Tuesday, March 30, 2010

THIMUN 2010 ambassador speech

Honorable Chairs, Fellow Delegates
It is a great pleasure for Nicaragua to be present today.
As you may know, the government of Nicaragua has been an active participant in the United Nations for many years and has long emphasized the development of democracy and respect for human rights.

Nicaragua is a country impoverished by historical circumstances not unlike the
history and circumstances of the countries of our Latin American and Caribbean
region, and other countries around the world. Despite that, Nicaragua remains a land rich in beauty and natural resources. It is a nation symbolic of reconciliation, and national and international unity.

The government has opened the door to international cooperation. The FAO of the UN has selected our school nutrition program as one of the top four in the world. In that spirit, President Daniel Ortega has proposed the adoption of a Central American Agriculture Policy to transform the region into a food production zone.

Nicaragua, feels proud of its devotion to peace, honor, solidarity, and the relentless struggle against injustice.

As we know, the UN has unquestionably proven its value over the years in allowing nation states to come together on an equal basis to discuss issues of war and peace. And so this week, as you undertake your very important consultations, bear in mind that seemingly intractable situations that seem to withstand unanimous solidarity, may be resolved by inviting regional and international associations and authorities to actively participate in such discussions.
Thank you for your kind attention, and good luck with your deliberations this week.

THIMUN 2010 resolution

FORUM: GA 6
QUESTION OF: Criminal Accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission
SUBMITTED BY: Nicaragua
The Government of Nicaragua,
Recalling that the Secretary-General transmitted a report of his Adviser to the President of the General Assembly on 24 March 2005 concerning sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeeping personnel;

Recalling the UN’s zero-tolerance policy towards crimes committed by its officials and resolution 59/281 of 29 March 2005 that the Secretary-General make available to the United Nations membership a comprehensive report on the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping operations;

Recalling also the Report of the Group of Legal Experts on ensuring the accountability of United Nations staff and experts on mission with respect to criminal acts committed in peacekeeping operations (A/60/980 of 16 August 2006) and the report of the Sixth Committee (A/62/448 of 21 November 2007) on Criminal Accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission;


1. Expresses its appreciation for the work done by the Ad Hoc Committee
on criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on mission and
the Working Group of the Sixth Committee on the same subject;

2. Strongly urges States to take all appropriate measures to ensure that
crimes by United Nations officials and experts on mission do not go unpunished and
that the perpetrators of such crimes are brought to justice, without prejudice to the
privileges and immunities of such persons and the United Nations under
international law, and in accordance with international human rights standards,
including due process;

3. Strongly urges all States to consider establishing to the extent that they
have not yet done so jurisdiction, particularly over crimes of a serious nature, as
known in their existing domestic criminal laws, committed by their nationals while
serving as United Nations officials or experts on mission, at least where the conduct
as defined in the law of the State establishing jurisdiction also constitutes a crime
under the laws of the host State;

4. Encourages all States to cooperate with each other and with the United
Nations in the exchange of information and in facilitating the conduct of
investigations and, as appropriate, prosecution of United Nations officials and
experts on mission who are alleged to have committed crimes of a serious nature, in
accordance with their domestic laws and applicable United Nations rules and
regulations, fully respecting due process rights, as well as to consider strengthening
the capacities of their national authorities to investigate and prosecute such crimes;

5. Requests the Secretariat to ensure that requests to Member States seeking
personnel to serve as experts on mission make States aware of the expectation that
persons who serve in that capacity should meet high standards in their conduct and
behaviour and are aware that certain conduct may amount to a crime for which they
may be held accountable;

6. Urges the Secretary-General to continue to take such other practical
measures as are within his authority to strengthen existing training on United
Nations standards of conduct, including through predeployment and in-mission
induction training for United Nations officials and experts on mission;

7. Decides that the Ad Hoc Committee on criminal accountability of United
Nations officials and experts on mission shall reconvene from 7 to 9 and on 11 April
2008 for the purpose of continuing the consideration of the report of the Group of
Legal Experts, in particular its legal aspects, taking into account the views of
Member States and the information contained in the note by the Secretariat, and that the work shall continue during the sixty-third session of the General Assembly
within the framework of a working group of the Sixth Committee;

