ZiMUN 2018

Andre Smith

Al Jazeera

Crypto currency is a digital currency, which has a private, non-governmental block chain,
which means that all transactions made through crypto currency are undetectable and
anonymous. A block chain is a list of records called blocks, which contain history of all
transactions made. Through crypto currency many illegal transactions are made but because
of the private block chain no one can trace who those transactions were made by. This is the
same case with fiscal fraud. With the growing use of crypto currency, the rise of fiscal fraud
increases, as it is very easy to bypass the system and evade paying taxes. This is why
governments and banks fear the growth of crypto currency, as there is no way of monitoring
and ensuring the payment of taxes.

It is difficult to combat fiscal fraud through crypto currency; however, there is a measure that
can be taken to reduce the amount of fiscal fraud. If crypto currencies implement a KYC
policy, then people would be forced to pay taxes, as their transactions would no longer be
hidden and unrecorded. KYC (Know Your Customer) policy is the process of identifying and
verifying the identity of customers. So by introducing a KYC all transactions could be
checked. This method of preventing fiscal fraud takes the anonymity away from crypto
currency, and would eradicate all forms of illegal activity through crypto currency.

Ashley Makuwa

Reuters Newspaper

 

Technological development has significantly increased since the late 90’s and has continued to skyrocket upwards with the introduction of robots. Artificial intelligence is the up and coming industry and it has already began to take over. AI does a lot of jobs that people used to do and this has become a concern for many people and governments. The Finnish government has been one of the first countries to begin Universal Basic Income (UBI). UBI is the concept of guaranteed income to ensure nobody lives in poverty. Since jobs are viewed as being taken left, right and center by artificial intelligence, UBI sounds like a viable option, and it appears to be going well in Finland. However; this “scare” may not be as scary as the general populous thinks it is, because a similar situation has happened before during the industrial revolution.

But as we all know, the Industrial revolution ended up creating more jobs with the advancements in technology. To some, the answer to automation is UBI, that way nobody lives in poverty and everyone has a steady income while still having their basic needs provided for by AI. On the other hand this could devalue a good work ethic, and promote a sedentary lifestyle. The development of technology could also lead to more jobs opening up. Since robots can malfunction companies will need someone to make sure that these machines are in proper working order. To conclude, it all depends on the circumstances, beliefs and how the pros and cons are weighed.

Tingting Wu

Al  Jazeera

For the first day of ZIMUN the Human Rights Commission is discussion resolutions between countries. There are two topics which will be discussed during this Event, Child Marriage in Africa, and slave trade in Lybia. Currently the delegates cannot disclose any information on their discussion until the official ceremony starting tomorrow.

The first issue tomorrow, on child marriage in Africa, will be focused on delegates of the African nations present. The primary focus is on the increase of legal age of marriage in countries with high child marriage rates. Chair Joel Nzisabira states “The solution of the issue can be solved through legal means, one of the main causes of the issue is the fact that internal legislation of some countries allow children to be wed.” He says that “The issue is mainly internal and I will focus on solutions that can be impacted through internal legislation.”

The second issue presented to the committee is the slave trade in Libya and ensuring its cessation. As of right now the large number of refugees in Libya threatens Libya’s economy, and human rights, as they cannot cross into EU nations. “The issue mainly involves Libya, North Africa and the EU” states Chair David C. Uličný, “The best solutions will involve more interaction and cooperation between Libya and other North African countries, and the cooperation of the EU to except refugees.”