Peace building COMMISSION

Berkeley Model Welcome Letter Hello delegates, my name is Dhruv Mandal, and I am honored to be your head chair this year for the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC)! Here’s some background on who I am — I am a senior at UC Berkeley double-majoring in Molecular/Cell Biology and Political Science, with a minor in Public Policy. I am incredibly interested in gauging the effectiveness of healthcare policy and education in addressing and mitigating disparities in care seen in our societies. Some of my other academic interests include political psychology, neurobiology, and dialectic philosophy. Before my time at Cal, I grew up in New Jersey and participated in both Model UN and Youth & Government in high school. The opportunity to chair West Coast MUN after doing East Coast MUN all my life gives me a greater appreciation of the delegate experience; thank you all so much for your interest in PBC! Outside of BMUN, I am a member of The Berkeley Forum, which organizes talks, debates, and panels on the Berkeley campus. In my spare time, I like creating Spotify playlists (currently, Leon Welcome to BMUN LXIX’s PBC committee! While the Security Council is aimed towards taking punitive and direct action against countries in crisis, the PBC serves as an advisory board to compromise and mutualistic understanding above all else when creating solutions to pressing issues committee, you’ll learn about current notions of statebuilding, the art of compromise, and post- At the end of the day, however, the most important thing I want to drive home in this homes, shelters, health services, and educational institutions. When preparing for an entering committee, it might be incredibly easy to take sides and stoke partisanship based on country

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 1 alliances and beliefs; it’s important to remember, however, that taking sides and giving in to personal agendas in this committee only serves to prolong humanitarian suffering. All in all, I hope this acknowledge them, in order to more objectively resolve international disputes. This year, I am joined by my amazing co-chairs, Peter, Kotryna, and Tanirika. You can read a little bit Hello, dear delegates, I’m Peter Liu, a sophomore student studying Data Science at UC Berkeley. I’m from Taiyuan, , a very vibrant and amazing industrial place to explore, and have spent a year of my high school in Columbia, South Carolina. I love listening to Coldplay, Train and Westlife, and doing volunteer work to better help society! I’ve been doing Model UN for the past two years in high school as both delegate and chair, and I used to specialize in UN Security-related bring new possibilities in political innovation and creativity! computer science and philosophy. I went to high school in Arlington, VA, right on the outskirts of DC; however, my family is originally from Lithuania and I spent 7 years of my childhood in Eastern . I spent all 4 years of high school immersed in both the competitive MUN circuit and chairing at my high school’s conference. I especially love specialized committees because of how much deeper the debate and solutions delve. Outside of MUN, I love walking my labradoodle, watching documentaries, and listening to Kanye, Frank Ocean, and BROCKHAMPTON. I’m so excited to meet you all and see you collaborate on the future of international peace! Hello delegates! I’m Tanirika Singh, a freshman here at Cal studying molecular & cellular biology and global studies. Although I was born in New Delhi, I’ve been living in the Bay for over 15 years now. This will now be my 4th year being involved with MUN, starting in high school, where I was a delegate in both specialized and GA Committees and had the chance to chair and organize with my friends. I’m thrilled to be a part of the BMUN team this year and am looking forward to an exciting debate. I can’t wait to meet you all!

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2 Topic A: Kurdish-Turkish Conflict: Reconciling Interest of Ethnic Minorities

Topic Background

TIME-PERIOD/ EVENT DESCRIPTIONS: YEAR:

The new Turkish constitution prohibits the Kurdish language and denies Kurdish landowners property rights (BBC) Turkish resettlement law exiles Kurdish people from their vil- lages to larger Turkish populations to assimilate them (BBC) First military coup in (BBC) New governmental administration proposes widely-maligned ethnic mixing policy to solve Kurdish separatism (BBC) nationalist policies by the government (BBC) Political theorist Abdullah Öcalan and a group of students found the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to advocate for communist revolution (BBC) Third military coup in Turkey; increased military action against violent PKK demonstrations (BBC) Kurdish language in banned in Turkey (BBC) PKK relocates to due to state pressure (BBC) PKK, now with paramilitary capabilities, resumes operations in Turkey (BBC) Heavy violence ensues between PKK and state forces guard- ing villages (BBC) fall through due to sudden death of the sitting Turkish presi- dent (BBC) Öcalan forced out of Syria due to Turkish threats to Syrian government (BBC) BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 3 Öcalan arrested by Turkish intelligence forces & CIA in Nairo- bi, Kenya (BBC) Öcalan’s death sentence commuted to life in prison on orders of the (BBC) Iraq (BBC) (BBC) PKK resumes violence against Turkish state, under new lead- ership, with goal shifted from separatism to democratic con- federalism and Kurdish autonomy (BBC) PKK increases its bombing campaigns in southern + south- eastern Turkey (BBC) Certain major Turkish parties found to have connections with the PKK in a government report (BBC) Operation Sun is orchestrated by the Turkish military to assail Kurdish camps in Northern Iraq (BBC) to better integrate Kurdish culture in Turkish society with limit- ed effect (BBC) begins (BBC) PKK engage in their most violent campaign yet, with reports - - Asssaination of Turkish cops are attributed to the PKK and

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 4

lands and regions of antiquity, its geographical demarcations have shifted through history (Rubin). (approximately the same size as ) and spans from center of Turkey and the Anatolian Peninsula to the southern points of the Caucasus mountain range, and is bounded to the south by the - Iraq border. Currently, Kurdistan region is divided up into provinces of sovereign states, contained by southeastern Turkey, northeastern Syria, northern Iraq, and northwestern Iran and southwestern Armenia. Living within the region of Kurdistan are the Kurdish people or Kurds who, at a population Muslims while 15% identify as Shiite. Despite the majority of Kurds practicing established religions, thousands of Kurds additionally practice pre-Islamic religions. However, in recent times, Kurds countries, the Kurds are considered the largest stateless ethnic group (Blakemore). Despite the many different groups of Kurds present in the Middle East, the Kurdish experience in Turkey is a far more accurate descriptor of the challenges the Kurdish people face in modern times.

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 5 History of the Turkish State

Workers’ Party (PKK) was established, as the genesis of tensions between the Kurds and the Turkish initiated by a single party; more often than not, both parties possess features that make prospective attempts at peace retrogressive and ultimately not viable. The relationship between the Kurds and the Turks is not one of the minority versus the state, one that is predicated on a clash between different conceptions of national identity and the roles of minorities within the state as a whole. an independent nation and the role that colonial powers played in sowing the seeds of discontent amongst the various ethnicities and tribes of Asia Minor (Ringmar). period and the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was a hybrid empire with the Islamic state that possessed territorial holdings in Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa, including the modern-day Turkish state within the Anatolian Peninsula. Despite the Empire’s rich history and longevity as the second, albeit Anatolian, iteration of the Byzantine Empire of the and foreign invasion. Much of this internal strife was exacerbated by the Ottoman government, an Islamic-based central authority (Ringmar), attempting to exert control over a largely secular state that contained a variety of religions (Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc.) and ethnicities (Arabs, Armenians, Turks, Kurds, Yazidis, etc.).

