UNSC 2024

WOW

Security Council Present Day 2024

Start

Index

1.

Welcome

Security Council

2.

3.

Points of Discussion

4.

Topic A Handbook

5.

Topic B Handbook

6.

Guiding Questions

7.

Resources

Conclusion

8.

Welcome

Countries

Chair

Letter to delegates

Dearest delegates of the EMUN 2024 Security Council, We wishfully hope that you had a great start to the year and that you are ready to give your best at the upcoming EMUN 2024 conference. We are incredibly happy to host you at this year’s Eton Model of the United Nations, and we are especially content that you have chosen our committee as your preferred discussion space. Therefore, we want to start this letter by extending our most sincere greetings and giving you the warmest and most heartfelt welcome to the conference and the Security Council. We, the Chair, are keenly and impatiently excited to see you, and we are looking forward to our meeting. Moreover, as you may know the Security Council is one of the main bodies of the United Nations, and it is of great importance because of its responsibility to maintain international peace and security by promoting peaceful and productive discussion. Thus, we are expecting you to illustrate the seriousness of the topics that will be covered and the relevance of the discussion by give your all at the conference, just as the EMUN staff has, in preparation for the event. The staff and Chair have been working hard to ensure you are comfortable, happy, and engaged in the conference, and we want to offer you the best experience. As for our final statements, we want to make sure that you have everything you need to get prepared for the occasion, so if you need any special support or have any doubts that we can help you with, feel free to contact us via email (our contacts are detailed below). We wish you the best of luck, and, once again, we are looking forward to seeing you. Sincerely, Your EMUN 2024 Security Council Chair President: Isamar Vilchis, isamar_vilchis@eton.edu.mx Moderator: Mauricio Candiani, mauricio_candiani@eton.edu.mx Conference Officer: Bautista Bustos, bautista_bustos@eton.edu.mx

Security Council

What is it?

History

Mission

Actions

Points for discussion

During this committee we are searching for the delegates to discuss the following points:

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IV

Topic A Handbook

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Displacement and Humanitarian Response

History

Introduction

Current Situation

UN Actions

Topic B Handbook

Religious conflicts in Southwest Asia

History

Introduction

Current Situation

UN Actions

Resources

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IV

III

VI

Guiding Questions

Delegates we suggest using these questions we have created in order for your research be easier. We hope that the questions will be useful for you to investigate:

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III

IV

Thank you once again for choosing the Security Council 2024 committee, we hope you enjoy the debate and we look foward to seeing you soon.

- Gender-based violence: Since this is the Security Council it is important to discuss how gender inequality is continually growing and how this is a threat for any individual's peace.

Southwest Asia is not, by any means, new to religious conflict; unfortunately, religious and ethnic violence has been presents since as far as the Middle Ages when Jews, Muslims and Christians fought for the holy lands. The problems have most certainly evolved; they are no longer exclusive to Jerusalem, instead presenting themselves in neighboring regions even reaching the Northern Coast of Africa. This historical background attempts to explore the history and evolution of religious conflict in the region. Although, for the sake of conciseness, this guide will focus mostly, from WWI to nowadays, because it is the period which has witnessed the highest point in violence due to religious conflict, in Southwest Asia. The first hints of religious conflict came shortly after WWI when, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire (which occupied several territories in the Middle East), the United Kingdom took control of modern-day Israel and Palestine; it proclaimed that it would designate a territory in the region for Jewish people. Consequently, a huge wave of Jewish migrants settled in the new territory, leading to the Palestinian Revolt (in 1936), one of the first acts of violence between the two religions. In it, some Palestine’s rejected Jews which sprouted brutality from both sides. The tension between the two religions continued, but after WWII, when Israel was founded in the old British territory, the conflict rose again. This period can, probably, be considered as the beginnings of the territorial, ethnic and religious conflict that is currently ongoing; it caused the Arab-Israeli conflict and violence exploded throughout the region. As this conflict continued, despite the UN’s attempts to deescalate it, new conflicts emerged, for instance, after the Iranian Revolution in the 70s, the rivalry of Iran and Saudi Arabia for the best version of Islamic governing, was born. Also, for example, in the late 60s the Sudan civil war kicked off because of ethnic and religious causes. Religious conflicts in Southwest Asia have come and go, but they are still a problem that has to be solved.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is considered to be a sixteen-day long activism campaign against Gender Based Violence since 1991. As previously mentioned, this campaign lasts sixteen-day, it starts on November 25th and ends on December 10th. It is important to mention that it ends in the Human Rights Day. This campaign started in 1991 still until the 2000 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was officially recognized by the General Assembly. The United Nations Security Council has made, recognize, and adopted seven resolutions that frame the Women, Peace, and Security agenda over the last two decades. Gender-based violence is a core component of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; UNHCR, protection mandate. Although in 1979 the United Nations General Assembly recognize and establish the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, but this solution was only solving the top of the problem about violence against women. In 1989, the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women recommended that member States should report on violence against women and the measures adopted at the government level to eradicate it. The UNHCR had taken some actions against sexual and gender-based violence between 2011 and 2016. This small strategies included: • Protecting children of concern against sexual and gender-based violence • Addressing survival sex as a coping mechanism in situations of displacement • Engaging men and boys • Providing safe environments and safe access to domestic energy and natural resources • Protecting LGBTI persons of concern against sexual and gender-based violence • Protecting persons of concern with disabilities against sexual and gender-based violence. Recently the Security Council adopted at its 9,527th meeting, on 10 January 2024. This resolution adopted possible solutions for maintaining world peace and stop the Houthi attacks on merchant and commercial vessels. Also the Security Council decided to remain actively of this matter. This resolution was more focused on the safety of navigation and the threats they had been receiving.

