UN Sanctions Reform - The Watson Institute for International Studies

Workshop on UN Sanctions 16-17 July 2004
Introduction
SIMULATION EXERCISE: PART 1
TARGETED SANCTIONS AND THE RESPONSE TO VIOLENCE IN ARCADIA
January, 2006: Beginning two months ago, there has been an alarming increase in the
number of civilian and combatant casualties resulting from fighting between government
and rebel forces in the small South East Asian country of Arcadia. Recent media reports
indicate that the Revolutionary Brotherhood of Liberation (RBL), under rebel leader
Andries van Dam, has advanced a violent offensive against government forces and
suspected government sympathizers. In response, crack government troops, under the
leadership of Rajiv Vohra (son-in-law of long time Arcadian President, Rutherford
Simmons) have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis by pursuing a “zero tolerance” policy
towards the rebels. In doing so, many innocent Arcadians have been killed, and many
more displaced. Atrocities resulting from recent fighting have included the slaughter of
over 5,000 villagers in a three day period and the violent deaths of 25 observers from the
UN Mission in Arcadia (UNMIA) stationed nearby (UNMIA was first deployed in 2002
in support of a now-defunct ceasefire agreement). While neither side has claimed
responsibility for these fatalities, troops from both sides are known to have been active in
the village in question. As these incidents attest, conflict has been particularly fierce in
regions contiguous to the thickly forested rural areas of Arcadia, which have been
plundered by both sides to capitalize on the lucrative trade in Arcadian timber.
These events mark the final collapse of “Seekonk Ceasefire Accords” (SCA). Signed in
2002, the SCA were designed as a prelude to a more comprehensive peace settlement.
The Security Council commissioned UNMIA to monitor the implementation of the SCA.
But war soon returned to Arcadia as the RBL used the brief period of peace to regroup
and rearm. These developments contributed to the radicalization of opinion among
government circles in the Arcadian capital, Woonsocket, with Vohra and Defense
Minister Karen Newman gaining the ascendancy over domestic political rivals. Sporadic
fire fights between government troops and the RBL soon escalated. Noting the return to
violence, and faced with a regional refugee crisis as rural Arcadians fled their homes, the
Security Council imposed an arms embargo on the territory of Arcadia (resolution 1648
(2004), reprinted in full below). With continued fighting, the comprehensive peace
settlement has failed to materialize. The Member States of the Security Council are
unanimous that a strong and effective response to these flagrant violations of human
rights and the neutrality of UN observers is required.
Political History of Arcadia
Arcadia is a small country of just over 3 million people, on the Cumberland Peninsula in
the Gulf of Thailand in South East Asia (see map below). Arcadia has few religious,
cultural, and social divisions. Approximately 90% of the country is Christian, while most
of the remainder practice indigenous beliefs. The Arcadians all speak the national
language, a local dialect of English. Arcadia is a Member State of the United Nations, as
are neighboring states.
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