Tuesday, April 1st 2014

The Westphalian Diplomat1st April 2014

“We the peoples” — the first three wordsof the UN Charta already outline the key tounderstanding the concept of the UnitedNations. With its member statesrenouncing some of their own sovereigntyfor the greater good, the United Nations isnot a coalition of governments but aim atrepresenting each and every individual inthe Global Community.The Conference Headline „Beyond Wethe Peoples — The Many Faces ofSovereignty“, addresses the individualrights and freedoms that the UnitedNations promote and try to enforce for thisGlobal Community. In his moving speechat the festive opening ceremony last nightMUIMUN Secretary General Kai Kröger elaborated onthe organization´s purpose and drew attention to thegreat chances opened to the sovereign individual.“What shapes our identity is the people we meet”, KaiKröger emphasizes when building a bridge to the diverseand likewise open-minded platform a conference likeMUIMUN displays for participants. “This is more than asimulation” he insists.This year´s patron, the International Criminal Court´sChief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, also values

internationalcollaborationamong youngpeople. In one ofher interviews theGambian juristaffirms “We share acommon bond andit is our duty tomake sure that we

preserve that bond”.Key note speaker Jennifer Wong, InternationalParalympic Committee Development Manager, embraced

the idea behind Model United Nations. ParalympicAthletes “inspire and excite the world as catalysts ofchange”. The same role can be adopted by MUN delegateswho can raise awareness about Human Rights and globalchallenges while having a life-enhancing experience.In the historic atmosphere of Münster Castle and withthe musical support from “Catfish”, MUIMUN 2014 has

been declaredopen.During thefollowingChampagneReceptionthe delegatescould enjoythe cheerfuland chattyatmosphereexchanging

expectations about what will hopefully be a marvelousweek.

ByFranziska Funke

“This is more than a simulation”

MUIMUN page 2 | Committees page 3-7 | Timetable page 8 | Panorama page 8

B r e a k i n g NewsThe french goverment retreats from its office after a crushing defeat by the National Front.NATO has bolstered annual air drills being held over Baltic countries, while Russia announces partial retreatfrom the Ukrainian border.Yesterday the UK presented plans to join the European monetary union, to weaken the Russian economy.

2 Tuesday 1st April 2014 - TheWestphalian Diplomat

Especially all those among us whocould be called MUN-addicts, thosekids travelling dozens of kilometresto spend a day, a weekend, or a weekin a stuffy room to either drive othersnuts or be driven nuts by others dueto annoying behaviour and opinions— doing all of this voluntarily — oftenask themselves why they continuedoing what they do. And why it wasjust about the right decision to cometo MUIMUN again or for the firsttime. This story is to you and yourbrilliance of choice.MUIMUN in Münster. Not toomany people know that cute littleplace in Germany, famous for cyclingand countless amounts of studentsand churches. Oh, and the rain. Ofcourse. But hold on, this is going inthe wrong direction. Where was I…right, MUIMUN. Once a year, Marchor April most of the times, around200-250 students from all over theworld gather in Münster for a weekof thrilling debates, cultural exchangeand negotiating solutions not onlyduring the day but over a beer or twoat the social night outs. If you

happened to meet the “old ones”, theones that the Germans call “the oldrabbits”, they probably already toldyou why MUIMUN in Münster was agood choice. Let’s be sure we allknow.MUIMUN offers a greatopportunity among all the small andthe big MUNs around the globe toexperience unique features of theMUN-World. Although not one ofthe cheapest in Germany, MUIMUNas the second largest German MUNincludes so many fantastichappenings. Not every MUN-veterangets the chance to negotiate theworld’s problems in the cradle of theWestphalian Peace. No other MUNenables financially disadvantagedstudents to participate at aconference on the other side of theplanet. Not every MUN prepares thenext generation of MUN-fellows byoffering local High-School studentsthe partaking and on the other handchallenging university students tointeract with them. We alloweveryone to continue debating overlunch at excellent venues in town and

