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Oregon Model United Nations Oregon Model United Nations 2021 “Model United Nations – Oregon’s oldest youth organization – offers high school students a chance to partake in a simulation of the UN, exploring contemporary world issues related to security, economics, human rights, health and the environment.” General Assembly Guide Table of Contents 1. General Assembly Rules 2. Agenda Topics & Background Research 3. Member States in Committee* 4. Committee Location* *To Be Announced (TBA THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY RULES All rules of debate for resolutions and procedures listed above apply to the General Assembly. However, at the beginning of General Debate, the General Assembly will first hear from the Rapporteur and the elected speakers of the committee before debate is opened on the resolution. The General Assembly will be receiving resolutions from several committees that are debating the same agenda topics. Therefore, the goal of the General Assembly is the same as an individual committee. For example, Committee 1A, 1B, and 1C all will be submitting resolutions dealing with their respective committee’s solution to Terrorism. Taking this into consideration, the General Assembly must take these separate resolutions and draft an amended final resolution that represents the will of the entire General Assembly. In essence, this is a resolution that seeks to solve an unresolved global problem that represents the will of the global community. Agenda Topics & Background Information Crisis in Lebanon The Middle East has long been infamous as a place of ongoing crisis and conflict. The toll on human livelihood is becoming harder and harder to ignore, especially in places such as Lebanon that are on the verge of collapse. Long before the global coronavirus pandemic occurred, Lebanon was already facing a possible economic crash. Protests, enormous amounts of refugees, and extreme levels of corruption have all contributed to a worsening fate for Lebanon. When it seemed nothing else could go wrong, it did. On the morning of August 4, 2020 two explosions occurred in Beirut, Lebanon. The explosions killed over 200 hundred people and injured nearly 2,500 others. Thousands of people have been displaced amid a global pandemic. In the midst of this tragedy, the Lebanese government resigned. The crisis in Lebanon has truly become a humanitarian crisis. Should other countries provide aid to Lebanon? Why or why not? Who should contribute the most? The least? Or should everyone contribute aid? What steps should be taken by the UN to help Lebanon get its economy back on track? How can the new government be held accountable? What are the best ways to help the Lebanese people? Background Information The Lebanese government has resigned amid growing public anger following a devastating explosion in Beirut on 4 August that killed at least 200 people and injured about 5,000 others. ● Lebanon is in an unprecedented economic crisis. ● The economic situation has pushed tens of thousands people into poverty and triggered large anti-government protests. ● Why did the government resign? ○ Announcing the move on Monday, outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab said his government was taking "a step back... to stand with the people, in order to wage the battle of change with them". ○ Discontent in Lebanon has been brewing for years. In late 2019, plans to implement more taxes spilled into mass protests against economic turmoil and corruption, which eventually led to the then government's resignation. ● Coronavirus had curbed the protests, but the financial situation continued to worsen and the deadly explosion was seen by many as the deadly result of years of corruption and mismanagement. And so protests reignited. ● However, a new government may not be the answer, as a similar situation has occurred in Lebanon before. ● What went wrong with the economy? ○ Even before the coronavirus pandemic at the start of this year, Lebanon seemed to be headed for a crash. ○ Its public debt-to-gross domestic product (what a country owes compared to what it produces) was the third highest in the world; unemployment stood at 25%; and nearly a third of the population was living below the poverty line. ● A Ponzi scheme by the central bank has only made matters worse. ● The government has continued to fail to provide basic services to the citizens. ● 'Now there is nothing' - Lebanon pushed to brink ● The ruling elite have been blamed for only working to help themselves. ● Why did protests escalate? ○ October 2019, a shortage of foreign currency led to the Lebanese pound losing value against the dollar on a newly emerged black market for the first time in two decades. ○ New taxes were proposed, angering the masses. ■ Tens of thousands of Lebanese took to the streets, leading to the resignation of Western-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his unity government. Newly appointed Prime Minister Hassan Diab subsequently announced that Lebanon would default on its foreign debt for the first time in its history. ● How has the pandemic made matters worse? ○ A lockdown was imposed: protesters off