Monday 03 May 2010 - MILMUN

MONDAY, 

MAY 3rd 2010 

The rain falling over Milan could not keep the 

participants of MILMUN 2010 away from the welcome 

aperetivo, organized by Logistics director, 

Miss Bianca Cravenna It was a complete success, 

where delegates, ExCom and Chairs exchange 

ideas and expectations for the event 

taking place the next day at the Bocconi University. 

Some old Milmuners reminisced about past editions 

and said that it was without a doubt one of 

the best MUNs organized worldwide. and they 

had no doubt that this edition will be as successful 

as past editions. There were also many 

new faces excited about the future possibilities 

and a little nervous about what would be expected 

of them. The consensus amongst the old 

timers was that they would thoroughly enjoy it 

and that they soon would seek other MUNs as 

they had. 

As the evening went by old friends talked about 

past experiences, bases for new friendships 

were established and the overall feeling was 

that without a doubt MILMUN 2010 was going to 

another successful conference in one of the 

most beautiful cities of the world- Milan. 

CONNIE 

VILASMIL 

Editors in Chief 

PAOLA IVANOVA 

IN TODAY’S EDITION: 

MILMUN COUNCILS — 

CASE BY CASE 

CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? 

WE CAN’T EITHER! 

Tell 

us some gossip and we’ll make 

sure no one outside MILMUN 

2010 ever finds out! 

DESIGNED BY EDITORS IN CHIEF 

MILMUN CHRONICLE TEAM 2010: 

EDITORS IN CHIEF : 

CONNIE VILLASMIL & PAOLA IVANOVA 

ALICE SIGNORI — XINHUA 

GIULIA GUSTINUCCI — LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE 

KHALED HIJAB — HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 

PRISCILLA QUEIROLO—EL CLARIN 

PATRICK HALLBERG — WASHINGTON POST 

RUSTAM JAMILOV — RIA NOVOSTI 

SARAH GHANNAM — VANITY FAIR 

SELENA CAVALLO — AL JAZEERA

MILMUN CHRONICLE 

2 

The International Court of 

Justice issued the final ruling. 

Argentine oppositions remain 

but there is hope for a 

cooperation with Uruguay. 

The environmental dispute 

between Argentina and 

Uruguay is not about to end. 

On Tuesday April 22nd 2010, 

International Court of Justice 

issued the ruling that Uruguay, 

by allowing the installation of 

a pulp mill in 2002, violated its 

procedural obligations 

(established by the Statute of 

Uruguay River) to notify, 

inform and negotiate in good 

faith but did not violate its 

obligations in terms of 

environmental pollution. This 

final decision was followed by 

important riots on the 

Argentine side of the river, in 

the town of Gualeguaychú 

where the Assembly members 

declared the “conflict 

continues until death”. Facing 

these harsh reactions, the 

Argentine government decided 

to rebuild the relationship with 

Uruguay. The first step for 

cooperation was made with 

the announcement that 

Uruguayan President José 

Mujica will come to Argentina 

in the end of April to meet 

with President Cristina 

Kirchner. But Uruguay claims 

the removal of roadblocks 

near the river as a priority of 

its foreign policy. 

THE STORY The conflict 

between the two neighbors 

started in 2002 when the 

Uruguayan government 

headed by Jorge Batlle 

negotiated with Finnish 

company UPM‐Kymmene the 

construction of a large pulp 

mill. In 2005 a crowd of 

40,000 Argentines and 

Uruguayans blocked the bridge 

over the Uruguay River and 

the conflict raised to national 

and international relevance. 

Since then part of the 

Argentine demonstrators was 

organized in Gualeguaychú 

Environmental Assembly and 

begun to develop an ongoing 

and massive opposition to the 

installation of the plant. In 

defence of its position, 

Uruguay initiated a lawsuit in 

2006 against Argentina before 

the Mercosur dispute 

settlement system arguing that 

the roadblocks were a 

violation of the principle of 

free movement, and that these 

were used by the Argentine 

government to pressure 

Uruguay in the negotiations 

concerning the installation of 

pulp mills. On the opposite 

side, Argentina prosecuted 

Uruguay at the International 

Court of Justice arguing that the 

installation of pulp mills was a 

polluting agent and a violation 

of the Statute of the River 

Uruguay (signed in 1975). 

