Showing posts with label DISEC. Show all posts
For Your Information: Rising tensions on South China Sea dispute (DISEC Topic B)
The various territorial disputes amongst claimant countries over territories in the South China Sea are long standing ones. However, recent upsurges in tension, particularly between China and America, have reminded the world that this is a conflict that could have global consequences.
The dispute is over territory and sovereignty in the South China Sea, which have also been claimed in part or whole by several other countries. Tensions rose last week after China moved a giant oilrig into an area also claimed by Vietnam. Each country accused the other of ramming its ships near the disputed Paracel Islands.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, rejecting rival claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. China defines this area by the “nine-dash line” which stretches hundreds of miles south and east from the most southerly province of Hainan. Beijing issued a statement claiming the territory based on 20 centuries of historical precedence and claimed that both the Spratly and the Paracel islands are integral to its heritage.
Vietnam hotly disputes China's historical account and says it has actively ruled over both the Paracels and the Spratlys since the 17th Century and has the documents to prove it. The Philippines invokes its geographical proximity to the Spratly Islands as the main basis of its claim for part of the grouping. Both the Philippines and China lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal, which is a little more than 100 miles (160km) from the Philippines and 500 miles from China. Malaysia and Brunei also lay claim to territory in the South China Sea that they say falls within their economic exclusion zones, as defined by UNCLOS. Malaysia claims a small number of islands in the Spratlys.
China has traditionally taken a strong stance on the protection of what it deems to be its sovereign territory. Chinese president Xi JinPing issued a public statement, stating that China is “strongly committed to safeguarding the country's sovereignty and security, and defending our territorial integrity”. The refusal to settle on a compromise on the part of a major player like China has led to a gridlock that has led to several conflicts, such as when the Chinese seized the Paracels from Vietnam in 1974 that led to the death of more than 70 Vietnamese troops.
The complexity of the dispute has been augmented by motivations of the separate claimant countries on both the political and economic fronts. On the economic front, the potential to harvest oil and other minerals that falls within the territorial zones in the South China Sea provides strong incentives for rival countries to lay claim to these territories that will allow them to exploit these resources. Additionally, the successful acquisition of territories over other claimant countries can also serve as a form of political posturing and is used by the countries to display their military power or political clout.
by Linus Seah
Photo courtesy of http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2631156/China-trying-build-ISLAND-waters-claim-Philippines-tensions-rise-Vietnam-territory-dispute-sparked-riots-Hanoi.html
Meet the DISEC Chair
Adam
Gerard is a freshman at Morse College at Yale University and is this year’s
Chair for DISEC.
Back
in school, Adam serves in YIRA (Yale International Relations Association), and
is on the Model UN Team. He is also currently serving in many other capacities
such as the director for Yale Model Government in Europe, the Director for YMUN
Taipei, the Undersecretary General of General Assemblies for YMUN and the
Secretary General of the International Relations Symposium at Yale. Adam
started MUNing in High school because he considered it a great opportunity to
experience international relations and to build on his public speaking
schedule.
Adam
writes for the Politic, a quarterly Yale University student publication
that traces its roots to 1947, and is a representative on both the Morse
College and Yale College Council. He also does research at the Yale Institution
for Social and Policy Studies. Out of the political arena, Adam plays basketball
and tries to run as often as possible. On his fitness goals, Adam states with
gusto, “I hope to do a marathon next year
As
the chair of DISEC, Adam hopes to guide the debate in an exciting way and to
ensure that all delegates can speak and have their voices heard. When asked how
he would plan to help delegates to enjoy the process of MUN-ing and what he
looks forward to as a chair, “I hope to incorporate some of my trademark humor
to make the process a blast for everyone and look forward to meeting amazingly
passionate students and learning from those with backgrounds different than
mine.”
Adam
recounts his most embarrassing MUN experience to be when he had to recite a
song for my high school team since he was late for the airport for one of his
trips. He also recalls his most memorable experience to be winning the best
delegate award for the first time as it he was not expecting it and left the
conference feeling pleasantly surprised.