The territorial holdings of the Ottoman Empire before the advent of WWI. BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 6 In an attempt to shore up their waning control over their territorial holdings and improve their diplomatic ties in Eurasia, the Ottoman Empire allied with and the Central Powers against the Allied Powers, the most relevant of which were and Britain, at the onset of the First World empire, and soon the Ottomans found themselves defeated on every front. The Armistice of Mudros, Theater of WWI and the beginning of the Ottoman Empire’s decline and break-up (Clarke). Unbeknownst to the Ottomans and many of the Allied Powers, plans to partition the weak tail end of World War I, the defeat of the Ottoman Empire was seemingly imminent to the Triple Entente coalition (the Russian Empire, the , and the Republic of France) , therefore plans were made to partition the empire and divide the territorial holdings amongst the victors. territories in the Middle East, with very little consideration for the variety of tribes and ethnic groups inhabited in the areas (The Kurdish Project). As per the terms of the agreement, Britain asserted control over parts of , Palestine, , and southern Iraq, while the French retained control over portions of southeastern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and northern Iraq. One of the most impacted groups were the Kurdish people, whose settlements occupied a historical, geographical region for the Central Powers, who were defeated in WWI. While memorandums constructed during the French and British possessed secret motives that would play a larger role in the geographical layout of the Middle East in years to come (Benmesbah).

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 7 The geographical breakdown of the Treaty of Sèvres, and the

To meet the demands of the British, the French, and the Kurds, the Allied Powers devised French territorial demands by ceding the mandates to Syria and Iraq, respectively, and offered a ethnically-homogeneous states such as Kurdistan was seen as hostile to the Turkish, who believed this was an attempt by foreign powers to abolish their sovereignty in the region. The attempts by the British forces in Syria to secure the Mediterranean port cities of Turkey, such as Maras and Urfa and the French forces to secure the Black Sea port cities of Zonguldak and Karadeniz Eregil proved to be the ignition of the Turkish cause for independence (Shaw & Shaw). were brought up by Turkish revolutionaries who were collectively afraid of the occupying powers impact on the existence of the Turkish State. Under the leadership of Mustapha Kemal Atatürk, the Turkish National Movement fought back against the Allied forces, who had started their occupation of the Turkish capital Constantinople (now modern-day Istanbul) with the help of the concessionary Ottoman sultanate. Atatürk made the move to strip the sultanate of power and proxies, made up of Greek, Armenian, and French forces, who were aided by loyalists who continued to profess their allegiance to the Ottoman sultanate (Siska).

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 8 Members of the Turkish National Movement armed and ready for battle during the

The Turkish nationalist movement would prove incredibly successful in the Turkish War of Independence and, following the defeat of French and Greek forces on the Eastern and Southern fronts of the war effort respectively, the Allies gave up on their efforts to partition the Turkish state and the Anatolian Peninsula, opting instead to create a new treaty framework that afforded the of Asia Minor for decades to come. Not only did the treaty recognize Turkish sovereignty by withdrawing Allied occupation of parts of the Anatolian Peninsula and key cities such as the capital Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), but also enshrined the new Turkish government as a rule. In addition, the treaty stipulated that the caliphate — Islamic state that had jointly governed the Ottoman Empire —should be abolished, a move brought up and supported by Atatürk, who was in favor of evolving Turkey into a secular state. Doing so was in Atatürk’s best interest, as the treaty also stated that in exchange for the abolition of the caliphate and Islamic practices within national occupied portions of the Anatolian peninsula and the vast western part of the Armenian Highlands these geographical assignments crucially ignored and discarded the provisions for autonomous BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 9 states and territories promised to ethnics groups, such as the Kurds, that had been laid out in the Treaty of Sevres. The secular message espoused by the Turkish government allayed any concerns on the behalf of the Allies over minority rights in Turkey, and the aforementioned provisions were seen as not necessary. The consequences of these actions were enormous; the new brand of Turkish of modern-day , Bulgaria, Syria, Iraq, and Turkey (Benmesbah).

The History of the Modern Kurdish-Turkish Conflict

Ottoman sultanate, based on the fears that secularism would strip the Kurds of cultural expression. the territories formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire, were dispersed throughout the newly- constructed borders of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.

Displaced and upset with the actions of the international community, the Kurdish people were further galvanized to revolt against the state, especially in Turkey. A second nationalist movement BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 10 restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language in public places and stripped Kurdish landowners of property rights. While repressing the Kurdish culture, the Turkish government sought to further assimilate the Turkish Kurds into the larger population through forced and collective resettlement, exiled from regional villages to integrate into Turkish society; studies done at the time estimate that Arkansas). areas highly-populated by Kurds, such as eastern regions of the Anatolian Peninsula and Southeast regniting the separatist movement and Kurdish nationalism (Callimanopulos).

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 11 Workers’ Party (PKK) under the leadership of political theorist and revolutionary Abdullah Öcalan. The group had formed in the backdrop of a second military coup, which yielded a far more nationalist brand of government than seen before; the new administration sought to eliminate communist and separatist ideologies from the political discourse, going so far as criminalize left-wing agitation and activism, as well as investigate union activity and encourage vigilante justice to snuff out potential agitators. Established initially as a Marxist-Leninist organization, the PKK’s primary goal was to facilitate a communist revolution in Turkey, with the hope of better economic prospects and warfare, mainly with the intent of attacking right-wing nationalist groups in Turkey. As a response to activity, violence in the country sharply dropped. Kurdish expression was effectively criminalized as the government consequently banned the usage of the Kurdish language throughout the state, and banned all political parties and trade unions as a new constitution was drafted by political leaders. By from its headquarters in southeastern Turkey to Syria, where it reoriented its focus to paramilitary training. (Clarke)

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 12 throughout eastern and southeastern Turkey, killing mostly civilians in an attempt to protest against to protect vulnerable members of village populations against PKK aggression. However, the PKK southeastern Turkey. The PKK additionally began to expand its reach by invading other territories, most notably northern Iraq, where it faced stiff resistance from Turkish forces and the Peshmerga of Iraq, paramilitary forces from Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region who were, and still are, backed by the U.S. government. Experts believe these transgressions revealed the change in the PKK’s organizational aim, from staging a communist revolution to Kurdish separatism (Beattie).

