Historical Committee - Israel/Palestine Key Questions

Greetings!

Welcome to those dorky enough as me to be immensely interested in exploring the deeper roots of a topic and historical event that ties together so many important parts of current global affairs. For those who don’t know, the brand new Historical Committee proceedings of 2012 HSMUN will work on the formation of the state of Israel in 1947 at the United Nations, and as a way of helping delegates take away the most from this experience, it’s good to give you a primer on how to think about the subject. Exactly because it is an important contemporary topic, it is difficult for young people engaged with the world to not feel very strongly about this topic, in fact we encourage conviction, but it is also important that we keep in mind the key facts of how events developed, so we can have better insight to the challenges faced today. Our goal as the historical committee is to help young people interested in this topic to properly understand the historical context of Israel’s development so that their views are better informed to help build solutions in the present if one is so inclined to do so. The first step then is making sure when developing your positions that you keep in mind the historical roots of today’s circumstances. You should ask yourself:

• Where did states emerge from in history? Who had claims to rule over Israel Palestine at what point in time? 

• Who were the lead actors? Who else played a role and what was their source of power or influence?

• What are the interests at stake for each side and how do these influence decisions made at the table?    

• What decisions and compromises were made on the key days and what ‘horse-trading’ or trade offs were made and what did these deals result in?

It is my sincere hope that the forthcoming background paper we have drafted will help you situate yourself in this extremely complex topic, but don’t forget to get your own neurons firing on the topic and think about where things may have went wrong and why! By the same token, resist the urge to believe that if only we had made different decisions, things would have turned out perfectly fine. As Oscar Wilde says: “The truth is rarely simple and never easy.” It could be argued the same is true for history!

Let me see your WHO-ooters!

NO!!! Im kidding!! I dont want to see that...
United States put them away please!!!!

so I hope all your research is going down splendidly =)

I thought i would check up on you and give you some more websites that would help you narrow your searches =)

#1. This Mental Health website shows... well just stop being lazy and take a look ... and try to figure out what the word 'mental health' is defined by your country.. Just a reminder, during the conference we shouldn't be discussing what the word means but rather how to solve the problem =)

#2. This Disease website (and this one)... same thing take a look, breathe out, and take in as much information as you can...

If you look at those three sites and explore the different tabs at the top, you will be golden!!

Have a great life and talk to you all next week

-WHO

Human Rights? Aren't they basic?

Hey SOCHUM delegates!

Although human rights seems to be a basic ideal, especially since we were raised in a country like Canada, the battle for basic human rights still wages all over the world. It is essential that, no matter what, we continue the push for all people of Earth, regardless of where they live, what gender they are, or even what orientation they are, to be equal.

To help you guys on your way, here's a link to Human Rights Watch, an excellent source of information on human rights globally.

Human Rights Watch

Within this website, you'll find many articles relating to different countries and their stances on human rights. As an example, (Not to label Iran, but it's a great source)

Iran Releases Female Activists

I hope that this helps you guys out if you're unsure of where to find more information on human rights!

UNEP - Ultimate Never-Ending Parties

Hey all!

Here's some stuff to think about for your resource extraction topic:

What kind of resources are we referring to when we talk about extraction?
- Anything from nonrenewable resources, such as minerals and fossil fuels, to renewables, such as forests (logging)

Which processes are most harmful to the environment?
- This depends on several factors, including what technologies are used, how hard it is to extract the resource, and how closely the resource is tied to the surrounding environment
- For example, logging can cause physical damage (soil erosion), atmospheric damage (less oxygen production), and biological damage (no habitat for animals)


Since there are so many factors at play, what should you focus on?
- Research your nation's imports/exports to get a sense of which resources are most important. Find out your nation's stance on environmental concerns. Once you've done that, you have a pretty good idea of where your focus will be.

That's all for now. More info to come.

To start looking at some impacts resource extraction can have, check out this link.
http://www.indepthnews.info/index.php/global-issues/529-resource-battles-polluting-africa

Cheers!

