FS MUN Report 2017

Frankfurt School of Finance and Management

FS MUN Report 2017 FS Model United Nations (MUN) initiative oers students of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management the unique opportunity to participate each year in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) Conference in New York.

Preface INDEX ABOUT MUN GENERALLY OUR DELEGATION MODEL UNITED NATIONS UNITED NATIONS BRIEFING WORKSHOP AT DEUTSCHE BANK OPENING CEREMONY CLOSING CEREMONY WHAT WE TAKE HOME

FS Model United Nations (MUN) initiative offers students of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management the unique opportunity to participate each year in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) Conference in New York.

In the academic year of 2016/17 over 100 students participated in the initiative’s preparation sessions and 42 students were eventually selected to attend the NMUN Conference in New York. This years delegation represented China with 38 delegates and additionally the United States of America in the Security Council with two delegates.

As in the last years, the delegation was succesfull and won the awards for „Honorable Mentioned Delegation“ and two awards for „Best Position Paper“.

The Final Report represents what FS MUN has been up to in the past year.

DELEGATES DANCE SHERATON HOTEL

If you want to see more of FS MUN - pictures, videos and other information on the initiative - make sure you check out our numerous appereances on social media!

DELEGATES DANCE A DAY IN BROOKLYN

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WORKSHOP WEEKEND IN WIESBADEN

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ABOUT CHINA

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INSIDE THE COMMITTEES

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fs_mun Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/fsmun Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/fsmun 2

About the UN generally

Since

its foundation in 1945 as the successor of the League of Nations the

peacekeeping and security), the protection of the human rights as declared in the

United Nations have continued to increase their member states from initially 51 to

Human Rights Charter, assisting in the process of economic development and

193 in 2017. Whereas the total number of member states has increased, same

sustainability, medical support in regions of threat and overall prevention of

can’t be said for the global reputation in terms of positive perception.

epidemic, financial assistance and fighting the immediate threat of climate change on a long-term scale.

As the intergovernmental organization has been founded in the ending year of World War II it is greatly influenced by the political influence of that time and

Furthermore, with recent developments triggered through globalization and

especially the victorious powers. As an approach to prevent any similar conflict in

inequality, terrorism has become a major issue the UN must face in its daily work.

the future, those powers have been given extraordinary influence in the

Since the change from conservative warfare to asymmetric warfare, it has

organization by making them permanent members of the security council with an

become additionally difficult to limit, localize and eliminate possible threats to

additional veto right. Naturally, with changing balances in global politics, many

national as well as global security and prosperity. With this in mind, it becomes

have criticized the rusty structure of the United Nations. As popular as

clear that international collaboration and cooperation is as needed as never

approaches to restructure and modernize the United Nations is, no attempt yet

bevor. For reasons as such, the UN is continuously concerned with finding new

has been successful and it can be assumed it will stay like that for now.

ways and founding new instruments and agencies to properly channelize political intends and negotiations.

However, with its many entities, wide spread areas of expertise and occupation and global political, economic and humanitarian influence the United Nations can

“More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can

be assumed to be the most relevant and influential Organization in the world.

master it only if we face it together. And that, my friends, is why we have the

Naming all the achievements the world owes the United Nations would be out of

United Nations.” (Kofi Annan)

any reach, however it is a pretty distinct indicator to just briefly mention that not only the UN itself was awarded with a Nobel price (in 2001) but numerous other agencies and officers of the UN have been awarded likewise.

With this words by Kofi Annan, a former UN-General-Secretary once more emphasizing the importance of the United Nations, this short introduction to the UN finds its end.

By additionally emphasizing the differentiated structure of the UN Body into the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretariat, the International Court of Justice, The UN Security Council and the UN Economic and Social Council it can be clearly observed that the fields of activity differ highly. To name only a few of the UN activities, there are namely: the achievement of world peace (by maintaining

3

Ann-Sophie Molter

Daniel Schnee

Yuxin Cheng

Tamina Wind

Marco Winter

Janis Toelle

Carl Wollenhaupt

Sophie Pötsch

Valentina Saavedra

Janek Friederichs

Nina Gattermayer

Francesco Villani

Janis Lauinger

Florian Doenick

Sabrina Kuhajewska

Prachi Jain

Ole Schwencker

Elisa Becker-Foß

Frederik Staudt

Stefanie Arndt

Niklas Trix

Sebastian Baumann

Annika Brüggemann

Lukas Münch

Alexander Schink

Garret Schürgens

Michael Gritzbach

Niklas Flörsch

Jonas Dieckmann

Jasmin Arian

Leon Erichsen

Stephan Wittig

Johannes Bösch

Matthias Illg

Katharina Stitzl

Paul Bernhardt

Johannes Hufeld

Janik Sieber

Aurelia Auracher

Georg Roggemann

4

Model United Nations

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business.

watching conflicts breaking out all over the world the idea of the UN

I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone

and our commitment to it is more important than ever.

- if possible - Jew, Gentile - black man - white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness - not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone.

And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.” (Charly Chaplin 1940)

The best way to attract people, especially young and successful students, to the UN was to create an event, where they could experience the procedures and learn more about the UNs’ goals. In the early 1920s colleges in North America already hosted simulations called “Model League of Nations” which were transformed or used as blueprints for “Model United Nations” (MUN) after the Second World War. Until the end of the 20th century model united nation

This might be a quote from a movie, but one most people all around

conferences became popular all around the world. Nowadays we

the world would support nowadays. However, despite our wish to

have MUN clubs in almost every big city, at many famous universities

cooperate, share and live in peace it turnes out to be a long way to

and high schools. You can participate in local, national and

achieve this goal. After World War II we have seen what happens if

international MUN conferences on almost every continent.

we decide to solve conflicts by war rather than by diplomacy. To avoid such a catastrophe in the future, 51 countries, led by the USA, China, Britain and Russia, founded what we know as United Nations (UN) or United Nations Organization (UNO) today. Until today they achieved many goals, such as the declaration of human rights and the deescalation of the Cuba- and Berlin crisis during the cold war.

But since we are living in a world where countries have enough

The biggest ones are Harvard Universities “World MUN” in Boston and the “National Model United Nations” in New York, where the Frankfurt School regularly participates. Every year thousands of students from all parts of the world come together to learn more about the UN, inform themselves about important problems around the globe and work on solutions together.

nuclear weapons to destroy our planet several times and we are

5

United Nation Briefing

On the 15th of March, the day after our arrival in New York, we

about China and the UN. The lecture was thought provoking and

had a briefing session scheduled at the UN Headquarters. We

knowledgeable and it gave us a great headstart for the coming

arrived there at about 9 a.m. The structure of the UN

NMUN conference. We felt to prepared and ready to face the

Headquarters before us was monumental and left us in awe. The

challenges in our respective committees.

first instinct was a feeling of pride and excitement to be at such a significant site. The Briefing for Frankfurt School delegation took place in one of the conference rooms at the UN HQ. It was conducted by the Secratarian of the Security Council of United Nations. She began the briefing with a short introduction of herself and her position as the Secratarian. It was very fascinating to learn about her work and responsbilities in the Security Council. She then talked about China’s current participation in the United Nations and how China communicates its position in the various committee sessions. She also went on to discuss the current aairs in China and its relations with countries such as U.S, Russia, North Korea and a few others. It was a very interactive session with profound discussions on China, world politics and the significance of United Nations. The briefing lasted for about 90 minutes and it ended with a Q&A. We had the opportunity to exchange our views and ask her further questions about our committee topics and gain deeper insights

6

Workshop at Deutsche Bank

Prior to the beginning of the National Model United Nations

Consequently we were able to mention favorable constellations of

Conference in New York, the Frankfurt School committee was given

networks within our opening speeches. After intense hours of work,

the chance to prepare for the Conference at the Deutsche Bank on

the delegation was given a break in which everybody was able to

Wall Street. Two days ahead of the beginning of NMUN the delegation

strengthen themselves with a meal and furthermore explore the Wall

met up at the headquarters of Deutsche Bank in New York. After

Street. After the break all delegates finished their opening speeches.

