Topic: Containing and De-Escalating Sectarian Conflict
Country: Kazakhstan
Delegate Name: Liam Chechak
School: Mattawan High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Kazakhstan position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
Sectarian conflict is not a new or recent issue. For hundreds of years, religion, culture and ethnic differences have been a flash point throughout the world. In many areas across the globe, discontent among minority groups has led to an increasing severity and amount of conflicts. In the Islamic world, Sunni and Shiite Muslims have been arguing for centuries. The Middle East is home to many other sectarian conflicts, between the Israelis and Palestinians. Africa too has had its fair share of conflicts, including the Seleka conflict in the Central African Republic, along with the Sudanese civil wars.
Kazakhstan has had its share of issues. When Nursultan Nazarbayev took charge of the region that is now Kazakhstan, it was already ethnically diverse. It now has Uzbeks, Russians, Chechens, Tajiks, and many more. However, this diversity has also led to tensions within the nation. On February 5th, a Tajik stabbed a Kazakh to death in the village of Bostandyk. The local Kazakhs rampaged through the nearby Tajik. In a country that prides itself on its social stability, these events are a rather disturbing occurrence.
The delegation of Kazakhstan would like to see other nations who have similar situations work together to help formulate a viable solution. As a nation close to many sectarian conflicts, the nation of Kazakhstan hopes to work with the modernized nations of the west, as they share similar interests. These solutions need not necessarily be through peacekeepers, as many other nations have suggested, but can if need be.
