LETTER OF SECRETARY GENERAL

It is my utmost privilege and honour to announce and serve as the Secretary-General of the

seventh edition of Kadir Has University Model United Nations Conference 2021.

Today’s era has been shifted unforeseeably different, unpredictably fast. Adapting to

circumstances will never be easy as it has never been. Despite all circumstances, in due

course, it is your turn to shine. Therefore, we as the HASMUN’21 Academic and

Organization team have undergone marvellous efforts to serve you, participants, one of the

greatest online Model United Nations Conference.

In this year’s edition, four different committees will be serving which are, Disarmament and

International Security Committee (DISEC), United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

(UNOOSA), European Council, and United Nations Women (UNWOMEN). HASMUN’21

will concentrate and scope in today’s current global problems other than the COVID-19

pandemic in order to make think on other current ongoing problems since we had enough and

bored with it.

As it has been aforementioned, HASMUN’21 will be entirely conducted on-line due to

unfortunate circumstances which we are wholly profoundly concerned about. It is not an easy

job but we all be working marvelously to make your experience better.

I want to conclude my words by thanking everyone involved in the Academic and

Organization team for their greatest works and efforts. Lastly, much appreciated and many

thanks to all participants of this year’s HASMUN for making dreams come true.

#welcomehome

Kindest Regards,

Efe Costu

LETTER OF UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL

Dear delegates,

I am Ahmet Arda Taşkireç and I am a sophomore student in Hacettepe University in the

department of English Linguistics also third-year student of International Relations in Anadolu

University. Inıtially, I hope you and your families are doing fine in these malicious times. It is

my utmost joy to serve you as the Under-Secretary-General of GA-1 DISEC in one of the most

well-known conferences in Turkey, Kadir Has University Model United Nations conference.

All around the world reigning powers are taking various type of actions regarding various type

of scenarios. These actions ,time to time, being diplomatic actions or military actions. In this

particular committee, we will mainly focus on military actions taking place in between foreign

countries’ borderlines that are mostly effected by the diplomatic ones. The questions such as;

How and why these military interventions occur? Or What are the real urges and motives behind

the invader countries’ interventions? Or How humane these interventions taking place? must be

enlightened with the guilty and the victim all together. As a consequance of these interventions,

no metter the conditions and how humane these interventions are operated, residents dying,

being harmed and removed, harassed and forced to migrate. In recent years, we all witnessed

such events and our country is also effected both demographically and economically. As it has

always been, the warfare is expanding in different domains. Non-state actors gaining power,

cyber warfare raising prominence in between countries. However, basic motives of war remains

the same. Apart from other committees, The First General Assembly Disarmament and

International Security Committee focuses on disarmament, global challenges and threats to

peace that affect the international community and looks for solutions to the difficulties in the

international security regime. Therefore, your duty is crucially important when it comes to

peace, security and most importantly human lifes and their standards.

I kindly urge you to promote peace and show what is violence and how to eliminate it.

During the conference, widen your perspectives of creativity in coming up with new methods

of preventing mishaps in this particular subject. Attending this precious conference is only one

tiny step in your path of developing analitical and practical intelligence. I advise you to use your

time wisely and come up with magnificent solutions and not to be mediocre.

I would like to thank the people that matters the most to me when it comes to this

splendid conference. Efe Coştu, Bulut Vize, academic team and organization team. Last but not

least, my dear hardworking academic assistants, Ervin Nur Doğuş and Vedat Babatan for their

efforts.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via

ahmetardataskirec@gmail.com

Best regards,

Ahmet Arda Taşkireç

Under-Secretary-General of GA-1 DISEC

Table of Contents

• Introduction to the GA-1 DISEC

• Agenda Item: Foreign Military Interventions in Internal Conflicts

• Foreign Military Interventions in Internal Conflicts

• Definition of the key concepts o Definition of Intervention o Sovereignty o Military

Installations o Private Military and Security Company o Responsibility to Protect

(R2P) o Mercenary

• Historical Background of the Topic

• Role-Playing Countries and Blocks’ Positions

INTRODUCTION TO GA-1 DISEC

United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee, DISEC, is one of the most important and

central bodies of the United Nations. The First Committee deals with the issues that are related

to disarmament problems, international security on a global scale and security problems

threating the national and international peace. The committee considers all of the disarmament

and international security problems within the scope of the UN Charter or relating to the powers

and functions of any other organ of the United Nations. The general principles of cooperation

in the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as principles governing

disarmament and the regulation of armaments; promotion of cooperative arrangements and

measures aimed at strengthening stability through lower levels of armaments. The aim of the

committee is to maintain international peace and security with the actions taken by the member

states. These actions can be either internal or external actions that are generally ordered by

reports with suggestions like reducing the firepower in specific conflict zones or operations.

