Good Morning..

... and what a fine morning it is!

You can smell the excitement and anticipation in the crisp, cold air. Today is the first day of the HSMUN 2012 Conference! We can't wait to see your bright eyed, bushy tailed selves :)

Some last minute thoughts on small arms:

A June 2006 UN conference (to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms sand Light Weapons in All Its Aspects) attempted to curtail the flow of weapons throughout the world - with knowledge that the UN Security Council's Permanent 5 are the most prominent suppliers. An estimated 1000 per day are killed because of this clandestine support of rebel groups. China, for example, is the main supplier of small arms to The Sudan (88%). As of 2006, the number of Sudanese small arms imports from China jumped 137 times from the 2001 level. One might argue that China has thus aided in the genocide that Sudan's government has apparently perpetrated in its Darfur region [indirect/alleged].

The UN's major Security Council members are not the only culprits. In November 2008, Iraqi Kurds acquired three planeloads of small arms and ammunition from Bulgaria. Ty he Kurds seek autonomy from the Iraqi government and independence. Introducing weapon s in to that volatile military theatre is only adds to Iraq's contemporary problem with controlling violence within its borders.

The US expressed what was implicit in the policy objectives of the other four veto blocking States; its Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs reported to the UN General Assembly that the US would object to any steps to establish the international recognition of ammunition or ban governments from giving or selling arms to rebel groups of their choice. In his words: "While we will of course continue to oppose the acquisition of arms by terrorist groups, we recognize the rights of the oppressed to defend themselves against tyrannical and genocidal regimes and oppose a blanket ban on [such recipient] non-state actors."

(Slomanson, Fundamental Perspectives on International Law)

Some last minute items to consider:

- Closed Conference: conference considerations will be purely internal and open to no external events (worldwide events that happen outside of the conference cannot be used during the debates).

- Business wear: get out those black dress socks... The Delegate of the Levis will not be recognized :P

See you all tonight!!

Cheers,

The DISEC Team

Introduction to HSMUN 2012: General Assembly I - DISEC

Arms control

Hey delegates,

On the topic of arms control:

Credits: http://liberalryangosling.tumblr.com/post/16879645111

Also, RIP long gun registry :( Anyways, happy Valentine's Day! We look forward to seeing you guys at the conference, and as always, happy last-minute researching!

Position papers, anyone?

Hey delegates,

So we'd just like to remind you all that we'd like to have all our position papers in by Valentine's Day.

For those of you still stuck on what to write about or who aren't sure what their country's stance is on an issue, maybe think about poking into your country's history, experiences with the UN and international measures in their own country and in the region, looking up voting records in DISEC, etc. And if you're worried about having smaller or more obscure countries, it's really useful to look at who your country's allies are and how THEY feel about an issue. Countries tend to vote in blocks - if your country has strong economic, social or cultural ties with another nation, it's likely that they cooperate on the international stage as well.

Hopefully you guys don't find this process too onerous. Position papers are a really great way to figure out your country's stance on issues before you come into committee sessions, and they're a good way to prep for the actual conference.

As always, happy last-minute-gotta-hand-in-a-position-paper researching!

P.S. In honour of Valentine's Day:

Credits:

http://irryangosling.tumblr.com/

Those Three Little Words...

Small arms proliferation.. aren't those the three little words that everyone here in DISEC is thinking about this February...

This Valentine's Day, I'm going to give you a little something from the bottom of my heart...

Over the course of the past five months, there have been plenty of materials for you to work with ... starting with the HOME BASE itself .. The United Nations.

Check out....

arms embargo/natural resource trading monitoring

illicit arms flow control

the proposed disarmament agenda for 2012 (I HEART GA I: DISEC).

the 2012 arms trade treaty meeting/previous resolutions (DOHA/WTO)

relation to drug trafficking

Within these articles, there are certain clues as to what your nation's stance, (or the stance of the neighboring states that surround your nation/Allies), is on the topic of arms trade and small arms proliferation.

