The Committee approved a statement for the Russian Federation and the 1st Resolution By Beatriz Gálvez

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1 TheClarion the newspaper of C MUN, the Model United Nations of Barcelona ISSUE FOUR Friday, 10 May 2013 A Hardworking Day for UNESCO Delegates The Committee approved a statement for the Russian Federation and the 1st Resolution By Beatriz Gálvez The 2nd session at the UNESCO Committee has been really useful thanks to the hard work of the delegates. The UNESCO Committee started with the leadership of China proposing an alternative working paper, apart from the Draft resolutions passed the day before. Quickly, the UNESCO Committee withdrew the 2nd working paper: all sponsors such as Saudi Arabia, USA, Israel, Denmark, UK, France and Japan abrogate their support to it. In the following debates, China asked the delegations to be more specific about what they want to agree, meanwhile Palestine responded to Israel about their eternal debate related to education: we cannot focus on our education meanwhile Israel is still bombing our school. Later on, China with the support of Palestine, Iran and Cuba decided to start a new working paper based on the sovereignty of each country and the achievement of a global agreement. Meanwhile, the rest of the Countries were debating about another proposal of a working paper named 3.0, but still unofficial. Suddenly, Iran expressed its concern about the decision of Russia about not being present in the Committee and threatened with not supporting UNESCO anymore, unless a formal apology was formally presented. This country also asked for a direct apology from the Russian Federation and some countries followed this proposal such as Qatar, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and India. Nevertheless, Sweden and Denmark didn t understand why Russian Federation didn t want to participate in the Committee. Denmark went beyond stating that Russia was disrupting the debate and undermining the session. United Kingdom did not really believe that an apology wouldn t solve the problem, but also that it could set a precedent to other Member States if it leaves the Committee. Finally, Israel declared that this issue with Russia must have been a misunderstanding among the Member States. The Organisation of Islamic Conference declared that it was not good that Russia was not in the Committee and urged to solve the situation. At the end of the debate on this topic, all Member States of the UNESCO Committee approved the statement declaring that it had no intention to interfere with the national policies of Russia and acted in order to strongly advocate of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion as well as national sovereignty. ( ) We encourage the delegation of Russian Federation to reconsider its decision not to attend the session in order to participate in the discussion. Later today, it was confirmed that contacts between Ms. Bokova and the Russian delegation led by ambassador Mitrofanova has reached an agreement to meet as soon as their agendas allow it, once the session end and try to restore the situation and solve the crisis. At the end of the session, the Committee retook the discussion about the working papers with some confusion. China and Iran wanted to put aside their proposal for the new working paper and focused on the amendments on the working paper 3.0 defended by Saudi Arabia, USA, France, Israel, Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom and Canada. After passing the Draft resolution, there were no dynamism among Palestine, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and Ethiopia for proposing the amendments and the Final Resolution was approved. INSIDE: Fraud at the GA? European Council Press Statement UN Quiz Night

2 2 Friday, 10 May 2013 By Emma Harris After a slow start to the day with technical issues and lots of movement from the delegates, the second day of debates in the HRC got underway discussing a draft resolution supported by Japan and Spain. As with all drafts, the delegates had concerns and questions regarding many clauses thus began the unmoderated caucuses which took up a large part of the morning. There was a clear divide in the room whilst discussing amendments and notes were fl ying from delegates to the Chairs in order to make changes. Discussions between some countries and the Chair explored the possibility of offering other positions, such as in the SC, to countries who abide by these new regulations and manage to improve the situation regarding violence against the LGBT community. However this was seen as being discriminatory and overruled by the Chair, Agnese Cigliano, who later stated that it seemed that the delegates did "not know how to negotiate, so they present stupid amendments". In comparison, the US delegates were positive on the progress made if perhaps still airing on the side of caution when they stated that their "main goal has been to gather information", something inspired by the previous day's guest speaker. They remarked that it is important "to propose policies which suit different countries", concluding "different region, different policy". During the voting process, many confusions arose through lack of understanding or even just the wording of some clauses. The Council made slow but steady progress after deciding to vote for each clause separately, with the supporters Spain and Japan offering the other members the choice to vote when declaring a clause 'unfriendly'. Some members were put out by the constant yielding of amendment explanations from Thailand to the ILGA as their official status does not allow them to vote, however they were perfectly within their rights to speak once the Thai delegates had permitted them to do so on their behalf. Although the US delegates had stipulated that it would "not have a big majority", they believed it would be successful, in part "thanks to the absence of India and the Philippines". Finally as the morning was drawing to a close the Council reached an agreement and applauded their resolution. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Closing One Door Just to Open Another You will find more information about this resolution and the progress of the debate on the second topic, "Human Rights & Traditional Values", in the next issue of TheClarion. TheClarion is the daily newspaper for C MUN 2013 Editor Bernat Comes Reporters Arnau Busquets Beatriz Gálvez Emma Harris Carolina Madeleine Alicia Riverola Photographer Pablo Rodríguez-Aguilera Opinions expressed in TheClarion are not necessarily those of the newspaper, C MUN, The United Nations Association of Spain or the United Nations. They are the sole work of the author credited in the byline. Contributions from delegates are welcomed to: bernatcomes@gmail.com