A Kurdish representative (left) meets with then-President of Turkey Turgut

The PKK operations based out of Syria were successful to the point that the Turkish government, under then-President Turgut Özal, a former Kurd, was willing to negotiate terms with may not be the right approach to dealing with the Kurdish question. However, Özal’s sudden death BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 13 as the Turkish government sought reconciliation with the Kurds; in the meanwhile, Turkish security forces began to forcibly evacuate villages in the hopes of countering PKK insurgency. The military forces did a poor job of distinguishing between PKK hideouts and purely-civilian locales and forced villagers out of their former residences, killing those suspected of PKK sympathies extrajudicially, World). Turkey refocused its efforts regionally and warned the government of Syria that if they did not give up the PKK and Öcalan, the Turkish military would strongly consider a ground invasion of moved their headquarters from Syria to northern Iraq after organizational heads struck an agreement with contemporaries from the Iraqi Kurdish group Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Unbeknownst to the PKK, Turkish intelligence forces and the U.S.’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been handed a death sentence, which was later commuted to life in prison in June due to Turkey’s pending membership in the European Union. In response to Öcalan’s detention, the PKK announced democratically and not violently. (TRT World)

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 14 initiated by differences in opinions between members on how exactly to achieve organization goals. of the organization had now morphed into advocating democratic confederalism, or the creation of Kurdish autonomous regions within Turkey. The Turkish government responded by appealing to the Turkish forces and orchestrated a great number of bombing campaigns throughout Western Turkey between the PKK and Turkish security forces in southeastern Turkey, featuring prodigious riots by PKK supporters and the forced shutdown of road schools and businesses. Military and paramilitary activity was compounded by the growth of Kurdish representation in the media and, more importantly, in politics. The predecessor to the current pro-Kurdish People’s (HDP), espouse more pro-Kurdish, pro-autonomy policies as part of its platform (Hoffman). The Turkish government took further steps to weaken the PKK morale and engaged in a on PKK camps in northern Iraq, leading hundreds of casualties on either side. The continued loss of life amongst both Kurdish and Turkish people struck a chord with the administration, led by then- the Kurdish demands and suggested the creation of a solution process between the two groups. The Justice and Development Party (AKP), the current governing party ruling party, believed that included allowing certain private TV channels to broadcast in Kurdish, removing prohibitions on certain universities to teach Kurdish languages, and decreasing the number of security checkpoints in southeastern and eastern Turkey. However, the reforms the attempts at a resolution were fraught with complications on either side, as The Turkish government worked with the to BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 15 counterpart, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and their military arm, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), to control a great deal of territory in Northern Syria. The PYD governed the controlled territory as autonomous regions within the Syrian state, which enabled the PKK in their cause against the Turkish state (Tharoor). International intervention was limited as well; the United States, who had in the synopsis (BBC).

Erdogan and representatives from Iraqi Kurdistan discuss potential peace

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 16 Key Actors Involved with the Conflict Turkish Kurds

Turkey currently boasts a population of almost 15 million people of Kurdish descent, almost population in the country. While the majority of the Turkish Kurds are Sunni Muslims, there are a number of different religious factions of Kurds, including Shi’a Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Yezidis. As was examined earlier, the variety of religions, cultures, tribes, and degree of assimilation within the Turkish state has given way to differences in attitudes about the Turkish government amongst the Kurdish population within the country. One viewpoint that is more or less consistent amongst the Kurdish people is the need for Kurdish identity to be expressed and not repressed (BBC News).

Kurdish supporters at a rally for the pro-Kurdish political party HDP in Ankara, Turkey. The Irish Times

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 17 Turkish State

As Newton postulated, every action has an equal and opposite reaction; by the same logic, if the growth of the PKK and Kurdish separatism within the state is considered the reaction, then the Turkish state’s overtly nationalist politics of recognition can, in a sense, be considered the primary its Ottoman predecessors, the leader of the Turkish National Movement and then-President of the Turkish Republic Mustapha Kemal Atatürk made it a mission to embrace reforms aimed towards the promotion of democracy and secularism. These reforms came to be known as the Six Arrows of Kemalism, which included six main principles upon which the Turkish state would base its domestic 1. would govern the state according to the stipulations of the country’s constitution; this was important in creating the electoral tradition of the new Turkish state Populism refers to the transfer of political power to the state’s citizenry, and the secondary Laicism refers to the adoption of secularism not only in society but also in governance; religious ideologies would have no place in determining aspects of domestic policy 4. Reformism refers to the process of modernizing the Turkish state, largely through the context, such as the adoption of a parliament

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 18 5. Statism refers to the economic and technological development necessary to the modernization of the Turkish state, involving buying into and competing in the international capitalist market Nationalism refers to process of creating a nation state, that encompasses the needs of a multiethnic and multi-religious population founded upon a shared heritage amongst citizens. It was originally conceived as primarily civic in identities, such as the Kurdish culture, under the authority of the state has been debated for for

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)

In a sense, the formation of the PKK can sometimes be explained as the inevitable byproduct of and pushback against the actions of the Turkish government, who for decades has done a poor job of dealing with the question of Kurdish autonomy and had actively banned Kurdish cultural PKK, despite engaging in controversial activist practices and, at times, forcing villages and tribes o When it was founded, the organization was aimed at creating an equity of opportunity for Kurdish nationalism, the organization pivoted towards Kurdish separatism and ensuring provisions for an the organization resorted to purely democratic means of increasing Kurdish representation in the political arena. However, the organization quickly resorted to democratic confederalism and the pursuit of an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey. The main reason for the PKK’s longevity as an organization remains indiscriminate state violence, which goads ordinary people to join insurgent BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 19 of injustice among many Kurdish-speaking citizens and enhancing the PKK support base. Ultimately, under the banner that Kurds deserve equal status and political power as Turkish citizens, regardless of their activist methods (Tezcür).

The territorial gains made by Syrian Kurdish since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War have indirectly buoyed the organizational hopes of the PKK and prospects for Kurdish autonomy. While the Turkish government has spent decades attempting to put down the ambitions of Kurdish separatists, the PYD, a Syrian Kurdish faction historically linked to the PKK, and its military branch, the YPG, have emerged as an incredibly important faction in northern Syria. The PYD’s role on the front lines of the war against the Islamic State has made it a valuable asset to Western countries, with Turkey (Tharoor).

Rally orchestrated by the PYD and the YPG against the Syrian

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 20 Past UN Actions/ Peace Process

prospect to achieve. Due to issues over national sovereignty and questions concerning the Kurdish mediating the hostilities between the two feuding parties (OHCHR). However, the United Nations attempted to contribute using more supplementary means to the international and Turkish discourse concerning minority rights. In an effort to reiterate its duty in upholding and preventing discrimination of people on ethnic, religious, and linguistic bases, the UN General Assembly adopted, without vote, the Declaration on the Rights of non-dominant position, whose members—being nationals of the state—possess ethnic, religious or linguistic characteristics differing from those of the rest of the population and show, if only implicitly, (OHCHR). While the ethnic, religious, and/or linguistic characteristics of a group are undoubtedly important. The action of conferring minority status on a group is undermined when members of an assessment of minority status, including whether group members wish to preserve their own cultural practices or whether group members want to be considered as a part of that group. As will be explored later, these international parameters do not strengthen, and if anything weaken, the Kurdish claim to autonomy. BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 21 1. Promotion and protection of minority identities (i.e. no forced assimilation by the state, no prohibition on certain cultural practices, etc.) Equality for minorities and promotion of non-discrimination policies Upholding the ability for minority groups to effectively and meaningfully participate in political affairs, as well as in the socioeconomic & cultural life of a state such as ethnic or cultural homogeneity. Additionally, the terms of the UN Declaration make it clear that minorities are positive contributors to the socio-political landscape of a state, which is a critical assumption. Moreover, the declaration, like many resolutions produced by the United Nations, possesses no mechanism to ensure minority rights and was adopted, without a vote or any type of consideration on the behalf of states involved in the General Assembly, many of which deal with issues concerning the status and representation of minority groups in their respective societies. What the current-day (OHCHR).

