S T U D Y
G U I D E
SPECPOL
United Nations
M O N U A
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C O N T E N T S
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Undersecretary’s welcome letter
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Chairperson’s welcome letter
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Introduction
09/
Dynamics
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PROCEDURE
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QARMAS
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REFERENCES
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the undersecretary general for the United Nations of
Los Andes University Model United Nations. In the dynamics of the
2016 conference, this undersecretary will be in charge of recreating
the United Nations, and with this objective is that I begin this letter.
In a troubled and uncertain world, skepticism about the effectiveness of the United Nations grows. Its excessive bureaucracy, the
lack of leadership in major contemporary conflicts, and even its
"archaic" design are just some of the recurring criticisms towards
the organization. Furthermore, the world today is increasingly complex. In the current international scenario, social conflicts exacerbate, fundamentalism questions rise, non-state groups threaten the
security of States, and on their part, States strengthen existing political-military alliances and sign some new ones. The truth is that all
these signs show the degree of tension in which the international
system is today. The question is delegates, what should the role of
the United Nations be, and in particular, of the States that compose
it at this juncture? How can a forum created for cooperation among
States work with non-state actors? Can we set the United Nations
aside from the international decision-making or is this “parliament
of humanity,” as Paul Kennedy described it, still essential?
In the midst of this skepticism that can take some by surprise, it is
worth remembering that while the United Nations may be out of
date with current international dynamics, the principles embodied
by this old institution are timeless. Cooperation and dialogue before
conflict continue and will remain a great, undisputed principle. To
paraphrase the former Secretary General of the organization, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, even if the United Nations was eliminated, very
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soon it would have to be created again. A permanent forum where
all the states in the world can meet is an instrument that we, today
more than ever, cannot give up. A while ago, I heard a UN functionary say a great truth: diplomacy works better to prevent than to
resolve conflicts. Someway or another, the world today has less
nuclear weapons than it did 20 years ago, countries in Africa and
Asia are independent today, and 193 States have agreed to eradicate extreme poverty, just to mention some of the many results
achieved by the UN.
Therefore delegates, I ask that throughout your participation in
MONUA 2016 you can discern the problems of the world, and the
difficult role that the United Nations has to play in it. Nevertheless,
I do not expect you to stay only with this. If this exercise is worthy it
is precisely because as we learn about the problems, we also think
of ways to fix them. In short, if this MONUA is to awaken an interest
in you, it should be a stubborn and determined will to adapt the
laudable principles of the UN to the new global reality that require
them.
Welcome to the Undersecretary of United Nations of MONUA
2016!
Sincerely,
Francisco J. Escobar Onofre
Under-Secretary-General for the Organization of United Nations
MONUA 2016
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It is a pleasure to welcome you to,
what we believe, is one of the most
important committees of the General Assembly: the Special Political
and Decolonization Committee.
world needs are people who have
come alive”. We expect you to
deeply enjoy the experience of
doing what you love. Research accurately, develop critical thinking skills,
find innovative and viable solutions
to the topics, discuss ethically and
morally, but most importantly,
remember to come alive in
everything you do in these three
upcoming days, since that is in fact
what the world needs.
We are Laura Pinilla (Universidad
Javeriana, Business Administration
and Social Communications), Arturo
Villegas and Martín Peña (Universidad de los Andes, 3rd semester of
Law School) and we will serve as the
Committee presidents. Our main
goal is to create a space where innovative ideas and respectful discussions take place, to deal with a variety of subjects including human
rights, peacekeeping, and decolonization. We are glad you have accepted the challenge to attend to the
most accurate representation of the
world’s discussions in the United
Nations. This is why we expect
nothing but the best of you to take
the leap in MONUA 2016.
Finally, we are open to any questions
you may have and we are looking
forward to meeting you all.
Sincerely yours,
Laura Pinilla
[email protected]
Arturo Villegas
[email protected]
Howard Thurman, an African American writer who deeply influenced the
thinking of Martin Luther King Jr. and
other leaders from the modern Civil
Rights Movement in the US, once
said “Do not ask what the world
needs. Ask what makes you come
alive, and go do it. Because what the
Martín Peña
[email protected]
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INTRODUCTION
The persistence of colonialism and
foreign occupations is a travesty of the
universal principle of political and economic freedom for all peoples. The
United Nations had a moral responsibility to the Non Self Governing Territories
and their peoples, stressing that the
people of those Territories looked to
the United Nations with hope every year
The Special Political and Decolonization
Committee is the fourth committee of
the General Assembly. As its name suggests, it covers subjects related to decolonization. However, as part of the General Assembly, its resolutions are non-binding.
