STUDY GUIDE
Global governance
in the 21st century
______________________________________
Addressing emerging unconventional
security threats
STUDY GUIDE - UNSC
Table of content
WELCOME LETTER FROM THE CHAIRS ................................................................................................................... 3
1. THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (UNSC) .................................................................................. 4
2. ADDRESSING EMERGING UNCONVENTIONAL SECURITY THREATS .................................................... 5
2.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC ....................................................................................................................................................... 5
2.2 KEY TERMINOLOGY ......................................................................................................................................................................... 6
2.3 HISTORY AND PRIOR ACTION ......................................................................................................................................................... 7
2.4 CHALLENGES .................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
3. BLOCK POSITIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 10
4. QUESTIONS TO ANSWER IN THE RESOLUTION ........................................................................................ 11
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................... 13
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Welcome letter from the Chairs
Dear delegates of the United Nations Security Council,
We would like to welcome you all to this new edition of the Singularity Model United Nations.
This is a unique experience for all those interested in and infatuated with the world of
international relations. It is an opportunity to test and challenge yourselves in developing the
essential skills every aspiring diplomat should have, such as public speaking, debating, and,
most importantly, diplomacy.
It is well known that worldwide security and its threats have been constantly evolving.
Nowadays we have moved past the age of physical threats coming from a distinguishable
state actor, and so we face new, unconventional security threats, coming from non-state actors
which include economic instability, environmental degradation, pandemics, and cyber attacks.
Therefore we expect the UNSC delegates to engage in fruitful sessions of debate to find a
common solution to combat such threats.
We are going to provide the essential information for a basic understanding in order to prepare
delegates with the required knowledge for the debate. Nonetheless, we hope for the delegates
to do their own research to master their countries' position and, therefore, have a better grasp
of the debate. We look forward to seeing what insightful proposals and interventions you have
to address the issue at hand.
Best of luck delegates!
Pedro Fernandez, Arnau Brotons, your UNSC chairs
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1. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the 6 main bodies of the United Nations
it has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. By the time
of the UN’s creation, it was constituted by 5 “permanent” founding countries; The United
States, The USSR (now Russia), The Republic of China (now the Popular Republic of China),
The French Republic, and The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. These
5 countries have a “right to veto” which allows these countries to prevent a resolution from
coming to fruition. Since then 10 “non-permanent” members of a rotatory nature have been
added to create a balance of power; these countries don’t have the right to veto.
Mandate
The Security Council has four main purposes. In the first place, they must maintain
international peace by guaranteeing security. Secondly, developing friendly relations between
countries of the organization to improve communication and ease tensions. Thirdly,
cooperation to solve international problems with a main focus on respect for human rights.
Finally, to serve as the principal center for harmonizing the actions of each state member
(What Is The Security Council? | Security Council, s. f.).
Powers of the Security Council
According to the United Nations Charter, the UNSC is entrusted with a set of powers with the
main goal of maintaining international peace and security in accordance with the principles
and purposes of the United Nations. These powers include investigating disputes or situations
that might escalate into international conflict and recommending methods for their adjustment
or resolution. There's also the authority to formulate plans to regulate armaments and
determine the existence of threats to peace or acts of aggression, subsequently
recommending or implementing appropriate actions. When talking about “actions” the United
Nations Charter includes calling on member states to apply economic sanctions or other
measures prioritizing peaceful behaviors, as well as authorizing military action against
aggressors when absolutely necessary under the principle of right of self-defense until the
UNSC issues a resolution. From an organizational perspective, the Security Council has the
authority to recommend new member admissions, exercise trusteeship over strategic areas,
and recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and,
together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice (Functions
And Powers | Security Council, s. f.).
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2. Addressing emerging unconventional security threats
2.1 Introduction to the topic
In the present day, the international community faces new and evolving challenges
characterized by unconventional security threats that threaten international peace and
stability. Although the world hasn’t completely moved on from inter-state armed conflicts, these
seem to be the less common threats to peace nowadays. These new threats have an
independent nature, they don’t necessarily rely on a country, they’re interconnected and
transcend national borders. These challenges include cyberattacks, climate security threats,
transnational organized crime, terrorism, and transnational terrorism. The international
community has to find a proper way to combat them since these new issues don’t fit into the
traditional frameworks for conflict resolution.
The evermore-increasing reliance of states on digital infrastructure has faced numerous
challenges such as cyberattacks, ransomware campaigns, and digital espionage. In response,
we can see the increasing importance of cybersecurity as a means of defense and protection.