being identified via passport the delegates were granted permission

Once everybody was finished with their speeches we started

to surpass the security controls and precede the journey to the

presenting them to the group and the heads. Every committee was

meeting room, which we were assembled. Unfortunately it was not

given the chance to present their opening speech. While holding the

the corner office on the top floor with a beautiful view on the Hudson

speech we were captured on camera and precisely observed by the

River. Nevertheless the positive aspect of the underground office was

experienced heads. After each speech one head dedicated his/her

the absence of distraction due to a missing view. Therefore the

effort to analyzing the speeches individually and depicted the speech

delegation was able to solely focus upon the preparation ahead. A

via video to the speaker. Due to this individual support we were able

lady from Deutsche Bank, who was restricted since she was partying

to improve our speeches and our method of presentation for the

6 days earlier gave an introduction speech and afterwards

upcoming conference. Once every speech was held and everybody

disappeared and left us on our own with our upcoming work. Once

got their feedback the delegates incorporated the feedback that they

the lady vanished the assignments began. During the session at

had received into their speeches. At the end of the day at Deutsche

Deutsche Bank the delegates were supposed to prepare their

Bank the Head delegates of the Frankfurt School delegation gave a

individual opening speeches for their committees. These included the

brief overview of the upcoming days and released us to explore the

formulation of the priority regarding the topics, which were up to

financial district Wall Street. Looking backwards the preparation at

discussion during the conference. In order to envisage which

Deutsche Bank aided us immensely towards a successful

delegations could be in favor of the same all delegates were given the

participation in the NMUN Conference.

opportunity to read through the position papers of other delegations.

7

Opening Ceremony

The National Model United Nations 2017 started off with this year´s

conference ever took place at Syracuse University in 1927 and the

opening ceremony at the Hilton Hotel near the Times Square in New

number of different nationalities participating has been growing since

York City on the 19th of March. Our delegation from Frankfurt School

then.

and hundreds of other students were welcomed to the upcoming conference and its debates and discussions. We had the chance to have a look at all the other universities participating at NMUN and were about to feel the anticipation for it. There were universities from all over the world representing about 110 countries of the different member states of UN. Sadly, some people did not have to opportunity to attend this year. We were told by the staff that there were many people who couldn’t participate at the conference due to the American entry ban of some nationalities. As one of the speakers mentioned, there were many American citizens shouting at the government to let the banned Muslims into the country. Everyone should have the right to travel freely, especially students.

Firstly, the general secretary of United Nations Antonio Guterres spoke to the students about the importance of these kinds of conferences. He emphasised how large their impact can be on young people in terms of teaching them how these globally relevant issues effect our world and its people. We were also informed about the long

The key speaker who is a human rights lawyer told us everything about the next impressions of this new world we were about to experience with all the others. She was a former participant of National Model United Nations in New York and chose her career mainly because of her work there. Hence, she wanted to encourage everyone to find their passion for international affairs as well as to think about creative approaches to globally relevant issues. Although our world has never been so developed, connected, and informed, she told us that the people seem to go backwards by making the mistakes again.

Whether we talk about children in need, wars,

illnesses, malnutrition or natural disasters, we must handle these important topics.

By telling all of us at the end that “What you do matters”, we were motivated to start with this year´s National Model United Nations. We were ready to discuss, amend, set motions and especially learn a lot and have a unique NMUN experience.

history of NMUN which started off in the United States of America and goes back further than the history of UN itself. The first 8

Closing Ceremony

On 23rd of March, after the general assembly plenary session, all

different countries and cultures. He repeated his words from the

the delegations came to the United Nations Headquarters in New

opening ceremony, “All are welcome here!” The impressive

York, where the last highlight of National Model United Nations,

words from all the speeches had a great impact on our minds as

the Closing Ceremony, took place. It was the only event which

well as this international event.

was held at the United Nations Headquarters and all the delegations could take part in during the National Model United Nations 2017 Conference A. It would start at 1 p.m. but we have waited for a long time for the security check already from the morning before getting into the UN General Assembly hall at UN Headquarters, where the general assembly of the United Nations usually hold at as well as where the heads of the member countries of United Nations meet and the normal tourists are not allowed to get inside of it. After a great deal of clicks of cameras, all the delegation sat down and the closing ceremony finally began. The keynote speaker was Ms. Helena Yanez Loza this time, who is the Minister Plenipotentiary Deputy Permanent Representative, she held a speech in which she reported about the meaning of the discussed topics of NMUN this year. Michael Eaton, Executive Director of NMUN, has also emphasized the importance of the projects, especially during the time of populism, xenophobia and resentment against the foreigners as

Furthermore, National Model United Nations advances understanding of the UN and contemporary international issues and has positively impacted the lives of numerous delegates. It urges all delegates and their faculty advisors to maintain an appropriate perspective regarding the awards, which were presented after then. They are given by NMUN in recognition of preparation, Outstanding Position Paper Awards in Committee, as well as other overall delegation awards based on work during the conference in the categories of: Honorable Mention, Distinguished Delegation, and Outstanding Delegation. The delegation of People’s Republic of China, which was represented

by Frankfurt school of Finance and Management, was awarded the prize of “Honorable Mention Delegation” and two “Outstanding position papers in Committee”. With the end of closing ceremony, the National Model United Nations 2017 brought to a successful close.

a demonstration of the importance of corporation between 9

What we take home

After being in New York for ten days, there was a lot that we took home

learned a lot about the Peoples Republic of China, the country we were

from this unique experience. For some of the participants, it was the first

representing, since we really worked hard to represent it accurately.

time in New York, for some it was even the first time being in the United

National Model United Nations New York made sure we all left the

States of America. New York is a city like no other city and experiencing it

conference more open-minded. The conference was also a great

was amazing and very special. The different cultures and lifestyles in New

opportunity to practice public-speaking skills and become more

York City are very diversified and extraordinary. Being with a group of

comfortable with governmental vocabulary. It was also a chance to take

Frankfurt School of Finance and Management students not only allowed us

advantage of once in a lifetime opportunities, one example being the

to meet new people from our own university, but also allowed us to expand

closing ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters, which not many

already established friendships. Everyone seemed to find the perfect mix

people get to see in their lifetime. The opening ceremony was also very

between spending time in smaller groups and undertaking something with

moving because the Vice President, of the National Model United Nations,

the whole group. We took the legendary Frankfurt School spirit with us to

gave a great speech stating that even though the political picture right now

New York and presented and spread it across the city at various events.

is very tense and people are distancing themselves from an international

Experiencing and living in the city, not only as a tourist, but also as a

mindset in the western world, therefore it is of utmost importance to

delegate of National Model United Nations and a representative of

continue to fight for common values, tolerance, respect, human rights, an

Frankfurt School is definitely an experience that will last for a significant

open mindset, a welcoming environment for everyone and for a better

amount of time. Obviously seeing the city was not the only or main reason

tomorrow.

we were there. The National Model United Nations New York conference was very beneficial. Being in a room full of people from 189 different countries, led to fruitful conversations with interesting people representing different perspectives and having different opinions. Not all of the conversations were of serious political nature. We also chatted about the

All in all, there was a lot we took back to Frankfurt from the National Model United Nations trip to New York City. It was a great experience that we will all remember and be telling stories about far in the future. We would definitely recommend this to everyone who is thinking about participating.

important things in life. Which led some cases to many long-lasting friendships with people we will hopefully see again soon. The conference also allowed us to learn the political standpoints of many countries. We 11

Delegates Dance

After working tirelessly during the long conference days, all the

Besides celebrating with our new friends we also took the

hard work, the new friendships made and just the fact of being in

chance to party together as more and more Frankfurt School

the city that never sleeps had to be celebrated! In this cheerful

delegates met at the dance floor and showed to NMUN what

mood everyone entered into the last night of party of NMUN

#FSpirit is about. We partied till the early morning hours and

2017.

could only forcefully be stopped by the lights turning on and the

Having experienced various great New York party nights and events organised by the NMUN legends Bill Gadit and Sam Samra the expectations were for sure sky high for our final night, organised by the National Model United Nations team.

venue closing up. All in all the delegates dance was a worthy end of a great and productive conference and a great opportunity to network one last time with other delegates from all over the world.

