! UNAR 2017 Security Council

UNAR 2017 Security Council

Committee Description This committee will be run Harvard Style wherein no resolutions may be brought to committee pre-drafted. This includes bulleted lists or any other aspects that are associated with resolutions. Delegates may bring printed-out statistics, maps, and other relevant articles that do not violate the stated rule. Failure to comply with the aforementioned will result in disqualification from consideration for awards, potentially even for paper plate awards. However, delegates may still bring research and are encouraged to write position papers as a way of compiling research and ideas. To be eligible for an award, a delegate must submit a position paper on at least one of the committee topics, but it is strongly recommended to write a position paper on each topic as a way of outlining ideas and coming prepared with a developed understanding of all the topics. Position papers and performance in committee will be used to distinguish between awards for delegates. Security Council has three topics as opposed to the usual four which are to be found in GA and Plenary committees. Because of this, delegates are expected to spend more time understanding these topics and staying up to date with developments on these topics. This may even include events occurring on the day of the conference or the days leading up to the conference, so stay current with your research. This committee is one of the most intense and rewarding offered at this conference. Coming to committee prepared, advocating for your country, and participating in a conscientious manner are all things that will make your experience worthwhile. Take note of how these topics connect to global themes and how they might affect the global political climate. Having a broad perspective coming into this committee will be helpful, and it will provide an additional element of interest. Delegates will represent the nations in the Security Council. Only delegates from schools with current member nations may sign up for this committee. Best of luck with your research! If you have any questions pertaining to this committee, feel free to email us at the addresses given above.

Chairs

Evan Wisner evanwisner@gmail.com

Jack Underhill Junderhi8308@gmail.com

Hello! My name is Jack Underhill. I’m looking forward to chairing Security Council for UNAR 2017! I am a junior at Jamesville-Dewitt high school, and have done MUN for 2 years. This is my first time chairing. Outside of MUN I am a member of my school’s Peer Tutoring Club and Mentors for Violence Prevention. I run both indoor and outdoor track as a sprinter, and play soccer. If you have any questions, please feel free to email myself or my cochair!

I have participated in MUN since Freshman year. I’m currently a junior at Pittsford Sutherland and this will be my third time chairing. Outside of MUN, I am involved in a number of extracurriculars ranging from Debate Club, of which I am Co-President, to my school’s literary magazine, Pegasus and some things in between. I play trumpet in my school’s Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Jazz Combo. I am also the vocal soloist for Sutherland’s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo. Lastly, I row for Pittsford Crew.

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Topic One: Al-Shabab In 2006, a militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts took over most of southern Somalia. This group, Al-Shabab--meaning “The Youth” in Arabic--was defeated in 2007 by Somali and Ethiopian forces, but still continues its insurgency in central and southern Somalia. Al-Shabab, using terrorist tactics and guerilla warfare, has controlled strategic locations in those regions for short and sustained periods of time. Constant infighting in Al-Shabab has degraded much of its former influence, with tensions rising to the point where in 2013 a major purge was carried out against opponents of Ahmed Abdi Aw-Mohamed. This group is not centralized or uniform, but

rather a loose organization of clans all united against the Somali Federal Government. Al-Shabab is focused mostly on nationalistic pursuits, with most not supportive of global jihad, despite being an affiliate of Al Qaeda since 2012. It has carried out attacks against not only the Federal Government of Somalia but also the African Union Mission in Somalia, NGOs, and peacekeepers. They continue to actively fight in Somalia, and are responsible for assassinating peace activists, journalists, aid workers, and important civil figures. They have also perpetrated bombings, including suicide attacks, in Mogadishu and in other locations in central and northern Somalia. In its occupation, Al-Shabab has been known to institute a strict version of Sharia Law, with practices like stoning women to death for adultery and amputating the hand of thieves. This group is motivated heavily by religion and is responsible for many acts of terror and mass killings. One such event, the bloodiest in Al-Shabab’s history, was the massacre at Garissa University in Kenya. This attack against Christian students killed 148, topping the terrorist organization’s previous attack at Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall in 2013, which claimed the lives of 68. Al-Shabab continues to incite terror and violence in Somalia and countries surrounding it. This group has shown that it will never yield, and its 7,000-9,000 fighters will ensure that the group continues to destabilize the region. Thousands are dead, both citizens and soldiers, on account of this conflict and, despite the group’s decrease in numbers, Al-Shabab is more radicalized than ever, more violent than ever, and expanding into other regions, inciting unprecedented troubling violence and bloodshed. What can be done to permanently prevent the resurgence of Al-Shabab? How do Al-Shabab and Somalia relate to the larger issue of radical terrorism? What level of foreign involvement is necessary to ensure the stability and safety of Somalia?

