LCIMUN 2016- SPECPOL
LCIMUN 2016
LAKESHORE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE
MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2016
Special Political and
Decolonization Committee
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LCIMUN 2016- SPECPOL
Table of Contents
Topic 001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3
Topic 002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5
Topic 003 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7
References ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 9
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Topic 001: Peace negotiations for the French
Indochinese war
After establishing dominance over its mainland
within Europe along with its imperial
adventures into Algeria, Tahiti, Guiana and
Pondicherry, the French Empire began to turn
its attention towards Indochina. The first
French intervention in Indochina began with
disputes over French missionaries’ activities
within Vietnam during the 18th century,
however, not long after, in September of 1858,
French involvement in Vietnam truly began. On
this date, Spanish troops aboard French
gunships attacked the port of Tourane (present
day Da Nang), and were able to capture and
occupy the city. Quickly sailing south, the naval
force was able to quickly capture the poorly
defended city of Saigon, demoralizing the
This image shows the expansion of French
occupation (blues) in Indochina
Vietnamese people. From there on out, the
Vietnamese state was forced to concede
province after province to their new imperial masters. And so Vietnam fell under French
Imperial rule. However, there was unrest amongst the Vietnamese populous, and there
were many small skirmishes and rebellions against French rule. However, the scale and
consequences of these rebellions are incomparable to the Viet Minh's rebellion today.
Shortly afterwards, in 1863, the Cambodian king decreed that he (and by extension,
Cambodia) requested and desired the establishment of a French protectorate over his
country. Not long after, in 1867, Siam (Thailand) renounced suzerainty over Cambodia
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and officially recognised the French protectorate over Cambodia, in exchange for control
of the provinces of Battambang and Siem Reap, which officially became part of Siam.
And, with that, Indochina fell under French control.
The French Indochina war began as a small skirmish in 1946, as a conflict of interest over
import duties between the Vietminh government and the French. However, this conflict
had devastating consequences. Later that month, the French began bombarding the city
of Hai Phong, killing 6,000 Vietnamese civilians in one afternoon. This is known as the
Hai Phong incident, and it is suspected to be the root cause of the violent Vietminh
rebellion. In the following year, the French failed to retaliate with sheer military force,
and so installed an alternate puppet government in Saigon to politically oppose and
isolate the Vietminh.. With only marginal success.. And now, in the present day, despite
being depicted as a “crusade against communism" the war in Indochina is beginning to
become more and more unpopular both internationally and in France itself. Seeking to
end the bloodshed and restore order both in Indochina and internally, France has
summoned the Vietminh government as well as SPECPOL to discuss ceasefire terms
inside of Indochina.
Questions to Consider
1. Should the Indochinese separatists be granted full independence, or another
political state of control?
2. Should the French Empire be required to pay penance for the war crimes
committed against the citizens of Hai Phong?
3. How might the unrest within France affect the outcome of this topic?
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Topic 002: Portuguese Colonial War
In 1933 an Authoritarian, Corporatist, fiercely
Colonial and Pseudo-Fascist regime, known
as the Estado Novo (New State) took control
in Portugal, who instituted a brutal regime
that imprisons and murders dissenters both
in Portugal and in its colonies. However, up
until the early 1960s, the regime was
tolerated by its allies in NATO, due to its
anti-communist policies and the economic
growth the country achieved during Salazar’s
reign and despite Salazar’s more outrageous
actions such as declaring 3 days of national
This is a map showing the location of the Portuguese
Colonies
mourning for Adolf Hitler in 1945 and mass
censoring of academics all across Portugal.
While NATO has been somewhat tolerant of the regime up until recently, the people
living in Portugal’s colonies have
not been so. And as a result, 5
years ago in 1961, the Portuguese
Colonial war began when groups
backed by both the United States
(FNLA) and the Soviet Union
(FRELIMO) began fighting for the
liberation of their colonies from
their imperial overlords.