THE CRITICS However, in 

these last days, Argentina, 

shaken by the final decision of 

ICJ, is rather critical of its past 

choices. Was it necessary to 

make such riots on the bridge 

fighting against a mill which 

objectively has the best and 

less polluting technology? 

Argentine politician Rodolfo 

Terragno, believes that past 

years’ massive oppositions 

were not aimed at concrete 

solutions. “We used our 

strength and not our reason”. 

And therefore the result was 

rather predictable: on Tuesday 

television screens showed on 

the left, vice president of the 

International Court of Justice, 

Peter Tomka, reading the 

verdict and on the right, the 

people of Gualeguaychú crying 

their disappointment.

3 


Fighting, death and destruction on the streets of the 

Somalia capital is nothing new. A local human rights 

organization released the first tally of deaths in four 

days of fierce fighting. Ali Ahmed, chairman of Elman 

Human Rights Organization said that: “In the last 4 days of battles between TFG and Islamic 

militants we have registered 381 deaths and 565 people wounded". 

One oral testimony was by a Somali boy 14- years-old who recounts the moment that his 

entire family was killed in Mogadishu: "When I came home from the Koranic school I 

found our house had been hit" he says. "My mother and father were killed. I think my four 

brothers were killed as well - I saw pieces of their hands and legs near the part of the 

house that we used for resting." 

Since 1991 Somalia remains in a brutal conflict between the Transitional Federal Government 

(TFG), which holds only the capital, Mogadishu, and Al- Shabaab armed opposition 

group that control most of the country. Both the habitants of the capital and those living 

in other areas have endured abuse. In the same years the northern part of the country had declared its independence, and 

constituted the Republic of Somaliland. Somaliland and Puntland demonstrate the potential and sustainability of peacemaking 

and reconciliation. However, these gains are delicate. The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that one million 

Somalis are internally displaced, hundreds of thousands have fled abroad and at least 6,000 civilians were murdered 

last year. Whenever there is fighting, a convoy of cars, minibuses and trucks deliver civilians to the already overflowing 

hospitals. Those without motor transport have to rely on wheelbarrows. 

Last February, the African Union base opened the first military 

hospital to the public in response to the lack of medical facilities 

in the city. Here, each people relate his personal story about the 

brutal nature of Al Shabaab. Tales of dismemberment, bodies 

being chopped up and sent back to families, routine executions, 

even people being skinned alive emanate from neighborhoods 

closed off to the international community or any form of governance. 

It is time for the international community to find more 

effective ways to move the 

country out of this protracted crisis and to develop methods that 

are more responsive to Somali realities. 

Can you see the end of this story? 

NEXT PAGE: FOLLOW UP ON HRC— ANTIGOVERNMENTAL PROTESTS


4 

“We will mark our 

presence by our absence”, 

states one of 

the main slogan of 

“Journeé sans Immigré”. 

This association, 

which promoted a full 

day off from work for 

immigrants, was created 

in order to raise 

the attention on the 

condition of migrants in 

France. However, 

since the topic is one of 

the hot issues in the 

political agenda in numerous European states, the 1 st of March was 

marked by the absence of immigrants also in Italy, Greece and 

Spain. 

France’s problems with regards to immigrants are widely known: the 

policeman: a unprecedented situation since 1985. 

Also the 1 st of May, which should be devoted to 

celebrate the workers, is expected to hold space 

for disagreement: Greece has already announced 

demonstrations and protests which could be followed 

by strikes on various degrees. 

To complete our compass, let’s focus west. Guess what we will 

find? We will find the same old mood. Portugal started to protest 

against the cut decided by the government on the 27 th of April, exactly 

a day after the double downgrading of the national debt. Starting 

from local transportation to railways and ferries, a number of 

demonstrations and strikes have invaded the country, with a high rate 

of adhesion (between the 40% - 80% of personnel). The agitations 

are deemed to continue, with the participation also of postal services 

and infrastructural programs. 

Is this the idea of peace and democracy that European countries 

strive to convey? Is it the way in which they respect their people’s 

will? 