For a great start of the evening everyone gathered in their hotel rooms, getting ready and having some drinks together, before taking a cab to Terminal 5, the party location. The location itself, though a bit far from the Sheraton, was really impressive. The big dance floor in the open middle was surrounded by various other floors creating a concert hall feeling with thousands of people dancing to good music and cheering to the last couple of days together. Although it was very crowded, the atmosphere was friendly and everyone was having a good time. It was a great opportunity to finally get to know other delegates of our committees better and connect on a personal level.

12

A Day in Brooklyn

One day after the official end of NMUN 2017 out time in the city that

bench after taking some photos and listened to New York by Alicia

never sleeps was not yet over. On Friday, the 24th of March, we

Keys. In this moment, as loyal NY fans, we fully absorbed the New

spend a day in the most popular borough of NY: Brooklyn. Of course,

Yorker atmosphere and were glad to finally be in this outstanding and

we took the subway which is needed for a classical NY trip.

unique city.

Generally speaking, there are thousand things to see in Brooklyn such

Finally, we grabbed something to eat and went to the “Brooklyn Ice

as the famous Brooklyn Bridge, the Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Flea/

Cream Factory” for desserts. This was a very delicious ice cream

Botanic Garden/ Museum…

parlor on a peer with the bridge next to it and near the Brooklyn

We decided to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge where you get a picture-perfect view of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights. Many New Yorker took advantage of this tourist attraction by selling all

Heights. The Brooklyn Heights is an affluent neighborhood which is noted for its low-rise architecture and its many brownstone row houses.

kinds of nicely looking souvenirs, food or drawings. The latter

Frankly, our “day” in Brooklyn only was an afternoon since we also

attracted particularly my attention but sadly, I had not enough cash

planned to visit the 9/11 memorial.

with me to buy a beautiful drawing of the bridge surrounded by Manhattan´s skyline. The pocket money was indeed enough for a lovely refrigerator magnet for my parents which I proudly promoted as a souvenir bought on the bridge. After the short shopping trip, we continued our walk above the east river. Sadly, it was quite windy and cloudy but the view was nevertheless impressive.

To put it into a nutshell, Brooklyn definitely is a place worth going because it really represents a vital part of the New Yorker atmosphere. An afternoon is not enough to visit all the interesting places in this borough. Therefore, it will be again part of my future NY journeys. All in all, MUN 2017 offered an opportunity to meet people from all over the world, exchanging ideas and thoughts as well as

Afterwards, we walked along the Brooklyn promenade and

having interesting debates and negotiations. It was an uniquely

coincidentally met a few others of our delegation. We sat down on a

enriching experience acquired in the city that never sleeps.

13

Workshop Weekend in Wiesbaden

Our entire FS MUN experience started at the Workshop Weekend in Wiesbaden. A weekend designed to learn the procedures, get to know each other and using the acquired skills in the mock session. At the bottom line, it was about finding out: “Who has what it takes to participate at NMUN Conference 2017?”

After the 80 applicants had checked in on Saturday morning, the workshop started without any delay.

The heads presented all the necessary rules, shared some experiences from last year’s New York Conference and explained the agenda for the two days lasting workshop.

In the afternoon, the mock session started; it was the first time we could show our diplomatic skills in front of the delegation. In teams of two we were representing a country, discussing and debating passionately with each other. It was nice, not only to test the own skills, but also to get involved in some small-talk with the other participants.

At the end of the first day of the workshop, all countries clearly clarified their positions and the meeting was suspended until Sunday 9 am. Most of us used the evening get to know each other better and spending some time in a bar in Wiesbaden spreading some FS Spirit across the city.

Starting on Sunday morning, we prepared our first drafts of the working paper stating our solution approaches to various aspects of the discussed topics. The entire day was about reformulating it and merging the papers while negotiating with

other nations about their points made and how to align them best. You had to find enough signatories and countries to work with, in order to create a meaningful and strong working paper. It was hard work (almost as hard as in the real conference) to agree on different opinions until only the best merged working papers remained and finally turned into draft resolutions.

Then Voting Procedure started and we tried our best to test several points of order / motions to get used to it. Starting from “Adoption by Acclamation” ending with “Role Call” Votes. Finally, our draft resolutions all passed and the debate was closed.

Everybody worked hard and can be proud of the work achieved.

The workshop was closed by a presentation of the heads showing the next steps for the application and providing some information regarding New York and announce the application deadline.

Our work for the weekend was done, but of course, about only 40 people could really participate the conference in New York.

Consequently, all of us drove back to Frankfurt and prepared the applications.

At the bottom line, the weekend was a fun experience for everybody participating. It was a possibility to find new friends, learn about the UN and broaden your network, independent from the actual aim to get selected for New York.

15

About China

In the 2017’s Model United Nations conference in New York, the

past two decades – a break with China’s previous pattern of

Frankfurt School of Finance & Management had the great honor to

abstention in the 1980s and evidence of increased convergence with

represent the delegation of China.

the other Security Council members in the 1990s. China’s only two

Beside it’s UN membership, China is a member of the G20. China had the largest economy in the world for most of the past two thousand years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. As of 2014, China has the world's second-largest economy in terms of

Cold War vetoes came a year after its 1971 admission to the United Nations, when China vetoed Bangladesh’s admission following its independence from Pakistan and blocked a Western amendment to a draft resolution on addressing conflict in the Middle East.

nominal GDP, totalling approximately US$10.380 trillion according to

After decades of opposition to UN peacekeeping operations, China’s

the International Monetary Fund. If purchasing power parity (PPP) is

involvement has flourished. In 1990, China had only five soldiers

taken into account, China's economy is the largest in the world, with

deployed in peacekeeping operations. By the end of 2016, that

a 2014 PPP GDP of US$17.617 trillion. In 2013, its PPP GDP per

number had risen to 2,630 personnel. Between 2000 and 2010, China

capita was US$12,880, while its nominal GDP per capita was

experienced a more than 20-fold increase in personnel contributions

US$7,589. Both cases put China behind around eighty countries (out

to U.N. missions. China currently contributes more troops to UN

of 183 countries on the IMF list) in global GDP per capital rankings.

peacekeeping missions than any other permanent Security Council

Regarding it’s UN membership, China was one of the charter members of the United Nations and is one of five permanent members of its Security Council.

Furthermore China has only employed its veto privileges twelve times since becoming a member in 1971, the lowest number for any Security Council member. Nine of these vetoes occurred over the

member. This behavior corresponds with the Chinese government’s efforts to enhance China’s international image through increased participation in global governance.

Today, the delegation of China is highly involved in the UN’s topically highly diversified committees and its active participation is of utmost importance for the enforcement of international programs and decisions within the United Nations.

17

Committee Reports

At the first day of the conference a opening ceremony took place

GA 1

where all students were welcomed.

Ann-Sophie Molter & Tamina Wind The General Assembly First Committee

discuss the order of the topics which we dealt with. During this

of the United Nation deals with the

session some countries gave a welcome speech about their countries

topics of disarmament, global

opinion on the topics and their motivation.

challenges and threats to peace that affect the international community and seeks out solutions to the challenges in the international security regime.

