THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL...

THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL

ASSEMBLY Chair : Aditya Maru

Joint- Directors: Karunya C .Banerjee and Kanishk Vashisht

The content of this background guide is not admissible in the conference as evidence and can not substitute legal documentation unless acceptable sources are provided alongside an extract. This document’s only aim is to provide understanding to delegates participating in this conference.

Acceptable sources and useful links : http://shrimun.weebly.com/usefullinks.html

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The Shri Ram School Moulsari Model United Nations

A Message from the chair

Dear delegates,

It is our pleasure to welcome you to the General Assembly at Shri MUN - 2015. We hope that this guide prepared by your Executive Board will help you to develop a basic understanding of the agendas and will serve as a starting point for your research. However do note that this guide is not meant to serve as a source or a framework for your research. Instead, use this guide to understand the nature of the agendas at hand. Thus do not let this guide restrict the scope of your research in any way whatsoever. Do remember to place an emphasis on originality with regard to the solutions you wish to propose. We look forward to a productive and mutually enriching conference. If any of you have any questions whatsoever, be it about the agenda or the committee, don’t hesitate to send us an e-mail on the addresses given below

Warm Regards,

Aditya Maru, Chair, General Assembly, ShriMUN 2015

Aditya : [email protected]

Kanishk : [email protected]

Karunya : [email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]




The United Nations General Assembly

Introduction

The General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the United Nations. It is a policy making body which is head quartered in New York, United States of America. All members of the United Nations enjoy equal representation in the General Assembly (UNGA or GA). All One hundred and ninety three members of the United Nations are a part of the General Assembly. The UNGA discusses issues spanning the spectrum of the charter of the United Nations.

The composition, functions, powers, voting, and procedures of the UNGA are set out in Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter. The UNGA works on a one member, one vote system where each nation gets only one vote. There are many bodies that maintain an observer status in the UNGA for example The Vatican, The African Union and Palestine. Observer status allows these nations to participate in the working of the United Nations General Assembly.

Powers and Functions

According to the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly may:

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1) Consider and make recommendations on the general principles of cooperation for maintaining international peace and security, including disarmament;

2) Discuss any question relating to international peace and security and, except where a dispute or situation is currently being discussed by the Security Council, make recommendations on it;

3) Make recommendations for the peaceful settlement of any situation that might impair friendly relations among nations;

4) Consider and approve the United Nations budget and establish the financial assessments of Member States;

5) Elect the non-permanent members of the Security Council and the members of other United Nations councils and organs and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, appoint the Secretary-General.

While the Assembly is empowered to make only non-binding recommendations to States on international issues within its competence, it has, nonetheless, initiated actions—political, economic, humanitarian, social and legal—which have affected the lives of millions of people throughout the world.

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IMPACT OF ARMED PROXY WARS ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Introduction By definition, the word proxy means when one person or entity is performing actions for another entity. The term “proxy war” is when there are two or more entities engaging in acts of war against each other, one or more of these entities is supported by another country which is not involved in the war at the same level as the aforementioned warring entity. The actual warring entity is known as the proxy nation and the supporter is known as a supporting country. Each involved entity has its own reason for fighting the war. It must be clarified that the supporter of a proxy war does not directly engage in the war and the proxy isn’t fighting the war on behalf of the supporter per se. The proxy has its own reasons for engaging in warfare, the supporter is in support of the proxy’s acts.

Proxy wars have been going on since the beginning of the cold war because the international community feared that if the two superpowers – USSR and USA- engaged in direct warfare and this would result in nuclear war and total annihilation – This is known as Mutually Assured Destruction. Since the cold war, Proxy wars have occurred all around the world – predominantly in the Middle East. Most recently, the Second Saudi-Yemeni war.

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Reasons for a proxy war to occur There are many reasons that proxy wars occur, they are highlighted on below, however one must realise that since this committee is primarily debating a proxy war in general and not a specific proxy war, the reasons are generalised and war-specific reasons are exempt, however delegates are recommended to know some reasons to the prominent proxy wars to carry out substantial debate.

