Model United Nations
Over the past ten weeks we, ninth grade students of Animas High School, have been learning how the U.N. makes decisions, what its roles in the world are, and how to run a conference that reflects a real life problem of the United Nations. We presented and accomplished consensus on the unsolved issue between Palestine and Israel with the perspectives of different countries. I was a chair at this conference and was in charge of making sure everything ran smoothly. Delegates were to address us and raise their placards if they would like to be called upon. They could only be called upon if they used the Parliamentary Procedures, rules that even the U.N. uses, correctly.
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Project Reflection-
The Model United Nations isn't just a group of people that don’t do anything, it is an intergovernmental organization that works everyday to create peace and cooperation between the united countries. The United Nations is making changes everyday to make our world a better place by sending peacekeepers into countries that are going through problems with their leader, supplies, or people. Every country that is part of the U.N. is a sovereign nation and is to be protected by the U.N. so that we all can live peacefully. This project opens up your perspective and lets you into the reality that our parents seem to always want to keep hidden from our young innocent eyes. In this project I learned how much the United Nations affects my daily life on a daily basis even though I am not involved with any of the issues they deal with, it has showed me how I can some day make a change. On March 17 when we simulated the Palestine Israel conflict at Fort Lewis college I believe that I really had to be prepared well so that I could help run the conference smoothly. Instead of having many papers that graded each student individually on what they need to get an A at the conference I created a spreadsheet where I was able to grade each delegate on showing up, having their placard, comments, speeches, consensus building, and speaking out turn. This helped me so much in the conference because I already had some many papers to deal with like all of the amendments and with this one modified grading system. I think I am going to work really hard on all of my projects that I will being doing later on because this extra step that I took to be prepared made me feel much more comfortable and go out of my comfort zone to become a stronger learner. |
Through out this project I feel that my greatest challenges were not always understanding what I needed to write my briefs about and refinement. Figuring out what would be helpful for my peers to know about the issue we would be starting, and not knowing anything about the issue myself, was very challenging. I looked through tons of different sites to come to two basics of what the issue was so I could first understand before I began writing something for my fellow students. My briefs I think did come out pretty in the end, but I feel that if I had worked harder and refined my briefs I wouldn’t have had as many spelling and sentence structure issues. I think even though I had these struggle it has made my writing better and something I am more proud of. At the conference I was actually very surprised and proud of all of my peers as they stood up in front of a crowd of people and gave a speech, but there was one delegate whose entire performance stood out to me. Anne Chase did amazing explaining clearly what her country’s position on the issue was and kept referring back to the resolution that she agreed with. She also made very strong comments to either clarify things for herself or for the delegate who just gave their speech. I remember one comment she gave must have been very difficult for her because she called someone out saying that they were not correct about what her resolution said and the delegate seemed caught off guard to hear that and then also know that his amendment that he was speaking for was not even passed. I think that she handled the whole situation in the best possible. I believe she did an outstanding job and I was very impressed. |
Briefs-
North Korea Briefing
When Korea was split in 1953, North Korea and South Korea took on two different directions on how their country should be run. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK), or North Korea, was taken under the hand of Kim il-sung. Kim is still known as “Eternal President”. Back in 1953 when North Korea became independent, Kim’s idea along with other party theorists became the religion of the country and was known as Juche. North Korea was formed as a state of atheism, so Juche is not to be spoken about as a religion. Now Juche is still a main principle which some see as communism. The Juche Idea requires absolute loyalty to the revolutionary party and leader. Four fundamental points in Kim’s Juche Idea involves;
1.“The people must have independence in thought and politics, economic self-sufficiency, and self-reliance in defense.”
2. “Policy must reflect the will and aspirations of the masses and employ them fully in revolution and construction.”
3. “Methods of revolution and construction must be suitable to the situation of the country.”
4. “The most important work of revolution and construction is molding people ideologically as communists and mobilizing them to constructive action.”
