THE DAILY
No. 3
SAIMUNER Wednesday, June 21st 2017
www.saimun.net
#SAIMUN17 High School Delegates By Cynthia Makena different countries would have an extended and heated, informal debate. In this debates, each country would try to explain the reasons for their earlier statements. Mr. Nyiro, however felt that there should be more time allowed and a clear-cut procedure of when one delegate may correct another delegate as he felt the ‘point of information’ did not accommodate this.
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Brian Maina and Clement Nyiro
The first Kenyan SAIMUN conference is privileged to have delegates from various high schools.
Nairobi Jaffrey’s academy Ms. Raeesah Mughal, enjoyed her sessions in the DISEC committee especially because she would like to pursue Law and Chemical engineering. The SAIMUN experience therefore, gave her the exposure she needed in pursuing this. She however
Among them were Alliance Boys students Mr. Brian Maina and Mr. Clement Nyiro, who both felt that the SAIMUN conference is amazing and insightful. They particularly enjoyed the debate sessions as they felt that it allowed them to show case their debating skills supported by the intense research they had been working on. Mr Maina in particular, felt the sessions were “expected and insightful.” He explained that the sessions were expected because his father had explained to him the proceedings earlier on and prepared him for them. He did however feel that some university students were not adequately prepared for the debates and encouraged the delegates in the next conference to do vast research so that they could have in-depth discussions and come up with more diplomatic policies for the issues that face different countries in the different committees. Mr. Nyiro, like Mr. Maina, especially enjoyed the time after the sessions when the delegates from
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Raeesah Mughal in DISEC Committee
believed that a lot more could be improved stating, “We can always do more research and go deeper until we reach the solutions to the problems.” Ms. Mughal especially enjoyed interacting with new people and the after-session debates. It is clear that the high school students have enjoyed their experience in the conference including the open-minded environment within the debate and the social interaction with the members of the conference.
2 THE GREEN CITY UNDER THE SUN
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
Nairobi Series: Fun Festivals in the City
By Kefa Odindo What comes straight into your mind at the mention of Live music, Poetry, food, cake? I am giving you a full stop break to think about it. I will wait. Have you? Now picture a celebration of these aspects, not just fantasy, but finally being actualized. Glorious, right? That said, join me as we go through the celebrated festivals this year. Kicking us off, the ‘festival gods’ got us covered in the food sector. If you are a foodie reading this, please say amen. In the beginning, there was the burger festival. A whole week to go burger crazy is what we had here. They say the things we love make us go crazy, this is no exception. The burger festival was basically a weeklong eat out activity where various restaurants participated to help quenchfoodies’ burger thirst. It ran from the 8th – 14th of May and those interested got a 2 for one offer on the burgers bought. Internet on the other hand made it super easy as people could keep tabs on the participating restaurants, and even buy their tickets online. In that spirit, some of the participating restaurants were Steers, Nyamamama, Mama rocks among several others, giving access to their salivating meat fixed in between a bun, to make the perfect combo, call it a burger. Moving to cake-like festivals, Cake Art Affair on the other hand is a celebration of art on a whole different level, combining different artistic acts, call it a pudding. There are over 70 flavours of cake, as the name suggest, is usually given for free to every attendee, complimented by an array of live performance sets ranging from poetry, to live music and even percussionists’’ interludes mostly from the upcoming ones with the more established artist being invited as guest attendance to interact with the crowd as well motivation to the upcoming acts. There is also a celebration of visual arts, presence
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People enjoying Burger Festival in a Nairobi Restaurant
of a secret art garden where paintings are hanged on trees for proper viewership. Just to add icing on the cake, no pun intended, there is an army of photographers with the proper memory creating weapons on their hands. It is a biannual event with the most recent edition being on 11th of March 2017. Alas, the last, but definitely not the list, let us move to the musical festivities, first highlighted by The Safaricom Jazz festival. Just as the name suggests, this is a jazz haven. If you are a sucker for chilled out instrument oriented music, this is will definitely be your thing. Some of those featured this year was Nairobi Horns Project, a combination of artists who fuse the sound of the trumpet and saxophone into one, enough to separate you from the soul. Trust me, it is true, I was there. Koroga festival was yet another headliner in this year’s festival scene. An initiative of the Kenyan millionaire, Chris Kirubi, Koroga has been sure to stick tour African roots, giving attendees a sense of belonging, for instance, the most recent on the 28th of May that featured Kidum, coming back to stardom, the new kids on the block, Le band as well as the Tanzanian sensational boy wonder, Diamond Platinumz. An afternoon of food, good music and stress relieving level of relaxation is what’s best to describe Koroga festival. There are definitely a lot more festivals that fit the calibre of these I have mentioned, but I unfortunately cannot mention them all, that I will leave for you to embark on a discovery journey. Good luck.
