Topic 1: Historical Cuban Missile Crisis I. Background: The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day political and military standoff between President

Historical Security Council Edison Advanced Conference Topic 1: Historical Cuban Missile Crisis I. Background: The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13 day political and military standoff between President Kennedy s United States and Premier Khrushchev's Soviet Union from October 16th 1962 to October 28th 1962. During this time, Kennedy was pushing for the removal of the Soviet Union's nuclear missiles from communist Cuba while consequently, Khrushchev attempted to negotiate removal of American Missiles in Turkey and the assurance of Americans not to invade Cuba. This standoff is recorded as the closest the world has ever come to a nuclear war. After overthrowing the Batista government within Cuba in 1959, leftist revolutionary leader Fidel Castro began agrarian reforms to break up large landholdings and distribute the land to the workers in order to begin a new wave of nationalization of US citizens industries. Americans had serious concerns at the treatment being given to American private interests in Cuban agriculture and utilities. Soon after this, the US began to impose trade restrictions that limited the sale on everything except food and medical supplies on Cuba. This crippled the Cuban economy, effectively flatlining the GDP at 2,000 after years of rapid growth, and eventually after years of the trade restrictions affecting more and more cubans Kennedy imposed a permanent embargo on Feb. 7, 1962. The US stopped buying Cuban sugar entirely and stopped supplying Cuba with much needed oil. This resulted in Castro turning to the USSR as a new trading partner. Tensions continued to rise as the freighter La Coubre exploded off the coast of Cuba capital, Havana. The explosion killed 75 cubans which Castro, although admittedly without proof, publicly blamed the United States. Subsequently, the Eisenhower Administration allowed the CIA to begin training Cuban refugees as a guerilla force to overthrow Castro. Nearly 1,400 soldiers were accumulated and were armed with nearly 13 million dollars worth of arms, planes, and bombs. This force would ultimately fail, specifically at the Bay of Pigs invasion. At the end of the attack 75% of the US s guerrilla force was in Cuban prisons. Kennedy would assume complete responsibility for the venture; which portrayed him as a weak leader in both the Cuban and Russian Governments. Kennedy was the youngest U.S. President ever elected at 43 years old and now, with his personal admittance of fault for the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, the

Kennedy Administration s approval rate plummeted from 83% to 70%. At this time Kennedy looked very weak in the eyes of the Russians so they wanted to capitalize on his lack of willpower in debate. Khrushchev, seeing this opportunity, began to implement missiles within their trade partner, Cuba at the Sun Julian airfield. For a long time Russia feared the US s 45 missiles in both Western Europe and inside Turkey. Now Russia felt they would be equal in power to the United States. However, on October 14th 1962, an American U-2 spy plane took pictures of Soviet SS-4 Medium Range Missiles being assembled. Two days later, on the 16th, Kennedy was briefed on the situation and called for a meeting with ExCom (Executive Committee of National Security Council.) Both Kennedy and ExCom agreed that the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba was unacceptable; however, they feared that through their demanding of the removal of the missiles, the U.S. could potentially start a nuclear war. American officials largely feared the proximity of the missiles in Cuba. If finished, the Russians would have missiles ready to fire within 70 miles of the United States with the capability of hitting several prominent eastern cities, such as Washington DC and New York. Up until this point, Americans had been dominating the nuclear arms race with 30,000 bombs to Russia s 5,000; nevertheless, Russian missiles off the coast of Florida would shift the upper hand to the USSR a little more than a year after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. ExCom argued for several options such as a bombing raid on the missile launching site or a full scale invasion of Cuba. Despite these options, Kennedy feared losing to the Cubans a second time so soon after the Bay of Pigs tragedy. Kennedy also felt that a rash bombing could be repeating the same mistake the Japanese made at Pearl Harbor; meaning that this small attack would escalate into the Americans starting the largest war since World War II. Deciding that a physical attack would be unfavorable, on the 22nd of October Kennedy implemented a naval blockade portrayed as a quarantine on Cuba. This quarantine of the island would prevent more Soviet missiles being moved to Cuba and would deliver an ultimatum for the existing missiles to be removed from Cuba. This quarantine would last until the 20th of November, when the Soviets agreed to remove their IL-28 bombers from Cuba. The same day Kennedy publicly notified Americans through a television broadcast that explained his reasoning for the enactment of the blockade and also emphasised his preparedness