In North Korea the rights that their people have are very few. There is a group call “A Woman's Voice International” that the state drafts girls as young as fourteen to work on their prostitution teams. If a baby is not healthy when born they are immediately killed and if a baby inside of a womans body is not Korean she is forced to have an abortion. Rights are being ripped from the arms of the North Korean people and the United Nations has not found a way into this country to enforce human rights. Every country is not forced to accommodate to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, though most countries follow a majority of these rights, one right that every country seems to conform to is Article 15. Article 15 states, “Everyone has the right to a nationality,” and “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.” North Korea’s immigration is pretty much nonexistent. Very few are allowed to leave, all of which are top government men. Because of this we struggle to know what is happening inside of this country.
Not having a connection into what is going on in DPRK the nuclear program that they are running is a mystery to us all. North Korea confirmed in 2007 that they did possess nuclear weapons after they had successfully orchestrated their first nuclear test. They are no longer a party in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Chemical weapons are also suspected from the North Koreans after they did not sign the Chemical Weapons Convention, though the holding of these weapons can also not be proven. Whether they are using this nuclear power for energy in their country or as weapons, they believe that they have the right to possess them regardless of the Agreed Framework, an agreement to replace DPRK’s original nuclear power plants with program with nuclear proliferation resistant light water reactor power plants and to build a better relationship between North Korea and the United States.
Questions to Consider
*What risks would the Security council be taking by going into DPRK? Should they break North Korea’s national sovereignty by going in to prevent negative consequences later on?
*What can other countries do to be supportive in figuring out what is really happening in DPRK without causing harsh outcomes or even a war?
*How can the United Nations make the North Korean government more comfortable to share what they are doing with their nuclear power?
*What repercussions might occur if the UN does or does not break their national sovereignty?
Possible Solutions
*Have the Security Council’s peacekeepers along the South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese borders to watch for activity first before decided whether or not to go into DPRK.
*Put sanctions on China until they stop trading with or aiding North korea.
*Having the U.N. Military force go in to DPRK to check on the stance of the nuclear power North Korea is holding.
*If North Korea allows entrance into their country could the U.N. request the nuclear weapons were held in a different country, while North Korea would still have full access to them.
Previous U.N. Involvements
*Stephen Bosworth,a United States Ambassador to the Republic of North Korea, was sent to China, Japan, and South Korea to explore the different talks on North Korea’s Nuclear Program.
*In 2006, the Security Council demanded that DPRK can not test any nuclear weapons and must re engage with the with the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear weapons complying to its obligations.
*In 2013, the Security Council decided the DPRK is not allowed to test any father launches using ballistic missile technology or nuclear tests.
With little to go off of what is really happening in North Korea, curiosity seems to be running through the veins of most U.N. countries. Understanding, having friendly relationships with other countries, and providing the the people of our world with the most humane lives are a few aims of the United Nations. Is the security of your people enough to take a risk to find out what is happening in DPRK? Every country has the right to their own opinion, but isn’t it better to be safe and not sorry?
Work Cited:
When Korea was split in 1953, North Korea and South Korea took on two different directions on how their country should be run. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK), or North Korea, was taken under the hand of Kim il-sung. Kim is still known as “Eternal President”. Back in 1953 when North Korea became independent, Kim’s idea along with other party theorists became the religion of the country and was known as Juche. North Korea was formed as a state of atheism, so Juche is not to be spoken about as a religion. Now Juche is still a main principle which some see as communism. The Juche Idea requires absolute loyalty to the revolutionary party and leader. Four fundamental points in Kim’s Juche Idea involves;
1.“The people must have independence in thought and politics, economic self-sufficiency, and self-reliance in defense.”
2. “Policy must reflect the will and aspirations of the masses and employ them fully in revolution and construction.”
3. “Methods of revolution and construction must be suitable to the situation of the country.”
4. “The most important work of revolution and construction is molding people ideologically as communists and mobilizing them to constructive action.”
In North Korea the rights that their people have are very few. There is a group call “A Woman's Voice International” that the state drafts girls as young as fourteen to work on their prostitution teams. If a baby is not healthy when born they are immediately killed and if a baby inside of a womans body is not Korean she is forced to have an abortion. Rights are being ripped from the arms of the North Korean people and the United Nations has not found a way into this country to enforce human rights. Every country is not forced to accommodate to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, though most countries follow a majority of these rights, one right that every country seems to conform to is Article 15. Article 15 states, “Everyone has the right to a nationality,” and “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.” North Korea’s immigration is pretty much nonexistent. Very few are allowed to leave, all of which are top government men. Because of this we struggle to know what is happening inside of this country.
