Historical Security Council (HSC) London International Model United Nations 19th Session 2018 Table of Content 1
Table of Contents Introduction letter 3 Introduction to the Committee 4 Topic: Invasion of Kuwait 1990 5 Introduction 5 History and Statement of the Problem 6 Current Situation 10 Bloc positions 11 Questions a resolution should answer 11 Sources 12 2
Introduction Letter Dear Delegates, We have been heavily involved in organizing LIMUN 2016 and 2017, where Emanuel served as Deputy Secretary-General and as USG-Finance and Pedra as USG-Logistics and USG-Communications. After finishing his Finance degree in London this summer, Emanuel started working with Tesla in Munich. Pedra is currently reading medicine at Kings College London and has been doing MUN for numerous years as a delegate, chair and Secretariat member. She has also done internships at the World Health Monitoring Center and Medics Du Monde. We are excited to return to LIMUN and we are looking forward to seeing you at the HSC and to re-play and re-write an important episode of history of the Gulf region. Please feel free to reach out to us at any time via hsc@limun.org.uk Yours, Pedra & Emanuel 3
Introduction to the Committee The United Nations Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and according the UN Charter, it is in charge of the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as accepting new members to the United Nations and approving any changes to its Charter. The United Nations Security Council consists of 15 members. The five permanent members, also known as the P5s, are China, France, Russia, USA and the UK. The other 10 members are non-permanent members that change seats every 2 years. This Council will be taking place in 1990, starting with 2 August 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Thus, it will have the same mandate as any contemporary Security Council, with the only exception of not discussing any agreements/documents agreed upon after the invasion. This also means that the non-permanent countries represented in this Council will reflect those who were present in the Council in 1990. According the Charter of the United Nations that was established in 1945, the Security Council s main functions are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among states, cooperate to solve international problems and promote human rights and be a centre for harmonizing action among Member States. To be able to fulfil these duties, the UNSC has been provided with multiple options including economic sanctions, arms embargoes, financial sanctions, travel bans and collective military actions. In addition to this power, the UNSC is the only UN body that may pass legally binding resolutions, under Article 25 of the Charter of the UN, which states that Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council. In regards to other bodies of the UN, they pass non-binding resolutions that provide recommendations and sources of global consensus, whereas the UNSC s power to impose the biding resolutions allows it to act as a force of collective security. 4
Topic: Invasion of Kuwait 1990 Introduction When the ceasefire with Iran was signed in August 1988 (BBC News Services, 2017), Iraq was technically bankrupt, with most of its debt owed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Iraq placed pressure on both nations to forgive the debts, although both nations refused. Iraq also accused Kuwait of exceeding its OPEC quotas and driving down the price of oil, which hunted the Iraqi economy (IBRAHIM, 1988). This collapse in oil prices had a catastrophic effect of the Iraqi economy, which the Iraqi government claimed was aggravated by Kuwaiti drilling across the board into Iraq s Rumalia oil field. Additionally, this dispute also involved Iraqi claims to Kuwait as a territory of Iraq, as it had been an Iraqi territory for many centuries before the British created Kuwait after World War I. The British drew the border between the two countries, and thus deliberately tried to limit Iraq s access to the ocean so that Iraq will not become a threat to Britain s dominance of the Persian Gulf (HAYES, 1990). 5 Figure 1: Gulf War. Source: U.S. Department of State Archive
