Committee:General Assembly 6 –Legal
Issue:CreatingaLegalFrameworktoPreventtheSpreadofConflictResources
StudentOfficer:AmalAbdelaal(GeneralAssembly6Chair) I. Introduction
Conflicts over resources has now become a popular phenomenon in the world. In some countries, people do
not have access to the basic natural resources that we use every day. The United Nations has previously confirmed
that "many women walk several hours on a daily basis searching for water"1. In addition, a great number of people,
including children, get affected by diseases associated with the lack of clean water and in most cases can lead to
death. Experts predict that the world will be suffering miserably from the lack of natural resources in just a couple
of years from now. This phenomenon will get more complicated since the access to resources reached the point where it becomes
a major reason for conflicts or even used to enhance a conflict. Studies have reached the conclusion that the cause of
the armed conflicts that arose in 2001 were firmly linked to the exploitation of resources. "In some countries such as
Bolivia and Pakistan, protesters took to the streets over the misdistribution of water"2. One major example of conflicts
over natural resources would definitely be the 1st Gulf War, which was basically a dispute mostly over oil fields
located in Kuwait3. On a side note, conflicts over resources do not necessarily consist of conflicts over water or land,
these disputes occur over diamonds on a very regular basis. The savage civil wars in Sierra Leone led to these countries joining a global initiative sponsored by the United Nations in an attempt to prevent trade in conflict diamonds:
blood diamonds known as the Kimberly Process which "imposes requirements on participants to certify that shipments of rough diamonds are conflict-free"4. Another major point to look at is the fact that wars nowadays last twice as long as they used to be prior to
the 1980’s. This may be explained by the fact that maintaining and funding disputes and conflicts nowadays are
easier. Natural resources are indirectly linked to the fact that wars last for a longer period of time since some resources such as oil, timber, minerals and diamonds may be used to create a revenue. In this case, these resources may
cause disputes over them, known as the resource curse. Powerful countries must certainly be backed up by their
resources in order to maintain a powerful economy. However, when a country fails to provide itself with their own
resources they will start to reach to other weaker countries’resources and lead to their destruction. Competition over
resources may also be linked to a larger issue over economic, cultural, political or religious problems in a society.
II. Involved Countries and Organizations
Angola
Angola is known to be one of the countries suffering the most when it comes to conflicted resources.
Natural resources (especially diamonds) have been playing a major role “in sustaining the conflict in Angola since
the end of the Cold War”5. The reason behind such conflict is that the money gained from natural resources such as
oil has been exceeding yearly which led to international oil companies to be highly interested in Angola’s oil, which
with their level of advancement is nearly impossible to extract. Angola is greatly prone to conflict since its inability
to protect their resources make MEDCs in a position where they can benefit from its resources.
1
"Children and Water: Contaminated Water's Effect on Kids | Water.org." Waterorg. Web. 06 Aug. 2016
"Public Protests Around The World." - Global Issues. Web. 06 Aug. 2016.
3
"Unique Facts about the Middle East: Persian Gulf War." Unique Facts about the Middle East: Persian Gulf War. Web. 06
Aug. 2016.
4
"Conflict Diamonds." Amnesty International USA. Web. 06 Aug. 2016.
5
"Resources and Conflict in Angola : An Economic Conflict Analysis." University of Oslo Library. Web. 5 Aug. 2016.
2
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone is known for its history with blood diamonds that started in the 1930s. The timeline starts
off by De Beers taking full control over the dining prospects for 99 consecutive years. After such incident, the traders
in Lebanon took advantage of this by importing large amounts of diamonds for this area, resulting in illicit mining
and trading in Sierra Leone. During the 1950’s investors from other countries had to secure their own mines and
personals, it was no longer the responsibility of Sierra Leone’s government. Diamonds were exported through pipelines connecting from Liberia to the mines in Sierra Leone. Around this time, the number of illicit miners reached 75
thousand. However, such problem wasn’t that much of a concern to most of the people since it did not directly affect
them, until the early 1960’s where Sierra Leone gained its independence from Great Britain. At that point of time,
the conflicted diamonds issue became an economic and political problem that terribly affected the country.
Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo is by far the country with the deadliest war over gold mines. In addition, the phenomenon of
blood diamonds is very common in this part of Africa. Miners in Congo tend to risk their lives and get severely
injured to extract diamonds which is then sold at a cheaper price to European countries such as Germany and Belgium. China China is one of the countries significantly touched by the resource conflict. The Naval clash by the Philippine
naval in the South China Sea basically involved the Philippine naval to take over eight Chinese fishing boats, accusing them of committing illegal acts in their water. The Chinese government responded to such accusation by sending
two naval vessels to their own zone and accusing the Philippine naval of harassment in China’s water. In addition, during this current century, China’s demand for primary resources played a major role in reducing poverty in Africa. China has been demanding these resources in a very reduced amount, resulting in a relationship
of mutualism between Africa and China in which they both benefit from it. Egypt and Israel An ongoing clash between Egypt and Israel has been taking place due to the fact that Egypt has cut off the
natural gas flow to Israel. Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company responded to such by sending the Israel that they were “terminating the gas and purchase agreement”under which
Egypt had been supplying natural gas to Israel. This decision has led to further violent attacks on the area in which
gas was transported to Israel. Egypt has then claimed that the dispute was over a payment issue. The United States of America The United States of America has been involved in resource conflicts with several countries whom one of
the biggest ones is its conflict with Iran over oil. Iran has recently threatened the US to shut down the Strait of
Hormuz which facilitates the exportation of energy. III. Focused Overview of the Issue
Exports of natural resources has always been a competition between countries, since it provides them the
chance to tremendously develop. On the other hand, the extraction of such resources such as copper, diamonds, and
oil may lead to a significant number of issues caused such as poverty and disputes. The issue at hand will mainly
focus on how to prevent the spread of conflict resources that are present greatly nowadays.
A.
Types of Natural Resources
Natural resources are classified into different categories. They exist in different shapes and forms, however, they
mostly depend on cultivation.
Drinkable Water:
The fact that the globe is mostly formed of water does not deny the fact that clean drinking water is actually
rare in many parts of the world. In some countries, especially in Africa, people tend to walk miles to find clean water.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research stated that the percentage of land on earth that suffers from drought
increases very rapidly each year. The United Nations has also mentioned before that over a billion people do not
have access to clean drinking water, which causes thousands of deaths for children on a daily basis. This water
shortage has hence led to conflicts in many areas in the world such as China, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and Yemen.
Also, in the Darfur region in Sudan, people have been suffering from water shortage for a long period of time.
However, after the latest discovery of the Lake Erie, this problem may come to an end. One of the largest disputes
over drinking water is the Jordan River Dispute, between Israel and its circling countries. This dispute led to armed
conflicts such as the Israeli attacks over Syria during the years of 1960s. Bodies of Water:
Bodies of water have also been the
reason of several disputes over seas, rivers,
and lakes. These sorts of disputes occur since
water bodies are a very powerful source of
growth and development since it may provide
a country with fish and oil fields on the offshore. Clashes over fishing cause the cod
wars between Iceland and Britain during the
late year of the 20th century. 6
Land:
Due to the fact that the human population expands significantly each year, land is now more frequently used
whether it is for industrial, personal, or agricultural purposes. In addition, having a piece of land also includes all its
resources such as oils, minerals, and animals, which means that it provides its country with economic value. This
resource has the deadliest disputes over it due to its great value. Competition over lands has caused wars over the
times such as the Israeli Palestinian issue, and the Russian dispute with Ukraine over Crimea. Gas and Oil:
Gas and Oil are the two main sources of fuel. Now, with industrialization, a lot of countries around the world
have invested other types of energy such as nuclear energy, electrical energy, solar energy, and wind energy. The
United States’Department of Energy has claimed that less than 5 years from now, more than 70% of the world’s
petroleum reserves will be fully consumed. An example of oil depletion is in Saudi Arabia, where their oils are being
consumed at a very high pace. Another major point that should be taken into consideration is that most of the world’s
reserves of petroleum are located in countries undergoing political instability such as, but not limited to, Iran, Iraq,
Nigeria, and Sudan. 6
"Water Shortages." Water Supply Shortages. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2016.
Minerals
The USAID confirmed that “valuable minerals become conflict minerals when their control, exploitation,
trade, taxation or protection contributes to, or benefits from, armed conflict.”9 Minerals from all over the world are
in high demand such as gold in Indonesia, diamonds in Western Africa, and amber in Russia. Since some of these
minerals may provide great power to a country, the competitions and conflicts that occur over them are deadly.
Furthermore, this competition leads to many illegal acts such the formation of gangs responsible for extracting these
minerals from the ground, such as blood diamonds in Africa. Since diamonds are the easiest to steal, they have been
getting the most attention, and leading to rebel groups in Sierra Leone and Angola. 10
B. Importance Natural Resources in Societies Natural resources are a dominant factor in any society. They can build a country’s economy and industry. In
More Economically Developed Countries, natural resources is one of the main sources of income by trading and
exporting resources. On the other hand, a country with fewer natural resources do not tend to be advanced in industry
nor have a high and stable economy, they tend to have less power. MEDCs have come up with a new industrial
infrastructure that depends on importing natural resources, that are being supplied by mineral-rich countries. Other than that, natural resources may be part of a country’s identity that could be lost in conflict. Some country’s
economy and power can fully depend on its resources such as Russia, which is a country that depends on its coal, oil,
gold, gas and timber. C. The Role of Natural Resources in Conflict
Throughout the years, conflicts over natural resources have been taking place on a regular basis. Disputes
over natural resources have the main reason for territorial disputes. Also, when a country is enduring instability, it is
much more prone to conflict. The lack of stability does not only affect how the country is being ruled, it affects all
other factors such as resource inequality, political conflicts and environmental degradation that could also weaken a
country’s strength and therefore make it more vulnerable to conflicts. 9
Ross, Michael. “A Closer Look at Oil, Diamonds, and Civil War.” Annual Review of Political Science 9, no. 1
(2006): 265
10
"Why the Blood Diamond Trade Won't Die." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 16 July 2016.
Since a country’s strength mostly depends on the presence of natural resources, countries who have resources but are
not able to protect them endure conflicts and invasions by more powerful countries. For example, in some countries
in Africa, precious diamonds are present in great amounts, however since such country could not protect the diamonds, they are being bought by less than 1/10 of its value by groups in developed countries such as Belgium. III.
Key Vocabulary
Blood Diamonds: blood diamonds (also called conflict diamonds, war diamonds or hot diamonds) is a term used for
a diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's
activity.
Resource Curse: the paradox that countries with abundant natural resources often have less economic growth than
those without natural resources.
Natural Resources: materials that occur in nature and are essential or useful to humans, such as water, air, land,
forests, fish and wildlife, topsoil, and minerals. These resources can be classified as renewable or nonrenewable. In
most cases, renewable resources such as cropland, forests, and water can be replenished over time by natural processes and—if not overused—are indefinitely sustainable. Nonrenewable resources such as diamonds, minerals, and
oil are found in finite quantities, and their value increases as supplies dwindle. A nation’s access to natural resources
often determines its wealth and status in the world economic system.
Minerals: naturally occurring substances obtained usually from the ground. IV. Important Events & Chronology
Date (Day/Month/Year)
Event
1975 to 2002
Angola Civil War
1996–2003
First Congo War:
May 11-12, 2000
A forum was held in Kimberley to discuss the issues surrounding
conflict diamonds. The meeting signified the beginning of the
Kimberley Process.
July 5, 2000
The UN Security Council voted to impose a world-wide ban on
the purchase of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone.
July, 21, 2010
United States signed the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act. This made the manufacturers report
any use of conflict minerals.
December 23, 2010
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission started to implement the Conflict Mineral Law, published in the Federal Register.
April,10, 2012
South and North Sudan clash over oil.
October 23, 2012
U.S. State Officials states that the rule implemented in 2010 about
the conflict mineral law would no longer apply.
V. Past Resolutions and Treaties
In order to solve the conflicts over natural resources, there have been a few attempts by the United Nation to
find a solution for such issue. The UN has previously set peacekeepers and security forces to create violence free
zones and barriers around lands in conflict, pipelines, oil fields, and other resources that are prone to conflict in order
to guarantee a safer future for such areas. After the occurrence of violent disputes over resources in Sierra Leone and Angola in 1992 that lead to brutal crimes
and ruptures of human rights, some organizations have decided to take action. The diamonds industry along with the
governments have attempted to put an end on all issues associated with blood diamonds. Hence, they set the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which is basically set in order to guarantee that diamonds are being imported,
exported and sold through a legal framework. Other attempts of maintaining sustainable development and growth has been set such as the Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative, established by the World Council on Sustainable Development in 2002. Also, the Joint Water Committee established by the Palestinians and Israelis in the early 1990s. This committee
was responsable for approving each new water project in the West Bank. VI. Failed Solution Attempts
In order to solve the issue of conflicted resources, countries and organizations tried to come up with solutions,
that somehow failed. These solutions vary from distributions to peace treaties. Peace treaties signed by countries do
not always guarantee peace between the conflicted zones. Also, distribution of resources are not always the solution
since it may not be a fair division. The solutions that failed in the past came back to certain points, some of them
being:
• Countries were sometimes put under pressure to sign treaties;
• Resolutions were not always suitable for the long run;
• Distribution of resources was not always fairly distributed;
• The fact that strict punishments are not set do not pressure countries to obey to treaties signed;
• Resolutions were not realistic which made them impossible to follow,
• Experts were not assigned the mission of making sure that rules were followed.
VII. Possible Solutions
• Encourage countries to sign the KPCS created by the United Nations which will help to raise awareness of the
conflict resources.
• Request funding from intergovernmental organizations (IGO) such as the World Bank, to provide the needed
fundings in order to minimize the conflict. • Creating a group of international peacekeeping forces.
• Using the location of resources to solve issues over disputed territories and waterways. • Removing all arms from conflicted areas to avoid further clashes. • Some solutions relating to protecting and reserving the available resources. As a way of avoiding scarcity and
thus avoiding conflicts. • Assign the World Bank Group the mission of giving advice on management and economic stability to conflicted
countries. • Allocate strict punishments on whoever disobeys treaties previously signed. VIII. Useful Links
•
http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/file/08sg.pdf Explains the different types of natural resources in details. •
http://www.un.org/en/land-natural-resources-conflict/pdfs/FRAMEWORK_TEAM_FLYER-2July12.pdf
Gives a brief insight on how the United Nation cooperates with the prevention of disputes over natural resources and land. •
http://www.alternet.org/story/155372/6_global_conflicts_that_have_flared_up_over_oil_and_gas
Discusses the 6 most known disputes over oil and gas. •
https://www.hampshire.edu/pawss/resource-conflict
Talks briefly about conflict resources in relation to population growth, unsustainable consumption,
and economic globalization. •
http://www.unccd.int/Lists/SiteDocumentLibrary/Publications/2015Feb_UNDPA_UNEP_NRC_Mediation_full.pdf
Gives a very detailed explanation of the natural resource conflict, and gives examples on the main
issues. (Page 11) •
http://www.globalissues.org/issue/83/conflicts-in-africa
Discusses the conflicted resources in Africa by giving examples of specific disputes in a certain
country.
•
https://www.globalpolicy.org/the-dark-side-of-natural-resources-st.html
Briefly discusses conflicts over the primary natural resources such as water. IX. Works Cited
Collier, Paul, and Anke Hoeffler. “Resource Rents, Governance, and Conflict.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 49, no. 4 (2005): 625–633. June 20th 2016
Du Nann Winter, Deborah, and Mario M. Cava. “The Psycho-Ecology of Armed Conflict.” Journal of
Social Issues 62, no. 1 (2006). June 20th 2016
Dunning, Thad, and Leslie Wirpsa. “Oil and the Political Economy of Conflict in Colombia and Beyond:
A Linkages Approach.” Geopolitics 9, no. 1 (2004): 81–108. June 20th 2016
Gleditsch, Nils Petter. “Environmental Change, Security, and Conflict.” In Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler
Hampson, and Pamela Aall, eds., Leashing the Dogs of War. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2007. June 23rd 2016
"Human cost of mining in DR Congo". news.bbc.co.uk. July 3rd 2016
"Mining in the DRC". www.pulitzercenter.org. 2006. July 2nd 2016
Mollett, Sharlene. “Race and Natural Resource Conflicts in Honduras.” Latin American Research Review
41, no. 1 (2006): 76–101. June 20th 2016
Ross, Michael. “A Closer Look at Oil, Diamonds, and Civil War.” Annual Review of Political Science 9,
no. 1 (2006): 265–300. June 21st 2016
"Water Shortages." Water Supply Shortages. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2016.
"Why the Blood Diamond Trade Won't Die." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 16 July 2016.