MUNA 2015 Forum: GA4: Special Political and Decolonization (SPECPOL) Issue: Reducing religious, communal and sectarian conflicts in Africa Student Officer: Roy van der Linden

Introduction Africa has a long history of influences from all kinds of countries and religions. Islam set its footprints on the Northern part, while in the 19th century several Western countries colonized Africa in the age of modern imperialism. Combined with the old traditions, Africa has become a melting pot of cultures. Islam and Christianity have quite a lot of influence on the majority of the continent, however nowadays this causes distortion. On top of that, traditional religions are scattered over Africa, causing conflict in every corner of continent. Thus resulting into different communities with different points of view. What added to the confusing is the post WW2 decolonization didnt take into account the long history of African indigenous people. Former enemies were put in one country and had to work together. Think for example about the Rwanda genocide in the mid 1990s where Hutus and Tutsi’s clashed. This fragmented cultural and religious landscape has led to many conflicts between different groups/tribes. At the moment the rise of Islamic fundamentalism is a big issue. Think about the recent attacks of Boko Haram in Nigeria. But also the instability in Libya and Egypt and the situation in Congo, Mali, and the Central African Republic. It seems at the moment that there are less countries in Africa that are not engaged in internal and/or external conflict. It will be impossible to deal wit all issues in Africa and we should be careful to avoid the stereotype of treating Africa as one country. Africa is a continent and every region has its specific background and needs to be analysed in its own right, such as the question of the Western Sahara (see Morocco, below). The recent attacks of Boko Haram in Nigeria and the rise of fundamentalism in Mali and the sectarian violence in the Central African Republic and South Sudan should be high on the agenda in GA4 during MUNA this year. Delegates can also focus on some specific issues, such as combating Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Definition of Key Terms Civil War/Internal conflict: A civil war or internal conflict is a war between organized groups within the same state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly united nation. The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.

Insurgency: If there is a rebellion against the authority (for example an authority recognized as such by the United Nations) and those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized

Model United Nations Alfrink · Alfrink College Zoetermeer Werflaan 42, 2725 DE, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands [email protected] · [email protected] www.munalfrink.nl MUNA 2015 as belligerents then the rebellion is an insurgency. However not all rebellions are insurgencies, as a state of belligerency may exist between one or more sovereign states and rebel forces.

Communal conflict: A form of violence that is perpetrated across ethnic or communal lines, the violent parties feel solidarity for their respective groups, and victims are chosen based upon group membership. The term includes conflicts, riots and other forms of violence between communities of different religious faith or ethnic origins.

Secretarial conflict: is violence inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one particular mode of ideology or religion within a nation/community. Religious segregation often plays a role in sectarian violence.

General Overview There have been over 9 million refugees and internally displaced people from conflicts in Africa. Hundreds and thousands of people have been slaughtered from a number of conflicts and civil wars. If this scale of destruction and fighting was in Europe, then people would be calling it World War III with the entire world rushing to report, provide aid, mediate and otherwise try to diffuse the situation. The issue of conflict in Africa has risen to a crucial level. Conflicts throughout Africa have occurred throughout history. Civil wars have been an imminent factor in the African development and due to several nations consisting of multiple cultures, conflict is very likely to keep continuing in the future. Political leaders of LEDCs have a hard time controlling their nation. This year, the delegations are ought to take into account the events that happened in the past such as, but not limited to, the list in the next section of this research report. The past few years those conflicts have been broadcasted on television in the western world. It is clear that the world was in absolute shock when in Tunis someone set himself on fire for the sake of protesting against unemployment. He was taken to the hospital, but did not make it. However, his action caused a reaction. The fatal protest unleashed a wave of regional dissent against oppression, government corruption and stifled freedoms. As the objective party the western world is, they concluded that Africa contains of multiple conflicts throughout. Thus meaning that the General Assembly has two options. One, to nullify all the conflicts in one go, or to every conflict at its core and uproot the issues one by one. The delegations present in GA4 shall have to decide which path they should take or combine the two strategies and indict a marvelous and strong resolution resolving all conflicts in a certain period of time.

Timeline of Events

Model United Nations Alfrink · Alfrink College Zoetermeer Werflaan 42, 2725 DE, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands [email protected] · [email protected] www.munalfrink.nl MUNA 2015 2002 – present Insurgency in the Maghreb 2003 – present War in Darfur 2004 – present Conflict in the Niger delta 2004 – present Kivu conflict 2009 Sudan airstrikes 2011 Libyan civil war 2011 – present Political violence in Egypt (Sinai insurgency) 2012 Tuareg rebellion 2013 Intensification of ADF Insurgency