Sources:

Stanford: Mapping Militants: http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/61

Human Rights Watch: https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/27/somalia-civilians-serious-risk

BBC: Africa: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15336689

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Topic Two: Oromo The Borana Oromo is the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and East Africa, comprising 35% of Ethiopia’s 100 million people. For decades this group, a majority in terms of population, has been marginalized and systemically oppressed by the government of Ethiopia. Oromos have been subject to unwarranted surveillance, policing, prosecution, and imprisonment by the Ethiopian government. Tensions finally came to a boil on November 12th, 2015, after decades of suffering for these people, in the government's efforts to expand, administratively and territorially, the boundaries of Addis Ababa into neighboring Oromo towns and villages. Protests erupted in hundreds of towns and cities across the nation, prompting the government to take action. The Ethiopian government responded to these year-long protests with disproportionate and overwhelming violence against these protesters. This state-mandated violence killed hundreds, and silenced the nation. Ethiopia, preceding these events, was already one of the most censored nations globally, having a complex policing structure which permeates all levels of its social structure, even individual households. But following these protests, and journalistic outcry to the international community, censorship took a completely new definition. Not only were articles repressed from print, but journalists were arrested, protests were banned, print and broadcast media shutdown, and political freedoms heavily restricted. The Ethiopian government even turns off the country’s internet periodically to prevent news coverage. Citizens of Oromo went into the streets of Gondar City in the hundreds of thousands on August 1st, 2016, to protest these human rights violations, leading to further government retaliation. Stampedes in which protesters flee from heavily armed, government-sanctioned policing have killed thousands, many underfoot due to trampling as protests continue to spread across Ethiopia. The protests have disabled the country, with the destruction of factories, often foreign in ownership, leading to further instability. On October 9th, 2016 the Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency. This action allowed the government to take unrestricted actions to restrict rights and freedoms. These actions are supposed to be proportionate and necessary to contain threats, a concept often breached as armed security forces fire bullets on peaceful protesters. This state of emergency is permanent, and its goals are for development and security. Of course, a logical question is “for whom?” A government no longer of the people and certainly not for the people has developed in Ethiopia and this government is taking efforts reminiscent of actions in the 20th century which led to millions dead--a possible outcome if the present situation is allowed to continue. Who should be responsible for oversight of Ethiopia during their declared state of emergency? What is the best way to reconcile the concerns of the people with the government? How can the UNSC address fundamental problems in the Ethiopian government?

Sources:

CNN: Ethiopia’s Oromo Protest: http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/09/africa/ethiopia-oromo-protest/ Washington Post: Ethiopia Imposes a State of Emergency: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/ethiopia-imposes-state-of-emergency-as-unrest-intensifies/2016/10/10/7825391e-8ee9-11e6-bc00-1a9756d4111b_story.html?utm_term=.bd4176b305f9 Al-Jazeera: State Emergency in Ethiopia: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/ethiopia-declares-state-emergency-protests-161009110506730.html

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Topic Three: The Situation in Myanmar

The modern history of Myanmar is a bloody one. In 1962, a military junta seized control of the country, and ruled for almost 50 years using severe repression and violence. In 2011, elections took place and, though the military still held considerable power, steps toward democratization were made. These steps included removing some media restrictions, releasing some prisoners in an amnesty program, and beginning peace talks with some of the armed ethnic groups of the country. Myanmar has also been working hard to improve foreign relations after a long period of sanctions and general isolation that existed due to the military rule. In the last two years considerable progress has been made in terms of the government. Aung San Suu Kyi, leading the National League for Democracy, won enough seats in the parliament to establish a new government in 2015, and foreign relations have improved dramatically. Many of the sanctions that had been in place for decades have been lifted. However, since 2012 there has also been serious sectarian violence, primarily between the Buddhist majority and the Muslims of the Rakhine state: the Rohingya. After an attack near the Bangladeshi border in October of 2016, there has been more and more bloodshed between the Muslim and Buddhist groups, leading to a military crackdown on the Muslim community. There has been a relative, though not total, lack of punishment for Buddhist individuals and groups involved in violence. One of the main issues that has incited violence between the groups is that of citizenship. The stateless Rohingya are not officially considered citizens, and though the international community has pressured the government of Myanmar to address this, they have yet to. They cite the fact that granting their request for citizenship is likely to anger the Buddhists of the country, the National League for Democracy’s main constituent. The violence between these two groups, and others, threatens the newly formed democratic government, along with the livelihoods of regular Myanmarese. There is an estimated 140,000 displaced Rohingya in the country, along with the tens of thousands who have fled the country, and the thousands that have been killed. Many of the refugees live in camps, such as the Thet Kae Pyin camp, where there is often a severe lack of food, and people living in them are, in most cases, barred from leaving. The conditions are made even direr by the fact that in some areas, especially in the northern regions of the Rakhine state, military groups are preventing humanitarian aid from being delivered. The Rakhine state is, according to some reports, in danger of becoming an ethnic cleansing and humanitarian crisis close in gravity to Rwanda or Bosnia. What can be done about the precarious relationship between the military and the government to help create stability and peace? To what extent should the international community become involved in an issue that is largely limited to one country? How can the humanitarian aid be delivered to those in need?

Sources:

World Politics Review: http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/20432/troubling-signs-of-unrest-in-

western-myanmar-threaten-suu-kyi-s-fragile-government

Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/articles/death-toll-rises-in-myanmar-bloodshed-1479259760

The Diplomat: file://localhost/%20http/::thediplomat.com:2016:12:the-dark-depths-of-myanmars-rohingya-

tragedy:%20