to use military force if necessary. Americans and Soviets alike feared that their countries were heading towards a nuclear war and began to stock up on food and supplies for the possible fallout. Tensions continued to rise and by the 24th of October Soviet ships bound for Cuba reached the American blockade for the first time. The Soviets turned their ships around fearing that a Soviet attempt to breach the blockade would result in a military confrontation thus creating a nuclear war. The Soviets decision to turn around was a positive turn of events; it could mean that the conflict could end without bloodshed. However soon after this on October 27th, an American Spy plane was shot down over Cuba costing Americans $100,000 in damages and the only life lost in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Rudolf Anderson. American forces quickly prepared for an invasion in Florida in naval bases such as US Naval Surface Warfare in Hollywood, FA. U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara stated that the tension between the nations were so high at this point [He] thought it was the last Saturday I would ever see. Regardless of the escalating hostility on both sides, a compromise was eventually made. On the 26th of October, Khrushchev sent a letter to Kennedy in which he offered for the removal of missiles in Cuba if the Americans were to promise not to invade Cuba. The following day the Soviets also agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba if Americans removed their own missiles in Turkey. The Kennedy Administration publicly agreed to the first letter; however, publicly ignored the second letter in its entirety. Despite this, American officials privately agreed to withdraw their own missiles from Turkey. Two days later, on the 28th of October, U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy delivered the message to a Soviet Ambassador in Washington and the conflict came to a close. By November 15, San Julian airfield was no longer able to launch any type of Soviet Missiles. Soviet missiles that were once securely transporting missiles were now displaying their cargo as they began their treck home to Russia. Soon after this, America was removing Jupiter missiles from Turkey and the American quarantine around Cuba was dissolved. The next year a hot line was implemented between Washington and Moscow to help diffuse any future conflicts. It was used multiple times after its implementation such as it s use in the Kennedy Assassination, the Six-Day War, and recently in 2016 concerning Russian interference with Election Day.

A year later Castro learned of the real terms of the deal and confirmed his suspicions that the Soviet Union was not willing to put their own people at risk for a Caribbean Island. The Cuban Missile Crisis resulted in the closest the world has ever been to a Nuclear War, and is recognized as the hottest two weeks of the Cold War. If escalated more Historians say that at least half a billion would have died. II. UN Involvement: The involvement of the United Nations in the Cuban Missile Crisis is oftentimes overlooked due to the fact that no resolutions were passed or even drafted. However State Department and UN archival documents along with presidential recordings show that UN-Secretary-General U Thant s mediation was vital in the compromise between the two nations. Kennedy himself stated that U Thant has put the world deeply in his debt." Thant's negotiations, along with the members of the Security Council at the time (Chile, Ghana, Ireland, Romania, UAR, and Venezuela), were the focal point in resolving the nuclear conflict, and without his guidance and leadership it is extremely likely that the Cuban Missile Crisis would have ended in an unfavorable way. Thant s first involvement was on October 24th during the naval confrontation between Soviets and Americans along the blockade of Cuban waters. During the confrontation, Thant pressured both Kennedy and Khrushchev to step back and allow time to pass before any major decisions were made. After several hours of pressure, Khrushchev eventually gave in and turned his leading ships back; however, he refused to give order to turn around the other ships on their passage to Cuba. Following Khrushchev s decision to back down, Kennedy asked Thant to implement an appeal that prevented Khrushchev to continue to attempt to breach the blockade. The secretary-general proposed the appeal as his own idea in order to prevent the solution as an American ultimatum. Khrushchev then had the opportunity to comply in order to show his willingness to compromise. The appeal was privately passed on the 25th of October, and without its passing, it is possible that the continuous pressure of Khrushchev s ships on the Cuban blockade would have antagonized American ships to begin a naval battle. US Ambassador for the UN Adlai Stevenson described Thant s action later in a senate committee, "At a critical moment -- when the nuclear powers seemed set on a collision course -- the secretary-general's