The Turkish government’s refusal to acknowledge Turkish claims to autonomy and designation PKK-orchestrated bombings, both successful and attempted, took place throughout Western Turkey the European Union, in an ongoing mission to reduce regional terrorism, to designate the PKK as a additionally urged members states and contemporary nations from other blocs to condemn the PKK BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 22 any potential legal opinion would have no impact on the designation (Rubin).

In response to public pressure concerning PKK violence and calls for the inclusion of Kurdish voices in Turkish society and government, the Turkish government saw the need to take action to quell tensions. The primary phases of the Kurdish-Turkish peace process began in December of (Tharoor). The detente of strained Kurdish and Turkish relations was based upon a tradeoff in Turkish government would focus on normalizing Kurds in Turkish politics and increasing their political representation (Hoffman). These efforts were more publicized than any previous negotiation between a Turkish head-of-state and PKK representative. However, for a variety of reasons including political upheaval and regional factors, the peace attempts began to stall. Despite three years of negotiations process. However, the real reasons run much deeper than acts of aggression, and are fundamental to the stability of Turkish politics and society (Hoffman).

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 23 Complications in the Peace Process/Resolution

As was mentioned before, the Turkish state has a complicated history, especially with regard to the impacts of colonial occupation. A great deal of political discourse in Turkey— at many different points on the ideological spectrum— has neglected the impact of Turkey’s semi-colonial and British occupation from current colonial struggles against the PKK and advocates for Turkish divide it into smaller states and occupation zones under European control. While the treaty was it’s impacts have been reinvigorated as political discourse surrounding the Kurdish question has increased (Onursal). Creating provisions for smaller, autonomous states championed by ethnic minorities revives fears amongst many members of both the Turkish government and public, that the state will soon The lack of concessions that the Turkish government is willing to provide the Kurdish people is indicative of these fears, the cultural representation of minority groups will threaten to dismantle the notion of indivisibility that the state has tried to hard to ensure in the wake of its semi-colonial past (Onursal). This is not to say that Turkish nationalist sects of Kemalism should be invalidated. It is altogether natural for the Turkish state, as well as any state, to describe itself as an indivisible entity.

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 24 or ability to govern itself. For decades, the Turkish government has banned Kurdish languages and customs, driven by the fear that minority groups vying for autonomy will weaken the integrity of the national government. The conversation that should be had is whether the freedom of religious and cultural expression weakens the unity of a nation, or whether it enhances it (Oran). Otherwise, the notion that a nation cannot be divided, in the Turkish instance, suggests the strength of a political entity. Shifting the understanding of religious and cultural autonomy to be more cohesive with boilerplate political doctrines of nationalism and indivisibility is important. Freedom of expression for minorities can in fact strengthen the unity of a state and create a culture of unity and acceptance; by not acknowledging their nationalist tendencies and roles as colonizers, the Turkish state seeks to undermine the indivisibility they have tried so aggressively to protect (Oran).

Kurds as “Minorities”

As was mentioned earlier, there are two main views of the desired outcome of the Kurdish- what is abundantly clear, despite the difference in opinion, is that the Kurdish nationalist push by (OHCHR). religious, linguistic, and tribal diversity amongst the Kurds impacts their minority status. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, while around 15% of them identify as Shiite Muslims, but there are thousands of Kurds who do not adhere to standard religions. Overall, language serves as the most differentiating BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 25 factor amongst the Kurds today; different groups and tribes possess numerous dialects, not all of which are mutually intelligible between groups. Even amongst those Kurdish groups that maintain cultural and linguistic ties, the variation of experience, be it pro-nationalist or pro-assimilation, The Kurdish-nationalist claims for an autonomous state, which cite the Kurdish longevity a historic precedent where newly-independent countries and peoples seeking an autonomous more recently the Iraqi government used ancient Babylon to substantiate Iraq’s past and claim to territorial legitimacy. Claims concerning regional longevity, upon further inspection, do very little to substantiate the Kurdish status as a distinct minority group, which is crucial to the nationalist claim to a Kurdish state (Rubin). There are additional concerns as to whether the Kurdish people view themselves as a legitimate minority and to what degree they will protect minority representation amongst their own contingent. Kurdish territories throughout Iraq, Syria, and Turkey have typically been a haven for otherwise at-risk minorities, but the prospect of Kurdish autonomy may invalidate continued policies of tolerance. Reports have emerged of practices by Kurdish civilians targeting minorities, such territory.

Action taken by the United Nations, in particular the Security Council, in response to tensions between Kurds and the Turkish state have been limited, in part due to differences in opinion over Turkish domestic policy between member states, some of whom are allies with Turkey. However, issues would still arise even if the Security Council and advisory Peacebuilding Commission engaged more actively in initiating the peace process between the Kurds and the Turkish state. There are systemic issues with UN peacebuilding efforts that might negate their effectiveness in resolving BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 26 Peace operations organized by the United Nations have encountered issues with responding involve working closely with state bureaucracies to standardize approaches to domestic policy going drafted by UN staff based on state feedback (Call). The end to a particular instance of inter-group violence must be negotiated on the political local norms and power structures where the UN intervention will take place. Implementing systems work with actors from civil society such as youth organizations, women’s networks, and the private sector could be potentially helpful in creating a culture of understanding between minorities, the state, and the public (Samuels & Von Einsiedel).

In response to the continued Turkish repression of Kurdish language and culture, the PKK eastern Turkey as a public message of its separatist goals. The counter-offensive by Turkish troops further attacks and demonstrations against the Turkish government (Rubin). Events such as these confound the Kurdish movement, and undermine its struggle for wholly domestic. Despite history of Turkey’s human rights abuses, PKK terrorism and attacks on BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 27 PKK authority, have eroded sympathy felt by the state towards minority groups (Rubin). on the part of the Turkish government to propose an effective political solution for the Kurdish demands for autonomy (Casier & Jongerden). Violence on either side has contributed to hostility state that wishes to curtail the Kurdish identity, while the Turkish government sees Kurds less as a minority group but more as a group of violent insurgents who need to be controlled. Additionally, demilitarization has not been utilized at key points in the attempted peace process. For example, in requests to organize offensives against the PKK. The dissonance between the two parties meant that

Spillover of Syrian Civil War

The Syrian Civil War presented a crucial outside stressor on an already-tenuous process. The territorial gains by PKK-counterparts in Syria increased the Turkish government’s fear of fully-realized security of the region and are directly related to the resolution of the Syrian Civil War and to the operations in Iraq, threatening to further destabilize the region. The growth of the PYD, a Syrian Kurdish faction historically linked to the PKK, as a key player in northern Syria is troubling to Turkey. The role of the YPG, the PYD’s military branch, as primary defenders against the Islamic State made the organization a favorite of Wesrern nations, including the United States, which took an active role in dispensing aid to the YPG (Tharoor). This creates a simple cause-and-effect relationship, the more BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 28 ground that the PYD and YPG gain against the Islamic State, the more support it gains from Western nations, and the more activist empowerment is provided for the PKK, which believe the Kurdish nationalist cause is making territorial progress. The end product is that Turkey feels more isolated, thus the government has a very big stake in the Syrian Civil War (Tharoor).