CONFERENCE NEWS
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
Pizza Night: Time to Kick Back and Relax with a Night of Games
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By Cynthia Makena After a long day of committee sessions, delegates and protocol were able to get time to interact and enjoy some time together at Pizza Inn in Westlands, leaving behind the formalities that come with being part of SAIMUN. The night begun with reminiscing on the day’s activities particularly on the excitement of the red roses that admirers sent to one another. This gave the participants opportunities to know each other better. This was later followed by a meal of pizza and drinks. A game was later introduced called Heads Up, an Paula Munlo l PHOTO
Delegates playing Heads Up after eating their meal
electronic type of charades popularly known to be played in the Ellen DeGeneres show. The ridiculous actions of those trying to describe the word and the desperate and confused faces of those who were trying to figure it out brought about a lot of laughter.
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Delegates enjoying pizza at Pizza Inn
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Delegates playing Heads Up after eating their meal
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Delegates playing Heads Up after eating their meal
The game also enlightened the group on what others loved and left some known to be pros on certain categories of the game. At 8:30PM, the team retired to their respective places to rest and recharge with hopes of seeing each other the next day in their cultural wear for the Global Village.
4 COMMITTEES
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
SOCHUM: Delegates Navigate Hitches
By Naomi Wanjiku SOCHUM committee kicked off the day with a bit of disorganization and dullness in mood among the delegates. With a total of 70 delegates, the chair of SOCHUM, Elizabeth Njeri, managed to handle the notes that trickled in at a very fast rate to her desk. She was also in charge of controlling the debate, the timing of the speakers, and recording everything manually on her notepad as she did not have access to the conference software. When asked by The Daily SAIMUNER why she handled everything by herself, the chair said that her committee secretary was not able to make it since he was held up a bit at the moment.
The delegates came to a consensus that most of the countries had laws that have been passed against child trafficking and even harsh measures such as deportation of foreigners who are found engaging in the vice. However, most of those laws have not worked as child trafficking continues to loom among most countries especially Saudi Arabia. The delegates discussed ways in which they could reduce if not stop child trafficking such as adopting Austria’s example where they have a Victim Prosecution Act where victims can testify against a person and one is given protection. A delegate also noted that removing financial penalties among the perpetrators of child trafficking for sex would also work. “I do believe we are going to reach a consensus mostly because of the unmoderated caucus. I think the unmoderated caucus is a very important part during these discussions,” said Laura.
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Delegates in the SOCHUM Committee yesterday
The chair also seemed happy with today’s deliberations. “Delegates are prepared. I like the points that they are bringing fourth, and in fact we are working on a resolution paper right now, so I’m impressed,” said Elizabeth.
UNHCR: Syria takes Centre Stage
By Cynthia Makena The motions raised by the UNHCR committee were based on the Syrian refugee crisis. The country has been going through war which has forced many of its citizens seeking refuge elsewhere. Many of the delegates felt that the countries neighboring Syria, especially the gulf countries, should open up and accept refugees of Syria into their country. The committee did not however fail to recognize the challenges the host countries faced and held a motion highlighting said challenges. Countries like Belgium and Morocco felt that funding is a major issue that the countries faced and asked other countries to provide financial aid for them. The major issues faced by the Syrian refugees that were highlighted in the committee that were insecurity, lack of transport to the foreign country and difficulty in the integration into the host country through the availability of provision of
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Delegates in the UNHCR Committee yesterday
education and job security. Russia pushed the committee to hold greater discussions on the issue, stating that the committee needed to get to the main council whilst having answers to the issues. The delegate further asked the committee to focus on the solutions stating, “We should not be focusing on why we should help the refugees but how.” The committee had an unenumerated debate to come up with more comprehensive solutions to the problem.