In early July 1990, Iraq complained about Kuwait s behaviour, such as not representing their quota, and openly threatened to take military action. On the 31st July, negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait in Jeddah failed violently, which led to the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq (BBC News Services, 2017). History and Statement of the Problem Since Kuwait s emergence in the 17th century, they have adopted a generally neutral political approach in regards to maintaining security of their entity against any regional or international powers. During the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire constituted an actual threat to Kuwait, where Kuwait gained the British as a protectorate against the Ottoman threat. It was not until 1899, Kuwait signed a treaty with the UK (U.S. Library of Congress, 2017). In 1920, the Iraq Petroleum Company was created with 95% of the shares going to Britain, France and the US. To weaken the Arab nationalism, the British blocked the Iraqi s access to the Persian Gulf by severing the territorial entity Kuwait from the rest of Iraq in 1921 and 1922. This meant that Kuwait, a new British colony, was given artificial boundaries with no basis in history or geography (U.S. Library of Congress, 2017). King Faisal I of the new independent Iraqi state ruled under the British military oversight, however, the rest of his cabinet did not accept the Kuwait district and their denial to the Persian Gulf. King Faisal tried to build a railway to Kuwait and port facilities on the Gulf, however each of these initiatives were vetoed by the British. Kuwait became a symbol of Iraqi humiliation at the hands of Britain. By the 1930s, further resistance was seen to separate Kuwait from Iraq. Kuwaiti youth formed a mass movement called the Free Kuwaiti Movement to defy the British rule and to reunify Kuwait and Iraq. The Kuwaiti Sheik, fearing an uprising, agreed to establish a legislative council to represent the Free Kuwaitis. Consequently, in 1938, the council had a unanimous resolution that demanded Kuwait to revert back to Iraq. By March 10, 1939, an uprising occurred within Kuwait to reunify with Iraq (AL JAZEERA, 2008). The Kuwait Sheik, with the British military support, dismantled the uprising, where killing or imprisoning of participants took place. King Ghazi of Iraq publicly demanded for these prisoners to be released and threatened the Sheik to end the repression of the Free Kuwaiti Movement. The British warned King Ghazi to stop with his public statement, but unfortunately by April 5th, 1939, he was found dead. It was widely assumed this was the doings of the British. (AL JAZEERA, 2008) 6
Saddam Hussein s Rise After Saddam Hussein escaped from jail in 1967, he played a leading role in a coup that led Saddam's cousin Ahmed Hassan al-bakr to power. Over the next decade Saddam consolidated his power and was highly esteemed by his peers due to his apparent efficiency. In 1979, his cousin stepped down and Saddam Hussein took over as president. Since then he undertook various measures to manifest his power within the country (CNN International, 2003). Figure 2: Saddam Hussein. Source: Newsweek Iran-Iraq War In 1980, under Saddams s rule Iraq entered a war with Iran that lasted for eight years. Estimates indicate that the war cost more than a million lives and left Iraq in a severe financial situation after the war ended in stalemate. (U.S. Library of Congress, 2017) Aftermath of Iran-Iraq War After the war with Iran, it left Iraq with great debt. The Iran-Iraq war lasted 8 years, where Iraq spent over $40 billion, mostly gained through loans from other Gulf countries. Thus, by the end of the war, Iraq had an $80 billion debt. (HAYES, 1990) President Saddam Hussein called on the Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to cancel the Iraqi debt they held, where President Hussein argued that the loans should be considered as a payment to protect the region. Tensions between Iraq and OPEC By mid-july 1990, the world s attention was focused on the tension between Iraq and Kuwait, when Saddam Hussein launched an aggressive attack on Gulf States, specially Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Hussein blamed these nations for over-producing oil, which led to the slump in world s oil prices. 7