Sometimes citizens seem not to be able to choose what’s best for 

them, sometimes governments fail in carrying out their duty properly: 

then where is the balance European countries think should be entitled 

to teach? 

last chapter being the proposal of banishing the burqua from 

public venues which has been put forward by the President 

Sarkozy himself. The law is causing troubles also because politicians 

differ a lot in their position: conservatives would have liked 

a more accommodating law, the Council of State warned about 

the possibility for this ban to be unconstitutional while public 

opinion is divided among the ones that perceive the wearing of a 

full veil as a violation of religious freedom and the ones who 

think it does not really bother citizens’ sensibility. 

Another country, the same problem: on the 3 rd of April the Time 

titled “ Belgium moves closer to the first Burqua Ban”. Belgian 

politicians are, in fact, debating on a law that will make illegal, 

and also subject to fines and imprisonment, the covering of all or 

part of the face. 

Moving east, don’t expect a different situation: Greece is heated 

up from continuous protests which have gone on since December. 

Tensions arising from the difficulty due to the financial crisis 

and against the measurements undertaken by the government 

led to moments of great nervousness. It’s enough to remember 

the death of a 15-year old demonstrator who was killed by a

5 


The world is perched on a 

dangerous ledge, the end of the Cold 

War marked a thawing in relations 

and the coming of a “Nuclear Spring”, 

the unstable world that emerged is 

characterized by events like the attacks 

on the United States on 9/11, 

uncertainty of North Korea’s intentions 

and Iranian scamper for nuclear 

capabilities. Though the context has 

changed dramatically, the words of 

John F. Kennedy in his speech to the 

United Nations in 1961, have never 

been more pertinent, "Every man, 

woman and child lives under a nuclear 

sword of Damocles, hanging by 

the slenderest of threads. . . The 

weapons of war must be abolished 

before they abolish us”. 

The world watches with an 

eye on the past and with great expectations 

for the future as the United 

Nations Security Council deliberations 

commence. The past months have 

been punctuated with accords on 

nuclear disarmament and proliferation, 

bringing to the attention of the 

world the very serious connotations 

of an issue long overlooked as a diverting 

incident of international security. 

The delegates must seize upon 

this impetus in approaching the forthcoming 

Security Council, and seek to 

deliver a unified and progressive 

strategy. 

President Obama hosted a 

Nuclear Security Summit in Washington 

D.C. this month, attended by 37 

heads of state and an additional 10 

delegates. Amidst renewed partisan 

squabbles and limited expectations 

from the American public, the president 

secured individual commitments 

to stop nuclear proliferation and support 

disarmament. Governments 

agreed to bolster international security 

efforts and protect nuclear materials 

used for military as well as civilian 

purposes. Of particular importance 

were the promises made by 

countries such as Mexico, Chile and 

Ukraine who declared that they 

would eliminate their stockpiles of 

enriched uranium. The summit is a 

promising start, but binding commitments 

and further reductions are 

required, in combination with the 

discontinuation of the development 

of fissile materials for military purposes. 

In complement (or perhaps 

in contrast) to Obama’s Nuclear Security 

Summit, Iranian President Mahmud 

Ahmadinejad hosted his own 

summit in Tehran, a mere four days 

later, inviting 60 international delegations 

to participate. The meeting 

comes during a time of renewed efforts 

to secure a fourth round of 

United Nations sanctions against Iran 

over its nuclear program. Mr. Ahmadinejad 

responded critically to the U.S. 

hosted summit, labeling it as 

“humiliating to humanity”. In response 

to President Obama’s announcement 

that states not in compliance 

with the Nuclear Proliferation 

Treaty would not be spared a U.S. 

nuclear response, The Iranian Ambassador 

to the U.N., Mohammad 

Khazaee, formally complained to the 

Security Council that these statements 

were “tantamount to nuclear 

blackmail against a non‐nuclear 

weapon state”. Neither the United 

States nor the Islamic Republic of Iran 

extended reciprocal invitations to 

their summits. 

Perhaps the most important 

development in the international 

nuclear security agenda over the past 

months was the signing of the socalled 

New START treaty between the 

United States and Russia. The treaty 

promises to reduce nuclear weapons 

stockpiles and bring about new procedures 

for verifying which weapons 

each country possesses. David Miliband, 

the British Foreign Secretary 

praised the treaty as a “break of a 

culture of cynicism”. The nuclear 

status quo is not desirable yet, to 

some extent, may be necessary as a 

means of deterrence and in order not 

to disturb 

the balance of powers. 

