Dear committee members,
On behalf of host team and
MEMS committee I welcome you all to SMAMUN. I am Azm Aftab and I will be
directing MEMS for SMAMUN 2006. I have just completed my A-levels from Saint
Mary’s Academy.
SMAMUN is a very new and an
emerging MUN organization. It was only a year back when all this started; SMAMUN
2005 was a big success and was the first MUN for Rawalpindi/Islamabad region,
and now we are trying to make it even bigger and better. As for my experience in
MUNs I attended SMAMUN 2005 as a delegate in WHO and won the award for best
diplomacy, then I attended LUMUN 2005 in MEMS and now I am directing MEMS for
SMAMUN 2006.
For those of you who have
attended any MUNs will be an excellent chance to make an impression and those
who haven’t should not lose heart and should take it as a challenge. Many of
you would know about workings of MUNs but still I would like to give a brief on
how an MUN works. MUN basically is a prototype of United Nations where all of
UN’s rules are strictly followed. The objective of a committee is to draw a
resolution on the topics given by the director through good diplomacy and
debate. Don’t worry MUN is not about being formal, although you have to be in
the committee sessions, its also about how you express and indulge socially. We
will be having social events in which delegates can express themselves.
As for the topics in this
committee, there are two (i) Iranian Nuclear issue, (ii) Lebanon Crisis.
Please see the topics for
further detail. If anyone of you have any problems regarding topics please
don’t hesitate to contact me my e-mail address is [email protected]
I will more than happy to answer anything about the topics.
I hope you all have a
fabulous time at SMAMUN and wish you all the best. See you soon InshAllah
Topic
A: Iranian Nuclear Issue
The US and Iran have been bitterly at odds
since the Iranian revolution in 1979 and the hostage-taking at the US embassy in
Tehran. There is so much geopolitics and hype surrounding the Iranian nuclear
issue, that it is hard to get an objective perspective on it. While insisting on
their right in principle to develop their own nuclear fuel, a combination of
reformists and pragmatic conservatives agreed with Britain, France and Germany
to suspend Iran's enrichment activities. At one moment, it even looked as though
Tehran had driven a considerable wedge between the three big European powers,
and the US. But then two years ago came a lurch towards the hard line, when the
conservatives won general elections, and then took the presidency last year.
And, amid chants of "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great") and
"Death to America," all 247 members present in the Iranian parliament
unanimously called on the government to restart the country's uranium enrichment
program, using its already manufactured centrifuges, and to exercise its right
to complete the nuclear fuel cycle enshrined in the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) to which Iran is a signatory. Tehran's wish list includes the
affirmation of its right to a nuclear energy program for peaceful purposes;
access to imported nuclear fuel at market prices for its reactors; support for
Iran's acquisition of a light water research reactor. United States argue that,
given Iran's enormous oil and gas resources, its government does not need
nuclear power plants. Further more Washington insists that Iran will produce
Nuclear weapons. That doesn’t end the list of reservations of US; it fears
that nuclear weapons in hands of such a regime could create problems in the
already troubled region of Middle East.
Meanwhile, it is Iran's hydrocarbon resources-an estimated nearly 10% of global
petroleum reserves and the second largest gas deposits in the world-that are at
the root of the pressure. British and French oil companies are persistent on
their respective governments to cut a diplomatic deal with Tehran on the nuclear
issue, and thus avoid the American plan to take the issue to the UN Security
Council with the possibility of economic sanctions or, in the future, worse. The
Europeans are not the only ones; Chinese Foreign Minister Li Xhaoxing signed an
oil-and-gas deal with Iran, while Iran- Pakistan-India gas deal is also in the
pipeline.
Questions that the resolution must answer:
1) what is the role of agencies such as IAEA in making sure that nuclear
technology is used only for peaceful civilian use and is it justified in
questioning matters pertaining to nuclear proliferation specifically targeting
countries who are NPT signatories?
2)do countries have the right to engage in
uranium enrichment to develop weoapns for the safeguard of their homeland from
external threats?
