MADMUN XI – 1971

Letter from the Chairs:

Delegates,

Thank you for participating in MADMUN this year! We are your chairs, Rachel Neviaser and Francesca Castellanos, and your sim, Eva Perez; it is our pleasure to welcome you to the magic of the ! In this committee, you will each be playing the role of a different minister, expert, leader, or member of the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW), and will work together to problem-solve during one of the Wizarding World’s darkest hours: the first rising of . It should be noted right away that although much of the information used in this background guide and committee is indeed canon, we took the liberty of creating a lot of our own facts to make things more substantial and interesting. Several of the positions, as well as the idea of the committee itself, are entirely our creation. You will be doing this too, both in preparation for and during the committee. This is a fantasy committee, so there is a lot of room for creativity; your creativity is absolutely essential to this committee, and the simulation will not work without it. On top of creativity, this committee will require a great deal of flexibility and improvisation, as you are expected to accept the creations of your fellow delegates (and the creative additions within this guide) as completely canon (even if they are making up events that have happened in the “past”, which you are completely free to do within reason), and to build off of them however you see fit. You should be viewing this less as a “ committee”, and more as a simulation addressing the topics of social justice, war-time problem solving, and politics, which uses the Wizarding World and its history as merely a basis, on top of which we will create our own canon. Also, since this is technically a historical committee, please don’t cite events that happen in the “future”, even if they’re canon; unless of course you are a seer. Which none of you are.

The committee you will be simulating is a 1971 emergency summit called by the British Minister of Magic for the purpose of taking action against the rising threat of Lord Voldemort and his supporters, after a year of terror and ineffective defense measures. A diverse set of leaders will be present: the Irish and Scottish Ministers of Magic, the Head Calamity Investigator (ICW, Statute of Secrecy Task Force), the Head of Incarceration (ICW), the Minister of Expertise (Britain), the Head of Magical Law Enforcement (Britain), the Head of International Magical Cooperation (Britain), the Minister of Magical Propaganda (Britain), and the Head of the Auror Office (Britain). Each of these characters have their own interpersonal and professional relationships, and despite the fact that they are working together towards the same goal, they all have different views on how to achieve that goal based on their ideologies, morals, and interests. Be careful though; you never know who amongst your peers may be secretly working for the dark side. Each delegate will receive secret information about their position’s interests, special characteristics, and relationships with other positions. This information is not to be shared with anyone else in the committee; this discretion is critical to the simulation. Based on the information you are given both secretly and publicly, as well as your own creativity, you will write a position paper for each topic. You may do more research beyond what we give you depending on your position and your own level of knowledge about the Wizarding World. If you aren’t very familiar with this world, we highly recommend you do basic research about it, even if it’s just watching a Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts movie or doing some general reading about it online. Moving on from the serious stuff, this committee is going to be an absolute blast, and we’re super excited about it! The only reason we hit you with all the serious stuff first is so that you know not to let the fun distract you from the fact that in order to make this committee work well, you will need to try just as hard as you would with any other MUN committee. Also just for fun, as part of the simulation, we highly encourage you to wear something fun and/or wizard-y to committee, as long as it is still mostly professional; for example, you could do fun colors, hats, jewelry, patterns, house colors, etc. We’ll certainly be doing that!

We are very excited about this committee and to see what all of you choose to do with it! We are doing everything we can to make this both fun and educational, so all that’s left is for you as participants to be enthusiastic, creative, and willing to lean into this unique simulation!

Sincerely, Rachel Neviaser, Francesca Castellanos, Eva Perez

Basic background about the First Wizarding War and relevant governing bodies

Committee Context:

The year is 1971, and just one year ago in 1970, Voldemort openly revealed himself to the wizarding public, proclaimed himself as the , and began his extreme acts of across Britain. His ultimate goal is to create a new world only run by pure-blood wizards and to rule as an immortal leader. Death Eaters, along with destructive Giants, began to attack openly for fun and to cause chaos in the wizarding world. The Ministry had to divert its attention on healing survivors, cleaning up the attacks, and modifying the memories of Muggles and others. They began to search for perpetrators and tried to prevent further attacks. This occupied a lot of the Ministry’s time and attention. Death Eaters started to target Muggle- born and blood traitor witches and wizards. They would and sometimes kill their wizards, a shocking revelation in the wizarding world.

