Topic: Mechanisms for Peacefully Resolving Border Disputes
Country: Cuba
Delegate Name: Qusay Omran
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Cuba position papers GLIMUN 2014 committees
An inevitable incident, a border dispute between two countries can escalate tensions that could threaten the stability of either nation. Understanding that claims on resources and cultural ties contribute to the strain between countries, Cuba recognizes that two or more nations all likely have some level of justification for the dispute. The dispute may not always be a result of governments' arguments for land but the people's ties and relative importance of the territory to them.
In Cuba's case, the controversy over the control of Guantanamo Bay can represent the significance of the necessity of a form of peaceful resolution to the contention. Since the Communist Revolution in 1959, Cuba has not accepted any payment from the United States of America for the lease of the territory. Our nation is highly suspicious of the United States' activities in the area and have long demanded its return to our control. It is currently considered an occupied territory by which the United States has been using their clearly superior military to their advantage in threatening our sovereignty over the area. The country of Cuba cannot interfere for their right over the territory because of American aggression and imperialism.
While realizing not all conflicts over land can be solved using peaceful methods as a result of some uncompromising conditions by which neither country would submit themselves to, Cuba believes the optimal method to resolve some disputes is to organize a situation where delegates from both countries meet for the sole purpose of resolving the issue. A mediator would likely be necessary to allow all sides an equal opportunity to express their concerns and demands. This system will sometimes not end in a compromise and at that point, the UN should make a decision that appeals the _most_ to all parties.