intervention led to the diversion of the Soviet ships headed for Cuba and interception by our Navy. This was the indispensable first step in the peaceful resolution of the Cuban crisis." As the conflict continued, Kennedy feared that the only peaceful solution would be a freeze on missile activity and prolonged negotiations that would fail to offer a quick solution. Thant publicly advocated that in exchange for the Russians to dismantle their missiles, Americans would promise not to invade Cuba. This compromise would become the basis for the final compromise between the two nuclear superpowers a few days later, along with the private commitment of the Americans to remove the missiles in Turkey. Even after the conflict subsided Thant flew to Cuba and talked with Fidel Castro and arranged for the body of the American pilot to be returned to America along with bringing UN missile inspectors that were allowed to be inside Cuba. Castro was infuriated due to the fact that in both the general negotiations and the decision to remove missiles from Cuba he was excluded so he refused help from Thant; however, he did return the body of the American pilot. Years after the event the United Nations have worked tirelessly in attempts to reduce the amount of Nuclear weapons. Several attempts have been made to draft a treaty to do so, such as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests In The Atmosphere, In Outer Space And Under Water, Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which was signed in 1996 but has yet to enter into force, and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), opened for signature in 2017 but has yet to enter into force. Although technology has advanced at an alarming rate the United Nations has never stopped in its attempts to reduce nuclear war. As a result the amount of Nuclear bombs present in the world is now one sixth of the amount the world had in its peak in 1988. III. Questions to Consider: 1) What was your country's economic policy in 1962? How would that have affected who you supported at the time? (United States or Soviet Union) 2) What political and economic relations did your country have with the United States and the Soviet Union? How would this change your country s standpoint? 3) What alternative solutions did your country present to the conflict?

4) Could the conflict be resolved in a different, possibly more effective, way? 5) Have other solutions failed in this problem, if so how? Works Cited: History.com Staff. Cuban Missile Crisis. History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, May 1 2018 www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis. Bos, Carole "THE AFTERMATH" AwesomeStories.com. Apr 01, 2002. May 04, 2018, http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/the-aftermath-cuban-missil e-crisis. Dorn, Walter, and Robert Paulk. 50 Years Ago: The Cuban Missile Crisis and Its Underappreciated Hero. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Atomic Scientist, 13 June 2013, thebulletin.org/50-years-ago-cuban-missile-crisis-and-its-underappreciated-hero. Lewis, Terrance L. (2012). "U Thant". Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia:Research Starters. Salem Press.

Topic 2: Colombia I. Background: The Colombian conflict started in the 1960 s and has continued into contemporary times. The civil war is between the Colombian Government and two groups known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), which are both far-left guerillas. The low-intensity war started in efforts to increase the amount of territory that their groups had influence in. Since the war has started, approximately 200,000 people have been killed, 25,000 people have disappeared, and over 5,000,000 people have been displaced. FARC is the largest rebel group in the country of Colombia led by Pedro Antonio Marin. As believers of the Marxist-Leninist ideology, they became followers of the Communist party in 1964. The 20,000 fighters of the FARC banded together as a group of farmers fighting for their inequalities, including the land being taken away from them in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as Colombia had to give up land to pay debts to bordering countries such as Venezuela. After their land was taken away in the 1950 s, they demanded control over land, but big landowners and the state saw their communist group as a threat. By 1960,.02% of farmland made up 30% of Colombia s farmland. After the Colombian army attempted to get rid of the FARC, they decided it was time to take action. The National Liberation Army (ELN) is another communist-based rebel group located in Colombia. The United States, Peru, Canada, and Colombia itself have labeled the ELN as a terrorist organization. The ELN consists of approximately 3,000 guerilla fighters that are led by a number of Roman Catholic priests. In the past five decades that the Colombian Army has fought against the ELN, approximately 220,000 people have died. With the help of the Colombian Government, the ELN was rebuilt; the only reason that the Colombian Government assisted the ELN was in hopes to gain peace and end the civil war. With no interest in making