As previously mentioned, sexual and gender-based violence it has been taking a major concern. Individuals rights are being violated and it needs to change. As we know this matter leaves deep scars for girls and women, in a physical, social, economic, and mental ways, leaving girls and women with emotional damages and trust issues. But this also affects the rest of the world, this people that had been damaged and violent end loose the chance to access to education, healthcare and employment. This situation has been increasing during the past years. An estimated of 27% of women had experience physical or sexual abuse in their lives. Some regions of Asia do not get behind this regard. In South Asia there is an estimated that violence with their partner is 35% than the rest of the global average. During 2021, the violence against women increased and got higher than the past years. The Asia-Pacific region is not an exception for this matter. Approximately more than the 37% of women in South Asia, 40% of women in South East Asia and more than 68% of women in the Pacific have experience violence with their partners. Adding to this that across Asia around 30% to 40% of women suffer sexual harassment in their workplace. Some data indicate that three out of ten women in Southeast Asia are experiencing physical and sexual violence. There is a special case were gender-based violence is also demonstrated through female genital mutilation in Asian countries. A recent study reveals that female genital mutilation is practice in 90% of the Muslim population across Indonesia and Malaysia,, without mentioning the LGBTIQ+ community.

• 3. List 5 things that are important to know about the background of your country in the problem.
• 4. What is this issue important for your country?

• 1. What are the statistics about your country you believe are important to highlight for the debate?
• 2. Explain what the direct involvement or relation between the Topic and the Country is?

The United Nations has showed constant efforts to deescalate conflict and work towards peace in Southwest Asia; it has especially promoted dialogue in regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Palestinian dispute has been discussed multiple times (since the creation of the United Nations), but a single resolution is yet to be passed, and the topic is still being discussed. Although, the UN has mostly proved ineffective to solve this specific dispute, it has actioned in other situations nearby as well. Peacekeeping operations (from the UNSC) have been constantly planned and employed; one of the most notable, is the UNTSO, in charge of maintaining ceasefire in the Middle East, but beside its presence, armed disputes have continued. Another notable operation is the UNMIS, a peacekeeping mission to promote ceasefire in the civil conflict of Sudan. It first started in 2005, and it is still going. The United Nations is becoming more fearful day by day of the ineffectiveness of peacekeeping operations, but most importantly, of the safety of soldiers (many armed citizens do not respect the blue helmet’s authority); therefore, the idea of removing operations (especially in the Middle East) has been a relevant topic of discussion.

When a concerning threat to peace is known, the Council’s first action is to recommend to the different individuals involved to try to reach to an agreement in peaceful manners. The Security Council may take some of the following actions: - Set principles for the agreement. - Open an investigation and mediation in some cases. - Gently request the Secretary-General to use his offices to achieve a pacific settlement of the dispute. When the threat leads into something bigger, the Security Council primary con cern is to bring therm yo and end as soon as possible. If it is the case the Council may: - Issue ceasefire directives that can help prevent the escalation of the dispute. - Send some military observers to help reduce tensions, separate opposing forces and established a way which peaceful settlements can be given.

