SPECIAL, POLITICAL, AND DECOLONIZATION COMMITTEE VIMUNC II MARCH 13TH TO 14TH, 2015 HOSTED BY LANGLEY HIGH SCHOOL S MODEL UNITED NATIONS AT COOPER MIDDLE SCHOOL 1 P a g e
S P E C P O L P a g e 2 VIMUNC II HOSTED BY LANGLEY HIGH SCHOOL S MODEL UNITED NATIONS MARCH 13TH TO 14TH, 2015 Dear Delegates, CAMERON DAVIS SECRETARY-GENERAL Welcome to the second session of the Virginia Invitational Model United Nations Conference! Langley Model United Nations is incredibly excited to host you all at our Model UN conference, VIMUNC II, on March KATHERINE CASSIDY DIRECTOR-GENERAL 13-14, 2015. We hope to create a unique experience for each and every one of you this year. This year at VIMUNC II, our goal is to provide an incredible delegate ALI AKBAR UNDER-SECRETARY GENERAL experience through our wide variety of committees and incredible college chairs. Ranging from conventional General Assemblies to unconventional crisis simulations, we know that VIMUNC II will surely be unique! Through our eleven committees General Assemblies, Specialized Agencies, and AMEEN AL-DALLI UNDER-SECRETARY GENERAL Crisis Simulations we are sure that each delegate will be challenged with tackling important issues. From Chicago s gangs to the Ebola crisis, it is our hope that our topics will stimulate your minds and creativity! Position papers are required in all committees for delegates to be eligible for awards. RACHEL WU CHIEF OF OPERATIONS As it is our annual conference at Langley High School, we are working hard to give all of you the best experience possible. In recent years, our club has expanded exponentially, and we are using our numbers to provide the best crisis staff, typing staff, and hospitality staff possible. Through our conference schedule, we have been able to observe successful conferences held by both high schools and colleges, which we strive to model VIMUNC after. We hope that you have fun preparing for VIMUNC! Please feel free to email us at vimunc@gmail.com or look on our website at langleymun.com if you have any additional questions or concerns.
S P E C P O L P a g e 3 LETTER FROM THE CHAIR Dear Delegates and Wierdos Who.. Why Are You Here?, I am Sid Chawla and I will be your Chair for VIMUNC II SPECPOL Committee. A little about me before I meet you all in person: Back in High School I competed in Model UN for many years, mainly Single and Double Delegation and won many awards so feel free to learn as much as you can from me. Other than that I was President of my South Asian Student Association, President of Men s Society, Hollister Teen Model and Langley High Schools Head Student Ambassador. Needless to say I was getting stuff done. However when colleges came around apparently others were too, so I, as you all will, fought through the college process and landed at Indiana University Bloomington in the Kelley Business Program where I plan to major in Marketing and Informatics. Notice how I don t use any exclamation marks, I just feel they add too much emotion than needed, if there were emojis I would probably use a couple but please don t be shy of my personality I am quite friendly. Now what I look for in this committee is profound debate and intellectual discussions, I ve been around the Model UN scene long enough to filter gavel hunters (a.k.a people who can speak well and have just personality and put others down) and real true delegates. I look for ruthless pragmatism, ability to command the floor, topic knowledge, team work, energy, authenticity and charm. And twerking ability, yes I twerk and I judge cause I can. My amazing Co-Chairs Jennie and Jonathan have put tons of work into making this committee possible, please respect the committee, peer delegates, VIMUNC II staff and us. Few Quick Tips: - The effect you have on other is the most valuable currency there is. - When people disagree with us we immediately think something is wrong with them. - Clarity dissolves resistance. - Information is power. - What have you accomplished that makes you so opinionated. - Restore order to imagination. - If you don t like how the table is turned, turn around the table, that simple. - Have Fun Can t wait to see you all in March! If you have any questions, need advice, want my opinion or college help please feel free to email me, open doors for all you guys :) Remember Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires, Sid Chawla, Class of 2014
S P E C P O L P a g e 4 TOPIC 1: GEOPOLITICAL SOLUTIONS FOR PALESTINIAN REFUGEES For the past century, the Israel-Palestine conflict has been focused on a small, yet extremely significant piece of land over nationalistic and religious disputes. Until the 1917 Balfour Declaration, the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) was under Arab control so to create a Jewish homeland. Though initially neighboring Arab countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon have unified in their opposition to the plan, Israel has expanded its territories by 50% at the expense of these Arab countries. With the Israeli blockade of Gaza, many countries have viewed Israel to be violating international humanitarian law, while stifling human development in the area. By 1949, Israel controlled 78% of historic Palestine, while around three quarters of a million Palestinian people fled their hometowns. When these Palestinian refugees attempted to resettle to the Israeli territory, the government blocked these people from entering, while the Palestinians residing in Israel, internal refugees, became second-class citizens, facing unjust inequality within the Israeli borders. More specifically, at the end of the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, more than 710,000 Palestinians had become refugees and 40,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), either by personal choice, by force, or by instruction of Arab leadership. Additionally, after the end of the Six-Day War in 1967, the Gulf War in 1991, and the on-going Syrian Civil War, more than 700,000 Palestinians had also become refugees, with the number continuing to rise. Today, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), there are close to 5 million Palestinian refugees present in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. However, this number has been highly scrutinized by Israel and surrounding Arab states, and is the main reason why Israel refuses to allow the refugees back in due to their desire to remain ethnocentric. Furthermore, the Arab states position to discourage Palestinians from obtaining citizenship outside of their homeland is seen as highly controversial, however, this encourages the Palestinian refugees to return to their country and strengthen their stance in their pursuit of creating a Palestinian state.