In order to finish the unfinished task of
decolonization and speed up the process, it is necessary to evolve using “new
dynamics and new actors” that collect
objective information about the situations in the remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories, and that pursue stronger
dialogue with their administering powers
(SPECPOL, 2015).
Pakistan
Seventieth Session - GENERAL ASSEMBLY
October 2015
In the global history of human rights,
decolonization is one of the most interesting fields to study. The independence that practically all nations gained in
the two decades after the Second World
War, was one of the most dramatic processes of political emancipation in world
history. The events and the consequences of decolonization profoundly shaped
international politics until at least the
end of the century (Humanity Journal,
2015).
The related activities of United Nations
agencies regarding human rights situation in the occupied territories can be
promoted through the fourth committee
of the General Assembly. Some of these
activities include: funds and programmes, such as UNRWA, the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for
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Refugees, the United Nations Children’s
Fund and the United Nations Educational.
With this in mind, the Committee has the
same faculty of every committee that
belongs to the General Assembly, which
consists in elaborating resolutions regarding specific topics in the matter. With all
these said, SPECPOL is a Committee
that deals with very important international situations and the role of the member
States, in the committee, is to convey
and promote peaceful actions by approving firm and concrete resolutions.
As the Fourth Committee of the United
Nations’ General Assembly, the Special
Political and Decolonization Committee
has had a few changes throughout its
history. Within the UN Charter of 19451,
the Trusteeship System was established
as a Committee solely dedicated to
non-self-governing territories. With time,
the number of non-self-governing territories reduced substantially leaving only
a handful nowadays. Therefore, the Committee had not much to deal with in the
worldwide conjuncture. A newly seventh
committee in the General Assembly was
established in order to perform some of
the duties of the overly occupied First
Committee of Disarmament and Political
Committee. As a result of these two
circumstances, the Fourth and Seventh
Committees were merged in order to
establish what we know now as SPECPOL
or Special Political and Decolonization
Committee (SPECPOL, 2015).
1
Under article 77 of the Charter, the Trusteeship
System was established for three types of
non-self-governing territories. (SPECPOL, 2015)
Faculties
SPECPOL, has as its primary duties, to
deal with decolonization, refugees,
human rights, peacekeeping, mine
action, outer space, public information,
atomic radiation and the University for
Peace. In other words, the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly works
towards three very important fronts:
1. Humanizing the harmful effects of
war and conflict
2. Public information and the University of Peace
3. Outer space.
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DYNAMICS
United Nations member States to be
heard before these questions reach
other UN organs.
The Special Political and Decolonization
Committee (SPECPOL), also known as
the Fourth Committee, was created in
1993 in accordance with the General
Assembly’s Resolution 47/233, to cover a
broad spectrum of topics that were not
handled by other committees such as
DISEC. This variety of topics includes
outer space, self-determination, atomic
radiation, decolonization, and more,
making it a very interesting and important
committee within the United
Nations. As such, SPECPOL works closely with the Disarmament and Security
Committee, the First Committee of the
General Assembly, especially to help
with their heavy workload.
In MONUA 2016, we want to emulate the
actual SPECPOL dynamics; therefore,
the procedure will be strictly enforced
and attached to the traditional rules held
in real life.
PROCEDURE
Double delegations
As you already know, for the United
Nation’s undersecretary, there will be
double delegations in each committee.
These will have to work in a very coherent
and organized manner. As a recommendation for the delegations attending to
any of the General Assembly’s committees, what happens both inside and
outside is equally important, hence,
delegations will need to work in a
synchronized way between what is being
discussed inside and outside the commi-
Currently, SPECPOL can be considered
as the United Nations Security Council's
(UNSC) entrance door since many topics
discussed at the Council are often
addressed earlier by SPECPOL. This
occurs for two main reasons: the committee allows a broader approach in terms
of international security and permits all
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ttees. The delegations that are able to
thoroughly manage both fronts are the
ones that will enjoy this nourishing experience.
international peace and security, it is
necessary that the two-thirds majority of
the members be present and vote. This
voting rule will be used in our committee. As stated in the UN Charter, the
phrase "members present and voting"
means members casting an affirmative or
negative vote. Members that abstain
from voting are considered as not voting.
