#TIMUN: Model UN that Unites Youth, Civil Society and Government to Support #E4J

"In the words of our Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, young people are in the heart of the response of the United Nations. We also appreciate the efforts and policies of Uzbekistan, and the sentiments of the President Mirziyoyev who emphasized at the 72 UN General Assembly Session that we need to have greater role and the Convention protecting the interests of young people. At the Model UN young people will broaden their horizons and networking, become a part of the UN efforts towards ensuring peace, security, and human rights." - noted Ms. Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia, at the official signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Regional Office for Central Asia, the Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT), Youth Union of Uzbekistan and State Tourism Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Parties of the Memorandum agreed to support a new Model United Nations in Uzbekistan that stands out from the previous experiences which took place in the country and is rare globally - Tashkent International Model UN (TIMUN), a conference supporting E4J.

It started with a group of students interested in promoting criminal justice and crime prevention as a key topic for the Conference. The chose to conduct the Conference which contributes to the implementation of the Doha Declaration adopted at the 13 th Congress of the UN on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The main motto of the conference is #Education4Justice (E4J), which is an official name of one of the components of the UNODC Global Programme on implementation of Doha Declaration. About 250 students from all universities of the Republic of Uzbekistan and about 250 students around the globe are expected to take part in the conference.

As Dr. Komiljon Karimov, Rector of Westminster International University in Tashkent, mentioned in his interview to the local television, the Conference expects to have the delegates from over 40 countries to join the TIMUN Conference. "It is very good to know that students from various universities of Uzbekistan are taking a very active part in organization of this event. The uniqueness of the event is in that it is a youth-led, a student-led Conference." - noted Dr. Karimov.

Tashkent International Model UN will be held in March 2019 by the Westminster International University in Tashkent. The Conference aims to promote understanding of basic mandates and principles of the United Nations, and of UNODC in particular, as well as to assist the younger generation in acquiring diplomatic, leadership and public speaking skills, the possibility of active participation in social life and to determine the future profession.

The Resource Guide developed by the E4J, is designed to assist organizers in conducting MUN allowing them to work with the mandate of UNODC at the highest quality.

Having ensured the support from UNODC and aimed to familiarize their peers with UNODC mandate and promote SDGs and a culture of lawfulness, the young people launched a series of guest lectures. During the fall semester, various experts on criminal justice, law enforcement and prevention of transnational organized crime and terrorism delivered the lectures to the students from various MUN communities of Uzbekistan. Hundreds of girls and boys from five universities has a chance to participate in the lectures.

Ms. Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia, Mr. Gilberto Duarte Santos, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, UNODC Headquarters, Mr. Reg Pitts, Head of United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime in Kazakhstan, Dr. Arturo Laurent Gonzales, Terrorism Prevention Branch, Division for Treaty Affairs, UNODC Headquarters, were the guests at the lectures and shared their knowledge and experience with young girls and boys. The lectures were conducted from 26 September to 21 November 2018.

The TIMUN leaders and broader audience had a chance to learn and ask questions about regional threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism, threat of new psychoactive substances and synthetic drugs, Education for Justice Initiative and many more.

The Government agencies also joined the lectures. Thus, Ms. Nodira Zikrillaeva, representing the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan, discussed the anti-corruption policies of Uzbekistan with future specialists. Ms. Zikrillaeva shared her experience and knowledge on activities organized by the government at different levels, aimed at preventing corruption in all spheres of life.

"Prevention of corruptive actions should be implemented through such measures as re-structuring of government functioning, mass media tools and with the help of country's youth." - said Ms. Zirkillaeva.

Considering that the youth makes up the majority of the Central Asian population, unique opportunity was provided for the TIMUN students to attend the two-day "Meeting on Monitoring and Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals: Supporting the five Central Asian states, Azerbaijan and Georgia", held by UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia in Tashkent on 12-13 November 2018. The students joined the discussion of the 2030 Agenda. As the future policymakers and change-makers, they were engaged in informal interaction with the invited experts, who provided detailed information on SDGs at global level, and experience of other countries in adopting the Agenda 2030.

Furthermore, the TIMUN team sets short and long terms goals on establishment of common platform of cooperation for all local MUN clubs and societies with governmental organizations, educational institutions and UN agencies in Uzbekistan. To do so, the team created a conference website - www.timun.org. This website helps the interested students from around the world to learn more about and take active part in the Conference.  

Local and international students interested in taking part in the Conference, can also register for the conference via the global website of the MUNs - www.mymun.com.

Fore more information:

UNODC ROCA on Twitter

UNODC in Central Asia on Facebook

***

For more information, please contact

Ms. Dariya Kudabaeva,

Communication and External Relations Officer, UNODC ROCA,

E-mail: dariya.kudabaeva[at]un.org. Tel.: (78)-120-80-50