Opening Ceremony

This year, ISKL has had the pleasure to host the 36th annual IASAS MUN conference. With delegations coming from all over Southeast Asia, the conference already had an air of anticipatory excitement early in the morning. The opening ceremony was held in the Robert B. Gaw theatre, following delegation group photos, and held a variety of inspirational and empowering speeches by the various speakers called up to the podium.

The theme for this year is “Reaching for 2030” – a direct call of action towards the delegates in the audience, who will make up the next generation of leaders and change-makers that have the world to look after. With the United Nation’s SDG goals having been established a few years prior, the theme centralises around sustainable development, and the empowerment of today’s youth in a world that continues to become more raw and unsure with each passing year.

The United Nations, founded in 1945 at the end of World War 2, has always been a place for open-minded and significant debates regarding world issues. Countries from all over the globe participate in the UN, bringing in perspectives and important issues into the global conversation; it is clear that MUN reflects this essence of open-mindedness and determination to better understand and solve the world’s most pressing issues. Secretary-General Isabella Jokela recognised that the delegates “have the fortunate opportunity to look at these issues from a standpoint of privilege,” and implored for this privilege to be used for enlightening and successful debates that further the conversations, and aim to find solutions.

As long as the youth of today’s world take towards the global stage and advocate for the rights they, and their communities, deserve, there is always the goal of change. As the guest speaker, Laura Alvin, so artfully put it, “change is the destination, it is not the journey.”

This year’s delegates continue on in that journey, picking up skills and information that will guide them towards a better future for themselves and the world. Good luck to all delegates, and a congratulations to the secretariat for organising this year’s event.

Update #2 – SPECPOL

• Against speeches on the resolution attempting to solve the Syrian crisis
• Voting on the resolution

Both the delegates of Greece and Saudi Arabia delivered convincing speeches against the resolution. After no delegates offered to make a speech on behalf of the resolution, the chair entertained for there to be two against speeches instead. After answering PIO's, the delegate of Greece yielded the floor back to the chair and the delegate of Saudi Arabia took the stage with confidence. Some key points that came up from both speeches were that the resolution was too vague and at times redundant and in essence wouldn't provide a comprehensive framework on how the crisis would be solved. The delegate of Greece compared the resolution to "putting a bandaid on a bleeding wound". Specifically, the regulation of weapons in Syria was considered too vague by the delegate of Saudi Arabia.

In the end, the resolution passed but only after the due excitement. After the initial round of voting, 5 for and 4 against, the delegate of Rwanda asked the chair for a motion to divide the house after, in his opinion, too many delegates abstained from voting. The motion didn't change the result as the final vote was 8 for and 6 against.

Update #1 – UN4MUN

• Opening speeches
• The delegation of the Palestinian authority engaged Israel
• Motion for provision of contraceptives by NGOs not passed

A sense of revolution and social justice hangs in the room as the delegates enter. Significant statements are tossed around such as “rewriting global culture” as said by the delegate of India or wanting to “pairing tradition and justice” as said by the delegate of Chile. A significant difference between the UN4MUN committee compared to other committees can be found in the fact that the UN4MUN requires all delegates to unanimously agree to a resolution in order for it to pass. In other committees, a resolution is passed if the majority of delegates have voted in favour of the resolution. This unique element adds a component of required cooperation for change, as said by Head Chair Diya Nanavati (ISKL) “it is all about consensus and compromise”.

Right from the start, tension has been present (and voting) in the UN4MUN committee. In a committee that is all about coming to a mutual consensus and compromise, the delegate of the Palestinian authority doesn't seem to be having any of it. In her opening speech, the delegate of the Palestinian authority ruthlessly engaged the delegate of Israel accusing him of crimes against humanity and mentioning atrocities that have been committed against the Palestinian people. The delegate of Israel was clearly caught of guard considering the fact that he didn't use his right to respond.

The committee this morning has voted on the topic of contraceptives. After heavy open debate, the committee had come to the consensus that contraceptives should be provided by NGOs for all genders. While at first the clause only mentioned contraceptives would be provided for women, the delegation of Belgium quickly pointed out that in order to have gender equality, for this matter, contraceptives should be provided for all. However, when the clause came to a vote it failed due to 6 delegates voting against the resolution.

Update #2 – UN4MUN

• Guest speaker Laura Alvin addresses and engages the committee

Laura Alvin, known for her work in developing countries, talks to the committee on the question of reducing gender inequalities in developing nations. She gave great micro-economic examples of how women in developing nations are preferred to lead businesses as they have been proven to be more reliable with funds. However, sadly, she has to add that many times husbands will step in to either take these funds or take over the business due to, for example, cultural reasons or personal reasons.