one might witness delegates’attempts on trying their very beststrategy to convince others fromworking papers or draft resolutionsat the nightly events. During theworkshops, experts enable delegatesto widen their horizons on differentissues and inform on interestingtopics. A great organising team is thewhole time mostly concerned tomake the time an unforgettable andmost enjoyable experience foreveryone, trying to handle problemsor questions immediately and toeveryone’s satisfaction. Oh, andplease, let’s not forget about thecoffee and cookies during sessions.This glorious, dark sweet temptationthat helps overcoming the lack ofsleep… A great week of debates,food, most likely rain (have you everseen delegates arriving in rainprotection clothing … you will inMünster) , decent night outs — butmost importantly: Friendships forlife, all over the planet.Let’s be honest. It was and alwayswill be the right choice.By JackyWestermann

WhyMUIMUNwas a good choice

What’s yourfirstimpressionofMünster?Nour:Münster is allgreen, allsunny. I heardthat last year itwas cold andrainy. So

maybe, we brought the sun with usfrom Tunisia. And it’s the first time Isee so many people using the bike, it’sreally sustainable.What’s your experience with

MUNs so far?Nour: Actually, this will be my firstMUN abroad, so I’m pretty excited. I

used to chair MUNs in Tunisia andwas a delegate there as well. It’s notvery different, but it’s exciting to seehow it’s organized in other countriesand how other people are dealingwith it.Why did you decide to do

MUIMUN?Nour: Actually, I had a friend whoused to be a delegate at MUIMUNtwo years ago, and she was veryimpressed and told me I should try it.Also, there were plans in Tunisia todo MUNs abroad and I thought thatMUIMUN was a good start as myfriend really liked it.What do you expect from this

week?Above all I would like to meet new

people, see new cultures andexperience a simulation abroad. Iwould also like to make friends — thecommittee is small, so we will be allfriends together, like a little family.Do you have any advice for the

MUN beginners this week?Nour: Be spontaneous. Leave it tothe moment. Don’t be too wellorganized. You can’t be 100 percentorganized all the time. You will feelthe moment, you will meet newpeople. All the new kinds ofsurprises, good and I hope not bad,will always be a part of thisadventure.

ByLisa Neidl

The Many Faces ofMUIMUN: Chair Nour FellahMUIMUN

TheWestphalian Diplomat - Tuesday 1st April 2014 3

The first meeting of thescholars took place on Sundayevening in the local pub „DasBlaue Haus” (The bluehouse) . And of course, it wasa very serious issue, withyoung people from all overthe world discussingimportant political matters…Actually, it was not. Thatevening, politics stayed athome. It was much moreabout getting to know eachother, talking about the firstimpressions of Münster or thevoyage. For example there wereTamar from Georgia and Mesropfrom Armenia. They both arrived onSaturday and are really lookingforward to the conference.Both enjoyed Münster so far,especially the lifestyle with all thebicycles. Mesrop actually said that

going by bike would be suicide inYerewan, Armenia´s capital. Theyboth also liked the city itself. WhileTamar enjoyed the historic city centreand the lush greens, Mesrop adoredthe calmness and the mild weather.And what is also compulsoryduring a conversation in a Germanpub? That’s right, German beer.

Tamar and Mesrop evenknew the German brew“Krombacher” from theircountry and both of themthought it was a greatbrand.Of course the meetingwas not, as suggested in theheadline, all about beer.Finally, the melting potbuzzed with impressionsand stories and one couldfeel the ambitious andenthusiastic prevailing

mood preceding the conference.