Lastly, I sincerely wish you well with your position paper drafting! Any submissions (hsmun.disec@gmail.com) after February 14 will not be considered for a DISEC Delegate Position Paper Award. Submissions must be factually correct, in alignment with your nation's foreign policy on both of the topics, insightful, and informative. If you are a clear and succinct writer, this can be covered in roughly one to two pages.

Have a great weekend & a happy Valentine's Day :)

xoxo,

DISEC

DISEC Thoughts

Hey delegates,

So let’s take a moment to think about arms shipments to non-state actors as you guys research your position papers. It might be relevant, it might not be - poli sci majors can’t always promise relevance and general usefulness to society, unfortunately :(

One of the most basic definitions of the state comes from Max Weber as the holder of a “monopoly on the legitimate use of force” within its borders. From a pragmatic standpoint, whether you’re talking about a repressive dictatorship or a liberal democracy, it’s sometimes preferable for the state to maintain this monopoly as a means to ensure stability. Even when they’re the most awful regimes in the world, when the state loses its only bargaining chip (coercion) and non-state actors proliferate (think the FARC in Columbia, or even the LRA), armed to the teeth and entirely unaccountable in the ways they use military force – but while they now have the means to defend themselves, civilians don’t. The tenuous military situation is extremely conducive to arms proliferation (conflict zones = high demand for weapons) and high civilian casualties as ordinary people are caught in the crossfires.

This is why it’s extremely problematic when states ship weapons to non-state actors even when these non-state actors are “good people who ask nicely and promise not to use the arms for bad things” because small arms ALWAYS destabilize the situation. No ifs, buts or whens. Philosophically, however, delegates are going to have to grapple with this in the context of the Arab Spring: do we ship arms to unknown rebel groups fighting against dictators?

When considering the question of arms shipments in general, I think we need to deal with all the cards on the table. There are often ulterior motives (namely economic and political gain) that accompany arms shipments, yet there can be unforeseeable long-term consequences.

What’s in it for me? China: weapons broker of the world

“China is pouring investment into Africa in exchange for access to the continent’s natural resources. Its trade with the continent is set to top $50 billion.”

Trading arms – to anyone – is a hugely lucrative business, especially with natural resources in play. China plays a HUGE role in arms transfers as a major supplier to the Horn of Africa, supplying weapons to African governments in exchange for rights to natural resources needed to sustain the pace of their economic development with no other strings attached. To give you some idea of the scope of their nefarious doings, here are some of the conflict regions China’s shipped to:

• Sudan during the civil war
• Darfur (ongoing crisis)
• Rwanda
• Somalia (ongoing crisis)
• Côte d’Ivoire (civil war)
• Ethiopia and Eritrea (during war)
• East Congo
• And more…

From The Jamestown Foundation:

- “China delivered by value about 13 percent of all arms to Sub-Saharan Africa; this percentage increased to almost 18 percent between 2004 and 2007.”

Cross-border proliferation isn’t just a problem that occurs with illegal trafficking – sometimes states stand to profit hugely off of licit trades. In the case of the Arab Spring, they could even reap the benefits in the future by selectively backing groups early on to form political alliances (like Qatar) or later negotiate for resource dividends (just a thought for now).

For delegates, if you’re going to pursue a moratorium on arms shipments to conflict areas, it only works when everyone is likely to abide by them. Yet considering that arms shipments are almost always counterproductive (see below), most nations choose to break these moratoriums for these reasons, and for political ones as well.

Gun diplomacy: a whole new meaning? The United States supporting allies in Somalia

“The United States sent RPGs, machine guns, mortars, and -- in the words of one U.S. official -- "cash in a brown paper bag" to Somalia [in the spring of 2008]”

As a show of solidarity and more importantly, to ward off Islamist groups on the verge of taking the country, the United States government sent arms shipments to the fragile Transitional Federal Government in direct contravention of an arms embargo adopted by the United Nations Security Council. The problem, however, is that these weapons inevitably make it out onto the market and make their way into the hands of militant groups and sometimes outside of the country itself. When the intended recipients can’t absorb the influx of arms shipments, weapons are instead sold on the open market. Small arms follow deserters or captured soldiers from the TFG, or are sold by militia members who compose the army. To top it all off, we know that Somalia is now a failed state, and that all those arms shipments couldn’t ward it off.