This map shows territory currently occupied by Portugal
(Purple) and the rebels (Red))
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Presently, the situation is
extremely volatile with conflict
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both internally as well as internationally. Portugal is being politically torn apart by the
war, while in Angola and Mozambique tens of thousands have died and dozens more
perish everyday due to war, starvation, ethnic cleansing, dehydration and disease while
the world powers attempt to exert their influence over the different rebel groups.
Seeing that the United Nations has tasked SPECPOL with organizing a meeting of
international powers with representatives from rebel groups, to find an agreement that
will end the bloodshed and suffering felt by the people in this crumbling empire on a
daily basis.
Questions to Consider
1. Should the Portuguese colonies be granted full independence or should they
remain as colonial domains of Portugal?
2. Should the Estado Novo government continue to be tolerated as a member of the
international community?
3. Who’s sphere of influence should the potentially newly formed countries lie in?
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Topic 003: Israel-Palestine border
negotiations
In 1916 during the height of the First World War, The United Kingdom and France made
a secret agreement on the partitioning of Ottoman lands in the Middle East. The
negotiation of this agreement, known
as the Sykes–Picot Agreement,
marked the first time that the
concept of a Jewish State was
realistically considered and seriously
brought to the table.
However, it would take another
World War for this idea to come to
fruition. In the form of the 1947 UN
resolution on the future of Palestine
that dictated the new borders
between the newly established Jewish state, Israel, and Palestine.
However, not all was well as the newly established borders, as their creation forced
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of their land and into the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip. This, combined with tensions and controversy at the mere idea of a Jewish
State, provoked the Arab-Israeli War in 1948 between Israel and The Arab League.
The short and violent war ended in 1949 having killed an estimated 40,000 people and
setting tension at an extreme high between Israel and its neighbors up into the present
day.
Tensions were elevated and pushed to the near breaking point in 1966 when the Suez
Crisis, a joint British, French and Israeli invasion of Egypt was executed, with the goal of
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evicting the Egyptian leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser
from power and installing a more western friendly
leader, effectively establishing western control over
the Suez Canal.
The invasion was indeed a military defeat for Egypt,
but it was a political victory, as the invasion was
swiftly and decisively opposed by the United States
and the Soviet Union, who used diplomatic pressure
to force tripartite forces to withdraw only days after
they had entered Egypt.
Now, in the present day of May, 1967, the almost
tangible astriction of the tension between Israel and
its Arab neighbors threatens to snap, and the brink of war seems not only inevitable, but
just over the horizon. The fact that Palestine seeks full independence from Israel (Who
understandably resists this change) may be the straw that breaks this particular camel's
back. However, the risk of another war between these nations will not go unnoticed, as
the United Nations have tasked SPECPOL with organizing an emergency meeting to
discuss possible border changes in the Middle East in order to avoid another conflict.
Questions to Consider
1. Should Palestine be recognized as an independent nation or is a two state solution
simply not possible?
2. Should Israel concede the lands it holds that violate the 1947 border treaty?
3. How would any given solution affect the already very tenuous political situation in
Israel/Palestine and the Middle East as a whole?
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References
Hunt, Michael H. A Vietnam War Reader: A Documentary History from American and
Vietnamese Perspectives. Chapel Hill, NC: U of North Carolina, 2010. Print.
"Vietnam - The Conquest of Vietnam by France." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 June 2016. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.
"The Cold War Museum." Cold War Museum. N.p., 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.
Waals, W. S. Van Der. Portugal's War in Angola 1961-1974. Pretoria: Protea Book House,
2011. Print.
Pinto, By Nuno Tiago. "Colonial War: The Wounds of the Portuguese Vietnam in Africa."
Portugal Daily View. N.p., 19 July 2011. Web. 20 Sept. 2016. CRBuildpeace. "Angola from
past to Present." Conciliation Resources. N.p., 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.
Caplan, Neil. The Israel-Palestine Conflict Contested Histories. N.p.: Wiley, 2011. Print.
Wright, Robin. "How the Curse of Sykes-Picot Still Haunts the Middle East." The New
Yorker. N.p., 30 Apr. 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016.
"Israel's Impact on the Middle East, 1948-98: Year In Review 1998." Encyclopedia
Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1998. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.
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