being used as soldiers, apart from

this working paper, few delega-

tions have suggested meaningful

solutions. The delegate from

Egypt suggested the obvious,

“[The children should] find other

things to do with their free time.”

Kendsie Hunter

In the morning session of the

SOCHUM committee, the

use of child soldiers was of

main concern. The nations of

China, Brazil and Russia are

collaborating to form a work-

ing paper that makes the use

of child soldiers more civi-

lized.

“We can’t tell countries that

they can’t use [child sol-

diers],” Brazil’s SOCHUM

representative Chris Grady

said.

The working paper covers

subjects such as psychologi-

cal help and education for

child soldiers. It also agrees

with keeping the international

draft age of 18 but making

the international volunteer

age to be 15.

“They become child soldiers

because they are homeless,

their parents are probably

dead, or they have nothing to

look forward to,” Grady said,

“They are emotionally and

psychologically different

after fighting.”

Integration back into society

is a point on which the work-

ing paper focuses. After

children have been to war,

they are changed by the im-

ages that they have seen. The

countries of China, Russia

and Brazil would like to see

Interim Care Centers made

for children while they serve

in the army to help children

succeed in life after fighting.

“We need to make sure that

their literacy is good and that

they get education and psy-

chological help,” Russia’s

representative said.

Despite the committee’s

frustration with children

The Use Of Child Soldiers Perplexes Many in SOCHUM

University of Michigan Model United Nations

The Daily Planet Friday, January 12, 2007 Issue 2

Dale Dorlin

Human trafficking- the

words on everyone’s lips-

was the starting point for

today’s session. The feeling

in the room today was frus-

tration as none of the dele-

gates gave answers; they only

voiced problems. Delegations

expressed the need to address

the prevention of prostitution

and the prosecution of the

convicted human traffickers.

Yet within the debate there is

no clear solution.

A delegate of Djibouti,

Ebony Wright, says, “You

can’t stop the demand but

you can stop the supply. By

providing other opportunities

for these people, they will be

less vulnerable to being

trapped in by traffic.” Dji-

bouti feels that there should

be enforcement on human

trafficking laws and increased

awareness and that weak

statements are not valued in

the discussion of this topic.

The United States believes

that the creation of an inter-

national standard needs to be

put in place. This standard

must define human traffickers

and victims. Without doing

so, the UN cannot go about

the process of rehabilitation

and reform. The US also has

a tier system, a way of rank-

ing nations from the least to

the most problematic. The

US, would like to work with

their Tier 3 nations, ranked

lower than Tier 1 or Tier 2, to

establish prevention, among

these nations are Belize and

Cuba.

Currently the countries of

Australia, United Kingdom and

Argentina are forming a resolu-

tion involving the prosecution of

human traffickers and the men

who are using children and

women for human trafficking.

Sophie Thomas, a delegate from

Australia, says,”Everyone’s on

board. I feel that it is a step to-

wards fully and completely elimi-

nating the problem of human

trafficking.”

On the flipside to the

frustration of passive and negli-

gent statements, everyone seems

to be going with the flow. Ac-

cording to Thailand’s representa-

tive, Aaron Decker, the process is

running smoothly. Decker says,

“We’re working together and we

hope that we can keep it this

way.”

Security Council Stalemate

Zach Yancer

A sharply divided Security Council spent the

morning deliberating, unfortunately failing to either

arrive at a consensus or advance the debate beyond

Iranian nuclear capability. The existing sanctions

imposed on Iran call for the Iranian government to

provide a comprehensive report regarding the con-

dition of their nuclear program within sixty days,

twenty-one days have already passed.

Although the Council was divided on many is-

sues, the chief problem is that Iran has expressed

verbally that it has no intentions of halting Uranium

enrichment or dismantling any existing programs.

Although the majority of the council favored to give

Iran the benefit of the doubt, the delegates from

Slovakia, United Kingdom, and the United States

opted for a preemptive resolution in response to the

Iranian delegate’s comments. Such a resolution

would respond to Iranian noncompliance and would

take effect at a prescribed date, shortly after the

sixty day timetable expired.

The Russian Federation and Ghana relentlessly

countered a preemptive resolution, arguing that by

taking action before the Council received the offi-

cial report from Iran a preemptive resolution would

undermine the credibility of the Council; further-

more, this action would incite deeper Iranian isola-

tion, forcing the nation to retreat from a return to

diplomatic talks.

