UNSC:COUNCIL HAMPERED BY

UNCLEAR INTENTIONS

by Nisa Suhaimy

The third session of the Security Council extended the debate on the South China Sea

dispute, along with much anticipation of an impending crisis to hit anytime soon. An hour

into the third committee session, working paper 1.4 was already in the works. Russia's

working paper seemed unpalatable to China as the Chinese delegates did not see how

establishing another trade agreement would help quell tensions in the South China Sea.

A very vocal delegate of Nigeria applauds the working paper as a step forward in

addressing the tensions and suggested for economic measures to be used in unison with

bilateral talks. Meanwhile, the United States expressed that they do not support the

clauses in the working paper, citing that simply creating economic ties centered on

political tensions was impractical due to the dominant power that China possesses.

10am.

Secretary-General Cheryl Ko walks into the Security Council chamber looking very

flustered and announces the crisis. The new Indian Parliament building has been

infiltrated by a terrorist organization, resulting in the holding of hostages. Particularly

though, the Chinese ambassador was released. The terrorists have conveyed their

demands in a threatening video where they donned balaclavas and harmed the hostages

as well. Chuckles were heard from some of the delegates in response to the video.

However, a sense of urgency was felt throughout the room as the Council was

immediately required to come up with a solution to respond to the terrorist threat and

rescue the ministers as well.

The story unfolds as the Indian envoy arrives to answer pressing queries from the

delegates in the hopes to illuminate the situation. He expressed that India would remain

to act peacefully despite unprovoked attacks and would continue efforts to preserve

India's sovereignty with respect to the terrorists' demands for Kashmiri land. The Indian

envoy also voiced out that in the event that the Council fails, India would not hesitate to

take unilateral action. This statement was constantly echoed by the Chairs as countless

reminders were asserted to the delegates that the Council's ultimate goal would be to

prevent an outbreak of war.

Initial suggestions displayed that there seemed to be a general consensus that some sort

of special forces strike would be conducted. Russia proposed a collaborative special task

force with the United States. As the delegates spoke, USG of Academics, Walter Yeo,

intervened to remind everyone to be aware of the terms used and to be informed of

what the Council and the various countries have at their disposal. With this, other

solutions were explored such as negotiation efforts and also the establishment of

communication links.

Tensions arose as delegates start to suspect Chinese involvement in the attack, with the

information that the Chinese ambassador was released. This led to the marginalisation of

the Chinese from much of the solutions explored. A dissatisfied Chinese delegate

expressed, “Why are you discriminating China?”. China offered to send their troops, to

which is not supported by several countries. The Chinese delegates expressed that they

were greatly appalled that many nations assumed that they were part of the perpetration

and reinforced the fact that they are willing to send troops.

Just in time, the Chinese ambassador arrives to share his experience and answer relevant

questions. He revealed that the terrorists were conversing in Pashtun, a language used in

some parts of Pakistan.

As noon approached, the atmosphere became tenser as delegates made demands for

Indian intentions to be clarified. The need to reconcile possible solutions with India's

intentions became more pressing.

After several unmoderated caucuses and one hour and fourty minutes later, there was

still no draft resolution was submitted. We've probably heard the gavel much more today

as Chair Kinnari had to call the Council to order several times and remind the delegates

to respect the Chair.

A few minutes before the supposed deadline, a draft resolution was submitted and the

Indian envoy seemed to be pleased with the resolution. However, much to the

dissatisfaction of China who opposed the clause which states that any external

government involvement in the issue will incur economic sanctions. China responded and

likened the clause to “consensual rape of every nation”. China continues to assert their

worth as a helper and not a bully.

The resolution saw a clearly upset China vetoing it in its entirety and also to many of the

clauses, leading to the failure of the Council to resolve the crisis in time. An unmoderated

caucus ensued to which all the countries flocked to the Chinese delegates in discontent.

However, the crisis was prolonged as the Council was updated with the developments of

the issue.

In light of the developments, a new resolution was submitted by Nigeria. The new

resolution was commended by the United States for being the only resolution capable of

tackling the problem at the root. It was also a more palatable version to the Chinese

delegates and thus, the second resolution was passed. The Chair calls for an applause in

order.

However, an update from the Indian envoy revealed that Indian forces stormed

parliament and some diplomats were killed. The Council now had to tackle the issue of

an ongoing military confrontation between India and Pakistan.