British Ministry of Magic

The British Ministry is the main wizarding governing body of Britain with the sole intent to preserve magical law. It is located in Whitehall, , deep underground from the surface. It does, in fact, associate with the Muggle government. When a new Muggle Prime Minister is

elected, they receive a standard visit from the Minister of Magic on their first night in office. The Minister of Magic alerts the Prime Minister to the existence of the magical world and gives them the basics of how the magical government and law works, filling them in on what might be happening in their world at the moment. After the first visit, the Minister of Magic will only come back if something significant enough is going on in the magical world that could potentially affect the Muggle world. The Ministry was initially formed as a successor to the Wizard’s Council and was established in 1707. Although it hadn’t officially been formed yet, it was to some extent involved in the implementation of the Statute of Secrecy. Other countries, such as Norway, France, and Germany, have their own Ministries of Magic. The headquarters of the Ministry of Magic is at the heart of London. The structure is all underground to ensure secrecy from the Muggle world above. There are ten levels to the Ministry of Magic. There were many minor offices within the departments as well. Departments can communicate through “interdepartmental memos” that would be written on pale-violet paper aeroplanes. They would fly to their own destinations on their own. The first level is for the offices of the Minister of Magic and Support Staff. The second level is where the Department of Magical Law Enforcement offices are, the third for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes offices, the fourth for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures offices, the fifth for the Department of International Magical Cooperation offices, the sixth for the Department of Magical Transportation offices, and the seventh for the Department of Magical Games and Sports. The Atrium can be found at the eighth level, which is the level that visitors arrive on. The ninth level is for the Department of Mysteries, and the tenth level is for the courtrooms. The Minister of Magic was elected by a group of unknown people. They represented the British magical community in international affairs, and their values would set the bar for policies in the Ministry. They also presided over the Wizengamot, which was Britain’s wizarding high court of law. In 1717, the Ministry named the Imperius, Cruciatus, and Avada Kedavra cures the “Unforgivable Curses”. There were very strict penalties for those that used these spells. Employment at the Ministry of Magic can be given after completion of wizarding education, along with employment for specific offices that require different levels of education and specific exam results. The Minister and the Ministry of Magic would attempt to influence the wizarding

world through the wizarding newspaper “The Daily Prophet”. You may do more research on this body if you see fit, especially if your position is a member of the British Ministry, including the Scottish Minister. The Irish Minister may also want to research this, however they may also fabricate information about their ministry, as there is no canon information available about it.

International Confederation of Wizards

The International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) is equivalent to the United Nations in regard to importance and power, merely set in the Wizarding World. It is headed by the Supreme Mugwump. The International Confederation of Wizard’s first Supreme Mugwump was Pierre Bonaccord, who took the position some time before 1962. The ICW’s first significant action in its history was to establish and enact the Statute of Secrecy in 1962. This is the law that forced all of the wizarding world to retreat into hiding from the Muggle world, which included covering up the existence of magical beasts, eliminating the existence of magic from Muggles’ consciousness, and enforcing laws on the magical community to keep them safe. These laws added the prohibition of magic use by underage (17 years or younger) wizards and witches outside of fear. This was set in place out of fear that younger wizards and witches’ inexperience with magic would more likely expose magic to the Muggle world compared to adult’s magic. In the 1920s, the ICW called an emergency meeting to address magical disturbances that were risking the exposure of the Wizarding World. This sparked the wizarding war relating to the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald to become a matter of global significance. You may do more research on this body if you see fit, especially if your position is a member of the ICW.

First Wizarding War History

The foundations of the First Wizarding World began as early as the 1940s, but 1970 is considered the official start of the war as it was the year Voldemort first rose to prominence. It is important to note that Lord Voldemort was supported by his Death Eaters, a dark magic group of wizards and witches who followed him and terrorized the Muggle and Wizarding World. They