The momentum gained during 

the past months must now be seized 

by the delegates of the forthcoming 

United Nations Security Council session 

in their discussions on nuclear 

disarmament and proliferation. Of 

utmost importance is the review of 

the Treaty on the Non‐proliferation of 

Nuclear Weapons (NPT). First, export 

controls must be strengthened, primarily 

through further integration of 

international agencies and reinforcement 

of international coordination. 

Second, conditions of supply must be 

assured as demands for fuel increase, 

as an incentive to nonproliferation. 

Third, Article IV, discussing the right 

of states to develop nuclear energy 

for peaceful means, must be reviewed 

as it has served in the past as 

a loophole in the process to develop 

nuclear weapons. Also Article X must 

be considered, the article establishing 

terms for withdrawal from the NPT. 

Any amendments to the treaty are 

however subject to a complex process, 

with success ultimately relying on 

consensus among the members. 

There are great expectations for the 

United States. The U.S., as a permanent 

member of the Security Council 

and a nuclear weapon state, has an 

inherent interest in the regime and 

must recognize the needs for reform 

and strategically manage them. It is 

necessary to negotiate solutions with 

Iran and North Korea in an effort to 

take a step back from the ledge that 

we are precariously perched upon. 

Essentially connected to the 

process is the International Atomic 

Energy Agency (IAEA), an international 

organization that seeks to promote 

the peaceful utilization of nuclear 

energy, it reports directly to the 

U.N General Assembly and Security 

Council. On the Security Council 

agenda no doubt, will be discussions 

of the increased purview of the organization 

and hopefully provisions 

for greater funding. 

The coming United Nations 

Security Council session is critical for 

addressing nonproliferation and disarmament 

concerns. At a time of 

uncertainty between Western nuclear 

powers and states such as Iran and 

North Korea, the eyes of the world 

are pinned to the delegates in the 

hope that they will emerge with a 

strong foot forward in the next step 

of the process of disarmament. It is a 

time when transparent diplomatic 

conversation is of utmost importance 

and must be supported, in order for 

the people of the world to look forward 

to a new age without the threat 

of weapons of mass destruction. At a 

time when emerging countries are at 

a critical point and development 

needs to be encouraged, spending on 

weapons must be curtailed. The 

emergence of new nuclear countries 

paradoxically mars the decrease in 

current nuclear states’ stockpiles. The 

question of nuclear disarmament is a 

question of morality. As the United 

Nations Secretary‐General, Ban‐Ki 

Moon said in his address to the East‐ 

West institute in October, 2008, “A 

world free of nuclear weapons would 

be a public good of the highest order”. 

Going into this conference, the 

question remains: will the nuclear 

club allow for real change, or will the 

naysayers be proved correct? 

NEXT PAGE: 

FOLLOW UP ON SC ‐ 

RIGHT OF SELF‐DETERMINATION


6 

RUSTAM 

JAMILOV 

Northern Ireland, Kashmir, Chechnya, Tibet, the Middle East, 

Yugoslavia… Kosovo, South Ossetia, Abkhazia… 40,000,000 

people… Over 100 years of political conflict, high-level diplomatic 

debate, and all-level human struggle. Will the issue of 

self-determination ever be solved? If yes, then the time is 

here. Right here, right now. at MILMUN 2010. 

Young academics from around the world are gathering at the 

Milan International Model United Nations conference for its 

6 th consecutive edition this May at the Universita Luigi Bocconi 

in Milan, Italy. All the 15 members of the MILMUN 2010 

Security Council share one goal – solve the problem of the 

right to self-determination and ultimately make our world a 

better place. Whether their making our world a better place 

will somehow be affected by the incredibly consuming nightlife 

of Milano is a different story however. In any case, Ria 

Novosti is determined to commit itself to providing an honest, 

top-quality, timely coverage of the conference for 24/7. 

And indeed there will be much to cover. From the hot disputes 

over the Middle East, to the America’s polite remarks 

on Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia, to Russia’s even more 

polite remarks on Kosovo. The tension is predicted to reach 

unseen heights, with plenty of frustrated sighs, disgusted 

looks, and, hopefully, even minor fist fights. For ‘the truth is 

born of arguments’ (Mark Van Hoen). 

