THE DAILY
No. 8
SAIMUNER Wednesday, July 4th 2018
www.saimun.net
High School Interview: Nimo Wahome
By Kuria Kasumba
in two of my friends, asking whether it was good enough to raise. They told me to go for it. So I did. I used my friends to boost myself as well as build my confidence to a point where I could break a barrier and take the first step. How has the experience been so far?
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Delegate Nimo Wahome
Interviewee: Nimo Wahome. Nimo Wahome is currently a student enrolled in the Nova Pioneer Girls Tatu. She is in the 2nd form of a total of four. This year, she represents the delegation of the country Kiribati in the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee (SOCHUM). Is this your first MUN conference? I have been to a MUN Conference before. I, however, have never attended a Sub-Saharan African International Model United Nations (SAIMUN) before. Were/Are you nervous? Yes, very much so. Especially when I spoke today. I first had to gather the necessary courage to quell the nervousness, that doesn’t quite go away until you start speaking. In all honesty, I found out it’s an amazing experience. How did you manage to overcome the nervousness? Okay so at first I did not know whether or not my point was worth sharing. I then decided to confide
In a word, it has been interesting. What makes it really interesting is the people here. The populace is quite diverse. Listening to the eloquent speakers helps me develop my speech. Since the environment is conducive, I find it possible to focus and stay on top of the task at hand. Do you feel any pressure to speak out during conference? During the conference there is relatively okay pressure. This is because you are not necessarily forced into speaking out but instead the pressure is from within. A delegate has to have their own volition to present their views to the Assembly. The atmosphere is actually accepting and everyone is encouraged to participate in active debate. This builds a delegate as a whole because it is them themselves who initiate their growth. Are there any aspirations you look forward to in this conference? I aim to speak freely and eloquently in the SOCHUM Committee. By the end of the Conference I would like to have complete control over my voice and use it at will. My assumption is that it will take place through my consistent practice.
2 COMMITTEES
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
Day 2 of UNEP Committe session
By Ayomide Alajogun
The comitte ysat early in the session was started with the roll call. There were 72 delegates presesnt at the time of the roll call, however more people were added at the put the number of delegates present 86. The committee is comprised of a total of 134 delegates. The topic, “Introducing Wind Farms As A Source of Sustainable Energy in Sub-Saharan Africa”, which was introduced yesterday was again reintroduced and the session began fully. The floor was opened and delegates began to move motions. The delegate from Spain believes that the installation of wind farms is not possible in SubSaharan Africa, as it requires a lot of maintenance. Albania believes that Africa should consider the wind farm project, notwithstanding the funds. She believes that Africa should first of all set to begin the project, as anything is possible with determination. to solicit for help from financial Burkina Faso, despite the position of Albania believes that the funds would would hinder the project, seeing that Burkina Faso is really poor. Swaziland addresses the topic by revealimng that the country has already adopted the Affordable and
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UNEP Committee
Clean Energy gosl, which is part og the SDGs. Swaziland already uses the wind farm technology and finds it safer and more affordable in comparism with fossil fuels. Zimbabwe opines that the wind farm technology shoul dbe adopted by African countries as it would provide an advantage for African electricity industry and provide a remotely sound energy for the country. Delegate from Russia agreed that green energy is the way, since the country uses it. She also recommends the natural energy to Sub-Saharan African countries. Maldives agrees with this and believes that she could get six times more energy from wind farm technology than she currently gets. The committee session was quite enlightening and educating and it appears that a resolution would be made by the UNEP sooner than expected.
UNSC: Helping the Rohingya By Linda Ngari The Security Council’s second seating deliberated on the ways the various represented states can get involved in resettling the stateless Rohingya community, not only in matters housing, but also jobs as well as other basic necessities that support humanity. This was in line with the topic they are dealing with: The future of stateless communitiesfocus being the issue of the Rohingya persecution in Myanmar. With the key states now present in the committee, the states of Myanmar, China, Russia and Bangladesh got fully represented by the delegates. This way, major deliberations on the way forward were made. Some of the contentious issues that arose included the question of how exactly to fund the Rohingya community- should they be allocated jobs? Using what criteria if so?
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Delegate Nimo Wahome
“I consulted with the secretariat… changes ended up being a success because we ended up having fruitful deliberations to unmoderated caucus, they started working on their working paper, so we are hopeful that there will be a resolution tomorrow and it won’t be vetoed,” said Mary Joy, the committee chair.
