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Towards
a better world “‘They ordered us to rape, they beat me with a piece of wood everyday. I still wake up from bad dreams. I am constantly afraid.’ This is the sad story of Vasco, a little boy who was forced to fight in the local militia in East Timor. Like this boy Vasco, there are thousands who suffer this tremendous anger and trauma. That’s why we see this resolution as offering them the best solution. So I ask all members gathered here, to vote in unison with an overwhelming majority,” urged the delegate of Poland, the submitter of this resolution. …And another resolution on child conscription was passed when the UN Security Council approached the matter of taking a strong stand on organisations recruiting children to engage in war. This resolution may not be strong enough to impose sanctions on such groups, but the draft resolution was diplomatic and brought unity among the member nations of the UN to come to common terms in finding solutions to the world’s problems – it was all about the Colombo Model United Nations (COMUN). Model United Nations (MUN) is a simulation of the United Nations. Students of MUN assume the role of delegates of the UN. This enables the participants to experience not only international relationships, politics, law and other various world topics, but also increases the capacity of students to engage in problem-solving and communication skills. As students take on the role of international diplomats, they have to put their own views to one side and embrace the foreign policy of the nation to which they have been assigned. Students also learn about the conduct of formal meetings and the use of parliamentary procedures. The history of the MUN is not documented, but simulating international organisations began when students held a series of Model League of Nations exercises, the mother of the UN in 1920. The COMUN was begun in November 1994 by Ms. Sandra Fernando, a teacher at Overseas School of Colombo (OSC). Each year the conference has expanded to include more schools and more students. The COMUN conference, which is usually held during the first weekend of March, is now open to schools throughout the world. The COMUN comprises three organs of the UN, namely the General Assembly (GA), which includes three of its committees, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Security Council. A minimum of 15 students is needed to hold a Security Council meeting and 35 students can conduct an ECOSOC meeting. However, a large number of students are needed to work in the GA. This time it was the 11th session of the COMUN, held from March 4 to 6. The first two days of the conference was held in OSC and the last day was at the Ceylon Continental Hotel. Walking through the corridors, Eun Kyung Lee, the Secretary General of the COMUN said that she has been working very hard since last August. “We had lots of fun and it was very inspiring to see what people my age have to say about the topics they’re discussing,” she added. This was the third year in the MUN for Eun Kyung Lee at OSC. The first year she was a delegate of France in the Third Committee, then she became a Chair, and was promoted as Secretary General. “I was not a good delegate as I don’t have good negotiating skills, I am good at ordering (laughing). Next year, I’ll opt to be a good delegate,” said Lee. I first thought of venturing into the Security Council on entering, I wondered whether I was in the most powerful decision-making body in the world? My eyes directly focused on the Delegate of the USA, Kartikeya Rao of OSC, who was engaged in debating on the situation in North Korea and its alleged nuclear threats. “It’s sometimes pressurising to be a delegate of the USA in the Security Council and I have to act according to my country’s foreign policy,” he said. Suddenly a number of delegates from the Third Committee came out with beaming faces. Their faces suggested that their resolution had been passed with an overwhelming majority. “Our resolution was the longest with 16 operative clauses, but we finished it in 15 minutes,” said Fawas from Royal Institute, who was representing Ethiopia in the Third Committee. Fawas added that apart from diplomacy and debating skills, the participants of the MUN can also develop their personalities. “Through this conference, we teenagers will understand the value of the UN by knowing how it works. After all, these teenagers may be UN delegates one day,” said Fawas, adding, “Last year I was a Delegate of Rwanda and now I am a delegate of Ethiopia. I love to get such countries as I’ll have a lot of talking to do on behalf of these countries.” Moving away from the corridor of the Ceylon Continental, I observed that some of delegates of the First Committee had taken the debate out of the House. The argument went on as one delegate tried to prove the point for another and some delegates had circles around them. Opening the door to the General Assembly of the MUN, I noticed that the Second Committee delegates were in their formal attire. The issue being debated was the ‘Creation of global culture regarding ozone depletion and environmental charges.’ Fazal, who was the Vice-Chair last year, and was playing the role of a delegate of Ethiopia in the Second Committee this time, said that being a delegate was more fun than being a chair. “A lot of people think that it’s really great to be a chair, but I think being a delegate gives you the chance to make your point heard.” There were 15 minutes more for the lunch break and I ventured into the adjoining room of the GA – ECOSOC. The debate was on children in armed conflict. A few minutes later, the administrative staff counted the votes. The resolution passed. Yet there were ten minutes more to the lunch break. The delegate of Indonesia raised a point and asked the President to “give a speech” and the President responded negatively. There was a little joke in the ECOSOC regarding the Delegate of Indonesia’s statement made to the President. Finally the room filled with noise and the President had to order the delegates to move out. On being questioned about the ECOSOC, the President, Shannon Misso from Holy family Convent, Bambalapitiya, and the Vice-President, Amanda Dissanayake from Colombo International School said that ECOSOC members are very enthusiastic and very impressive. And this time the ECOSOC had approached a radical change to its mandate in the UN Charter. The ECOSOC resolution which contained the question of ‘The effectiveness of ECOSOC implementing its resolution’ suggested that ECOSOC should be replaced by ESSC – Economic and Social Security Council which would comprise 20 semi-permanent members, unlike the 54 members in ECOSOC. The ESSC would be entitled to more power than ECOSOC (maybe sometimes, similar to the Security Council, except for the power of the veto). In another ECOSOC resolution on ‘Addressing the problem of corruption in government offices,’ called upon the Security Council to impose sanctions upon nations, if the corruption rate has not substantially decreased within the allocated time-frame determined by the ECOSOC (if that is so, many nations will suffer from UN sanctions in the coming years). Lunchtime was very entertaining as all the delegates removed their formal suits and moved around like normal teenagers. During that hour of entertainment, I read the message from the Head of the OSC, Mr. Laurie McLellan on the pamphlet distributed to the Delegates. “Kofi Annan believes that the organisation (UN) is built on what he calls ‘universal values.’ When people talk about values the next question is ‘whose values?’ The universal values that Kofi Annan has highlighted are equality, tolerance and human dignity. Here you are (in the MUN), among nearly 400 students representing countries from around the world, and most of you represent countries you have never visited, for their best interests,” stated Mr. McLallen. Mr. McLallen went on to say that when a delegate puts forward the resolutions that they want to see passed, there usually has to be some compromise, which can lead to amending the resolution. “When patching together the resolution ask yourself, does this resolution allow for our citizens to experience and enjoy equality, tolerance and human dignity?” he asked from the Delegates. The closing ceremony approached and the entire occasion was about to end. Mudara Perera, the Head of Administration and the man behind the wheels said that it was tiring, especially in the past couple of days, but that he had enjoyed the whole session. Final hours of the COMUN 2005, where everyone was in one room, sharing a common feeling – excitement as well as loss. Words of encouragement… Applause… Gratitude… and finally, the Best Delegate Award. The glory of another MUN came to its end. Having witnessed the 11th session of the COMUN, my mind shifted back to those years when I was a Delegate of COMUN, where I tried to make my point across the table. I may not be able to sit and enjoy debating on another resolution, but the COMUN hails every year with human spirit and awaits an opportunity of having fun while making new friends!! |
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