the european international model united nations newsletter april 2009 GrunMUN 2009 - Diplomacy and drinks
By Jan Braaksma Friday 27th of February GrunMUN took place at ‘Het Heerenhuis’, a venue located at the beautiful canals of Groningen. This years’ conference was built around the theme “Survival of the Fittest, is man still included?” The day was opened with speeches by Thomas Hermans, chairman of the TEIMUN Board of Directors, and Prof. dr. Roel Coutinho, a Dutch specialist on in-
fectious diseases..After the opening ceremony the participants were split inthree groups, which all participated in different Councils. The first group simulated the General Assembly and tried to reach consensus on the revisiting of the 2006 Political Declaration on HIV/Aids. The second group participated in the Security Council and tried to solve a fictional crisis scenario related to the use of
biochemical weapons. The last group simulated the Economic and Social Council, which debated humanitarian assistance after natural disasters with special attention to health issues. Amongst the participants were both Dutch and international students, MUN-rookies and veterans, which led to debates with interesting, unconventional points of view on the various issues. Between the sessions there was some time for informal diplomacy and negotiations, but the participants also got to know each other during the lunch and coffee breaks. After three sessions in each Council, consensus was reached and the closing ceremony took place. Board of directors, staff and participants joined each other for after session drinks, dinner in the centre of Groningen, and some more drinks. Rumor has it the party continued till the wee hours of the morning – but your faithful reporter obviously wouldn’t know anything about that.
TEIMUN 2009 - Sign up now! The registration for TEIMUN 2009 has been open for over two months now, and registrations have been pouring in from all over the world. Already we have received more than 100 registrations from over 40 different countries! We would like to urge all those who have not registered yet to register as soon as possible, especially those of you who need a visa to come to The Netherlands. The registration deadline for people who need a visa is Sunday 17th of May 2009. However, we advise participants to register sooner, since visa applications can sometimes be complicated and time-con-
suming. In order to register for TEIMUN 2009, go to our website. Read all the information on our website carefully, and fill out the registration form. We will then contact you as soon as possible with more information to guide you through the registration and, if necessary, the visa application process. If you have any questions with regard to the registration or visa application process, please contact one of you Participant Coordinators: Mark van Embden m.vanembden@teimun.org or Sophie Beelaerts - s.beelaerts@ teimun.org
the european international model united nations newsletter april 2009 Ten reasons you’ll love/hate
the Netherlands!
love 1. we have many tolerant policies 2. we have a high degree of free speech 3. we have lovely seas, canals and lakes 4. our country is multicultural and open-minded 5. we’ve got drop and hagelslag 6. virtually every Dutchman speaks English 7. everyone rides bikes 8. we know how to get a party started 9. the landscape is really flat, so you can see very far 10. TEIMUN is held here
hate 1. the Dutch are rude and undiplomatic 2. and if those don’t soak you, the eternal rain will 3. Liquorice candy is awful, and who wants a bar of chocolate on his bread?? 4. spoken Dutch sounds like a serious throat-disease 5. you can’t go a single night without a junkie trying to sell you one 6. all Dutch artists of barmusic share a single braincell 7. boooring... 8. err.. right. You win. There’s simply no way that’ll make you hate the Netherlands
Short topic overview - for full coverage check out our website teimun.org General Assembly • • •
Human Rights Council •
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Security Council
Tibet - Recent protests and military crackdown has led to many in- • ternally displaced Tibetans. Meanwhile the Dalai Lama and China blame each other for the crisis. Sustaining aid during a global recession - how can we ensure • continuation of promised aid to developing countries in this crisis, in order to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe? Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security - more information to follow.
Eastern Congo - the need for proactive involvement to alleviate the situation will prove a litmus test for the UN’s willingness to be continuously involved in unpredictable crises. Small arms - following GA resolution 61/89, the SC will discuss the establishment of an international framework for the control of illicit small arms trade, and its minimum standards.
International Court of Justice •
Sudan - the conflict in the Sudanese region of Darfur continues to rage on. What can the UN do to restore peace and security to this war-torn region? How effective has UNAMID been to date? The use of anti-corruption measures and good governance to promote human rights - the HRC will assess the effectivity of reducing corruption in order to create a development-friendly environment, where Human Rights are enhanced gradually. World Bank data will be used to analyse the link between good governance practices and human rights. • The right to life and the death penalty - more information to follow.
The legality of the use of force in the South Ossetian conflict - On August 7 Georgian forces began a military assault on the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Russia’s military response came the following day and the ensuing conflict lasted until the EU brokered ceasefire on August 15. The ICJ will address the legality of the use of force in this conflict, which has long been the starting point in the law of conflict.
Economic and Social Council
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United Nations Environmental Programme • • •
Renewable energy sources - more information to follow Climate change and national security - more information to follow MDG 7 - the poverty environment initiative. This initiative, a partnership between UNDP and UNEP, delivers financial and technical support to governments for sustained capacity building in the field of poverty environment mainstreaming.
North Atlantic Council •
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NATO’s partnerships - NATO cooperates with many different nations in its missions, in varying intensities. Mr. De Hoop Scheffer has called for a “global approach”, much to the dismay of some European nations. How will these relations between NATO, partnership countries, EU, and Russia develop? The situation in Afghanistan - more information to follow
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A global responsibility for failing states? - more information to follow The prevention of human trafficking - human trafficking is a flagrant violation of human rights and often a consequence of economic and social inequalities. Since the fall of Iron Curtain it has become an expanding problem - it is claimed that 800,000 persons are illegally trafficked every year. International efforts to prevent this illegal trade in human individuals have been increasing. International monitoring mechanisms for the tracking, prosecution and punishment of economic and personal identification data crimes - more information to follow
Your TEIMUN journalists: Simon van Woerden, Anne-Maaike Stapel and Jan Braaksma