Gannon University's Model United Nation Conference
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GANNON UNIVERSITY’S MODEL UNITED NATION CONFERENCE Introduction Greetings Delegates! I am pleased to welcome you to the 2019 GUMUN Conference. I’m thrilled to serve as Secretary General of this year’s conference and look forward to productive and lively debate this coming conference. While this letter is usually handled by the President committee, I will be stepping in this year to facilitate changing procedures. I have participated in Model U.N. as both a delegate and staff member for several years, so I have a solid understanding of what it feels like to be on either side of the table. With that being said, this Introduction Letter is meant to help guide your research efforts and introduce you to the chairing style you will experience in committee. For debate to be effective, one must have a firm grasp of Parliamentary Procedure. As such, I have fairly high expectations when it comes to your knowledge of Parliamentary Procedure. While some Motions, Points, or Inquiries may not apply or come up in committee, I believe they are an essential part of a “complete delegate” and are what make debate run smoothly. The proper use of Parliamentary Procedure is a must and will be looked upon favorably. Knowledge of Parliamentary Procedure is a significant part of your score, and a lack of understanding will be easily noticed. I view this conference as an opportunity to grow as a delegate, so your chair will not provide you answers. Instead they will refer you to your Rules of Procedure, unless the situation absolutely calls for more direct assistance, which I hope we can avoid. A firm understanding of the Rules of Procedure is the foundation of a good delegate. That coupled with a vast knowledge of your country’s policy and history is what, in my opinion, make a “complete delegate.” You can’t have one without the other. Be sure to read articles, new and old, and know how your country reacts to what’s going on around the world. You should be an expert on your country, and it is a role you should take quite seriously. When the gavel drops, and debate begins, I expect you to make every motion, speech, and recommendation count. The goal of our committee is to pass meaningful documents that will offer logical options for progress forward. On that note, papers must be in the proper format, relevant to the topic at hand, and introduced properly. The chairing style this year might be seen as strict compared to previous years. We, at GUMUN, hold high expectations for knowledge of the rules, speech making, and paper writing, because we believe these are the qualities that fuel a fun, lively, and productive debate. I know from experience that preparation is key and leads to a rewarding committee. I have my utmost confidence in your ability to lead debate in the direction you see fit. Note A special thank you to Dr. Mark Jubilis for creating this background guide! Be aware that the following background is not a complete history and is merely a starting point for your research. Furthermore, as the Historical Security Council you have an open agenda and the date is May 3rd, 1991. Be aware that your goal is not to repeat history, or change it, but to engage in the same debates. Lastly, be aware of what is a “future event.” While your countries may have an inkling about some of the events to come, you do not know for certain. Historical Security Council Background Guide Page 1 GANNON UNIVERSITY’S MODEL UNITED NATION CONFERENCE Background The year 1991 was a watershed moment in the history of world politics. The dissolution of the USSR put an end to the Cold War, which had existed for 45 years, and the familiarity of a stable bipolar world was replaced by a new order in which there was now only one superpower. The United States was now in a position that no other power had achieved since ancient Rome. For the moment, it towered above other competitors in both hard power (military and economic) and soft power (the appeal of its ideals and way of life). After the fall of the Soviet Union, no country looked to communism as a potential path to prosperity. Instead, many countries looked to democracy and the market economy as a way forward. In time, this would lead to the expansion of Western institutions supported by the United States during the Cold War, organizations like NATO and the World Trade Organization (formerly known as G.A.T.T.). People around the world had expected the Cold War to continue indefinitely, so these dramatic changes came as a huge surprise and created a sense of uncertainty. After all, the world witnessed two global crises during this fateful year: The Gulf War and the attempted coup d’état against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. At the same time, those nations that had lived under Soviet domination saw these changes as exhilarating and liberating. They could now reclaim their place among the community of sovereign nation-states without fear of Soviet intimidation. Two big questions at the time concerning the future were how would the United States use its new status and power, and how long would the unipolar order last? Timeline of Important Events 1989: The Communist regime in China used force to crush the Tiananmen Square protests, while Communist control started to unravel in Eastern Europe, leading to the dramatic fall of the Berlin Wall in November. 