The primary dispute within the topic of the Right to Self- 

determination and Security is predicted to be over the 

adoption of the appropriate strategy to tackle the issue. 

There are essentially two choices: a case-by-case approach 

or a more systematic method. While the latter policy might 

sound a bit more appealing, it could potentially lead to the 

neglect of unique socio-cultural aspects of a particular dispute. 

On the other hand, a case-by-case strategy may raise 

issues of fairness and consistency of law, although accounting 

for differences in the individual cases. 

The starting opinion on this issue of each SC delegate could 

be quite easily forecasted. European states would probably 

lean towards a systematic approach, while all three of the 

Super Powers (USA, Russia, China) would most likely be in 

favor of a case-by-case analysis. Practically, each major 

country has an issue of its own, and therefore, a substantially 

pre-determined position on this debate. 

However, while the initial arguments of most SC members 

will be understandable, the final decisions and conclusions 

of the work of the council are completely unclear. Will the 

delegates reach an all-benefiting compromise and a workable 

solution to the problem? Or will they adhere to their respective 

national interests, refuse to cooperate, and let the stalemate 

continue? The world holds its breath, watching the 15 

most brilliant diplomats decide on its future.


7 

In light of the major attempt to labor 

market reforms, the Council the European 

Union is expected to altercate 

this week one of the most human 

right’s related topics of the Lisbon 

Treaty: the right of freedom of movement. 

Debate is believed to help pave the 

way for final decisions expected to 

solve many of the treaty’s major controversial 

flaws. 

While The European Union estimates 

that around 20 million jobs could be 

created by 2020 and encourages member 

states to shift the focus gradually 

to achieving full employment rather 

than merely combating unemployment, 

major issues are still to be faced 

as long as human rights protection and 

promotion is concerned. 

Although the Charter is not actually 

included in the treaty text it is nonetheless 

legally binding because the 

treaty directly refers to it. 

With the European Parliament still 

judging the Directive on improving the 

portability of supplementary pension 

rights to be unworkable, people are 

still on the move across borders, losing 

pension rights, underpaid and face 

precarious jobs in the informal sector, 

where there is a near total lack of unemployment 

or social security protection. 

Despite the fact that national statutory 

minimum wage control is one of 

the major remaining official barriers to 

the establishment of a free common 

or single European labour market, we 

foresee such a control as a breach of 

the anti‐slavery clause in the European 

Convention on Human Rights insofar 

as any authority that dictates minimum 

prices at which persons must sell 

their own labour services is effectively 

exercising economic ownership and 

control over those persons. 

On another level, Human Rights Watch 

deplores the fact that several candidate 

member states in Central and 

Eastern Europe still have a track record 

of supplying arms to human 

rights abusers and clients suspected of 

diverting weapons to unauthorized 

destinations. Drawing on recent examples 

from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, 

Poland, Romania and Slovakia, Human 

Rights Watch highlights that added 

pressure should be exercised on the 

European Union to continue to press 

such countries in Central and Eastern 

Europe to improve arms trade controls. 

The Human Rights Watch We strongly 

fear that giving the green light for an 

all‐free movement of persons policy in 

the absence of an effective crossborder 

patrolling system will only proliferate 

undesirable human rights infringements. 

We fully acknowledge the procedures 

of member states accession to the EU 

but still feel disconcerted that many of 

the old member states raised barriers 

against migrant workers from ten new 

Central European member states in 

the Accession Treaties for fairly long 

transitional periods. 

The right to free movement of workers 

from, to and between the EU countries 

that joined the EU on 1 May 2004 

(Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, 

Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, 

Slovenia, Slovakia) and on 1 January 

2007 (Bulgaria, Romania) may be restricted 

during a transitional period of 

maximum seven years after accession 

but this should not stop them from 

attaining their basic fair labor rights 

outlines in the Charter. 

If the illegal immigration from outside 

the European Union is seen by many 

as a potential source of difficulties, 

surely what should be preferred 

within the European Union is offering 

both employees and employers improved 

legal possibilities that meet 

offer and demand.


8 

Over the last 15 years there has been a 

massive increase in investments from China into 

African countries. 

African economy is characterized by a chronically 

and almost total absence of a domestic 

business class, hence the promotion of human 

capital resources and improvement of governance 

(basically possible by reducing risk of investment) 

are necessary requisites for its long 

term development. 