By ‘important’ the Charter establishes
that decisions shall deliberate “recommendations with respect to the maintenance of international peace and security, the election of the non-permanent
members of the Security Council, the
election of the members of the Economic and Social Council, the election of
members of the Trusteeship Council in
accordance with paragraph 1 (c) of Article 86, the admission of new Members to
the United Nations, the suspension of
the rights and privileges of membership,
the expulsion of Members, questions
relating to the operation of the trusteeship system, and budgetary questions.”
However, as stated on the third numeral
of the same article, decisions on any
other topic that doesn’t require a
two-thirds majority, will need only the
majority of the present and voting delegations in order to be accepted in the
committee.
In SPECPOL there will not be an assigned speaker or lobbyist for each double
delegation. However, the Chair strongly
encourages the delegations to work in
an organized manner, as this will make
you gain credibility and reliance. Additionally, once the blocks are conformed, it is
crucial for the delegations to coordinate
what is being discussed inside the committee, with what is being negotiated in
the other committees of MONUA 2016.
Resolutions
By sharing the same procedures and
structure with the other General Assembly committees, SPECPOL does not have
the authorization to make legally binding
decisions. In accordance with Article 12
of the United Nations Charter, resolutions from the General Assembly consist
of a series of proposals or recommendations made to the Members of the
United Nations, the Security Council or
both. This is done when the Security
Council requests the General Assembly
to do so by considering the general principles of cooperation in the preservation
of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments.
SPECPOL in MONUA
Since MONUA places high importance
to the treatment of questions in the most
realistic and attached to real life, all committees will be related to each other. This
means that what has been discussed in
other committees from the United
Nations, could also affect the development of the discussions addressed in
SPECPOL. Therefore, it is important for
Voting procedure
According to Article 18, Chapter IV of the
United Nations Charter, each member of
the General Assembly (or its committees)
has one vote. To approve important
questions related to the maintenance of
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the delegates to know which committees
will matter the most for the topics we will
discuss.
This is why all committees of the General
Assembly are related to our committee.
The Security Council will also be linked
to our discussions, as well as the Presidential Council. Whatever your nation
decides in these councils must be taken
into consideration in SPECPOL’s discussions.
Other committees that are not from the
United Nations could also affect the
development of the discussions held in
SPECPOL. For example, the decisions
made in the European Union committees
will affect the European countries debating in the General Assembly’s Forth
Committee, as well as the ones belonging to the Arab League, which in turn
will influence the Arabian countries.
This procedure requires a great deal of
organization and knowledge from the
delegates. All delegates must keep open
channels of communications with their
delegation in order to maintain the same
political and diplomatic line.
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PROCEDURE
TOPIC
their recognition as a State, and their
gains from military campaigns, as their
right by International Law.
Israelian Ocupation of
Palestinian Territories
Although a long-term peace process
between Israel, Egypt and Jordan was
accomplished during the second half of
the 20th Century, the conflict with the
Palestinians has remained unresolved
since it began back in 1949 and it considers the core part of the wider Arab-Israeli conflict. Key issues such as mutual
recognition, security, water rights, control of Jerusalem, borders, Palestinian
Right of Return and Israeli settlements
are still debatable in the international
community.
One of the most enduring conflicts of the
world is the struggle between the Israelis
and the Palestinians. It has its roots in the
historic claim to a land rich in history,
culture and religion. This is the land that
stands from the Mediterranean Sea to
the Jordan River.
Over a hundred years, Palestinians have
fought what they consider to be the colonization, expulsion and military occupation of a land they claim to be theirs.