CONFERENCE NEWS
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
3
#RoadToRussia2018 By Sam Karumbi
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Since its inception in 1930, countries all over the world, soccer players and die hard fans revere it. All nook and cranny dream of the prized possession, all begin to understand and assimilate to other nationalities to present a unifying front in support of their team and players of choice. For soccer players in the tournament, one distinct word will rule over the 64 matches that will be played and the word is RESPECT. This famous trophy that has lived through several years came into the picture just after the establishment of the League of Nations to seek to unity and bring cohesion to states in the world. The idea was put in place and was embraced by people coming together and participating to get the golden trophy and URUGUAY had the last laugh being its first host and winner.
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moreover coming together, a literal humanity at crossroads if you ask me. It will be a duel but one for the most fit. There is no question on Africa receiving support from its inhabitants past the Group stage. Our insurmountable support go to those leading the assault, from Senegal, Egypt and Nigeria. Russia will be at Center of it all, the enactment of SDGs and MDGs that seek to foster unity and peace among all Nations. Holding such events of unity show great courage at the face of adversity from extremist groups. A world of brotherhood and one free from extremism ,intimidation and racism.
Avid fans of football know one or two things about the world cup such as how Brazil is a favorite of the cup’s winning streak and how Germany won the last world cup. Hours have been counted to the first group stage match up .The stories, tales, documentaries that have been read and watched are just a tip of the iceberg compared to the spark in Russia. The cup, to many, is more than just a possession for the Gurus but also a unifying factor for the world at large. This is one of the few forums fans, players, scouts and viewers all over the world cheer, marvel regardless of race, color or creed. Nations like France, Brazil, Egypt, Senegal, England Portugal and Belgium are on the watchful eye of fans critics and World Cup fanatics. Many are set to watch matches of the cup drawing from the 2014 World cup that had a riveting 3.2 billion fans tuned in to it. This is one way that people are together in thought and adopted patriotism and an equality of sorts.Through the tournament, cohesion will immerse itself from all the 7 continents to celebrate the most popular sport in the Globe and
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4 DID YOU KNOW
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
Did you know series: The United Nations By Alomide Alajogun
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UN
The UN Complex at Gigiri contains a 'green' building, a completely energy and carbon-neutral building, housing UNEP and UN-Habitat office, according to Googles.The building is the first of its kind in Africa, recycling water and using natural light to reduce reliance on artificial lighting. In addition, the building is designed to use natural flow of air as a substitute to air conditioning, and it contains solar panels to generate all the energy that the building would consume. This can be said to be in tandem with the 7th Sustainable Development Goal, which is, Affordable and Clean Energy. It was opened on 31 March 2011 by former UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Kenya's former president Mwai Kibaki. It is located next to the Karura Forest and across the street (United Nations Avenue) from the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. The signs of the green technology is rather obvious, as what strikes you upon entering the new offices in Gigiri are the airy walkways full of plants, coupled with natural lighting coming down through the central atrium that runs the entire length of the building. According to Standard Digital, This is made possible due to the building’s North-South orientation that not only helps it achieve maximum light intake but also mitigates against solar gain. About 6,000 square metres of solar panels that cover the rooftop are able to generate enough energy for the building’s 1,200 users. The water features at the entrance of each block are fed by harvested rainwater from the roof.Excess wastewater is treated at an on-site aeration facility that is then used to maintain the expansive gardens. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, I am really pleased to inform you that this is indeed a place legendary.
Child Migrants: The Inside Story By Ventura Kireki Do you know and understand who child migrants/ migrant children are?If you don’t, let me help you out a bit. Migrant children are those who with their families move across the country seeking seasonal or temporary work in the agricultural, dairy or fishery industry. Although the majority of child migrants move with their families, a significant number moves independently. A 2008 World Bank Report 24 based on different censuses carried out in 12 destination countries showed that a considerable number of migrant children were living without their parents. Recently there has been an incident where child migrants were abused by French border guards. This is in breach of the International Law Standards seeing as the children were as young as 12 and they should not have been turned away, let alone be abused. It was the duty of the guard to
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Child rights are human rights
offer assistance to these children. When dealing with children -whatever their migration status — it has to be recalled that States are obliged to ensure the protection of all children, including migrant children. Let us save the children and give them a tomorrow that opens doors for them.This year at the SAIMUN 2018 conference taking placefrom the 2nd to 6th July, at the UN offices in Nairobi, Kenya, the topic on children and their rights will be one of the agenda items being discussed.
