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United Nations Security Counci
HANDBOOK
EuroAsia MUN 2014 Training and Development Conference Page 1
EuroAsia MUN Training and Development Conference
6-8 December, 2013
ANKARA
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION
OF THE UNITED NATIONS
STUDY GUIDE
United Nations Security Counci
HANDBOOK
EuroAsia MUN 2014 Training and Development Conference Page 2
THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
HANDBOOK
Introduction to the Security Council
One of the six main organs defined by
the United Nations Charter, United
Nations Security Council is given the
duty to provide and maintain
international peace and security; hence
is obliged to meet whenever peace is
threatened. The Charter does not
provide a definition to the term "threats
to the peace", so the Council can and has
discussed a wide range of issues such as
terrorist acts, trafficking of small arms
and HIV/AIDS and Ebola pandemics.i
When the Council determines the
existence of a threat to the international
peace, it calls upon the parties for it to
be settled by peaceful means and makes
recommendations towards it.
Nevertheless, in some cases, the Security
Council can resort to imposing sanctions
or authorizing the use of force against
the aggressor to protect international
peace and security.
The Security Council is the only organ of
the United Nations which has the power
to make decisions that Member States
are obligated to implement under the
Charter. The Security Council also
recommends to the General Assembly
for the designation of the Secretary-
General, the admission of new Members
to the United Nations and election of the
judges for the International Court of
Justice.ii
Composition of the Security Council
The Security Council consists of 15
Member States, 5 of which are
permanent members, and 10 are elected
for 2 year terms by the General
Assembly. Each member has only one
vote; however, the permanent members
have the power of veto, so any document
that is produced by the Council should
have none of the permanent members
voting against it.
Currently, the UNSC consists of the
following members:
People's Republic of China
(Permanent)
France (Permanent)
Russian Federation (Permanent)
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United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland
(Permanent)
United States of America
(Permanent)
Argentina
Australia
Chad
Chile
Jordan
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Nigeria
Republic of Korea
Rwanda
If a Member State is not at the time a
member of the UNSC, but the Council
decides that their country's interests are
affected; then the state can participate in
the discussions without the right to
vote.iii
Procedure of the Council
The main source of the procedure
of the Council is the EuroAsia
MUN 2014 Rules of Procedure.
The UNSC shall only be
enlightened about the world's
situation via the information
presented by the Secretariat.
Information from any other
source will be considered false,
and cannot be presented to the
Council at any time.
The UNSC has an open agenda;
which means that the UNSC
Member States can discuss and
set any agenda they see as the
most disruptive to peace and
security.
The UNSC sessions need all the
P5 countries present to start;
however if such absence disrupts
the Council's proceedings, "non-
disturbing abstention" will be
applied. In such case, the P5
country will be assumed present
and voting abstention for all the
votes. Such abstentions do not
disturb votes that need
unanimity.
The UNSC can draft press
releases on the set agenda or any
other crises that the Council
faces. Press releases need
unanimity; so any abstentions or
against votes result in a failed
press release.
The Council can draft and vote on
resolutions in order to produce
more substantive and binding
solution to the crisis at hand.
Since such voting will be
substantive, it needs to have:
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o 9 votes in favor
o No vetoes from P5
countries in order to pass.
The "veto power" is not
applicable in procedural voting.
If a crisis that differs from the set
agenda occurs, the Council is
expected to table the debate on
the agenda, and produce a
document on the acute crisis;
then return to the initial topic.
Delegates, at certain times, may
receive confidential information
from their states' intelligence
agencies, armed forces, state
officials etc. If the information is
marked as confidential, at no
point should the delegate make
speeches that publicize the
information.
Security Based Committee A security based committee is
more likely to refer a committee that
deals issue with top urgency and
requires the attention of the top
authorized organs of the international
organization such as the United Nations
Security Council. Agenda items of the
security based committees are various
however more likely to be focusing on
territorial disputes, conflicts that
requires international attention and aid.