By JohannesHuland

Round Table: It's all about Krombacher

The African Unionfounded in 2011 is animportant regionalorganization, comprisingalmost all independentnations on the Africancontinent. Its tasks areextremely diverse, rangingfrom peacekeeping tosocial development, fromeconomic cooperation tohealth care and education.“Africa is a continent with

many possibilities: The growingeconomy, the natural recourses andthe very young population offer ahuge potential.” This quotation wasmade by Gerd Müller, GermanMinister of Development, during hisflight to South Sudan last week. Butcivil war and exploitation determinethe everyday lives of many Africansand economic, political and socialdevelopment seem to be impossible

in some countries due tocircumstances.The African Union (AU) atMUIMUN 2014 will focus on twoactual topics which are primeexamples for challenges theinternational community currentlyhas to face in Africa.Topic A: Challenges of theYoungest African Country — TheAftermath of the South Sudan

ConflictTopic B: Exploiting Africa´sMineral Resources — A Matterof SovereigntyThe euphoria that followedindependence of South Sudanon July 9, 2011 was shortlived. Complex political,economic and humanitarianissues have resurfaced.Furthermore the creation of alegal framework and commonstandards for more reasonable

trading with African mineralresources could be in the centre ofattention.The chairs, Florian Wittrock andJan-Ole Kaevel, are looking forwardto fruitful debates and solutions toenable Africa to tap its full potential.

ByMagdalena Tröndle

AU: Assuming responsibility as international community

COMMITTEES


As one of the five regional UNbodies the “Economic Commissionfor Latin America and theCaribbean” aims at invigoratingeconomic integration andcollaboration between the memberstates.This year´s conference topicscritically assess differentimplementations of economicapproaches and address politicalimbalances:Topic A: “The subsistence of theOrganization of American States(OAS) as a political regional organfor democracy, or the creation of analternative organisation”Topic B: “Common markets in theregion vs. free commerce in thecontinent according to the DohaDevelopment Round”The first topic introduced byMUIMUN chairman Jose Antonio

Viella Sierrra and his co-chair MaríaEmília Alvarez Falconi arousesconsiderable criticism on thestructuring of the Organization ofAmerican States. In the eye of manyLatin-American countries thepredominance of the United Statesobstructs the consistency, neutralityand transparency of the OAS which

opens a debate on theorganization´s future.Finding an economical conceptthat allows for the high profitsfrom free trade and meanwhilevitalizes regional markets is anambitious challenge. Whendiscussing Topic B, liberalconcepts as introduced by theDoha Development Round andembraced by the United Statesclash Latin-American agriculturalstructures and raise the questionon how two different economic

philosophies can be merged in asustainable policy for the continent.Being one of the conference´sflagships the Spanish-speakingcommittee enriches the conferenceby bringing in a new language anddelegates from differentbackgrounds.ByFranziska Funke

CEPAL: Economic integration amidst power imbalances

By definition, the Economicand Social Council’s goal is to“achieve internationalcooperation in solvinginternational problems of aneconomic, social, cultural orhumanitarian character [...] ”As a step on the long to way tofulfill the milleniumdevelopment goals the chairs ofthe ECOSOC, Sjifra de Leeuwand Holger Teske, decided tofocus on economic cooperationby choosing the following topicsto be discussed:

A) Financial Inclusion and theIncreasing Significance of theInformal Sector inProviding Micro-Loans in Sub-Saharan Africa

B) Overcoming Energy Povertyin Developing CountriesUnlike Asia most of the loans inSub-Saharan Africa are not provided

by the private sector but by thepublic.The lack of access to affordablepossibilities of financing upstartingbusinesses is blocking the road tohigher personal income and agrowing GDP. The introduction ofinstitutions such as the Irish loanfunds or the Grameen Bank inBangladesh is expected to establish a

higher financial standard.A globally standardizeddefinition of Energy Poverty isyet to be determined hence aprecise goal is not in sight yet. Bysolving the problem of energypoverty the developing countrieswill obtain the means toindustrial growth which isheavily relying on the energyinvested in it. Also, researcheshave shown it might simplify theaccess to food, health andmedicine.

The ECOSOC is cooperating withagencies such as World Bank andIMF to fulfill its recommendations.That is why it will be crucial for thecommittee to reach a powerfulagreement.

