Topic: Rising Nationalism and Political Extremism
Country: Ukraine
Delegate Name: Nathan Daniel La Huis
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Ukraine position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
Nationalism is a growing issue and has been for milenia. This is evident today in nations across the arab world, Europe, Russia, the Philippines, the United States, and my own country of Ukraine. Nationalism is the greatest threat to freedom and liberty. Demagogues like President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump, President Rodrigo Duterte, and politicians like Nigel Farage, Geert Wilders, and Marine Le Pen are side effects of the rise of this new global ideology. This being said, some nationalism can be positive. In Ukraine, this introduction to nationalism has sparked national pride, patriotism, and a common agreeance on the defense against aggressors to the east. Though, at the same time, Nationalism can lead to hostile governments. Our President recently spoke to the United Nations General Assembly and stated, “Yesterday, and the day before, several families, again, were struck by grief, as their loved ones perished under Russia’s hostile attacks… It tortures our patriots in its prisons. Over 1.5 million people became internally displaced persons.”
The nation of Ukraine believes that nationalism in any part of the world must be faced with condemnation and action from the General Assembly of the United Nations. Nationalism is an issue that Ukraine still faces today when political parties like the Svoboda's believe that our government should be a dictatorship led by the president, totally end immigration to Ukraine, and dreams of a return to the Soviet Union – but our goal is to make nationalist feelings constructive and to harness it in a way that defends us from those that wish to invade our lands and corrupt our politics. Our neighbors to the east maintain strong nationalist sentiments as well. The Kremlin, President Putin, as well as other former soviets believe that they are entitled to our land in Crimea and in fact the entirety of our nation. President Poroshenko said the following on the issue, “Let us not forget what this war is about. Ukraine made a sovereign decision to live its way and promote the Free World based on democratic values and rules. Russia punishes Ukraine for this decision. It kills. It ruins homes. It lies on industrial scale. It pretends that Ukraine, as well as Georgia attacked themselves.” Russia and similar nations need to respect borders and surrounding nations. This can only occur when nationalism and the simple belief of superiority is eliminated on a political and social level.
Ukraine moves that the United Nations supports economic sanctions on nations that maintain nationalist leaders and policies from all other members of this assembly. The sanctioned nations include but are not limited to: Russia, the Philippines, Iran, North Korea, Turkey, Syria, China, the United States, and Hungary for their invasions and intrusions of neighboring nations, anti-immigrant stances, oppressing their own citizens, and/or having nationalist leaders; all of which are in direct violation of International Law (Article 12(4) from the ICCPR and/or the UN Charter which prohibits invasion of any other nation without consent of the United Nations). If members of this assembly do not abide by international law, then the foundations of this institution we created seventy three years ago are meaningless and the world becomes a more dangerous place.
