Historical Security Council VMUN 2016 Background Guide 1 VANCOUVER MODEL UNITED NATIONS the Fifteenth Annual Conference | January 22-24, 2016
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Historical Security Council VMUN 2016 Background Guide 1 VANCOUVER MODEL UNITED NATIONS the fifteenth annual conference | January 22-24, 2016 Dear Delegates, My name is William Guo and it is my honour to welcome you to the Jake Hauser Historical Security Council at VMUN 2016, and I will be serving as your Secretary-General director for the duration of the conference. Throughout my years of experience in MUN, I have found the fast-paced, politically charged committees to be most exciting and engaging. With our experience in mind, we, the dais, have worked hard to create what we hope will be an Jason Liu unforgettable experience for MUN beginners and veteran delegates alike Director-General at HSC VMUN 2016. Andrew Tsai Historical SC is a little different from most committees here at VMUN Chief of Staff 2016 in that we revisit a historical event through a lens of revisionism. In HSC, delegates are given the opportunity to recreate history, and perhaps right the wrongs of the past. I encourage all of you to familiarize yourselves with the topic, keeping in mind the historical context of the Claudia Wang event. USG General Assemblies The topic you will be discussing is the Six Day War, a brief outburst of Chris Pang conflict between Israel and its surrounding Arab states in mid-1967. USG Committees This landmark conflict marked a shift in regional and international politics, and defined the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict for decades to Alvin Tsuei come. It will be up to the delegates to decide whether they will follow the USG Delegate Affairs 1 course of history, or forge a new path to avoid history’s mistakes. Eva Zhang This will not be an easy task; the crisis you face is a highly complex, USG Delegate Affairs 2 controversial, and violent, with no clear end in sight. History has tried, and failed, to establish a lasting peace in the region. Now, the Middle Ashley Ng East finds itself on the verge of war once again. Now is no longer the USG Conference time to sit back and spectate. Now is the time for delegates to cooperate towards the goal of establishing a peace that will withstand the test of Evan Johnson time. USG Finance The amount of information might seem daunting, so please do not Isabelle Cheng hesitate to contact me if you have any questions! I look forward to USG Sponsorship meeting all of the delegates in January, and observing what is sure to be an exciting and rewarding weekend of debate. Sunny Cui USG Marketing Best regards, William Guo Historical Security Council Director | VMUN 2016 Historical Security Council VMUN 2016 Background Guide 2 Historical Security Council Position Paper Policy What is a Position Paper? A position paper is a brief overview of a country’s stance on the topics being discussed by a particular committee. Though there is no specific format the position paper must follow, it should include a description of your positions your country holds on the issues on the agenda, relevant actions that your country has taken, and potential solutions that your country would support. At Vancouver Model United Nations, delegates should write a position paper for each of the committee’s topics. Each position paper should not exceed one page, and should all be combined into a single document per delegate. For the Historical Security Council, position papers are mandatory, especially for a delegate to be considered for an award. Formatting Position papers should: — Include the name of the delegate, his/her country, and the committee — Be in a standard font (e.g. Times New Roman) with a 12-point font size and 1-inch document margins — Not include illustrations, diagrams, decorations, national symbols, watermarks, or page borders — Include citations and a bibliography, in any format, giving due credit to the sources used in research (not included in the 1-page limit) Due Dates and Submission Procedure Position papers for this committee must be submitted by midnight on January 8th, 2016. Once your position paper is complete, please save the file as your last name, your first name and send it as an attachment in an email, to your committee’s email address, with the subject heading as your last name, your first name — Position Paper. Please do not add any other attachments to the email or write anything else in the body. Both your position papers should be combined into a single PDF or Word document file; position papers submitted in another format will not be accepted. Each position paper will be manually reviewed and considered for the Best Position Paper award. The email address for this committee is [email protected]. Historical Security Council VMUN 2016 Background Guide 3 Table of Contents The Six Day War ............................................................................................................................. 5 Overview ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 Timeline ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Historical Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Current Situation .................................................................................................................................... 10 Issues to be addressed ............................................................................................................................. 11 Right of Return ............................................................................................................................................ 11 Right of Existence ........................................................................................................................................ 11 Border Disputes ........................................................................................................................................... 11 Unresolved Hostility ................................................................................................................................... 12 Soviet Information, UNEF Expulsion, and Troop Buildup ................................................................... 12 Blockade ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 Past UN/International Involvement ..................................................................................................... 12 Possible Solutions and Controversies ................................................................................................... 14 Historical Solution ...................................................................................................................................... 14 Palestine Membership ................................................................................................................................ 14 Security Concerns ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Bloc Positions .......................................................................................................................................... 14 Israel .............................................................................................................................................................. 15 Western Bloc ................................................................................................................................................ 15 Arab Bloc ...................................................................................................................................................... 15 The Soviet Union ........................................................................................................................................ 15 Discussion Questions ............................................................................................................................. 15 Additional Sources .................................................................................................................................. 16 References ................................................................................................................................................ 16 Historical Security Council VMUN 2016 Background Guide 4 Historical Security Council The Six Day War Overview Figure 1: Territory held by Israel before and after the Six Day War. The Straits of Tiran are circled. The history of conflict in the Palestine area has lasted longer than the United Nations itself. For centuries, the two hostile groups have been embroiled in territorial disputes over holy cities, such as Jerusalem, that carry great symbolic meaning for both Jewish Israelis and Muslim Arabs. From its inception as a state in 1948, Israel’s settlement in the West Bank has been a catalyst for expanding the conflict in the area. The Six Day War was simply one of many clashes between Israel and Palestine in the seemingly endless conflict. The real underlying conflict of the region extends far before the violent eruption of battle in 1967. In 1947, following the horrific events of the Holocaust, the newly formed United Nations General Assembly created a committee (United Nations Special Committee on Palestine) to examine