Adam
leaves us with two pieces of advice for the delegates, “first, be confident
when speaking. Second, always come prepared when interacting with others.” He
remarks that although DISEC is a complicated committee, it can be an incredibly
rewarding experience when delegates prepare well for it.
by Linus Seah
Committee Session I
After the Opening Ceremony, the nine committees got right into action in their first committee session. Here's our Press Corps' coverage of Committee Session I:
Disarmament and International Security Committee
The first session of DISEC began with a call to order by the chair. The committee then moved on to opening speeches for the first topic, the topic of blood diamonds. Once the opening speeches were finished, the house broke into unmoderated caucus, and delegates of similar interests grouped together and began discussion possible solutions to the issue of blood diamonds at hand.
The first session of DISEC began with a call to order by the chair. The committee then moved on to opening speeches for the first topic, the topic of blood diamonds. Once the opening speeches were finished, the house broke into unmoderated caucus, and delegates of similar interests grouped together and began discussion possible solutions to the issue of blood diamonds at hand.
The room was filled with sounds of delegates earnestly putting forth their ideas, and working together to come up with clauses. For the delegate of Pakistan, this YMUN is her second conference, and she said that the environment seemed friendly and that the “delegates seem familiar with each other.” She and her small team have come up with rather radical measures to address the issue of blood diamonds. Laughingly, she admitted that the measures will “get a lot of rebuttals”, but she still seemed intent on including the clause. The delegate of Australia also had a similar viewpoint about the lobbying session so far, stating that it was “going quite well.” He and four other delegates were writing clauses focused on the aspects of expanding the definition of the term “blood diamond” and raising awareness in the general public as ways to solve the issue. Despite the fact that it is his first conference, he seemed to be relatively at ease when working with others to create the best clauses possible.
The debate in DISEC will be a clause-by-clause debate, with delegates producing and submitting clauses instead of whole resolutions. The approved clauses will then be added to the master resolution for each topic, resulting in a total of two resolutions for the two topics. When asked what would happen if the resolution were to fail, Vice-Chair Walter Yeo replied, “We have no plan if it does, but I hope that won’t happen” with a nervous laugh. Hopefully the resolution will pass, or the conference would have been fruitless!
by Yoonjie Park
by Yoonjie Park
Economic and Financial Committee
Delegates started forming blocs early in ECOFIN, with a Middle Eastern bloc, a European Bloc and a third bloc comprising a motley group of countries.
The first topic of ECOFIN is the ensuring of the Equitable Distribution of Transnational Natural Resources. Most of the lobbying time was spent discussing the issue of water scarcity. With just under an hour of council time left, the chair intervened and advised the delegates to focus specifically on economic solutions that address the problems at hand and to move on to other topics such as fisheries, and oil.
With no clauses being submitted 20 minutes before the council session ended, it seems like ECOFIN needs to up their game and get up to speed in the debate session tomorrow. We look forward to hearing from the delegates then. Stay tuned.
by Linus Seah
by Linus Seah
United Nations Children's Fund
UNICEF began its first session at YMUN Korea 2014 with passionate opening speeches from its delegates. The first agenda on the table was the issue of juvenile incarceration, which continues to haunt social policies and budget plans of countless nations around the world. The suggestions made by delegates in their opening speeches were centered around ensuring the rights of incarcerated juveniles, creating preventive plans for future crimes, and other critical aspects of the issue.
The opening speeches, although deemed by some as an unnecessary procedure, served as a fundamental stage for delegates to propose their ideas and establish the main focus of debate for the subsequent lobbying session. The delegate of South Africa emphasized that crimes committed by the youth are often “forced by the social atmosphere,” such as murders perpetrated by child soldiers in wartime. Delegates of other nations reiterated this important notion as they discussed the setting of an appropriate minimum age for criminal responsibility. The delegate of Turkey presented the idea of using medication as an alternative to traditional methods of detention, while echoing the delegate of South Africa that urbanization often leads to poor education and exposure to crime at a younger age. At the end of the opening speeches, the Chair recapitulated major points put forth by the delegates, such as the importance of proper training of law enforcement officers to reduce in-prison abuse of juvenile offenders, improving data collection of offenders’ statistics, and effectively reintegrating juvenile delinquents back into society.