Early on France attempted to table the issue of

Iran and move onto the Darfur crisis; however, this

was voted down and the deadlock continued.

During the course of the meeting several written

questions were relayed to the delegate from Iran.

When asked whether it was true that Iran was slow-

ing down its nuclear program the Iranian delegate

responded, “Absolutely not, Iran has no intentions

of halting its nuclear program.” Iran later added,

“Iran would be open to direct talks with the United

States,” further adding, “Iran will not be intimidated

by sanctions, and that these sanctions only provoke

a more hostile diplomatic course for Tehran.

These comments gave many in the Council ap-

parent proof that further sanctions, as requested by

the UK and US, are a poor decision. However, the

delegate from the United Kingdom did end discus-

sion on the very relevant point that, as he stated,

“No nation in the right state of mind would tell the

Council that sanctions on themselves would resolve

the problem.”

Necessity: We Need Traffic Control

Page 2 Issue 2

University of Michigan Model United Nations The Daily Planet

“We Can’t Let One Nation Threaten the Entire World”

Ratan Chana

The Disarmament and

International Security com-

mittee has seen some vi-

cious debate both yesterday

evening and this morning on

the topic of nuclear nonpro-

liferation in the Middle East.

Nations such as the United

States and the United King-

dom reiterated their commit-

ment to making Iran cooper-

ate fully with the IAEA. The

United States feels that Iran

is a threat to not only them,

but to the entire interna-

tional community.

Furthermore, DISEC

also debated why the inter-

national community failed

to prevent North Korea from

gaining nuclear weapons

and how to avoid those mis-

I Can See Clearly Now… SpecPol Is in Session

Dentistry of the World

Moksha Atluri

Talks in the WHO are progress-

ing diligently on the subject of oral

health. Various delegates have raised

the concern of the deteriorating state

of oral health in third-world countries.

After recognizing the extent of this

problem on an international scale,

delegates then proceeded to discuss

possible solutions to write in a future

resolution. The delegate from the US

presented the possibility of providing

education on dental health care as

well as the possibility of increasing

available medication and research

funds to increase the quality of such

medications in underprivileged na-

tions. During a caucus, multiple dele-

gations suggested implementing a

basic health care program for every

willing country. However, others

raised concerns about funding. The

delegate from Slovakia, David Aron,

has stated that “there are solutions

being presented but there are cur-

rently no plans for getting funds to

implement these solutions.”

One of the major problems dis-

cussed in committee was the unhy-

gienic state of water systems in third-

world countries. Aishah Gulam, the

delegate representing Cuba, stated

that “not having a clean water system

is the root of most health problems,

including the problem of oral health.”

Discussion then turned to the possi-

bility of sanitizing water systems as

the first step to rectify oral health

problems internationally. Delegates

suggested the possibility of supple-

menting fluoride in unsanitary water,

but this idea raised a stream of ques-

tions from other countries concerned

about the health implications of put-

ting such a chemical in drinking wa-

ter. If talks continue to progress and

further solutions are presented, coun-

tries may cooperatively present a

working paper for the committee to

Clara Yoon

Transparency, or seeing

a country’s actions clearly,

is just one aspect of the

landmine issue that the Spe-

cial Political Committee’s

delegates have been discuss-

ing. The Speakers List con-

tinues to grow as delegates

rise to voice their opinion on

transparency, incentives,

and non-state actors in re-

gards to landmines. The

delegates have developed

several working papers re-

volving around the issue of

landmines.

One working paper fo-

cuses on a gradual reduction

of landmines. Transparency

will not be forced but in-

stead, national sovereignty

will be respected. Russia

delegate Peter Rabeda says

found it very interesting that

“Egypt is so focused on Is-

rael’s nuclear program, when

on September 11, 2001 they

accused the Mossad of blow-

ing up the world trade center.

So anything they say or do on

the matter must be viewed

with extreme suspicion.”

Several nations have also

suggested incentives be of-

fered to Iran in exchange for

cooperation. Iran and its sup-

porters have replied with

ideas that include reforming

the IAEA. The continuous

vibrancy of the debate gives

hope that the international

community will find a solu-

tion to this deadlock.

takes again. “Iran is a des-

potic regime that must be

stopped,” stated the delegate

from Israel as he went on

acknowledging that, “the

international community has

never seen so great a threat

to security since Hitler was

in power.”