The advent of the powerful executive branch and presidency in Turkey has complicated and Development Party (AKP) has struggled with the Kurdish question, as its alliance with the contemporary Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which provides the coalition a parliamentary In a sense, the Turkish government has been in two minds, so to speak. For many in the of minority groups. Support for an answer to the Kurdish question on the part of the government However, at the same time, support for the Kurds brings inevitable allegations of partiality towards the PKK and unintended support for pro-Kurdish parties such as the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which could take votes away from the AKP. When the peace process had the potential of with the political party HDP for electoral advantage, endearing him to his coalition but stalling peace negotiations (Hoffman).

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 29 Case Studies

statebuilding.However, it would be far more appropriate to state the real issue. Intergovernmental cooperation suffers greatly when local contexts and voices of the stateless are not adequately such as the Camp David Accords and the subsequent -Israel Peace Treaty, the lack of decision-making power was consolidated in the hands of more established state powers, in this case precedent, of which intergovernmental cooperation values the voices of the state over the voices of the stateless and to an extent, the oppressed. Looking at the current crisis, the Kurdish-Turkish and concerns are left unheard and unheeded (Daigle).

Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (Left), U.S. President Jimmy Carter (center), and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meeting during the accords.

Negotiated by then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter, the Camp David Accords (signed September Sadat and then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The basis of the discussions concerned the Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, which had, at that point, lasted for 15 years. Israeli forces had captured the Sinai Peninsula, as well as the disputed territories of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 30 Bank and Golan Heights, which were, at the time, disputed territory. Newfound Israeli control over the territory meant that Palestinians were pushed out of areas that they had inhabited for decades, leaving them without a state, de facto or otherwise (Daigle). (Daigle) he had promised in his campaign, US President Carter utilized the accords as a means to fast-track intergovernmental diplomacy and potentially provide Palestinians with some degree of self-determination to form their own state. Although the alliance between Egypt and Israel, manifested in the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, won both President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin the On the surface, there were elements that proved to be successful, such as the creation of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the withdrawal of Israel from the Sinai Peninsula. However, provisions in the accords made for Palestine were done so without Palestine present, thus sidelining the Palestinians and breaking up the Arab alliance (as Egypt was now on diplomatic terms with Israel). In fact, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was not invited to participate at all, despite being recognized by virtually all Palestinians at the time as the legitimate representative for Palestine. Jordan, the PLO’s most stable regional ally, refused to participate in the discussions, and no other credible Palestinian leadership came forward to negotiate. This, in part, caused the negotiations for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine to fail (Daigle). The utilization of established state powers and the exclusion of the stateless in peacebuilding also meant that state powers came into the peace process with domestic agendas that were left unchecked due to the lack of pertinent, oppositional voices at the table. Some characterize the two- that the goal of the Israeli government at the time was to make sure negotiations failed as they about its territory than the Palestinians. Additionally, it is often debated as to whether Palestinian two-state solution. However, the exclusion of stateless and minority groups from these discussions BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 31 means that ultimately, the answer will remain unclear (Daigle). Even Carter, who had orchstrated the negotiations as a means to facilitate the two-state solution, quickly walked back his support of Palestinian self-determinantion in the absence of the (Daigle). As a result, the Arab world was divided by Egypt’s disloyalty to the regional coalition, continues to be an extremely distant prospect. In situations like these, personal interests amongst cause to avoid a similar fate (Daigle).

Historically, peace efforts have been based around the success of intergovernmental forums and the actions of the political elite. However, very little attention is paid to the role of public opinion The success of an agreement and the longevity of its provisions can be readily tied to the degree of civilian support. Due to the intense strain of nationalism in Turkey, there is evidence that public look at other studies on how public opinion impacted peace accords in other countries in order to gauge the viability of peace given Turkish public opinion of Kurds (Tellez). sphere. While a great deal of literature has been dedicated to understanding the backlash, or more generally delving into why civilians support or oppose peace agreements, research into how civilians included in peace agreements. Recent research done on peace efforts in Colombia have shown that citizens evaluate peace agreements primarily on how justice is dealt to out-group combatants and BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 32 militants, due to self-interested concerns in public safety. Further studies show that material and terms of peace agreements. Peace agreements have improved longevity if they include a public buy- in, or social incentives that convince members of the public to agree to the terms (Tellez). There has also been valuable evidence that increasing transparency and cooperation with the public in regards to peace negotiations can create more lasting, harmonious accords. Studies into have shown that measures taken to better incorporate public opinion into the intergovernmental proceedings have yielded positive results. In support of the peace process, nine different surveys of public opinion were conducted in support of the Northern Ireland peace process from April the public yielded an agreement that covered a wide range of topics from the decommissioning of paramilitary groups to the promotion of linguistic diversity amongst citizens in both nations. The agreement received a huge amount of public and political approval, with only one political group in opposition. The success of the agreement can be attributed to the high level of involvement of public opinion taken while drafting the agreements (Irwin). be readily applied. On the subject of a buy-in, economic studies have shown that industrialization has not taken a strong foothold in Kurdish areas of eastern Turkey, potentially a byproduct of anti- Kurdish bias on the part of the Turkish government. Eastern Turkey is a mountainous region where peace process, the Turkish government could provide economic incentive, potentially in the job sector, to better appease the Kurdish people (Rubin). In regards to assessing public opinion, surveys have already been done on the opinions of both Kurdish and native members of Turkish society. as the most important political issue in Turkey, and both Kurds and natives alike believe that the government has failed in their response. Moreover, the surveys also found that there is a consistent belief amongst Kurds that they can integrate into Turkish society so long as both the stigma BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 33 surrounding and prohibition of Kurdish culture and languages is removed. Further attempts to incorporate both Kurdish and Turkish citizens alike into discussions concerning negotiations might lead to a more comprehensive and lasting framework for peace (Aras et al.).

Questions to Consider

1.

4.

Works Cited

Aras, Bülent, et al. Public Perception of the Kurdish Question in Turkey, Foundation for Political, BBC News BBC News Benmesbah, Tarek. From Sèvres to Lausanne: Negotiations and Peace Treaties, 1920-1923 -Collapse of the Caliphate. Who Are the Kurds? people/reference/who-are-kurds/. United Nations University Centre for Policy Research two-problems-with-peacebuilding.html.