Model United Nations Alfrink · Alfrink College Zoetermeer Werflaan 42, 2725 DE, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands [email protected] · [email protected] www.munalfrink.nl MUNA 2015 Major Parties Involved Morocco: As an African nation, Morocco is not in the clear of the conflicts. It has its fair share in the total conflicts in Africa. In particular the Western Sahara conflict. According to the United Nations, Western Sahara is the last African non self-governing territory. It is therefore often referred to as the last remaining colony in all of Africa. The conflict escalated after the withdrawal of Spain from the Spanish Sahara in accordance with the Madrid Accords. Beginning in 1975, the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, waged a 16-year-long war for independence against Mauritania and Morocco. In February 1976, the Polisario Front declared the establishment of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which was not admitted into the United Nations, but won limited recognition by a number of other states. Following the annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco and Mauritania in 1976, and the Polisario Front's declaration of independence, the UN addressed the conflict via a resolution reaffirming the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people. Despite multiple peace initiatives through the 1990s and early 2000s, the conflict reemerged as the "Independence Intifada" in 2005; a series of disturbances, demonstrations and riots, which broke out in May 2005 in the Moroccan-held portions of Western Sahara, and lasted until November of that same year. Many protests continued after that and to date, large parts of Western Sahara are controlled by the Moroccan Government and known as the Southern Provinces, whereas some 20–25% of the Western Sahara territory remains controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), the Polisario state with limited international recognition. The questions of mutual recognition, establishment of a possible Sahrawi state and the large numbers of Sahrawi refugees displaced by the conflict are among the key issues of the ongoing Western Sahara peace process. Morocco shall have to face this issue during this topic at MUNA this year.

Egypt: Beginning on 25 January 2011, a series of street demonstrations, protests, and civil disobedience acts have taken place in Egypt, with organizers counting on the Tunisian uprising to inspire the crowds to mobilize. The demonstrations and riots were reported to have started over police brutality, state of emergency laws, unemployment, desire to raise the minimum wage, lack of housing, food inflation, corruption, lack of freedom of speech, and poor living conditions. The protests' main goal was to oust President Hosni Mubarak's regime.

On 11 February 2011, Mubarak resigned and fled Cairo. Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had stepped down and that the Egyptian military would assume control of the nation's affairs in the short term. Jubilant celebrations broke out in Tahir Square at the news. Mubarak may have left Cairo for Sharm el-Sheikh the previous night, before or shortly after the airing of a taped speech in which Mubarak vowed he would not step down or leave. On 13 February 2011, the high level military command of Egypt announced that both the constitution and the parliament of Egypt had been dissolved. The parliamentary election was to

Model United Nations Alfrink · Alfrink College Zoetermeer Werflaan 42, 2725 DE, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands [email protected] · [email protected] www.munalfrink.nl MUNA 2015 be held in September. This election was hoped to be the solution for the conflict in Egypt. On the contrary, it escalated even more. The protests in 2012 – 2013 were fierce and due to some actions being in violation with the Islam, the country was divided. For now, the nation is facing thaw in this division, however the delegate representing Egypt will probably need to face its own problem and ask others nations for help.

Democratic Republic of Congo: A vast country with immense economic resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has been at the centre of what some observers call "Africa's world war". This has left it in the grip of a humanitarian crisis. A five-year conflict pitted government forces, supported by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, against rebels backed by Uganda and Rwanda. Despite a peace deal and the formation of a transitional government in 2003, people in the east of the country remain in fear of continuing death, rape or displacement by marauding militias and the army. The war claimed an up to six million lives, either as a direct result of fighting or because of disease and malnutrition. It has been called possibly the worst emergency in Africa in recent decades. The war had an economic as well as a political side. Fighting was fuelled by the country's vast mineral wealth, with all sides taking advantage of the anarchy to plunder natural resources, and some small militias fight on. In early 2013 the UN secured a regional agreement to end the M23 rebellion in eastern areas, and the group's alleged founder Bosco Ntaganda surrendered to the International Criminal Court to face war-crimes charges. Rwanda and Uganda denied UN accusations that they had supported the M23 group, but the region remains volatile. The delegate representing the Democratic Repulic of Congo shall have to address these events which are still not resolved, since uncertainty is created by other nations.

Other examples are - The rise of fundamentalism in Mali and the terrorist attacks of Boko Haram in Nigeria. - The rise of sectarian violence in South Sudan and the Central African Republic

Previous Attempts to solve the issue - Peace negotiations between several nations and parties in conflicts have already been established. Few of them resulting into an actual solution. - Interference of western countries (France, Spain) - Several UN missions in Congo, Mali, South Sudan and other parts are currently in operation

Possible Solutions

Model United Nations Alfrink · Alfrink College Zoetermeer Werflaan 42, 2725 DE, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands [email protected] · [email protected] www.munalfrink.nl MUNA 2015 - Interference of or cooperation with MEDCs - Improving peace negotiations (elaboration on this is needed from the delegates) - Freedom of opinion - Enforcing the Universal Declaration on Human Rights - The principle of access to power by means of a popular vote carried out in conditions of transparency and fairness - Alternation of powers - Recognising the political and cultural rights of minorities

Useful links

- http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/12/world/africa/car-violence/ - http://www.glica.org/topics/show/46 - https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/maged-mandour/political-violence-and-state-rep ression-in-egypt - http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticlePageID=877 - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13283212

Model United Nations Alfrink · Alfrink College Zoetermeer Werflaan 42, 2725 DE, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands [email protected] · [email protected] www.munalfrink.nl