During the actual lobbying process, it was clear that the delegates were solely concerned with the content of the issues rather than the competition over main-submissions. A lobbying group consisting of about a dozen delegates were debating the specific issue of discriminating offenders by their age. The delegate of Britain suggested a scenario of having a fourteen-year-old who had committed murder and another fourteen-year-old convicted of theft. “When teenagers convicted of different levels of crime are put together, they naturally form a hierarchy within the prison,” the delegate said. “Upon their release these cliques form gangs that place the ones with the most serious crimes at the top of their hierarchy.”
On the other hand, the delegate of Turkey hoped to raise the age at which criminals are tried as adults. In addressing such a concern, the lobbying group compromised by setting the minimum age of adulthood as seventeen and creating separate punitive systems and detention centers for those convicted of more severe acts.
The membership of the UNICEF formed a diverse range, from novice delegates who were becoming accustomed to Model UN to those who actively engaged themselves in the clause-writing process. The Chair and Vice Chair took special care to assist the less experienced delegates who were unable to join the lobbying groups and helped them solidify their ideas into proposals for a clause. All was well in the UNICEF as the first session of the conference came to an end.
by Seoyoon Choi
United Nations Development Programby Seoyoon Choi
The UNDP was well into its lobbying session on the first session of YMUN Korea 2014. Delegates had formed several lobbying groups to discuss major aspects of the issue - improving self-sustainable economies through loans. Although different groups were discussing largely similar aspects of the issue, their approaches to the problem and their proposals for solutions differed. One of the groups discussed the possibility of creating a new organization under the United Nations to ensure transparency of the use of loans, whereas others emphasized establishing guidelines for whether grants or loans would be provided to individuals.
The topic of improving economies through loans is one that is economically and politically complex, especially for high school students. The delegates agreed that the chair report clarified many misunderstandings about the issue, especially regarding the concept of microfinance loans. Microfinance loans refer to loans given out to individuals and small businesses, which conventionally had the problem of high interest rates and failure to effectively improve the plight of “the poorest of the poor.” Individuals with business and other economic initiatives who are temporarily burdened may benefit from these loans; those that are currently unable to provide for themselves with even the most basic necessities like food are unlikely to be helped.
At the end of the session, a number of clauses had been proposed by the delegates, such as one that involved a “territorial loaning program,” devised by the delegate of Brazil, a novice delegate, and her members from her bloc. The delegate of Brazil and others who were rather inexperienced in Model UN commented that despite their initial confusion with the procedures, the Chair and the Vice Chair guided them through the process. The delegate of Australia, a seasoned member of MUN, noted that despite her previous experience with clause-by-clause format in the Security Council, she had found the new YMUN format confusing in the beginning. Despite the confusion faced by some, the delegates of the UNDP, varying in the level of experience and their perspectives on issues, all agreed tonight’s session had truly been an enriching one, and they looked forward to the upcoming debates.
by Seoyoon Choi
United Nations Environment Program
After opening
speeches, delegates had the opportunity to lobby for the rest of the session.
Throughout this unmoderated caucus, it was observed that delegates were divided
into two different blocs. The first bloc believed that developing countries
should invest in green technology to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, as they
are the main contributors of pollution. The second bloc suggested making an
international fund that would distribute financial aid to help developing countries
control and manage pollution.
During the lobbying
section, I had a chance to interview the Chair and Vice-Chair and ask about
their expectations for the conference from the delegates. Angie Hanawa, the
Chair said, “This issue is very complex, they deal very much with natural
consequences that humans have very little control over. No one wants
transnational pollution. If it were up to people, they would just contain it in
their own countries. So, I’m very much looking forward to see how they will
deal with the human’s inability to control nature and the kinds of solutions
the delegates will come up with.” Next, I interviewed the Vice-Chair, HyukJoon
Kwon. He said he loved the passion the delegates have shown so far. Describing his
expectations for the conference, HyukJoon said, “I hope the delegates will try
to be constructive and not destructive, in MUN, delegates tend to fight with
each other but I hope they try to work as one whole.” Hopefully, the UNEP would
be able to conduct a meaningful and fruitful debate for the rest of the
conference!
by Jenny Park
by Jenny Park
United Nations Human Rights Council
When I walked into the
UNHRC committee room, delegates were already split into groups writing clauses.