1) Military Strength Disparity: Say there are two countries- A and B – they are very bitter enemies and are in absolute conflict. Country A has a military far more capable and stronger than country B. Country B would face assured destruction in a war scenario against country A as it is not capable of matching A’s military strength. Country B’s best bet is to engage in a proxy war with country A, where there is a country C fighting a war against A as a proxy nation supported by B. A real world example of this is the Arab-Israel conflict. A bloc of Arab countries (Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon) is anti-Israel for many reasons, religious differences being one of the primary ones. They’ve engaged Israel thrice and have been severely defeated each time. After the Yom-Kippur war, they realised that they could not match Israel militarily so they resorted to funding organisations such as Hezbollah and Hamas, here The Arab Coalition became a supporting nation and Hezbollah and Hamas became Proxy entities.

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2) A way around democracy – keeping a country’s population happy while maintaining the unpopular decision to go to war:

The leaderships of many countries are democratically elected and the public isn’t always in support of a war for many reasons which aren’t consequential in this context. However, the country’s leadership still feels that a war is necessary, despite the opinions of the public so this country will then look for a solution by which it can maintain both agendas. This solution is a proxy war. Say Country A and B are back, and by some means, country B is now powerful enough to directly engage country A, but the population of country B is against this, B will again resort to a proxy war in order to engage A in warfare. B will find an entity C which may have its own reasons to engage with A and support it. The Soviet-Afghan war of 1979 is a prime example of this – in 1975 the USA had lost a war to Vietnam and four years on from that date, the public was not ready to enter into another year. To still engage the soviets, the USA funded a group called the Mujahideen in the soviet Afghan war.

3) International Relations

Although this is not a very prominent reason for proxy wars – The reaction of the international community does have a strong impact on what type of warfare two countries will engage in. Consider the case where countries A and B import oil from a country D, now this country has threatened to impose an embargo on any of the two countries that provokes war, A and B might opt to war using proxies instead and save their oil supply. This is observed in the conflict between Saudi Arabia

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and Iran, they want to go to war but cannot because it will result in severe economic punishments for either.

EFFECTS OF A PROXY WAR

A proxy war has drastic impact. There are numerous economic effects and the death toll during a proxy war is high.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC EFFECTS:

There is a high drain in the wealth of countries involved in a proxy war.

More often than not funds are diverted from various portfolios to manage the war. During the Vietnamese War (an extremely significant proxy war that took place during the period of the Cold War) the USA invested $111 Billion a year from 1965-1975 which caused widespread criticism from citizens. There was a huge movement undertaken by musicians, artists and actors of the USA against the US involvement in Vietnam.

The Soviet-Afghanistan war during the 1900s lead to massive drain of wealth from the USSR and lead to a debilitating country. The war essentially caused the USSR to go bankrupt and eventually leading to its disintegration.

Proxy wars generally have a destabilizing effect.In the Middle East, the proxy wars, one between Saudi Arabia and Iran and the other between Israel and Palestine, have destroyed the region. These conflicts have resulted in, among other things, the Syrian Civil War, the rise of ISIL, the current civil war in Yemen, and the re-emergence of the Taliban.

DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

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Death and destruction in the case of a proxy war is rampant.

In the Syrian Civil War the death toll now exceeds 210,000 as reported by Reuters.

In the Soviet-Afghanistan War ,the decade-long war resulted in the death of 1.5 million civilians.

The United Nations (UN)on Friday reported that the intense fighting in Yemen has claimed the lives of approximately 551 civilians, 115 of which were children.

Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) , noted that this death toll only calculated civilian casualties and that the actual number of lives lost during the fighting is projected to be much higher. He also stated that another 1,185 civilians have been injured. Colville concluded urging all sides contribute to humanitarian aid in the region.