1990: The three Baltic republics (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) declare independence from the USSR, though they remain part of the USSR. On August 2, Iraq invades Kuwait, setting off a diplomatic scramble to end the crisis. On November 29th, the UN Security Council passes Resolution 678, authorizing all Member States to act if Iraq does not withdraw from Kuwait by Jan. 15, 1991. Under the leadership of George H.W. Bush, the United States assembles an international coalition to remove Saddam Hussein’s army from Kuwait. Crucially, this coalition includes many Arab states in the region. President Bush saw this as an opportunity to create a “New World Order” based on a new partnership with the Soviet Union. Close negotiations between US Secretary of State James Baker and Soviet Foreign Minister E. Shevardnadze ensured that the Soviet Union would support the UN Security Council Resolutions against Iraq. Historical Security Council Background Guide Page 2 GANNON UNIVERSITY’S MODEL UNITED NATION CONFERENCE 1991: The January 15th deadline passes, leading to the start of Operation Desert Storm. At the same time, when the world’s attention is focused on the Middle East, Gorbachev sends tanks to intimidate the Baltic parliaments, leading to 14 deaths in Lithuania and five in Latvia. Other countries were reluctant to blame Gorbachev for fear of upsetting the new spirit of cooperation at the UN. The military operation to remove Iraqi troops from Kuwait was very successful. However, the UN mandate only called for the liberation of Kuwait, not regime change in Baghdad. The impressive use of hi-tech military hardware by the U.S. contributed to the new image of a unipolar world and restored American confidence that had diminished following Vietnam. A series of additional UN Security Council Resolutions constitute the “peace settlement” after the Gulf War. These place severe restrictions on Iraq, including disarmament, the end of Saddam’s chemical and biological programs, and “no fly” zones in the north of Iraq to protect the Kurds and in the south to protect the Iraqi Shiite population. A UN inspection regime will be set up to monitor Saddam’s fulfillment of these terms. Sanctions will be kept on Iraq until the terms are fulfilled. The question of the status of the Kurds is left unresolved. Croatia and Slovenia declare independence from Yugoslavia, initiating a decade-long crisis of civil war and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. In the Soviet Union, the Baltic republics were joined by Moldova, Georgia and Armenia as republics that were seeking independence from the USSR. Boris Yelstin was elected president of the Russian republic and he supported the aims of other republics when it came to enhance the sovereignty of union republics vs. control by the central government of the Soviet Union headed by Gorbachev. Gorbachev agrees to hold a summit of republic leaders to negotiate a new Union Treaty, redefining the federal relations of the republics and the union. In late August, a “Committee of National Salvation” detains Gorbachev during his vacation in the Crimea and takes control of the Soviet government in Moscow. The Committee was made up of hard-liners in the security forces and military who wanted to prevent the signing of the new Union Treaty that would weaken central control. However, the coup plotters failed to arrest Boris Yeltsin, who emerged as a leader against the coup. Yeltsin successfully mobilized thousands of Russians to demonstrate against the coup. After a few tense days, the coup plotters lost their nerve as surrendered. Yeltsin’s defiance of the coup greatly raised his stature in the eyes of the Russian people. When Gorbachev was freed and returned to Moscow, he failed to grasp how the situation had changed. Yeltsin and the Russian Republic were ascendant, and Gorbachev and the Soviet government were less relevant. Following Yeltsin’s lead, many other countries, including the U.S., now formally recognized the independence of the Baltic States. The process of Soviet dissolution had begun. Historical Security Council Background Guide Page 3 GANNON UNIVERSITY’S MODEL UNITED NATION CONFERENCE However, President Bush preferred to keep Gorbachev in power since his rule had led to the end of the Cold War and a spirit of cooperation between the former Cold War rivals.