The United Kingdom,

United States, and Israel are

actively sparring with the

nations that support Iran,

such as North Korea. The

UK and Australia couldn’t

help but note that Iran did

sign the NPT, forcing it to

comply with the UN Secu-

rity Council’s resolution

1737, which states that Iran

must allow access to its nu-

clear facilities.

The Israeli delegate

the intent of the working

paper is “to aid countries

and put in programs to

strengthen the countries’

economies to finance land

mine removal.”

Similarly, another

working paper in develop-

ment also deals with “an

incentive program to give

aid and money mostly to

developing countries,” as

described by Afghanistan

delegate Amy Leder. Devel-

oping countries may not

necessarily have the re-

sources to finance an effec-

tive de-mining program, and

thus, several of such devel-

oping countries have asked

for help from wealthier na-

tions. This incentive plan

will be, according to Leder,

“contingent on transparency

and effectiveness.”

Another working paper

also involves such an incen-

tive program. According to

Australian delegate Naufal

Sanaullah, the working paper

presents ideas regarding

“landmine removal and pro-

duction cessation through

incentive programs…[and]

funding.”

Prevalent ideas in the

discussion in SpecPol have

also included dealings with

non-state actors that have

been using landmines. Dele-

gates have brought forth

ideas regarding this aspect of

the issue, including the idea

of instating peacekeeping

forces. In addition, the dele-

gates have discussed training

armies to learn how to deal

with or remove the mines.

Page 3 Issue 2

University of Michigan Model United Nations The Daily Planet

How to Save a Life

Lauren Frisch

The Human Rights Council is currently

dealing with the issue of human trafficking.

Many people subject to human trafficking are

forced into slavery, prostitution, labor, viola-

tion through torture, and even rape. Minors

especially being exploited by those who feel

that their higher authority gives them power to

treat children as they choose.

Achala Gopal, the human rights council’s

delegate from Greece, feels that, “Prosecution,

and not prevention, is a necessary step towards

better standards in the treatment of humans.”

Simply stopping human trafficking is a neces-

sary step towards better international stan-

dards regarding the treatment of people. How-

ever, Greece and many of their ally countries

feel that through a combination of prosecution

and public education, not only will human

trafficking be eliminated, but hopefully peo-

ple’s mindsets towards the subject will change

as well.

Delegate Claire Madill from Argentina

believes, “The number of countries concerned

with human trafficking is great, but there is

not enough action happening to actually pre-

vent the issue.” Argentina believes that each

country should, “Address education and reha-

bilitation.”

Multiple countries are drafting working

papers to deal with the issue of human traf-

ficking. At this point, it is unclear what the

delegation will decide to do. The representa-

tives may choose to sympathize with countries

like Cape Verde who need human trafficking

in order to maintain their economy, as was

pointed out by Pierre Dowden, the commit-

tee’s delegate from Slovakia. Another option

would be to follow the views of the US, who

feel that stricter international standards and

rehabilitation methods are needed.

Most of the delegates seem to be pushing

towards either prevention of human traffick-

ing, prosecution of those who practice it, or a

combination of the two. Given the wide range

of views concerning the subject, many coun-

tries feel that time will pass before a resolution

is actually reached.

WHO Debates Oral Health

Sonja Mertens

The first topic the World Health Or-

ganization is covering in UMMUN 2007

is that of oral health, and especially how

to improve oral health in developing na-

tions.

This debate has developed into pro-

ducing two major ideas: improving the

quality and accessibility of water, and

increasing education on the fundamentals

of good oral health. Once the quality and

accessibility of water improve, the oral

diseases spread through contaminated

water will decrease significantly, and the

benefits of clean water to oral health will

be evident. Increasing education is an

obvious way to improve the oral health of

a population, but the mechanics of how to

increase education are an issue. One very

unique proposition, the ‘Bucky the Brush-

ing Beaver’ program, has come forth.

This is a concept to air-drop educational

pamphlets, toothbrushes, water purifica-

tion tablets, and dental floss into develop-

ing nations. According to Sean O’Neil,

representative of the Congo and one of

the initiators of this idea, “Congo be-

lieves that the ‘Bucky the Brushing

Beaver’ program is excellent in edu-

cating the youth in third-world coun-

tries with high illiteracy.” Concepts

like this one to improve education,

when combined with ideas to improve

the quality and accessibility of water,

are the most effective way to improve

oral health.