These efforts have consisted of a long
and difficult search for the recognition of
existence, self-determination and for
cohabitation with Israel. Israelis, on the
other side, proclaimed the return to the
land of their forefathers after being
expulsed in late Antiquity, and after centuries of being persecuted and discriminated around the world. Israelis defend
Background
The Land of Israel is a geographical location in Southern Levant. Its borders are
indefinite because most of the information available to identify them come from
ancient biblical texts. The Jewish Religion believes that God gave the area to
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the Jewish people, the descendants
from Abraham. Although its extent varies
according to different texts, they all
agree it surrounds the lands of the city of
Jerusalem, or Zion, from which the term
Zionism comes from.
slaves and others ran away and relocated, and the Jewish Diaspora grew significantly. The Romans renamed the area
Syria Palestine, and Jerusalem Aelia
Capitolina, to erase all connections
between Judaism and the region. With
the creation of the Byzantine Empire, the
conflict between Jews and Christians
began, and revolts destroyed the region
and reduced the population.
The Muslims conquered the area known
as the Levant in the 7th Century, and took
Palestine from the Byzantines. With
immigration from other regions, and
conversion of Christians and Jews to
Islam, the area became predominantly
Muslim by the 12th Century. Most of the
Islamic monuments in Jerusalem, like the
Dome of the Rock, were constructed
during the Early Middle Ages. Christians
tried to retake the area from Muslim control with the Crusades, and Jews in the
area were also targeted by the Europeans. After European Christians briefly
controlled the area, Saladin and Muslim
Kurds conquered the region known now
as Israel, and it remained largely Muslim,
with the creation of the Ottoman Empire,
until the 20th Century.
In 1897, a nationalist and political movement, known as Zionism, met in Basel,
Switzerland in the First Zionist Congress.
The Zionist Congress was called by Theodor Herzl to pursuit the goals of reestablishing the Jewish homeland in the
historic Land of Israel. During the nineteenth century, the Jewish population
debated over the idea of its status within
the European society and their right to
return to their homeland. This congress
was the first attempt to unite many
Jewish movements to solve the so-called
The Jews lived in Israel until the Jewish-Roman wars, which were a series of
conflicts and revolts made by the Jewish
population in Judea against the Roman
Empire between 66 and 135 CE. Jerusalem was sieged in 70 CE, destroying
most of the city including the Second
Temple, and by 135 CE the Jewish population in the area greatly decreased
because of persecution and strict discriminatory laws. Many Jews were sold as
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“Jewish Question”, and its outcome set
up the goals of the Zionist Movement.
escalated even more and the situation
became more critical. The Sykes-Picot
agreement, the Paris Peace Conference of
1919, and the San Remo Conference of
1919 shaped the area in favor of a British
Mandate in Palestine and a pro Jewish
plan in the region.
One of the major victories of the Zionist
Movement was the Balfour Declaration.
It was a letter from United Kingdom’s
Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour,
to Walter Rosthchild, Second Baron of
Rothchild, a leader of the Jewish Community in Great Britain and Ireland that
explained that: “His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment
in Palestine of a national home for the
Jewish people, and will use their best
endeavours to facilitate the achievement
of this object…” It is important to highlight that the declaration protected civil
and religious rights of the non-Jewish
population in the region.
The Aliyah was a series of migrations
from the Jewish Diaspora to the Land of
Israel, between 1882 and 1948 organized
by the Zionist Movement in Europe. Five
waves of European Jews traveled to
Palestine, many containing as much as
180.000 people. Britain started to regulate Jewish immigration to the Mandate,
so the Jewish communities organized
clandestine migrations between 1936
and 1948. The Bricha was also a migration movement of Holocaust survival of
the Jewish Communities that moved
over 650.000 Jews to the area.
By 1914, 65,000 Jews had moved to what
was then part of the Turkish Ottoman
Empire. As the years went by, this began
to alarm the native population since many
Zionists immigrated to Palestine with the
express wish of taking over the land.
In 1947 the United Kingdom declared its
resolution of withdrawing from Palestine,
and delegate the problem to the United
Nations. The United Nations Partition
Plan for Palestine was a proposal for the
partition of the territory of the Mandate
into a separate Jewish state and 43.53%
to an Arab state, with an international
enclave around Jerusalem, which was
meant to become an “international city”
not controlled by any of the parties. The
plan was rejected by the Palestinians and
accepted by the Jewish Community, but
it was never implemented, because the
1947-1948 Civil War in Palestine started.
When the Ottoman Empire joined the
Central Powers in World War I, the
United Kingdom started to get interested in the region, because of its positioning between the Mediterranean and
British India, and its proximity to the Suez
Canal. Zionist volunteer corps called
Jewish Legion assisted the British in the
occupation of Palestine.