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 34 Cultural Survival, Cultural Survival, 1 repression-turkey. European Journal of Turkish Studies, no. 14, The Sunday Times, Times Newspapers Middle East Institute, do-its-own-minorities. , WP david-accords/. Center for American Progress, , Israel Studies Bulletin JSTOR Olson, Robert W. The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion: 1880-1925. The Conversation, The Cemoti BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 35 Center on International Cooperation, New York University, History of International Relations Samuels, Kirsti, and Sebastian Von Einsiedel. The Future of UN State-Building: Strategic and Operational Challenges and the Legacy of Iraq History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey Hungarian Journal of Legal Studies Journal of Peace Research European Journal of Turkish Studies The Washington Post, syria-burns-turkeys-kurdish-problem-is-getting-worse/. The Kurdish Project thekurdishproject.org/history-and-culture/kurdish-history/sykes-picot-agreement/. TRT World Political Science BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 36 uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/middle-eastnorth-africapersian-gulf-region/ Turkey, the PKK, and U.S. Involvement: A Chronology, Congressional

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 37 Topic B: Post-Gaddafi : Impacts of Proxy Conflicts

Topic Background

War (2014 - present)

TIME-PERIOD/ EVENT DESCRIPTIONS: YEAR: killed by rebels, thus ending the First World War (Rowan) Transition council for Libya holds elections for new national - Various armed groups engaged in violence and controlled various regions of the country (Rowan) Islamist militants attack a U.S. diplomatic compound and kill a Islamist militias storm GNC assembly and force government bolster Islamist lawmakers (Rowan) GNC President Nouri Abushamain creates the LROR to keep Libya safe from Islamist invasion (Rowan) The LROR goes renegade and kidnaps GNC Prime Minister , who is later safely released (Rowan) Abushamain silences any attempt to investigate the LROR or investigate his personal donations to the LROR and other Islamist militias in (Rowan) GNC extends it electoral mandate without a vote, much to the anger of Libyan citizens who accuse it of corruption and inactivity (Rowan) Commander of the (LNA), General calls for the dissolution of the GNC (Rowan)

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 38 The GNC replaces Ali Zeidan with Abdullah Al-Thani, who steps down only two days later due to dissatisfaction with the GNC’s proceedings (Rowan) Haftar launches Operation Dignity, a ground offensive against Islamist militias in Benghazi funded by the LROR and the GNC (Rowan) Under pressure from Haftar and the public, the GNC holds new elections for a new parliament, the House of Represen- tatives (HoR), with the understanding that the Islamists would win (Rowan) Islamists lost but rejected election results and rejected the authority of the HoR, claiming they were sympathetic to the Operation Libya Dawn, made up of Islamist miliatias and pro- GNC forces, initiated against the LNA forces of Khalifa Haftar (Rowan) The HoR relocated to , as Islamists seized control of the GNC and elects Al-Thani as its prime minister (Rowan) - an) Studies done show that Libya’s oil revenues have decreased The UN-negotiated Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) dis- solved the GNC and creates the Government of National Accord (GNA) (Rowan)

Libya is a nation located in Northern Africa, a region also known as the Maghreb, and is a member of both the and the . It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, to the southeast, to the south, to the southwest, to the west, and to the northwest (CIA World Factbook). Despite its prominent regional involvement, Libya is best-known for its membership in the Organization of -

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 39 Exporting Countries (OPEC) due to its oil economy, the largest of its kind in the African continent. Oil despite its economic importance, Libya is unfortunately most commonly known internationally for the way he would run the country as a whole. However, as with many dictators, the government involvement in international terrorist attacks such as the bombing of Pan American Airlines Flight (Kafala).

the funding of global terrorism, political corruption and nepotism, and rampant unemployment due Libyans throughout the country believed that they were pulling the trigger on widespread economic, social, and political changes, and a chance to restore respectability to their state, which had become both a laughing stock and an international pariah in recent decades (Rowan). BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 40

Transitional Council of Libya (NTC) ruled as the de facto authority in the Libyan state, as political experts attempted to construct a new governmental plan for political leadership in the future. The decision was made to hold elections for an assembly that would be in charge of writing the new constitution for the state, with the added purpose of promoting a new electoral tradition amongst initial attempts by the NTC to ensure that regional or sectarian parties wouldn’t be involved in the GNC elections, the , a transational Sunni Islamist ogrnaization, won 17 out of

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 41 The period following the election was fraught with complications stemming in large part from the various militant groups that had fought on either side of the earlier civil war. The lack of security (Chivvis & Martini). Both international advisors and Libya’s political elite recognized the importance of rebel disarmament in the initial stages of the government rebuild, but neither took actionable steps to curtail it. As a result, various armed groups, some rebels and some loyalists, controlled a coordinated mortar attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya on September responsibilites for the attack and the international backlash brought militant violence, especially those that are Islamist leaning, to the forefront of Libyan political discourse and action (Rowan).

It could be argued that the government’s transitional stageenabled the growth of and rising tensions meant that political parties were formed based on ethnic and religious differences . The divisiveness of the political landscape also meant that most parties failed to create consensus with each other, and gave extremist Islamic movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, an upper hand in government action. A political isolation law supported by Islamists in the GNC, aimed BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 42 and the power of Islamists (Rowan). In response to militia violence, who at times encorached into the GNC’s assembly hall, GNC President and indepdent Islamist Nouri Abushamain established the the Libyan Revolutionaries (BBC News). In the months following the incident, Islamist groups began to engage in the GNA’s endorsement of Law, including statutes that suppressed women’s liberties , such as gender segregation and compulsory laws. The recent government actions indicated the growing power of Islamist militias and lawmakers on GNC policymaking (Rowan).

Islamist militias, such as Ansar al-Shariah (pictured; widely believed to be responsible for the

electoral mandate of the of the GNC came and went, and the authority unilaterally voted to extend its mandate by a year, having made very little progress in constitutional drafting and the construction of an army to counter security threats. Widespread protests broke out across , demanding that the GNC be replaced by a legitimate authority that does not collude with rebels and militias. One of the most upset by the mandate extension was prominent anti-Islamist General Khalifa Haftar, the of the GNC and the estblishment of a caretaker government to help in the transition. The GNC’s BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 43 response was to replace Prime Minister Ali Zeidan with elder statesman Abdullah al-Thani, who very quickly stepped down due to concerns over the GNC’s political inclusivity. His claims unheeded, Haftar launched Operation Dignity, a ground assualt of Islamist militias in Benghazi who were funded The Islamist forces supporting the GNC fought back against Haftar’s offensive by initiating Operation Libya Dawn, which sought to take push back against LNA forces and take control of the the beginning of the , and the unstable environment of the capital led the HoR to desert Tripoli and set up operations in the western region of Libya in the city of Tobruk in was appointed prime minister of the Tobruk-based government in the same month. In November of

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 44 toll on infrastructure, most notably through electrical outages that became commonplace. Halting oil been forcibly displaced from their homes. Attempts towards a reconciliation between the two rival

Key Actors Involved with the Conflict

The Presidency Council (PC) has been based in the UN-recognized Libyan capital of Tripoli Tobruk Parliament, where he legislated on behalf of the interest of the capital city. The PC was of National Accord (GNA), also based in Tripoli. While the GNA and the now-Tobruk-based House of of the Libyan Civil War according to the LPA, the HoR, on two separate occasions, disagreed with the set the stage for the HoR defection to Tobruk and alignment with contemporary governments opposed to the GNA (Toaldo).