the streets but made the economy worse. ○ There have been many layoffs of workers which has increased frustration. ○ As prices rose further, many families were unable to buy even basic necessities. ○ In April a young man was shot dead by soldiers during a violent protest in Tripoli. ​ ​ ○ The government approved a recovery plan that it hoped would win support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package worth $10bn. ● Why is Lebanon struggling to do anything about it? ○ Political sectarianism, or groups looking after their own interests. ○ Lebanon officially recognises 18 religious communities ○ The three main political offices are divided ○ Parliament's 128 seats are also divided evenly between Christians and Muslims. ● Quotes ○ "One of the many examples of corruption exploded in the port of Beirut, and the calamity befell Lebanon," he said. ○ "But corruption cases are widespread in the country's political and administrative landscape; other calamities hiding in many minds and warehouses, and which pose a great threat, are protected by the class that controls the fate of the country." ○ Mr Diab warned that Lebanon was at risk of a "major food crisis". ● Helpful Links: ○ Lebanon protests: How WhatsApp tax anger revealed a much deeper crisis ○ How did Lebanon become the third most indebted nation? ○ Transparency.org Turmoil in Belarus Since July 17, Belarus has been overwhelmed by mass protests triggered by the most recent presidential election. The incumbent, President Alexander Lukashenko, is Europe’s longest-serving leader, and many believed that the election had been rigged in his favor. President Lukashenko has been Belarus’s leader since 1994 after coming to power amidst the collapse of the Soviet Union. After the election, exit polls suggested that Ms Tikhanovskaya, Lukashenko’s opponent, had gained 10% of the vote. However, Tikhanovskaya insisted that she would have won over 60% of the vote if ballots had been properly counted. Violent protests ensued the night after the election. Police deployed not only tear gas and rubber bullets, but also stun grenades, which hadn’t been used in the country before. Over 6,700 people were arrested during these protests. Ms Tikhanovskaya relocated to Lithuania, then published a series of video addresses saying she was ready and willing to be Belarus’s leader and spoke in favor of a “coordinating council” to manage the transfer of power. The Belarusian government has been accused of extreme brutality against protesters. Background Information ● Violent protests have taken place in Belarus since the election in August. ○ President Alexander Lukashenko, the incumbent, has been the leader of Belarus since 1994 (after the collapse of the Soviet Union) and is Europe’s longest-serving leader. ○ Many believed that the election had been rigged in his favor; although Lukashenko’s opponent, Sviatlana Tikhanovskaya, was expected to win about 60% of the vote, exit polls suggested she had won only 10%. ● Since the election, at least 13,000 people have been arrested and detained. ● The UN Secretary General has expressed concerns over the use of force against peaceful protesters in Belarus. ● The Belarus Interior Ministry ruled that police are now able to use lethal weapons against protestors. In a video address on October 13, First Deputy Interior Minister Henadz Kazakevich said: ○ "We have informed the public on the results of the mass events that were organized across the country October 11, as well as the measures taken to maintain public order....That being said, the protests, the epicenter of which has mostly moved to Minsk, have become organized and extremely radical. Consequently, interior affairs servicemen and the interior troops will not leave the streets and, if necessary, will use special equipment and live ammunition.” ● In a video address to the UN, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei expressed frustration that certain States were attempting to “abuse the platform” of the UN to defend “narrow political ambitions”. ○ Mr. Makei maintained that the people of Belarus made a clear presidential choice in August; “However, rather than respecting this choice, we are seeing attempts to destabilize the situation in the country,” he continued. ● Following over 7,000 arrests during the first week of protests and allegations of torture in prisons, the UN has urged Belarusian authorities to release prisoners who were wrongfully detained, to investigate human rights violations in prisons, and to clarify the whereabouts of missing protestors. The UN has been in contact with Belarusian authorities regarding allegations of tortute and other human rights abuses: ○ “….we conveyed these messages directly to our national counterparts, first and foremost through the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Belarus and to the Ministry of Interior and other state institutions responding to the crisis. We have also raised these issues in writing, especially the question of missing persons. I am encouraged by the fact that the MoI has responded to our letter and that we are gradually receiving more information from the state authorities.
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