peace, the ELN continued financing its military, took people for ransom, and became part of the illegal drug trade business. In 2016, the FARC and the Colombian Government made peace, but the ELN did not agree with this, and decided to keep fighting for equality. The current civil war in Colombia is a direct result of of the previous ten year civil war known as La Violencia. This war started on April 9, 1948 and lasted until 1958, and was fought between the Colombian Conservative Party and the Colombian Liberal Party. Some say that the La Violencia was a result of the 1948 assassination of a popular politician Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, who was a Liberal Party presidential candidate for the November 1949 election. The assassination first led to a ten hour riot known as the Bogotazo Riot that killed approximately 5,000 people. Others say that it was a result of the Conservative Party gaining control in the 1946 election. Town police and Conservative political leaders urged Conservative peasants to take the agricultural land from the Liberal-supporting peasants, which started a civil war that grew as years passed. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Party were not the only ones involved in the civil war, as they both fought against the Communist Party as well. Due to the fact that 90% of the population was Catholic at the time, the majority of the civilians were in favor of the Conservative Party during La Violencia. As a result of the war, there were no Liberal candidates in the 1950 elections. In the early periods of the current civil war, from 1974 to 1982, the FARC and the ELN focused on gaining equality through communism. But in the 1980 s, Colombia s power shifted towards local governments, which gave more power to the Colombian Government. In 1985, the Patriotic Union political party (UP) was created by the the FARC; as a result, in the late 1980 s and early 1990 s, right-wing paramilitary groups attacked the UP and destroyed it, which aggravated the war. To make matters worse, in the 1970 s, American began smuggling drugs into Colombian borders. Drug trafficking in Colombia was reestablished by the American Mafia, and the organized crime rates increased exponentially by the 1980 s. To this day, approximately half of all drugs illegally trafficked over borders come from Colombia. While the Colombian Government, who held most of the power in the country, was busy shutting down the American drug cartels that had started, right-wing paramilitary organizations and left-wing guerilla

organizations resumed their drug trafficking businesses, and started kidnapping for ransom. The profit gained from these businesses helped finance their military troops (drug trafficking alone in Colombia brings in $47,127,720,000 annually), but it did make the groups lose civilian support. Because of this, the rebel groups started attacking the Colombian Government, along with its citizens. As time passed, the second Colombian civil war escalated. In 2007, the FARC kidnapped deputies in support of the Colombian Government, and killed eleven of the twelve that were held hostage. After many instances like these, the Colombian Government called for a peace talk with the FARC, but the FARC did not want to cooperate. In March of 2008, the Colombian Government struck back and launched a military operation, killing twenty-four members of the FARC. As the FARC realized that the Colombian Government had access to do much damage, they stepped back. Later that year, the government launched another operation known as Operation Jaque, which freed approximately fifteen hostages held by the FARC. The purpose of this operation was to prove that their guerilla army power was decreasing. Realizing that the Colombian Government power was increasing, the FARC established a plan called Rebirth, which included supplying their guerrilla troops with more bombs, snipers, and landmines to use against the government. The government was aware of this plan, took initiative, and strengthened their own military with weapons and general funding. Even though they were prepared, the FARC and ELN wounded around 2,000 security force members and killed 460 of them in 2010. In 2015, there were talks of a ceasefire and a truce being made between rebel groups and the Colombian Government. During the peace talks,the Colombian Government was still attacking the FARC. On May 22, the FARC agreed to a truce after the Colombian Government killed twenty-six of of their military men. By June 23, 2016, the Colombian Government and the FARC agreed to a ceasefire. A poll taken recorded that 49.8% of the people were in favor of the ceasefire, while 50.2% were not. Although the FARC made peace, the ELN continues to attack the Colombian Government to this day. The cost of the Colombian civil conflict is extreme. As far as the cost of the whole war, it is estimated at $151 billion. This does not include the costs of victim reparations, which is