3 Friday, 10 May 2013 SECURITY COUNCIL 3 Mission in Mali to Focus on Development, Democratic Governance and Security The Security Council seeks to go beyond post-conflict resolution, urges democratic elections as soon as technically possible. By Arnau Busquets The Security Council (SC) wants the mission in Mali to transcend post-confl ict action. The SC is pushing a multidimensional strategy that includes Development, Democratic Government and Security measures. The goal is to not just address the immediate security concerns in Mali, but to take into account the underlying causes of the confl ict in the Sahel region and improve living conditions. A resolution on this matter would expand the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), which was approved by the SC at the end of April. The SC was expected to have a fi nal draft resolution last afternoon, but had not yet fi n- ished it before press time. The SC wants to improve transparency and effectiveness of all aid and development actions; guarantee women empowerment; and boost the participation of the population in the decision-making process. In this sense, they urge Malian interim authorities to not dismiss ethnic and cultural minorities in future elections. Mali citizens are expected to cast their votes before July Democratic elections should be held as soon as technically possible, the SC urges. A Train the Trainer approach is proposed to improve educational opportunities. Educational schemes should emphasize vocational training and take advantage of target areas for other types of aid, such as food or water distribution zones, to promote educational awareness. Measures regarding corruption, human rights and national budgetary strategies are also included in the draft. Delegates call upon Sahel countries to improve the law enforcement in hope of preventing inter-border movement of violent terrorist, separatist or border US Delegate Surprises with Shocking Statements on Media Independence, Foreign Sovereignty The United States of America do not believe that independent media exist. Media are an instrument in order to achieve [sic] economic prosperity and to achieve our own interests We always defend sovereignty. Well we almost always defend sovereignty groups. At the same time, a suggestion is made to better track and control ransom payments to piracy, in order to reduce kidnappings. The US rejected such payments altogether, stating that outrageous blackmail should not be tolerated. There is a risk [in military approach], but we will not give money to terrorists. Regarding actions to be undertaken against terrorism in the whole Sahel region, a number of delegates noted that Mali is the only country that has asked for help. Furthermore, concerns regarding the breach of national sovereignty were heard from Russia, China and other countries. We cannot extend peacekeeping missions in other countries if they don t ask for help, said the US delegate. However, insuring democracy and fi ghting terrorism in Mali will bring more stability to the rest of the region, added the US. Regarding funding and budget for the mission, the China delegate stated that money should come directly from nations and not from the World Bank. The SC will likely control the funds for the mission directly, instead of delegating money control to other organizations. France defended the importance of promoting independent media to educate the population on the atrocities committed in Mali, but did not receive support in this matter.

4 4 Friday, 10 May 2013 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

5 Friday, 10 May UNESCO EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESS TEAM

6 6 Friday, 10 May 2013 China unilaterally modified the final written copy of the Declaration GENERAL ASSEMBLY Fraud Reported at the General Assembly By Alicia Riverola The session of the General Assembly started yesterday morning with two draft resolutions led by the EU and Brazil. The draft presented by the South-American delegates was the fi rst to come before the Assembly. It was supported by Brazil, UK, Bulgaria, Japan and Germany. The signatory s delegates restated their position during the moderate caucus, although some of them took the opportunity to introduce some new ideas and criticisms. That was the case of United Kingdom, who said that the draft was made in a very general direction, and also France who claimed enthusiastically for sovereignty until the chair invited the delegate to refrain himself. But the toughest declarations came from the delegation of the United States, who said the draft to be basic and simplistic. In answer to this, the delegation of Brazil accused the other delegation of copying their draft. After a little break of 20 minutes, a photo-call session and notso-good coffee, the delegates tried to bring positions closer. The idea of merging the two proposals was proposed by many countries, like Israel, UK and, at fi rst, USA. But, in view of the diffi culty, at the end the Assembly decided to structure Brazil s draft as a declaration and the US draft as a resolution. During the sfter-noon the different States expressed their opinion about the draft declaration. The African countries claimed for more attention to their situation, Portugal proposed to establish a clear deadline, which Greece asked to be in accordance with the crisis situation that many countries have today. India asked the governments to be more responsible, and Israel and USA stated that without democracy there was no declaration possible. On the very end of the session a fraud occurred, when China unilaterally modifi ed the fi nal written copy of the Declaration writing Stresses that democracy is often a fundamental pillar of development instead of Stresses that democracy is always a fundamental pillar of development.

7 Friday, 10 May 2013 EUROPEAN COUNCIL 7 European Council Press Statement In the light of the recent tensions between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, The Member States of the European Union are deeply concerned with the situation and its direct effects on the bilateral relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation and indirect effects on the relationships between the European Union and both countries. The European Union urges Russian Federation and Ukraine to treat the situation with political maturity, with respect to the human rights of all of their citizens and without damaging their bilateral relations that are valuable in the area of trade, economic development and the well-being of their citizens. We are deeply against unilateral decisions and we call upon both countries to respect their agreements and to solve the crisis through negotiations without resorting to political and economic pressure. Given the fact that the most of the states in the EU are directly affected by actions from the Russian Federation and their call for cutting gas supply to Ukraine, the European Union is willing to take part as the mediator in this highly important issue. We encourage Ukraine and the Russian Federation to resolve their bilateral issues under the rules of the World Trade Organisation. The European Union reaffi rms its position to remain actively seized regarding the ongoing situation and will take actions to protect member states interests as a result of this bilateral issue. C'MUN 2013 Snapshots First Day of Sessions Coffee Break Order!

8 Friday, 10 May C'MUN SIDE EVENTS UN Quiz Night at Fàbrica Moritz Barcelona By Alicia Riverola Did you know the EU obtained its observer status at the UN in 1974, and upgraded it in 2011? If you didn t, it is probably because you did not attend the evening side event of Wednesday. The participants of C MUN had an informal meeting in the facilities of Fabrica Moritz, a local popular bar and restaurant located in the heart of Barcelona. After having some beers in a relaxed atmosphere, the delegates started the Quizz to test their knowledge on the UN. The competition was very close, although only one could win at the end. The team of Beerteam (29 points) took the fi rst place thanks to their expertise and their skills using the joker. With only two points less (27 points) the team Greenpeace took the second place. Organized by: with the support of: