Canisius College
Model United Nations
36th Annual Conference
Delegates’ Guide to the Simulated Councils, 2014
The United Nations Security Council
Under the United Nations Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the
maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one
vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.
The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of
aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends
methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, the Security Council can resort to
imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace
and security.
http://www.un.org/en/sc/
Contemporary Security Council (1, 2, 3)
The Council is composed of 15 Members, all with voting power:
•
Five permanent members: China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom,
and the United States, and
•
Ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.
Currently those non-permanent members are:
o Argentina, Australia, Chad, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Nigeria,
Republic of Korea, Rwanda; plus, we will include
•
Six invited states (which have no vote, but may contribute to deliberations and debate):
Central African Republic, Moldova, Myanmar, Philippines, Ukraine, Vietnam
For the Historic Security Council please see next page
For OIC, see page 3, and for HRC, see page 4
For a final list of topic guides and links, along with links to rules, see page 5
1 Canisius College
Model United Nations
36th Annual Conference
Historic Security Council – June 5, 1989
The Council in 1989 was composed of 15 Members, all with voting power:
•
Five permanent members: China, France, the Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics), the United Kingdom, and the United States, and
•
Ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly. In
June 1989 those non-permanent members were:
o Algeria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, Finland, Malaysia, Nepal,
Senegal, Yugoslavia; plus, we will include
•
Five invited states (which have no vote, but may contribute to deliberations and debate):
Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG/West Germany), German
Democratic Republic (GDR/East Germany), Poland, and South Africa
The Historic Security Council proceedings will maintain the illusion that it is June 5, 1989.
Delegates should prepare accordingly, and should not introduce anachronistic content into the
proceedings. For example, at this moment in time, the Berlin Wall remains intact, and the Cold
War has not yet ended; the Internet does not yet exist in its popularized form; the technology
does not yet exist for drone strikes, etc.
2 Canisius College
Model United Nations
36th Annual Conference
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
“The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
(formerly Organization of the Islamic Conference)
is the second largest inter-governmental
organization after the United Nations [and] has
membership of 57 states spread over four
continents. The Organisation is the collective voice
of the Muslim world and ensuring to safeguard and
protect the interests of the Muslim world in the
spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.”
http://www.oic-oci.org/page_detail.asp?p_id=52
OIC Member-States (all are voting members)
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Benin
BruneiDarussalam
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Chad
Comoros
Cote D'Ivoire
Djibouti
Egypt
Gabon
Gambia
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Libya
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Mauritania
Morocco
Mozambique
Niger
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Sudan
Suriname
Syria
Tajikistan
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Uganda
United Arab
Emirates
Uzbekistan
Yemen
Note: some special rules apply to parliamentary procedure in the OIC. Please direct your
attention to Section 35 of the Long Form Rules to familiarize yourself with these special rules.
3 Canisius College
Model United Nations
36th Annual Conference
Human Rights Council (HRC)
“All victims of human rights abuses should be able to
look to the Human Rights Council
as a forum and a springboard for action.”
- Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, 12 March 2007,
Opening of the 4th Human Rights Council Session
Background
The Human Rights Council (HRC) was established by the UN General Assembly in 2006 as a successor
to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). It is made up of 47 member-states
responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights around the world.1
Since its founding the UNHRC has dealt with conflicts such as the Israeli-Palestinian one, and addressed
rights-related issues in states such as Burma, North Korea, Syria, Libya and Iran. Along with addressing
human rights issues affecting specific areas or groups the Council discusses thematic or global issues such
as the rights of free speech and assembly, as well as LGBT rights, women’s and minority rights.2
Each of the 47 members of the body is elected to hold a three-year seat by the General Assembly for their
contributions to furthering human rights. With a two-thirds majority, the rights and privileges of a
member may be suspended if it is determined the member has committed “gross and systematic violations
of human rights.”3 In our simulation, two non-voting Observers may also participate in deliberations:
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Delegates might also check out: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/index.asp Member-States of the Human Rights Council, 2014
Algeria
Argentina
Austria
Benin
Botswana
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Chile
China
Congo
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Cuba
Czech Republic
Estonia
Ethiopia
France
Gabon
Germany
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Maldives
Mexico
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Pakistan
Peru
Philippines
Republic of Korea
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Sierra Leone
South Africa
The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States of America
Venezuela (Bolivarian
Republic of)
Vietnam
Observer non-state entities
Amnesty International (non-state observer; no vote); Human Rights Watch (non-state observer; no vote)
1
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4810538.stm.
2
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/ListofIssues.aspx; see especially the items labeled Freedom of Expression,
Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, and Freedom of Religion and Belief.
3
UN General Assembly Resolution 60/251.8. Human Rights Council, pg. 2. 4 Canisius College
Model United Nations
36th Annual Conference
Online Resources
Selections from a Model UN Handbook about simulating the UN, public speaking, and formulating resolutions:
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN2012_HandbookSelections.pdf
Conference Rules, Glossary, and a Sample Resolution
long form: http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN2012_Rules_Long.pdf
short form: http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN2012_Rules_Short.pdf
glossary: http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN2012_RulesGlossary.pdf
sample resolution: http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN2012_SampleResolution.pdf
Topic Guides
Contemporary Security Council (Security Councils 1, 2, 3)
Contemporary Security Council: The Situation in Ukraine and Crimea
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_CSC_Ukraine.pdf
Contemporary Security Council: South China Sea Disputes
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_CSC_SoChinSea.pdf
Contemporary Security Council: Situation in Central African Republic
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_CSC_CAR.pdf
Historic Security Council: June 5, 1989
Historic Security Council 1989: Tiananmen Square Protests and Crackdown
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_HSC_Tiananmen.pdf
Historic Security Council 1989: Apartheid in South Africa
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_HSC_Apartheid.pdf
Historic Security Council 1989: Nuclear weapons and regional stability in Eastern Europe
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_HSC_EEur.pdf
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: Situation in Central African Republic
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_OIC_CAR.pdf
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: ISIL
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_OIC_ISIL.pdf
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: Safety and Well-Being of the Palestinian People
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_OIC_Palestine.pdf
Human Rights Council
Human Rights Council: Honor Killings
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_HRC_Honor.pdf
Human Rights Council: Workers' rights and international labor standards
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_HRC_Workers.pdf
Human Rights Council: Rights of the Palestinian People
http://www3.canisius.edu/~diciccoj/MUN_2014_HRC_Palestine.pdf
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