effort to make our country drug free. Drugs are no longer a big problem in Germany and we

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1 Committee: UNODC Country: Germany Delegates: Amalendu Manoj and William Mosberg School: George H. Moody Middle School Introduction We, the country of Germany, have a very strict policy on drugs and find it necessary to hinder the usage of illegal narcotics. We spend approximately 4.8 to 6 billion dollars a year in an effort to make our country drug free. Drugs are no longer a big problem in Germany and we believe this is because of our successful drug policy. Although this is true, there is a prominent usage of cannabis in Germany, at about 25%. This number is much higher than what is ideal, and we are attempting to lower these numbers by shutting down German drug cartels and trafficking. Another issue is money laundering, which has become an increasingly difficult problem to handle. In 2011, nearly 13,000 cases of money laundering had been reported. With our own country having to struggle with this conundrum and all of the political, economic, and social effects that occur with it, Germany is strongly against money laundering and the purely negative results it brings to contemporary society. Topic #1: UNODC Involvement with Mexican Drug Cartels The Mexican drug wars involve multiple drug cartels and is a very serious issue that needs to be dealt with. Drug cartels are organizations formed to transport and sell illegal narcotics. Often times, such as the case in Mexico, drug cartels compete with other rival drug cartels. These conflicts, known as drug wars, can lead to thousands of deaths. Trafficking of narcotics is a serious problem in Mexico. It is not only effecting its own country, but others too.

2 During 2007, Mexican cartels were responsible for 90% of the cocaine being shipped into the United States. If Mexico can t handle this situation on its own and is negatively effecting its neighboring countries, then the UN must intervene. The best way to handle this situation is to destroy the source of Mexico s drugs. Columbia is a major supplier of not only Mexico s drugs, but also many of the drugs being shipped into Europe. If the trafficking between Columbia and other countries, especially Mexico, these drugs wars may be put to rest. Most of these drugs are being transported through the Caribbean, so they must have to stop for fuel some where. The solution is to majorly increase the security on shipments going in and out of Columbia, and to increase the security on the islands in the Caribbean. Slowing the flow of drugs coming out of Columbia will not only impede the Mexican drug wars, but will also decrease the drugs being shipped into countries all around the world. In order for this to work, the Colombian government must be accepting of the plan. They must try to regulate what is being transported out of their country. We also must warn islands in the Caribbean to check the ships coming into their ports for refueling. Topic #2: Money Laundering and Terrorism Money laundering is an issue in Germany that is becoming increasingly difficult to handle. We, Germany, have tried our best to lower the extremes of money laundering crimes in our country and also laundering that occurs between countries. However, our attempts work for only a short time, as every time a new legislative policy is put into place regarding this issue and its results, criminals only seem to become smarter in developing increasingly creative ways to make illegal transactions with money and carry out their crime. Germany believes that plans to further facilitate and continue global, joint efforts to end money laundering and financing of

3 terrorism would be better when countries join hands and fight together, as the Holy See/Vatican City and Germany are going to do after signing the Memorandum of Understanding. In addition to joining hands to support the effort to end money laundering by helping facilitate, there should also be steps take towards individualizing plans and actions; the degree of corruption in the government and the frequency of illegal transactions within different areas should be taken into consideration when taking action. The UNODC should continue its programs that involve individualizing plans, so that everything we put our efforts and financial aid towards has the greatest amount of positive impact possible. There are also basic steps that can be taken with compliance from the financial regulators. It is well known that many illegal money laundering crimes are carried out by using bank accounts. Therefore, by ensuring that banking companies know their beneficiaries and owners, they will have a better control over where money ends up by recognizing who it is going to. Access to information about the owners should also be allowed for the same reasons. Carrying out regular national risk assessments can also help regulate the information given to the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regimes of areas in which money laundering is a consistent issue. National risk assessments can help gather updated data on money laundering and terrorism financing to let the regimes know of potential changes they can make to any plans they have to take action. Finally, providing international cooperation will help maintain healthy relationships and help prevent terrorist attacks. So far, this is all just the beginning. When and if these efforts are proven to be effective in stopping money laundering, then there will be a new question on how to further decrease financing terrorism attacks. This requires extreme care and precaution, as terrorism can be a very delicate situation, especially when corruption is still a remaining factor within the process.

4 Corrupt governments and political office holders can cause immense problems with getting towards the root of terrorism crimes. The UNODC must do strict background checks on all governments in order to ensure maximum efficiency with all efforts countries provide to help this global cause, which national risk assessments can provide assistance with. The most important aspect of this goal is to ensure that everything is thoroughly checked in order to completely fulfill the potential of the actions. Citations

5 Wolfgang, Dick, Andreas Grigo, and Ian Johnson. "Germany, a Safe Haven for Money Laundering." DW.DE. N.p., 30 Oct Web. 09 Dec "THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION AUTHORITY SIGNS A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH ITS GERMAN COUNTERPART." THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION AUTHORITY SIGNS A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH ITS GERMAN COUNTERPART. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec Hardinhaus, Barbara. "Drug War Failing in Germany." SPIEGEL ONLINE. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec "Adult Lifetime Cannabis Use by Country." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Aug Web. 09 Dec "Central Intelligence Agency." The World Factbook. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec "Member Countries of the European Union." EUROPA -. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec