UNICEF
Difficulty: Beginner
Topic: From Survival to Stability: Ensuring Child Welfare Amidst the Russia-Ukraine War
Number of Countries: 15
COMMITTEE
Dating back to 1946, UNICEF – the United Nation’s Children Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. With operations in 1923 countries and territories, UNICEF works to provide immunisation and prevent disease, enhance childhood as well as maternal nutrition, improve sanitation, promote education, and provide emergency relief in response to disasters. This organisation is important in securing the future of the next generation. This committee will be MaltMUN 2024’s beginner committee, whereby those with limited or no experience can engage in debate and rhetoric over the crises most affecting the next generation of the world.
TOPIC
Though popular understanding may have it that the war in Ukraine started in 2022, it is important to remember that this is a war that has been raging since 2014, and that since then a growing amount of children have been affected – first in the Crimea and the Donbass, and since 2022, in the rest of the country. Schools, playgrounds, nurseries: these have been targets of this brutal war. Not only have children been displaced and traumatised, but they have been killed, abducted, tortured and sexually abused. According to Save the Children International, 2.9 million children in Ukraine are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. UNICEF must play an important role in rectifying this situation to the best of its mandate, and in doing so promoting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Chair - Lucía Núñez Roncero
My name is Lucía and I am from Spain. I graduated with a Master’s in International Affairs and Diplomacy and I am finishing one in Gender, Politics and International Relations. I discovered MUNs at my home association MUNUSAL last year, when I fell in love with this world. Since then, I have made so many MUN friends that I have stayed in contact with and I hope I meet again at MaltMUN! Outside of MUNs, I love reading, watching films, travelling, and spending time with friends and family. This will be my first time chairing and I could not be more excited to get to know all UNICEF delegates for what I am sure will be an extremely interesting and insightful debate. I am looking forward to having an amazing time in Malta this summer and I encourage you all to apply and enjoy beautiful Valletta while discussing a topic as important as children’s rights.
Chair - Sofia Oliviera
Hello everyone! My name is Sofia and I’m from Portugal. After recently completing my master’s in International Studies, I am now focused on doing research on gender and politics, which allows me to keep exploring my long-lasting passion for MUNs. I discovered the MUN world at 16 years-old, loving it so much that I founded Portugal’s first MUN in a public secondary school and later joined LisboMUN, which allowed me to attend conferences around Europe and make amazing friendships.
Outside MUNs, you can find me playing the piano, reading and working/volunteering with children. Children’s rights are extremely important to me, so I could not be happier to chair UNICEF, alongside my dear friend Lucía.
I cannot wait to visit beautiful Malta and promise to ensure all UNICEF delegates have the best time in MaltMUN!
P.S.- I’m determined that MaltMUN will break my tradition of losing my voice at MUNs!