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One of the reasons the death toll in these conflicts is so high because of the fact that most of the groups fighting them are paramilitary. In Israel, there's Hamas and Hezbollah. In Ukraine, there's the pro-Russian rebels.In Syria, there's ISIL, Al-qaeda and a lot of other rebel groups. Because these groups are paramilitary, they're not technically allowed to be there. If anyone who was willing to control them was able to, they wouldn't exist in the first place. Also because they're paramilitary, they often don't have much respect for existing laws and military norms. Often, they won't go out of their way to prevent civilian deaths, dramatically increasing the number of casualties. Some of these groups, such as Hamas, even consider civilians legitimate targets and weapons.

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CASE STUDY

For the benefit of the delegates we have written a case study on the Syrial Civil war which is a proxy war, this should help in enhancing your understanding of proxy wars.

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian Civil War is a proxy war with Saudi Arabia, the USA and the UK on one side and Iran and Russia on the other.

The Syrian Civil War, also known as the Syrian Uprising, is an ongoing armed conflict taking place in Syria. The unrest began in the early spring of 2011 within the context of Arab Spring protests, with nationwide protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government, whose forces responded with violent crackdowns. The conflict gradually morphed from prominent protests to an armed rebellion after months of military sieges.

Soon there was involvement by the world powers in the Syrian Civil War. Most notably with Russia and Iran supporting the Government and USA, Saudi Arabia and UK supporting the rebels.

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Pro-Government:

RUSSIAN INVOLVEMENT

Russia, whose Tartus naval base in Syria is its only one outside the former Soviet Union, has supplied Assad's government with arms as part of a business contract signed before the uprising began. Russia has also sent military and technical advisers to train Syrian soldiers to use the Russian-made weapons, and to

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help repair and maintain Syrian weapons. There are rumours that Russia is aiding the Syrian economy afloat by transporting hundreds of tonnes of banknotes into the country by airplane.

December 2012, it was reported that "Russian military advisers" were inside Syria, manning some of the anti-aircraft defences sent by Russia.

In January 2014 Russia has stepped up its military support for the Syrian government by supplying new armoured vehicles, surve In illance equipment, radars, electronic warfare systems, spare parts for helicopters, and various weapons including guided bombs for planes.

IRANIAN INVOLVEMENT

Iran and Syria have been long term allies and Iran has provided significant support for the Syrian Government in the Syrian Civil War. This is said to include technical support, some combat troops, and $9billion in financial aid.Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, voiced his opinion on the Civil War and pledged his allegiance to the government of Syria in 2011.The Syrian city of Zabadani is extremely important to to Iran because, the city served as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps's logistical hub for supplying Hezbollah.

PRO-REBELS

USA

There are rumours that the CIA trains rebels in Syria.In June 2012, the Central Intelligence Agency was reported to be involved in covert operations along the Turkish-Syrian border, where agents investigated rebel groups, recommending arms providers which groups to give aid to. The US State Department

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has reportedly allocated $15 million for civilian opposition groups in Syria.

In July 2012, the United States government granted a non-governmental organization called Syrian Support Group a license to fund the Free Syrian Army.

In early March 2013, a Jordanian security source revealed that the United States, Britain, and France were training non-Islamist rebels in Jordan. In an effort to strengthen secular elements in the opposition as a bulwark against Islamic extremism, and to begin building security forces to maintain order in the event of Bashar al-Assad's fall. In 2013 the United States had set up a $70 million program in Jordan "that is training the kingdom's special forces to identify and secure chemical-weapons sites across Syria should the regime fall and the wrong rebels look like getting their hands on them."

In April 2013, the Obama administration promised to double non-lethal aid to rebels, specifically to $250 million.

On 13 June, government officials state that the Obama administration, after days of high-level meetings, has approved providing lethal arms to the Supreme Military Council (SMC). The SMC is a rebel command structure that includes representatives from most major rebel groups, and excludes the Islamic extremist elements.The decision was made after the Assad Government used chemical weapons against all the agreements made by the. The United States is also considering a no-fly zone in southern Syria, which would allow a safe place to equip and train rebels.