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) consists of 13 members, where during 1990, made little effort in controlling the overproduction of oil. This problem began in mid-march in Vienna, where both Kuwait and the UAE refused to agree to cut production. It was not until July, where Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE met in Jeddah and reached an agreement in curbing the over-production. Both Kuwait and UAE agreed to reduce their output until the reference price was restored. Less than a week after the Jeddah agreement had been reached, Iraq publicly attacked the policies of Kuwait and UAE. Saddam threatened that if words fail to protect Iraqis, something effective must be done to return things to their natural course and return usurped rights to their owners. Saddam also accused some Arab states of undermining Arab interests and security on the behalf of the US and warned that Iraq will not forget the saying that cutting necks is better than cutting the means of living. (Klein, 2003) The next day, Iraqi radio broadcasted details of a memorandum that was dated on July 15th, which was sent by Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Azziz to the Arab League Secretary-General Chedli Klibi. This memorandum included number of points Saddam said in his Revolution Day speech. In the memorandum Azziz accused Kuwait of having deliberately pursued certain policies to weaken Iraq during their eight year war with Iran. He also claimed that, during the war, Kuwait advanced into Iraqi territory and had set up military establishments and oil installations. Since the Gulf War in 1980, Azziz stated that Kuwait had stolen a large amount of oil from the southern section of the Rumalia oilfield, which was estimated to be worth US$2,400 million. He claimed that Iraq had every right to retrieve these funds from Kuwait. (HAYES, 1990) Additionally, Azziz argued that Iraq had the responsibility of defending the pan-arab security as well the Gulf region during the Gulf war. It was pointed out that the Gulf States provided Iraq these loans with interest-free. He reasoned that a simple calculation will show that the UAE and Kuwaiti loans to Iraq were not entirely from their treasuries but from the increases in their oil revenues as a result of the drop in Iraqi oil exports over the war years. He concluded that the Gulf States not only cancel their Iraqi debts, but also organize a comprehensive Iraqi reconstruction plan. 8
Both Saddam s speech and Aziz s memorandum caused great tension in Kuwait. On July 18th, the Kuwaiti Army was placed on a state of alert and the National Council held an emergency session to study the Iraqi charges. Shortly after the Council, a memorandum was drawn up by the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister on July 18th, which was sent to the Arab League. It stated that the Iraqi charges had no factual basis, and that the allegations that Kuwait over into Iraqi territory were a falsification of reality and a resume of inverted truths because it was Iraq with had a full history of violations of Kuwaiti territories. The latest memorandum called upon the Arab League to mediate all disputes on the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. (Iraqi invasion of Kuwait-International Response, 1990) Jeddah Conference Iraqi and Kuwaiti delegations were sent to Jeddah on the 31 st of July to discuss the OPEC quotas, the southern part of the border-rumaila oilfield, writing-off the war debt and compensation for the pol market losses as a result of the oil price decline. The Kuwaiti delegation insisted on a once-and-for-all settlement, which was to write-off the debt in return for border demarcation. These talks lasted less than two days, by ending with disagreement on all issues by August 1st 1990 (El-Najjar, 2001). Figure 3: Rumaila oil field. Source: collegiatetimes.com 9
Current Situation Since the Jeddah Conference failed to solve the Iraqi-Kuwaiti disputes, at 2:00 AM on the 2nd of August 1990, a force of over 100,000 Iraqi soldiers backed up by 700 tanks invaded Kuwait, Iraq s tiny, oil-rich neighbour. Kuwait s defence forces were rapidly overwhelmed, and those were not destroyed retreated to Saudi Arabia. The emir of Kuwait, his family, and other government leaders fled to Saudi Arabia. Within hours, Kuwait City has been captured and the Iraqis have established a provincial government (history.com, 1990), and their leader, Saddam Hussein has threatened to turn Kuwait City into a graveyard if any country dares to challenge the take-over by force (BBC, 1990). Iraqi jets have bombed targets in all over the capital and Special Forces have landed at the defence ministry and at the Emir s Palace. Road blocks are in place and there are reports of looting in various shops around the city. It has been estimated that up to 200 people have been killed in heavy gunfire around the city. Additionally, there have