8. Requests the Ad Hoc Committee to submit a report on its work to the
General Assembly at its sixty-third session;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to bring credible allegations that reveal
that a crime may have been committed by United Nations officials and experts on
mission to the attention of the States against whose nationals such allegations are
made, and to request from those States an indication of the status of their efforts to
investigate and, as appropriate, prosecute crimes of a serious nature, as well as the
types of appropriate assistance States may wish to receive from the Secretariat for
the purposes of such investigations and prosecutions;

10. Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at
its sixty-third session on the implementation of the present resolution on the basis of information received from Governments, in particular with respect to paragraphs 3 and 9 above;

11. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-third session the
item entitled “Criminal accountability of United Nations officials and experts on
mission”.

MUN Student Leader Proposal

MUN Leader Proposal
I have been in MUN for the past two years, and therefore feel extremely qualified for this position. I have attended three MUN conferences, each time in a different committee. Last year in The Hague I represented an NGO, and therefore feel that I have experienced a broad range of both topics and members of MUN. I feel that I would be a good leader because I am responsible, organized and dedicated. Last year, the new boarders felt unprepared for their MUN conference in Milan and Istanbul respectively, so I took time to explain the process to them. I showed them examples of resolutions and explained the parliamentary procedure. I did all this not out of a sense of duty, but because I genuinely wanted to help them. I remember how terrified I was as a sophomore, and how no one had taken the time to explain anything to me. They all said that it wasn’t as scary as it could have been.
If elected, I would try to do this for everyone. I think mock debates are extremely important, as they build up everyone’s confidence in speaking publically, developing your ideas, and refuting arguments. Each week I think we should dedicate 30-45 minutes on mock debates. The rest of the time should be spent working with resolutions and familiarizing yourself with parliamentary procedure. I would propose that starting next month, all members are assigned a country and have to start researching it. Then at the end of the month they should have a resolution on a topic, perhaps from the topics that will be debated at The Hague this year.
I am prepared to be in MUN until the end of the year.

RCIMUN ambassador speech

Honorable Chairs, Fellow Delegates
It is a great pleasure for Costa Rica to be present today.
As you may know, the government of Costa Rica has been an active participant in the United Nations for many years and has long emphasized the development of democracy and respect for human rights.
In 1987 the president of Costa Rica, Arias, was awarded the Nobel peace prize for his efforts on behalf of peace in the Latin American region, and there has been peace in Costa Rica ever since. Costa Rica has been fortunate enough to have 115 years of uninterrupted democracy, a notable accomplishment.
In 1948 Costa Rica became the first country in the modern world to constitutionally abolish all military forces and thus has been free of a standing army for sixty-one years. This act set Costa Rica apart from countries under malicious dictatorship, as were most in Central America during this time.
As We know, the UN has unquestionably proven its value over the years in allowing nation states to come together on an equal basis to discuss issues of war and peace. And so today, as you undertake your more important consultations this week, bear in mind that seemingly intractable situations that seem to withstand unanimous solidarity, may be resolved by inviting regional associations and authorities to actively participate in such discussions.
Thank you for your kind attention, and good luck with your deliberations this week.

RCIMUN resolution

FORUM: Disarmament Committee

QUESTION OF: Ways to encourage rogue states to sign, ratify and implement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT) and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaties (CTBT)

SUBMITTED BY: Costa Rica

The Government of Costa Rica,

Recognizing that the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) has been signed by 180 countries since adoption by the UN General Assembly in 1996, and that only nine countries (USA, China, the DPRK, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, and Pakistan) still need to ratify it before the Treaty can enter into force,

Reaffirming that the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,

Recalling that Article VI of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) requires parties to the Treaty to “pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race…….and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament",

Further recalling UN Resolution 1540, adopted by the Security Council on 28 April 2004 obliging Member States to refrain from supporting by any means non-State actors from developing, acquiring, manufacturing, possessing, transporting, transferring or using nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their delivery systems,

Underscoring Costa Rica’s unwavering commitment to global nuclear disarmament and its political and technical support of non-proliferation activities for over 50 years, and recalling that Costa Rica was the first country in the region to propose a Latin American nuclear arms control arrangement at a meeting of the Organization for the American States (OAS) Council in 1958,

