BREAKINGNEWS:NATOSecretary‐GeneralkidnappedbyTalibanNATOreactsalmostnonchalantlyBySHRIJITKUNDUThe second day of the NATO sessions had abumpystartastheHeadsofStatesstruggledtoconverge upon the agenda of restructuringNATO, which was plagued by disagreementssuch as whether to diversify the roles of theNATOtonon‐militaryoperations.USAfeltthat“NATO is becoming irrelevant in the 21stcentury”andwantedto improveNATO’s legaland bureaucratic efficiency. Albania howeverpreferred resolving partnership visionaryclashes and determining NATO’s involvementin foreign conflicts. There was also muchdebate about the nature of an armed conflictas stated in theNATO charterwhich resultedin the USA suggesting an open interpretationof the term, which was strongly opposed byFrance, which said that open interpretationwouldweakentheunityoftheNATO.

TheheateddebatewasinterruptedbythenewsoftheNATOSecretary‐General,

SalmanGadit(seepicture)beingkidnappedbytheTaliban,whodemandedthewithdrawalofNATO troops from Afghanistan. This was afatalblowasitendangeredtheAfghanmissionthat was discussed heavily in the previoussession. America emphasised that troopwithdrawal would not take place after aninformal voting procedure. The anxiety in acrisiswas,strangelymissingasHeadsofStatescoollymade a JointDeclaration for amilitaryrescue operation of their Secretary‐Generaland take action against the Pakistaniintelligence agency.

ECOSOCunitesincrisis

BySTEPHANIEFOOWith a draft resolution crafted, issuessurrounding maternal‐fetal healthcare thenmadeway for, in the SouthAfricandelegate’swords “nit‐picking”. The Argentiniandelegated called the resolutionunrepresentative of developing nations asmost sponsors were developed countries.Sponsorcountriesalsostoodtheirground forclosingthedebate.Russiaremindeddelegatesto focus on “contents, not sponsors”, whileAmericawas “alarmed” at the division of theCouncil. Thankfully or not, this was haltedwhen the Under‐Secretary‐General, and anIMFrepresentativeinformedtheCounciloftheneedtoresolvethepost‐conflicteconomicandsocial crisis following theChinese invasionof

Taiwan, with an estimated US$300 billionworthofreconstructionneeded.

Delegates initially had difficultygrounding the issue. Several delegatesexpressed doubt the ECOSOC’s ability tointervene, in Taiwan, officially Chineseterritory despite reiteration that the Councilhad no jurisdiction over these politicalmatters. The Ghanaian delegate then broughtdebate to focus, mentioning the need toresolvemassivehomelessness.

Short‐term solutions were firstdiscussed.NowevidentlyclearoftheCouncil’spurposes, proposals for medical relief topsychological treatment all highlighted theneed for ensuring human well‐being. EvenChina offered to transport aid, expressingsolidarityas“oneChinesepopulation”.

Substantial time was also spentspeculatingabout theeffectsofanuclear fall‐outonaidandhumansafety.Althoughnohasbeen resolution passed, the delegates’ nearunanimity in prioritising the civilians’ well‐being might augur well for subsequentsessions.

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IAEA:NoResolutiontotheTaiwan‐ChinaCrisis

ByACHALRAYAKARWhen the delegates failed to display therequired knowledge of IAEA, the Chairhighlighted to them the very essence andpurposeofthisUNorgan.Theresultsofwhichmanifested in the exhibition of goodargumentsconcerningtheenvironmentalrisksofnuclearenergyandtheexpressionofmanyinnovative and viable ideas during the manyun‐moderatedcaucuses. The main focus of the day, however,was the news of the Taiwan‐China Crisis.China’ssuddeninvasionofTaiwaninvokedthescepticism of the delegates over theeffectivenessoftheIAEAinsuchamatter,dueto the lackof ceasefire in theareaof thesaidreactor. This was obviously a misplaceddisquiet as thedelegateswere later informedof the basicUNprocedures: the safety of anyUN officialwould not be compromised in thedealingsof theUN.Thus, it couldbeassumedthatthefactorofthelackofceasefireneednotbe considered. Themembers of the IAEA didmanage to reach an agreement and form adraft resolution. Despite the odd unanimous

