Topic: Preserving Free and Fair Elections
The value of democracy and fair elections is embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states in Article 21, “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.” Since the founding of the United Nations and the adoption of the UDHR, the United Nations has established international frameworks for voting rights and fair elections. Since 1991, the United Nations (UN) has provided electoral assistance to over 115 countries; in 2024, the UN provided technical assistance to approximately 20 countries to help ensure that the elections that took place in these countries could be free and fair. However, many countries still struggle—or purposely fail—to conduct free and fair elections, often as a result of criminal activity, governmental corruption, and political instability.
Criminal activities have a wide ranging impact on election integrity—from local intimidation at polling places to sophisticated international misinformation campaigns or cyberattacks. Marginalized groups may need specific consideration due to the intersection of identity-based crime, such as gender-based violence or targeting of racial or ethnic groups. Additionally, government corruption reduces people’s faith in the electoral process and may actually undermine election results. Often, there is an overlap between government corruption and organized crime, as politicians succumb to blackmail and bribes and criminals seek to avoid accrue power and avoid punishment.
As members of The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), you will be tasked with addressing the impacts of crime and corruption on free and fair elections, and strengthening preventative efforts. The UNODC is the UN agency dedicated to crime prevention, criminal justice, and anticorruption and is the custodian of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, a legally-binding international instrument outlining preventive and punitive measures against corruption. The UNODC has played a key role in many UN efforts to promote free and fair elections, but more must be done to address the impact of criminal activity and corruption on free and fair elections.
What current criminal activities are impacting the ability of your country or countries in your region to successfully conduct free and fair elections?
What kind of infrastructure has the UN and UNODC already established to address the impact of criminal activity on elections? How can the committee build upon this infrastructure?
Research Links
https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/democracy
https://www.electoralintegrityproject.com/eip-blog/2024/7/24/the-global-electoral-integrity-report-2024