3)What role do existing nuclear powers play
to ensure that networks involed in black marketing nuclear technology are
countered and that sensitive material does not reach the wrong hands?
4)What impact will
nuclear armed countries have on the ongoing peace process in the middle
east and what steps need to be taken to avoid such a situation?
Topic
B: Lebanon Crisis
On 12 July 2006, Hezbollah initiated mortar attack on Israeli military
positions and on the towns injuring 5 civilians. At the same time, a ground
contingent of Hezbollah attacked and captured two Israeli soldiers, and killed
three. Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert declared the attack by Hezbollah’s
military wing an “act of war,” and promised Lebanon a “very painful and
far-reaching response. This triggered a chain of unexpected events throughout the region, The Israeli Air
Force carried out nearly 2,000
bombing sorties across Lebanon, especially targeting transportation
infrastructure such as roads and bridges. On 23 July 2006
Israeli land forces crossed into Lebanon in the Maroun al-Ras area, which
overlooks several other locations said to have been used as launch sites for
Hezbollah rockets. In retaliation Hezbollah ambushed the Israelis and killed 8
soldiers. Since then Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in fierce battle.
Casulties have been severe on both sides, the IDF destroyed the last bridge
across the Litani river, completely cutting off an estimated 70,000-130,000
civilians remaining in southern Lebanon from food and fuel supplies from the
north. Hezbollah has fired rockets at civilian targets throughout the conflict,
landing in all major cities of northern Israel including Haifa, Hadera,
Nazareth, Tiberias, Nahariya, Safed, Afula[44] Kiryat Shmona, Beit
She'an, Karmiel, and Maalot, and dozens of kibbutzim, moshavim, and Druze and
Arab villages, as well as the northern West Bank.[45][46] It also hit
a hospital in Safed in northern Galilee on 18 July, wounding 8. On 14 July,
Israeli bombing raids on Lebanon killed 60 civilians mostly children.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah defended their rocket attacks, saying
"In the beginning, we started to act calmly, we focused on Israel[i]
military bases and we didn't attack any settlement, However, since the first
day, the enemy attacked Lebanese towns and murdered civilians—Hezbollah
militants had destroyed military bases, while the Israelis killed civilians and
targeted Lebanon's infrastructure.”
Israeli officials have also defended the bombing raids by explaining that
the IAF drops leaflets warning civilians to leave the area before it attacks. It
was claimed by the Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon on 26 July that any
civilians remaining in South Lebanon after being issued such leaflets should be
considered "terrorists".
In Qana and other villages in southern Lebanon, thousands of residents have
been unable to leave the area because they are sick, wounded, do not have the
means to leave or they fear Israeli attacks on vehicles.
IDF strikes on the Jiyeh power plant on 13 July and 15 July caused 25,000
tonnes of oil to spill into the Mediterranean and constitutes an environmental
disaster for the region. As of 1 August a 10km wide oil slick covers 80km of
Lebanon's and 20km of Syria's coastline, moving north towards towards Turkey and
Cyprus. The slick is reportedly causing breathing problems. Hezbollah rockets
have caused numerous and fierce forest fires inside northern Israel,
particularly on the Naftali mountain range near Kiryat Shmona. As of 8 August as
many as 9,000 acres including 3,000 acres of Israel’s few forests, have been
damaged by fires caused by Hezbollah rockets.
Aspects that the
resolution must consider
1
Isreal
blames that the military wing of Hizbollah for the
destruction caused so far. No doubt that the military wing of
Hizbollah is a threat to peace in the region but many in lebannon look up to
Hizbollah as the only hope against a forign invasion! Should Hizbollah be
disarmed?
2
There
have been numerous casulties on both sides and majority of them are
children. The committee must devise an agenda by which the people suffering
could be reached and evacuated
especially in Southern Lebanon.
3
Both
Isreal and Lebanon have been pushing their conditions for a ceasefire, the
committee must decide on the conditions by which an affective ceasefire is
implemented.