By 1922, the Jewish population had risen
to about 11% of Palestine's 750,000 inhabitants, provoking violent clashes as the
Arab community, including the Palestinians, felt that the Jews were invading
their territory. With World War II and the
Nazi persecution, the immigration of Jews
On May 14th 1948, the Jewish Peoples
Council declared the Establishment of the
State of Israel and the First Arab-Israeli
war began. The next day, five Arab armies
from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and
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Iraq immediately invaded Israel, but were
repulsed and the Israeli army fought back.
With the massacres from both sides,
three-quarters of a million Palestinians
had been made refugees and fled to the
Gaza Strip (kept by Egypt) and West Bank
(kept by Jordan).
The Armistice Agreements of 1949 saw
the end of the first war between Israel
and Arab Countries, and gave around
three quarters of the British Mandate
territory to the Jews. It demarcated the
Arab and Israeli territories in what
became known as the Green Line. It
demarcated the territories now known as
the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Golan
Heights and East Jerusalem, while also
defining the territory in the Sinai.
The Suez Crisis of 1956 saw another
major clash between Israel and Arab
States, mainly Egypt. However, this time
Israel was backed by an alliance with
Britain and France, major players in the
conflict because of the struggle for control of the Suez Canal. Israel almost took
the entire Sinai Peninsula, but traded the
territory gains with access to the canal
and the Strait of Tiran. Israel showed its
military strength, but the conflict helped
little with Arab-Israeli relations.
1967 is a year to be remembered for the
violence and hostilities that took place
over six days starting on June 5 and
ending on June 11. The Six-Day War was
a major conflict between Israel and
Egypt, where the Jews took the entire
Sinai Peninsula from the Egyptians, and
seized control of the Gaza Strip from
Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria
in the north. It also pushed Jordanian
forces out of the West Bank and East
Jerusalem. The conflict displaced another 500,000 Palestinians who fled to
Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
The UN Security Council issued resolution
242, stressing "the inadmissibility of the
acquisition of territory by war and the
need to work for a just and lasting peace
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in which every State in the area can live in
security". The resolution called for the
"withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from
territories occupied in the recent conflict".
It also called for an end to "all claims or
states of belligerency and respect for... the
sovereignty... of every state in the area
and their right to live in peace... free from
threats or acts of force".
In 1987, the First Intifada against the
Israeli occupation began in Gaza and
spread to the West Bank. Two years later,
The Palestinian National Council (PNC)
accepted a "two-state" solution based
on the 1947 UN partition resolution (181),
to renounce terrorism and seek a negotiated settlement based on Resolution
242, which called for Israel to withdraw
from territory captured in the 1967 war,
and Resolution 338.
In 1964 the Palestinian Liberation Organization was founded with the aim of liberating Palestine through armed struggle.
Ten years later, the Arab League and the
UN recognized the PLO as the legitimate
representative of the Palestinian People,
but the United States and Israel both
called the PLO a terrorist organization.
However, Israel claimed that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was a
terrorist organization, so they decided
not to negotiate while proposing elections in the occupied territories.
Peace agreements
Unable to regain the territory they had
lost in 1967 by diplomatic means, Egypt
and Syria launched major offensives
against Israel on the Jewish festival of the
Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. The
United States, the Soviet Union and the
United Nations all made diplomatic
interventions to bring about the ceasefire agreements between the combatants.
In October 1973 the UN Security Council
passed resolution 338, which called for
the parts "to cease all firing and terminate all military activity immediately... [and
start] negotiations between the parties
concerned under appropriate auspices
aimed at establishing a just and durable
peace in the Middle East".
In 1991, the US began to intervene and
prepared the ground for an international
summit to be held in Spain. Syria, Jordan
and a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation attended this meeting from October
to November of 1991. After the summit,
the number of countries that recognized
Israel as a State grew significantly, including major countries such as China and
India. It also led to the Jordan-Israeli
Peace Treaty in 1994, after Jordan resigned its claims to the West Bank in favor
of a peaceful resolution between Israel
and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, a decade earlier.
In 1993, the Oslo peace process began.
The Palestinians agreed to recognize
Israel if they began to leave the occupied
territories. With the signing of the Declaration of Principles, both sides agreed to
Israel's military withdrawal from most of
the Gaza Strip and from the Palestinian
town of Jericho in the West Bank.
