Open

Topic: Open
Country: China
Delegate Name: Kevin Mersol-Barg
School: Roeper School

1.China suffered an earthquake in the past year, and others could happen at any time. China is ready to offer other nations support, but like with Myanmar, the recipient nation should have the final say on the allocation of funds. An earthquake would affect national territory bordering oceans, as these areas are prone to receive greater damages due to tsunamis.

•Environmental Crisis

1.Somali pirates purposely or inadvertently might spill the contents of the hijacked Saudi oil tanker because Saudi Arabia did not pay the 25 million dollar ransom. This is a key trade route, especially with its close proximity to the Gulf of Aden, and China would take immediate diplomatic and military action.

•Regional Crisis

1.China wants all nations to maintain territorial integrity, and warns that the livelihood of large populations would be threatened if territorial integrity were to be undermined in a region. Current territorial conflicts include those in Bougainville, Chechnya, Basque Country, Abkhazia, Israel-Palestine, Khalistan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Northern Ireland, Southern Phillipines, and Sri Lanka.

2.Armed conflicts between two parties should be resolved through bilateral negotiations that the international community fosters. Current armed conflicts include those in Colombia, Darfur, East Timor, Somalia (and the many regional conflicts that can be attributed to it), Israel-Palestine, and Kosovo.

•Resource Crisis: Financial, Energy, and Food

1.The international economy deteriorates rapidly, now a particular county is in such dire straits that it cannot maintain its national security. Groups internal and/or external seek to exploit the moment of weakness, and the international community may take action.

China wishes to state that the baseline of its diplomatic efforts is mutual respect, recognition of other nations, and respect for national sovereignty. China would not look favorably on global events or crisis situations which might be in opposition to these principles.

Topic: Open
Country: Indonesia
Delegate Name: Jordan Wagner
School: Traverse City West High School

A reinsurgence of piracy, especially around the waters of Somalia, has prompted my country of Indonesia to take a firm stance against these illegal actions. As a country that has dealt with piracy for most of its existence, we believe that hard and stern consequences need to be enacted toward these pirates. Up until April 2008, Indonesia was the most prone country to pirate attacks. Made up of over 17,000 islands, pirates could easily hide from oncoming ships. Southeast Asian waters are still very susceptible to pirate attacks with over 50% of all pirate attacks occurring in this region of the world with over 30% of piracy occurring in Indonesian waters, accounting for more pirate attacks than any other country. Furthermore, the Straits of Malacca, the water between Indonesia’s island of Java and the landmass that encompasses Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, is the most prone body of water to experience piracy. A drastic increase of pirate attacks in the last ten years has promoted the international community to take notice of the current situation in Somalia. One of the main reasons why the world is now taking notice and focusing on Somalia is because the pirates are not just ceasing ships and holding the crew members/passengers hostage, they are hijacking oil carrying ships. With such a high demand for oil in this day and age, the international community, especially some oil thirsty countries, cannot let this oil be destroyed or controlled by the pirates. It is not the welfare of the vessel or the passengers that these oil countries care about, it is the oil on the ships that matter most to these countries. Nigeria recently overtook Indonesia as the most prone spot for piracy because of their oil production business and shipping. The waters around Somalia are also extremely prone because of all the oil shipments coming out of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

Indonesia supports many different solutions to the problem of piracy. First and foremost, we currently require all ships sailing within our waters, foreign or domestic, to pay piracy insurance. This helps avoid of the lost of money if a ship was attacked by pirates. Furthermore, it does not put the economic burden on our government. Second, for countries with international water or bordering international water, we encourage and promote the use of bilateral and multilateral relations with surrounding countries to help patrol the region. Currently, Indonesia is in agreements with Malaysia and Singapore to ensure peace within the Straits of Malacca. Our countries go on patrols together and take turns with shifts. This not only strengthens our relations with these other countries but also helps to protect of international waters. Indonesia also has naval ships stationed throughout the Strait and frequently simulates pirate attacks to help prepare for a real life situation. In addition, Indonesia voted yes on Security Council Resolution 1816, which allows foreign navies to fight Somali pirates. We urge all countries to uphold this resolution and abide by its operative clauses. Only through the cooperation of all countries will piracy be combated.

Topic: Open
Country: Italy
Delegate Name: Gabi Rome
School: Royal Oak High School

Not all international crises will command attention they necessitate. When it is so much

easier to focus on the dramatic facets of nuclear non-proliferation and panic over

genocide’s many boughs, when would a corrupt police force require Security Council’s

priority? What about the disbandment of the opium trade? Terrorism? Instability? Without

global concentration, the nation of Afghanistan will be left behind in the 21st century.

For it is the silent overlapping of conflict that would prove the Middle East’s undoing.