At the New York Model United Nations first session in 2017 three topis were on the agenda. The first topic was „The Role of Science and Technology in International Security and DisarmamentThe Role of Science and Technology in International Security and Disarmament“, the second one was „Global Nuclear Disarmament“ and the third was the „Increasing Women’s Role in Disarmament and Non-Proliferation“.

At the conference the committees worked on the topics in this order.

Besides us, the representatives of the People’s Republic of China, on average 130 to 140 other committees attended the sessions.

Before the sessions in New York started all committees wrote possition paper about the topics that were mentioned earlier. Those were uploaded up-front so a first look at the interests of the other countries was made.

On Monday all committees of the general first assembly met to

After the order of the topics were set the committees started working on draft solution paper. More speeches were given to adress countries to work together and to show their opinion and possible solutions.

Throughout the next two days the committess looked for potential partners and working on the draft solutions during informal sessions.

On Wednesday, the last day of the sessions, the committees voted on the feasibility of the ten draft solution about „The Role of Science and Technology in International Security and DisarmamentThe Role of Science and Technology in International Security and Disarmament“ that were handed in. After the voting process ended the committees started to work on the second topic „Global Nuclear Disarmament“.

We were told that this is rather unlikely because mostly there is not enough time to start a second topic.

The day after all members of the First, Second and Third General Assembly voted on all the draft solution that were handed in. This session took place in the actual United Nation assebly hall.

After that a closing ceremony took place at the actual United Nation assembly hall. With that the official part of the conference ended. xx

GA 2

of the United Nations and equally benefit Developing

Sophie Pötsch & Jannis Toelle

Countries as well as Developed Countries on a global and regional basis.

There are still up to 800 million people around the globe, who are

While three topics were on the agenda and prepared

suffering from abject poverty. Heavy

including the task of implementing the Addis Ababa

inequalities between the richest and

Action Agenda, finding ways to eradicate poverty

the poorest are still not only

through harnessing the Green Economy and designing

predominant on continental, but also

effective policies and institutions to reduce

on national level.

inequalities, only the first topic was chosen to be discussed on the floor of the General Assembly.

During the NMUN 2017 we had the honour to not only represent Frankfurt School as Delegates of the

As a result of open-minded discussions and

People’s Rublic of China, but also the possibility to

negotiations both our papers, focusing on

tackle the major global challenges of the General

development aid and the exchange of technology,

Assembly 2 – the reduction of poverty and inequalities.

were accepted as parts of GAs draft report. And although our report might not be more than a fictional

In our role of the Peoples’s Republic of China we

report in a student simulation. we were thankful for the

recognized the crucial importance of these topics and

experience and the chance to get a glimpse on

were eager to consensually resolve them in

possible solutions of a seemingly unachievable task.

cooperation with the General Assembly Second Committee in ways, that would utilize the full potential xxi

As the session went by almost all countries agreed on the great

GA 3

importance of dealing with social and economic issues such as Valentina Saavedra & Niklas Trix T h e G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y T h i rd Committee is one of six committees of the General Assembly, which is a main organ of the United Nations.

peaceful development and sustainability as well as natural disasters and human crises. Most of them in their speeches talked about the significance of peaceful development and how relevant it was to prevent, give assistance and having fast eďŹƒcient responses in cases of natural disasters.

The topics treated by the General

Topics like education, health, social protection, climate change

Assembly Third Committee were:

and environmental protection where also spoken about. After all

Improving Coordination in Humanitarian Response to Natural

the speeches about the topic some groups started forming which

Disasters and Other Emergencies; Preventing Violence and

had similar ideas in how to tackle the diďŹƒculties. There was a

Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity;

group of a lot of Asian countries that were focusing on

and promoting Rights and Strengthening Protections for Older

sustainable development, other group of Latin American countries

Persons. We arrived to a very big room full of people who

which focused more on prevention and education and that was

represented more than 120 countries. It was very interesting to

how groups were formed. It was an awesome experience to talk

see how the real General Assembly should work and what the

about recent topics in detail and find resolutions, which were

processes and rules of procedures are when debating such

suitable for all participating countries. During this process we had

important issues. From the beginning we started discussing the

to accept, that some countries were not willing to work together

problems each country faced and then settled the agenda in the

because of past happenings. At the end we had about 7

order 1,3 and finally 2, meaning that we started discussing about

resolutions from which most of them were accepted.

the fist subject concerning natural disasters

In conclusion we had a great time at NMUN 2017, found many

During the committee sessions we also discussed women, the

new friends from all over the world, and we recommend, if you

protection of children, refugees addressed the importance of

get the chance to participate at a MUN conference: Do it! It’s a

social development, sustainability and prevention for natural

lifetime experience.

disasters. xxii

Decent Work for All; The Role of Science, Technology, and Innovation in

HLPF

Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals.

Alexander Schink & Jonas Dieckmann

Already at the first meeting of our committee we were able to decide an

In November 2016 we received a message which

important question in the sense of China: Youth Leadership and Education

should influence our next five months: We were now

for Sustainable Development was voted as the first priority on our agenda.

oďŹƒcially part of this year's NMUN delegation! From

After that, the actual negotiation work began. First, it was necessary to find

the outset, our task sounded extremely exciting and

partners among the other countries represented in the committee, whose

challenging because it was the representation of

interests seemed to be compatible with those of China, and to put these

China at the United Nations - a country that is very

ideas together in a working paper. At the same time, we presented our work

powerful and influential, but also handling many

during the oďŹƒcial part of the meetings in speeches and also learned about

problems and being criticized a lot.

the work of other working groups. After day-to-day struggle for words and formulations, lobbying and emotional appeals, it was ultimately decided to

To our great pleasure we were selected as delegates

vote on the Draft Resolutions. The impressive diplomatic willingness to

for the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable

cooperate, which prevailed within our committee throughout the entire

Development (HLPF). The HLPF is mandated to provide political leadership

conference, proved impressive: all five proposals were passed as

and guidance; to address new and emerging sustainable development

resolutions! The final ceremony of the NMUN conference, which took place

challenges; and to enhance the integration of economic, social and

in the plenary hall of the General Assembly at the UN Headquarters, was an

environmental dimensions of sustainable development. In that regard, the

exciting and impressive way to close the oďŹƒcial conference.

HLPF is an important forum to bring together the input and expertise from a wide range of stakeholders from civil society organizations to enterprises

As a conclusion, we can say that the participation at NMUN really brought a

and academia. It also incorporates the expertise of the UN agencies and

lot of work to do. However, it also gave us numerous unforgettable

programs from the economic, social and environmental field, all working on

moments, new friendships, and a very special understanding of what it

sustainable development.

means to be a diplomat. Lastly, we would like to grab this opportunity to thank our head delegates Johannes, Lukas and Ann Sophie as well as our

In the course of the intensive preparation and elaboration of our position paper, we were able to research three exciting and high-profile topics, which were to be dealt with at the conference in New York. The topics

faculty advisor Karola and our President Udo for all the work they put into this to make it such an unforgettable experience for us.

before the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development were: Youth Leadership and Education for Sustainable Development; Ensuring

xxiii

ECOSOC

Conclusively, the preparation, and especially the collaboration with a lot of students from all over the world has contributed to a totally new, but much

Johannes Bösch & Johannes Hufeld

moreover exciting and intriguing experience.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council is one of the six principal organs of t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s , r e s p o n s i b l e f o r coordinating the economic, social, and related work of 15 UN specialised agencies.

As China is the biggest member state and of of the major sponsors within ECOSOC, it enjoys a considerable bargaining power.

However, other member states also expect comprehensive suggestions, in order to provide solutions for various issues, which are discussed.

The topics, which were on the agenda this year, were: Mobilizing Inclusive Partnerships for Sustainable Development, Investing in Sustainable Energy for Rural Areas, As well as Promoting Sustainable Peace by Addressing the Root Cause of Conflict.