Furthermore, the exponential growth and rapid advancements of technologies such as
Artificial Intelligence (AI) present great opportunities for innovation and can be helpful for the
general population. However, there’s a risk that AI may be misused for malicious purposes
and the international community must find a way to prevent and combat the unlawful use of
the technology.
Climate security threats have been recognized by the international community, these threats
come from natural sources, they include natural disasters, droughts, and source scarcity. We,
however, are responsible for some of these new challenges like pollution, climate change,
global warming, and the subsequent rise of sea levels. The international community is looking
to find ways to adopt new technologies and practices that result in less harm to the
environment; however without multilateral action, this effort will be in vain.
Global health crises have made themselves more prominent with events such as the COVID-
19 global pandemic which managed to paralyze the world, these threats have shown to
present direct and indirect security risks, being able to cause mass hysteria, destabilize
countries, stall healthcare systems, and cause massive economic crises. We also have to take
into account the real threat of the intentional use of biological weapons through bioterrorism,
which adds more complexity and trust issues for the international community to find a new
solution.
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Finally, transnational organized crime and transnational terrorism have emerged and are
growing increasingly stronger, they take advantage of globalization to carry out their attacks,
and they exploit technological advancements. Nowadays organized crime groups use new
tools for their activities. Similarly, terrorist cells like ISIS have embraced digital platforms for
recruitment, financing, and propaganda, increasing their reach to a global scale, and making
themselves harder to track down.
The Security Council must find a way to combat all of these new emerging unconventional
threats through multilateral effective action, cooperation between actors is crucial as this issue
extends borders and has become globalized.
2.2 Key terminology
Unconventional security threats: challenges that threaten the well-being of civilians and
countries that don’t originate from military sources, these challenges may be climate change,
scarcity, diseases and pandemics and natural disasters.
Non-State actors: Individuals or organizations not affiliated with governments, they can
possess influence in their region or abroad, these are usually corporations, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), paramilitary groups, terrorist cells etc.
Transnational organized crime: “Activities developed by a group of three or more persons
that was not randomly formed; existing for a period of time; acting in concert with the aim of
committing at least one crime punishable by at least four years' incarceration; in order to
obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit (art. 2, UN Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime, 2000)”.
Terrorism: “A method of violent action repeated that inspires anxiety, used by individuals,
groups, or state actors for idiosyncratic reasons, criminal or political, in which, unlike murder,
the direct victims of the violence are not their main goals” (International Encyclopedia of
Terrorism).
Transnational terrorism: When terrorist organizations are able to carry out their attacks
outside of their homeland, targeting strategic points abroad with the collaboration of
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sympathizers allocated in the target country or mobilizing members to said country to carry
out the attacks.
Cybersecurity: Actions taken by individuals or organizations to protect and prevent their
devices from being breached or attacked online.
Cyberattacks: Illicit attempts to breach an individual’s or an organization’s digital
infrastructure with the goal of sabotaging or stealing private data from the target
Artificial Intelligence (AI): A set of technological advances that allow computers to perform
several functions, usually attributed to humans, such as analysis skills, comprehension skills…
Bioterrorism: Violent use of biological matter, most commonly bacteria or viruses in order to
compromise the well-being of one or more individuals.
Climate Security: National and international threats to peace, security, and general well-
being originating from natural sources such as climate change, natural disasters, pollution…
Multilateralism: Cooperation of more than 2 actors pursuing a common objective, carrying
out conjoint agreed actions to benefit the whole.
2.3 History and prior action
History
The concept of security has evolved over the years, it has moved away from traditional armed
conflict between states, to encompass a newly established range of unconventional security
threats, which include cyber threats, proliferation of transnational organized crime,
transnational terrorism, climate security threats, pandemics…
The end of the Cold War marked a significant shift in global security dynamics. The bipolar
order of the world faded leading to new elements appearing, traditional state-centric threats
such as ethnic conflicts, and civil wars were accompanied by the rise of non-state actors
partaking in these confrontations, these new actors represented a threat due to their
independent demeanor and their capability for acquiring and developing weapons, mainly, the
international community feared they could develop nuclear or chemical weapons.
