Historical Security Council Study Guide - World Model United Nations

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Letter from the Chair dear delegates, Greetings and welcome to the Historical Security Council. My name is Graeme Crews, and I will be your chair for what will be an incredible World Model United Nations 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. As the most powerful body in the United Nations, you will face an issue that demands attention from the international community and promises to set a strong precedent for uN action in the newly decolonized African region. Briefly, here’s a little info about me. I am a senior at Harvard in Leverett House, concentrating in Social Studies, which is an interesting amalgamation of political science, political theory, sociology, economics, and all the other social sciences. MuN is one of my primary activities on campus. I chaired the International Criminal Court in Singapore at WorldMuN 2011 and chaired the Security Council in WorldMuN 2012. i directed the Security Council at HNMUN 2011 and HNMUN 2012. I am also a member of ICMUN, our traveling Model UN team. I am so involved with Model UN because, like you I am sure, I am interested in international affairs and the intellectual challenge of solving problems in the international community. Moreover, it offers participants the ability to meet people from around the world to learn about different cultures and shared values. Other than Model UN, I am a member of the Harvard Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society. I am super interested in American politics. I volunteer with the Elizabeth Warren for Senate campaign in Massachusetts and I help organize campus activities to aid in her campaign. Some of my less demanding extracurricular activities include watching the most recent blockbusters and trashy TV and spending time with friends. The Historical Security Council this year at WorldMUN will face the situation in the Congo in 1960. Using the study guide and your own research, you will develop comprehensive solutions to this situation. Independence has recently been declared for the country, but rival tribal politics along with the newly declared independence of a region within the country and the intervention by Belgian forces certainly bring this situation to crisis level. Embedded in the topics are discussions of geopolitical relations, the intersection of economics and politics, and nation-state formation and centralization. WorldMuN is truly the Olympics of the MuN world. For any newcomers, you will get the amazing opportunity of meeting passionate and intelligent students from around the world in a place bursting with culture and sights to see. For any lucky veterans like me, you get to experience this opportunity all over again. All the best, Graeme Crews Chair, Historical Security Council WorldMuN 2013 hsc@worldmun.org Melbourne Host Directorate PTY LTD | Office of Media and Design 6
Introduction The most important body of the United Nations has on its docket one issue to focus on for the duration on conference: the situation in the Congo in 1960. Before diving into the issues at stake, I want to lay out my vision for committee. I envision that committee will function as a blend of standing and crisis committee. Every session I hope that as a committee you will be able to produce a resolution advocating certain actions. using your recommendations, my assistant chairs and I will assemble a series of reports from the Congo presenting the facts on the ground after your recommendations have been implemented. The next session you will then react to those facts, and so on. This situation has been one the Security Council has dealt with periodically from 1960 onward (though we do not know that at this point…), so it will very much mimic reality. the Congo is one of the largest colonies in Africa, and the humanitarian conditions were among the most deplorable in the late 1800s and 1900s. King Leopold used forced labor within the colony to extract huge amounts of wealth for his benefit and for the benefit of Belgium. When the colony transferred ownership from Leopold to the Belgian government in 1908 after a sustained international humanitarian campaign, the Belgian government continued much of the most problematic practices of the Leopold regime, including forced labor, taxes, and poor social services. After World War II, the independence movement picked up force in the country and in the context of decolonization internationally, the Belgians agreed to independence in 1959. When 30 June 1960 arrived, the historical particularities of the Congo did not prepare it for a self-governing, centralized polity that was typical in Europe and developed nations worldwide. Tribal alliances formed the basis for most political parties, and the military grew mutinous at the slow-moving changes in the Force Publique from Belgian to African leadership. When a mutiny broke out in July, the resourcerich region of Katanga declared independence, and Europeans and Africans alike feared for their safety, the new Prime Minister Lumumba requested help from the united Nations on 12 July 1960. the uNSC, with its current membership of the permanent five (Republic of China, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United States, France, and United Kingdom) and rotational six (ecuador, Argentina, Ceylon, Poland, tunisia, and Italy) has met to discuss these circumstances and craft the appropriate response. the purpose of this Demonstrating the international importance of the situation in the Congo, this front page story on the impending independence in the Congo comes from Cleveland, Ohio. study guide is to provide an initial grounding in both the history of the situations, the issues in play, and the potential solutions. The problems associated with these topics require innovative and comprehensive solutions; it’s up to you to find them, apply them, and ensure international peace and security. History of the Committee Inception Following World War II, the Holocaust, and the advent of the nuclear age 1 , the world community Melbourne Host Directorate PTY LTD | Office of Media and Design 7
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