Further on there are security based
committees are mostly intelligences that
are given by the respective states
governments, crisis situation that
needed to be dealt with urgently,
updates regarding the agenda item or
crisis situations.
Intelligence Through the committee sessions,
participants of the security based
committees may receive intelligence
regarding to discussions, agenda item at
the hand, and crisis situation that is
currently happening. Intelligences that
are delivered to a delegate during the
conference are given by their respective
government and/or intelligence agency
of the government to the representative
of the government in the committee.
Intelligences that are distributed by the
secretariat are given to a delegate is only
to be used for the respective delegate. In
this consideration a representative who
received intelligence should not publicly
share the received information but to
use it for themselves through the
committee sessions.
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Update Regarding a Situation Updates are official documents
that are signed by secretariat and
distributed to all participants of a
committee. Updates are not specifically
given for a representative of a county
but to whole committee. Content of the
updates are diverse it can be related
with the agenda item, crisis situation,
recent activities about the agenda item
or an event that needs the attention of
the committee.
Crisis Document
Through the conference when an
urgent situation that needed to drive the
attention of the committee immediately,
members of the secretariat give the
situation as a crisis situation to the
committee. When a crisis situation
arouses, members of the committee are
required to focus and solve the crisis
situation immediately rather than trying
to conclude adopted agenda item. When
the committee successfully commits
resolution regarding the crisis situation,
than the committee may return to its
original agenda item that was being
under discussion.
There are differences and
similarities between crisis situations
and updates. Both are distributed by the
secretariat and both documents are
needed to be taken into consideration.
Crisis situations and updated are both
distributed to the whole committee
however main difference is that a crisis
situation needed to be dealt immediately
thus requires a voting on a final
document of the respective committee.
While an update does not require to be
dealt with urgently thus not require a
voting of a final document of the
committee.
Press Release Press releases are statements
that are given to respective press
member of the committee by
representatives of the committee. Press
releases are neither binding nor refer to
conclusion of the committee. It only
represents ideas, perspective of an
individual or policy of a state
representative. Press releases can be
related with agenda item, crisis
situations, an event related with the
committee and committee as a whole.
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Working Methods
Establishing Peacekeeping Operation The United Nations Security Council as
being the most authorized international
body in the world; is the only body that
has the competence of establishing
peacekeeping forces in a region where it
is necessary. In this context, when a
crisis situation arises, the Secretariat of
the United Nations establishes a
technical field assessment in the
conflicted area in order to determine
rather the situation requires the
attention of the Security Council or not.
If the report of the Secretariat comes
positive the United Nations Secretary-
General may present a report to the
Security Council regarding a possible
peacekeeping operation. If the Security
Council adopts the current situation at
hand as an agenda item to be discussed
on the council; it may decide on rather
starting a peacekeeping operation or
not. In this consideration for the
initiation for commencing a
peacekeeping operation United Nations
Security Council has to pass a resolution
regarding the agenda item which
indicates an establishment of the
operation. The resolution has to set out
operations mandate, size, and details of
the tasks which would be done through
the operation, however the budget and
the resources of the operation are
subjects of the General Assembly.
Staffing of the civilian components of the
operation is the subject of the offices of
the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations as well as the Department of
Field Support while the military and
police forces of the operation is asked
from the member states of the United
Nations. When a peacekeeping
operation is established, the operation
reports directly to the Secretary-General
of the United Nations and the Secretary-
General reports to the Security Council.iv
Creation of a Safe Zone The United Nations Security Council
may decide upon creation of a safe zone
if it sees it is necessary, in order to
establish a safe zone Security Council
has to pass a resolution regarding the
issue. Implementation of the safe zone is
the subject of the peacekeeping
operation in the areas. Safe zones are
created in order to protect civilian lives
living in the conflicted area, the safe
zones are considerate as international
territories until the end of the end of the
mission. However safe zones are
established for a very limited time,
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mostly for the evacuation of the civilian
population.
