Committee Overview

Chairs

Committee Description

Political Instability in the Lebanese Republic Turkish-Kurdish War in Syria Political Turmoil in Bolivia

The Security Council will function as a crisis committee, with three topics instead of the four seen by General Assembly and Plenary committees. As such, delegates in this committee will be expected to have a developed understanding of each topic. Delegates should spend more time understanding each topic and staying up to date on developments; events occurring on the day of or the days leading up to the confer-ences may factor into the crisis. In addition, delegates should be prepared to adapt quickly to changing cir-cumstances. Keep this in mind as you begin your research.

The committee will be run Harvard Style, which means no pre-drafted resolutions, action orders, or operative clauses may be brought to committee. This includes bulleted lists or any other aspects that are associated with resolutions or action orders. Failure to comply with the aforesaid will result in disqualifica-tion from consideration for awards.

To be eligible for an award, delegates must submit a position paper on at least one of the committee topics, but is strongly recommended to write papers on all topics as a means of developing a strong under-standing prior to the conference. The quality of position papers and performance during the conference will both factor into selection for awards.

Delegates will represent the nations in the Security Council. If you have any questions regarding pro-cedure- especially delegates new to this committee who are unfamiliar with it- feel free to email us at the addresses provided. We will be reviewing procedure on the first day if it is necessary, but do not hesitate to contact us about any concerns. Best of luck with your research!

Hello Delegates, my name is Aaron Anandara-jah. I am a senior at Pittsford-Mendon and this is my fourth year in MUN and my fourth time

chairing. Outside of MUN, I am in Student Council, Science Olympiad, and varsity soccer. I am looking forward to a fun and productive committee. Please feel free to email Daniel,

Charles, or I with any questions that you might have regarding topics or procedure.

Aaron Anandarajah | aaronanandarajah@yahoo.com

Hello delegates, my name is Daniel Yihan Mao, and I am a junior at Brighton High School. This will be my fourth UNAR Confer-ence but the first as a chair. I participate in Science Olympiad, DECA, and also play the piano. If you have any questions at all, re-garding topics, this committee, or anything else, do not hesitate to contact my co-chars, or myself. I look forward to hearing all of your ideas and solutions to our topics during what will surely be a wonderful conference!

Daniel Mao | daniel.y.mao@gmail.com

Hilton 2018 Security Council

Greetings, my name is Charlie Vaules; this is my first time chairing but my third year doing

MUN. I am a senior at Pittsford Sutherland High School. Outside of MUN, I fence, partici-pate in mock trial, and play the trombone in

my school's Jazz Ensemble.

Charlie Vaules | cvaules@gmail.com

UNAR 2020 Security Council

Hilton 2018 Security Council

Political Instability in the Lebanese Republic

Sources:

scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3039777/lebanon-hong-kong-killed-unpopular-bill-so-why-are-people

theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/25/lebanon-heads-for-meltdown-as-protesters-keep-returning-to-streets

aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/christmas-miracle-lebanon-economic-crisis-deepens-

Ever since the retreat of the Syrian Arab Army from its territories in 2005, the Lebanese Republic, bordering Syria, has been beset by a plethora of hardships. Prime Minister Saad Eddin Hariri fought to preserve the stabil-ity of his country on the global stage by pursuing a policy of disassociation from international affairs, while also struggling to maintain a delicate bal-ance within his parliament, whose various factions reflect the strong politi-cal and religious divisions of the country. On the 17th of October, 2019, a series of anti-government rallies commenced in the political capital Beirut, spreading across the republic, calling for “substantial reform and commitment to prosecution of govern-ment corruption”. Some oppose government factions including the Iranian

supported Hezbollah, whilst others demand the removal of “old government elites”, including Hariri, a Sunni whose relationship with the Shiite Hezbollah has been strained. Parliament has appealed to various nations for assistance, but few have been able to invest themselves strongly in the matter. The omnipresence of demonstra-tors has halted daily commerce, with economic crisis ensuing following the closure of banks and the national stock exchange. Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, has despaired that the national economy was “a Titanic”; foreign exchange reserves are down to less than 30 Billion USD even as the national debt worsens.

To alleviate economic and political pressure, Hariri pushed forward motions to expedite the repatriation of over one million Syrian war refugees whom reside in Lebanon, on occasion by force. The President of the Syri-an Arab Republic, Bashar Al-Assad, has expressed concerns regarding this course of action; the Syrian Economy, struggling to recover from civil war, has experienced severe inflation due to connections between the two mar-kets. In much of the West, the mandatory repatriation of Syrian refugees has been condemned as a human rights violation, further isolating the Lebanese Republic from potential assistance, though the Minister of Labour, Ca-mille Abousleiman, maintains that the repatriation is a responsible manifestation of the law, necessary to prevent further deterioration of the Lebanese economy.

In a final attempt to appease demonstrators as they erupted into violent conflicts in the November of 2019, Hariri announced his resignation of the Prime Ministry, urging Parliament to form a new government more agreeable to the public. However, a succession of nominations by President Michel Aoun and Parliament have been declared by demonstrating groups as “political elites”, with each candidate themselves then rejecting the nomination, leaving the Republic without a stable government.

As of 2019, the latest proposal for the Prime Ministry, Hassan Diab, has been unable to garner adequate support, again due to his aristocratic background, with discontent from Sunnis in particular as a result of his working relationship with Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement and its partner, the Hezbollah. Unless the public demon-strations subside, and stable governance can be restored to the region, it is unlikely that Lebanon’s economic, political, and social crisis can be alleviated. How might the international community and United Nations aid in returning Lebanon to a state of stability? In what manner can tensions and conflicts be resolved to ensure minimal losses and damages to life and livelihood? What measures can be taken, if at all, to address the aforementioned while respecting Lebanon’s current policy of disassociation from other conflicts and issues?

