BCGMUN 2023
Study Guide for UNSC
Letter from the Executive Board
Dear delegates,
It is our distinct pleasure to welcome you to the United Nations Security Council at
BCG-MUN 2023. Every conference we have attended has been a unique blend of
information and interaction, but more importantly, it has always taught us something
new and left us with memories to cherish. MUNs have instilled in us a sense of
responsibility to unconditionally pass on the privilege and knowledge we received from
them. As your EB, we hope you find us dedicated, approachable, and unbiased but
equally passionate and driven. We expect all delegates to be well-researched and
holistically informed about this multifaceted agenda at hand. We would like to
encourage each of you to participate enthusiastically and strive to put your best foot
forward regardless of the situation you find yourself in during the committee. Use your
platform to fearlessly voice your opinion, but at the same time, let it help you to open
yourself up to new ideas and experiences, because Albert Einstein once said- “We
cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Lastly, we hope we can make this MUN an unforgettable experience for all of you,
regardless of whether you are inexperienced or a well-seasoned delegate. If you have
any queries, please do not hesitate to approach us on our email ID.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Aryaveer Singh- Chairperson
Paarth Veturkar- Vice Chairperson
About The Committee
The United Nations Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is
charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN
members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter.
The fifteen-member UN Security Council seeks to address threats to international security. Its five
permanent members, chosen in the wake of World War II, have veto power. The Security Council
fosters negotiations, imposes sanctions, and authorises the use of force, including the deployment
of peacekeeping missions.
It is for the Security Council to determine when and where a UN peace operation should be
deployed.
The Security Council responds to crises around the world on a case-by-case basis and it has a
range of options at its disposal. It takes many different factors into account when considering the
establishment of new peace operation, including:
Whether there is a ceasefire in place and the parties have committed themselves to a peace
process intended to reach a political settlement;
● Whether a clear political goal exists and whether it can be reflected in the mandate;
● Whether a precise mandate for a UN operation can be formulated;
● Whether the safety and security of UN personnel can be reasonably ensured, including in
particular whether reasonable guarantees can be obtained from the main parties or
factions regarding the safety and security of UN personnel.
The Security Council establishes a peace operation by adopting a Security Council resolution.
The resolution sets out that mission’s mandate and size.
The Security Council monitors the work of UN peace operations on an ongoing basis, including
through periodic reports from the Secretary-General and by holding dedicated Security Council
sessions to discuss the work of specific operations.
The Security Council can vote to extend, amend or end mission mandates as it deems
appropriate.
Under Article 25 of the Charter, all UN members agree to accept and carry out the decisions of
the Security Council. While other organs of the UN make recommendations to Member States,
the Council alone has the power to take decisions which Member States are obligated to
implement.
Find out more about Security Council functions and powers, resolutions, statements, reports,
rules of procedure and other issues
Agenda:
ADDRESSING HUMANITARIAN CRISES AND
DELIBERATING THE ROLE OF THE UN PEACEKEEPERS IN
CONFLICT ZONES
Understanding the terms
Peacekeepers : way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for
lasting peace.
Conflict zones: airspace over areas where armed conflict is occurring or is likely
to occur
To deliberate/deliberating: engage in long and careful consideration.
Humanitarian: concerned with or seeking to promote human welfare.
Crisis: a time of intense difficulty or danger, when a difficult or important decision
must be made.
Humanitarian Crises: A humanitarian crisis is a generalised emergency
situation that affects an entire community or a group of people in a region.
Example: include armed conflicts, epidemics, famine, natural disasters, energy
crises and other major emergencies.
Agenda and more
What are UN peacekeepers?:
Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role of the UN's Department of Peace
Operations as an "instrument developed by the organisation as a way to help countries
torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace".
Peacekeeping has proven to be one of the most effective tools available to the UN to
assist host countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace.
Peacekeeping has unique strengths, including legitimacy, burden sharing, and an ability
to deploy and sustain troops and police from around the globe, integrating them with
civilian peacekeepers to advance multidimensional mandates.
UN peacekeepers provide security and the political and peacebuilding support to help
countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace.
UN Peacekeeping is guided by three basic principles:
1. Consent of the parties;
2. Impartiality;
3. Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.
Peacekeeping is flexible and over the past two decades has been deployed in many
configurations. There are currently 12 UN peacekeeping operations deployed on three
continents.
