the european international model united nations newsletter may 2009 TEIMUN’s first speaker: Ben Bot TEIMUN is proud to present the first speaker of this year’s conference: former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Ben Bot. Bernard Rudolf Bot (2111-1937) was born in the Dutch Indies, now Indonesia. He studied Law at Leiden University and Harvard Law School and became a PhD of legal studies in 1968. He occupied various positions for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1963 to 2002, ranging from ambassador in Eastern Germany and Turkey to Deputy Permanent Delegate of the Netherlands to the NAC in Brussels. After his career in foreign affairs Mr. Bot became a consultant in Brussels, but returned to the Dutch political arena as the successor of Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who was appointed Secretary General of NATO in 2003. During his time as Minister between 2003 and 2007 Mr. Bot
dealt with several controversial issues such as the expansion of the European Union, the possibility of a European Constitution and the Dutch involvement in both the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In 2005 Mr. Bot already commented shortly on the topic of the changing world order in his speech at the annual ‘Hofstadlezing’ in The Hague. He pictured two scenarios on the development of of the European Union in the next thirty years. In the optimistic one Europe would still be an economic and political force. The European Union would guard the international legal
order with its political, economic and military power. The other scenario is more pessimistic: Europe would fail in its economic development, lose its diplomatic power and would become no more than a ‘back alley in the global village’. Mr. Bot warned for a battle for oil, which could “elevate the tensions in the world, slow down the spread and growth of worldwide welfare” and thus could make it more difficult to cope with problems like terrorism. As a former diplomat, Mr. Bot has been an advocate of good diplomatic relationships between Europe, the U.S., and upcoming powers as China and India. Obviously Mr. Bot is a diplomatic heavyweight with a clear vision on the changing world order and its implications for all parties involved. We therefore hope and expect he will be giving both an interesting and thought-provoking speech at TEIMUN 2009.
TEIMUN 2009 - Sign up now!
The registration for TEIMUN 2009 has been open for over four months now, and registrations have been pouring in from all over the world. Already we have received more than 200 registrations from over 60 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. We have limited places available so register asap! 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 com-
plicated and time-consuming. 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 may 2009
Introducing... An essential part of TEIMUN consists of the Chairs, Vice Chairs, Registrars, Advocates, Secretary General - in short: the Staff. For all our readers but the 2009 participants especially, “Introducing” provides a little background information about these pillars of support. First up: the Secretariat!
Nikos Manaras Secretary General
Age: 26 Current occupation: PhD Peacebuilding and conflict prevention (Catholic University Leuven) Previously: MA Conflict and Sustainable peace (Catholic University Leuven) MA International Relations (King’s College, London) MUN Experience: - ThessISMUN 2004: Vice Chair Security Council 2005: Secretary General 2006: Crisis Coordinator - TEIMUN: 2007: Vice Chair NAC 2008: Chair General Assembly
Sebastiaan Zwaans Under-Secretary General
Sebastiaan is 24 years old and is currently studying history at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands. He went to high school in both England and Belgium and before coming to Groningen he spent a year in Bologna learning Italian. Current occupation: Nearly starting MA History (University of Groningen) Previously: Academic year in Bologna, learning Italian MUN Experience: - GrunMUN 2007: Participant - GIMUN 2008: Participant (Best Delegate) - TEIMUN 2008: Board of Directors
The Secretariat 2009 showing its signature smiles
The USG accompanied by the vice-chair of the Crisis Staff.
Application United Netherlands Delegation to Harvard National MUN now open! Do you want to combine Harvard, Oxford and the United Nations in one year? Do you want to become a persuasive public speaker and an ingenious negotiator? Always wanted to know why no country acted after the hurricane in Myanmar? Or why China supports Sudan? Then apply for our multiple awards winning delegation!
The academically accredited course (10 ECTS) United Nations and Multilateral Diplomacy, or ‘the delegation’, is open for 3034 university students from all backgrounds. These students are invited into the delegation after a national selection process. You can find more information on: http://www.unitednetherlands. org/becomeadelegate.shtml.
If any questions remain you can contact us at admission@unitednetherlands.org. Apply now for the United Netherlands delegation 2009-2010! The deadline is May 15, 2009.