ByFelix Baumgärtel

ECOSOC: Steps on the road to the Millenium Goals

COMMITTEES


This year’s 1st committee of theGeneral Assembly — theCommittee on Disarmament andInternational Security/DISEC — isfocussing on two places not beingtypical war arenas yet: Outer spaceand cyberspace.By choosing topics- A: Militarisation, Weaponisationand the Prevention of an Arms Racein Outer Space and- B: New Battlegrounds: TheFuture of Cybersecurity andCyberwarfare) ,DISEC chairs Bernhard Dröge andSaad Arslan Iqbal introduced twopossible areas where conflicts couldtake place and therefore often havebeen classified as ‘threats of thefuture’. Since the committee’s taskscomprise disarmament, regulation ofweapons and the continuance ofpeace, security and stability against

global challenges and threats to theinternational community, this year’stopics fit perfectly in its scope ofduties.Every single day, we rely on spaceactivity, mainly satellites ensuring forexample communication andnavigation, as well as on data-exchange via the internet. All takingplace in spaces that are

geographicallyindependent and of asize beyond ourimagination. Bothareas enable newpossibilities of attacksand create anincreasingvulnerability ofpotential targets.Within the overalltopic of MUIMUN2014, DISEC’s

delegates are now asked to firstdecide which topic is moreimportant to their countries, to setthe agenda for this week and to startfruitful debates to compensate andsolve the resulting issues due to a lossof national sovereignty.

By JackyWestermann

GA 1st: “Invisible” threats

Being one of the sixcommittees of the GeneralAssembly, the subject area of theGA 6 first seems very general: Itdeals with the legality ofinternational issues. This year,the chairs Vilas Leonard Böllerand Anna Seyfert offered theircommittee two very special andimportant topics:Topic A: Legality of Measures toEliminate International TerrorismTopic B: Implementing theResponsibility to Protect — “AnIdea whose Time has Come”Terrorism has become anomnipresent challenge all over theworld. Obviously many countries feelthe need to defend humanity againstterror attacks — preferablypreventative. However, the ways andmeans used to fight terrorism arecontroversial to some extent. The UNfinds itself placed between protecting

innocent people and guaranteeingthe human rights of all people. Thecommittee will have a closer look atthe measures in this conflict and atthe important borderline betweendefence and offence.The second topic is theResponsibility to protect (R2P) . Thisconcept, developed 2001 by the ICISS

and defined by the UN in 2005,contains the options to preventconflict, react to conflict and torebuild a state. Considering thesovereignty of nations, with thisconcept the UN tries to find a wayto manage a balance betweenlimitation and assistance for everynation. However, the concept hasvarious points that need to beclarified. The delegates in the GA6might challenge that task whensetting the agenda and filling thenext days with thrilling discussionsand life-enhancing solutions!

ByLisa Neidl

GA 6: Between defence and offence

COMMITTEES


“All victims of human rightsabuses should be able to look to theHuman Rights Council as a forumand a springboard for action”.These are the words of UNSecretary General Ban Ki-Moon atthe Opening of the 4th HRCSession in March 2007 and likeevery year MUIMUN’s HRC tries tofulfil these requirements.Established in 2006, the HRC is asubsidiary body of the UN GeneralAssembly and responsible forstrengthening the promotion andprotection of human rights aroundthe globe. This year the memberstates debate about two differenttopics:Topic A: The Human RightsSituation in the Occupied PalestinianTerritoriesTopic B: The Right toDevelopment

Concerning topic A, one has to saythat there has hardly been no otherconflict on earth that creates such acomplex mixture of historical,religious, economic and geopoliticalelements. While the existence andon-going expansion of the Israelisettlements have serious implicationson the civil, political, economic,

social and cultural rights of thePalestinian people, the Israeli citizensare under a constant threat byterrorist groups.Topic B refers to the Declaration ofthe Right to Development thatincludes issues like the fullsovereignty over natural resources orself-determination. Even 33 yearsafter its creation, Development’sstatus as a human right is still notrecognized by several UN memberstates.These year’s chairs, ElenaKonstantinidou and Fawad AliLangah, are looking forward to guidethrough constructive debates and tofulfil HRC’s task to make the worldkind of a better place for humanbeings and their rights.

