Montessori Model United Nations Dear Delegates, It is a pleasure to welcome you to the 2012 Montessori Model UN and specifically to the United Nations Children s Fund, commonly referred to as the UNICEF. The following pages intend to guide you in the research of the topics that will be debated at in committee sessions. Please note - this guide only provides the basis for your investigation. It is your responsibility to find as much information necessary on both the topics - how they relate to the country you represent. Such information should help you write your Position Paper, where you need to cite the references in the text and finally list all references in the Modern Language Association (MLA} format. The MLA format may or may not be strictly adhered to in this because the primary purpose is to provide you the initial launching pad to pursue your research on the two topics. The more information and understanding you acquire on the two topics, the more you will be able to influence the Resolution writing process through debates [formal and informal caucuses], and the MMUN experience as a whole. Please feel free to contact me if and when you face challenges in your research or formatting your Position Papers. We encourage you to learn all you can about your country first with regard to the two selected topics and both committee members need to be well versed in each topic. Enjoy researching and writing your Position Papers. We look forward to seeing you in New York! Adriel Barrios President SC - A Montessori Model UN SCA@montessori-mun.org
MONTESSORI MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2012 History: The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 in London, England. Since its first meeting, the Council, which exists in continuous session, has traveled widely, holding meetings in many cities, such as Paris and Addis Ababa, as well as at its current permanent home at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The five permanent members of the Security Council consisted of France, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia, at the UN's founding in 1946. With the exception of China and Russia, the current P5 members are represented by the main victorious powers of World War II. The five permanent members of the Security Council are also the only countries recognized as nuclear-weapon states (NWS) under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. However, membership of the UN Security Council is not dependent on nuclear weapons status. Security Council Resolution 1674, adopted on 28 April 2006, "reaffirms the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document regarding the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity". The resolution commits the Council to action to protect civilians in armed conflict. This basic structure is set out in Chapter V of the UN Charter. Security Council members must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet at any time. This requirement of the United Nations Charter was adopted to address a weakness of the League of Nations since that organization was often unable to respond quickly to a crisis.
Purpose and mission statement: The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. It is so organized as to be able to function continuously, and a representative of each of its members must be present at all times at United Nations Headquarters. When a complaint concerning a threat to peace is brought before it, the Council's first action is usually to recommend to the parties to try to reach agreement by peaceful means. In some cases, the Council itself undertakes investigation and mediation. It may appoint special representatives or request the Secretary-General to do so or to use his good offices. It may set forth principles for a peaceful settlement. When a dispute leads to fighting, the Council's first concern is to bring it to an end as soon as possible. On many occasions, the Council has issued cease-fire directives which have been instrumental in preventing wider hostilities. It also sends United Nations peace-keeping forces to help reduce tensions in troubled areas, keep opposing forces apart and create conditions of calm in which peaceful settlements may be sought. The Council may decide on enforcement measures, economic sanctions (such as trade embargoes) or collective military action. Membership and Authority: The Council is composed of five permanent members China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States and ten nonpermanent members (with year of term's end). The current ten non-permanent members are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, Germany, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Portugal and South Africa. The Presidency of the Security Council is held in turn by the members of the Security Council in the English alphabetical order of their names. Each President holds office for one calendar month. The ten non-permanent members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms and are not eligible for immediate re-election. The number of non-permanent members was increased from six to ten by an amendment of the Charter which came into force in 1965. Each Council member has one vote. Decisions on procedural matters are made by an affirmative vote of at least nine of the 15 members. Decisions on substantive matters require nine votes, including the concurring votes of all five permanent members. This is the rule of "great power unanimity", or "veto" power. Under the Charter, all Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council. While other organs of the United Nations make recommendations to Governments, the Council alone has the power to take decisions which Member States are obligated under the Charter to carry out. Since the Security Council's inception, China (ROC/PRC) has used its veto 6 times; France 18 times; Russia/USSR 123 times; the United Kingdom 32 times; and the United States 82 times. The majority of Russian/Soviet vetoes were in the first ten years of the Council's existence. Since 1984, China and France have vetoed three resolutions each; Russia/USSR four; the United Kingdom ten; and the United States 43. Procedural matters are not subject to a veto, so the veto cannot be used to avoid discussion of an issue. The same holds for certain decisions that directly regard permanent members.