Solutions were voiced out and most delegates pointed to the deployment of the UN

peacekeeping forces in India. Soon after, Nigeria submitted a draft resolution that states

that the Council would authorize peacekeeping forces to collaborate with the UN Military

observer group. As the session comes to an end, Russia submits their draft resolution

before Council was adjourned for the day. Hence, prolonging the crisis but at the same

time perhaps a privilege to the Council to further revise their draft resolutions.

Argentina: The delegate of Argentina

would like to request an unmoderated

caucus to finish the...um....thing [draft

resolution].”

China: China would like to prove our

worth as we are not bullies but more

like..........a big brother

QUOTABLE QUOTES

UNHRCby Laura Goh and Shaun Tay

Despite a confused start, UNHRC is the first council to pass a crisis resolution

Assistant Chair Chow Wen Kang possessed a deep flush and a weary pant after an hour

of weaving his way through the lecture theatre to pass the notes of the delegates who

were scrawling them on sheets at a rate that might wipe out a third of the Amazon by the

end of the day. Intense debate was clearly happening in paper form. This heated

discussion was later carried on in the council General Speakers' List.

An idea being tossed around for most of the morning debate from the delegate of

Denmark was the formation of an international organisation that would aid in stricter

enforcement of existing rules and regulations pertaining to human trafficking and in the

operations of NGOs who have greater flexibility than government bodies in identifying

and repatriating the victims of human trafficking. This was not met with favourable

response from the delegate of Germany who was concerned about the cost of the

formation and the delegate of India who pointed out that this new organisation would

have no right nor resources to enforce regulations in the UN nations.

Eventually a working paper was produced that offered a framework for victims to get

compensation from their traffickers, incorporate existing laws, encouraged regional

cooperation to locate and source and repatriate victims of human trafficking. While the

paper possessed some strong points, it was noted by the delegate of Myanmar that the

paper suspiciously resembled the original UN resolution on the same topic in his note

addressed to the Indian delegate .

The Political Science Society (PSSOC) President Christopher, who had been observing

the council, stroked his non-existent beard and described the paper as "barely good"

and in need of recognising the real causes of human trafficking. The delegate of Thailand

highlighted the unclear definition of human trafficking in Asia, particularly sex trafficking,

where often victims choose to be trafficked out of sheer desperation as a common

problem. This paper was later edited to reflect the concerns raised by the other nations,

slowly moving the council towards a consensus.

However before this consensus could be made, the council was interrupted with a crisis

in India. Muslim terrorists, believed to be supported by the Pakistan government, had

occupied the Indian Parliament building and are holding several Indian Ministers hostage

and killed at least a hundred parliamentarians. As a result, hostilities towards Muslims

have flared up in India. News agencies have reported high levels of violence by

thousands of rioters, with an estimated death toll from the violence at 100,000 deaths.

The delegate of India immediately announced that India would seek unitary and hostile

action against Pakistan for supporting the Islamic terrorists which had bombed

Parliament building. The delegate of Pakistan immediately refuted and shot down this

accusation, clarifying that the terrorist involved were not supported in any way by the

government of Pakistan, causing the fragile balance between the two neighbours to

collapse.

Due to the strained historical baggage between the two countries, two blocs were

eventually formed within the Council, with the Islamic nations on one side and the Non-

Islamic on the other. The Islamic nations proposed standard measures, such as

humanitarian aid, bilateral dialogues as well as awareness campaigns to stop prevent

further violence against Muslims. On the other side, the Non-Islamic Nations proposed a

“secular approach to a religious problem”, making mention of the reasons for the

separation of British India many years ago.

However, due to the limited power of the UNHRC, there was little the committee could

do with regards to this problem. Discussions often digressed into the general causes of

conflicts between India and Pakistan, from the problem of religion to claims over land.

The final resolution was sponsored by Malaysia, which focused on healthcare for

refugees. India however, attempted to make unfriendly amendments which were

eventually rejected by the council. By passing the final resolution, UNHRC became the

first council to pass a resolution to the crisis, and the council saw a wave of relief pass

over once it was voted for.

SPECPOL:

THE OLD MAN IN THE MINISKIRT

by Shaun Tay

The second day of SMUN 2014 opened up at SPECPOL with countries that were

against the draft resolution submitted on the agenda of political asylum in the

previous session.

The second day of SMUN 2014 opened at SPECPOL with delegates and countries

that were against the draft resolution, with both sides disagreeing on the actions

taken, be it bilateral or multilateral for political asylum. A point was presented that

bilateral actions were recommended to resolve standstills faced by countries in high

profile political issues, in which Assange was featured prominently once again.

France further supported this by commenting that the draft accommodated

different interests and was comprehensive enough to apply to the many countries

around the world. In summary, the council is working towards supporting a

resolution.