Further on, the Security Council may opt for enforcement measures including: - economic sanctions, such as financial penalties and restrictions or travel bans, - Severance of diplomatic relations - Blockade: a blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people by military force. In other words, a blockade differs from an embargo or sanction which are completely legal. - Military action. A concern is to focus action on those responsible for the policies or practiced condemned by the international community, while minimizing the impact measures taken on the other parts of the population and economy.

Countries

- Switzerland - United Kingdom - United States - Observer: Egypt - Observer: Iran - Observer: Israel - Observer: Lebanon - Observer: Syria - Observer: Turkey

- Algeria - China - Ecuador - France - Guyana - Japan - Malta - Mozambique - Republic of Korea - Russian Federation - Sierra Leone - Slovenia

Sexual and gender-based violence is a violence committed agains any individual because of their gender or identity. Forcing different people to do something against their will and rights through any kind of violence, threats, or economic means. Sexual and gender-based violence can be interpreted in different ways depending on the context of the situation and tupé of relationship. Over the past years, gender-based violence has increase and come recognize as a serious problem. This issue is now recognized in an international level, not only for women but also is a threat to world peace. This issue has not only become an important issue to the Security Council, but it has also become a priority for women’s organizations. During the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace during 1976 until 1985, and in the most recent times, Governments from diferentes countries had also begun to pay closer attention to this issue. It is important to mention that this issue has brought the UNSC clase attention to the regiones of the Caribbean and Latin America. This problem occurs much more frequently that it is indicated by official records.

Some of the human rights violated by sexual and gender-based violence include: • The right to life • The right not to be subject to torture or to inhuman or degradando treatment punishment • The right to equal protection according to the humanitarian norma in the time of international or internal armed conflict • The right to liberty and security of person • The right to equal protection under the law • The right to the highest standard attainable of physical and mental health • The right to just and favorable conditions of work.

- Religion should be free and not a cause of war: As we know during the timeline of humanity wars had been started, and one of the excuses is religion. Religion should not be considered for starting wars since we are supposed to be free in our beliefs.

- Feminism should be considered for a better development of the committee: to develop the topic as well of sexual and gender-based violence it is important to remark or talk about women’s security and rights.

- Consideration of people’s violated rights: During an armed conflict many individuals' lives are being risked. Therefore, their human rights are being violated and not discussed.

• 5. What are the international laws or treaties that are related to the topic?
• 6. What is my country’s position on the topic?

As we know sexual and gender-based violence had existed since many decades ago. In 2018 according to UN Women, an estimated of one in seven women around the ages of fifteen and forty-nine had experienced physical and sexual violence foram their partner in a one-year time laps. The same year for every ten victims of human trafficking in a worldwide point of view, five of the victims were women and two of them were girls. Adding that on that same year 92% of victims of human trafficking are females. As well in 2020, in an international level 81,000 women and girls were killed. Around 58% of those women and girl victims were killed by a close family member. In the early 18th century, gender roles such as women belong in the kitchen and playing sports is for boys, had Belen culturally and worldwide encrusted for close to two thousand years. As well it is important to mention that most of the religions, they have scripts that are part of the religion such as the Bible for the catholics. This scripts mostly stablished the role of women in their lives and most of them are just being an object of the men’s lives. The Hebrews laws determined that rape was punish with capital punishment such as stoning. If the victim was a virgin in the city territories she was also punish with the rapist. This was because she could have asked for help. Anotaré law they had was that if any woman was married that was raped, she was punish along with the rapist for adultery. The Celtic law stablished in their laws that adulterous women were not protected if any rape situation occurred, bug in the Anglo-Saxon laws prostitutes were protected by the law. During the 11th and 12th centuries the laws changed again, prostitutes and marital rape were exempted for rape crime, bug rapists could not marry their victims, to prevent them from benefiting from their crime. American colonies in the 16th century had two laws about rape situation. These laws established, “Rape was consideres to be carnal knowledge of a women 10 years or older, forcibly and against her will. In Massachusetts, rape as provided marital rape exemption, but it did not require corroboration for the victim’s testimony.” (www.columbia.edu). The last law is still implemented in the state of Georgia.