A State which is a Member of the United Nations but not of the Security Council may participate, without a vote, in its discussions when the Council considers that that country's interests are affected. Both Members of the United Nations and non-members, if they are parties to a dispute being considered by the Council, are invited to take part, without a vote, in the Council's discussions; the Council sets the conditions for participation by a non-member State. The UN's role in international collective security is defined by the UN Charter, which gives the Security Council the power to: Investigate any situation threatening international peace; Recommend procedures for peaceful resolution of a dispute; Call upon other member nations to completely or partially interrupt economic relations as well as sea, air, postal, and radio communications, or to sever diplomatic relations; Enforce its decisions militarily, or by any means necessary; Avoid conflict and maintain focus on cooperation.
Topic I: Situation in Afghanistan Introduction: Since the beginning of the Soviet War in Afghanistan that began in 1979 and lasted until 1989 and continuous civil war, turmoil within the country has been constant. After the end of the Soviet occupation, Afghanistan was left broken and open to corruption which gave way to the rise of the Taliban. Afghanistan was further plagued with political corruption, harsher ways of life, a rise in the opium trade and growing strain on the nation s relationship with the rest of the global community. Afghanistan quickly became one of the top ten poorest nations in the world and problems within its borders called for UN action by the Security Council in 1998 and 1999. In 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan in order to put an end to terrorist organizations within their borders after the terrorist attack on September 11 th in New York City. With the ongoing US invasion of Afghanistan nearing its 10 year mark changes in Afghanistan are necessary to restore the nation and allow it to prosper. Background: Since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan by the United States, the global community has been involved in the daily action of this nation for the past ten years. In December of 2009, United States President Barrack Obama set a withdrawal date for troops in Afghanistan to leave by 2014 and in June of 2011 announced the removal of 10,000 U.S. troops by the end of 2011 and an additional 23,000 troops by the end of
summer 2012. The United States currently has 75,000+ troops deployed in Afghanistan alongside the military aid of 27 other nations. With the goal of removing foreign military presence from within Afghanistan nearing its completion date, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and the Loya Jirga must now face the new problem of bringing back an entire nation after more than a decade of foreign military presence. Historical background: The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267, adopted unanimously on October 15, 1999, after recalling resolutions 1189, 1193 and 1214 on the situation in Afghanistan, the Council established a sanctions regime to cover individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and/or the Taliban wherever located. The regime has since been reaffirmed and modified by a dozen further UN Security Council Resolutions.It caused dire hardship to the people of Afghanistan under the Taliban regime at a time when they were heavily reliant on international food aid, while failing to satisfy any of its demands. Since the US Invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the sanctions have been applied to individuals and organizations in all parts of the world. The regime is composed of a UN Security Council Committee, a list of people and entities the UNSC has determined as being associated with Al-Qaeda and/or the Taliban, and laws which must be passed within each member nation in order to implement the sanctions. The Committee receives reports from each nation as to how the work is proceeding, and is able to vary the conditions imposed on any individual as it sees fit. Possible Solutions: In 2010, Afghanistan President Karzai called for the establishment of a Loya Jirga, a Grand Assembly of elders from the multiple provinces of Afghanistan. Afghanistan's National Consultative Peace Jirga (NCPJ) was established in hopes that peace talks between tribes, ethnic groups, political officials and insurgent groups would begin and lead to the unification of Afghanistan. The Peace Jirga which was scheduled for early May 2010 faced many problems in its execution from threats to boycotts by members of the Wolesi Jirga (lower house). The Peace Jirga was then rescheduled for early June 2010. On June 2 nd, the Taliban targeted the opening session of the NCPJ with gunfire, suicide bombers and rocket attacks. Since then, President Karzai and members of his government have encountered skepticism and criticism from the people of Afghanistan and the global community in regards to their efforts to bring change to Afghanistan. The members of the Security Council should aim at addressing Afghanistan s problem with insurgent groups but must also focus on finding solutions to the growing opium industry, poverty, the rights of women, education and nutrition.