After the Yom Kippur war, peace agreements between Israel and some Arab
States began. The Camp David Accords
of 1978 saw the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, and ended major
armed conflicts between Israel and other
States in the region.
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On September 24th 1995, the Oslo II
agreement was signed in Egypt. The
agreement divided the West Bank into
three zones:
Despite these efforts, the struggle continued. One year later, the conflict returned with a series of devastating suicide
bombings in Israel carried out by the
Islamic militant group Hamas.
» Zone A comprised 7% of the territory (the main Palestinian towns excluding Hebron and East Jerusalem)
going to full Palestinian control;
» Zone B comprised 21% of the territory
under joint Israeli-Palestinian control;
» Zone C stayed in Israeli hands. Israel
was also to release Palestinian prisoners. Further handovers followed.
A new attempt at peace was made in July
2000 when US President Bill Clinton
arranged a peace summit between
Palestinian Representative Yasser Arafat
and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
This last one asked as a basis of negotiation that the Palestinian state would
become non-militarized and split into 3-4
parts containing 87-92%, of the West
Bank including only parts of East Jerusalem, and the entire Gaza Strip. Arafat
did not agree with the negotiation, but
also did not offer a counterproposal so
what is known as Camp David negotiations did not go forward.
Although the Second Intifada happened
months later, the US proposed a new
solution to the conflict which consisted
on: first, the establishment of a sovereign
Palestinian state in the Gaza strip and the
West Bank, second, Jerusalem would be
split in two (the Temple Mount/Noble
sanctuary for the Palestinians and the
Western Wall for Israelis); and third,
Palestinian refugees would have the right
to return to their land. Other issues like a
non-militarized state and an international
force for border security also were included. Both sides seemed to agree.
Nonetheless, once again, there was an
obstacle for peace. This time it came in
the form of Israeli elections. Barak, once
again, run for Prime Minister, but Ariel
Sharon won the elections and his new
government chose not to continue with
the talks.
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The European Union, Russia, the US and
the UN proposed a Road Map for Peace
in 2002 and the Arab League also proposed the Arab Peace Initiative. All these
attempts to solve the conflict did not work
either while violence kept on arising.
constitute a threat to peace and security
between both societies.
Nonetheless, issues related to Jerusalem, Holy sites, Palestinian refugees,
security, terrorism, water resources, Israeli settlements and military occupation of
the West Bank and the Gaza blockade
remained unresolved.
After the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004,
the PLO split in two parts: Fatah and
Hamas. Fatah is the organization created
by Arafat in 1959, as a political movement by the Palestinian Diaspora aiming
at liberating Palestinian Arabs. Hamas,
on the other hand, was founded in 1987
after the First Intifada, with the objective
of creating an Islamic State in the area,
including the one recognized as Israel.
Both organizations have clashed
following the Oslo Accords in which the
Palestinian National Authority and Fatah,
with Arafat as its leader, recognized the
right of existence of the State of Israel.
International commitment
Because of the endurance and the
violence of the conflict, the international
community had taken part in the matter.
The United States, United Kingdom,
Canada, Germany and other Western
countries support the Israeli actions,
while Iran, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and
several other Arab and Muslim countries
condemned them.
The United States is Israel’s most important partner. The US-Israeli Relations
have evolved into a military and economic relation, as the US tries to defend
their interest in the region, while Israel
gains from economic aid and military
alliances and trade.
Ever since the previously mentioned
negotiations started, violence has increasingly risen over the years while a solution seems very far away. Conflicts inside
the Palestinian leadership have also
arisen, such as the Fatah-Hamas conflict
of 2006 that gave Hamas full control of
Gaza, and Fatah of the West Bank.
The Arab League is one of the main political actors directly involved in the conflict. While agreeing with UN Security
Council Resolutions 242 and 383, they
make more demands, essentially calling
for full withdrawal by Israel "to the 1967
borders" in return for fully normalized
relations with the whole Arab world.