Since DISEC is a General Assembly Committee, its power to take decisions is restricted. The

most powerful authority is to inform and provide necessary establishments or authorities about

agenda item-related events and operations.

Agenda Item: Foreign Military Interventions in Internal Conflicts

As being one of the most overwhelmingly discussed topics of the last decade, foreign

military interventions in internal conflicts are one of the major concerns upon the

countries comprehension of peace and most importantly solidarity of it with the common

consensus. Stemming from some particular preliminary reasons foreign military

interventions into some other countries internal conflicts occur. These interventions have

fundamental purposes such as promoting and protecting the sovereignity of the state (only

if depleted by the governments itself) and securing the human lifes and rights. If there is

no life threatening contradictions in between a government and its citizens, shall there be

no interventions?

When it is taken into consideration, it is presumed that these interventions are t aking

place as a result of humanitarian purposes. However, not all of them. These operations

may possess various modified and clandestine purposes. Not surprisingly, these

interventions are most of the time being justified and therefore being morally

legalised.Thus enabling the intervenient to be brutal at times and deviating from the moral

compass at the field.

Initiating from the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 and reaching today with nonignorable

amounts of civil wars and unforeseen upheavals, the topic of the foreign military

interventions in armed conflicts has been debated for many time on different summits

and platforms.

This particular subject is mostly on DISEC’s hands to be taken under consideration and

if necessary, through the negotiations Security Council shall be called. Therefore,

Security Council may investigate any dispute,or any situation which might lead to

international friction or give rise to a dispute, in order to determine whether the

continuance of the dispute or situation is likely to endanger the maintenance of

international peace and security.

DEFINITION OF THE KEY CONCEPTS

Intervention : the action of becoming intentionally involved in a difficult situation, in order to

improve it or prevent it from getting worse. (dictionary Cambridge)

Soverignty : the power of a country to control its own government (Cambridge)

Military Installations : A base, camp, post, station, yard, center, or other activity under the

jurisdiction of the Secretary of a Military Department or, in the case of an activity in a foreign

country, under the operational control of the Secretary of a Military Department.

(Freedictionary)

Private Military and Security Company : private military company (PMSC) is a private

company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. (Britannica)

Responsibility to Protect (R2P) : The responsibility to protect embodies a political

commitment to end the worst forms of violence and persecution. It seeks to narrow the gap

between Member States’ pre-existing obligations under international humanitarian and human

rights law and the reality faced by populations at risk of genocide, war crimes, ethnic

cleansing and crimes against humanity. (United Nations)

Mercenary : a soldier hired into foreign service.

Historical Background of the Topic

Wars also raged throughout history, dating back to the dawn of civilization. Conflicts

over land and wealth have always existed. However, as advanced modes of diplomacy,

military action, and state-sanctioned operations have proliferated, the question of

international intervention has become a more pressing concern on the global level. Various

military interventions took place all around the world prior to the present era. Since

colonization was at an all-time peak as a means of maximizing national power, empires like

the British, French, and Spanish were drawn into the rivalry and conflicts that existed within

different independent territories. Taking advantage of the conflict, these countries will

swoop in to conquer the fragmented region and seize power(Hauss, 2003). Nations would

often act to defend their rights even though they were not directly colonized. The

suppression of the Boxer Rebellion is one historical precedent from the past. The Opium

War had broken the Qing Empire's former domination in China, leaving it weakened. Our

primary focus, however, is in the disputes that shaped the new era's norms. Although

historical experiences are instructive in terms of lessons learned, diplomatic revolutions

have altered how the world sees interference and military action.

The Cold War Era

During the Cold War, two main powers rose to prominence: the United States and the Soviet

Union. The competition for soft dominance and strong relationships continued as the conflict

remained devoid of overt military threats between the two major powers. The Truman

Doctrine in the United States solidified the US government's containment policy: interfering

in various regimes around the world to prevent a domino effect of communist states

expanding. This culminated in a series of "proxy battles" on international soil between both

sides and their respective allies. Although there was never an overt confrontation between the

Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War, both sides readily mobilized troops

and services in other countries where there were clashes of interests between the two sides.