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
COMMITTEES
DISEC: The search for solutions for offshore military bases By Cynthia Makena
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deteriorates.
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A delegate in DISEC Committee during debate yesterday
The DISEC committee meeting was focused on finding the solutions to problems created by off shore military basis for both military and the host country. The committee begun by acknowledging that the military bases do have benefits e.g. improving the economy of some host countries through giving military support, keeping away or defeating the host countries and training the host country’s troops. However, they also realized the low productivity of the nation, great threat to the host countries sovereignty and in some countries, the economy
African delegates brought forth great solutions with the major one being the idea to revisit the soldier’s immunity from persecution especially when it comes to war crimes. They stated that the United Nations (UN) should come up with a council with five members that would judge and persecute the accused soldier. They also came up with the solution to charge subsidized tariffs to all military items that are imported to help maintain the economy of the host country. Many other solutions were brought forth among them; the closure of the inactive military bases that are currently being used for bomb testing and depleting the land, the ban of the creation of nuclear weapons, financial support system for the host country and most importantly the review of the rules governing the military basis giving preference to the safety of the civilians. After great diplomatic debates and consideration of each country, the committee was able to come up the comprehensive solutions to the problem and the chair, Ms. Sophiya Rana, appreciated the participation and research stating, “I am happy to see the effort placed by all of you.”
CRISIS: The Tragedy of the War to end all Wars independence on the caveat that they remained a
By Julie Ambani
In this session of the Crisis Committee, a thorough deliberation took place among the delegates concerning the World War II and possible ways through which this war could have been avoided, therefore avoiding the tragedy that followed as its result. All the delegates actively participated as they fully understood the importance of peace. Some of the ways that the present delegates concluded that the war could have been avoided were as follows: it was expressed that Germany could concede its share of the Polish territory to the USSR and in turn the USSR would have handed over power over the Suez Canal. Poland was to receive the entirety of its territory from the USSR on condition that they remain a Russian Protectorate. It was highly emphasized that UK was to agree to give the control of the Suez Canal to Egypt as an independent state provided that the Suez Canal was for the use of every state globally. Germany should have been willing to give Greece their
German protectorate.
It was unanimously agreed that there would be a body named the Nations United that would have been mandated with the prevention of warmongering and that the said body should have departments within its structure to limit the individual countries’ arsenals, ensuring that any military action is justified and that any unrequited military operations were punished. The said body would be granted the discretion of punishing the perpetrators as with any world judiciary.
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Delegates in the CRISIS Committee yesterday
6 COMMITTEES
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
Security Council: Delegates Sensitized on the need for Adequate Research
today, I will request you do some research. When you come here tomorrow, at least, fill this paper with notes with facts with cases,” said Chewan. The chair emphasised that the delegates spend at least 3 hours in their research and come Wednesday June 21, 2017 they will do great.
By Naomi Wanjiku
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Delegates of Ethiopia, France and Japan in Security Council
Based on a survey that was done in the United Nations Security Council committee on June 20, 2017, most delegates did their research for 1 – 7 days prior to the conference. According to the chair ChewanRai and his co-chair Neeti Pradhan, that is inadequate time for proper research. In a debate based on “how to prepare for an MUN conference,” the chair and the co-chair of the UNSC committee advised the delegates that the ideal time for them to do research for MUN is between 2 to 3 months. “For an advanced level committee, this level of research is not adequate. When you go back home
By Savita Toor
Some of the issues that the delegates were advised to look into included: resolutions that have been approved in the past in the same topic, the presidential statement of security council, to research on case studies of extremism/ terrorism, to go back to history and also familiarize themselves with the current state of extremism. “When we are talking about radicalization and extremism, we are trying to talk about how young people are being radicalized, how extreme youths are being segregatedand how it is affecting the whole world. What are the implications? How can we possibly solve these?” Chewan clarified. The delegates in the UNSC thanked the chair and co-chair for the amazing learning experience they have accorded them so far and recognized the need to do better.