She also mediated in a debate amongst the delegates and has prepared them to come to a consensus. One of her main points was that she emphasised the power of words and that delegates will have to word things carefully. She argued that delegates have to formulate one key statement. Through this one key statement, delegates will be able to imprint a message into the heads of their fellow delegates which will ultimately help them get their message across.

There was a strong sense of energy that had been established in the crowded room as there were several strong leaders of countries that were approaching the stadium with strong intensions and needs. The opening speeches had started off with one of the students from ISKL, Aditya Sagar, who came in intentionally late as he was dressed up as Muammar Gaddafi of Saudi Arabia. He addressed the head of chairs with full excitement and in character as he was excited to speak with his fellow companions to address the Iranian Revolution and how the Iranian government has developed with the new theocracy that had been formed.

Tensions were also running high as the opening speeches began, as the delegates were addressing countries directly with their issues from the beginning. Israel had stood up and confronted Iran directly for there aggressive intensions that had been established in their government. Iran had responded back to Israel and Ruhollah Khomeini strongly stood up and said that it was ironic that Israel would say negative comments about them even though they were the ones who gave up their land to provide homes for the Israelites.

After all of the opening speeches had finished, all the delegates were let loose in order to form alliances with one another. A large group had formed where the delegates were disputing on which countries should ally with who. A mini-debate had grown as Iran and Iraq were searching for allies as they been trying to sell themselves as negotiable countries and were open to talk about trade, economy, as well as equality of the people with other countries. However, they were not selling themselves enough and had been contradicted on their morals and intentions.

Update #2 – HJCC

• The Pros and Cons of bringing back the Shah government
• 6 Hostages Let Loose in Iran and causes major conflicts because what about the other 34 delegates. The United States is very against this even though they have helped Iran when they were begging for medical help.
• United States Lets Loose as they are being confronted on whether or not to trust Iran with what they have done

The main debate has started in the HJCC committee on whether or not the Iranian government should keep there old or new government. Western countries are in full support with keeping the old Shah government back, but there is a controversy since there ruler was kicked out of there country and will not be able to go back. Turkey had responded back to Iran saying "how are you going to help your country, if you are not even able to enter."

Update #3 – HJCC

• Resolution has been passed for Jordan based off a treaty made.
• Resolution for the United States

As Iran started to shake a little on whether or not to be persuaded by the other countries (will be continued soon)

Update #1 – DISEC

• Opening Speeches
• Get to know the thoughts and interest of the chairs
• First Resolution was passed

Opening speeches had travelled fast through the room as the delegates were eager to start allying and separate themselves based off of the resolution. China and Russia had already decided to align themselves with each other as they were totally against the United States as they believe that the United States has obtained too much power and is manipulating the satellites that are placed in outer space in order to communicate with other countries. Other countries like Chile, Somalia, The main goal in DISEC is to create a general sense of strong communication from one country to another in order to establish peace and get rid of major conflict that might be rising up because of the disputes that countries are having. What makes DISEC interesting in MUN this year is the main topic about militarization of outer space and the control that countries have over it as well. It is very interesting said by head of chair Sajid Farook, "It is interesting because it is what people don't expect the MUN to be handling as it is not geographically on Earth." He also predicts Russia and USA will bump heads as in historical context it is seen that during the cold war space technology was also between those two

As one of the head chairs of being a new incomer he said that"It is certainly a different dynamic and a role in which you have to learn how to be comfortable with. The head of chairs have to be very strategic and equal with all the chairs as they have to tell delegates whether they can speak or not, and the power to speak in MUN is very important.

The first resolution the committee debated was how to combat terrorisation. Most delegates voted for the resolution and it passed.

Update #2 - DISEC

• Resolution up for debate: militarisation of space.
• The main submitter was China and this was supported by Russia.
• Debate arose one who would benefit. It was argued that the main countries who would benefit would be superpowers such as the USA, China and Russia.
• Many asked the question: why should they be the only ones allowed to control space both military wise and economic wise, making it a resolution that would not be in favor of less economically developed countries.

DISEC is special in the sense that they have the use of several amendments that they must follow in order to debate with one another. This is interesting because they are able use these amendments to back up there statements that they addressing about. This however leads than to be seperation and causes them to debate. This is seen when China is mainly was being confronted by The Republican of Congo and India for there satellites and drones in the air. India's delegate was very strong as things got heated when he was getting frustrated with China for their use of satellites and drones that affected other countries. China, Russia, and the United States benefited from this the most as they were the countries with most the most power in militarization of space which caused an unfair use of power. This then leads to countries Congo, Somalia, Venezuela, India, to fight for an equal use of power in space and causes major conflicts. This was shown as India was trying to see if China would fight with their drones when it came to causing violence to other countries.