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In December 2013, The United States suspended the shipments of nonlethal military aid including food rations, medical kits and pickup trucks after warehouses

of equipment were seized by the Islamic Front. The Islamic Front is a coalition of Islamist fighters that broke with the American-backed Free Syrian Army, a secular Syrian opposition.

UK AND FRANCE INVOLVEMENT

In November 2011, NATO said it had no intention of taking military action in Syria, after it closed its seven-month campaign in Libya. In that same month, Libyan rulers offered weapons, money and potential volunteers, it was reported that 600 rebel fighters have gone from Libya to Syria in order to support the rebels.

In June 2012, Reuters suggested that the prospect of British special forces entering Syria on the ground is growing, following unconfirmed reports from an Israeli website that SAS Commandos were conducting covert operations within Syrian territory, operating from Turkey on 26 June 2012.

At a conference in Paris in 2012, Western and Sunni Arab countries nonetheless announced they were going to "massively increase" aid to the Syrian opposition.

A crucial line of support began in spring 2012 as Saudi Arabia and Qatar announced they would begin arming and bankrolling the opposition.

On 22 April 2013 the European Union lifted its embargo on Syrian oil to import barrels directly from rebel groups. Several

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of the oil fields are believed to be under control of Jabhat al-Nusra.

A vote was held within the British House of Commons on 29 August 2013 to decide whether the United Kingdom would join the United States in initiating militant action against the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Government. Despite support from the Prime Minister David Cameron, the motion was defeated by 285 votes to 272.

On 19 September 2013, French President François Hollande hinted that France was ready to begin supplying lethal aid to the Free Syrian Army during a press conference in Bamako in a "controlled

framework". Hollande told the conference that "On delivering weapons we have always said that we want to control these supplies so that they do indeed go to the Free Syrian Army because they represent the Syrian National Coalition that we recognise as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people and today they are caught between a hammer and an anvil. The hammer is the air strikes and actions of the Syrian regime and the anvil is radical Islam.”

FOR A BETTER UNDERSTANDING ON THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR READ:

http://www.socsci.uci.edu/globalconnect/webppts/ArabSpring/08%20Syria%20Case%20Study.pdf

http://pomeps.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/POMEPS_BriefBooklet22_PoliSciSyria_Web.pdf

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Points to keep in mind 1) The list of admissible sources is available at

http://shrimun.weebly.com/usefullinks.html 2) There is a requirement for position papers in this committee, the due

date for which will be on the website 3) The Syrian civil war is one case study, do not make it the focus of your

research, there are many proxy wars going on today as well (YemenSaudi for one)

What we expect in committee 1) We expect a fruitful discussion on committee wars in general,

and we strongly recommend using examples to support your arguments

2) We will be lax with procedure but only to a certain extent to encourage more focus on content over formality

3) We expect decorum and compliance. 4) We will be placing a premium on sticking to foriegn policy

Things we expect to be discussed 1) Socio-Economic impacts of proxy wars 2) Political impacts of proxy wars 3) Monetary and Property costs of wars on supporters and proxies 4) Post war condition of proxies 5) Legality of proxy wars 6) Results of previous proxy wars(hint : Mujahideen is one)

Consider the links on the following page too

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http://shrimun.weebly.com/useful-links.html


These in addition to the links on the website should give you a good base for research in addition to which any books that you bring should have content either annotated to admissible proof or you should provide proof. We will be very strict with admissibility of proof and will not allow frivolous and misdirecting reports or claims

1) www.huffingtonpost.com/news/proxywars 2) www.dpsa.dk/papers/On%20Proxy%20War.pdf 3) https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/09/19/lect-s19.html 4) www.mondediplo.com/2013/07/05syria 5) http://www.au.af.mil/au/ssq/2011/winter/yeisley.pdf

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/proxy-wars




http://www.dpsa.dk/papers/On%20Proxy%20War.pdf






https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/09/19/lect-s19.html

http://www.mondediplo.com/2013/07/05syria

http://www.au.af.mil/au/ssq/2011/winter/yeisley.pdf

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