The committee, where China was represented by Johannes Hufeld (MPE) and Johannes Bösch (MPE), finally discussed only the second topic, but in exchange for intense, enriching and fruitful talks, opinions and compromises about implementing different measures within rural areas, conducive to foster and improve the electrical infrastructure, education and health. In the end we voted upon six draft resolutions, of which four passed by acclamation, which generated huge excitement among all delegates, as it has been a true sign of reward by the whole committee for the long informal sessions and the uncountable corrections of working papers.

xxiv

topic - we not only worked on a working paper as a sponsor, but also critically observed

CCPCJ

the machinations of other working groups. Meanwhile we congratulated ourselves and

Stephan Wittig & Daniel Schnee

each other on our ingenuity and superior rhetoric, as we presented the contents of our w o r k i n g p a p e r i n fiv e f u r t h e r s o u l s t i r r i n g s p e e c h e s .

China being China, naturally, we advocated for mass surveillance of internet use, state

The Commission of Crime Prevention and Criminal

sovereignty, independence of justice systems and the relativization of the importance of

Justice - like so many UN bodies - seeks to make

human rights. Again, of course, all Member States agreed unanimously and our resolution

the world a juster place. It does this by addressing

was adopted by acclamation. Another victory for China! Clapping is now in order.

issues related to crime and legal systems. Not being qualified to pass laws or to enforce anything,

Though much of this achievement can be attributed to our talent for lobbying and our

the CCPCJ limits itself to giving recommendations

silver-tonguedness, we also must give credit where credit is due: Belarus, Guatemala,

to Member States or other UN bodies and assisting

Russia and Thailand were loyal allies for a common cause and, therefore, we propose to

in the implementation of these recommendations.

intensify diplomatic relations to them and establish them as China’s first official satellite

N o n e t h e l e s s , t h e c o m m i s s i o n m a n a g e s t o g e t s o m e w o r k d o n e :

countries.

In its first Congress in 1955 the Commission adopted the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. In the following Congress in 1960 it passed resolutions to address

Due to the mind-boggling pace, in which we passed our resolution, we still had one hour

criminality resulting from social change and economic development. In this way the

for the next agenda point remaining. After resisting the urge to stand up and declare

Commission continued to meet and to pass resolutions concerning further topics like

“China could not care less about sexual violence and moves to adjourn the meeting in

transnational organized crime, money laundering and cybercrime every five years.

order to go home early”, we bravely endured another handful of introductory speeches, as

At this year’s NMUN, without doubt, we aspired to follow this tradition of changing the

we were neither prepared nor motivated for the new topic. Nonetheless, we participated

world. Before us were two exciting topics and something about rule of law for post

in the debate by taking the opportunity to move for a suspension of the meeting, in order

conflict recovery on the agenda of the meeting. With China butting out of conflicts and its

to take photos and exchange numbers with lesser Member States from our committee. A

military being infallibly humane anyway, we decided to prioritize the topic of counter

moment later, this year’s CCPCJ meeting was concluded with most of our fellow

terrorism instead of sexual violence in conflict.

delegates approaching us and expressing their gratuity for the fruitful collaboration.

Of course, we convinced the remainder of the 30-something member committee to share

Furthermore we consider that Cuba must be destroyed.

our priorities in a flaming introductory speech (Indeed, that speech was almost lit - props to Daniel!). Having set the agenda in a no-time, we already moved to substantial matter in the course of the first evening.

Kind Regards China’s CCPCJ delegates, Daniel Schnee and Stephan Wittig

Only slightly hung-over, but on time and ready to consistently outperform any adversaries, we started into day two of the conference by immediately asking to be set on the speakers list. However, apparently one is not allowed to be noted twice on the speakers list. Fortunately, we were able to quickly recover from that deadly blow to our filibustering tactic and realigned our plan of action.

Between hearing roughly 120 speeches - of which almost 115 were completely unsubstantial and merely stressed the willingness to cooperate and the importance of our

xxv

CSocD

a wide acceptance rate. Having this in mind, the position to represent China with

Carl Wollenhaupt & Daniel Schnee

daily work of a UN-Diplomat.

their view on foreign politics, was challenging but gave us a realistic insight on the

The Commission for Social Development (CSocD) is one of the five subsidiaries of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in the UN, while contributing to enhance the social development all over the world. Since 2003 it was the first year that the CSocD was modeled in NMUN. The moment we entered our conference room “Gramercy”, we already had the chance to approach other delegations to introduce ourselves and to have first discussions about the agenda setting.

After a rather short night, the third day started early at 8:30. Since we had lots of working papers with similar solutions on the floor, the dais recommended us to merge with other papers. This process was intense since all countries had to find a common ground without losing their own interests. China was able to push its interests forward but also win lots of countries as signatories and sponsors for our working papers. This made us feel confident about the voting procedure on the following day.

The last day was a great success, as all of our draft resolutions were accepted by acclamation. We were very happy with our performance within the committee and took a lots of experience and memories home to 069.

Director Daniel Sweeny and Assistant Director Ana Willet opened the first formal session and by that the conference work within our committee.

As all delegations were well prepared, it was important to get a spot on the speakers list in the early stage of the debate, to get other delegates to talk to you during informal session. China was able to hold one of the first speeches, in which we stressed the topic “Social Dimensions of the New Partnership for Africa´s Development”, which unfortunately didn’t had a majority during voting procedure.

The first topic to be discussed was “Ensuring Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities in Society and Development”, where China could also participate and bring points forward to create feasible solutions. Thanks to fruitful discussions with other member states, such as Japan, Austria, France, Peru and many more, we were able to start the work on three different working papers.

During the next days we listened to creative and emotional speeches and were able to negotiate and find common interests within the committee. At this point, one has to mention that the CSocD is known for its strong focus on solutions with xxvi

UNAIDS

country’s workforce. China in particular was concerned with improving the

Sabrina Kuhajewska & Elisa Becker-Foß

of knowledge of their health status due to bad medical supply.

health conditions for people living in rural areas who often suffer from a lack

During this years NMUN the delegation of

The upcoming committee sessions were full of productive and hard work as

China was represented at the ECOSOC

everybody was focused to get their working paper accepted as a draft

related UNAIDS Committee. As this

resolution. After tireless checking of the papers by the Chair, tedious

dreadful disease can really only be fought

corrections of the committee members and merging similar papers the

with a global strategy this consensus

committee managed to get 3 draft resolutions ready for voting procedure.

committee is a forum for developing ideas and coordinating efforts.

On the last day of the conference voting procedure took place and all draft resolutions were successfully accepted. As the committee worked very

The topics on the agenda were: 1) Ensuring HIV/AIDS Prevention and

effectively there was still some time left to move on to the next topic on the

Treatment During Humanitarian Crises, 2) Addressing the Needs of Ageing

agenda: “Ensuring HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment During Humanitarian

Populations Living with HIV/AIDS and 3) Mitigating the Impact of HIV/AIDS

Crises”. Despite the very short time left, the committee managed to put

on Economic Development.

another draft resolution on the floor, which then also was adopted successfully and presented an impressive example of how well and

In the first committee session, that took place right after the opening

committed everyone worked together in our committee to achieve a great

ceremony, the committee was concerned with setting the agenda. As the

outcome.

committee members were torned between topics 1) and 3) the first session was used to form allies and strategize to ensure the prefered topic was set on top of the agenda. Finally, the committee agreed on topic 3) “Mitigating the Impact of HIV/AIDS on Economic Development”.

