Harvard Model Congress Europe

Hi Alex,
Great question. First, I'd like to clarify a little bit the situation involving Chinese weapons sales to Sudan. Currently, a UNSC resolution is in effect that states that no nation may sell arms to either the Sudanese government or nongovernmental sources for use in Darfur. The problem is that the resolution does not prohibit sales of weapons to Sudan for use in other regions, and China is claiming that they are not violating the resolution because they have no control over what the Sudanese government does with the weapons so long as China tells them not to use them in Darfur.

To answer the second part of your question, I think there are parts of that clause that could be supported and others that would be rejected. First, I think that many of the Western powers on the UNSC would reject lifting the embargo for China alone. Not only would that seem to economically reward China for a potential embargo violation, but it would also create a precedent demonstrating that there will be no consequences for future embargo violations. As for the 10,000 troops, some other nations may call into question if China, which has a troubled human rights record, is the best nation to lead forces intended to stop human rights abuses in Sudan and perhaps a smaller number would be more feasible. The second part of your clause is very good, and I think could rally support. Currently, there are proposals to extend the arms embargo to the whole of Sudan, but if China committed to tracking the use of their arms in Sudan through military consultants, it could go a long way in preventing an extension of the embargo.

Thanks for your research into this and I look forward to meeting you in Brussels!
-Sam

Oh..Ok, great....thank you so much for that. But if I understood correctly, what may be a "good" clause, could be something more along the line of: " The People's Republic of China will agree to send a group of chinese military consultants to follow the distribution of the weaponry and make sure it ends up in the hands of the government in power and/or in the hands of the UN troops so as to make sure the embargo is respected and limited to the Darfur region".

that sounds pretty right?

Also, another clause could be: " All permanent members of the UNSC, are urged to a regroup a staff of 500 soldiers and 500 humanitarian activists each, to be deployed in the Darfur region so as to protect the Sudanese population and insight the millions of citizens to return to their country in a safer and more peaceful environment".

Let me know how that one sounds.

Thank you so much for your help, i appreciate it.

hi everyone,
i wanted to know that whether we are going to be passing a resolution concerning both the topics and concerning Darfur are there UN troops present there?
Thanks,
Delegate of France(Jehan)

Hey everyone,

First addressing Alex: Thanks again for the question. Yes, a Chinese promise of tracking arms and equipment with its military personnel on the ground would likely gain international support. To respond to your second question, the UNSC has already committed troops to Darfur. In 2007 they passed UNSC Resolution 1769 which called for 26,000 troops to be stationed within the Darfur region. However, deployment of these troops has been horrendously slow, with only 15,000 the ground two years later. These troops are also largely underfunded and under-equipped. In preparing for the conference, it helps to think about potential resolutions, but it is important to note that there will be several unexpected factors at the conference and that therefore you should not come to the conference with pre-written clauses.

Jehan: At the conference, we will pass resolutions on both maritime piracy and the conflict in darfur. There may be some other things thrown into the mix, so I would encourage you to read up on France's foreign policy to prepare.

Thanks to you both for the questions and I really look forward to meeting you!
-Sam

Hi everyone!

I'm Jana Gharazeddine and I'm representing the UK at HMCE :) I'm coming from the British International School of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and I can't WAIT for the conference!

Seen as it's coming up soon, thought I'd ask a question:

How much of a responsibility is the UK taking for the crisis/genocide in Darfur? From my research, I found out that the British Empire's financial neglect of Southern Sudan during it's reign was what caused the lack of development in places like Darfur. So, wouldn't the UK have to take some sort of responsibility for what's happening?

Thank you!
Looking forward to meeting you all...

--Jana

-- Edited by HMCE Delegate at 18:03, 2009-03-12

Hi everyone,

I'm Michelle Pellicano from Western Canada High School, and I will be representing the United States. I don't have any questions, but I thought that I would say hello, and say how super excited I am to go to Brussels! This will be my first time at HMCE, and I can't wait to meet everyone :)

-Michelle

Hi again,

To address Jana's question, the UK has been quite involved in seeking peace in Sudan. It has taken an active role in condemning the actions of the Janjaweed militia and al-Bashir's government in infringing on the human rights of people in the Darfur region. Additionally, the UK worked to institute the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the Second Sudanese Civil War.

It is certainly true that the old British empire and their strategies for economic development have had a profound impact on the modern state of Sudan. However, the current crisis in Sudan is based on a great deal more than simply Sudan's colonial past and therefore no one is blaming the UK for the situation in Darfur. Past imperialism does still affect the situation in Darfur, though in a different manner. Sudan and many Middle Eastern nations reject the recent ICC warrant for the arrest of al-Bashir as an example of the West attempting to meddle in their affairs.

On that note, it would probably be valuable for anyone reading this to brush up a little bit on what has happened in Sudan in the past month, particularly with regards to the ICC warrant.

See you all soon!
-Sam