Research Questions: 1. Is this issue a problem in your country? 2. Does this issue affect your country? If so, how? 3. What are the positions of the various stakeholders on this issue? 4. What strategies/solutions have been attempted? a. What have worked? Why? b. What have not worked? Why? c. What changes could be made to make said solutions work? 5. If this issue is not a problem in your country, then how can they be involved? Why and why not? 6. What and how can children like you be involved in the prevention and occurrences of the issue? 7. What are some facts, figures, statistics regarding the issue national, regional, international? Summary: With the ever changing political climate in Afghanistan, it is key to look for solutions that could work in both the short and long term, especially after the removal of foreign troops from within the Afghani border. Members of the Security Council must look at past UN resolutions on the situation in Afghanistan and focus on the elements that were successful in some way. The situation affecting Afghanistan must be handled with great detail and care especially on the topics concerning the growing opium industry, poverty, women s rights, education and nutrition. Members of the Security Council must address each aspect of the situation and come to a conclusion that fits the greater good of Afghanistan and of the world while also giving the country room to grow and prosper on their own. Reading/ Research References: http://www.un.org/ http://www.un.org/docs/sc/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ http://www.afghanistan-un.org/2011/03/united-nations-security-council-debateon-the-situation-in-afghanistan/ http://www.un.org/en/ga/62/plenary/afghanistan/bkg.shtml
Topic II: Islamic Republic of Iran Introduction: Because of the advanced level of modern weapon technology, nuclear weapons currently pose the largest threat to humans in history. Thus, it is highly important to take the issue of nuclear security seriously. The nuclear program in the Islamic Republic of Iran has long been a cause for concern. While Iran is party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and consistently denies that its nuclear program seeks to create something other than peaceful nuclear energy for civilian use, its lack of cooperation with the international community and lack of transparency make it difficult to determine the nation s intentions. Therefore, the main issue to deal with is not determining what to do with Iran s nuclear program and potential weapons. Instead, it is necessary to decide whether Iran has nuclear strike capabilities, and, if so, how to prevent and deter attacks on other nations or other misuses of nuclear power. Background:
In 1968, Iran signed the NPT (formally known as the Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons). The treaty, which is the most significant international effort to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, currently has 187 signatories. By signing, Iran committed to not pursue the acquisition of nuclear weapons while retaining its right to access and develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The Treaty is the only internationally binding commitment with the goal of disarmament by the states already possessing nuclear weapons. The main idea is that states already in possession of nuclear weapons (as of 1968) will move toward disarmament, while states not already in possession of nuclear weapons will agree not to acquire them. States are encouraged to share nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes, and equal access for all parties is promoted. The Treaty established a system of safeguards, overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These safeguards monitor compliance with the Treaty through IAEA inspections. Six years later, in 1974, the Atomic Energy Act of Iran was created, covering endeavors to be carried out by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Among these endeavors were using atomic energy in industry and agriculture, building atomic power stations and desalination factories, and producing materials necessary for atomic industries. The act created the necessary scientific and technical infrastructure for pursuing these projects, laying the foundation for the Iranian nuclear program. Once the Iranian nuclear program was well underway, decades later in 2003, an IAEA inspection was conducted, which found that there were numerous infractions of the safeguards agreement, including what appeared to be a policy of specifically withholding certain information from the IAEA. Even so, the IAEA failed to find any evidence that the building of nuclear weapons was under way. The next year, Iran announced that it had resumed building nuclear centrifuges to enrich uranium. A centrifuge is made of 180 parts, most of which Iran purchased from foreign black markets. The announcement, coupled with the 2003 findings, created a cause for concern, prompting the IAEA to unanimously adopt a resolution calling for Iran to halt all uranium enrichment activities. In 2005, an IAEA report was released stating that Iran had refused to allow the second inspection of a military complex by the United Nations. Iran was not legally required to allow inspections of that particular site. No evidence of a dangerous nuclear program was found during the first inspection. Nevertheless, the IAEA voted 27-3 to report Iran to the Security Council. Following the vote, Iran stated that it would end voluntary cooperation with the IAEA beyond its basic NPT requirements, and that it would resume enriching uranium. Following the statement by Iran s supreme leader the Ayatollah Khamenei, a warning to Americans that if they assaulted Iran, their interests would be greatly damaged as Iran would counter any actions with double the force, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1737, sponsored by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It imposed sanctions against Iran for its non compliance with Resolution 1696, in which Iran was called upon to stop enrichment activities. The sanctions banned the supply of nuclear related technology and materials and froze the assets of significant people and companies involved in enrichment. If Iran complied by suspending its suspicious activities within sixty days, the sanctions would be removed. Since Iran failed to respond to the sanctions imposed by Resolution 1737, the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1747 in 2007. The new resolution aimed to strengthen the existing sanctions, ban arms sales, and increase the freeze on assets.