For the reasons above, arms-saturated, conflict-prone regions such as Somalia tend to act as transit points once new weapons flow into the region, notably to the Horn of Africa. As delegates research their foreign policies, they should keep in mind the efficacy of weapons transfers in propping up fragile governments and especially what kind of message it sends when members of the UN and the Security Council undermine circumvent their own rules.

It’s the Cold War, stupid: the hidden legacy of arms shipments

Even though the UN has been making progress on destroying weapons stockpiles from the Cold War, other issues have overshadowed the fact that there are a ton of guns drifting around in Central and Southern Asian (a former weapons corridor) from the Cold War era. If you happen to represent one of these countries, this link might be really useful to you in your research. Afghanistan, Tajikstan and other Central Asian former Soviet republics have all suffered from the proliferation of arms in their region and its links with human and drug trafficking. Everyone knows the story of how arms given to the mujahideen during the Afghan Civil War were appropriated by its offshoots, al-Qaeda and the Taliban, in other conflicts, but the region has suffered much worse. Delegates should consider how to deal with existing arms and not just how to limit the proliferation of new ones.

Phew. I guess that’s it for now. Happy researching!

Countdown to HSMUN: 24 days

It Was An "Accident"....

On the Issue of Accidents....

there is plenty of research to be found on the issue of specific military tactics used.. resulting in a (disturbingly) high percentage of accidental civilian deaths.

Without giving too much away (& thus removing the excitement & self-satisfaction that arises from the DISEC Quest For Answers), I will say that reports have been released (regarding the status of civilian deaths) by Amnesty International, NATO as well as articles from Time Magazine, Reuters, BBC, & The Guardian. That should hopefully help to direct/narrow down your search engine terms.

We encourage you to give us some feedback! If you've found it to be so, please click the Interesting or Helpful dialogue buttons located at the bottom of our DISEC blog posts!

Save A Panda. Click The Dialogue Button.

Something to think about...

Hey delegates,

With the holidays upon us, what else is your faithful DISEC crew doing but blogging about small arms and military tactics :)

In all seriousness though, we've got a couple new issues for you to think about for your second topic on military tactics resulting in high civilian casualties:

1) Sri Lanka: same old, same old - Just when you think Sri Lanka has opened meaningful investigations into military tactics used during the civil war, its internal investigations suspiciously absolve the military of all wrongdoing despite massive civilian casualties. Is it time to consider institutionalizing independent commissions run by the international community following armed conflicts? Are third parties the only ways to verify and establish wrongdoing?

2) Non-state actors: where do they stand? - The Geneva Convention was drafted in the aftermath of World War II to bind state actors, yet the proliferation of non-state actors has broken the "legitimate monopoly on violence" traditionally held by state militaries. Because most armed conflicts involve non-state actors, this legal ambiguity has translated to the use of military tactics that sometimes deliberately endanger civilians in asymmetrical warfare with seemingly no repercussions. While we may focus our scrutiny on countries like the United States engaging in counterinsurgency tactics, the fact remains that non-state actors often exploit civilians as camoflage or even shields against attacks by larger forces, and deliberately attack them to spread terror because they're the easiest targets. Often, they do this without legal or political consequences as they continue to receive support but are never brought before international courts. This article offers one interpretation of how the Geneva Convention applies to non-state actors and, more broadly, what can we do to engage these groups and what the international community can do to hold them accountable by denouncing their actions and refusing to shelter these groups. Yet largely, these non-state actors (rebel groups, insurgents, etc.) operate outside of the law and are never brought before international courts for crimes against humanities. Other articles show that the best practices might be to engage non-state actors in new frameworks like the Geneva Convention to extract commitments to respect civilian status and altering military tactics that place civilian populations in danger. In your working papers you might want to think about the changing nature of warfare and how we can make non-state actors more accountable for the tactics they use.

Signing off for Christmas festivities, but in the meantime...

Happy researching!

First step? Admit there's a problem.