Leader of the GNC-successor, now-defunct GNS, Khalifa Ghwell. BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 45 The weakest of the three competitors for control over the Libyan state, the Government of based in the UN-recognized capital of Tripoli, the power and international backing of the GNA made it virtually impossible for the GNS to control any relevant institutions in the capital. In October of amongst the public; however the Islamists militias that had supported the GNC now supported the the political division caused by the expulsion of the GNS, the LPA contained a provision to integrate the GNS into the GNA government by allowing members of the GNC to transition to the newly- created State Council, a consultative government body. This process marked the end of the GNS as a political body (Toaldo).

Leader of the GNC-successor, now-defunct GNS, Khalifa Gh-

The Tobruk Coalition

The biggest rival to the GNA’s authority is a political coalition based in the Libyan city of Tobruk. Under the stipulations of the LPA, the House of Representatives (HoR) was meant to be the legislative counterpart to the GNA, the former failed to pass a constitutional amendment to establish moved their operation to Tobruk, and adopted former GNC prime minister Abdullah al-Thinni as their new leader of the government. The Tobruk institutions have sided with the Egypt-aligned, anti- Islamist general Khalifa Haftar, who leads the Libyan National Army (LNA). Recognizing the relative BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 46 instability of the GNA under the terms of the LPA, the Tobruk Coalition of the HoR and Haftar- controlled LNA refused to work with GNA despite UN-sponsored mediation (Toaldo).

Leader of the HoR, the rival government to the UN-backed GNA, Abdullah

Multiple countries have economic stakes in Libya and various nations, both regional and Western powers, support different coalitions in Libya based on ideological considerations as well as diplomatic ties (Allahoum). The (UAE) is one of the main supporters of Haftar and the HoR, going so far as to supply the LNA with an advanced weapon system in distinct violation of a United Nations placed Muslim Brotherhood, thus has suppoerted any means to depose them, including diplomatic support for Khalifa Haftar. Many European nations such as France openly support a peaceful solution to the civil war in Libya. However, in France’s case, their stance is undercut by their apparent diplomatic and supported the UN’s mediation efforts while blocking a UN Security Council statement meant to halt the LNA advance on Tripoli. Interestingly, the US was originally one of the states that supported the efforts that led to the creation of the GNA, however has sent varying signals after President help fund Haftar’s attempt to take over Tripoli, while Sudan and Jordan have offered military aid. On BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 47 because it is more tolerant of the Muslim Brotherhood than Haftar and the HoR. While initially supportive of the internationally-recognized GNA, has advocated for a comprehensive peace

Past UN Actions/ Peace Process

representatives Libyan Political Agreement, constructed and signed an agreement aimed at known as the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA), and alternatively as the Skhirat Agreement, was written to resolve political disputes between the House of Representatives (HoR) and its associated government, based in Tobruk , and the newly-created Government of National Accord (GNA) centered in Tripoli, which succeeded the GNC. One of the most important provisions was the national government. The HoR was tasked with acting as a complementary parliament to the GNA HoR has failed to do so, and has held out for political and tactical gain. Additionally, under the LPA, the GNS, which was constructed from the remnants of the GNC, was incorporated into the branches of the GNA-led government according to the terms of the LPA (International Crisis Group). BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 48 Occurring almost simultaneously to the negotiation of the LPA, the military sought to better its political position during the creation of a new government. The Libyan National Army (LNA) under the Gulf of Sidra, located on the northern coast of Libya, which had weakened the newly-created GNA and authority of the LPA, especially since the HoR had already aligned itself with Haftar’s forces. The HoR and Tobruk Coalition viewed the newly-created GNA as weak and did not highly rank its two groups broke down completely (International Crisis Group).

negotiate peace in Libya; the economic importance of the Libyan state meant that political strife could potentially have negative impacts on the global economy in the future. Italy took the lead for negotiations during the conference, potentially as an attempt to reassert its role as the leading EU associate of Libya. There is a belief that Italian concerns over political disputes in Libya were and energy relationships between the two nations. Above all else, however, Italian interest in the future of Libyan politics stems from the growing migrant crisis, involving Libyan migrants departing from their original residences to seek refuge in Italy (De Maio). The potential outcome of the conference was doubtful, as many important Western nations did not send adequate representation at the talks, despite being both directly and indirectly two main leaders, Fayez Al-Sarraj (leader of the UN-backed PC) and General Khalifa Haftar (in charge of the LNA and strongly-linked with the Tobruk Coalition), were able to engage in talks and reach a mutual understanding. Haftar was able to assure Al-Sarraj that he would not seek to topple the GNA until new elections were held in Libya, but beyond that, not much progress was ultimately made (De Maio).

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 49

towards negotiating a working agreement amongst the various political entities vying for control over Libya. Unlike most attempts at peace brokered by the UN, representatives spent months engaging in discussions at the local level nationwide, with the ultimate goal of promoting democratic elections that could possibly unify the country and pave the way towards economic recovery. The creation of the conference was spurred by concerns expressed by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that recent attacks on civilians and public infrastructure by General Haftar may constitute war crimes committed against civilian populations (UN News).

The most important aspect of the LNC was the incorporation of the Three-Point Peace Plan (UNSMIL), presented a plan to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with the overall goal to exercise stability over the Libyan state. The prospective plan included three main stipulations integral to the achievement of peace in Libya.

1. A truce between the Government of National Accord (GNA) and Libyan National Army (LNA) and the release of detained prisoners-of-war on either side (UNSMIL); of abiding by human rights law and to implement a wide-reaching arms embargo (UNSMIL); an economic track to create a commission to oversee industrial development in Libya considerations of members of both the Tripoli and Tobruk governments (UNSMIL).

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 50

United Nations Organized a truce that was held for the duration of the Eid festivities in mid-August along the main fronts in southern Tripoli and elsewhere. There were certainly some violations, but

Conversations between the governments of , Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates indicated that the continual violence in Libya was detrimental to any conceivable prospect of peace, and led to international demands that General Haftar halt any LNA military operations and instead support efforts for a political solution to the Libyan Civil War. Involving both members of the HoR to engage in the UN-sponsored peace negotiations. While the GNA were open to UN potential of his participation in the peace negotiations (Alharathy).

interventionist efforts of world powers have been undercut by the simultaneous international support BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 51 towards successful negotiations were curtailed by General Haftar’s , an

Complications in the Peace Process/Resolution

International Involvement and the

a civil struggle. Looking at Libya, the proxies in this case are the Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli and the rival government in Tobruk, allied with General Haftar and the Libyan National Army and the former Libyan legislature the House of Representatives (HoR). However, some of the most important actors in the Libyan Civil War have not been on the ground; they are the international actors supporting different factions in Libya, such as Russia, Turkey, Egypt, the U.A.E., the United States, and many Middle Eastern and Western nations. The economic importance of Libya in the Middle Eastern and (MENA) region means that international actors, especially those that seek to engage in trade with Libya, potentially see the war as impactful, as their