S P E C P O L P a g e 5 So far, the United Nations created a draft resolution A/67/L.28 and UNSCR 242, which granted autonomy for a Palestinian state. Also, there have been many efforts to provide for the funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Palestinian right of return has been a controversial topic for decades. It states that Palestinian refugees have the right to return to their homeland by both moral claims and by the properties lost years before. In fact, the General Assembly Resolution 194 clearly states refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date Also, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 13 directly states Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. Yet, the General Assembly Resolution 194 is, in fact, a non-binding agreement, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was not signed by Israel or Palestine. Israel repeatedly rejects the right of return arguing that they bear little to no moral obligation towards the exodus of the Palestinian refugees since 1948. In fact, multiple mainstream Israeli commentators state that no Israeli government would ever tolerate significantly changing the demographic equilibrium of the nation because of their strong desire to remain an ethnocentric Jewish state. However, as stated by Yasser Arafat in 2002, just as we Palestinians must be realistic with respect to Israel s demographic desires, Israelis too must be realistic in understanding that there can be no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if the legitimate rights of these innocent civilians continue to be ignored. Possible solutions include allowing Palestinian refugees the freedom to go back to only the West Bank or Gaza Strip in phases, since only a small amount actually seek to return to the region. The resettlement of the Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be a form of compensation for the property lost years before. This would be consistent with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 and the Arab Peace Initiative, both calling for just solutions and settlements to the refugee problem.
S P E C P O L P a g e 6 QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER 1. However, noting your countries policies, is a two separate Israel and Palestine state favorable? 2. Should most Palestinian refugees resettle in a Palestinian state rather than the state of Israel? Also, please note that since this is SPECPOL, please only address the geopolitical solutions to the issue. Though humanitarian aid and education is vital for these refugees, this committee should focus on the possible solutions to the pressing problems of geopolitics.
S P E C P O L P a g e 7 TOPIC 2: FAIR DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS According to the United Nations, democracy is one of the universal and indivisible core values that must be protected. The United Nations has played a great role in providing international assistance to help implement fair democratic elections. Since 1991, more than one hundred countries have received UN election assistance. As the world continues to globalize, elections will continue to be a key function to ensure coherence and consistency within regions. However, it has come to recent attention that election results are filled with accusations of fraud and corruption. As one of the major goals of the UN, fair democratic elections must be addressed in order to prevent electoral fraud and improve the structure of democracy around the world. Although the UN Charter does not mention the word democracy, the opening words, We the Peoples, reflect the fundamental principle of democracy as a universal value. One of the ways SPECPOL monitors elections is through election observations. This refers to gathering information about an election and reporting its fairness. The international community believes that election observation plays an important part in promoting democracy. Election observers help ensure that an election is fair and that its results are credible. In addition, they keep governments accountable and encourage them to improve their electoral process. Within the Declaration of Principles for International Observation, there are professional guidelines for election observation. One of the downfall of election monitoring has been the limited budget imposed by the UN. When election monitors are not financially strong, they are limited in their observations, which leads to limited transparency. Due to a lack of or delayed funding, many election monitors are too understaffed to evaluate pre-election periods and evaluate many of the rules. While the Untied Nations does not promote a particular form of government, it encourages democratic governance as a set of beliefs to enhance the fundamental freedoms of all human beings. According to the OSCE democratic governance is a system of government where institutions function using democratic processes and norms, both internally and in their interaction with other institutions. Organizations such as the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), under the OSCE, carry out election observation