In the news this week:

Owning up to the past

• Following the civil war, the Sri Lankan government and the rebel group, the Tamil Tigers, have officially denied the use of improper military tactics such as using civilians as human shields or targeting insurgents known to be hiding among civilian populations. It is, however, a promising start that the government has recently announced it will begin a tally of civilian deaths from the war. Given that many civilian deaths go undocumented during internal conflicts, delegates should think about establishing objective criteria to document monitor civilian deaths and bring this information to the attention of the international community sooner.

Tensions in the Middle East

• The ISAF and NATO have announced they will begin retraining troops to avoid further civilian casualties after the latest fallout from airstrikes in Pakistan. The challenge of influencing the military tactics used by international military forces is a source of constant frustration for Pakistan and Afghanistan, who are only capable of forcing change through dramatic gestures such as Pakistan's recent closure of key NATO transport lines.

Hopefully, these news articles will get you thinking about the broader themes in preventing high instances of civilian casualties given that the international actors involved in using 'illegitimate' military tactics are autonomous bodies that don't fall directly under the jurisdiction of the United Nations. Can the UN rely on international pressure and goodwill alone to enact change?

Happy researching!

"Small Arms, Big Problem"

Hey delegates!

If you guys are stuck on the issue of small arms proliferation, check out this paper on the effects of small arms on security and development, with examples and case studies on effective arms reduction measures.

Also, take a look at this Economist article for a quick look at the international status of cluster bombs in a handy graphic.

Happy researching!

Welcome to GAI - Disarmament & Security (DISEC)

Welcome, esteemed delegate!

My name is Rebecca Thomas, & I am the GA I: DISEC Committee Chair for HSMUN 2012. This is my fourth year of HSMUN, so if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

It's Muhammed Patel here and I will be your favorite Director again this year. This is my 5^th year being involved with HSMUN (3 years as a delegate....no, I’m not that old) so me and Rebecca will have answers to all your questions, and if we don't, well that will not happen.

I love sports, my xbox, and my coffee(no hints there). We will try our best to make this years conference the best yet.

My name is Catherine Fan and I’ll be your intervention attaché this year! I’m very excited for my first year of political science at the University of Alberta and volunteering with HSMUN. When not thinking about politics, whether international, national, provincial or municipal – actually, scratch that. That’s almost never. Anyways, if you want to stay out of trouble with the intervention staff…we like bribes! But really, if you ever have questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

In the future, please refer to posts that are tagged as DISEC, as they are the MOST important ones. Encourage your other HSMUN pals to read our posts, because the issues will also be relevant to them in terms of foreign policy. Throughout the course of the year, we will be providing you a regular overview of important goings-on in the world. Our postings will relate to our two topics of focus:

- The question of dealing with the cross-border proliferation of small arms
- The question of military tactics resulting in a high percentage of 'accidental' civilian deaths
Please refer to the background papers when they are posted for an initial overview.

We also encourage you to give us some feedback! If you've found it to be so, please click the Interesting or Helpful dialogue buttons located at the bottom of our DISEC blog posts!

...Arms Control, Russia-USA... Sounds like DISEC!

- Happened to find an article entitled Arms Control Failure & the Balance of Power by Julian Schofield in an issue of the Canadian Journal of Political Science (Vol. 33, No. 4, Dec 2000) on the JSTOR database. Schofield offers a systematic explanation of the failure of arms control agreements, due to the failure to maintain compliance with the disarmament agreement (AKA cheaters). If you are able to access the JSTOR database, scholarly articles such as the aforementioned may prove useful. If you are unable to access the JSTOR database, a hyperlink for Cambridge Journals is provided.

- Something of interest: January 25, 2011 saw Russia ratifying US Nuclear Disarmament Treaty (START). Check it out :)

Ciao for now!

-- The DISEC team.

A Relative Success in Addressing Border Militarization

Source: Rohit Kossery, http://www.media.photobucket.com

For those nations that believe that borders should not be heavily militarized, or who currently have militarized borders but hope to eventually reduce the infrastructure expenses that go into their borders, an example can be found in the success seen along the India-China border, also known as the McMahon line.  This border was drawn by the British during a conference (1913-1914).  The border was heavily militarized after 1935, with several wars and disputes (e.g. the Sino-Indian War of 1962) occurring along it.