Not having a connection into what is going on in DPRK the nuclear program that they are running is a mystery to us all. North Korea confirmed in 2007 that they did possess nuclear weapons after they had successfully orchestrated their first nuclear test. They are no longer a party in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Chemical weapons are also suspected from the North Koreans after they did not sign the Chemical Weapons Convention, though the holding of these weapons can also not be proven. Whether they are using this nuclear power for energy in their country or as weapons, they believe that they have the right to possess them regardless of the Agreed Framework, an agreement to replace DPRK’s original nuclear power plants with program with nuclear proliferation resistant light water reactor power plants and to build a better relationship between North Korea and the United States.
Questions to Consider
*What risks would the Security council be taking by going into DPRK? Should they break North Korea’s national sovereignty by going in to prevent negative consequences later on?
*What can other countries do to be supportive in figuring out what is really happening in DPRK without causing harsh outcomes or even a war?
*How can the United Nations make the North Korean government more comfortable to share what they are doing with their nuclear power?
*What repercussions might occur if the UN does or does not break their national sovereignty?
Possible Solutions
*Have the Security Council’s peacekeepers along the South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese borders to watch for activity first before decided whether or not to go into DPRK.
*Put sanctions on China until they stop trading with or aiding North korea.
*Having the U.N. Military force go in to DPRK to check on the stance of the nuclear power North Korea is holding.
*If North Korea allows entrance into their country could the U.N. request the nuclear weapons were held in a different country, while North Korea would still have full access to them.
Previous U.N. Involvements
*Stephen Bosworth,a United States Ambassador to the Republic of North Korea, was sent to China, Japan, and South Korea to explore the different talks on North Korea’s Nuclear Program.
*In 2006, the Security Council demanded that DPRK can not test any nuclear weapons and must re engage with the with the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear weapons complying to its obligations.
*In 2013, the Security Council decided the DPRK is not allowed to test any father launches using ballistic missile technology or nuclear tests.
With little to go off of what is really happening in North Korea, curiosity seems to be running through the veins of most U.N. countries. Understanding, having friendly relationships with other countries, and providing the the people of our world with the most humane lives are a few aims of the United Nations. Is the security of your people enough to take a risk to find out what is happening in DPRK? Every country has the right to their own opinion, but isn’t it better to be safe and not sorry?
Work Cited:
- Wikipedia. “North Korea and Weapons of Mass Destruction” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction/ . 2 Jan. 2014
- IAEA “IAEA Resolutions” http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/iaeadprk/iaea_resolutions.shtml/. Sept. 2013
- Wikipedia. “Human Rights in North Korea” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_North_Korea/ . 11 Jan. 2014
- Chol-hwan, Kang. “5,000 Prisoners Massacred at Onsong Concentration Camp in 1987” http://web.archive.org/web/20071017123327/http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200212/200212110038.html/ 11 Dec. 2002
- Arms Control Association. “Timeline of the North Korean Nuclear Program” http://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/dprkchron/ . Apr. 2013
- Nuclear Threat Initiative. “North Korea’s Nuclear Testing” http://www.nti.org/country-profiles/north-korea/nuclear/ . Sept. 2013
- Wikipedia. “North Korea” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea#Political_prison_camps/ 12 Jan. 2014
- United Nations Resolutions “Resolutions” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea#Political_prison_camps/
Israel and Palestine Brief
Although Israelis, Zionists and Jews, and Palestine Muslims were both obligated to their own countries by the British Mandate and the United Nations, the separation of the state did not have a positive outcome and only began the endless fighting for rights to more land.