been rumours that Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah s younger brother has been killed whilst defending the palace, whilst the Emir and the rest of family escaped to Saudi Arabia. All communication has been cut off with Kuwait, thus leaving many people, including thousands of foreign nationals, trapped in the heart of Kuwait. By annexing Kuwait, Iraq has gained control of 20% of the world s oil reserves and, of the first time, a substantial coastline on the Persian Gulf (history.com, 1990). An emergency sessions of the United Nations Security Council has been called forth to address the situation. Thus, it is unto the delegates in the UNSC to resolve the issue. Please note the date of this crisis has been set to take place on the 2nd August 1990. 10
Bloc positions United States The U.S. are in favor of an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait and are determined to protect Saudi Arabia and to liberate Kuwait if necessary under a UN mandate (Pickering, 2003). UK The UK views the objective of liberating Kuwait liberation of Kuwait part of the problem as well as defending of Saudi Arabia (Pickering, 2003). China China opposes Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The republic is in favour that Iraq should withdraw its troops from Kuwait and restore and respect the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kuwait (Chinese Embassy in the State of Kuwait, 2017) USSR/ Russia Figure 4: Syria Peace Process. Source: The UNSC Russia condemns Iraq s aggression against Kuwait. The USSR had close connections to both Kuwait and Iraq in the past (Dougherty, 2001). Questions a Resolution Should Answer What can be done to stop the conflict and to restore Kuwait s sovereignty? How can this be achieved and what measurements can the Security Council undertake? What can be done against the usage of chemical weapons? 11
Sources AL JAZEERA. (2008, Feb 4). Iraq's bloody political history. Retrieved from Al Jazzera News/ Iraq: http://www.aljazeera.com/focus/arabunity/2008/02/2008525173614215336.html BBC. (1990). BBC. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/2/newsid_2526000/2526937.stm BBC News Services. (2017, October 26). Iraq profile - timeline. Retrieved from BBC.com: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14546763 Chinese Embassy in the State of Kuwait. (2017, November 1). China-Kuwait Relations. Retrieved from chineseembassy.org: http://kw.chineseembassy.org/eng/sbgx/t580302.htm CNN International. (2003, December 14). The rise and fall of a dictator. Retrieved from CNN World: http://edition.cnn.com/2003/world/meast/12/14/sprj.irq.saddam.profile/index.html Dougherty, J. (2001, January 17). The Gulf War: Moscow's role. Retrieved from CNN World: https://edition.cnn.com/2001/world/europe/01/16/russia.iraq/index.html El-Najjar, H. A. (2001). The 1990 crisis: Leading to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. In The Gulf War: Overreaction & Excessiveness (p. CHAPTER VI). http://www.gulfwar1991.com/gulf%20war%20complete/chapter%206,%20the%201990 %20Crisis%20Leading%20to%20the%20Iraqi%20Invasion%20of%20Kuwait,%20By%20 Hassan%20A%20El-Najjar.htm: Amazone Press. HAYES, T. C. (1990, September 3). The New York Times World. Retrieved from CONFRONTATION IN THE GULF; The Oilfield Lying Below the Iraq-Kuwait Dispute: http://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/03/world/confrontation-in-the-gulf-the-oilfield-lyingbelow-the-iraq-kuwait-dispute.html?pagewanted=all history.com. (1990). history.com. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/iraqinvades-kuwait IBRAHIM, Y. M. (1988, September 27). Failure Admitted By OPEC. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/27/business/failure-admitted-by-opec.html Iraqi invasion of Kuwait-International Response. (1990). In Keesing's Record of World Events (p. Page 37631). http://web.stanford.edu/group/tomzgroup/pmwiki/uploads/3957-1990-08-ksa-iem.pdf: Keesing's Worldwide, LLC. Klein, D. (2003). California State University, Northridge. Retrieved from http://www.csun.edu/~vcmth00m/iraqkuwait.html Pickering, T. (2003, April). The 1991 Iraq War The Battle at the UN. Retrieved from Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training: http://adst.org/2015/10/the-1991-iraq-war-the-battleat-the-un/#.wgcer2jwyuk U.S. Library of Congress. (2017, November 1). Persian Gulf War. Retrieved from http://countrystudies.us/persian-gulf-states/32.htm 12
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