were opposed by the British Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix, a secret organization led by . The Death Eaters had to be 100% loyal to Voldemort, or else risk their lives and the lives of their friends and family. The prelude of the war already points towards a tricky political climate. Nobby Leach, the first ever Muggle-born minister, replaced Minister of Magic Ignatius Tuft in 1962 due to Tuft’s promise to institute a controversial Dementor breeding program for Azkaban. He would leave office in 1968 due to mysterious health reasons. There would be theories that he was poisoned by his advisor, Abraxas Malfoy. Eugenia Jenkins was Leach’s predecessor. Like Leach, she heavily focused on wizarding social justices, which would cause a series of events to unfold. Squibs started leading marches for their rights, causing the aftermath of riots led by pure-blood supremacists. Older elite pure-blood houses felt that the way of life was being threatened by these protesting oppressed minorities, which all the Death Eaters belonged to. Pure-blood supremacists who did not join the Death Eaters still gave their support to Voldermort’s cause in secret. In 1970, Voldemort openly revealed himself to the wizarding public because of the political climate. He proclaimed himself as the Dark Lord and began his extreme acts of terrorism across Britain. At this point in wizarding history, very little is known about Voldemort and his past. Only Dumbledore and select Death Eaters have any knowledge of him personally, but this knowledge is not public. His ultimate goal is to create a new world only run by pure- blood wizards and to rule as an immortal leader. Muggle-borns would be massacred or kept in chains to serve. Death Eaters, along with destructive Giants, began to attack Muggles openly for fun and to cause chaos in the wizarding world. The Ministry had to divert its attention on healing survivors, cleaning up the attacks, and modifying the memories of Muggles and others. They began to search for perpetrators and tried to prevent further attacks. This occupied a lot of the Ministry’s time and attention. Death Eaters started to target Muggle-born and blood traitor witches and wizards. They would torture and sometimes kill their wizards, a shocking revelation in the wizarding world. House-elves and Goblins suffered as well under the terror of Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Death Eaters commonly casted the Dark Mark in the sky over every house or scene that they killed at. During the start of the First Wizarding War, many Death Eaters secretly gained strategic positions within the Ministry of Magic. The Imperius Curse was heavily used to destabilize the

government and expand the influence of the Death Eaters from within. Blackmail was a tool for the Death Eaters as well. The Ministry of Magic was under attack, with Minister Jenkins being unprepared to lead during wartime. They seemed to be incapable of gaining the upper hand against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. However, a positive note of the Ministry of Magic at the start of the war was that Augustus Rookwood, an employee of the Department of Mysteries (which are called Unspeakables), succeeded in setting up a network of espionage within the Ministry of Magic. Albus Dumbledore decided to form the Order of the Phoenix in 1971 in response to the growing threat of Lord Voldemort and his followers to take the fight directly to the Death Eaters. The Ministry of Magic viewed the Order of the Phoenix as a “renegade outfit”. That did not stop numerous powerful Ministry officials, such as powerful aurors, to join the Order and participate in secretive assaults against the forces controlled by Lord Voldemort. You may do more research on this if you like, to use in committee or to use for the growth of your personal knowledge on the Wizarding World.

Topic 1: The Voluntary Breaking of the International Statute of Secrecy (ISS)

ISS General Information:

The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was laid down by the International Confederation of Wizards to safeguard the wizarding community from Muggles and hide its presence from the world at large. It was signed in 1689 and established in 1692. The Statute of Secrecy dates back to the 1600s, where wizard-Muggle relations were at their worst. Since the early 1400s, the persecution of witches and wizards increased around Europe. Wizarding families were particularly prone to losing younger family members, as they had difficulty controlling their magic, making them vulnerable to witch hunters. With widespread persecution of wizarding children by Muggles, escalating attempts by Muggles to force witches and wizards to perform magic for Muggle ends and teach them magic, and

increasing numbers of witch-burnings, including those of Muggles mistakenly burned as witches, it was clear that action needed to be taken to protect wizardkind. In Great Britain, the newly- created Ministry of Magic tried to work with the Muggle British Monarch (then jointly William III and Mary II) via a special Ministry Delegation, begging them to protect wizards under Muggle law. This attempt failed, forcing wizardkind to move in the direction of secrecy. After heated discussions in the Wizengamot (some "militant members'' voiced their desire to declare war on the Muggles), the Statute was first signed in 1689, and was officially established and effectively started to be enforced by every Ministry of Magic around the world in 1692. Now that Muggle and wizarding societies were alienated, wizards created, as Professor Bathilda Bagshot put it in her book A History of Magic, "their own small communities within a community". Magical families were attracted to small villages and hamlets, where they started their own communities, for mutual support and protection, alongside more tolerant and sometimes Confunded Muggles (placed under confusion spells). Tinworth in Cornwall, Upper Flagley in Yorkshire, Ottery St Catchpole in Devon, and Godric's Hollow in the West Country date back to then. The Statute stated that each individual Ministry or Council was responsible for hiding the presence of the magical community in their own country, such as the control of magical beasts, curbing public displays of underage magic, and ensuring that magical games and sports were played without risk of discovery. Clause 73 was added in 1750, stating the following: "Each wizarding governing body will be responsible for the concealment, care and control of all magical beasts, beings, and spirits dwelling within its territory's borders. Should any such creature cause harm to, or draw the notice of, the Muggle community, that nation's wizarding governing body will be subject to discipline by the International Confederation of Wizards." The Statute also included dress guidelines: "When mingling with Muggles, wizards and witches will adopt an entirely Muggle standard of dress, which will conform as closely as possible to the fashion of the day. Clothing must be appropriate to the climate, the geographical region and the occasion. Nothing self-altering or adjusting is to be worn in front of Muggles." Clothing misdemeanours have always been one of the most common infractions of the International Statute of Secrecy. Wizards and witches are also strictly forbidden from taking part in Muggle sports, yet they are allowed to support a Muggle side.