the european international model united nations newsletter may 2009
TEIMUN Humor The fact that most MUN participants and organizers are relatively young, ensures that college jokes and sexual innuendo is swiftly employed to poke fun at some of the expressions in the MUN dictionary. Above example of “tabling the chair” is an excellent illustration. Below you will find some of the more civilised and subtle versions of TEIMUN Humor. For more crude versions - believe us, there’s much more shocking humor in the minds of MUN’ers worldwide - try this link. “Esteemed delegates, honorable Chair. The resolution we’re voting on is like... ... a hamster on a wheel: it looks like its going somewhere, but it really isn’t ... vodka, it is strong and it makes us happy ... a clogged toilet. It’s full of crap ... peeing in your pants. It seems hot to you, but it is nasty to everyone else
Introducing... Part two: in-depth with the Secretary General! Of course, after reading about the Secretariat, the TEIMUN Daily’s reporters couldn’t help but remain curious. So, they managed to usurp a bit of interviewtime of the very busy TEIMUN SG 2009: Nikos Manaras. TEIMUN Daily: What was your best experience in TEIMUN? Nikos Manaras: “TEIMUN 2007 at the Beach Party. During the soccer game between the staff and the board I scored the two last goals of the staff team and we turned the 1-2 against us to 3-2 and won the game. Priceless. I then thought of quitting any dreams about working on a relevant field with my studies and becoming a professional footballer. Unfortunately it was too late and Liverpool had already ended their summer transfers before receiving the dvd of the game.” “Another high point was last year, when I was chosen to be the SG of TEIMUN 2009.” TD: Have you ever met someone in TEIMUN who you see as going on to be the next UNSG? NM: “Yes, TEIMUN is full of talented delegates and you will experience it as well by observing the conference. Anyone of these people could really be the next UNSG. And how cool will it be if in some years someone from TEIMUN actu-
ally became the next UNSG? Then you could say: “Really? Him/Her? I remember him/her in TEIMUN during the sessions when he/she made a motion to table the chair!” TD: Which country do you think has the most talented TEIMUN’ers?
NM: “I am not going to give you any embarrassing stories about Sebas. I will let him do it on his own during the conference where he can actually demonstrate it as well. Moreover, we have signed a confidentiality agreement which I am sure he will not hold but I will!“
NM: “Honestly, it is hard to distinguish a specific country. I have met plenty talented TEIMUN’ers that come from different countries. Nonetheless, it is quite evident that talent has nothing to do with where you come from.” TD: Looking at the topics, do you have any specific hopes or expectations for a particular council or topic? NM: “I have high expectations for all the topics. We tried to select them very carefully keeping in mind that the topics are a crucial point of an MUN’s success. I think that all the topics we selected are very interesting. A topic only becomes boring if the delegates haven’t prepared well and have nothing to say about it. But this is a very rare case for TEIMUN where delegates always do their best and are very motivated.” TD: Do you have any embarrassing or cool stories about Sebastiaan, your better half in the Secretariat?
“As far as cool stories are concerned I just need to underline that he is a very talented singer and he proved it last year during the beach party. Jokes aside, I feel quite lucky working with him. I was convinced very early that I made an excellent choice choosing him as the USG.”
the european international model united nations newsletter may 2009
Human Rights Council: human rights violations in Darfur
During TEIMUN, you can participate in simulations of different UN councils. The topics of the different councils have been announced in the April newsletter. On the website you can vote for the council’s different topics to give an impression of what you would like to debate most at TEIMUN 2009. In the Human Rights Council the topic ‘Human Rights violations in Sudan’ has been voted for most often at the moment. Sudan has been troubled by civil wars for years. Since February 2003 it also knows a precarious situation in Darfur still going on at the moment. In Darfur, a western region of Sudan, a conflict has been going on between Sudanese military and the Janjaweed on the one side - although the government denies it officially supports the Janjaweed - and African rebel groups on the other side, mainly the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice
and Equality Movement (JEM). The tension between the two different population groups in Darfur is said to be the root of the conflict. The shortage of natural resources has caused a tense relation between the African and Arabic population living in the region. President Omar al-Bashir has been accused of exacerbating this already unstable relation by supporting expansion of the Arabic nomads. The African population, mainly consisting of farmers, feels discrimated by the Arabic government. The international community has increasingly become convinced of this government discrimination.
International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, making him the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC. He is accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. Civilians have been the main victims of this conflict and millions have fled to Chad, living in refugee camps at the border. At this moment international help organizations and NGO’s have been denied access to this area which means millions of people will stay without help. A complicated situation, with no easy, clear or fast solution. In the meantime, the crimes against humanity continue.
If this is a matter you would like to discuss during TEIMUN 2009, go to the website and sign up for the Human Rights Council. Or check out the the other topics and indicate your preference. The agenda’s of councils will be formally set during the committee sessions. Don’t hesitate too long if you want to be sure to participate in the council and the counIn februari 2005 the United Na- try of your choice, the clock tions published a report on Darfur, is ticking.. We hope to see claiming human rights are being you in the Hague this summer! violated. They estimate a death rate of up to 300.000 and a refugee stream of up to 2 million people. There has been controYour TEIMUN journalists: versy over the use of the word Simon van Woerden, genocide; while many NGOs and Anne-Maaike Stapel and some government officials inJan Braaksma sist on using this term, other governments heavily oppose it - mostly for political reasons. In March of this year the