During the next conference day, allies were strenghtened and various working groups formed to start writing on working papers. There were lots of different ideas and opinions on how to tackle the issue of HIV/AIDS hampering the economic development of countries best. The delegation of China was part of a working group that focused on improving the rapid testing of HIV/AIDS globally as key measure to allow people to get access to necessary treatments and due to that be able to participate normally in a xxvii

UNEA

impression of the goals and ideas of the other delegations. After the vote for

Sebastian Baumann & Garret Schürgens

Agreement), 1 (Combating Illegal Trade in Wildlife), 3 (Sustainable Use of the

the order of the topics it ended as 2 (Implementation of the Paris Oceans, Seas and Marine Resources). This is when the real debating and

During the New York conference of

working started. We heard delegates fighting for their country’s values and

National Model United Nations, we

ideas. In every informal session we worked on working papers and

participated in the United Nations

collaborated with other delegates to formulate the right ideas in an efficient

Environmental Assembly (UNEA). The

manner.

Assembly, which represents the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment, will culminate in resolutions and a global call to action to address the critical environmental challenges facing the world today. UNEA enjoys the universal membership of all 193 UN Member States and the full involvement of major groups and stakeholders. With this wide reach into the legislative, financial and development arenas, UNEA provides a groundbreaking platform for leadership on global environmental policy. Through UNEA, we can all work together to build a healthier environment to support humanity for generations to come.

While working on the working papers in the informal sessions we had many positive experiences. Cooperating with other delegates led to very interesting political discussions and we all had a very good work ethic. The great aspect of the informal sessions was also having the opportunity to meet other delegates and learn about their actual perspectives and backgrounds, since it was such a diverse group of people. We were successfully able to sign and sponsor several papers and overall the working papers were very good. Once the working papers were turned in they became draft resolutions. The draft resolutions are handed back from the chairs with corrections that need to be made. After all delegations had made the corrections or even merged their draft resolutions with another

For the New York conference, we prepared three topics: Combating Illegal

draft resolution, it was time to vote on the final resolutions. All of the

Trade in Wildlife, Implementation of the Paris Agreement and Sustainable

resolutions presented passed, meaning it was a great success for our

Use of the Oceans, Seas and Marine Resources. Following the opening

assembly.

ceremony of the National Model United Nations New York we went into our committees and saw our fellow delegates for the first time. After a short introduction by the chair, we formally started meeting with a classic roll call.

In the end it can be said that being in the United Nations Environmental

Due to bad weather conditions in and around New York City, some delegate

Assembly was a great experience, especially since the topics at hand are

weren’t able to join the meeting on time. We started the speakers list to set

always very important. Anyone joining NMUN should definitely consider

the order of the topics. Before the vote for the order of the topics, we heard

being in the UNEA.

very convincing speeches from various delegations, this gave us a first xxviii

UNESCO

a resolution paper without any difficulties. After two or three informal

Jasmin Arian & Matthias Illg

groups.

sessions during the first day of the conference, there were formed several

The UNESCO committee consisted of about 80

The second day of the conference started with discussing the topics we

people from different universities all around the world.

wanted to include in our working paper in our groups. Every group was

UNESCO is represented in the Economic and Social

highly motivated in creating something which could lead to progress. Every

Council of the UN and its aim is to produce

group took care to include the ideas of all group members in the working

international standards for the promotion of peace

papers so that nobody was excluded.

through collaboration in the fields of education, science, and culture. The topics proposed for the National Model United Nations Conference 2017 were Empowering Vulnerable Groups through Access to Information and Communications Technology, Sports for Peace and Development and Safeguarding World Heritage.

If we wanted to change a clause or merge with another group there was always a democratic vote upon every decision in our groups. After long days of hard work including many speeches, impressing ideas and long informal sessions voting procedure started. Before voting procedure started, every group tried to present their working paper to all other groups in the committee to promote their ideas to contribute to the SDGs and to

The first day of the conference was full of new information and new

make sure that the working paper became a resolution paper. During the

impressions. After a few instructions from our chair the conference started

voting procedure, every working paper became a resolution paper and we

with some introduction speeches and some interesting discussions during

all were happy that the hard work paid off. Our chair was very impressed

the informal sessions about the topics and of course to get to know each

about our peaceful and collaborative work. All in all the experience at the

other better. By voting we all decided to start with the topic of Empowering

National Model United Nations Conference was unique and unforgettable

Vulnerable Groups through Access to Information and Communications

and we all learned a lot about diplomatic behavior and the procedures of

Technology as we all decided that this topic and solutions concerning this

the United Nations.

topic are highly relevant for the following topics and have an impact on these topics. The second topic discussed was Safeguarding World Heritage and finally followed by Sports for Peace and Development.

Having decided about the order in which we wanted to start there have been several speeches so that we all got an overview on the countries different opinions about the first topic and so that we got an overview with whom to cooperate on writing a working paper which would be accepted as xxix

violent extremist groups. Moreover, we incorporated cyber

HRC

security and the enhancement of international cooperation into Frederik Staudo & Annika Brßggemann This year’s NMUN Human Rights Council had the following topics up for discussion: Protecting and Promoting Human Rights to Prevent and Counter Violent Extremism,

our working paper, which later passed as a draft resolution. Other draft resolutions focused on themes such as social media and resocialization of prisoners who were former members of terrorist groups. Working with people from dierent countries and cultures was a very interesting experience, especially in regards to how to prevent human rights and combating violent extremism. Although the sessions were very long on some days, there was a good balance between formal and informal sessions which helped to sustain a good variety. All in all, representing China in the Human

Contribution of Firearms Regulation to the Protection of Human

Rights Council was not always easy, especially as human rights

Rights and Human Rights Violations and Abuses against

are a very sensitive topic in China, but definitely a very interesting

Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar. After a short

and great experience.

discussion during the first session, the committee agreed upon starting with the first topic, continuing with the third one and ending with the second topic. During the formal sessions, China kept stressing the point that violent extremism includes activities that do not only threaten the security and integrity of human beings and pose a significant threat towards governments but are also recognized as a contributing factor towards the development of terrorist groups. We started the informal sessions with finding likeminded countries with similar ideas about how to combat the issue. During the informal sessions, we started working on a working paper together with India, Cuba and Russia, that focused on strengthening regional economic sectors in developing countries, which are especially prone to the development of xxx

UNDP

the draft resolutions with other Member States was a great learning

Prachi Jain & Janis Lauinger

conference and to our delight all the draft resolutions passed on to become

experience. The voting procedure took place on the final day of the Resolution Papers. We were all proud and happy with the work we put in We had the honour to represent China in the

through the conference.

committee of United Nations Development P r o g r a m a t N M U N N e w Yo r k . O u r

The most special moment for us came at the end of the conference when

committee consisted of about 20 Member

the Chair announced awards for position papers. We received an

States and approximately 30 students from

“Outstanding Position Paper Award in UNDP�, an honour which only a few

all over the world. The conference was to be

delegates at the conference can share.

conducted over a course of 4 days. The topics on our Agenda were: 1.

Harnessing Data for Sustainable Development

Overall being a part of NMUN New York was enriching in so many ways.

Exploring the dynamic city of New York, meeting wonderful and inspiring people from around the globe, pushing ourself to think about the bigger

2.

Role of Private Sector in Promoting Sustainable Development

3.

Gender Mainstreaming in Early Recovery Situations.

problems of the world, finding ways to tackle them and coming out of it much more aware and empathetic were just some of the learnings we take back from this amazing experience.

As we arrived into our committee session Hall, we could feel the enthusiasm of our fellow delegates and we knew that the coming 4 days are going to be exciting as well as a lot of hard work. Our committee session began with a short briefing by the Chair about the rules and the agenda of the conference. Then began the formal session where we debated about the Agenda setting of the topics. After an extensive debate, the Agenda was finally set to order 1, 2 and 3. We then began our discussions on Harnessing Data for Sustainable Development and how to best tackle the problem so that no country is left behind in its eorts of growth and development. The debate between Member States was insightful and inspiring. All Member Nations worked in a collaborative manner and there was no resentment of any sort. 3 working papers were being written which were passed as draft resolutions after 2 rounds of edits suggested by the Chair. China was a Sponsor of 2 out of the 3 working papers. Working on xxxi

UNICEF

engaged in the topic by giving outstanding speeches and providing new

Katharina Stitzl & Aurelia Auracher

addressing the ideas of the working groups for each working paper to

ideas for the working paper. The speeches were mainly concerned with promote the team-work in the committee.

