Topic: Protecting Civilians in Conflict Zones
Country: Uganda
Delegate Name: Sam Streng
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Uganda position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
Over the past decade, wars have been increasingly fought between rival groups, such as terrorist organizations, and not between countries. These groups not only don’t follow the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which seeks to protect civilians not participating in hostilities against violence, but they continually capture and use civilians to help strengthen their organizations. Between October of 2016 and July of 2017, it is believed that more than 5,000 civilians have been killed in the war against ISIS. The majority of the civilians affected by this conflict have been women and children. Women are often captured and used as sex slaves and children as forced soldiers. Children are also at a much greater risk of starvation. The United Nations has continually tried to provide aid for these persons in danger, but attacks against hospitals and healthcare workers discourage those from helping and seeking aid. The UN has also worked to relocate civilians in conflict zones. In 2004 Uganda was at the center of a humanitarian crisis, one so bad that the United Nations called it one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), is a terrorist organization in Uganda with the goal of ruling Uganda with the Ten Commandments. Over the past 25 years, the LRA has killed approximately 100,000 people and abducted between 60,000 to 100,000 children to be used as sex slaves or child soldiers and displaced around 2.5 million people. During this time the government of Uganda successfully was able to drive the LRA out of the country, but due to a lack of support from the United Nations and other countries, Uganda was forced to ends its search for the LRA’s leader. Because of this, the LRA has successfully been able to operate in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. In the last year, the LRA has perpetrated 77 attacks. Uganda believes in security and protection of persons and property and eliminating terrorism and will take all necessary steps in doing so. Uganda looks to create a strong, peaceful and united Africa, in order to do this we propose that the United Nations allocate monetary funds that countries can use in a time of crisis to help protect civilians. These funds are to be used by countries to provide food for civilians in need and to build refugee camps for internally displaced people. They may be also be used to help finance protective forces fighting against threats against civilians. Uganda also proposes that the United Nations strengthens its peacekeeping forces. Countries may call upon these peacekeeping forces during times in which protection is needed for civilians such as those in refugee camps. These forces can also be called upon when there is an imminent threat of terrorism against civilians or the government.