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
COMMITTEES
Crisis committe: The pressure of time against a crisis
in the attack) had attacked the Russian and U.S embassy and the U.S ambassador was dead. The U.S grieved at the death of their ambassador in their own soil threatened to forcefully enter into the state while Brazil refused to allow U.S access in fear of them taking control of them. Unfortunately, time run out before the committee could reach to a solution.
By Cynthia Makena
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Crisis Committe talks
The Crisis committee yesterday was presented with two fictional scenarios and asked to find a solution for it. The delegates had to embody the countries they represented while still trying to convince other states to agree with their ideas. The first crisis was a terrorist attack in the FIFA world cup. The committee immediately took care of all those who were injured and died during the attack. The U.S.A sent its secret agents and rescued the teams from Pakistan, as the committee could not agree on a task force. At this point insurgents in Brazil and Mexico (under the assumption that Russia and U.S were involved
By Michael Omondi
5
The second scenario a Portuguese baby was the only cure to a disease that infected and kill half the population in the world in 26 days. The committee refused to compromise the life of the baby even at the 26 th day. Fortunately, India was able to attain a cure from a tropical plant and used it to financially sustain itself by clearing all debts for the vaccine and selling it to countries at a price subsidised by the W.H.O and World Bank. They succeeded to avert the crisis. With every scenario, time seemed to never be enough with the committee asking themselves, ‘what should happen first or who should do what?’. They, however, under pressure were able to come up with the right solutions that did not compromise any states values.
DISEC: Territorial Sovereignty
This was the topic thatthe committee was tasked with discussing and it proved to be as heated as it sounds. Powerful nations such as USA, Japan and Russia ensured their presence was felt while other nations did not also relent in the pursuit of their countries interest. State emphasized that foreign intervention should be used as the last option while all other avenues have failed to resolve conflict. It was however, pointed out that each and every state is sovereign and autonomous and this should be taken in mind before the launch of any foreign military intervention exercise. This is where the bone of contention seemed to arise as some delegations felt that restraint is a very critical aspect when handling such matters because the repercussions can be very catastrophic and far reaching if carelessness is embraced in the deliberations. The committee simulated a crisis
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DISEC Committe
and solved it substantively but was locked out on the technicality of time. The committee expressed satisfaction with being given the opportunity to tackle such matter and promised that an amicable solution was the end goal.
6 COMMITTEES
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
Social, cultural and humanitarian committe, day 2
By Kuria Kasumba
or not China is eligible to be a part of their committee. The individual from Nigeria was acquitted by the ICC and the perpetrator was unknown. The delegate from Saudi Arabia cordially invited the affected countries (China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) for a summit to discuss the way forward. With fifteen minutes left to provide solutions for the crisis, the delegates began to compile their work for the final presentation. The last five minutes… an update is revealed. PHOTO/ Courtesy
SOCHUM Committe
The day began like any other. The delegates underwent the usual protocol and the debating itself was an interest. Suddenly, there was a crisis situation presented to the committee; “China’s government ordered their military forces to infiltrate Pakistan, India and Afghanistan after the assassination of a high profiled official. It was reported that the spy came from the allegiance of the three countries hence China’s reaction. It had already caused 50,000 deaths at the borders of India and Pakistan. China also bombed the Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan which is under UNESCO’s protection.” The delegates were to break up into their respective continents and discuss to come up with solutions within the hour. After everyone was settled, the discussions commenced. In the different blocks, the delegates discussed the evacuation of citizens from the Indian borders where conflict was taking place. There was also movement of the Red Cross as well as the proposal of negotiations between the conflicting countries. Updates were presented from time to time, one of them being China calling the ICJ a “toothless dog” after it asked the country to withdraw its military forces. Thedevelopments escalated. China reported to have bombed the European Union headquarters and a few moments later, the spy who carried out the assassination was found to be a Nigerian Secret Service agent. This naturally caused an uproar in the room. It was bustling with excitement and movement as multiple delegates attempted to bring negotiations to the current conundrum. Tensions were raised during the discussions as the Security Council started to debate whether
It turns out the spy was apprehended. It was a British-French agent who was hired by South America. Enthralled in the current news, the conference room had to revise all their solutions and present them once more. Amidst all the activity, the summit that was later offered to be hosted by Canada, was cancelled due to differences between the countries. However, some of the solutions that were presented included: 1. South America was sanctioned 2. China apologized, withdrew their forces and aided in financial support 3. Peace talks were initiated 4. South America severed all ties between them and the individual. The SOCHUM Committee proved diligent throughout the process and in the end, were successful.