However, in the midst of the debate, The Prime Minister of India entered the room,

alerting the council to a situation that had developed in the India, whereby

terrorists had bombed the parliament and left under a hundred politicians dead, as

well as the Health Minister of India. Zimbabwe proceeded to firstly pass a motion

that called for minute of silence for the death of the health which the committee

passed. The Delegates took the minute of silence solemnly and respectfully, with

Canada saluting instead of the more common lowering of heads, creating much

entertainment.

During the crisis, India suggested that the council go around and give their stand to

each other, where certain states like Canada once took a stereotypical peace-loving

stance, apologizing and seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis in front of the

council. The Swiss had many holes and were indecisive, while Zimbabwe moved

their working paper quickly, likening it to the inflation of their uncontrolled

currency.

The council handled the crisis very sluggishly, with the council taking an extremely

long time to come with a draft resolution, as there were many motions for

unmoderated cockuses as well as multiple extensions motioned by the council.

Late into the afternoon, Pakistan seemed to be buckling under the constraints of

time and pressure, seeking to gain a consensus rather securing its own position.

The other claimant in this crisis, India, was the exact opposite. India did not agree

with Clause 11 of the resolution, which stated that UN troops were to be stationed

within the Indian border to ensure there is no escalation of violence, as it infringed

upon the sovereignty of India. This constant Impediment by India, although

unpopular, was to be expected by India who was simply trying to defend itself.

Therefore, the second day of the conference closed without a resolution with

regards to the crisis brewing in India and Pakistan. As lives are at stake, the

committee, unfortunately, lengthens its resolution process.

HGAby Regina Tan

This working paper is like a piece of Swiss cheese; it's full of holes.

– Delegate of Sudan

The council started off with delegates opposing and bringing down the working paper

sponsored by Germany and Thailand. Yet, the two were undeterred, as they continued to

convince the room to see the crisis from their point of view and henceforth, to come up

with a conclusive resolution paper.

And it worked.

Except for the lone ranger, Vietnam. Fighting a lonely battle, the delegate of Vietnam

strongly disagreed with the conditions set out in the working paper, demanding for his

withdrawal from Cambodia. Justifying his action as 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a

tooth', he defended Vietnam's invasion and occupation of Cambodia as that of being

provoked by the threats from Khmer Rouge.

Others such as the delegates of Afghanistan and Egypt felt that ASEAN should be taking

charge in helping Cambodia, since it is an issue that concerns their region. The delegates

of Somalia and Philippines also urged others to consider their own financial debts,

though they were later on reassured by Germany, who promised to take into account the

individual countries' financial situation.

Meanwhile, the delegate of Japan was concerned with Clause 5 of the working paper,

which were vague in the distribution of aid, with no concrete number put to the amount

of donation needed. The delegate of Nigeria also called for transparency in the handling

of the donation by countries, as well as to who will be receiving the aid and the

extensiveness of its outreach to the victims. While the delegate of Sudan proposed the

formation of a committee to oversee the funds collected, the delegate of Germany

emphasized the need to donate with no strings attached and the non-binding nature of

the UN.

Initially reluctant to support the Khmer Rouge in the new government to be set up in

Cambodia due to their past atrocities that killed 2 million people, the delegate of Russia

Federation proposed an alternative: The establishment of a neutral interim government

made up of representatives from the Khmer Rouge, ASEAN, as well as the UN. This new

development led to the first submission of a draft resolution, sponsored by Cambodia,

Germany, India, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia.

Yet, Vietnam remained consistent and refused to relent to the new draft resolution, in

spite of additional clauses ensuring the fair treatment of Vietnam, leading to calls for

embargoes until Vietnam agrees to the immediate withdrawal of its troops. Vietnam.

Agreeable only to the administration of humanitarian, Vietnam reiterated its decision to

have no ceasefire and continues to question the presence of Khmer Rouge, who were

previously the antagonists.

This prompted the delegate of Germany to compare Vietnam's obsession with Cambodia

to the famous fictional villain, Lord Voldemort, and his obsession with killing Harry Potter

in the Harry Potter series. The constant batter between both delegates seemed almost

comical, arousing laughter from the delegates in the room and causing the chairs to call

the council to order, though it did helped eased the tension. The delegate of India, on

the other hand, acted as a mediator between the two, with his calm and logical approach

while convincing Vietnam to view the situation from the others' perspectives.