Topic of Debate:

The first and most important factor when it comes to the decision of breaking the Statute is that doing so would be thoroughly illegal. Everything related to the Statute is under ICW control, and under normal circumstances it might be possible for Britain to approach the ICW and request some kind of special temporary exception during the war; however, such an ordeal would take a long time to process, debate, and come to a conclusion about on the ICW level, and as this is an emergency summit, there is no time for such a thing. However, if the Statute were to be broken, there could be ways to defend that decision to the ICW, which could potentially lead to a total repeal of the Statute, or at least help soften the trouble that the British Ministry would be in. Although the Statute is in place primarily to protect Wizardkind, the Muggles are the ones who need protection during this troubled time; the question is whether the best way for us to give them that protection is to do it openly or from afar, without their knowledge. There are not yet any set ideas of how to protect the Muggles, since that decision depends entirely on the Ministry’s decision about the ISS. Once a decision is made, the next step is to figure out what protective measures we can put into place, either openly or secretly. If we were to reveal ourselves to the Muggle world, we would put ourselves at risk of the same oppression, violence, and exploitation that Wizardkind faced before the ISS was put in place. However, there is no telling how the modern day Muggles’ reactions might differ from those in the 1600s; most wizards have only a basic knowledge of current Muggle culture, and very little knowledge of Muggle psychology and behavior. Therefore, the Minister of Muggle Expertise will play a key role in educating their fellow summit members on these matters. Another possible benefit of breaking the Statute is that, if the Muggles are peaceful enough with us, we may not only protect them, but ask for their help fighting the war. Muggles may not have magic, but there are more of them than there are us, and there could be ways for them to help out even without seeing actual combat. The Ministry currently has so many different tasks to do and things to worry about, and the ISS is just another layer on top of it all. It will be up to you to decide whether that means it should take precedence, or if it should be momentarily discarded to allow more focus on other matters.

Topic 2: The Possibility of Open Warfare Against the Dark Side

The idea of waging open warfare against the Dark Side is a highly controversial topic, as the decision would not only rest on political views, but also on the morals and personal values of each position Topic of Debate:

In the event of the Ministry breaking the ISS, waging open warfare opens communications and educates both wizarding and muggle worlds on the war and what is happening. It makes the entire situation less uncertain and fearful, and more informative and transparent. The British Ministry of Magic would also have the element of surprise when beginning to wage open warfare. Finally, open warfare would make strategy more open and transparent, and the war would be over faster. By forcing this war into a more traditional combat format, both sides would stop tiptoeing around each other and, although it will be messy, finish the war faster. The effects will be very costly, but it may produce a faster result, and the benefits have the potential to outweigh the costs if we execute everything properly. On the other hand, the cost of open warfare may be too much for both the wizarding and muggle worlds to bear. Millions of innocent muggles would be murdered in the crossfire, not to mention the loss of many of our own, both civilian and soldier. Wizards are partially dependent on muggles, and although they don’t know it, muggles are often dependent on wizards; a major disruption in either of our worlds would have unavoidable repercussions in the other. The cost of losing would also be too high. By engaging in violent warfare, there will be no holding back from either side, and the stakes will quickly become astronomical. The dark side is already vicious and violent; by openly opposing them and attempting to match their ferocity, we could very well lose. And if we do lose, millions of innocent lives will be lost and Voldemort's path of destruction would never stop, and would spread beyond Britain into the rest of the world. Although it may seem like a simple decision at first, the risks and benefits must be carefully weighed, and the arguments must be tactfully expressed.

Further questions to consider:

Should waging open warfare take precedence over protecting the British Ministry from being taken over from the inside out? If so, how do we protect the Ministry of Magic without getting too distracted from our other issues? If not, what are the next steps in protecting the Ministry and how will we ensure that we are still able to give attention to the war, even if it isn’t a direct priority? What are further pros and cons of engaging in open warfare and/or protecting the British Ministry? How will the decision on Topic 1 affect this issue?