ByLeonieGomm

HRC: Right to Development and Occupied Palestine

It is a premiere inMUIMUN history: Duringthis year’s conference, theInternational CriminalCourt is participating forthe first time. Theprocedures will strictlyfollow the Statute of Rome,to deliver a simulation asrealistic as possible to enrichthe conference.However, the issue the ICCis concerned with duringthese five days is rather less pleasant.The court has to deal with warcrimes committed by (fictional)former FARC-Leader AlejandroRojes. In his time as a commander,he was responsible for numerouscrimes. The specific reason for Rojesprosecution is the murder of theColombian congressman DiegoTurbay.During the next week, the ICC

needs to evaluate what kind ofcrimes Rojes exactly has committedand if these fall under the ICC’sjurisdiction. In this special case, thejudges even need to ask themselves ifit was a Crime of Aggression. Whilethe FARC is certainly not at stateattacking Colombia, they areundermining the sovereignty andintegrity of the country with theiractions. So, despite the fact that

Crimes of Aggression areusually dealing withstruggles between two states,in might be a possibleconsideration.While the ICC has to dealwith these questions, we allneed to ask ourselves if thereis more to that. The FARC isrevered for fighting for thepoor in rural areas wherethe state is lacking influence.And this brings up the

bigger question: How sovereign isColombia? Is it unable to support allits citizens, so that these strengthenparamilitary groups?With these questions at hand, theICC’s sessions promise to be mostinteresting for all of us and we can alllook forward to the next days, whichwill certainly include some intriguingdevelopments.By JohannesHuland

ICC: Just a violent war criminal?

COMMITTEES


As one of the most powerful andinfluential UN institutions, theSecurity Council plays a majorrole in taking actions regardingserious conflicts. Due to theunequal distribution ofpermanent member states andtheir powerful veto rights, whichcan determine the fate of globalconflicts, it is also one of the mostcriticized UN bodies.The Security Council is not onlydealing with military actions, butactually with a broad range ofissues, which is also reflected in thisyear’s conference. These are thetopics MUIMUN’s Security Councilis debating throughout the week:Topic A: „Women, Peace andSecurity“ - despite countlessresolutions by the Security Council,conflict-related violence againstwomen remains high and

involvement of women inpeacebuilding processes remains low.There is a need for concrete action bythe Security Council to resolve thiscrisis.Topic B: “The Situation in WesternSahara” refers to the disputedterritory in West Africa. Althoughthere was an independence

referendumscheduled for 1992, ithas not taken place yetand the situationremains unresolved.With several entitiesclaiming this territory,there is a call foraction by the SecurityCouncil.

ChairIsabel Lischewskiand Vice Chair Geert

de Vries are both experiencedMUIMUN participants and are readyto tackle these issues with theirdelegates passing urgently neededresolutions.

By Susan Goessling

“It is in the minds of men andwomen that the defences of peaceand the conditions for sustainabledevelopment must be built”. Thiswas the underlying idea whenUNSECO was found as aspecialized agency of the UN in1945 and has not lost its relevancesince.This years UNESCO sessions marka new beginning in MUIMUNhistory, as it will be the first time thata committee will be held in Frenchlanguage. The delegates will have thechance to find solutions to twohighly relevant topics:Topic A: The Protection of theWorld Heritage Monuments andSites DuringWars and ConflictsTopic B: Peace Development andMaintenance through Improving theAccess to Public Health Services andto Education of the VulnerablePopulationsWith conflicts in Mali and Syria

leading to the damaging and neardestruction of World Heritage Sitesas a side effect of armed conflicts,Topic A has proven to be of highimportance today. UNESCOs worldheritage classification list includesartifacts of the world’s historical and

cultural identity. These marks ofmans past are irreplaceable, theinternational community mustpreserve them under allcircumstances.Building peace starts in the mind ofthe world’s population, achievingthis goal thus calls for theparticipation of as many individualsas possible. Finding solutions forTopic B evolve around ways toenable participation by ensuringaccess to public health services andeducation for the vulnerablepopulation.Paula Sinziana Iancu and NourFellah, this year’s chairs, strive tocreate an environment for fruitfuldebates in a productive committeethat aims to find ways for buildingpeace and assuring sustainabledevelopment for a better tomorrow.

