that, according to cia.gov, that two-thirds of all the illiterate adults in the world are women,

Deeply Disturbed that, according to cia.gov, that extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions: South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate,

Noting that countries that require the population to pay a high tax usually have good public schools that are better than private schools, such as the United States who have excellent public schools,

Taking Into Consideration that in most countries it is obligatory for all children to attend school up to a certain age; however, in poverty stricken societies, authorities are negligent on compulsory school attendance because the children in those countries are important workers,

Recalling Article 26, sub-clause 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "everyone has the right to education; education shall be free... elementary education shall be compulsory,"

Taking Note that, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the problem in many developing countries is that governments lack either the financial resources or the political will to meet their citizens' educational needs

Expressing It’s Appreciation to the following organizations such as the United Nations Social, Educational, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for their efforts to improve education,

Further Noting that, according to Jessica Stern's article in Foreign Affairs and Jeffery Goldberg's article in the New York Times Magazine, madrassas in Pakistan have become a hotbed of Islamic extremism and the breeding ground of terrorism and that the primary motivation for parents sending their students is deficiencies of the public schools,

1. Declares the formation of United Nations Education Committee (UNEC) under the UNESCO whose sole purpose is to improve educational systems and schools;

2. Resolves that the UNEC will:
A. Be composed of:
i) Representatives from all South and West Asian nations and Arab States, all Sub-Saharan African nations, and all other nations who wish to join,
ii) Representatives from the World Bank and the IMF,
iii) Educational experts, including professors,
B. Have its headquarters in Paris, France,
C. Have branches in South Asia, West Asia, Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa,
D. Have a head in each branch and have as many staff members as needed,
E. Have a president chosen by the UNESCO head, on what basis the president will be chosen will be decided after the formation of the UNEC;

3. Confirms that the UNEC members will have to oblige to the following rules:
A. All levels of education until high school will be free for the citizens of the country,
B. If any country is seen having child soldiers, they will be suspended from the UNEC,
C. All businesses that hire child laborers will have to be fined by the nation where the children are working;

4. Further Resolves that the UNEC will:
A. Provide all countries with money in order for them to provide free uniforms, free school books, free lunch for students and provide the schools with computers,
B. Provide war-torn societies with aid, such as money and medicine, in order for them to still be able to provide education to their citizens and by also building schools if they were abolished because of the war,
C. Provide poverty-stricken countries with free money, free healthcare, and free food to school-attending students,
D. Build schools in countries where schools are needed, such as poverty-stricken countries and war-torn societies;

5. Has Resolved that UNEC will act under this following procedure:
A. A country will officially contact the UNEC requesting help in improving said country’s public schools and education,
B. The UNEC will set up a sub-branch of the main branch in the region and will send a team of educational experts, such as professors and teachers,
C. The education experts will set up a plan that the country will have to agree with and the plan will include the following conditions:
i. The country will have to send reports on how the money was spent so that the UNEC will know that they are actually using the money for educational purposes,
ii. A report will be sent to the UNEC headquarters every six months,
iii. The country has to have educational improvement as verified by the UNEC,
iv. Assistance is dependent on economic conditions;

6. Affirms that the UNEC will meet every six months to do the following:
A. Discuss the improvement of each country's schools and educational systems,
B. Discuss how much the literacy rate of each country has improved,
C. Hold emergency meetings whenever there is an important issue that needs resolving immediately.

Opening Speech

Honorable Chair, Fellow Delegates,

Aaybovan,

Welcome from Sri Lanka, the land of ethnic and religious diversity. We are gathered here today to find solutions to the many problems that our world has been suffering from. From poverty to AIDS to earthquakes, our world has been through a lot.

Sri Lanka has been torn by a bloody civil war between our government and the Tamil Liberation Tigers who want to cause more chaos into our UNITED country. They want to divide our country and turn brothers and sisters against each other. Sri Lanka also has been suffering from natural disasters including the tsunami that was caused by the earthquake in the Indian Ocean. But, Sri Lanka still remains a breathtaking country with our tropical forests and beaches. Our rich cultural heritage shines through even in the hardest of times. Today, we hope to find a solution to our problems, national or international. We are the representatives of different corners in the world but we can make this happen.

Thank you.

Dear Mr. President, I Fawwaz AL Khaled, would like to thank you for creating and adding the major ingredient into our country, in which you added the ingredient of justice. Where Sri Lanka is starting to recover from what is used to have. With a great person like you, we can have a better world for Sri Lanka and its people. As for the accomplishments I have done, they are not as great as yours, but they can resemble the people of Sri Lanka in a great way. At last, our problems have been showed to the people, and they are discussed. We are wishing to have the Sri Lanka dream to be a reality, in which, we would like to have the civil war end, and have our children grow in a healthy and loving environment, where I discussed in the Disarmament commission. I have also thought of talking about the arms in space. Many countries fear this, including Sri Lanka. Even though we know that this is the MODEL UNITED NATIONS, not the UNITED NATIONS, but every good change needs a small beginning to end as a big one. I am a Kuwaiti, but after learning about Sri Lanka and about the people of Sri Lanka, I really feel their sorrow pain, and in grieve for them, I moan the pain of thousands to the outer world, and Finally, I would like to encourage many Sri Lanka "kids" or "guys" to speak in front of many and many people, to show the whole entire world what Sri Lanka is, or at least was in the old Days. Sri Lanka is a world of discoveries for a scientist, and a world of supremacy to me. I proudly holler

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Dalal Al Jassim, and I was the honorable representative of the beautiful country of Sri Lanka in the United Nations conference 2006. I was the delegate of Sri Lanka in the Human Rights commission. The event, which happened to take place in Kuwait, was a very memorable experience in which I was able to accomplish many tasks. I was able to become a main submitter and to pass the resolution on our destructive issue of protecting the rights of women and children regarding the abuse by soldiers in armed conflict with an overwhelming majority. I would also like to inform you that my co-submitter, the honorable delegation of Mexico, was a great helping hand which gathered many allies and nations to sign on to our effective resolution during lobbying and merging on the first day. After my resolution was passed on Day 2 of the conference, Sri Lanka was praised for its great efforts in solving the issue and given excellent recognition as a nation who truly deserves to be a part of the UN. However, on the 3rd day, when it was time for the General Assembly, I found out that my resolution was not being debated because it was "too good", according to the most-esteemed chair of the Human Rights Commission. I humbly accepted this disclosure and put forth all my efforts in debating other issues and resolutions. I believe that I was able to portray a great image of our peaceful nation, and accomplished the most important goal: achievement, of both recognition and solving a threatening issue in our world today. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation for providing me with such a chance in an event like this one. I hope I get another chances of representing my country in future conferences and wonderful events. Thank you.

Regards,

Dalal Al Jassim