UNEP Dais

Once you clean out the fridge, what do you do with the leftovers?

Provided they don't smell bad, I eat them! If they smell bad, I take a bite, assess the status, and then eat them (unless I get a stomach ache)!

But regarding the Arab Spring, this is a serious question. Toppling dictators means that you now have dictators out of work and at the mercy of the new governments!

This brings into question the issue of rights. Despite how mean they are, dictators are people too... sort of... Therefore, some feel that their captors must protect their human rights. As we saw with Qaddafi, this isn't always so easy to enforce.

But they still committed crimes against humanity. Where should they be persecuted? Some make the case that their crimes were committed against their own people. Therefore, they should be prosecuted by their local courts. This could be problematic given that the newly appointed government and judges may have biases against or for the deposed despot. Some insist that the deposed leaders be tried in the International Criminal Court. Familiarize yourself with the structure of the ICC and where your country stands on its use. Some states disagree with the use of the ICC because it is the sovereign right of a state to put its own criminals on trial.

For all of you keeners out there, feel free to start researching. In fact, start anyways. Until next time! Fun fact for the road! Do you know why, when geese are flying south for the winter, one side of the flying-v is longer than the other?

...there are more geese in it... BAZINGA!!!

"I cannot recognize either the Palestinian state or the Israeli state. The Palestinians are idiots and the Israelis are idiots."

-- Muammar al-Qaddafi

Your supercalifragilisticexpialidocious chair, Josh

First Issue of the Daily Delegate!

Daily Delegate 2012 Issue 1

Serious legal business.

Hey Legal delegates!!


So, as you know, one of our topics deals with the scope and application of universal jurisdiction in carrying out anti-terrorist operations. As a delegate, you'll have to consider what encounters your nation and its allies have had with terrorism in the past, how they've dealt with them, and whether your nation (or your allies) tends to support the pursuit of terrorists in the name of security or justice even if such a mission violates the sovereignty of other nations. 


You can look at the UN's Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which comprehensively details the UN's approach in countering terrorism. Here, you'll find a broader set of resolutions, protocols, and conventions that deal with various aspects of counter-terrorism. 


Good luck! Remember, Google is your friend (and so is the library), so make use of whatever resources you have to get a better understanding of where your country stands on the issue. 

BIEBER IS THE FATHER OF MY CHILD!!!

Hello!

Now that I have your attention, lets talk about what you'll actually be doing!

Debating! What else? Cooperating! What else? Simulating the most important, relevant, AND the most powerful UN council, the Security Council! Why? Because you're all awesome!

Now the question is, what the heck will we even be talking about?

Seen the news lately? Ever heard of Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Egypt? What do all these countries have in common? Part of North African/Middle Eastern region? Yes. Arab states? Yes. What happened? ARAB SPRING!!! (no that does not mean a bunch of people jumping up and down)

You will be trying to address the Arab Spring! The specific task is to develop a lasting and tenable peace settlement for the Arab Spring States. To get the most up to date current events on what is happening there, check out some very discretely placed hyperlinks on the news. Seriously, check it out.

For more background, go through some of the archives on CBC, BBC, and Al Jazeera. This is a sensitive security issue for the region and has significant ramifications for the rest of the world!

Go forth and learn young ones! We are counting on you! Not really, but pretend we are. In other news, McRib is back!!!

Your super awesome Chair,

Josh

"Humour has a way of bringing people together. It unites people. In fact, I'm rather serious when I suggest that someone should plant a few whoopee cushions in the United Nations."

-- Ron Dentinger

Using our Brain for Mental Health

Hey G!!! (guys and gals)

I hope you guys are enjoying this AMAZING weather... gotta love snow.. but as much as i would love to continue talking about that, it's not the important thing here...

What is important you may ask?? Well is Justin Bieber really BABY-DADDY... Just kidding LOL...

We actually are writing this blog up to assist you guys with our question of providing mental health services to developing countries... sounds like a piece of cake hey? well we want you guys to stick to your foreign policy for sure (dont forget that as that it VERYYY important)but we also want you to think outside the box... yes most countries require regular medical health services, but mental health is often neglected... We want you to think of the importance of providing mental health and if your country would benefit from such framework..