By Julian Philippi

UNESCO: Preserving cultural heritage

SC: The situation inWestern Sahara and women’s role inpeace and security

COMMITTEES


Today's Schedule

09:00-13:00 Committee Session 112:00-13:00 Lunch A13:00-14:00 Lunch B13:00-18:00 Committee Session 221 :00-03:00 Global Village Party

What Happened Today?

1 . April 1948:

The law of the Autonomy of Faroe Islands is signed. While the islandsremain under the protection of the danish crown, which also regulatesall foreign affairs, they resemble a sovereign state in all domestic affairs.

This allows the small group of islands to develop own political ways anddogmas.

EveningActivity: Global Village PartyLet MUIMUN introduce you to remarkable dresses, culinary

delights and spicy surprises. The vibrant atmosphere of the global

village will sooner or later lead you onto the dance floor and make

you enjoy the night thoroughly. Your fellow delegates and friends

will be very glad about any contribution you can make in the form

of food or dress to take them on a voyage to your mother country

in turns.

Don’t forget to prepare your contribution to the traditional

MUIMUN dance! Otherwise actions will be taken such as singing

in committee or deprivation of lunch…

The Gobal Village Party is going to start at 9 pm in the Club

“Schwarzes Schaf”, Alter Fischmarkt 25-26.

German Tongue

Twister

Schnecken erschrecken, wennSchnecken an Schnecken schlecken,weil zum Schrecken vieler Schnecken,Schnecken nicht schmecken.(Slugs get frightened when slugs lickon slugs, because shockingly to manyslugs, slugs aren’t tasty.)

I’m small. Very small. Every now and then one willfind pictures where I was drawn with little heelsunderneath my shoes. Also a very big hat helped me

to receive admiration during my “governing” period. Ihad many friends — almost as many as enemies. There isone country that humiliated me and my militarysubordinates the most. It has 9 time zones.

TypicallyMünster: CulinaryMünsterland —

Westphalian cuisine

Münsterland people really know how to appreciate tasty food. TheWestphalian cuisine is good and solid. We like to eat broad beans with bacon,some kind of coarse rye bread called “Pumpernickel” — which you can buy inevery supermarket by the way — and Töttchen. Wait… Töttchen? Yes,Töttchen is the name for a hearty meatragout with a hot and sweet-and-sourtaste. Originally it was labeled as a meal for poor people, but since it has beenso delicious, Töttchen quickly became some kind of a Münster national dish.But what do we advise you to drink? Well, the answer is obvious, isn’t it? TryGerman beer! ;-)

EditorialMünster University International Model United NationsChief Editorship: Franziska Funke, Christian StöcklEditorial Staff: Johannes Huland, Magdalena Tröndle, Felix

Baumgärtel, Lisa Neidl, Leonie Gomm, Susan Gössling,JackyWestermann

Contributors: Tobias Farwer, Moritz Glade, Annkathrin StrußJulian Philippi

Print: UniPrint: 200 copiesThe Westphalian Diplomat is an independent newspaper. The contentof the articles does not necessarily represent the opinion of the“Arbeitstelle Forschungstransfer”.

Who is it?

PANORAMA

Workshops Wednesday 14:30

F029: Climate Change andDevelopment Policies

F030: Practical TeambuildingAnalysis

F033: InterculturalAwareness

F041: Negotiating-HarvardStyle

F042: The Role ofReligion intheWork of the UnitedNations

F043: Tabletop exercisehumanitarian assistance

And whenever you have time, check out andfeed our brandnew gossip page on Facebook:facebook.com/gossipmuimun2014

Documents

Tuesday, April 1st 2014