Finally, in 1988, the two nations began to move toward settlement of their border disputes with a series of treaties.  Today, the border is still patrolled on both sides, but there is a diplomatic process for resolving possible violations of the treaties and the heavy military presence of the 1960s-80s has been greatly reduced.

DISEC Background Papers are now available!

The DISEC background papers are now available:
The Question of Militarization of Borders
Creating a Framework to Deal with "Cheaters" in Disarmament Agreements

Now is the time to begin your researching and writing for the position papers, as they must be submitted to hsmun.disec[at]gmail.com by midnight on February 11th, 2011 to be considered for an award.

Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater!

At this year's conference, delegates will need to be prepared for a vigorous discussion on the question of establishing a framework for cheaters in disarmament agreements.

Here is a little background knowledge on the UN's history with disarmament. It is a rather simple explanation but it is a good foundation to start your research, especially if incomprehension of the definition & history of disarmament is hampering your progress & crampin' your style.

Familiarity with terms such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological Weapons Convention, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and the Mine-Ban Convention Chemical Weapons Convention would be helpful; however, your research does not have to be limited to the aforementioned terms.

If you are kickin' it at the library, you could check out Chapter 8 of Elements of A Nuclear Disarmament Treaty. The book has led to the recent development of an online game, so if you would classify yourself as a gamer and not a reader, (and if you've already completed the campaigns on Halo Reach & Black Ops), you could try your hand at Cheater's Risk, a game which seeks to add to the debate about negotiated nuclear disarmament by exploring the dynamics of a world without nuclear weapons. HAWT!

Unfortunately, both the book & the game focus on only one side of the issue, so we encourage you to familiarize yourself with both sides of the issue, with greater emphasis falling on specific examples of your nation states'/ally states' treaties & points of importance that should be included in our discussion on the question of establishing a framework for cheaters in disarmament agreements.

Cheers,
The DISEC team.

Real-World International Security Issues

Hello delegates! Recent weeks have seen some interesting developments with regards to international security. First off, tensions around everyone's favorite DMZ have been taking off recently following border clashes, with North Korea shelling a South Korean island and the South responding in kind. The North is flexing its muscles right now with Kim Jong-Il setting up his son Kim Jong-Un as his successor, so keep an eye on the situation.

We can also take a look at some developments in the post-Soviet world. The frozen conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the breakaway enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, frequently the site of border skirmishes, has seen a greater buildup by Azerbaijani forces in recent months. Currently modernizing its military with oil revenue, Baku is more aggressively seeking a resolution to the status of the breakaway province - possibly one that involves retaking it by force.

Lastly, there is the issue of the Islamist insurgency in the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan. The obscure nation, on the northern border of Afghanistan, has seen conflict on an increasing scale this year, with the government providing little to no information about the insurgency aside from body counts. Former Soviet Central Asia has managed to avoid the influence of Islamic extremism to date, but any sort of uprising in the volatile region is never good news.

This is all just food for thought to consider the many different forms international security and disarmament can take. Have fun with your own research on it!

The DISEC team.

... WHAT WAS THAT?

While researching the internet and newspapers are an excellent way to keep up to date with current events, there are plenty of other supplementary sources that are sometimes less tedious. For example, the weekly show Saturday Night Live has a 'Weekend Update' segment, which showcases (in a comedic context) a number of important international events that can give you a good starting point to direct additional research. And occasionally, you get gems like this.

Enjoy,

The DISEC team.

Suit Up!

Salutations!
Welcome to HSMUN 2011. In the future, please refer to posts that are tagged as DISEC, as they are the most important ones.. Encourage your other HSMUN pals to read our posts, because the issues will also be relevant to them in terms of foreign policy. Throughout the course of the year, we will be providing you a (somewhat) regular overview of important goings-on in the world. Our postings will relate to our two topics of focus:
- The question of militarization of borders
- The question of establishing a framework for cheaters in disarmament agreements
Please refer to the background papers when they are posted for an initial overview.

Committee Heads:
Steven Graham - enjoys long walks on the beach
Rebecca Thomas - enjoys short walks on the beach
Neil Hauer - enjoys passing out on the beach