DAVIS MODEL UNITED NATIONS DISEC Topic A: Responsibility to Protect Topic B: Child Soldiers
Letter from the Head Chair Esteemed Delegates, My name is Alisha Hacker and I am a Freshman at the University of California, Davis. I am a Political Science- Public Service Major, and I am considering a double major in Communication. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, more specifically in the San Fernando Valley. I have participated in Model United Nations since the 7th grade, so this will be my 7th year participating in conferences. During my spare time, I like to watch tv shows like Parks and Rec, Scandal and the West Wing. Additionally, I love to watch sports, particularly Baseball and Football. I have been a Dodger fan my entire life, and yes, I am still sad about the World Series. I am also a big Seahawks fan, even though I have never been to Seattle. I am very excited for DMUNC and to preside over such an important committee. I look forward to observing a high level of debate, and the development of thoughtful resolutions. I know that you will all be wonderful delegates and that we will have a great weekend. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me. Sincerely, Alisha Hacker Head Chair, DISEC, DMUNC XVI dmunc.disec@davismun.org 1
Topic A: Responsibility to Protect Background Information Introduction The global commitment known as Responsibility to Protect was drafted by members states of the United Nations during the World Submit in 2005. The goal of this summit and the subsequent guidelines surrounding R2P was to address the crimes committed by governments against their own people, specifically targeting genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. The deal reaffirmed each states allegiance to protect their own citizens from these atrocities and an acceptance of collective responsibility to help each other uphold these commitments. Within this agreement, the declaration that under UN Charter guidelines, other member states of the United Nations have the right to take decisive actions if the state s national authorities failed to protect the population, was seen as a controversial issue due to its violation of state sovereignty (UN). The United Nations argues that R2P strengthens state sovereignty by helping states exercise their own responsibilities.however, critics argue that this R2P principle justifies the violation of state s border for humanitarian intervention. 1 The History of R2P Following a series of mass-scale killings and devastating incidents of humanitarian violence in Rwanda, Somalia and Bosnia in the 1990 s, the members of the international community decided to take decisive action to prevent further loss of life. They agreed that in situations in which human life is at immediate risk and suffering is apparent the international community has the right to dissolve a nation's right to sovereignty. The international community decided that with this new framework they would go beyond the traditional definitions of humanitarian intervention used in the past. They chose to create a new framework that would lay out in lamest terms exactly when, where, how and by whom intervention had to be undertaken to be legitimate. In order to build consensus surrounding these new procedures, the Government of Canada called together the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) in 2000. The forum concluded that the Responsibility to Protect was to be broken into three parts: a Responsibility to Prevent, a Responsibility to React, and a Responsibility to Rebuild. ICISS also addressed the subject of sovereignty and concluded that the traditional definition of a simple right to a right and duty to protect. 1 http://www.globalr2p.org/about_r2p 2
Following the Commission meeting in Canada a report was released which spurred a World Summit in 2005. The concept of R2P which was laid out at the ICISS was adopted with some narrower parameters and some changes. These guidelines would come into play several times over the next few decades. The recognition of the R2P was introduced under the UN Security Council Resolution 1674 in April 2006 on civilian protection in armed conflicts. This resolution expressly stated in clause four to reaffirms the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 of the World Summit Outcome Document regarding the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. This resolution was referenced later that year in August in Resolution 1706, which authorized a deployment of peacekeeping troops in Darfur, Sudan. Resolutions related to Humanitarian intervention and referencing Responsibility to Protect soon appeared in a number of UN Security Council Resolutions. One of the most notable cases in which R2P was called upon to protect civilians was in Libya in 2011. Uses of R2P Libya In 2011, Libyan citizens began taking political actions through public protests demanding the ousting of the Libyan leader of 41 years, Muammar Gaddafi. The protestors were subject of mass atrocities brought committed by the government. The Human Rights Watch stated that by February 20, 2011 the civilian death toll reached 233 over the course of four days. Given the number of civilian casualties at the hands of the government the responses from the International Community called for immediate action under the guidelines of R2P. The League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the African Union immediately came out with condemnations of the Libyan government and called for the entire international community to take action. In light of these reports the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted Resolution S-15/2, which called for the Libyan government to uphold its responsibility to protect and cease all human rights violations; for an international commission of inquiry to be established; and for the General Assembly suspend Libya from the Council. On February 26th 2011, the UNHRC also adopted Resolution 1970 which affirmed Libya responsibility to protect which was the first time the phrase was used in a resolution. After these nonmilitary R2P measures failed to secure peace, the Council adopted Resolution 1973 on March 17th, 2011 which established a no-fly zone to protect the Libyan civilians. It also authorized member states with cooperation of the United Nations Security 3