That’s why resource-seeking(as opposed to market-seeking) 

orientation of Chinese FDIs raises 

serious doubts on their effectiveness , appearing 

more as an unnatural implantation of foreign 

technologies and business models that fail in 

being assimilated rather than a stimulus towards 

actual growth, and benefiting more for the home 

country rather than the host economy. 

Chinese investors and companies are increasingly 

present in the infrastructures building sector(in 

particular in Morocco, Mauritania, Uganda, 

Senegal ), in the TCnetworks (with Huawei and 

Zet as main companies),in the mining sector 

(Congo, Zambia),and oil industry(Angola,Kenya 

and Guinea). 

In countries where relations with the West are 

tense, China avoids getting mixed up in the internal 

policies of the trading country. Its relationship 

with Sudan, its main oil supplier along with 

Angola, is emblematic of the strategic cynicism 

of the government in Beijing. In September 2004, 

the UN Security Council condemned the genocide 

in Darfur and announced an embargo on 

arms sales to Sudan. China’s UN ambassador 

threatened to veto the resolution, before finally 

abstaining. Sudan is one of the main Chinese 

outlets for military technology and thousands of 

Chinese soldiers are there to supervise and 

monitor oil pipelines.13 of out of over 15 among 

the foreign oil industries present in Sudan are 

Chinese. 

Recently nevertheless Beijing’s logic of noninvolvement 

is becoming more flexible and due 

to the impossibility of pure aseptic market perspective, 

economic partnerships are keeping 

pace with diplomatic relationships. 

China, notwithstanding consistent military involvement 

in Zimbawe, Liberia, Eritrea where it 

encourages weapons traffic in exchange for 

timber, gold and other raw materials, is paradoxically 

participating to the ONU Peacekeeping 

mission in these same regions. 

Beijing government is also generously sustaining 

the right to a permanent seat at the Security 

Council for Nigeria, one of the richest regions for 

what concerns oil fields. 

Loans with low interest rates, debt cancellation 

and preferential tariffs are the main techniques 

used by the Chinese investors to gain the trust of 

Ethiopia, well-known target of charges for the 

violation of human rights, with low energetic 

geo- 

potential but a high valuable strategic 

graphic position. 

An embarrassing exception to the dominant 

trend of non-involvement of China is represented 

by the case of Angola. In 2005 China’s export 

bank, Eximbank, had approved a $2bn line of 

credit to enable Angola to reconstruct infrastructure 

destroyed during 30 years of civil war. 

Global Witness ‘s inquiries had shown that some 

of the money went to fund government propaganda 

for the 2006 general election. Chinese 

pressure forced the business go-between Antonio 

Pereira Mendes de Campos Van Dunem to 

resign from his post as secretary of the Angolan 

Council of Ministers. The ex-Portuguese colony 

is now China’s second-largest commercial partner 

in Africa and exports 25% of its oil production 

to China. 

China is acting as a sort of huge permissive 

stepmother who temporarily avoid correcting his 

bossy, rude stepson for the fear of losing his 

beloved father (call him Oil or Money as you 

wish). 

Someone claims that at the basis of this Sino- 

African successful bilateral relations stand 

shared common values. Better to say - shared 

common lack of values with respect to justice, 

ecology, respect. There’s no ideological rhetoric, 

it’s just a matter of pragmatism, conspiracy of 

silence, “interested indifference” aimed at sustain 

or at least non-hinder unethical attitudes to 

protect incommensurable economic interests. 

Rwanda’s minister of finance and economic planning, 

Donald Kaberuka, respond to the anxieties 

of European and American multinationals, traditional 

Africa’s partners ,saying that: “It’s just a 

different way of doing business”. 

Completely true. It’s a way forbidden by the 

“politically correct” EU and USA, based on unconditional, 

instant credits, corruption, under 

table mechanisms that make everything easier 

for emergent African companies but go to the 

detriment of financial transparency . 

It has to be said that undeniable benefits of resource-seeking 

Chinese investments also exist. 