acceptance by the committee, the Chairrejectedit.Theapparentreasonseemedtobe,amongstthemisconceptionsofthepurposeofthe IAEA, the unimpressive use ofinappropriate words. Furthermore, theabsenceofthedelegatesoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica (U.S.A.)and theDemocraticRepublicof Korea also hindered the committee fromdeciding what exactly to include in theresolution. The possibility of resolution wasdiminished by the ambiguity posed by thedelegate of China with his statement on thematter.Helabelleditasan“anincident,whichChina will solve” without specifying thedetails.Thenumerousdelegate‐induceddelaysresulted in the somewhat frustrated Chairsuspendingdebate torefocus thecommittee’sattention on the explanation of the draftresolutions, adding to the alreadycantankerous atmosphere. Furthermore, theChair declared an unprecedented un‐moderated caucus in attempt to “sort theresolution out”. As the day draws to an end,the crisis remains unsolved.With a potentialforsuccess,thedebatecontinuestomorrow.

UNHRC:CrisisofdisplacedpeoplesresolvedByJASWINDERAHLUWALIAInto its third session, the issue of Virtualcensorship was debated by the UNHRC. Amoderated caucus was called for to examinethe effect of using Internet Service Providers(ISP’s)asthirdpersonmoderators.TherewasconflictbetweendelegatesofSaudiArabiaandthe United Kingdom. However, there was ageneral agreement on how each country haddifferentviewsonvirtualcensorship.Finally,aworking paper was produced, clauses werediscussedandagreedupon.

Midway through the fourth session, theUNHRC was informed that Taiwan wasinvadedbyChina afterTaiwandeclared itselfas an independent Republic of Taiwan.According to accounts, China ‘accidentally’bombed a nuclear power plant. There areapproximately100,000peopleaffectedbytheradiation, with risk of massive humandisplacement. This is in addition to manyindigenous people in Taiwan that face thesamerisk.Theissueofaidcontrolwashighlycontentious, especiallywithChina.Thankfullythese were resolved and a resolution waspassedtoalleviatethesituation.

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DecorummissinginDISEC

BySIMRANKIRPALANI As the session started, restlessness wasevident , possibly due to how delegates , attimes spoke in circles about the religiousextremism. Shortly after discussing they resolution andmaking amendments, countries who craftedtheresolutionsbecameveryagreeabletomostamendments.Ashowofunanimity,butforthewrong reason‐ lunch. One delegates

indecorouslyconcludedhisspeechwith,“Thisdelegateyieldstolunch.”Thiswasnotall. As the amendments to the resolution werebeing made, delegates were informed thatTaiwan’sdeclaredindependenceandhadbeeninvadedbyChina.Smirkremarkssuchas“Wearegoingtodie”,wereheard. Although a detailed resolution on religiousextremism was drafted, the delegates’behavior might put the quality of theresolutionintoquestion.

UNSC:ColumbiadisregardsChinaByDYANGO Intense arguments, fierce stares anddisagreeable delegates were all part of thedramathattookplaceattheUNSC.Oneofthetopics discussed was the “Expansion of theUNSC permanent members to include Indiaand Japan”. The committee set the stage fordiscussion by laying out the prerequisites forbeing a permanentmember of the UNSC andfor veto power. The delegate of the UnitedKingdom(U.K.)madeaninterestinganalogytoremind the council that veto power is notimmediate and isdifficult toobtain, in sayingthat,“Arectanglecanbeasquarebutasquarecannotbearectangle.”TheUNSCthencametothedecisiontoallowIndiatobeapermanentmemberandtoputJapanontheprioritylistsoas to allow Japan a recovery period from itsrecentnaturaldisaster.

In the heat of the many argumentsand un‐moderated caucuses on the topic, the

sudden news of China’s invasion to Taiwanalarmedthecouncil.ThecountriesoftheUNSCwere disapproving of China’s military actionagainst Taiwan. Sparks began to fly when adelegate proposed that all African nations tostoptheiroiltradewithChina. The responsesof themembersof thecouncil were divided. The delegate of Indiapointed out the irony that “Taiwan was notinternationally recognized tobepartofChinaand is not internationally recognized asindependent.”Onaseparatenote,thedelegateof the United States of America (U.S.A.)mentioned,“Amothercannotforceherchildtoloveher,”withthemotherbeingChinaandTaiwanbeingthechild.Aftermuchdiscussion,the Council decided to take a vote, excludingChina.Thelaststrawbrokewhenthedelegateof Columbia was heard saying, “It does notmatterwhatChinasays,”unleashingthefuryofChina.

SM(ILE)UN:TheysaytheDARNDESTThings!“IamwithTaiwanandyouarewith…yourself!”‐DelegateofAmericatoChina,ECOSOC"IwanttoleaveUN!"–Unknowndelegate