Despite the draft resolution being viewed upon favourably by the majority, the sponsors

urged the delegates to look into possible loopholes or unsatisfactory clauses that require

amendments. This was greeted with good responses from fellow delegates, with

constant submission of friendly and unfriendly amendments, dedicated in strengthening

the resolution.

A fighter in ensuring equal treatment and human rights for all, the delegate of Japan

continues to advocate for fair and free elections to be held after stabilising the situation

in Cambodia, stressing the need for a time frame to be given. At the same time, the

delegate of the Russian Federation suggested for Vietnam to be the ASEAN

representative in the new government, so that the they could also have a say in matters

pertaining to Cambodia.

Though Vietnam appears to be fighting his battles alone, when the delegate of Thailand

made a friendly amendment to prevent foreign aid to Vietnam in order to attain a

ceasefire, the other delegates, such as Sudan and the Russian Federation were quick in

noting that going to such an extend would be too extreme and further implicates

innocent Vietnamese in need of these aid. Turkey's proposal to add on a clause giving

Cambodia clean water and food, strongly supported by the delegates of Japan and

Sudan, was passed with an overwhelming majority.

While the draft resolution was still being debated upon at the end of Day Two, optimism

for all the members of the General Assembly to reconcile their differences in opinions

and to pass a comprehensive resolution, remains high.

HNAMby Regina Tan

Noting the similarities between two out of three of the working papers, the Chair

of HNAM, Mr. Ingmar Salim, suggested a merger of ideas, rather than being

divided. Prior to this, the council was engaged in a heated discussion, with each

bloc intent on bringing the other down.

This was how HNAM started off Day Two in council - with a bang.

The delegates of Bangladesh and Nigeria advocated the use of force in getting the

Soviet troops out of Afghanistan, actively pursuing the rest to be convinced by their

arguments.

Despite the similarities between the two papers, the delegate of Yemen pointed

out the pronounced difference as to how supportive they are of Soviet Union's

continuous presence in Afghanistan. He also reminded the delegates of the

purpose of a Non-Aligned Movement, which was to ensure the protection of one's

sovereignty and to prevent infringement in the forms of occupation, invasion or

hegemony by great powers or political blocs and henceforth, should be firmly

against the Soviet's presence in Afghanistan.

With the call for an unmoderated caucus to merge the two working papers, the first

draft resolution was finally submitted and reviewed by the council, much to the

delight of the Chairs. Though the delegate of India remained to be against the

draft resolution throughout the discussion, it was passed with an overwhelming

support of the majority. The resolution, calling upon the Soviet to withdraw their

forces in Afghanistan, stressed the importance of the UN through its heavy role and

responsibility as a peacekeeper to mitigate a durable peace between both

countries and in ensuring Soviet abides by it.

With a fast success in passing the resolution, the Council moved on to more light-

hearted matters - the choosing of Mr. and Ms. HNAM. The nominees of Mr. HNAM

were the delegates of Yemen, Cuba, Arab League and Nigeria, who were then

given time to promote themselves and to gain votes from those on the floor.

However, the nominees stated reasons as to why they are not suitable themselves,

while heavily promoting the others, causing the floor to erupt into bursts of

laughter throughout. The competition was tight between the delegates of Nigeria

and Arab League, with both attaining equal number of votes in the final round,

prompting the Mr. Salim, the Chair, to call for a general speakers' list for both sides

before casting his final vote.

The entire process of choosing Mr. HNAM was a serious process, with delegates

pitching for their favourites to win. The winning vote was casted to the delegate of

Arab League, who subsequently asked the Council if they were "sure that (they)

want an Arab" to be their representative. Neither pleas nor appeals by the

delegate of Arab League were entertained and the Council looked forward to his

outstanding performance on stage tomorrow.

Fret not, though the delegate of Nigeria did not win the Council's hearts to be

their representative as Mr. HNAM, he was given the second opportunity to do so as

Ms. HNAM. "Which part of me looks like a girl?" exclaimed Nigeria in surprise at

this turn of events. Albeit his manliness could not be masked on stage, the Council

chose the delegate of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) amongst India,

UAE and Gabon to be the final representative as Ms. HNAM.

Best of luck to both in bringing glory to HNAM and may the best delegates be

crowned Mr. and Ms. MUN 2014 tomorrow. :)

UNESCAPby Laura Goh

There was a marked change in the air in the UNESCAP council room as the delegates

gathered early in one of its corners to discuss their intentions for the day's debate and

draft their resolutions. Perhaps having taken the words of their chairs the day before to

heart, the debate later moved at a much faster pace with fewer distractions.