There are many countries that still do not
recognize Israel's independence, such as
Afghanistan, Indonesia, North Korea,
Algeria, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Lebanon,
Somalia, Brunei, Libya, Sudan, Comoros,
Both Israel and Palestine have accused
each other of war crimes, while Human
Rights claimed that both sides committed human rights violations. Since 2001,
one of Israel’s main concerns is the issue
of rockets fired from Palestinian territory
into Israel, which generate threats to
communities near the areas of Palestinian control. On the other side, Palestine
has argued that the occupation of the
territories, strict border control, and
occasional but exaggerated use of force
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Malaysia, Syria, Djibouti, United Arab
Emirates, Maldives, Guinea, Mali,
Yemen, and Niger.
the problem to unimaginable dimensions and increasing tension in the
region. However, the United Nations has
recently showed its concern about the
problematic that strikes the Middle East,
specifically referring to the Israeli-Palestinian tension, and this is precisely what
the SPECPOL committee is devoting its
time during MONUA 2016, to conform a
solid and clear approach to the conflict.
The recognition of the State of Palestine
is limited. As of September 2015, 136
countries recognize Palestine as a sovereign State. Those that do not recognize
it, acknowledges the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian
People. The United Nations in 2012
upgraded Palestine from an “observer
entity” to a “non-member observer
state”, de facto recognizing the sovereignty of the State.
It is of public knowledge the abuses
committed by either part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and what’s more
upsetting is that most of the abuses referred are still present in the conflict zone.
By ignoring either state (Israel or Palestine) in the formulation of a solution, like it
has been historically done, will bring
even more chaos to the conflict and will
eventually reach a dead point where the
solution turns unfeasible. Hence, the
approach that the delegations should
give the problem must focus on both
states and propose a wide range of possibilities taking into account all the different insights of the problematic.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict: what has
been done and what must be done
The problematic caused by the Israeli
occupation in Palestine is triggering a
series of humanitarian, economic, social,
and political complications that are
forewarning the international community
to take action immediately. Consequently, much has been said in different international organizations concerning the
way in which the issue should be tackled.
Some, vow for a direct intervention,
others prefer a more rational and respectful approach, while many favor a non-intervention aid. Therefore, what’s missing
in this escalating conflict is a clear
response to it from the international
community that resembles international
cohesion and acceptance through organizations like the United Nations.
Considering the historical framework in
which the important events of the conflict
have taken place, the 1949 Armistice
Agreements between Israel and its neighbors Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, which
established the demarcation lines, called
the Green Line, after the 1948 Arab-Israeli
War, must be present to every member
state of the committee. The Green Line
divided the Arab world and Israel, dividing as well its capital Jerusalem with the
Palestinians. Somehow, delegates must
evoke an objective solution that takes
into consideration all these different
aspects of the problematic and try to give
an equal treatment to all of the countries
Throughout the long history of the conflict, the international community has
failed to give an adequate approach to
it, and has, therefore, implicitly decided
to ‘look away’ and leave the problem
how it is. This has served only to amplify
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Interconnectivity with MONUA 2016
involved. It is important to note that the
committee will work under close consideration with all the dispositions displayed
in the Charter of the United Nations,
especially with articles 1 and 2 that comprise the purpose of the organization and
the sovereignty and equal treatment that
all its member states will be subject to,
respectively.
The tension that the conflict evokes in
the Middle East and in the whole planet
is contributing to the formation of terrorist groups around the region, to create
economic and political instability and to
create an atmosphere of insecurity that
isn’t letting countries prosper and is
transforming in poverty and desolation.
Consequently, finding a clear and coherent approach to the problematic is
imperative in the SPECPOL committee
because by the own nature of the conflict, the whole future of the region and
of the whole world is, on a way, on hold.
The impact of the measures adopted
upon the conflict will be vast. Delegations must take into consideration all of
these aspects before they propose any
type of resolution or approach. Additionally, the humanitarian component must
be closely studied with the proposed
solutions because whatever decision is
adopted in the committee must take into
consideration this factor and work
towards it as its main priority.
Specifically, the committee will seek for
possible solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East by the
intervention of new actors in the conflict
that will work towards incentivizing dialogue between parties and promoting a
peaceful and all-encompassing solution
that will bring peace and stability to the
region, and, hence, to the world. By this,
the delegations must be creative and
thorough because the conflict, as long as
it has been, has never encountered a
feasible measure that solves it entirely.