In 1933 Germany had a new chancellor who had new and dangerous changes in mind, that included the elimination of the Jewish population. Adolf Hitler was this new leader. Germany had one of the largest Jewish populations and their eradication was slow, but seemed sure. As a Jew in the beginning of the war you were required to wear a yellow star badge whenever you were to go, and soon the boycott of Jewish stores began effecting their lives so they harder and so that there was a constant struggle with hunger. This didn’t even remotely prepare them for what was to come. Concentration camps were being built as a place to hold the Jews in a brutal, inhumane environment. Food, water, and sanitary did not exist. The Jews that did escape from Germany were not safe either because soon Hitler was raiding other countries in a search for endless power. When the war ended in 1945 there were about 6,250,000 dead Jewish people. The Holocaust was a devastating realization for the world, and now where would the rest of the Jewish population go? They couldn’t go back to Germany, they were not welcome and did not feel safe there. They looked for a place to call home, a place where they wouldn’t have to worry about another horrific genocide. They soon came along the country of Palestine.
The British Mandate controlled the two separate states of Palestine Mandate and Emirate of Transjordan until midnight of May 14, 1948 when they were released from the British rule to be one unified state. Their freedom didn’t come as the premium deal they were expecting. Palestine wasn’t the only country who now occupied their country. When the British mandate left and the United Nations stepped in they designated certain regions for the Jewish people who didn’t have homes. Though it does make sense to create a place for these people who seem to not have any place to call home after the Holocaust, the Palestinians that once lived in these regions now had no home either. They were kicked out of their houses that they lived in for generations.
The fight for land began after 1948 between the Israelis and Palestinians who both believed that their people deserved the best and all of the country. Israel has been raiding the borders of Palestine and taking more and more land for themselves. The fight for Palestine to have self determination has been unsuccessful. In the article “Settlements and the Palestinian Right to Self-Determination” Musa Dweik describes the rights the every individual nation should be able to establish: “Self-determination is a two-sided concept: one is internal and pertains to the choice of a suitable governmental system; the second is international and is embodied in the right of a people to independence and not to be subject to transference or surrender against its will.” (Dweik 1) Dweik’s definition compared to the reality in Palestine are immeasurable. Palestine has not been able to run their government and land the way that they would like to, nor do they have the power to give their people the feeling of independence or a sense of security.
Questions to Consider:
*How has Palestines self-determination been unsuccessful? Are they to blame for this failure, if not who is?
*Why are the Israelis illegally settling in the Palestinian land?
*How has the U.N. failed to keep the 1948 boundaries separating these two countries? What could they have done better to cease the fighting? How can they step into todays events and create a stable relationship between these two contrasting countries and come to an agreement?
Possible Solutions:
*Two State solution, a solution where Palestine and Israel are both given a certain amount of land that will be their own individual states that the U.N. will reinforce an’d establish,
(a) to accommodate to the set boundaries of 1948
(b) by renewing the boundaries after the Six Day war in 1967
(c) or to create new boundaries for each country.
*One State solution, where Palestine and Israel will come together as one unified state that shares a government(represented fairly by each countries beliefs), military force, and the combined peoples of each country.
*The U.N. working with neighboring countries (who have taken in Palestinian refugees and have refused to give them citizenship) to spread out the refugees into willing countries so that the Palestinians won't have the same driven anger and will be given more options of where to live.
Previous U.N. Involvements:
* In 1948 the first resolution was written for the “Palestine Question”
* In 2009 the Security Council encouraged support from Egypt and the League of Arab States as
expressed in the 26 November 2008 resolution.
* In 2003, the second operative phrase calls upon both states to achieve the vision of living side by side in peace and security.
Work Cited:
"World War II in Europe." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust
Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
"The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict." The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict. N.p., n.d.
Web. 07 Feb. 2014.
"The British Mandate in Palestine | Middle East Research and Information Project." The British
Mandate in Palestine | Middle East Research and Information Project. N.p., Jan. 2001. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.
"Borders of Israel." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Tolan, Sandy. The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East. New York:
Bloomsbury Pub., 2006. Print.
Dweik, Musa. "The British Mandate in Palestine | Middle East Research and Information Project." The British Mandate in Palestine | Middle East Research and Information Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
"Security Council, SC, UNSC, Security, Peace, Sanctions, Veto, Resolution, President, United Nations, UN, Peacekeeping, Peacebuilding, Conflict Resolution, Prevention." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.