Russian Foreign Minister (right) meets LNA leader Khalifa

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 52 The use of proxies by international actors possesses the potential of being extremely harmful long-term prospects for societal and political stability. Research has shown that the major tension can emerge between proxies and their instigators, also known as sponsors due to their logistical and arms-based aid, divergent long-term strategic objectives between the proxy and the sponsoring and societal instability, as well as the emotional and physical toll or warfare; conversely sponsors might continue to pressure proxies and provide military support in order to support their own and any potential for its resolution is moved away from local actors, affecting their ability to restore order to a warring state (Truitte). its economic importance in the MENA region cannot be understated. A member of the Organization reserves in Africa and the ninth largest globally, estimated around total forty-eight billion barrels. Prior to sociopolitical disorder and economic disruption, the (NOC), which opportunity is high in Libya, and from that standpoint the choice of which faction to support in the analysts report that the Russian government views a victory by Haftar and the Tobruk Coalition in (Robinson). The aid provided by sponsors to the proxy states additionally has wide-ranging impacts on BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 53

the legacy of governance provided by the former dictator. The prominent consensus achieved by the power was centralized in the unitary executive, and therefore did not promote an electoral tradition or political socialization amongst the many citizens of Libya. The shared experience of living under left a void, as there were no real structures by which he exercised his power due to the fact he didn’t require any; the lack of institutions and electoral system at the time of his death meant that the transition towards a working democratic government has been beyond complicated. Those that did or systems, setting up the newly-created government for inevitable instability (Oji et al.). that there was no organization or emergency response system in place, and no protection for those statebuilding process in Libya a near-impossible task. Concurrently, the lack of democratic tradition actual writing process, further promoting the view to both citizens and outsiders that Libya was weak (Chivvis & Martini).

While the Berlin summit made strides in hosting all the major actors of the Libyan Civil War, the opinions and voices of representatives from the Arab League (AL) and the African Union (AU), BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 54 regional neighbors to Libya, went unheralded and the conference did not provide a substantial result compared to previous efforts to negotiate peace in Libya. A greater consideration of AL impacts of authoritarian legacies. However, one factor that often goes under the radar is the lack of involvement of domestic/regional opinions and local contexts into the political process (Oji et al.). This compounds the effect of proxy wars by removing power away from the citizens of the state, who should be involved in the resolution process, and reassigning said power to larger, but out-of-touch nations who don’t have an accurate enough understanding of local power structures and political institutions to actually implement lasting reform (Oji et al.). , when the UN argued that the most effective way to promote peace and security in the a democratic design, according to the Western ideals of democratic peace theory, or the belief that democracies are less likely to go to war with one another than other forms of government (Dos Santos). Soon, peacebuilding and state-building in the modern era became cemented upon the autocracy and would, in and of itself, promote electoral traditions. The model of peacebuilding through democratization tends to place power in the hands of government-restructuring efforts treat non-Western states as excessively malleable and disregard indigenous institutions and complex authority structures. Divisions within Libyan society included communities adjacent to one another, with ideological fault lines between them predicated on amongst the Libyan people meant that a single method of state-building was never going to be BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 55 enough to encompass the variety of opinions or experiences amongst the Libyan people, despite Santos).

Case Studies

The biggest casualties of the Second Libyan Civil War — besides of course the political stability of the nation — have been the humanitarian conditions and state of public infrastructure. Despite UNICEF’s best efforts, urban areas have particularly been negatively impacted, most likely due to the coordinated attacks from the Libyan National Army against the Government of National waterborne disease and treatment needs. UN presence in Libya has generally improved access to hygiene supplies and medicine, however the clearance protocol regulations for large numbers of citizens, the size of the state as a whole, risks for healthcare professionals , and the poor state of public infrastructure has made the process of reconstruction a logistical nightmare. Peacebuilding efforts must focus on the local sphere (sanitation, general infrastructure, education, safety, etc.) in order to prevent a full-blown humanitarian crisis (UNICEF).

urban centers of the country. UNICEF’s aid to these disadvantaged populations has been limited by BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 56 children throughout the country in danger (UNICEF). extensions of the government aimed towards facilitating humanitarian solutions to pressing domestic displaced individuals. These facilities are not equipped enough to deal with long-term impacts, such there have been numerous reports of children suffering from psychological trauma due to witnessing violence, and many families are reported to be at an increased risk of encountering unexploded ordnances in areas where they originally lived, making said areas inhabitable (UNICEF). The Libyan education system has also been noticeably impacted; a report revealed that the as collective shelters to house displaced individuals around Tripoli (UNICEF). different specialized hospitals are partially damaged or completely destroyed throughout Libya, put additional stressors on an already weak healthcare system. Most shelters feature overcrowded spaces with limited access to toilets and washing facilities, leading to a greater chance for the virus BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 57 services.

As impactful as the Second Libyan Civil War has been and as large as the consequences of example that draws many parallels to the Second Libyan Civil War is the which Angolan Civil War was fought. Angola was in the throes of post-colonial state-building after it gained Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the People’s Movement for the Liberation struggle of 7 million people with abstract, intangible concepts of right and wrong and can distract identity, and the adoption of a semblance of stability for a newly formed state (Sobers).

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 58 Members of militant liberation groups in Angola preparing for battle.

liberation movements for the Angolan Civil War brought attention to contests of ideology taking place in Angola, the awareness campaign did not necessarily have the intended effect. Larger states and world powers, instead of involving Angola in talks to negotiate a peace process or domestic stability, took it upon themselves to militarily involve themselves based on their preconceived notions of what constitutes political stability. Peacebuilding inherently means that to promote peace, national movement of a smaller state for global gain is wrong, then the consequent promotion of violence to further state-based interests is just as wrong, if not more so. The international community the risk of further destabilizing a war-torn nation (Sobers). BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 59 and infrastructure have meant that the government of Angola has had to struggle with many challenges. The most pressing of which have included the resettlement of an estimated four million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the reintegration of more than half a million and the damage to the society remains irreversible (Sobers). Angola possesses the reputation as one of the most badly governed, corrupt, and unequal societies in the world. Angola possesses a Gini African continent. A third of the country is below the poverty-line, and child mortality has remained

Libya, without the proper path forward, is destined to share the same fate. The focus on the proxy war and the future of terrorism and economic activity in the region distracts from the problem that this is a state in peril. An OPEC economy with a population of almost 7 million people, in a Development Bank Group). Focusing less on the partisan support of rival government factions and infrastructural heydays.

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 60 Questions to Consider

1. How do you differentiate between a legitimate government and a rival, oppositional

What perspectives do you think regional actors and blocs (i.e. African Union, Arab League,

4.

Works Cited

African Development Bank Group, libya/libya-economic-outlook. The Libya Observer uae-push-haftar-towards-political-solution. News | The New Yorker BBC News, RAND National Security Research Division Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 61 Brookings new-government/. DW.COM E-International Relations countries-and-un-peacebuilding-opportunities-and-challenges/. International Crisis Group africa/north-africa/libya/libyan-political-agreement-time-reset. BBC News Journal Of Social Science Research Inter Press Service Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign United States Institute of Peace, United Small Arms Survey

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 62 UNSMIL Journal of Cold War Studies European Council on Foreign Relations, Georgetown Security Studies Review a-problem-with-proxy-warfare/. UNICEF Appeal 2019 United Nations UNSMIL, economic-experts-discuss-establishment-experts-commission-unify. Open Knowledge Repository Worldometer country/libya/.

BERKELEY MODEL UNITED NATIONS 63