The Chinese government’s African Human Resources 

Development Fund pays for 10,000 Africans 

to be trained in Beijing, and this could likely 

r e - 

sults in the creation of a strong, cultivated, 

disen- chanted 

business class. F u r t h e r - 

more economic models 

imposed by a developing 

country are more appropriate to the host 

country context than those coming from western 

industrialized countries, which are moreover 

more risk-averse in dealing with the informal 

governance arrangements and processes 

typical of many African economies. Hopefully we 

will assist to a gradual change of the terms of 

the relationships between Africa and “the 

North”. FDIs will provide African industrial 

governance with greater bargaining power in 

their relations with multinational corporations 

from industrial countries and foreign investors 

in general, the probable outcome will be a radical 

shake of the power balance. 

The original objective of South-South investments 

was “economic cooperation meant at 

build solidarity between continents belonging 

to the same underdeveloped world”. But isn’t it 

very little credible considering a capitalist giant 

as China as still belonging to that world? Thanks 

to its well-known ability in grasping opportunities 

that seem to pass unobserved to the rest 

of the globe the former “celestial empire” understood 

how to turn this mass of wars, poverty, 

HIV an deserts into an outstanding treasure. 

In the last century a very similar kind of commercial 

and diplomatic relationships had little to do 

with mutual aid and fraternal collaboration. 

It sounds more like a sort of fresh XXI centurymade 

neocolonialism.


9 

Perhaps a suitable 

reference of J.M. 

Barrie’s play about 

Peter Pan would be: when the first MUN took place for 

the first time, the MUN broke into a thousand pieces 

and they all went shipping about. And that was the 

beginning of a tradition. However, no pixie hollow is 

needed when the MUN fairy tale takes form: motivated 

students, hardworking, an interesting theme to 

debate and a spark of mischievous optimism. Here is 

the perfect recipe for a happy ending. 

Being part of the MUN fairy tale is always a lifetime opportunity, 

and whosoever experiences the wonder and magic of these international 

conferences becomes addicted. Simply put, being a participant 

of a MUN provides a valuable interactive learning experience 

in multilateral diplomacy, effective communication and conflict 

resolution. Furthermore, intercultural exchange and opinion 

sharing regarding pressing matters are part of the game. And, 

who knows, this could be the opportunity to start long-lasting 

friendships. Meanwhile, lookout, 

the clock is ticking. MUN 

simulations challenge participants 

by imposing to work 

round the clock while sticking 

the special rules and guidelines 

of the United Nations’ 

General Assembly and other 

multilateral bodies. 

As the popular magic opening 

goes, once upon a fifth time, 

the prestigious Bocconi University 

in Milan, Italy will host 

the MILMUN from the 3 rd to 

the 7 th of May 2010. Think 

about it… Five days to be recalled 

as a step forward towards open-mindedness. This initiative 

is fantastic, especially when knowing that MILMUN is an initiative 

created by students for students. This year, the conference general 

theme is “Finding the right balance: towards a 

global social contract.” The Security Council will 

discuss the right to self-determination and security 

as well as the issue of nuclear proliferation 

and disarmament. The 40 countries within the 

Human Rights Council will debate on Somali governance, 

anti-governmental protests and discrimination 

on the basis of sexual orientation. The 

Economic and Social Council will be implementing 

a global health program while evaluating the 

south-south and triangular co-operation. The International 

Court of Justice will focus on jurisdictional immunity 

of sovereign states. Finally, the Council of the European Union will 

reform the labor market and, at the meantime, agree on an environmental 

policy. The MILMUN chronicle news journalists will be 

covering the whole conference, including social events that promise 

to be sumptuous in the Italian capital of fashion. 

A suitable conclusion would be a 

happy ending, but as we are moving 

out of the fairy tale, significant 

challenges remain still. Nevertheless, 

The MILMUN initiative 

brings about change in mentalities 

and its participants are definitely 

making a difference in this 

world. This is a message full of 

hope as, thanks to MUN conferences, 

the youth of today could 

be tomorrow’s fairies of human 

rights and international policy. 

My tale is done, now a MUN conference 

is running in Milan, and whosoever catches it may make 

himself addicted to it. 

MILMUN 2010 Photographs by: Alberto Maria Colombo, Alessandro Fregoso, Melania Coletta, Valerio Geraci , Khaled 

WELCOME APERETIVO 

ITALIAN DINNER 

“La Fabbrica” 

(Alzaia Naviglio Grande 70)

Monday 03 May 2010 - MILMUN

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