The majority of the delegates here were first-timers, and they were very
generous with their ideas; all of the delegates utilized Google-docs to
merge their clauses together.
The chair of this
committee, Houriiya Tegally, briefly explained that the opening speeches were
to be kept in between 45-60 seconds each. After hearing other's positions,
delegates separated into groups with people who had similar ideas or agreeable
terms. After groups were formed, the delegations worked together to write
clauses to sub-topics.
Today’s session
focused on Topic 1 - Women Rights in Post-conflict Nations. Most
delegates focused their ideas on empowering women through education. In
her efforts to see a diverse and comprehensive resolution passed, the chair
encouraged the delegates to take different approaches to the issue. The
committee will continue its work by debating the clauses that were submitted
after today’s session.
by Zoey Ryu
United Nations Security Council
After roll call, the UNSC session began with a brief introduction of the chairs. Interestingly, the Advisory Panel On Cyber-Security was amalgamated with the United Nations Security Council, and hence there are four chairs in this committee: Nagyon Kim, Daniel Silverman, Leo Espinoza and David Steiner.
After giving opening speeches, the delegates broke into an unmoderated caucus to come up with clauses to debate for the rest of the session. By working together, delegates will come up with one resolution for each topic.
Nagyon Kim, a chair from Seoul International School, expressed his excitement on chairing for the first time. He said, “ I hope to see a fruitful debate over the next two days.” While Nagyon was speaking, Leo Espinoza constantly encouraged delegates to quickly write clauses for approval by the chairs. The delegates responded in kind – many of them rushed to write out clauses and were frantically running around the room looking for signatories. Despite all the rush, most delegates seemed to enjoy interacting with one another.
Many delegates in the UNSC are experienced delegates, which might explain why the committee session ran very smoothly as the delegates had no problem formulating clauses and exchanging ideas. Tomorrow, they will debate on the clauses they came up with after concluding their lobbying today.
by Zoey Ryu
World Health Organization
WHO’s first committee
session opened tonight with a series of rousing speeches by the delegates. The
topic at hand was the full eradication of polio, especially in light of the
instability in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.
During their opening speeches, many
delegates declared their dedication to helping affected countries resolve these
issues. “Peru
is willing to provide viable solutions not only for Peru, but for the stability
and prosperity of the entire world,” pledged the delegate of Peru. Israel also
commented, “This whole issue is not a local one. Fellow nations need to join
hands to end this injustice.”
Many delegates identified the root
problems at hand. The delegate of Germany urged for nations to prioritize
diplomatic relations and for the gaining of presidential support in relevant
countries, the delegate of Pakistan recognized the problems of human rights
exploitation behind these issues and the delegate of USA emphasized the need
for reform in order to put a stop to these problems.
After the opening speeches, the
chairperson of the WHO committee, Mr Joao Pedro
Drechsler,
explained the procedures of lobbying that would take place next. The delegates
had the opportunity to move around and gather with like-minded delegates to
propose clauses that would eventually be part of the resolution passed by the
entire committee.
During the lobbying, most delegates were
able to come to a consensus on the lack of consent and willingness for polio
vaccinations as the problem hindering its full eradication. They also
identified anti-Western sentiments and religious beliefs in polio-prone areas
as reasons for this lack of consent. These reasons, along with the threat of
war in polio-prone areas such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria,
contribute greatly to the lack of safety in sending medical officers into these
areas to provide vaccinations.
With these in mind, the delegates entered
a heated discussion that resulted in the submission of six clauses by the end
of this first session, among them being one submitted by the Russian
Federation, which requested for vaccinations and knowledge of how to administer
them to be distributed to local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), who
would then distribute them to locals.