UNICEF is a programme of the United

It was amazing to experience

how everyone worked together to solve these issues as good as possible.

Nations which was established in 1946.

UNICEF is mainly concerned with the

After many discussions and debates, UNICEF finished three different

protection of children’s rights, assistance

working papers concerning three different endangered areas such as the

with meeting’s basic

prevention of further emergencies. Our main concern was to decrease the risk of the lack of education. The People’s Republic of China was part of

needs, and expansion of opportunities for children to reach their full potential.

At this year’s conference, we were part of the committee of the People’s Republic of China.

two of them which was possible due to the great cooperation with the other delegates. All the working papers which we worked on together were adopted by acclamation which means that all the present delegations were in favour of the submitted working papers. The chair of our committee told us that adopting three working papers by acclamation is not common at the

Our committee of UNICEF was relatively small compared to the others

other committee. However, the committee of UNICEF seems to be

which was quite nice because all the present countries of other delegations

cooperative and engaged with all the countries, he said.

could discuss about the topics in detail.

This shows that our experience at being a part of the UNICEF was amazing

The three topics of UNICEF at NMUN 2017 were: Promoting the Social

and not comparable to anything we have experienced before. It was

Inclusion of Children; Strengthening Rehabilitation and Reintegration of

awesome to see how students from all over the world worked together on

Youth Offenders; and Education in Emergencies.

such important topics.

Right at the start of the conference, we started discussing the issues as well

After the conference, we were told that some of our ideas in one of the

as giving speeches to address them properly. In the course of the

working papers were in fact realised by the real UNICEF.

conference, we discussed two important topics regarding the protection of children; even though we had prepared three of them in advance.

Firstly, we started off with the third topic “Education in Emergencies”.

During the committee session, we tried to find the best solution in order to protect and empower those children in need. Every delegation was very xxxii

IAEA Francesco Villani & Florian Doenick

It has not been easy to convince other nuclear technologies holder countries to join us in different resolution papers. However, with the skill that we

The IAEA is the International Atomic Energy Agency, it

developed at Frankfurt in its international environment

has a crucial role under the General Assembly of the

we have been able to convince them and work for the

United Nations. Its works manly on controlling the

best of our nations. During the 4 days of conferences,

proliferation of Nuclear Massive destruction weapons

it has been tough to keep up with all the activities we

and on sharing of the nuclear technologies though the

could do and the work and responsibilities we were

member states. This year committee work on three

honored to bear, but it was worth. We came back we a

crucial topics that were: “Application of IAEA

luggage full of experience, wonderful memories and a

Safeguards in the Middle East, Improving Science and

lot of new friends.

Technology Activities through Technical Cooperation and Nuclear Waste Management”. Preparing our self for the event our committee’s delegates have written a terrific Position Paper and represented China perfectly.

Thus, it was reworded as “Outstanding position paper”. Furthermore during the assemblies, they had the chance to work with amazing people from all around the world everybody the main goal to help each other to get the best result together. The topic that was chosen to be discussed was the second one. xxxiii

SC - China To start off the conference, we fiercely debated the order of the agenda, which is

Ole Schwencker & Stefanie Arndt

always the first topic that any committee discusses. Even though we preferred to As the Frankfurt School represented the

discuss the situation in Libya first, we and Russia saw ourselves up against a

People’s Republic of China at this year’s

united front of the western veto powers and since we were told we couldn’t veto

NMUN, a permanent member of the UN

an agenda setting vote (which, as it later turned out, is possible), the motion to

Security Council, me and my committee

start off with the protection of civilians in the context of peacekeeping missions

partner had the great pleasure participate in

was passed. We ended up spending most of the time debating this topic and they

the most influential committee of the United

turned out to become interesting discussions. As far a we know, everyone in the

Nations. Representing a permanent member

committee indeed stuck to their countries’ policies which made the work even

of the Security Council of course came with

more interesting because it seemed indeed close to a real Security Council

enormous influence on the out-coming documents having the right to veto any

session.

resolution that does not align with China’s foreign policy. Anyways, representing China wasn’t as difficult as it might seem, as China generally pursues a foreign policy of non-intervention that focuses on preserving the sovereignty of states.

In the end, we ended up passing a couple of resolutions that each targeted an aspect of the protection of civilians during peacekeeping missions and also one press statement that was directed at the Turkish government to allow

During preparing for the conference, we conducted a lot of research for the the

humanitarian access to a refugee camp, where the situation had gotten out of

topic’s on the agenda: Firstly, the issue of protecting civilians in the context of

hand. It truly was a great experience to have participated in this year’s security

peacekeeping missions. Secondly, the situation in Libya. And thirdly, the

council.

partnership between the United Nations and the African Union. Although these were the only three topics on the agenda when we started preparing for the conference, we were aware that the Security Council may also reset its agenda so discuss and address current matters of importance that are brought to the council’s attention. As we found out during there conference, this would become an evolving situation in Turkey regarding a refugee camp and how the Turkish government handles the fight against ISIS (this was an imaginary scenario). On the second day of the conference, the Japanese Delegation brought up the discussion about adopting a new topic to the agenda: As we heard about North Korean missile tests in the (real) news at the time, they wanted to take this opportunity to address an issue that affects their national security. xxxiv

SC - USA

discussing about the Situation in Libya. As we were the only member to

Niklas Flörsch & Lukas Münch

the moment we got many new friends in the committee. After that point

vote against this, and as a permanentn member had veto power, this was every decision was first discussed with us.

Next to the People´s Republic of China, this year´s delegation of Frankfurt School

So back on discussing solutions for the horrible situation in the norther

had the great honor to represent the

African country. We heard some great proposals from the members and

United States of America in the second

also had the chance to make our positions clear. We started working on a

Security Council. The SC is the most

working paper together with Italy and the United Kingdome mostly

powerful committee in the UN System. Its

concerned with the demilitarization in Libya.

mandate is to secure international peace and security

Also, as a member of the permanet members we had the

power the veto every decicion, which gave us a lot of power.

This year the topics were the following:

But as the day went by, we got some new and more concerning notes from the Situation at the refuggee camp that the turkish miliatry started shooting at people. Unfortnatelly this came from fake news agencies like CNN and New York Times, after reconciciation with our president in Washington, we decided to again veto an amendment of the agenda, much to the

1. Protection of Civilians in the Context of Poeacekeeping Operations

discontent of our appritiated colleges.

2. The Situatiion in Libya

Now we were able to finished our ideas and submit the working paper to

3. The AU-UN Partnership in Peacekeeping Operations After the first day was only about setting the agenda, which was already hard work ,the Council finally came to the decicion to debate Topic two first.

Which was also the tropic we prefered.

After we prepared us over night, the session on the next day started again with vital discussion with our fellow delegates in the committee. But as usually in the Secuity Council this was soon interupted by an urgent note concerning riots in a refugee camp near the turkisch border.

the Dias to later get voted on.

After we got some more infos on the situation in Syria from reliable agencieswe worked now worked together with the other members to finds solutions on the conflic which was now quickly done as all members were on the same side.

After handling the urgent situation, we came back to discussing our previous topic. So hours and nagotiating later, all members voted yes and pass the Resolution with ideas to solve the conclict in Libya.