ECOSOC: Refugee Crisis Yet Again!
World Refugee Day commemorates the obstacles that refugees face each year. Since 2001, the United Nations and more than 100 countries have observed World Refugee Day annually on June 20th. Where do refugees come from? Why must we share our resources with them? According to the UNHCR there are 65.3 million forcibly displaced around the world. More than 21 million of these people are refugees and 10 million are stateless. On average, 42,500 people per day flee their homes to seek protection within the borders of their own country or other countries. The civil war in Syria has led to one of the worst humanitarian crises of our lifetime. The motion was set by the delegate of China stating, “Social economic challenges that host countries face while taking in refugees.” Fellow delegates debated on the motion and some of the mentioned points are that refugees should have a job so that they can sustain themselves and their
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Delegates in ECOSOC Committee yesterday
family members. If they are secured with jobs the country’s economy will be strengthened and not burdened. The delegate representing Germany states, “There is lack of workforce to train the refugees on the country’s culture and language, apart from this issue we also do not have adequate funding for the refugees health. There is dire need to request donor countries to assist countries that host the most refugees to assist them with funds that will be used in the following ways; their health, education that will in turn add to the country’s economy, and their living.”
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
ECOSOC Continued...
COMMITTEES
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The outflow of refugees and displaced persons places an increased burden on the neighbouring states, including high economic and social costs. Refugees create a financial burden for receiving countries, which generally are states neighbouring the country of origin of the refugees, which creates potential for instability in many regions. The delegate of Kenya stated, “Dadaab was opened in 1991 as a temporary shelter for people fleeing civil war in neighbouring Somalia have a total number of 593,881 registered refugees that are specifically from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritreaand other countries” To help solve the problem of refugees and displaced persons, the international community must go beyond just providing assistance and adopt a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach
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A delegate in ECOSOC Committee yesterday
policies should be instituted to address the root causes of the situation and not simply the symptoms or consequences. There should also be transformation of humanitarian relief into longer term development projects which would ensure stability in the affected regions. Another issue of concern to policy makers in host countries is the impact of the refugee influx on the local labour market. Paradoxically, the unemployment rate in Jordan has been relatively stable over the past few years, running from 11.4 percent in the first quarter of 2012 to 12.9 percent in the first quarter of 2015.
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Karwitha Kirimi, a delegate in ECOSOC Committee
to the problem, such an approach should include preventive activities designed to identify and help resolve conflicts which could lead to refugee flows or displacement of persons. Where prevention was no longer possible,
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Karwitha Kirimi, a delegate in ECOSOC Committee
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A delegate in ECOSOC Committee yesterday
“Refugees should be given their basic rights in the host country”, said the delegate representing Australia. “They are educated and do possess the basic skills, they should be provided with jobs so that crime rates don’t rise in the host country. In order to prohibit all forms of human trafficking, refugees should be allowed to get into various trade unions in order to enhance the country’s economy.”
Today’s social: Gala Night at Michael Joseph’s Centre
Fun Page Stuff
Today’s program: Wednesday 21st June 2017 9.00 - 10.15 Comittee session 1
10.30 - 12.00
Committee session 2
2.00 - 4.00
Today’s weather:
Nairobi
Global Village
Crack it! *yesterday’s answer: string
7.00 - 11.00
22˚C
Gala Night
What single word represents all 4 pictures below?
EDITORIAL Chief Editor Soila Kenya Assistant Editor Julie Ambani
*answer in tomorrow’s issue
SAIMUN Social Media *answer in tomorrow’s issue Sub-Saharan International Model United Nations - Saimun
@SAIMUN_17
@subsaharanmun
Writers Kefa Odindo Savita Toor Naomi Wanjiku Cynthia Makena Photographers Isabella Mongina Bill Akide Ali Mohsin Khimji Rehema Wangari Graphic Designers Soila Kenya