Recalling Costa Rica’s earlier initiative presented to the UN in 1997 of the Model Nuclear Weapons Convention (MNWC), and including an updated version of the MNWC jointly submitted to the General Assembly by Costa Rica and Malaysia in January 2008 (A/62/650),

Recalling that in 2009, Costa Rica is one of the 10 non-permanent members that serve two-year rotating terms on the UN Security Council, and that Costa Rica holds the chair for the UN Security Council 1540 Committee,

Reaffirming earlier UN Resolutions 1673 and 1810 extending the mandate of the committee, and requesting a report to the Security Council no later than 24 April 2011,

1. Invites all Member States to fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1540, supplemented by Resolutions 1673 (2006) and 1810 (2008), and requests Member States to comply with its primary recommendations to adopt national laws and measures to combat the proliferation of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their delivery systems,

2. Encourages Member States who have not yet done so to sign, ratify and implement the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and to support the ratification process through adoption of the following measures:

(a) Calls upon the Secretary General to appoint a Special Envoy to the CTBT and to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), with a view to undertaking bilateral negotiations with Member States that have not yet signed or ratified the CTBT, bringing the prestige of the Secretary General’s office to bear on the ratification process;

(b) Requests the UN’s Special Envoy and members of the 1540 Committee, as appropriate, to visit the Member States who have yet to sign, ratify or implement the CTBT, with a view to addressing the main concerns and bottlenecks of the respective heads of state or parliamentary bodies;

3. Requests Member States to establish a trust fund to provide funding and legal assistance to Member States not able to fund the costs of ratifying the CTBT;

4. Proposes that regional meetings and seminars be organized by governments with the participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like the James Martin Center for Non-Proliferation Studies (CNS) to raise awareness of the importance of ratifying the CTBT;

5. Calls upon ratifying states to nominate Regional Representatives to coordinate efforts at regional cooperation and informal consultations with all interested countries, with a view to furthering the ratification process,

6. Encourages the new US Administration and President Barack Obama to press for Senate approval and ratification of the CTBT signed by President Clinton in 1996, and to work with the Committee on Hemispheric Security through its membership in the Organization for the American States (OAS),

7. Proposes that the UN’s Special Envoy, working with the 1540 Committee and relevant NGOs, undertake consultations with nations like Iran and the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) in an effort to provide funding or alternative sources of energy to these states,

8. Urges the DPRK to fulfill its commitments for successful implementation of the Six Party Talks,

9. Encourages Israel to join the NPT and place its nuclear facilities under the full scope of safeguards recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),

10. Urges India and Pakistan to overcome mutual mistrust and reach a joint proposal for signature/ratification of the CTBT by both states,

11. Urges Member States to press Indonesia, Egypt and China to ratify the CTBT before the upcoming 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

THIMUN 2009 resolution

Committee: GA6 Legal

Question of: Compensation to civilian victims, or their surviving heirs of armed conflict

Submitted By: UNHCHR

The General Assembly,

Recalling The Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of crime and abuse of power ratified in 1985 dealing with the rights of victims of domestic crimes,

Further Recalling Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparations for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law ratified in 2006 dealing with the rights of victims of international crime,

Recognizing the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ITC) and the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC) for providing funds and compensation for victims or their surviving heirs,

Keeping in mind that the definition of compensation includes but is not limited to financial aid, provisions of shelter, medical assistance and basic necessities,

Noting Further the 1951 Convention of Refugees Article 1 clause F subcluases a, b and c in which it states he who has committed a crime against peace, a serious crime outside of his country or has committed acts contradictory to the views and principles of the UN

Recognizing that the majority of civilian victims in recent conflicts have not been adequately compensated,

Bearing in mind that current levels of assistance are insufficient and donors do not always meet suggested quotas,

1. Proposes the expansion and additional funding of the United Nations Compensation Committee (UNCC) to provide victims and surviving heirs of victims worldwide with adequate compensation;

2. Suggesting an immediate response account (IRA) be established to compensate civilian victims or their surviving heirs and mandating all member states to provide 0.3% GDP to this fund;

3. Requiring that an independent evaluation of the damages incurred be completed within 90 days after the cessation of hostilities;

4. Recognizing that the optimum solution for civilian victims is to repatriate them as quickly as possible and to provide them or their surviving heirs with compensaion for adequate reintegration into their communities;

5. Strongly Urges that the provisions of this resolution shall not apply to those who have committed a crime against peace or has been guilty of serious crimes contrary to those of the views supported by the United Nations as the 1951 protocol recommends.

