Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

“I have a point…”
By Aaysha Cader
The pending debate was on, ‘The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East’. The delegate of Saudi Arabia rose to speak. Delegates representing 86 countries of the United Nations were all ears; some of them took down points, others made mental notes. The President of the assembly sat at the head table, flanked by the Vice Presidents. A busy Secretary General paced the corridor, walkie-talkie in hand as he kept a tab on the proceedings. Conference security and administrative staff were on alert.

The General Assembly (GA) of the 10th Colombo Model United Nations (Co-MUN) was in session. Over 420 delegates participated in Co-MUN last week at the makeshift Co-MUN premises of the Colombo Plaza; an event which saw students between the ages of 13 and 19, gather to role-play in a simulation of the UN. Outside, they are typical teenagers, but when sessions begin, the guys in full-suit and girls in saree or power suits don their role of ‘diplomat’.

With 250 delegates in the hall, the GA continued its debates on topics as varied as the Role of Science and Technology in the context of International Security and Disarmament, to the Protection of the Global Climate for Present and Future Generations. The delegates were confident as they debated, submitted amendments to clauses of resolutions, made compromises and voted in accordance with their foreign policies. To obtain the floor to speak, you needed the permission of the chairperson. How? Raise the placard that displays your country’s name and wait. Protocol must be adhered to.

At the end of debate, the President of the GA requested all nations ‘in favour’ of the resolution to raise their placards. Administrative staff took counts, after which they did the same for all nations against, and those abstaining. The verdict is announced, and the resolution is either passed into Co-MUN’s records, or forgotten as another failed attempt to compromise.

Elsewhere in the Security Council (SC), the debate is on The Sanctioning of Missile Defence as a necessary component for National Security. Out of earshot of the SC delegates, Vice President Oscar hinted at an ‘emergency’. “But shhhh…” says the Secretary General, Tharindu, “They are not supposed to know yet.”

The concocted story for the emergency was a military coup in Saudi Arabia, radically changing the nature of its government and calling for the dissolution of Israel and the withdrawal of US troops from Saudi shores. The ‘news’ was to be broken to the SC, which would have to lobby, debate and come up with a resolution, the written document, impromptu.

Coordinating a conference of this nature is no easy task, says Tharindu. “You need to boss around a bit or the work doesn’t get done,” he says, adding that it doesn’t quite put him in the good books of the delegates. On his fifth and final year at Co-MUN, he has seen it all. “This year, Co-MUN has had quite a few firsts. The SC used a motion to ‘suspend the rules’ thereby debating two resolutions on the same question.” SC debates generally involve only one resolution per topic.

Run by students, the project includes the administrative affairs of typing and handing out resolutions, issue of identity cards, counting of votes and conference security. “Being in admin is hard work,” says Milinda, adding that it can get monotonous, “so we regret not being delegates.”

Co-MUN, an initiative of the Overseas School of Colombo, is the fifth-ranking Model UN in the world, and has annual GA sessions in the three committees of Disarmament and International Security, Economic and Environment, and Social and Humanitarian. Co-MUN facilitates the 15-member Security Council, as well as the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which this year saw the representation of 50 nations. This year’s conference drew the participation of 45 foreign delegates from India and Pakistan, while Asian International School sent the largest delegation of 43 students.

Munching on sandwiches during a break from sessions, Aman, from Pakistan together with his compatriots have a candid chat with a teenager from across the border, Indian Gaurav. “MUN is great!” he says adding that they even drafted a resolution together with the Indians, “We’re getting to know our neighbours at recess!”

Compromise, at MUN, is what these delegates should seek, but there are some veterans who seek to infuse controversy, just to create opportunity for debate. “In ECOSOC, everybody loves everyone else, there’s no controversy!” moans Petia, a Bulgarian national representing Russia. “In the spirit of the UN, it’s wonderful, but it’s nice to have a little controversy,” she smiles.

ECOSOC President Fadhil says there was so much compromise in the council that its final resolution took just 25 minutes to debate and pass. A Co-MUN veteran, he says, “More than the knowledge, what I love about this is that you get to make friends, and it’s great to know that the delegates all love you when you’ve handled them well as a chairperson.”

“What I like about MUN is that you get the freedom to express your opinions on important subjects and they’re actually heard,” says Sidhara, adding that it’s nice to know that what you say matters. As the 10th session of Co-MUN drew to a close after three days of fun, learning and making new friends, there’s bound to have been many who would raise their placards high in voting ‘for’ a resolution confirming Co-MUN’s phenomenal success – and so, with all votes in favour, none against, and certainly no abstentions, that is one resolution that’s sure to pass – unanimous.

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