Council to take all measures necessary to protect citizens. Libya represents the first time that the international community invoked the principles of R2P in order to justify intervention into a sovereign nation s conflict. 2 Syria Since 2011, Syria has been locked in a civil war which has resulted in the death of an estimated 500,000 people. The conflict rose after pro-democracy protests erupted in the city of Daree. These protests were led by teenagers who painted revolutionary symbols on the school walls. Many of the teens were arrested and tortured, and many of the demonstrators were fired on be security forces killing several protesters. The violence sparked nationwide unrest and hundreds thousands took to the streets to protests the government across the country. Following violence perpetrated by the government onto protestors, many of them began to take up arms against the government. Syria descended into Civil War which has led to the displacement of over 6 million people and an estimated 13.1 million people are in dire need of humanitarian relief and aid. conflict is This civilian death demonstrates the limits of R2P as the international community has struggled to coalesce around one side in the conflict. Due to this thousands of civilians have continued to perish. 3 Positive Contributions The guidelines developed by R2P addressed many of the concern held by humanitarian aid workers, who expressed concerns regarding the militarization of nations who are invaded in the name of humanitarian intervention. It also emphasizes that the state should have the primary role in protecting its citizens which reinforce previous conventions on human rights. It also stresses the important role that the international community plays in supporting individual states efforts to fulfill this responsibility to its citizens. One of the main positive contributions was that R2P set up a framework that clarified the criteria for who, how, when and under what 4 circumstances intervention can occur. 2 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/12/08/the-responsibility-to-protec t-doctrine-is-failing-heres-why/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.412169bb32bf 3 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-law/as-syrian-deaths-mount-worlds-respo nsibility-to-protect-takes-a-hit-experts-iduskcn12o2s3 4 https://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/images/pdfs/in_whose_name_web.pdf 4
The controversy surrounding R2P One of the main concern associated with R2P is whether or not one state has the right to violate the sovereignty of another state in the name of humanitarian intervention. This has been a source of controversy when states choose different size in conflicts or when civil wars break out. There are also problems surrounding when a state has the right to violate another state s borders especially with complex conflicts. The practicality of R2P is still a source of debate and controversy. Despite the goals of R2P, much of the violence and crimes against humanity that the principle intended to prevent have continued at an alarmingly high rate. becoming an issue all over the globe in countries such as Syria, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan (Brookings). 5 Questions to Consider 1) Does R2P as is, accomplish its goal of preventing large scale humanitarian violence? 2) Should states have the right to violate another state s borders in the name of humanitarian intervention? 3) Who has the authority over what qualifies under these guidelines? 4) How can we clear up these misconceptions? 5 https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brookings-now/2013/07/24/what-is-the-responsibility-to-protect / 5
Topic B: Child Soldiers Background Information Introduction All over the globe, tens of thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts. Many of these young boys and girls are as young as 8 years old, many of which are forced to fight on the front lines, serve as look outs, spies, or messengers; some are even forced to take part in suicide missions. Though many young girls are not subjected to battlefield missions, they are forced into sexual slavery. These children fight for a number of reasons, some out of desperation, others abducted or believe that their best chances of survival is to join the 6 armed forces. (HRW) What is a child soldier? The United Nations first addressed child soldiers in the Geneva Convention in 1949 considering a child to be under the minimum age of 15. Additional protocols were added onto the previous language in the Geneva Convention in 1977, but did not change the age for who qualifies as a child soldier. In 2002, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) redefined a child soldier as an child-boy or girl- under eighteen years of age, who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity. The minimum age of 18 for a child soldier was set by the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2002. There is still much debate over which age should 7 History In 1999, the United Nations Security Council took up the issue of child soldiers, and passed the first resolution on children and armed conflict. According to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, the recruitment and use of children during conflict is one of the six grave violations identified and condemned by the United Nations Security Council. Under Grave Violation No. 1, recruiting any child under the age of 15 was absolutely prohibited. The International Community further codified their position when the Special Court for Sierra Leone ruled that the use and recruitment of child soldiers was a war crime under international law. 6 https://www.hrw.org/topic/childrens-rights/child-soldiers 7 https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/publications/workingpaper-1_sixgraveviolationslega lfoundation.pdf 6