UNAR 2020 Security Council

Hilton 2018 Security Council

Turkish-Kurdish War in Syria

Sources:

bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49956698?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cp7r8vgl2y7t/kurds&link_location=live-reporting-story

reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-turkey-refugees-graphi-idUSKBN1WN28J

middleeasteye.net/news/us-and-turkey-reach-agreement-temporarily-suspend-military-operation-syria

There have been tensions and conflicts between the Turkish government under Erdogan and groups that either support or have ties to the PPK (Kurdistan Workers Party) like the HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party), YPG (People's Protection Unit) since 1978. The PPK has launched several insurgencies in an attempt to gain a semblance of autonomy from Turkey, and often in response to inhumane treatment and Turkish dis-crimination against their ethnic group. There has been a ten-tative ceasefire agreement that held until 2015 but broke due to political tension and poor relations between the two groups. Turkey views the PPK as terrorists, while the PPK faces seemingly constant abuse from Turkey or Turkish backed forces in the form of war crimes like unlawful attacks against

civilians and alleged use of chemical weapons. The recent conflict has worsened as on October 6th, 2019, American troops were ordered to with-draw from Northern Syria. This action allowed Turkish forces to launch an offensive against the Kurds, named Operation Peace Spring which resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths, military casualties, and over 300,000 civilians getting displaced from their homes. Turkey initiated this offensive under the auspices of fighting a terrorist group, the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) who have close ties to the PPK,and to create a region to relocate millions of refugees. Many nations like France, and Germany criticized this offensive and have responded by imposing sanctions and a weapons embargo on Turkey while questioning their motives to relocate refugees into the area. The United States even threatened to call for Turkey’s suspension from NATO if they continued this offensive. Many see that this move would cause a massive shift in the demographics of the region, making the Kurdish majority into an ethnic minority, and raising concerns that ISIL fighters may be able to reorganize during the conflict. A hesitant ceasefire exists between the two belligerents, however, tensions in the region are soar-ing. Addressing this conflict will be challenging as the groups involved have a long history of conflict. In addition, there is a power vacuum in the area as many nations doubt the reliability of the United States as an ally because they seemingly withdrew support from a close ally without any major cause or explana-tion. This will prove an issue as many countries, like Russia, will compete to broker an agreement be-tween the two sides, increasing their foothold and influence in the region. How can the Security Council limit or address the human rights abuses and civilian casualties/displacement in the region? How can the UN address the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civil-ians, and prevent terrorist fighters from reorganizing? What are potential compromises that would pre-vent further conflict indefinitely or extend the current ceasefire?

UNAR 2020 Security Council

Hilton 2018 Security Council

Political Turmoil in Bolivia

Sources:

npr.org/2019/11/20/781219670/at-least-6-killed-as-political-turmoil-continues-in-bolivia

latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-11-18/turmoil-in-bolivia-explainer

theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/15/bolivia-crisis-what-happens-next-evo-morales https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/11/09/world/10morales-falls-opposition/09morales-promo-superJumbo-v4.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp

Beginning in 2005, Evo Morales, was elected to serve as the Bolivian President from the Socialist Platform and became an icon of the International Left. On October 20th, 2019 Morales stated that he fairly won re-election but thousands took to the streets with claims that the results were rigged. Had he won this re-election, his time in office would have been extended until 2025. When the Organization of American States found wide-spread irregularities, Morales agreed to new balloting. In addi-tion, the pressure from the military and protesters were increas-ing due to the contested election. Thus, on November 10th, Bolivia’s longest standing president, Morales and his Vice President, Álvaro García Linera, officially stepped down from office. An interim administration

led by Jeanine Áñez took effect and in accordance with Bolivia’s constitution, it is supposed to establish fair elections by January 22nd, 2020. But increasingly violent protests has led to the death of 10 people and distrust in public power may only lead to more protests. In the days following Morales’ resignation, the Andean country of 11 million has plunged into politi-cal and social turmoil. Violence broke out when Morales supporters clashed with government officials in blockading military-escorted fuel tankers from the city of El Alto, causing fuel and food shortages in the administrative city of La Paz, with 6 deaths in the violence, leading to a total death toll of 30. Witnesses say they saw the bodies of young men from the plant in El Alto with gunshot wounds and that military units shot those men. Bolivia’s interim defense minister, Fernando López, denies any claims that the military shot those men, and states that the protesters were attempting to blow up the plant with explosives. Jeanine Áñez proposed a new bill calling for new elections, but her credibility is wavering and may fail at the country’s legislature, two-thirds of which is made up by Morales’ Socialist Party. Furthermore, Áñez, who is supposed to be a neutral figure in guiding the country during this transition period, has cut international ties with Venezuela and expelled hundreds of Cuban doctors. Morales is still influencing Boliv-ia from his exile in Mexico City. In a recent Tweet, Morales called upon the United Nations to denounce Áñez’s “dictatorship” and stop the “massacre of indigenous brothers who ask for peace, democracy, and respect for life on the streets,". Amid this tense atmosphere of public distrust and political polarization, violence and protests are very likely to continue. The future of Bolivia will be determined whether fair elections can be conducted on time and what past and present leaders may decide to carry out. As delegates in Security Council, how will you address the concerns of the protesters for democratic elec-tions and stop the violence? How can you ensure fair elections be carried out on time before more turmoil engulfs the country? How can a peaceful solution be mediated between past and current political parties to avoid future violence?

UNAR 2020 Security Council