THIMUN and Student Leader 2009-2010

In September Ms Reeder and Fabio elected to choose two student leaders who would be in charge of heading the meetings each Friday. The role of the student leader was to keep a log of everyone who attended, email all the students if there was an update, and chair the debates we would have each meeting. A few students applied for the role. We had to stand in front of the MUN group and give a presentation on ourselves explaining why we would be a good candidate for a Student Leader role. Luca and I were chosen to be the student leaders.

For the first few months, we would have debates during our meetings and Luca and I would chair the debates. Once we found out that we would be representing Nicaragua in THIMUN we immediately began preparing for the conference.

Each member of the MUN group was assigned a certain aspect to research about the country ie biggest imports/exports, political history etc. Luca, Ms Reeder, Fabio and I held interviews to fill the 10 spots on the delegation. This year we had 10 seniors and 2 juniors attend the conference.

As ambassador, I had to partake in opening and closing ceremonies. During the opening ceremony, I had to walk in with the real ambassador of Nicaragua to The Hague while he carried the Nicaraguan flag. Once in the assembly hall, the ambassador passed the flag to me as a symbol of his trust in me to carry out his duties for the THIMUN conference. Before we went into the assembly hall, we were able to talk to the real ambassadors for a little while. It was truly a great experience being able to talk to him about the debates we had already had in the morning and about the resolution I had written.




RCIMUN

During April of junior year, another MUN conference occurred. I was chosen to be the ambassador and head of delegation. The MUN process was the same as that at THIMUN, however attending a conference in Istanbul was eyeopening. Attending the conference as an ambassador was an entirely new experience. I had to make a speech in the General Assembly, addressing the entire conference of 500+ people. I am a generally shy person, so speaking in front of a large audience was nerve wracking. I had to write my own speech, as the ambassador of Costa Rica. I was also able to leave my committee and enter those that my classmates were in.

Leading up to this conference, each of the delegates going to RCIMUN had to write a resolution on one of the topics in their committee. I had to ensure that each delegate had in fact completed a resolution and that it had not been plagiarized. In addition to writing my own resolution on "The Question of Ways to encourage rougue states to sign, ratify and implement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT) and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaties (CTBT)" for the Disarmament Committee I also had to edit all of the other resolutions my fellow delegates wrote.

I have chosen to include both the resolution and speech I wrote for the RCIMUN conference in two additional posts.

MUN

From sophomore year I have been involved with Model United Nations. Each Friday during activities period the MUN club convenes. Towards the beginning of the year, as all conferences we participate in are towards the end, we pick random topics ie the question of disarmament, make up a country ie The Republic of Alessandra, choose a position and deliberate. As all MUN conferences test your public speaking and debating skills, we try to encourage all new members to fine tune these skills as early as possible.

Once we learn which country we are going to be representing and how many seats we have at the conference, interviews are held. As there are many students interested in being a part of MUN ~30 and we usually only have 10 seats at each conference, those who have developed the debating and public speaking skills along with having proven to be responsible and reliable (by completing all homework and attending each meeting) will be chosen for the conference.

In junior year I interviewed for a spot at the THIMUN conference where we represented UNHCHR (united nations high commission on human rights). Along with nine other students, 5 seniors and 5 juniors I was chosen to participate. As soon as we find out who the team will consist of and which committee we will be on, we start researching. Each committee is presented with four topics. Each delegate is required to research all four topics generally and then choose one to write a resolution on one. In my junior year, I chose to address "The Question of Compensation to civilian victims, or their surviving heirs of armed conflict".
Writing a resolution is a challenging process as there are extremely strict guidelines to adhere to. Furthermore, I had to keep in mind the views of the organization I was representing and ensure that I didn't say anything that clashed with their perspective on the issue.
The THIMUN conferences are extremely prestigious and each resolution goes through a screening for plagiarism. This is mainly because if a committee finds a resolution to be good enough, they can pass it into the General Assembly. If the General Assembly passes the resolution, often times it will be submitted to the real United Nations as a suggestion. Each resolution topic debated within each committee is a real issue taken from the UN panel.