Topic: Ukraine
Country: Bangladesh
Delegate Name: Josh Glynn
School: Williamston High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Bangladesh position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
As members of the Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), we must focus upon maintaining peace across the world while also harnessing our resources to prevent weapon proliferation. The current issue we will be looking into is the current unsettled relations between Russia and Ukraine and what we can do to solve this problem. The western region of Ukraine is Pro-European while the east is Pro-Russia. This has lead to high tension between not only Ukraine’s two split sides, but also Russia and the UN. After Russia seized Crimea, there has been continuous fighting resulting in the loss of thousands of lives in the eastern region of the Ukrainian mainland. We must craft a solution to reestablish peace before more lives are lost and relations are worsened between the world’s largest powers.
The ties between Bangladesh and Russia were rather strong decades ago. This was due to Russia’s financial support for the Bangladeshi Liberation Movement in 1971 and general support for following years. In 1989, Russia was ranked 14th for aid donors to Bangladesh. Since then however, their strong relations have somewhat dwindled. When it comes to Ukraine and Bangladesh, there lies a pleasant and positive relationship. This is due to Ukraine sharing advanced agricultural technology with Bangladesh. Also, trade between Bangladesh and Ukraine has been expanding, considerably benefiting both nations. For example, we have imported 200,000 tons of wheat from Ukraine within one year.
As our relations with Ukraine are exceptional, we hold a substantial interest in supporting their endeavour of stopping Russia from exerting their power over Ukraine and taking their land. However, as our economy is in such a weak state, we cannot provide any direct aid. What we can do is support a plan that follows our beliefs on what needs to be done. Following the creation of a plan, we will give our best attempt to help, but no promises can be made right now. Bangladesh believes that UN peacekeepers should be deployed to areas in the eastern Ukrainian mainland where fighting is currently weakening the country. After we resolve issues on the mainland, we can focus on reclaiming Crimea. Another duty that must be done is for strict warnings to be given to Russia. They must be told that if they proceed with taking over additional land, they will have to deal with significant consequences (that the UN can discuss). If we do not act now, we could potentially see Russia gaining more power through added territory which would only make it easier for them to take even more land. We must establish a plan that reinstitutes stability and peace through this region or else we face the risk of thousands of more lives being lost.