Italy is the third highest contributor of troops to the area (2,500) after the United

Kingdom (8,000) and Germany (3,200.) As the death toll in the area swells, however, this

number may be too small to maintain order. The Italian Republic feels that the demand for

troops must be met by countries outside of the EU as they have yet to invest in the

prevention of collapse in the Afghani state. Our policy on the issue can be broken down

into the enforcement of the international golden rule; help other nations so that your

state, if necessary, will be helped. Italy has upheld this common sense code, and would

like to see others do the same.

Canada, (as well as many other NATO countries Italy among them) has made restoring

stability to Afghanistan their top priority. Aiming for elections in 2009 and 2010, we

must first work to eliminate insurgency and corruption in supply lines. We must also

ensure that no more of the 1.2 billion Euros pledged by the EU falls into inconsistent

hands In order for these goals to be established, the global community needs to pursue an

investment incentive program. Such an initiative would allow for dust in

Afghanistan to settle through use of the economy. As countries pledge to help restore

stability to the region, they will be rewarded with the oppurtunity to invest in the region.

If the UN can build its relationships with effective organizations such as NATO's

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and found precedents within the legislation

passed at April's Afghanistan Summit in Bucharest a long term solution could potentially be reached.

The international community's firefighting approach is not a viable option. Broad and inclusive support of Afghanistan is the answer.

Topic: Open
Country: Panama

Panama strongly believes in the need for prison reform within our boundaries as well as throughout the world. 57.5% of the 10,353 prisoners in Panama are pre-trial detainees. We would like to greatly decrease this percentage and improve inhumane prison conditions. Panama feels so strongly about this issue because the occupancy rate for our prisons is 160.3%. This figure illustrates the issue of overcrowding of prisons in Panama. Our country prides itself in its constant quest for justice in human rights issues throughout the world. This is why Panama supports prison reform.

In 2007 Panama’s Human Rights Committee stated torture and other inhumane treatment of prisoners as major issues within our country. This committee states that the overcrowding of prisons is seriously affecting the prison system. For these reasons as well as for increased human rights across the globe, Panama supports this prison reform. Our nation proposes the UN discuss the issue of drug trade and its effects upon prison conditions and overcrowding. This is a major issue for our nation as well as others. Our Human Rights Committee has been working toward reform for many years instating resolutions for the problem at hand beginning in 1994. As a country, Panama is working toward both prison reform and halting the drug trade with the aid of the HRC. We suggest that other nations also address the underlying issues beneath the ill prison conditions such as the drug trade issue.

Panama acknowledges the near-sighted “solutions” of the death penalty and stands against this inhumane practice. We believe this is not the answer to the greater problem at hand. The death penalty is an additional inhumane practice we would like to eliminate from prisons in accordance with the UN penal reform. We support the improvement of prison conditions through longer sentencing for more dangerous criminals creating a more peaceful environment while creating more room where less urgent cases once were. Rehabilitation centers will provide another setting for less urgent criminal cases. Panama hopes this will aid the issue of overcrowding while improving human rights and conditions within the prison walls.

Topic: Open
Country: United States
Delegate Name: Tucker Marks
School: Forest Hills Central High School

One recent crisis that the United States believes must be addressed by the Security Council is the threat of Somali pirates hijacking cargo ships off the coast of Africa. These attacks have become more frequent and bolder recently; the pirates even captured a Saudi oil tanker on November 18, 2008. This crisis has terrible implications for trade in that region, as these pirates are now attacking closer to the Red Sea than they had previously, causing ships to be diverted away from the Suez Canal to going around the southern tip of Africa, adding considerable cost and time to the trade. This problem must be dealt with swiftly and decisively if the world is to maintain access to its trade routes.

Currently, Security Council Resolution 1816 (2008) allows for the pursuit of pirates off the coast of Somalia, and is of great aid in counter-piracy efforts. These provisions of the resolution, however, are set to expire on December 2, 2008, and the United States believes that this must be extended in order to keep pressure on these pirates. A clear solution must be presented that adds protection, including armed guards, to all ships in the region; as well as attacks the problem at its source: Somalia itself. With Somalia as poverty-stricken as it is, it encourages piracy as a way to live more comfortably than one would otherwise. The United States is in agreement with many countries in the region that have said that solving the problem of Somalia is the only way to solve the piracy issue. We also believe, however, that improved security in the waters surrounding the region is necessary for this problem to be resolved, and for trade to resume normally.

Even if improved security measures cannot eliminate the problem of piracy, they can at least contain the problem enough to direct the pirates away from the Suez Canal trade routes. With these routes controlled by pirates, the trade is reduced greatly, hurting the economies of the nations in that area. While the United States is not as affected by these pirates as other nations, we are still very concerned about the global effects such reduced trace could have, especially in today’s poor economic climate. The Security Council must act now in order to preserve the economic strength tied to trade in that region, as well as the rest of the world.