Topic: Congo
Country: United Kingdom
Delegate Name: James Smith
School: Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All United Kingdom position papers GLIMUN 2007 committees
One of the most volatile regions of the world is Africa, where people are faced with a lack of resources, abject poverty, disease, and humanitarian crises. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is committed to rectifying these evils. One of the key fronts in this battle is that of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which after years of war, finds itself in a humanitarian crisis unparalleled in recent memory.
It would be easy to focus on what is wrong with Congo, a situation wherein four million people die every day, but instead, the United Kingdom would like to focus on its message of hope and its vision for Congo, Africa, and the world:
The United Kingdom sees an Africa where human rights, not human fear rules; where prosperity, not poverty reigns; where hope, not terror holds dominion. With the rest of the world, the United Kingdom knows that we can reach this goal: that success is not settling for better than the failures of the past, but exceeding the dreams of today.
Perhaps the first goal in Congo is establishing its sovereignty. The nation recently held elections, and it is our firm belief that the world’s job is to support them in their infant democracy. Key to protection is that foreign military and political intervention by neighbours must reflect the will of the Congan people, and not the whims of dictators.
The United Kingdom has been a leader in humanitarian aid, and we will continue, with our partners in the Commonwealth of Nations and in the European Union to conquer these challenges. The problems of Congo are the world’s problems, and the despair in Congo is the world’s despair. Yet, hope in Congo remains, and so too must this hope be the world’s. If we can harness this optimism and work together to end this violence, it will not only be the people of Congo who shall have overcome this grave time, but it will be the United Nations’ most triumphant hour. The United Kingdom implores the Special Political Committee to help us see this through.