Although a number of clauses were submitted,
there were not many that targeted specifically the situation in war-torn
regions. During the next session, the delegates will be debating these clauses
and editing them to form a final resolution on polio eradication. When asked
about his sentiments on tonight’s first session, the Chairperson Mr Drechsler said, “The committee
session was a little bit slow, but it soon picked up pace. The delegates
submitted a grand total of 6 clauses that are very strong, and we’re still
going to receive a couple more clauses by tomorrow morning. So I’m excited
about what is going to come out of the conference.”
by Gan Sylvia
by Gan Sylvia
For Your Information: Blood Diamonds (DISEC Topic A)
In the lead up to the YMUN Korea 2014 committee sessions, the YMUNK Press Corps has prepared a series of articles, called For Your Information, about the topics discussed during the conference. Here's DISEC's Topic A: Blood Diamonds.
In 2006, the American-German
movie Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio provided significant popular coverage
on the named conflict. An ending scene in the movie depicted a historic meeting
that took place in Kimberley, South Africa in 2000. This meeting eventually led
to development and establishment of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
(KCPS) in 2003.
The blood diamond conflict is a term used to highlight the
negative consequences of the diamond trade. Blood Diamonds are usually mined in
African war zones and other areas that are in the midst of civil wars. These
diamonds are sold on the international diamond market and finance conflicts by
intensifying civil wars through the funding of militaries and rebel militias.
For example, in 2000, the United Nations accused Liberian president Charles G.
Taylor of supporting the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) insurgency in
neighboring Sierra Leone with weapons and training in exchange for diamonds.
The strong draw of potentially huge profits from the diamond trade cause these
groups to fight with each other to control diamond-rich territories and results
in bloodshed and shocking human rights abuses.
The KCPS seeks to indirectly address the problems of the Blood
diamond trade by establishing a process to certify the origin of rough
diamonds, thus encouraging the buyers of diamonds on the international market
to purchase only Kimberley certified diamonds and to prevent conflict diamonds
from entering the mainstream diamond market. However, in 2011, certain key
proponent organizations such as Global
Witness brought the
effectiveness of the process into question. Global
Witness claimed that the KCPS
has failed in its purpose, as it did not provide markets with the requisite
assurance of conflict-free diamonds. Global
Witness pulled out of the
scheme on 5 December 2011.
The KCPS has struggled to maintain its legitimacy for multiple
reasons. First, it is difficult to monitor the certification process when the
power of certification is handed over to corrupt government officials in
leading diamond producing countries. In these countries, it is common for
officials to be bribed on a daily basis in exchange for paperwork declaring
that the Kimberley Process has certified Blood Diamonds.
Second, there are major loopholes involved in the certification
process. The current process entails that certification is transported in a
tamper-resistant container and is accompanied by a government-validated
Kimberley Process Certificate. The lack of the individual marking of diamonds
leads to many potential problems such as the acquiring of a properly certified
container and then filling up this container with blood diamonds without
breaking the seal. This has led to the legitimacy issues, which were rightly
raised by Global Witness.
While major initiatives such as the Kimberley process are admirable, there is still much left to be desired in terms of the tightening these processes in order to solve the Blood Diamond conflict. The war on Blood diamonds has to take place on multiple fronts. Governments, the diamond industry, and non-governmental organizations must also take an active role in addressing the challenges facing the diamond-mining industry in order to ensure that it contributes to sustainable development. We look forward to hearing more about the Blood Diamond conflict in the DISEC council sessions over the next few days at YMUN.
While major initiatives such as the Kimberley process are admirable, there is still much left to be desired in terms of the tightening these processes in order to solve the Blood Diamond conflict. The war on Blood diamonds has to take place on multiple fronts. Governments, the diamond industry, and non-governmental organizations must also take an active role in addressing the challenges facing the diamond-mining industry in order to ensure that it contributes to sustainable development. We look forward to hearing more about the Blood Diamond conflict in the DISEC council sessions over the next few days at YMUN.
By Linus Seah
Photo courtesy of http://www.movie-poster-artwork-finder.com/blood-diamond-poster-artwork-leonardo-dicaprio-jennifer-connelly-djimon-hounsou/
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