Cuimun Hs 2021!
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Historical Security Council The Libyan Civil War Chair Introductions Dear delegates, Welcome to the Historical Security Council of CUIMUN HS 2021! I am Zi Han, one of your HSC chairs. Currently, I am a second-year student reading Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at University College London. CUIMUN HS will be my 17th conference to date, before I step into a Secretariat role at LIMUN HS (feel free to check us out at https://limun.org.uk/limun_hs). Outside of MUN, I am actively involved in youth advocacy, volunteering with a range of organisations such as Major Group for Children and Youth, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network - Youth, YOUNGO, United Nations Association Youth Platform (UK), and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (London). We hope the Libyan Civil War will prove to be a challenging and rewarding experience, and give you much food for thought. Even as you navigate the fast-paced dynamics of the crisis, remember to take a step back and reflect on the broader implications of your actions. With that, feel free to contact me via email ([email protected]) with any questions, and hope to e-meet everyone soon! Yours Sincerely, Xuan Zi Han Dear delegates, My name is Panagiota Dimitrakopoulou and I will have the utmost honor of serving as one of the chairs in this year’s CUIMUN-HS Historical Security Council. Starting September I will be a student of the 12th grade in the German School of Athens (Deutsche Schule Athen). I have served in over 20 conferences in various positions. I started off as an anxiety ridden delegate and now I have reached the point of serving as a member in two Secretariats. This October I will also have the honorary position of the Secretary General in DSAMUN (https://www.dsamun.gr/24th-conference-2021). I have served as a chair in many international conferences such as THIMUN and of course in CUIMUN-HS last year. Outside of MUN I enjoy further cultivating my interest in areas such as politics, history and philosophy while also trying to balance my studies. This entails being knowledgeable on current affairs and reading literature relating to these topics. I participate in the organization of several events at my school, while of course preparing an entire conference. My interests in history have allowed me to join an archaeological excavation in Greece next summer. Lastly, when I graduate, I hope to be studying Political Science in either Germany or the Netherlands. I have never served in the Historical Security Council which makes this upcoming experience even more exciting. Having that I wish to make this experience enjoyable for you too. Should you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me via this email address: [email protected]. Kind Regards, Panagiota Dimitrakopoulou Dear delegates, Greetings, I’m Justin and I’ll be one of your chairs for CUIMUN HSC! As a junior at Diocesan Boys’ School, I’ve been involved in ~20 conferences now, ranging from Deputy Secretary-General at ISMUNHK, Hong Kong’s largest student-run conference with ties with UNESCO HK, to helping my school launch our very own conference as Director of Council Affairs. Outside of MUN, I’m also quite intrigued by business development, as a VP of Business Development for the Luminate Network, an entrepreneurial platform for students to network and a Gen Z consultancy platform for businesses such as K11, a large mall in the city. Moreover, I was recently a trainer for Flashpoint Debating, the city’s premier debating programme for novice debaters. Seeing that HSC’s one of my personal favourite councils, we really hope the issue at hand would allow you to gain insights on the region and to push you to consider possible solutions. As always, please feel free to contact me through email ([email protected]) if you have any questions! Best regards, Justin Cheng Rules of Procedure The Historical Security Council will feature both traditional UN Security Council debate and a crisis element. 1. The aim of the traditional UNSC session is to address an issue in the realm of international peace and security. This will be done through conventional MUN mechanisms, including the use of working papers and draft resolutions. The Permanent 5 members (People’s Republic of China, Republic of France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and United States) will have veto rights in the voting process for draft resolutions, and hence they can only be passed if none of the P5 members casts a vote in objection. 