Imposed by India and the resolution over the militarization of space has not been passed.

Update #1 - ASEAN

• Opening Speeches
• Resolution drafting – Lobbying

Update #4 – ASEAN

• The ASEAN committee just concluded the first half of their second topic, which is about the South China Sea dispute
• Debated on resolutions submitted by China and will continue it tomorrow morning

Update #3 - Arab League

• Finished debating on the resolution on nuclear weapons and establishing a nuclear free zone in the Middle East
  • Mainly debating on how feasible those resolutions are
• Passed the resolution on nuclear issues and submitted the resolution on the Yemen Crisis to the Chairs

Update #4 - Arab League

• The Arab League is halfway in debate of the resolution submitted for the Yemen Crisis
• Recently received a news report update that Iran has been accused of certain crimes and interventions regarding the Yemeni conflict

Update #1 - HRC

• Discussion of LGBT rights in Islamic countries

Entering MPR1, where the Human Rights Committee is based, one can feel a sense of duty. The delegates must deal with heavy and controversial topics ranging from the protection of LGBTQ+ rights to the right of self-determination. In the question of human rights, it is no doubt that each and every delegate wishes to create a safe place for everyone in the world, however they must take the stance of the countries they represent, no matter how controversial those positions might be.

During the opening speeches, they delegates stood tall and proud, speaking with passion and determination. After the opening speeches, the committee went into moderated caucus. During this time, a member from the press team approached the Head Chair and the Deputy Chair were asked what they hope to see in the committee over the next few days.

When asked about their expectations and hopes for the HRC this IASAS conference, the Head Chair Amaya Lilles (ISM) said she wishes for “ a balance between productivity and excitement”. Deputy Chair Madeline Suindah hoped for every delegate to “engage and participate in the debating”. She acknowledged the difficulty delegates might face in standing by their countries stance on a topic but hopes that despite the difficulty “if people can really engage, that would be great.”

The committee opened up Day One with the topic of LGBTQ+ issues and continued to debate until lunch. A heated debate occurred where a few members of the delegate became visibly upset. This resulted in the need for the Secretariat, Head Chair and Deputy Chair to remind the delegates to keep conversations diplomatic and civil.

The resolution finally failed to pass with 13 votes against and 10 votes in favour.

Update #2 - HRC

• Final resolution of the day: Israel and Palestine conflict -- specifically the situation of human rights in Palestine and Arab territories.
• A friendly amendment was added to resolution (Clause 12) by delegate of Hammas.
• Delegate of Iran called for a negative amendment to strike Clause 8. This caused debate which needed to be voted for after speeches for/against the amendment.
• Decision to strike Clause 8: 9 for and 12 against. The amendment was not passed.
• The Chair then called attention back to the original resolution and debate for/against began once again.
• Vote on resolution: 17 for and 4 against. The resolution passed.

Update #1 - Security Council

• Resolution Drafting - Lobbying

Update #1 in the ICJ

The International Court of Justice stands apart from the rest. Whereas other MUN committees draft, debate and vote on resolutions, the ICJ settles cases between two nations. Consisting of eight members who play both the role of judge and advocate, and one President, the ICJ will undertake two cases. Today they covered the case; Palestinian Authority v Israel.

The case is about Israel’s construction of a wall in Occupied Palestinian Territory and not on the Green Line. The case began with opening statements from both Palestine and Israel. Palestine argued that their case must be under the jurisdiction of the ICJ as well as highlighting the human rights abuses the wall caused. Israel, on the other hand argued that Palestine is not a state in the eyes of the United Nations as well as defending themselves against the accusations.

The President of the ICJ, Zwe Latt (ISB) says that he hopes the cases go smoothly and that everyone enjoys themselves during the two days.

Update # 2 in the ICJ

• After presentation of the case and evidence, the rebuttal took place.
• End of rebuttal, the witness, a member of the Israel army, was called upon by Palestine.
• The witness underwent a direct examination, a cross examination (which led to minor frustration- all in good humour- between the witness and the Israel Advocate) and then questioning from the judges.
• Advocates from both countries then presented their final closing statements, reinforcing their claims made in the opening statement as well as presenting new information in light of the evidence presented and the rebuttals as well as witness testimony.
• The final verdict will be given at the end of Day 2.