Still when it came to General Speakers' List, few delegates desired to speak on the topic

of migration. When the chairs finally decided to call favourably upon various delegates

who had not spoken as much, they came to the floor prepared with scripts, much to the

chairs' surprise(and delight). The council discussed further the economic effects of

migration on source nations before finally moving on to more social issues such as human

trafficking, a form of illegal migration, at the suggestion of the delegate of Cambodia.

The delegates voiced their concerns for the social welfare of their migrants in host

nations. Malaysia highlighted three social issues the council ought to focus on to improve

the welfare of migrants in foreign nations - working conditions, healthcare and freedom

of expression for migrants. Soon afterwards, two draft resolutions were produced.

The draft resolution produced by the delegate of China appeared to be comprehensive

however a particular clause generated a great deal of friction from several delegates due

to its flawed logic; the delegate of China having mistaken ineffective transport/border

infrastructure as a reason why migrants have to enter nations illegally. The delegate of

China attempted to defend his paper by saying the delegates who spoke against the

clause were reluctant to express their own opinions. Sadly before the delegates could

also discuss the delegate of Cambodia's point that calling for an imposition of minimum

wage in the resolution would infringe the sovereign rights of the UN nations, crisis struck.

At 1.30pm, news from India arrived from the crisis committee. Terrorists allegedly funded

by the Pakistani government had occupied the Indian parliament building. They held

several Indian ministers hostage and murdered at least a hundred parliamentarians.

Points of information for the crisis committee ensued. With great concern, the Indian

delegate asked the crisis messengers if the President was safe and punched the air when

the President's safety was assured. After the crisis committee took their leave, the council

had their own crisis in which the delegate of Thailand had an asthma attack during a

debate. Thankfully, she swiftly recovered with aid of the chairs and returned to the topic

with enthusiasm.

Anti-Muslim sentiments have erupted all over India; rioters and lynch mobs are filling the

streets. The major stock indices have lost anywhere between 5-10% of their value as

financial institutions and businesses brace for the impact of another Indo-Pakistan war.

The delegates of UNESCAP struggled to grasp the news and put great focus on the

social impacts of the attacks such as the public view of Muslims and the stigma they

would face worldwide as a long term solution. The debate veered into solutions that

were very much out of the council's control as the delegates were confused over the

purpose and jurisdiction of UNESCAP.

Thankfully, the delegate of Pakistan with the help of the chairs put the council back on

track to concentrate on what was within the powers of UNESCAP. The council quickly

proposed solutions for the economic effects of the Parliament invasion. Although vague,

the solutions had well intentions. Most commonly proposed were protectionist measures

to protect the Indian economy which were strongly objected to by certain nations.

Personal shots were thrown in the discussion as the delegate of Malaysia accused the

Chinese delegate of acting in only for his nation's interests, disregarding that of the other

nations.

The debates had to be adjourned for the selection of the council's pagaent competitors

Mr and Mrs UNESCAP.

MOST

COMMONLY

MISPRONOUNCED WORDS

AT SMUN 2014by Laura Goh

One thing key to diplomacy is not offending your fellow delegates or mispronouncing

the words that are important to them.

1. Haiti (hey-ti)

Say "Hey", like "Hey, I'm the delegate of Haiti!" Yeah. That's how you begin to

pronounce it. Haiti the small country in the Carribeans has a name very prone to

mispronunciation.

2. Mujahideen (moo-jah-hee-deen)

Don't fret over the length of the word, its pronounced exactly the way it looks. It refers

to the followers of Allah who struggle in their faith but has come to be associated with

Muslim radicals.

3. Khmer Rouge (ke-mare-rooooosh)

It's best to not anger the Cambodians as we attempt to pronounce the Communist

organisation that orchestrated the Cambodian genocide. Speaking of genocide..

4. Genocide (gen-oh-side)

The mass killing of an entire racial, religous or ethnic group is no laughing matter.

5. Asylum (a-sai-lum)

One seeks asylum, not ass-see-lum or any of its variations.

6. Economy (e-con-no-mi)

Very important to every country and hence a very important word for your vocabulary.

The key lies in pulling your syllables together, instead of chopping the word up.

7. Dais (day-is)

A good way to get on the good side of your chairs is to pronounce the name of their

platform right. There are so many ways delegates mispronounce this word, from the

surname of blonde Charlie's Angels star (Diaz) to words that sound like you are cursing

your chairs (Die, *ss)

8. Chile (chi-lay)

Not chili. Please find more reputable sources online for the right pronunciation of your

countries' names. And no, Wikipedia is not a reliable source.

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