The Korean War – On a Single Peninsula, An International Fight

The Korean War, the first of several interventionist wars during this era, established the

stage for future tensions between the two powers and their allies. After WWII, the

Korean peninsula was split into two independent powers: the north, controlled by the

Soviet Union, and the south, supported by the US. As each assumed rightful authority of

the entire peninsula, tensions increased(History.com editors, 2021) When North Korean

forces marched over the border in a surprise attack, tensions were eventually broken. The

powers advanced down the peninsula

easily, almost entirely overtaking the South. The invasion was condemned by the United

Nations, which sent troops to repel it. This military operation was mostly made up of

American and allied powers, and the UN action that pressed for it was passed without the

consent of either the USSR or China.

The combined United Nations armies beat back the Northern troops, almost capturing the

entire peninsula. However, the United Nations Command was forced to evacuate forces

after a subsequent Chinese invasion. Later in the conflict, the war mostly consisted of

backand-forth pushes between the two powers, with both sides losing and reclaiming

territory, before an armistice was signed that officially drew a line at the 38th parallel.

Although the Korean War was not as lengthy or as well-known as its later cousin, the

Vietnam War, it did serve as an example of the new era's many military interventions.

Despite just being on Korean turf, this war drew a large number of nations from all over

the world, making it the first of its kind in the modern period. This was also a conflict in

which the occupying nations' goals were not to take land or wealth, as had been the case

in the past, but to defend political and influence rights in the region. Notably, the United

States played an interesting part in this conflict as a possible armed power to defend

member nations' interests.

Intervention in the Post-Cold War World

Several various military operations have arisen around the world since the start and

end of the Soviet Union's dissolution. Many originated from the United States, which

had been the era's global hegemon. It has received both acclaim and criticism for its

numerous interventions. Here are a few of the interventions that the world powerhouse

has made over the years: 1. The Gulf War

2. The Afghanistan War

3. The Iraq War

4. Intervention of Haiti after 2015 coup

5. Intervention in the Syrian crisis

However, as interventions on the question of communism vs. capitalism have decreased,

interventions on political theory and desires have increased. Interventions from different

regional forces, in particular, are becoming more common. Saudi Arabia has been chastised

for its activities in Yemen, and China has stepped in to help.

Role-Playing Countries and Blocks’ Positions

The blocks’ and states’ positions are preliminarily related with foreign military interventions.

Thus these states and blocks may both negatively and positively effect the possible

intervention scenarios and forming impedimentiums upon them.

NATO ally countries, in comparison to the other blocks, are acting more supportive role when

it comes to interventionist policies. However, in most of the occurences they withdraw

interventions with ease most specfically under the R2P doctrine. To give a prominent

example, Military operations was conducted in Libya in 2011 by NATO, and NATO P5 states

fortified interventionist resolutions regarding Syria in the United Nations Security Council.

However, throughout history they have been unwillingly to conduct intervention operations.

Owing to the consequences that have been experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan, NATO has

not commited fully-fledged military interventions including the large-scale use of ground

troops. Interventions have been on a restricted domain with the utilization of spec-forces and

airforces.

China:

It has been more actively observed that in addition to Russia, China was more into conducting

military actions in foreign interventions. In addition to this particular subject their use of veto

power has been used as an emergency instrument when it comes to desicion making point in

terms of impedeing United Nations’ Security Council measures in Syria and Afghanistan.

Russia:

Russia has been more active in intervention operations. Russia, throughout history, has been

investing large amount of money on military enhancement. She had large amount of forces in

Syria supporting Assad regime in the conflict. It’s been said that the conflict in question

presents at critical level of danger to Russian security as happened in Afghanistan, promises

a high level of geopolitical benefit for Moscow as in Libya, or depicts moderate levels of

both of them(as in Syria pre-2015). That threshold could logically be met in a various scale of

country settings, which suggests that there are likely to be more of these limited domain

interventions in the future(Charap, Treyger & Geist, 2019).

