Economic Commission on West African States
Topic Summary
This topic examines the rise of forced labour trafficking within artisanal and small-scale mining sectors across West Africa, focusing on countries such as Guinea, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, and Niger. Trafficking networks exploit vulnerable populations—particularly children and migrant labourers—through debt bondage, coercion, and hazardous working conditions at informal gold and mineral mines. These trafficking systems fuel illicit economies, undermine state authority, and perpetuate cycles of poverty and instability in the region. This issue sits at the intersection of humanitarian protection, economic vulnerability, and transnational criminal activity, offering delegates a unique opportunity to explore how states and the international community can strengthen legal frameworks, improve labour monitoring, enhance cross-border cooperation, and address the underlying socioeconomic drivers of forced labour trafficking.
Dear Delegates,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Economic Commission of West African States on Forced Labour Trafficking in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in West Africa! My name is Martina Jaramillo, and I am honored to serve as your Director for HMUN Boston 2027. This topic sits at the intersection of economic development, labor rights, and regional cooperation, and I look forward to seeing how you engage with it through both analytical rigor and creative, thoughtful problem-solving!
A little about me: I am currently a sophomore at Harvard University studying Economics and Government. I was born in Italy, am half Ecuadorian, and grew up primarily in Miami, Florida, but I now live in Leverett House! My academic interests center on climate governance, sustainable food systems, and development, and I conduct research at MIT and the Harvard Kennedy School on climate policy for drought adaptation in West Africa, as well as on how governance structures shape food security. Alongside this, I work with the Harvard Public Opinion Project, contributing to the United States’ largest youth public opinion poll, and am involved with Harvard Undergraduate Consulting on Business and the Environment. Outside of academics, I love exploring new cafés and bookstores, learning photography, collecting postcards from my travels, and searching for the best dessert spots in every new city I visit!
While I did not have extensive Model UN experience in high school, joining Harvard’s International Relations Council introduced me to the collaborative and intellectually engaging environment that defines HMUN, and since then I have had the opportunity to serve as an Assistant Director for both HMUN and HNMUN Boston 2026, as well as direct the African Union committee at HMUN Australia 2026. This past summer, I also interned at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva, where I engaged with issues of sustainable economic growth and gained firsthand insight into international policymaking processes that I am excited to bring into this committee!
I am very much looking forward to meeting all of you in-person and hearing your perspectives, but in the meantime, please feel free to reach out with any questions about the background guide, committee procedure, or simply to introduce yourself!
Sincerely,
Martina Jaramillo
Director, ECOWAS
ecowas@harvardmun.org
Harvard Model United Nations 2027