S P E C P O L P a g e 8 and support authorities in their efforts to improve electoral process. The UN is trying to aim principles of democracy in three main areas. First, the UN wants to expand people s opportunity in decision-making process, particular women, minority groups, and the poor. Spreading opportunities so everyone s voice can be heard will allow for a more inclusive and better run government. Second, the UN wants to make democratic institutions more accountable by helping national and local administrations deliver basic service such as polling places for elections. With out places for citizen s voices to be heard and represented, corruption will permeate politics and make it difficult to create meaningful change. Lastly, promoting international principles of democratic governance as mentioned above will be one of the greatest tools to help promote fair democratic elections. However, this process does not always work. There are a variety of methods that have been conducted in the past to rig elections. Russia is a clear example of a country where international monitoring of elections has not worked. The Kremlin has too much power over the people and the organizations that monitor it. Thus, it is difficult to ensure fairness because the Kremlin makes the elections in favor of one candidate. Vladimir Putin has served as president of Russia for almost ten years now. Many human right organizations claim that the victory of Putin s party in the 2007 election was achieved unfairly under noncompetitive conditions. Putin s win left doubt about the legitimacy of the result as being rigged in favor of the ruling party. In nations such as Kenya, the conditions make it difficult for monitors to promote reforms because there is no stability in the government or on the ground. Because it is nearly impossible for peaceful elections to occur due to violence, election monitoring is unable to occur and provide fair and democratic policies. While violence is one of the major causes that can prevent proper election procedure, issues of logistic may also play a role in preventing fair elections. Indonesia, for example, covers a large territory but is separated by daunting water boundaries that make the implementation of uniform reform extremely difficult. It is apparent that factors such as violence, distance, poverty, and lack of infrastructure all play a direct role in preventing electoral reforms to occur. Therefore, in order to initiate election reform, there must be a degree of stability and established governance.
S P E C P O L P a g e 9 Egypt s recent presidential election last spring is another example that fell short of international standards of democracy. The country s electoral commission announced that Abdel Fatah al-sisi won 96.1% of the votes. The winner was universally perceived as the candidate of the state, which made it difficult for another candidate to win. Many polling stations were empty throughout the election, which led critics to questions the legitimacy of the results. The Egyptian government threatened non-voters with a large fine and even introduced a last minute extension of voting to a third day. Foreign observers found the last-minute addition of a third day as an irregularity that raised doubts about the credibility. The president of Democracy International, one of the main international observation missions, said Egypt s repressive political environment made a genuinely democratic presidential election impossible. A committee of judges and intellectuals are considered to have chosen Egypt s new leader. This is a problem because one of the most important democratic values is to allow all voices to be heard. Various other tactics can affect elections and who is allowed to vote. A common rule enforced as punishment by most nations is to prevent prisoners from voting. Furthermore, certain nations have cultural laws that place restrictions on the right for women to vote. In third world nations, the lower class is unable to cast their votes because they are poor or illiterate. People must be able to believe in their leaders. It is the responsibility of this committee to expand further on this issue and bring forth new ideas and resolutions that can improve the current state of democracy in the world. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER 1. Noting your country s policies, is election monitoring effective way to control unfair democratic elections? 2. What should be the long term and short-term goals to ensure fair democratic elections around the world? 3. How should the UN reform corrupt and unstable governments in order to increase citizen participation? 4. In nations plagued with violence how can NGOs promote reforms for peaceful elections without infringing upon national sovereignty? 5. Is it beneficial to use outside organization and regional bodies to monitor elections?
S P E C P O L P a g e 10 WORKS CITED Arafat, Yasir. "The Palestinian Vision of Peace." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Feb. 2002. Web. 5 Jan. 2015. "Assessing Russia's Democratic Presidential Election." - Harvard. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2015. David. "International Observers Find Egypt s Presidential Election Fell Short of Standards." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 May 2014. Web. 10 Jan. 2015. "Democratic Governance and Peacebuilding." Democratic Governance and Peacebuilding. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. Democratic Governance. Bishkek: United Nations Development Program in Kyrgyzstan, 2001. Web. "Electoral Assistance. United Nations Peacekeeping." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2015. "Global Issues at the United Nations." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2015. "Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2015. Kelley, Judith. "Election Observers and Their Biases." Journal of Democracy 21.3 (2010): 158-72. Web. "Meetings Coverage and Press Releases." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2015. "The Right of Palestinian Refugees to Return Is the Key to Peace." The Right of Palestinian Refugees to Return Is the Key to Peace. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Jan. 2015. "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR, Declaration of Human Rights, Human Rights Declaration, Human Rights Charter, The Un and Human Rights." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2015. "United Nations Department of Political Affairs - Elections." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2015.