As mentioned previously, the disputes in the Middle East and Northern Africa have recently caught more international attention than ever. This is owed, mainly, to the developments in the Palestinian conflict. In the beginning of October, Hamas and other armed Muslim groups launched a very intense attack on Israel. Therefore, Israel responded with a declaration of war and with more attacks than ever. These events sprouted muslim-jewish violence, not only in the region, but worldwide, causing everyone to put an eye on the Middle East. Palestinians have escaped in huge numbers, and there have been casualties from both sides, so every United Nations organ has started to work around the crisis: attending refugees, promoting peace, etc. In addition, other religious conflicts are still ongoing, apart from this one. One of the most recent is the Nagorno-Karabakh territorial dispute, related to ethnicity and religion (Christianism and Islam), which has also drawn global attention. The Sudan civil war, as stated before, is also continuous, and its roots are owed to religious differences. Unfortunately, the Middle East is very divided by religion nowadays, causing conflict and disputes, and it’s up to the United Nations to tackle it.

As stated before, the Security Council is one of the main bodies of the United Nations, which makes it one of the most important organs of the organization. This organ gives primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security over the world. The Security Council will meet whenever they see that peace is threatened or at risk in any county or region.Therefore, the Security Council consists of fifteen Members of the United Nations. The Republic of China, France, the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic; now known as the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America are permanent members of the Security Council. Then remain spots of this organization are chosen by the General Assembly; this Members should be part of the United Nations. The non-permanent of the Security Council shall be elected from a term of two years. And each member of the Security Council shall have one representative. This is part of Article 23 of the United Nations. In Article 24, the Security Council shall submit annual and, when necessary, special reports to the General Assembly for its consideration. Finally, in Article 25, the Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter.

Furthermore, according to the Charter, the United Nations has four purposes, missions or visions:- Keep international peace and security. - To develop friendly relations among nations. - Work as a team by solving international problems and promoting respect for human rights. - To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

The Security Council had his first session on 17 January of 1946 in London. Since the very first meeting, this organ has taken permanent place at the UN headquarters in New York City. The representatives of each of the members of the Security Council must be present at all times in the UN Headquarters so that they can meet whenever they need as any threatened arises.

Your Chair

President: Isamar Vilchis Moderator: Mauricio Candiani Conference Officer : Bautista Bustos

Throughout history, Southwest Asia has been a region marked by discord, disputes, and disagreements; it has hosted several Modern History belic conflicts, including the Iraq War, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the still ongoing dispute between Israel and Palestine. The important thing to note is that one of the main causes of these armed conflicts is religion; religious and ethnic differences have, unfortunately, resulted in havoc for many Middle Eastern and Northern African countries, calling for the intervention of international organizations. Thus, the United Nations and one of its main organs, the Security Council, have stepped up attempting to tackle religious conflicts in Southwest Asia. Although they have already taken some actions working towards sustainable peace in the religious disputes, there is still much to be discussed, and acted upon. Furthermore, in recent months the region has once again, attracted major international attention, mainly because of the updates in the Israel and Palestinian dispute, but also because of the current situations in Iraq, Nagorno-Karabakh, and several other areas, which also require immediate attention and measures to be taken.

• 7. What is my country doing to solve the problem?
• 8. How have others tried to help my country?

• 9. What are mayor implications or impact of the conflict at hand for your country?
• 10. How is the problem affecting my country?

- United Nations Security Council. (n.d.) What is the Security Council? https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/what-security-council- LibreTexts. (n.d.) 7.6: Religious Conflict in North Africa and Southwest Asia https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Courses/Mizzou_Academy/World_Geography_A_B/07%3A__North_Africa_and_Southwest_Asia/7.06%3A_Religious_Conflict_in_North_Africa_and_Southwest_Asia - UNHCR. (n.d.) Sexual and gender-based violence. https://help.unhcr.org/turkiye/social-economic-and-civil-matters/sexual-and-gender-based-violence/#:~:text=Sexual%20and%20gender%2Dbased%20violence%20(SGBV)%20is%20violence%20committed,cultural%20expectations%2C%20or%20economic%20means. - Columbia University. (n.d.) History of Sexual Abuse and Harassment https://freedomandcitizenship.columbia.edu/gender-equality-history-2021