approximated at $28 billion. Although the war was (and is) between the Colombian Government and rebel groups, the vast majority, 80%, of the victims are civilians. The largest amount of casualties was between 1999 and 2009, where an estimate of around 800,000 people were affected by the war in some way, weather it be death, displacement, etc. Colombia s defense budget skyrocketed in 2014, where the approximate budget was $40 billion, compared to the 1970 budget of $3 billion. As previously stated, the ELN is still at war with the Colombian Government. A ceasefire was called around the same time as the FARC s, and it expired at the beginning of 2018. In January, 2018, the ELN attacked the Colombian Government armed forces, and also went after the oil installations. Three bombing were also carried out by the ELN at this time. Although a big part of the civil war has ended, as most casualties were caused between the government and the FARC, it still continues to this day, and has quickly escalated since the ceasefire between the ELN and the government expired. With no peace talks scheduled for the near future, the civil war will continue to destroy Colombia and affect its citizens. II. UN Involvement Although the UN had been keeping a close eye on the Colombian conflict since the early periods of the civil war broke, they became majorly involved in 2004; Colombia was resistant to let the international community assist them until then. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) created a Human Development Report known as Callejon con Salida (Exiting a Dead End), which thoroughly explained the causes of the Colombian Civil War and discussed the inequalities and exclusion within the country. This report started a national debate regarding peace and has become a reference guide for Colombian peacemakers. The UNDP stepped in to assist the civilians that were affected by the armed conflict. They have assisted over 980 advocacy groups in Colombia with the financial help of Spain, Canada, and Sweden; these advocacy groups help Colombian citizens gain a better knowledge of how to advocate for their own rights. The UNDP led the establishment of these groups by providing management and leadership training, legal counseling, and tools to help build the organizations. 219 workshops were also created by the UNDP for psychological and legal assistance for victims of abuse and sexual assault. Over 13,500 victims have attended these

workshops. The UNDP is also working with the government and police to investigate the civil war and the prosecution of accused criminals. With help from the UNDP human rights organizations, 75,000 people have received some sort of compensation for their suffering. In 2011, THE UNDP created another report called Rural Colombia: Reasons for Hope (Colombia Rural: Razones para la esperanza), explaining why rural areas needed to change in order to survive the civil war. After this report, the UN stated that peace can be built locally even in the most violent scenarios, if emphasis is placed on addressing the political, social, economic and racial causes of conflict. The statement caused organizations throughout the country of Colombia to strengthen their social policies and became able to advocate for the civil rights on behalf of their communities. Under the UN, an organization under the name of Group of Friends of Mediation was established on September 24, 2010. This organization stated that they are committed to promoting a culture of mediation in their national policies, as well as regionally and internationally. The Group of Friends of Mediation is made up of the UN, forty-eight member states, including Algeria, Brazil, Slovaki, and the United Kingdom, and seven regional and international organizations. Annual meetings are held at Ministerial level in the General Assembly and at the Permanent Representatives and Experts level in New York. In 2016, the UN Security Council made a simple promise to stay committed to the Colombian conflict, and help in any way possible. In 2017, this was renewed, and focused more on the ceasefire of the FARC. They promised to monitor the disarmament of former rebels, and monitor their reintegration on a social, political, and economic level. The peace negotiations between the FARC, the ELN, and the Colombian Government were main focuses on the UN agenda. All parties accepted the UN as an intervention, but did not want it to be labeled as a mediator or facilitator. Because of the label intervention, many of the UN s efforts to create peace were ignored by both sides. Even though the UN did not do a perfect job at keeping peace between the rebel groups and the Colombian Government, it is stated that without the help of the UN, a peace talk would have never taken place, and the conflict would be at its peak today.

