Topic: Situation in Syria
Country: Russia
Delegate Name: Madison Ford
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Russia position papers GLIMUN 2013 committees
Since March of 2011, a civil war has raged throughout Syria causing the deaths of approximately 100,000 people. The war started when citizens of Syria demanded the resignation of the president Bashar al-Assad, whose family has held control of the presidency since 1971. The citizens also demanded the end of the Ba’ath party rule which has been in existence since 1963. In April of 2011, the army was sent after the protesters to quell the uprising, and as a result the uprising turned into an armed conflict. Since the start of the armed conflict, the Syrian government has been wrongly accused of conducting several chemical weapons attacks, the worst of which being the Ghouta attacks. The rebels have also been accused of such attacks, but not as severely as the Syrian government was.
The Russian Federation has taken a very active role in dealing with the situation in Syria. While we recognize that a victory may be claimed by the rebel groups, we are still in support of the government. Russia hopes to block the United States from influencing and shaping the region, and we hope to prevent another situation where the establishment of democracy is blocked by war. The Russian Federation also hopes to block any strikes on Syria because there has been no proof of the government’s use of chemical weapons, so a strike in this case would violate part of the U.N. charter. Russia will continue to support president Bashar al-Assad.
Russia will also continue to veto any resolutions drafted by the Security Council that attempt to bring down the government or any that support a strike on Syria for chemical weapons use. A document has been drawn up between the Russian Federation and the United States in hopes of having deadly agents shipped out of Syria or destroyed. Under this document, all deadly agents, with the exception of isopropanol, will be out of Syria by December 31 of 2014. The isopropanol will be destroyed on site by March 1. The document calls on any members who are prepared to receive chemical agents for elimination to come forward and devise a plan.
The Russian Federation believes that the best solution for the situation in Syria lies in getting rid of their chemical weapons in a peaceful manner and not not allowing any strikes on the nation. We must not allow outside nations to interfere with the situation in hopes of shaping the region. We must allow the government of Syria to address the problems of their nation as they see fit, but it is imperative that we strip them of their chemical weapons for the safety of the people and the government.