Turkey:

In January, Turkey initiated an military intervention in Libya aiming to repel the Libyan

National Army (LNA)’s developing upon Tripoli, led by Khalifa Haftar. Therefore to revive

the flagging fortunes of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). As

Turkey was the GNA’s only military backer and the LNA, which is fortified by the United

Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and France was about to capture the city of Sirte, the

opportunities of successful Turkish offensive seemed slim. Despite, these long odds, Turkey,

with the assistance of Syrian proxy militias, reversed Haftar’s momentum and expelled his

forces from the Al-Wattiyah airbase on 18 May. As Turkey’s latest combat experience has

been restrained to intermittent campaigns in nearby territories, such as northeastern Syria and

northern Iraq, Turkey’s military intervention in Libya is a landmark success. Turkey’s

counter-offensive succeeded owing to advantage of striking first, as its rivals underestimated

its will to intervene in Libya, and the Turkish military’s effective use of proxy militias, air

power and stealth weaponry. As the GNA continues its military advance, Turkey has

bolstered its impact on the eastern Mediterranean. This rised Turkey’s impact allows it to

exert diplomatic leverage in Libya and has encouraged its opponents to include its rising

influence, with mixed success(Ramani).

Syria:

In terms of Syria, there are lots of pacts formed in seperate regimes. To give examples;

• Russia fortifies the al-Assad government.

• Iran supports the al-Assad government.

• Under President Obama, official American policy has been that Bashar al-Assad must

not in reign.

• Turkey, at first, called for al-Assad to go, however, has made steps towards aligning

with the Russian/Iranian alliance in an effort to defeat the jihadist opposition and the

Kurds.

• France goes againts the al-Assad regime and has supported various oppositional

groups.

• Britain opposes the al-Assad regime and supports various oppositional groups.

• The Saudi government is in fear of Iran's growing impact on the region and has

consistently called for the removal of their ally, al-Assad.

Various foreign states involved in the conflict. Each has different reasons for their

involvement based upon a variety of geopolitical and domestic concerns. As a result of these

oppositions of supporting groups, Syria faced with different difficulties in time. Refugee

crises occured in Turkey borders and consequently in European countries(Illınoıs Library,

2020)

QUESTIONS RESOLUTION SHOULD ANSWER

To what extend and time a foreign military intervention should last?

In which parameters a country should intervene in foreign lands?

How can cooperations be formed in terms of ensuring legal and ethical standarts by

utilization of PMSCs and NGOs ?

What actions can be taken in order to save the victims of non-humanitarian

interventions with the help of NGOs and United Nations’ Security Council?

How can GA-1 DISEC further enhance the United Nations’ concentration upon

working mercenary groups?

How can foreign military interventions be restrained?

Should non-humanitarian acts of war in the foreign military interventions be

punished?

References

Bell, D. (2016, November 2). Private military company. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/private-military-firm

Charap, S. , Treyger, E. & Geist, E. (2019) Understanding Russia's Intervention in Syria.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3180.html

Hauss, C. (2003, August). Military Intervention.

https://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/military_intervention

History.com editors. (2021, April 25). Korean War. A&E Television Networks

Korean War - Causes, Timeline & Veterans - HISTORY

Illınois Library. (2020). The Syrian Conflict: Foreign States.

https://guides.library.illinois.edu/Syria/Foreign

Military installation. (n.d.) Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. (2005). Retrieved

April 25 2021 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/military+installation

Ramani, S. (n.d.) Turkey’s Military Intervention in Libya: A Surprise Triumph for Erdogan.

https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/ramani_web.pdf

United Nations Office On Genocide Prevention And The Resposibility To Protect. (n.d.)

https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/about-responsibility-to-protect.shtml

Further Reading

Gulf Cooperation Council | History, Member Countries, Purpose, & Summits | Britannica

Milestones: 1945–1952 - Office of the Historian (state.gov) https://gsdrc.org/topic-

guides/international-legal-frameworks-for-humanitarianaction/challenges/the-

responsibility-to-protect/

https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1566&context=mjil

http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1385300/FULLTEXT01.pdf

https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/406909

https://archive.globalpolicy.org/us-westward-expansion/26024-us-interventions.html

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-america-addicted-foreign-interventions-23582

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/mapping-the-turkish-

militarysexpanding-footprint/2020/08/28/0ac8a114-e8e3-11ea-bf44-

0d31c85838a5_story.html

https://paxforpeace.nl/media/download/pax-report-under-the-radar--arms-trade.pdf

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