Although the Security Council was mainly involved in the Colombian conflict between the rebel groups and the Colombian Government, the General Assembly also created resolution in hopes of assisting the cease of the war. On October 15, 2012, the General Assembly created A/RES/66291; its goal was to strengthen the UN s mediation role in Colombia to establish a peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution. The main point in the resolution involve help from the member states and regional organizations in order to mediate any peace talks or ceasefires. The UN Security Council also created S/RES/2381 on October 6, 2017. Since the FARC and the Colombian Government already established a ceasefire, the UN Security Council urged a ceasefire between the ELN and the Colombian Government on January 9, 2018. In order to do this, the UN must still assist in maintaining as much peace as possible within the country. The ceasefire date was extended, but on April 2, 2018, it was stated that an indefinite ceasefire between the two parties was underway. Some of the supporting countries for this resolution include Bolivia, Ukraine, and Great Britain. Various UN organs have focused on the Colombian civil war conflict, and have been a vital part of the peace that has been maintained since the FARC ceasefire. With continuous assistance from the UN, the civil war in Colombia will soon come to an end. III. Questions to Consider 1. What is the main conflict in Colombia? 2. Who are the main groups involved in the conflict? (Explain them) 3. Why did the conflict start in the first place, and why hasn t it come to an end? 4. When did the UN become involved in the Colombian conflict? 5. What has the UN done to help Colombia and its citizens?

Works Cited 1. Colombiareports. Total Economic Cost of 52 Years of War in Colombia $151B: Study. Colombia News Colombia Reports, 26 Sept. 2016, colombiareports.com/total -economic-cost -52-years-war-colombia-151b-study/. 2. Colombia: Building Peace from the Ground Up. Atavist, 19 Nov. 2016, dpa-ps.atavist.com /building-peace-from-the-ground-up-in-colombia. 3. Colombia's Civil Conflict. Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/colombias-civil-conflict. 4. Colombia: Security Council Authorizes UN Mission to Monitor Reintegration of FARC-EP UN News. United Nations, United Nations, news.un.org/en/story/2017/07/561222 -security-council-authorizes-un-mission-monitor-reintegration-farc-ep. 5. Group of Friends of Mediation UN Peacemaker. United Nations, United Nations, peacemaker.un.org/friendsofmediation. 6. Helping the Victims of Colombia's Conflict. UNDP, ourstories/helping-victims-incolombia-s-conflict.html. 7. Kraul, Chris. The Battles Began in 1964: Here's a Look at Colombia's War with the FARC Rebels. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2016, www.latimes.com/ world/mexico-americas/la-fg-colombia-farc-explainer-snap-story.html. 8. Murphy, Helen. Colombia's ELN Rebels Resume Attacks as Ceasefire Expires. Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 11 Jan. 2018, www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-rebels-ecuador /colombias-eln-rebels-resume-attacks-as-ceasefire-expires-iduskbn1ez1cg. 9. S/RES/2381(2017) - E. S/RES/1888(2009) - E, undocs.org/s/res/2381(2017).

10. Staff, The City Paper. Colombian Government and ELN Close to Deal on Indefinite Ceasefire. The City Paper Bogotá, 2 Apr. 2018, thecitypaperbogota.com/news/ colombian- government-and-eln-guerrillas-close-to-deal-on-indefinite-ceasefire/19456. 11. The Current Situation in Colombia. United States Institute of Peace, 11 Apr. 2018, www.usip.org/publications/2018/03/current-situation-colombia. 12. The Role of the International Community in Colombia. Conciliation Resources, 20 July 2015, www.c-r.org/accord-article/role-international-community-colombia. 13. Tomaselli, Wes Michael. Colombia Is Trying to End 50 Years of War, but One Rebel Group Won't Stop Its Attacks. The Washington Post, WP Company, 11 Jan. 2018, www. washingtonpost.com/world/rebel-cease-fire-breakdown-could-imperil-colombias-ruling-p arty-election-chances/2018/01/11/0e33299e-f64e-11e7-9af7-a50bc3300042_story.html?n oredirect=on. 14. United Nations Official Document. United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org /en/ga/ search/view_doc.asp?symbol=%2ba%2fres%2f66%2f291. 15. Who Are the Farc? BBC News, BBC, 24 Nov. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin -america-36605769.