April, 2018, New York, NY —For the 14th consecutive year, John Jay ranked among the top ten percent of colleges and universities at the National Model United Nations (NMUN), which competed with one another in a week-long global competition that brought together approximately 5,500 students from over 30 countries around the world.
Each year, NMUN delegations represent a different member state of the United Nations, with John Jay this year representing the Kingdom of Morocco. President Hannah Amodine led the United Nations Student Association (UNSA) along with Secretary Monica Zambrano. The team was advised and mentored by Professor Jacques Fomerand of the Department of Political Science.
After two semesters of extensive preparation, the team gathered for the annual conference from March 25–29 at the Sheraton and Hilton hotels in New York City. There, they served as delegates on a number of Model U.N. committees, in which they deliberated, negotiated, drafted and adopted resolutions and prepared reports on a wide range of politically sensitive issues, including: cybersecurity, measures to counter terrorism, combating the illicit small arms and light weapons trade (General Assembly First Committee); aid effectiveness, the role of urbanization in sustainable development (General Assembly Second Committee); the rights of people to self-determination, the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance, equitable access to education (General Assembly Third Committee);improving mechanisms of transparency and accountability within the UN system, strengthening accountability in regard to sexual exploitation in field missions, UN reform (General Assembly Fifth Committee); the conservation and restoration of ecosystems in urban areas, empowering youth for sustainable development, the impact of pollution on marine life (United Nations Environment Assembly); the impact of climate change on World Heritage Sites, fostering environments for freedom of expression, combatting illicit trafficking of cultural property (UNESCO); promoting citizen citizenship among youth, using ICT to promote gender equality, advancing human rights and development through artificial intelligence (International Telecommunications Union); the complete eradication of chemical weapons, providing protection and assistance to victims of chemical weapons, the role of OPCW in counter terrorism (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, OPCW); achieving the Arab Development Outlook, strengthening Arab least developed countries, reducing the occurrence of gender-based violence (Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, ESCWA); and addressing climate migration, migration in Libya, strengthening cooperation between IOM and civil society (International Organization for Migration, IOM).
John Jay’s team received an Honorable Delegation award which recognizes the quality of the preparation, participation and contributions of the overall delegation in all committees. An additional award was given to General Assembly Committee 5, represented by Dillon and Nicole for their Outstanding Position Paper, and another was given to General Assembly Committee 5 for the outstanding delegation floor work carried out by Kyle Roberts and Boukary Salogo.
Throughout the fall and spring semesters, the 24-member team regularly trained for the conference, meeting for two to three hours every Friday at 6:00PM, as well as countless hours throughout the week and fall break. They honed their research skills, drafted position papers, rehearsed their public speaking skills, refined their mediating and consensus building techniques while mastering the intricacies of UN procedures and familiarizing themselves with issues of global concern.
John Jay’s 2017-2018 NMUN team included students from a wide variety of academic disciplines, the executives of numerous student organizations, Presidential Interns, Vera Fellows, McNair Scholars, members of the Honors Program and Student-Athletes. These students, with roots in over a dozen countries, were: Hanna Amodine, Raman Banwait, Lynnel Brice, Alondra Cuevas, Dillon Epperson, Justin Guico, Niven Hemraj, Genan Ismail, Amanda Jamal, Nicole Kalczynski, Samuel Keselman, Suzanna Komyshan, Meerim Madakimova, Oscar Marin, Sammy Nijem, Christian Perez, Nimra Raja, Kyle Roberts, Eugenio Rotondi, Boukary Salogo, Sean Skeeters and Monica Zambrano.
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About John Jay College of Criminal Justice: An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. John Jay is home to faculty and research centers at the forefront of researching and advancing criminal and social justice reform. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College engages the theme of justice and explores fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu.