Safe zones indicates territories which
civilian will be protected by the United
Nations Peacekeepers from getting any
harm in a conflicted area. A safe zone
may consist of several components such
as humanitarian corridor, no-drive zone,
and no-flight zones. Humanitarian
corridors are considerate as temporary
demilitarized zones proposed to allow
the safe transportation of humanitarian
aid in, and/or refugees out of the crisis
location. No-drive zones is a form
of prohibition and explicitly a militarily
obligatory declaration of an intent to
deny vehicular maneuvering over a
strategic or tactically valued line of
statement by the threat of vehicle
annihilation. No-flight zones are similar
with the no-drive zones the only
difference between two zones are it
implements the same rule to the aerial
vehicles.v
Humanitarian Aid The United Nations Security Council
may decide on a humanitarian aid
process toward the conflicted area,
working in cooperation with other non-
governmental organizations.
Humanitarian aid is substantial and
logistic support to people who got into
need. It is generally short-term help
until the long-term help by government
and other organizations substitutes it.
The people in need may differ from
refugees, homeless, victims of military
conflicts, as well as victims of natural
disasters such as earthquake, flooding,
cyclonic storms, and famines. The main
objective of humanitarian aid is to save
lives, and reduce anguish of the people
who needs it.
Intervention The Security Council may implement
sanctions toward the conflicted parties if
it seems it is necessary. There are three
main reasons for implementation of
sanction; first in order to force parties to
cooperate with the international law,
second with the tenacity of to comprise
a threat to peace within a geographical
borders, and third condemnation of
activities of a specific act or policy of a
member or non-member state.
The Security Council may implement
four types of sanctions;
Diplomatic Sanctions: Diplomatic
sanctions are political actions
taken to prompt disapproval or
displeasure at a specific action
through diplomatic and political
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means, rather than directly
effecting economic or military
affairs. Procedures comprise
restrictions or terminations of
high-level government visits or
banishing or withdrawing
diplomatic assignments or staff.
Economic Sanctions: Economic
sanctions can differ from
imposing import tariffs on goods
from, or blocking the export of
convinced goods to the target
country, to a full
naval blockade of ports of the
target country in an effort to
validate, and control or block
indicated imported goods.
Military Sanctions: Military
sanctions can vary from
cautiously targeted military
airstrikes to damage nation
conventional or non-
conventional proficiencies, to the
less destructive form of an arms
embargo to cut off provisions of
weaponries.
The United Nations Security Council
may allow an external intervention of
the situation if it see it is necessary. In
this consideration the Security Council
may call upon international military or
political organizations such as but not
limited to NATO, to commence an
intervention toward the conflict area
which was done in Yugoslavian Civil
War. In order to do so Security Council
has to pass a resolution which
specifically indicates that, in this context
the Security Council has the authority to
limit the framework of the intervention
which will be made. External
interventions may be issued when the
situation on the conflicted region getting
worse and if the Human Rights are
violated.
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i YARGICI, N. Y.
United Nations Security Council Study Guide
Bibliography: Yargıcı, Nezahat Yeşim. United Nations
Security Council Study Guide. 1st ed. Ankara:
Model United Nations Association, 2014. Print.
ii UN.ORG
United Nations Security Council
Bibliography: Un.org,. 'United Nations Security
Council'. N.p., 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.
iii IBID
iv Un.org, (2014). Forming a new operation. United
Nations Peacekeeping. [online] Available at:
http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/operations/
newoperation.shtml [Accessed 23 Nov. 2014].
v Militaryaerospace.com, (2014). Laser weapons
are here: ATL test shows ability to attack moving
targets effectively from the air. [online] Available
at:
http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/print/
volume-20/issue-11/news/news/laser-weapons-
are-here-atl-test-shows-ability-to-attack-moving-
targets-effectively-from-the-air.html