SPECPOL: From Reflection to Reform: Innovative Solutions for Age-Old Problems

This JOMUN XXIV conference, delegates of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee are focusing on two issues: the first one is “rethinking sovereignty and statehood response to global prevalence of statelessness,” and the second is “redressing contemporary political instability caused by the legacy of arbitrary colonial borders.

Sovereignty is the independent leadership and political recognition of different states, and statelessness is when a person is not recognized as a citizen by any country. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, someone can either be born stateless or become stateless, and it affects 4.5 million people around the world. Being stateless makes people excluded from basic human rights such as legal identity, access to education, health care, job opportunities, and marriage. A major cause of the statelessness of individuals is discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, language, or religion. It’s important for this community to discuss this issue to prevent statelessness from becoming any more prevalent than it currently is, and to ensure that those who are affected by it are properly protected. 

For the second issue, the term “political instability” refers to volatile political circumstances, where a government or state becomes susceptible to collapse due to unpredictability in governance. A major part of political instability is corruption, which causes government bodies to be untruthful with the public and misuse funds, such as taxes. Colonial borders have historically caused division between nations and regions, such as ongoing conflicts in Sudan caused by Egyptian-British rule from 1899 to 1956. Recognizing the role that history and colonialism have played in forming the nations, governments, and political systems we have today is important in understanding how to fix the problems that arise from them, and delegates will discuss these issues to reach meaningful solutions.

For JOMUN XXIV, the Special Political and Decolonization Committee is focusing on human rights, marginalization, stability, and conflict. The many different perspectives will allow delegates to discuss these issues deeply and work together to find solutions to them