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SOCHUM Committe
THE DAILY SAIMUNER
COMMITTEES
ECOSOC: The Dancing Committee
7
is probably because the government itself speaks against it, citing Donald Trump of the United States of America as a perfect example of hate speech proponent. Turkey opines multicultural dialogue on religious matters.
By Ayomide Arinola Alajogun
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ECOSOC Committee
Widely recognised at the conference as being the most lively committee, the ECOSOC began its meeting on a light note,after the roll call in which there were 81 countries represented by 92 delegates, picking up from where it stopped on the topic, “Addressing The Social and Economic Consequence of Religious Intolerance�. The delegates bega discussing extensively on the topic, especially in relation to their respective countries. The delegate from Macedonia thinks that the media is the main agent for spreading religious intolerance, seeing that people involve themselves in activities that leans against hate on the social media, which in turn leads to intolerance in the outside world. Delegate advises government to take acrion against anyone who is directly or indirectly spreading religious hatred. The delegate from Greece declares that Greece finds ounishable those offences against religion and recommends religious education to schools to promote understanding. Delegate also proposes that the youths should be sensitized so as to popularize religious understanding. She also opined that the government of states which have religious intoilerance should try to dialogue with the parties involved. Belize opines that laws which promote religious tolersnce should be put in place. She also believes that diversity is part of life and the people should be made to appreciate diversity, especially in religion. Delegate from Colombia suggests that the government should give sanctions as they do on violence, to hate speech as that exactly is what births violence. She believes that laws are in deed being put in place, but are not being followed, therefore sanctions should be used. Delegate from San Marina believes that the reason why the laws are not being followed by the people
Delegate from Nigeria believes that the religious wars in the country is as a result of extremist teachings and advises that religious leaders should be mindful of what they teach to their followers to avoid uproars. Ecuador raised a POI to this, stating that since religious leaders are the proponents of extremist teachings, they cannot be used as agents of peace.
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ECOSOC Committee
The United States of America states that she takes religious respect seriously, and that the fact that she has great respect of freedom of speech does not imply that she has no respect for religious rights. Delegates opines that the nationalism will bring about tranquility, citing China as at 1992 as an example. Croatia stated that she had no state religion and the wars in the country were based on ethnicity and not religion. Delegates said that the government however supports the different denominations based on their population, hence trying to gap the differences. Ecuador advised that the government should not use religion as a basis for campaign as this could lead to crisis. The delegates interacted wih mutual respect and diplomacy, but during and after the sessions. The committee seems to be working resolutions already.
Fun Page Stuff
Today’s social: Global Village event at Micheal Joseph Centre Look out for: Wednesday 4th July 2018
Gossip Girl xoxo
9:00 am-12:00 pm Committee session 1:00 pm-2:00 pm Today’s weather: Lunch Nairobi 2:00 pm-4:00 pm Global Village
15˚C
Dear SAIMUNERs, Gossip Girl here again. Juicy gossip up; relationships are brewing all around this conference and as your faithful messenger I am here to tell you all about it. I guess its true, people are attracted to power. UNEP chair, your blue skirt yesterday made your secret admirer crazy not taking their eyes off you. My! My! The UNHCR chair, you definitely stole the show. Someone has got the HOTs for you. Of course, we saved the best for last, a Young delegate in SOCHUM has been confused by your demeanour; unable to tell what is most beautiful about you. This was a letter to a driven lady in the secretariat and your admirer will be getting to you really soon. Just a heads up! Keep writing to me. You are my eyes and ears. All my Love, Gossip Girl XOXO
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EDITORIAL Editors Soila Kenya Julie Ambani Linda Ngari Eunice Magwambo Writers KURIA KASUMBA Cynthia Makena Ayomide Alajogun Michael Omondi Photographers Ayub Mungai Klein Nettoh Rehema Wangari Carol Karanu Isabelle Mongina Christopher Saruni