- Fox, Vivian C. (2002). Historical Perspectives on Violence Against Women. Journal of International Women’s Studies. https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1559&context=jiws - World Vision. (August 17, 2022) Facts, FAQs, History, what you need to know about Gender Based Violence. https://www.wvi.org/stories/facts-faqs-history-what-you-need-know-about-gender-based-violence - United Nations. (n.d.) UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict. https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/about-us/un-action/ - UNHCR. (n.d.) Sexual and gender-based violence. https://help.unhcr.org/turkiye/social-economic-and-civil-matters/sexual-and-gender-based-violence/#:~:text=Sexual%20and%20gender%2Dbased%20violence%20(SGBV)%20is%20violence%20committed,cultural%20expectations%2C%20or%20economic%20means

- UN Women. (n.d.) Global norma and standards: Peace and security. https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/peace-and-security/global-norms-and-standards#_WPS_resolutions - Raftery, P. (n.d.) Gender-based violence (GBV) coordination in humanitarian and public health emergencies: a scoping review. https://conflictandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13031-022-00471-z - Rico, N. (n.d.). Gender-Based Violence: A Human Rights Issue. https://repositorio.cepal.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/ad963a4d-1ed1-4a5c-80b5-283a76f73044/content - UNHCR. (June 2011) Action against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: An Updated Strategy. https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4e01ffeb2.pdf

- American Humanist Association. (May 2020) Resolution on Gender-Based and Sexual Violence. https://americanhumanist.org/key-issues/statements-and-resolutions/resolution-on-gender-based-and-sexual-violence/ - General Assembly. (2 September 2022) General Assembly Adopts Four Resolutions, including Contested Text Addressing Justice for Victims of Sexual Violence. https://press.un.org/en/2022/ga12438.doc.htm - Security Council. (10 January 2024) Resolution 2722 (2024). https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N24/009/28/PDF/N2400928.pdf?OpenElement - Raiser, M. (December 9, 2022) Standing Up to Fight Gender-Based Violence in South Asia. https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/standing-fight-gender-based-violence-south-asia - UNESCO. (20 April 2023) Call to action to end violence against women in Asia and the Pacific. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/call-action-end-violence-against-women-asia-and-pacific?TSPD_101_R0=080713870fab20003baa8102f888e9bb8cdf0701a4e522a6d92d4a88b5ff457b48770b16c470470a089ca31a38143000995653725bd538e3c6e8c623c0bff35e5be208a7c350a231b2f8e5078f87f70c17a0690e009f8f8ce7ddd49d4017c338

- Wicaksono, T. (12 November 2021) Unravelling gender-Based violence in Southeast Asia. https://www.newmandala.org/unravelling-gender-based-violence-in-southeast-asia/ - Edzard, D. (n.d.). Southwest Asia. https://www.britannica.com/place/Southwest-Asia - Geneva Academy. (n.d.) Today’s armed conflicts. https://geneva-academy.ch/galleries/today-s-armed-conflicts - United Nations. (16 October 2023) Middle East, Karabakh, Sudan… new conflicts shake the world. https://unric.org/en/middle-east-karabakh-sudan-new-conflicts-shake-the-world/ - Study Smarter. (n.d.) Conflicts in the Middle East. https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/geography/superpowers-of-the-world/conflicts-in-the-middle-east/

- Al Jazeera. (21 January 2008) Timeline: The Middle East conflict. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2008/1/21/timeline-the-middle-east-conflict - Koch, B. (May 17, 2019) unmasking ‘Religious’ Conflicts and Religious Radicalization in the Middle East. https://www.e-ir.info/2019/05/17/unmasking-religious-conflicts-and-religious-radicalisation-in-the-middle-east/#google_vignette - Haddad, M. (27 November 2023) Israel-Palestine conflict: A brief history in maps and charts. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/27/palestine-and-israel-brief-history-maps-and-charts - UNMIS. (n.d.) UNMIS closes as South Sudan becomes world’s newest country. https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/mission/past/unmis/#:~:text=of%2024%20March%202005%2C%20decided,functions%20relating%20to%20humanitarian%20assistance%2C - United Nations. (n.d.) Fifty-five years of UNTSO. https://www.un.org/en/events/peacekeepersday/2003/docs/untso.htm#:~:text=Presently%2C%20UNTSO%20maintains%20its%20Headquarters,the%20Golan%20Heights%20and%20Sinai - Alsaafin L (7 November 2023) One month of Israel’s war: What’s happening to Palestinians outside Gaza? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/7/one-month-of-israels-war-whats-happening-to-palestinians-outside-gaza