However, up to 25 countries still use thousands of children under the age of 16 to fight in wars. With the advent of lighter weapons, more children have been physically able to fight on the front lines. Despite the actions taken by the International Community in the past, it is still estimated that 300,000 child soldiers are fighting around the world with many children fighting in 40% of the world s conflicts including including national armies, militias, gangs, terrorist 8 organizations and resistance forces. (Forbes) Where are Child Soldiers used? Burundi The nation of Burundi has been engaged in violent fighting since 1993 after their first democratically elected president was assassinated after only 100 days in office. Children have played a large role in the conflict as more than half of the Burundi population is under the age of 18. Given the very youthful population, the average age for military service is 16 years-old, but children as young as 10 have been playing large roles in the conflict. These children have been used in many different capacities including combat troops, laborers, spies as well as sex slaves. Columbia This nation has been engaged in conflict for over 40 years as fighting has commenced between the government and paramilitary groups. Throughout the conflict more than 14,000 children have been used by paramilitary groups, serving in combat, deploying land mines, and acting as intelligence gatherers. More than a quarter of the children who are serving as soldiers in Columbia are girls, many of whom are subject to human rights violations. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR) The DCR has been ravages by violence since 1998 with an estimated 3 million lives lost. More than 30,000 children have joined the ranks of the government and rebel armies. More than 50% of some of the opposition force are made up of children. The leader of the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma is the main group in which the children serve. Their leader has claimed that their service is voluntary, but analysts say many are abducted and are forced to commit horrific acts. 8 https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/12/09/for-child-soldiers-every-day-is-a-living-night mare/#3aea1e8627bd 7
Uganda Over the past few decades Uganda has been engaged in violent conflict as the Uganda People s Defense Force has been fighting the opposing Lord s Resistance Army (LRA). Both sides of the conflict have used child soldiers who have been used to prolong the conflict as more than 25,000 have been forced into the ranks. 9 Effects on Child Soldiers The children who serve on the battlefield often witness horrible atrocities which can include rape, beheadings, amputations, and burning people alive. The child soldiers who do not perish while in service often experience vast mental health problems and basic needs such as food and shelter which were provided by the army for many years. A number of human rights groups have been working in this are trying to establish programs to help rehabilitate child soldiers so that they can survive post-conflict. Despite their efforts there are still many holes in 10 the services leaving many children unserved. What can be done? One of the most effective and easiest solutions to the problem of child soldiers is to end the conflicts in which they are being forced to serve. Some argue that the use of children in conflict is inevitable as long as wars are being fought, but there are some strategies that have been effective in reducing the number of child soldiers. There have been efforts to limit the proliferation of small arms which are the weapons often carried by children, but that does not account for children who do not carry weapons. There is also an effort among governments to only back forces who do not use children soldiers. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has also tried to get involved by issuing arrest warrants for Leaders of the LRA in Uganda for their use of child soldiers. The ICC however does not operate their own police unit to arrest individuals who are at large. The Special Court of Sierra Leone has also attempted to crack down on the use of child soldiers by declaring the use of children in combat to be a war crime and has begun prosecuting cases. This is a slow process, 11 but is setting a precedent for the future. 9 https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/child-soldiers-around-world 10 https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/effects-of-conflict/six-grave-violations/ 11 https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/child-soldiers-around-world 8
Questions to Consider 1) What actions can the international community take as a whole to address to address child soldiers used in global conflicts? 2) Should the response be different if the government is the one using the child soldier? 3) What services should the international community provide to these children post service? 4) What should be done to fill the gaps that can not be made up by NGOs? 9