It is to the delegations discretion whether new actors should get involved and
the way it should be done, but what is
imperative for the committee is to clearly
know how these new actors will influence, hopefully positively, in the conflict.
Additionally, it is important to state and
know how the said new actors will function, what will the dynamics of its role be
and how will they be, realistically funded.
Finally, what is most important for the
committee and for the model as a whole,
is to find a comprehensive approach to
the conflict that will begin to end a conflict that has destroyed thousands of lives
throughout the years and has promoted
the convulsed environment the Middle
East has undergone for almost a century.
Without a doubt, the solutions proposed
and eventually adopted will create division between the different perspectives
of countries towards the issue. Therefore,
the delegations that wish to propose
possible and viable solutions must take
this into account. However, it is evident
that a solution that pleases everybody is,
firstly, impossible, and, secondly, not
good enough because it will lack a lot of
substance. Hence, what we want for the
committee, is that delegations propose
thorough and all-encompassing answers
that seek, but are not dependent on, an
international consensus that are comprised of substance and viability. Viability is
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a component that will play a large role in
the committee; by this, we mean: feasible
solutions, well-structured funding, all-encompassing approach and objectivity.
As the nature of the conflict comprises
many interest that overpass the both
countries and even the region they are
situated in, this committee will have a lot
of say with most committees. SPECPOL
must work hand-by-hand with the Security Council, DISEC and SOCHUM for the
demilitarization and social component,
and lastly with the Legal committee
because they are the ones that will create
the legal framework, which will serve as a
basis of whatever is decided in the committee. Thus, the committee will have an
impact in the entire conference. Other
international or regional organizations,
such as the European Union or the Arab
League, shouldn’t be left apart.
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STUDY GUIDE | SPECPOL | MONUA 2016
QARMAS
1. Do human rights violations prevent a
peaceful solution to the conflict in political terms?
6. What solution can be achieved regarding the Jewish settlements in the West
Bank?
2. What measures can Israel take in order
to make peace with Palestine? What
measures can Palestine take in order to
make peace with Israel?
7. How can both main actors, Israel and
Palestine, tackle the issue of terrorism
and terrorist organizations in the region?
How can third party actors participate in
that problem?
3. What can new actors offer to the solution? How will these actors work towards
a viable solution?
8. What is the role of religion in the conflict?
4. How can the United Nations preponderate international humanitarian law
with the any decision that is adopted in
the committee?
9. Can there be a coexistence of both
States?
10. What immediate actions should be
taken?
5. How can International Organizations
expert in the matter, treat crimes against
humanity cases in the conflict?
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REFERENCES
United Nations General Assembly
Resolution 181
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm
The Sykes-Picot Agreement
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2001/israel_and_the_palestinians/key_docume
nts/1681362.stm
United Nations General Assembly
Resolution 194
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_Resolution_194#References
The Balfour Declaration of 1917
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/The+Balfour+Declaration.htm
The Peel Commission Report and
Partition Plans (1937)
http://www.passia.org/publications/bookmaps/page1.htm
United Nations Security Council Resolution 242
https://unispal.un.org/DPA/DPR/unispal.nsf/8fedccc58951b2f485257b35004e7bf0/7d35
e1f729df491c85256ee700686136?Open
Document
The British White Paper (1939)
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/paper39.html
Letter of Invitation to Madrid Peace
Conference (1991)
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Pro-
Palestine Mandate of 1922
http://www.mideastweb.org/mandate.htm
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cess/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Madrid+Letter+of+Invitation.htm
The Oslo Accords (1993)
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1993-2000/oslo
The Israeli Camp David II Proposals
for Final Settlement
http://www.mideastweb.org/campdavid2.htm
The Taba Proposals and the Refugee
Problem
http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_alaqsa_taba.php
The Roadmap for Peace (2003)
http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_current_roadmap.php
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hill, M. (2012, November 12). The
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m-has-a-simple-solution.html#top
A History of Conflict. (2005). Retrieved
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Human rights and decolonization: new
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Humanity Journal.
Tebaldi, D. (2014, August 8). Key Documents for Understanding the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Retrieved January 10, 2016,
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United Nations. “General Assembly.”
A/RES/47/233. N.p., 14 Sept. 1993. Web,
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A History of Conflict. (2005). Retrieved
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United Nations. “Charter of the United
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from http://israelipalestinian.procon.org
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