So to help you, I did some research and found quite a good starting point on the topic... I would like to introduce you guys to the United Nations Website!!

Yes you may think I know this but do some digging around on the website as you will be sure to find alot of GREAT information... such as Press releases, Past resolutions, News articles and so on...

What I have found Focuses more on MENTAL HEALTH...
Look through this site as some important people are mentioned, as well as some reports and some press releases....


NOW SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE SHOW!!! Here's how the mental hospital 'helped' homer simpson!!

Now that we know WHO is WHO, how do you get started?

Hey Guys!

Alrighty so now that we've established just how ballin' WHO is, lets actually figure out what you guys get to do!

The first step is doing research! Now I know that may sound scary or intimidating but it really isn't! Treat it as a way in which you can expand your knowledge and be super smart around friends!

So you are probably wondering- Where do I start?!

Well the first place to start is to get an understanding of the topics at hand and start to look into what your country's foreign policy is on the issues.

The first place to go is the UN website itself: http://www.who.int/en/

Here, you can search up topics and see what past press releases and agreements have contained.

The next place you might want to check out is the individual news websites for your country. For example, if you are Canada, you might want to check out cbc.ca and search for relevant articles. These articles will likely contain government actions which will help you better understand your nation's foreign policy on the issue.

If you need any help at all, please feel free to email us at hsmun.who@gmail.com!

PEACE!

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!

Dear Legal People..

We should look to the REAL UN! Let us examine their meetings, feed off their ideas, and pretend they were our own. Their website is a gold mine:

http://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/index.shtml

Particularly, there is a page about committee meetings they had on UN personnel accountability, and it has information about how they sought to fix this problem (hint, hint, draft resolutions).

http://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/62/CrimAcc.shtml

We are excitedly counting down the days to the conference.

Much love,
Legal.

Legal Topics

For those of you partaking in the committee of the legalities, these will be of use to you:

TOPICS!

1. The question of criminal accountability and immunity of UN personnel
2. The question of the scope and application of universal jurisdiction in carrying out anti-terrorist operations

Fun times await.

Much love,
Legal.

UNEP: Unanimously Naive Electric Penguins

Hello Delegates!

So we've got the introductions aside - always the hardest part. I'd like to take this post to just go over some basics. For those of you who are HSMUN veterans, this should all be old stuff. For the rest of you, this might help you avoid complete and total confusion. So here goes:

For the duration of HSMUN, you shall be representing a country in the United Nations. This means that you do your best to put personal views aside and represent your country's prespectives and interests. There are two topics the UNEP committee will be discussing: 1) The Question of Environemtnal Accountability for Resource Extraction; and 2) The Question of Standardization of the 'Organic' food label.

Your goal between now and conference time is to research the topics and find our your country's perspective. We will be helping you guys out by posting on the blog and putting up background papers, which should have much of the information you're looking for.

Let me give you a quick example (a fairly obious one). Pretend you are the delegate representing Saudi Arabia, and we are discussing the first topic. It would be your job to stand up for the interests of oil extraction. Although Saudi Arabia does recognize the need for controlling environmental damage during the extraction process, this is not something they'd like the UN to meddle in. As far as you are concerned, Saudi Arabia will figure out its own policies.

Honestly, when it comes down to it, HSMUN is about having fun. So don't worry about doing loads and loads of research, and if you're having trouble, feel free to email us at hsmun.unep@gmail.com. Cheers for now!

Alan

HSMUN 2012 Teaser

This is a big welcome to all attendees of the 2012 High School Model United Nations. My name is Rooshil and I am a member of the Media division of the News. I am in my second year of Biological Sciences and have been with HSMUN for three years now, one as a delegate and two as a staff member. I'm looking forward to meeting you all in February. Unfortunately, since there are still quite a few months until we are even close to the conference, the best I can do is leave you all with teaser of what is yet to come. Enjoy!