Once the ideas are put together, the

delegates must determine how the

ideas being presented will be funded.

When the delegates must examine the

feasibility of their ideas, problems

with organization and funding will

follow. The real world application of

the concepts presented, as well as the

possible failure of their application,

always leads to frustration, discussion,

and conflict among delegates, which

makes this conference interesting to

everyone.

Why You May Have Missed History

Isaac Benton

Last night brought a massive solar flare.

As many carried on their usual night

lives, the world was rocked by an incredi-

ble solar flare, the likes of which have

never before been observed. Between the

hours of 8-11 PM local time our atmos-

phere was bombarded with electromag-

netic fallout from the raging nuclear ex-

plosion on the sun.

Like all solar flares, last night's

was caused by a giant eruption in the so-

lar corona. During a solar flare, a pocket

of pent up magnetic energy in the sun's

atmosphere creates a ball of superheated

plasma. When this solar blister pops, the

super-compressed plasma, heated to well

over one-hundred million degree kelvin,

rocket a barrage of electromagnetic ra-

diation into space with the power of tens

of millions of hundred megaton hydrogen

bombs. Or at least, that was before last

night's. Just like the gigantic sunspot

which spawned this flare, its scale was

nearly incomprehensible to scientists.

Last night's activity replaced the previ-

ous most powerful flare ever recorded

which occurred on November 4, 2003.

According to one key measure of a

flare's strength, X-ray radiation on the

GOES spacecraft, November fourth

was classified as an X45. The distur-

bance last night registered from early

findings in the order of X60, that is 6

million watts of energy per square

meter! The most amazing part – as

scientists continue to pore over the

data that number is expected to in-

crease. Whatever the scientific classi-

fication turns out to reveal, nothing

could be more impressive than the

reported Aurora Borealis seen all over

equatorial Central America and the

Caribbean last night.

Continued on Page 4

Page 4 Issue 2

University of Michigan Model United Nations The Daily Planet

Why You May Have Missed History Continued

As graphic as this scenario

sounds, solar flares are not

uncommon. Far to the con-

trary, in fact. Solar flares oc-

cur regularly and without

much notice, and usually pass

without much attention simply

because, unlike other natural

disasters, their effects are

somewhat more obscure. For

example, given the strength of

last nights storm, much of the

world's populace remains com-

pletely ignorant to its occur-

rence. This is possible because

the flood of electromagnetic

radiation produced by the flare

has no effect on sensation. So

while effects on the human

body are limited, effects on

electronics and communication

devices can be devastating.

What might seem to someone a

unexplainable dropped cellular

call or a outage of satellite

television service, was last

night up to a near total com-

munication signal loss on

many parts of the globe. This

flare, which once again, lasted

for nearly two full hours,

surely caused countless delays

around the world. So far we

know very little about the full

impact of this massive solar

storm, and many expect to still

Motivation: the Ins and Outs of Diplomatic Affairs

Gregory Smith

A large segment of the work

done by United Nations com-

mittees year after year is the

touch-and-go job of planning

and executing the motivational

strategies that will generate

higher degrees of compliance

with UN mandates. Every

year brings a new variety of

approaches from committees.

By and large, dele-

gates elect plans that select

from four general conditioning

rudiments: positive and nega-

tive rewards and positive and

negative punishment. For

whatever reason, the UN has

seen a tending toward policies

that reward compliance in

most General Assembly com-

mittees, while Special commit-

tees tend to enact punishment

systems. It is always exciting

to see if delegates will loosely

conform to the status-quo or

kick the habit and attempt a

novel approach.

This year, this issue

may be especially salient due

to the gradually changing

world opinion on the UN's

more aggressive options, nota-

bly to what extent the role of

be finding new folds of its

effects well into the future.

peacekeeping forces should be

redefined. Many Delegates

have only known a world where

the Blue Berets have provided

broad ranging support as Inter-

national peacekeeping really

flourished throughout the nine-

ties. Perhaps this fact will

cause committees to jump to

military action more quickly,

but maybe it will encourage

deviation from the system

which some delegates view to

be overworked. This year we

could see representatives to the

UN Security Council, for in-

stance, waive military interven-

tion in favor of a plan which

encourages nearly exclusively

through economic incentive.

Conversely, we might see

SOCHUM, which usually dic-

tates softer measures, pursue a

robust peacekeeping plan.