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Moreover, with the coming of the new century, new forms of threats made themselves known
in events such as the September 11th attacks in 2001 and the consequent “war on terror”
which led to a great reassessment of the global security framework. With the emergence of
transnational terrorist groups and transnational organized crime groups, states were now
facing against groups instead of other nations, and these groups were hard to track and had
an almost unlimited reach to carry on their action. The international community realized they
could face threats coming from sources that are not state-centric, some of these threats may
not even come from other people, issues such as climate change started to become a matter
of global security, and are included in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Globalization, although regarded as a mainly positive achievement, has proven to facilitate
another type of security risk, pandemics can now spread more rapidly and efficiently. The
H1N1 pandemic in 2009 and the COVID-19 pandemic proved this threat to be very real, as
well as to show the governments of the world that they weren’t prepared for such an event,
the COVID-19 pandemic proved especially harsh due to its extended duration and the effects
on people's wellbeing and the economic crisis it brought as a result for halting the world in an
instant.
The international community now realizes that conjoint action and cooperation are crucial
against these new unconventional security threats, they have now realized that conflicts and
challenges have evolved far too much to simply ignore, the world is against groups of
individuals who hold influence through their coercion or even against nature’s effects
themselves.
Prior Action
The Security Council has introduced many resolutions to tackle the issue of these new
emerging security threats.
In 2004 the Security Council adopted resolution 1540 addressing the proliferation of nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons, and the emergence of non-state actors and their
manufacturing and acquisition of such weapons. The resolution urges countries to not
cooperate with non-state actors in their acquisition of chemical, biological, or nuclear
weaponry and to adopt and enforce appropriate effective laws to prohibit any non-state actor
from manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, developing, transporting, transferring, or using
nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery, in particular for terrorist
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purposes (S/1540). Furthermore, the UNSC decides that members shall establish effective
domestic controls in supervision, prevention, and persecution against non-state actors.
There’s also the offer of assistance to countries who may struggle to implement the necessary
steps for adopting the resolution, such as legal frameworks or implementation.
A few years later in 2006 resolution 1674 was adopted, although this resolution mainly
addresses misconduct during conflicts, such as deliberately targeting civilians, ethnic
cleansing, genocide… The role of regional organizations is recognized in their labor for
protecting civilians (S/1674).
Years later in 2014, we find resolution 2195 which mainly focuses on terrorism as one of
the most serious threats to international peace and security. The UNSC stresses the
importance of cooperation to prevent terrorism and all its forms, focusing especially on
transnational terrorism as a common threat to global security. There's a strong urge for
cooperation between countries based on the principle of a common and shared responsibility
which must be addressed in a comprehensive, balanced, and multidisciplinary manner. The
Security Council also reiterates the possible use of the UN peacekeepers as an existing option
for members who could be mandated to assist in capacity-building (S/2195).
Sometime after, in 2017 resolution 2349 was introduced, it continues focusing on terrorism
especially condemning Boko Haram and ISIL. The UNSC encourages regional governments
to develop close military coordination and cooperation to facilitate civilian security as soon as
possible. There’s also the reiteration to cut funding to non-state actors who may be connected
to these terrorist organizations. The Security Council reiterates that even tho States may be
faking against a new, non-statal threat, they still have full responsibility of their citizens'
wellbeing, and therefore the duty to ensure peace and order in the region (S/2349).
2.4 Challenges
Nowadays unconventional security threats continue to emerge and evolve at a rapid pace, the
most important being cybersecurity threats and attacks. On April 4th, 2024, the UNSC took
part in a meeting with the main focus on Evolving Cyber Threat Landscape and Its Implications
for The Maintenance of International Peace And Security. The meeting oversaw topics such
as cryptocurrency as a covert way of circulating money, and malicious cybernetic elements
such as ransomware or DDoS, however, the most recent element that worries State actors is
Artificial Intelligence and its increasingly rapid evolution in the last few years.
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The topic of cyber currency is seen as something to keep an eye on due mainly to theft,
laundering, and its anonymous demeanor. It has been found that non-state actors have used
cryptocurrency to fund weaponry and operations.
Artificial Intelligence however seems to be a point of division for State actors. On one hand,
some countries worry about the possible misuse of AI technology and its consequences, while
others seem to find potential for cyber defense.
Some examples of the reality of cyber-security threats were presented such as a series of
cyber attacks against governmental and financial institutions in Costa Rica. These types of
attacks can affect the civilian population directly if targeted at specific infrastructure such as
hospitals.
The meeting also presented the issue with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)
and the need to re-evaluate global sanctions against them, turns out the DPRK in response to
the continuous global isolation has turned to new methods for funding, these new methods
include malicious cyber campaigns, revolving mainly around espionage and ransomware
attacks against global cryptocurrency companies to extract illicit revenue, and its rapidly
advancing nuclear weapons and missile program (Matamis, 2024).