2. The aim of the crisis committee is to respond to a dynamic issue of concern, where delegates will retain their specific country profiles and respond to updates and developments throughout the crisis session (which will be provided by the chairs). This will be done through country and/or joint directives. Notably, crisis operates in faux real time and time will progress depending on committee progress. As such, delegates will have to bear in mind the time-sensitive nature of the committee and act promptly. Veto rights cannot be used during the session. The Libyan Civil War Introduction to Topic After a decade since it first started, the Libyan Civil War continues to rage on, with seemingly no end in sight. As rival governments strive to secure control over oil resources and restore national sovereignty, the country has been torn apart by political fragmentation and humanitarian crises, risking an imminent collapse into total chaos. Furthermore, in what has become one of the Middle East’s most intractable proxy wars1, the conflict has seen a dramatic escalation of foreign involvement, with flagrant violations of ceasefires and arms embargoes fuelling an increasingly devastating war of attrition. To further complicate the issue, sporadic activity by terrorist groups, including but not limited to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), continues to undermine regional stability. Through the HSC, set in March 2020, delegates will be challenged to revisit this complex crisis, uphold their key national interests, while establishing a feasible and sustainable solution for peace and security in the region. Background and History of Topic 2011: Start of First In March, before an allegedly impending crackdown by Libyan dictator Libyan Civil War Muammar al-Qaddafi on the pro-democracy protesters of the then burgeoning Arab Spring, the UNSC passed Resolution 1973, a NATO-led military operation to impose a no-fly zone and bomb Qaddafi’s forces, before rebel forces killed him in October. However, as Alan Kuperman, an assistant professor of international relations, highlighted, the so-called humanitarian intervention might have increased the violent death toll more than tenfold, as Libya has not 1 Kirkpatrick, D. D., & Walsh, D. (2020, January 18). As Libya Descends Into Chaos, Foreign Powers Look for a Way Out. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/world/middleeast/libya-war-hifter-russia.html only failed to evolve into a democracy but devolved into a failed state2. The resulting push for regime change seemed to have contributed to further political fragmentation, with inadequate institutional processes to restore peace between warring factions. March 2011 The United Security Council officially authorised a no-fly zone over Libya due to the situation deteriorating. Libyan forces began capturing territory but were pushed back by GNA militia. September 2012 A United States Ambassador as well as three more Americans were killed during the storming of the American consulate in Benghazi by Ansar al-Sharia and further militia. May 2014 The Libyan National Army launched a military offensive which includes airstrikes targeted towards Benghazi. The LNA attempted to seize the parliament whilst accusing Ahmed Maiteg, the Prime Minister of cooperation with Islamist groups. June 2014: Libyan The disputed election, which propelled to the National Assembly a Parliamentary coalition of liberals and federalists, was ruled as unconstitutional by Election Libya’s Supreme Court, which has stronger ties to the previous Islamist-led parliament3. The Second (and ongoing) Libyan Civil War was hence ignited by the brutal struggle for power and national sovereignty (and in turn, oil revenue) between the Tobruk-based House of Representatives with renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar in charge of the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the UN-backed Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). As a result, Libya had struggled to emerge from chaos, with the power vacuum and 2 Kuperman, A. J. (2019, August 14). Obama's Libya Debacle. Retrieved from https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/libya/2019-02-18/obamas-libya-debacle 3 Libya faces chaos as top court rejects elected assembly. (2014, November 6). Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-security-parliament/libya-faces-chaos-as-top-court-rejec ts-elected-assembly-idUSKBN0IQ0YF20141106 maelstrom making it a target for ambitious foreign powers tempted by its vast oil reserves and long Mediterranean coastline. July 2015 Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, and several former military officials are sentenced to death by a Tripoli court for any crimes committed during the uprising of 2011 against his father. However, he was later freed by an unknown armed group. January 2016 A Tunisia-based interim government was announced by the United Nations but its authority was not recognised by neither the Tobruk nor Tripoli parliament. July 2017: End of The remaianing Islamist forces in the area of Benghazi are defeated by the Battle of the Libyan National Army, thus putting an end to the battle of Benghazi, Benghazi which had lasted for almost three years. July 2018 Khalifa Haftar strongly stands by his claims that his military forces had, at that time, full control over Derma. Early 2019: LNA’s After a brief interlude of ISIL uprisings, the LNA continued to capture continued advance major Libyan cities such as Benghazi and Derna, in an alleged endeavour to eliminate militias from Libya4.