We decided this is not a problem the SC should be discussing at this very moment at voted against an amendment of the agenda to move on xxxv

UN-HABITAT

of the delegations. Those disagreements were the reason, why we needed

Janik Sieber & Paul Bernhardt

that we began with the discussion about the topics itself.

the first day to vote upon the agenda and it was not until the second day

United Nations Human Settlements

After exchanging the different opinions and ways to solve the problem of

Programme, UN-Habitat, promotes

access to water and sanitation, the delegations quickly formed various

socially and environmentally sustainable

working groups. Information and communication technology as well as

towns and cities with the goal of

education were the two mostly mentioned approaches.

providing adequate shelter for all. The mandate of UN-Habitat is further derived from internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, in particular the target on achieving a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers by the year 2020.

We as China took part in two working groups. The first one concentrated on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a way to incentivize private corporations to help ensuring access to water and sanitation. The second one encouraged to introduce a ‘Water Friendship Programme’, which enhances to exchange knowledge between participating cities and countries and to start projects cooperatively. The communication between

On this year’s agenda were three topics of upmost importance, which made

the participating delegations was very friendly, but you could still feel the

the agenda setting process extremely difficult and led to discussions

creative and dynamic atmosphere, because the delegates wanted to bring

between the delegations:

in as much as they could.

1 – Promoting sustainable and resilient urbanization through information

While working on those draft resolutions, the solutions became more

and communications technology.

precise, but there were also similar ones. That was the reason why groups merged leaving only four final resolutions at the end.

2 – Ensuring access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene to promote urban health

In the final voting procedure every single resolution was accepted by the vast majority except of one that nearly failed because of its appeal towards

3 – Eliminating urban slums and ensuring access to adequate housing While many developed countries wanted to see the first topic on top of the

equality, which is hard to impose for some countries such as China or Saudi Arabia.

agenda, because their optimal support is through technical assistance and

All in all, it was a great experience to work alongside students from all over

knowledge sharing, most of the less developed countries voted for the

the world, who had very interesting ideas even though the influence of UN-

second topic to be discussed first, so did we as the Federal Republic of

Habitat is limited because of its role within the United Nations.

China. Especially access to water seemed to particularly essential for most xxxvi

WFP

farmers, especially small farmers in developing countries. All participants had great ideas how to deal with this massive question. And it was

Nina Gattermayer & Yixin Cheng The committee of the world food programme was rather a small one in contrast to the general assembly or others. Different universities from all

amazing to see how enthusiastic everybody worked to realize a world a little bit better. Our formal sessions included very powerful speeches and it was great to notice how other nations valued and supported your ideas. We constructively worked together and the resolutions, we finally came up with, rewarded our hard work.

over the world represented 28 nations.

Our chair was a german PhD- student and he had all the character traits

Even some high school students joined

germans are prejudged with abroad. He had no sense of humour and

the group so we had a very high

was really strict. But this also means he did a great job concerning all the

d i v e r s i t y - l e v e l .

formal details and we really felt like we were not just simulating.

The world food programme is a committee dealing with development and

Some of the other students even worked in our breaks to accomplish the

it is one of the few United Nations committees, which actively engages. It

best possible outcome. To be fair, they take part in a course for Model

does so mainly in situations after natural disasters but also in daily life to

United Nations at their university and are graded for their performance.

help reduce the worldwide undernourishment.

The People’s Republic of China actively participated in formal sessions

We discussed the topic “ Climate Change and Food Security:

as well as in informal sessions. We hold speeches, wrote notes to other

Strengthening National Capacity and Resilience“ first and started to work

committees and helped the chair attending the passion of the pager. In

on the topic “Improving Food Security to Support the Return,

informal session we included our ideas in different working papers and

Reintegration and Resettlement of Displaced Populations” in our last

tried to improve our relationship towards other nations.

session. We even finished some working papers, which shows that everybody was really tried their best to help working on solutions.

We chose the first topic, Climate Change and Food Security, for its significance in today’s world and because it left room for integrating other aspects. Especially it’s ambiguity between farmers and climate change was and still is an important issue. This means on the one hand,

To conclude, the experience working in the World Food Programme at Model United Nations was unique and it was awesome too see that such a dynamic can arise from uniting students from all over the world to work on such an important topic, namely helping to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.

farms working with fossil fuels and old techniques are a reason for climate change and on the other hand, climate change endangers xxxvii

UNHCR

However, since this topic is a very important one in our eyes apart from the

Michael Gritzbach & Leon Erichsen

circumstances in which the refugees from the Middle East, especially Syria,

views of the PRC, we were really happy to get started. Precisely the are suffering, were now the main topic. From now on, the speakers list was The Office of the United Nations High

opened, and accordingly we heard of the standpoints that the other

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),

delegations represented. In addition, there were also motions for the

also known as the UN Refugee

suspension of the meeting raised and subsequent we had time to discuss

Agency, is a committee in which a

issues in four-eye conversations or smaller groups in order form coalitions

large number of delegates, approx.

to work on working papers. Besides from the professional talks, classical

150, are active. It is mandated to

small talks were also held in order to better understand the other delegates

protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN

and to get an overview of our huge committee. Our idea was to strengthen

itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or

the communication and exchange of resources between governments,

resettlement to a third country. Since the refugee crisis is a global issue,

NGOs and even private institutions. Above all, the support of companies

which is on everyone's lips at the moment, all participants in our committee

would make it easier to provide refugees with amiable accommodation and,

were very committed and eloquent. At the beginning of the conference, we

in particular, to offer children education and, in addition, to enable them to

first had to discuss and accordingly determine the order of the topics on the

do leisure activities. Those who just had to face the war should have

agenda. Finally, we agreed on the following:

enough distraction and success to avoid losing their faith in themselves and

I. Promoting Livelihoods and Education for Refugees and Displaced Persons, II. Addressing Protracted Displacement,

humanity. The reason that refugees have to fight for their lives is not that people lack resources, but that those who have the necessary resources do not want to provide them voluntarily to help third. In addition to our ideas there were also several different approaches, which we have very enthusiastically perceived. Although the delegates at Model United Nations

III. Environmental Migration and the Future of Displacement.

To our regret, the committee voted for this order because we, the delegation

Conferences are said to represent their country as realistically as possible, everyone in our committee has tried to support refugees with good will and

of the People'sRepublic of China (PRC), had hoped to deal with the third

finally our committee voted for ten draft resolutions to become resolution

subject first, because in this respect, we could have scored the most

papers.

through the PRC’s renewable energy activities. Since the conference lasts unfortunately only four days, usually it is only possible to deal with the first topic of the agenda. xxxviii

Outlook:

After learning for our life and experiencing a great time in New York, it is now already time to look forward to next year’s conference. As proud new heads of the FS MUN initiative, we’d like to thank the old heads once more and take their great work as a motivation to guide us through ours.

We’re already keen to take over operations to uphold the initiative’s high standards and to start the country selection process which determines the country FS will be representing next year.

During the conference, we practiced the art of diplomacy and political relationship management. It was fun to implement these new skills, that are a very valuable lesson for everyone’s professional future, in an international environment. Thus, we’d like to focus our preparation work accordingly to ensure that our upcoming delegation is well equipped for every possible conference hurdles.

Furthermore, we aim on following into this year’s delegation’s footsteps and achieve even more outstanding position paper and delegation awards.

Though, of course we won’t forget about all the fun that was provided to us, readily organised by our old heads: we will organize several socialising events and group activities here as well as in New York. In this regard there’s only left to say that we hope to see many motivated applicants next semester and are already excited for an unforgettable time together!

Sabrina, Francesco & Leon

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Special Thanks!

FS Stiftung FS Student Council Bankakademie e.V. FS Alumni e.V. Deutsche Bank New York

Außerdem: Karola Kristic Elisa Antz Lisa Ronneburger Emanuela Camoni Prof. Dr. Michael H. Grote Daniel Kronsbein Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Udo Steffens

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