A main objective of the gathering, other than discussing the new threats, was to increase the
UNSC’s involvement in the matter of addressing cyber threats, in ways that complement how
the issue is being addressed elsewhere in the UN (Matamis, 2024). The Security Council has
been involved in addressing certain aspects of these new threats however there’s a variety of
perspectives on how the UNSC should address cyber security threats.
3. Block positions
When talking about block positions, we are referring to the different countries who might agree
on a certain vision about the topic in the agenda, when these views are very different that’s
when blocks are created. The most common block divisions originate from East-West rivalries
which emanate from historical, cultural, and ideological disagreements. There is a third block,
composed of neutral countries, these countries don’t align themselves initially either because
of a lack of interest or because they believe in a middle ground between the main opposing
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block positions. Nowadays Blocks have evolved from East-West to developed and developing
countries.
It is here that negotiation skills become decisive. Polarized countries will try to appeal to neutral
countries in order to get a majority for the voting procedures. Neutral countries can also try to
convince blocks to find common grounds for an agreement, this however seldom happens
because these countries don’t usually have very strong political influence.
Developed Countries
They will advocate for innovative solutions focused on new technologies, investment, and
funding or the implementation of international legal frameworks to address the issue, these
countries will want to regulate the use of new technologies as well as use them to combat
other threats such as the ones from non-state actors
Developing Countries
These States will emphasize the need for assistance in capacity-building and resources from
developed countries to effectively combat unconventional security threats. Issues like
terrorism may have their roots in these countries which is why they will also ask for military
cooperation.
Non Aligned Countries
These countries may choose this stance due to certain variables. Firstly, they may not have
much interest in the topic discussed and therefore they don’t have a clear opinion to defend.
Secondly, these countries may not find the polarized blocks’ positions to be compatible with
their ideals and prefer to either stay in a middle ground between the two or go with a completely
different perspective. Finally, these countries may prioritize national sovereignty and therefore
non-interference, they can agree to collaborate with other States as long as there’s an explicit
respect for their authority and clear boundaries.
4. Questions to answer in the resolution
Taking into account the position the country they must represent, delegates should come up
with a resolution that will tackle most of these questions:
1. What can the international community do to enhance and strengthen effective
cooperation and coordination to properly address unconventional security threats?
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2. What measures can be taken to prevent non-state actors from misusing new
technologies (manufacturing, acquiring, exploiting…)?
3. How should the UNSC tackle state-sponsored cyber attacks?
4. How can the Security Council cooperate with struggling countries in capacity-building
and combating threats in their region?
5. What role can International law entities such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
play in preventing and combating the proliferation of unconventional security threats?
6. How can the international community ensure or facilitate information-sharing between
states to combat transnational organized crime and transnational terrorism?
7. What can States do to find the roots of terrorism and prevent its proliferation?
8. How can the UNSC establish effective multilateral action against unconventional
threats while respecting national sovereignty? Which other organizations and entities
can help tackle these new emerging threats?
9. How can the Security Council improve transparency and accountability to increase
trust and collaboration between countries?
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5. Bibliography
What is the Security Council? | Security Council. (s. f.-b).
https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/what-security-council
Functions and Powers | Security Council. (s. f.-b).
https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/functions-and-powers
art. 2, UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000
https://www.unodc.org/documents/middleeastandnorthafrica/organised-
crime/UNITED_NATIONS_CONVENTION_AGAINST_TRANSNATIONAL_ORGANIZED_C
RIME_AND_THE_PROTOCOLS_THERETO.pdf
International Encyclopedia of Terrorism
https://icct.nl/sites/default/files/2023-03/Schmidt%20-%20Defining%20Terrorism_1.pdf
Resolution 1540 (2004):
https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n04/328/43/pdf/n0432843.pdf
Resolution 1674 (2006):
https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n06/331/99/pdf/n0633199.pdf
Resolution 2195 (2014):
https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n14/708/75/pdf/n1470875.pdf
Resolution 2349 (2017):
https://www.globalr2p.org/resources/resolution-2349-peace-and-security-in-africa-lake-chad-
basin-s-res-2349/
Matamis, J. (2024). The UN Security Council Discusses Cyber Threats to International
Security. Stimson Center. https://www.stimson.org/2024/un-security-council-cyber-threats-to-
international-security/
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