Two years later, an IAEA report was released outlining Iran s compliance with the NPT. It stated that its inspectors had not been granted access on several occasions and that the IAEA had not been given the design information for a reactor at Darkhaven. Another issue the IAEA reported was that Iran had not implemented the Additional Protocol to the NPT as mandated by Security Council Resolution 1737, clarified unclear information, or provided missing information. Throughout 2009, Iran consistently violated its obligations under the Safeguards Agreement of the NPT. Worried by the general murkiness surrounding the Iranian nuclear program, General Charles Wald of the US Air Force stated that a devastating U.S military strike against both nuclear and military facilities in Iran was a technically feasible and credible option. Of course, such an action was not taken, so the Iranian nuclear program continued, and Iran subsequently purchased nuclear fuel rods from Russia. Possible Solutions: The main action that has been used to deal with the Iranian nuclear program to date has been economic sanctions intended to prevent Iranian access to nuclear technologies and materials and thus impede any efforts toward the creation of weapons of mass destruction. UNSC Resolutions and unilateral sanctions approved by the U.S. Congress and foreign ministers of all EU countries have been mainly directed at Iran s banking, finance, and energy sectors. EU-specific restrictions toward Iran include a ban on the sale of equipment, technology, and services to the energy sector, as well as the refining industry. Further, all new investments in the energy sector have been halted. Needless to say, the success rate of these measures is rather questionable as Iran seems to continue its program unaffected by and unmotivated to comply with the demands of the UN and IAEA. As of 2011, the UN reports that the development rate of the Iranian nuclear program has dropped, though Tehran insists that the sanctions have had no effect and the Iranian nuclear program continues to develop uninterrupted. Because Iran has not been forthcoming with information, this discrepancy could be due to faulty assumptions by the UN in the first place. This means that progress may have been slower all along, hence making the sanctions less effective than anticipated. It appears that the only effect sanctions have had have been on oil and gas, where projects have only been partially implemented, and on production capacity in the energy sector because of lack of foreign investment. Obviously, this was not the intended effect. When discussing potential solutions, it is important to remember the specific goals pertaining to Iran: to prevent or delay enriched uranium production, to prevent the acquisition of completed weapons of mass destruction or fissile material and to eliminate further technological assistance to the program. To date, Iran has received assistance from China, Pakistan, and North Korea. It would be helpful if delegates could include incentives for nations not to provide assistance to Iran in resolutions. Also, delegates should bear in mind that any solutions proposed will not eliminate Iran s technical knowledge of nuclear materials, (meaning that even if weapons were destroyed Iran would still know how to build them) so resolutions should also consider ideas for improving relations with Iran to help move Iran away from feeling the need for nuclear proliferation.
Research Questions: 1. How are relations between your country and Iran? 2. Does your country have nuclear weapons? 3. Has your country assisted Iran in developing its nuclear program? 4. Does your country have black markets from which Iran could have acquired fissile material? 5. Does your country feel strongly about the issue of nuclear development in general? 6. Has your country specifically ever felt threatened by Iran s unclear intentions? 7. What are some facts, figures, statistics regarding the issue national, regional, international? Summary: The international community has long been concerned about the happenings in Iran with regard to its nuclear program. Although the nation is party to the NPT, there have been numerous incidents in which it has not met its obligations. Despite the many sanctions currently in place, as reported by the Iranian IAEA representative Ali Askar Soltaniyeh, Iran continues to expand enrichment. Tehran consistently denies accusations of weapon construction, insisting that the program is for exclusively peaceful purposes. Even so, Iran continues to block inspections, conceal information, and refuse to answer IAEA questions, arousing suspicion worldwide. This lack of cooperation makes it impossible to determine Iran s intentions and to rule out a military component to its nuclear development. The obscurity is what makes this a pressing matter on the global agenda. The goal in discussing it is not for nations to rally against their fellow member state but to maintain global security. Reading/Research References: http://www.un.org/ http://www.un.org/docs/sc/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ http://www.un.org.ir/