Today's multidimensional peacekeeping operations are called upon not only to maintain
peace and security, but also to facilitate the political process, protect civilians, assist in
the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants; support the
organisation of elections, protect and promote human rights and assist in restoring the
rule of law.
Success is never guaranteed, because UN Peacekeeping almost by definition goes to
the most physically and politically difficult environments. However, we have built up a
demonstrable record of success over our 60 years of existence, including winning the
Nobel Peace Prize.
Peacekeeping has always been highly dynamic and has evolved in the face of new
challenges. Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established a 17-member
High-level Independent Panel on UN Peace Operations to make a comprehensive
assessment of the state of UN peace operations today, and the emerging needs of the
future.
Global partnership
UN peacekeeping is a unique global partnership. It brings together the General
Assembly, the Security Council, the Secretariat, troop and police contributors and the
host governments in a combined effort to maintain international peace and security. Its
strength lies in the legitimacy of the UN Charter and in the wide range of contributing
countries that participate and provide precious resources.
What are conflict zones?:
Conflict Zones are airspace over areas where armed conflict is occurring or is likely to
occur between militarised parties, and is also taken to include airspace over areas
where such parties are in a heightened state of military alert or tension, which might
endanger civil aircraft.
How are UN peacekeepers protected?:
The Protection of Civilians (POC) is a responsibility which includes all parts of a
peacekeeping mission, civilian, military and police functions. In many cases,
peacekeeping missions are authorized to use all necessary means, up to and including
the use of deadly force, to prevent or respond to threats of physical violence against
civilians, within capabilities and areas of operations, and without prejudice to the
responsibility of the host government.
The effective implementation of the POC mandate requires a comprehensive, integrated
and well-planned approach in order to address the various challenges missions with the
mandate face. This is the foundation of the 2019 POC Policy which provides the
conceptual framework, guiding principles and key considerations for the implementation
of the POC policy. The policy promotes consistency in approach while recognising the
varied operational contexts faced by UN Peacekeeping operations and the requirement
for flexibility to respond to changing environments and the different resources available
across the lifecycle of a mission. The 2020 POC Handbook builds on the POC policy,
and brings together the best practices of POC in UN peacekeeping; it captures the
lessons from a wide range of experiences and provides all mission components(civilian,
police and military) with tools.
The POC mandate in peacekeeping is guided by a set of principles:
1. Protecting civilians is the primary responsibility of governments;
2. Peacekeepers with a mandate to protect civilians have the authority and
responsibility to provide protection within their capabilities and areas of
deployment where the government is unable or unwilling to protect;
3. The protection of civilians mandate is a whole-of-mission activity, not only a
military task, which embodies an active duty to protect;
4. Protecting civilians is done in cooperation with humanitarian actors and with
respect for humanitarian principles;
5. The protection of civilians mandate is consonant with the principles of
peacekeeping, including the consent of the host state, impartial mandate
implementation, and the use of force only in self-defence or as authorized by the
Security Council;
6. The protection of civilians mandate is a priority mandate, pursuant to Security
Council resolutions.
MORE ON POC:
How do missions carry out POC activities?
Depending on the nature of the threat to civilians, the mission will carry out a range of
activities including engaging with parties to the conflict and affected communities,
providing physical protection and the establishment of a protective environment.
All mission components engage in dialogue and political advocacy, such as support for
reconciliation, peace agreements or mediation, liaison with the government, or the
resolution of local conflicts. Even if these efforts are not always very visible, the
importance of this work, aiming to support the host government in its responsibilities to
protect civilians should not be underestimated.
Peacekeepers also take action to provide physical protection, usually by deterring
attacks on civilians through active patrolling but using force if necessary.
Finally, peacekeeping missions also conduct activities which support the establishment
of a protective environment that increases security and protects civilians from violence.
The majority of these activities consist of strengthening the host government’s
capacities to protect, including through the rule of law and security sector reform.
Mission personnel are also engaged in building the capacity of national authorities to
promote and respect human rights, prevent and respond to violence against children
and sexual and gender-based violence.
The POC Advisors
Everybody in a peacekeeping operation, including the civilian staff, military and the
police, plays a role in protecting civilians. Dedicated personnel, including a Senior
Protection of Civilians Advisor, support the implementation of this mandate and ensure
that POC concerns are appropriately mainstreamed and prioritised within the Mission.
They perform an advisory, coordination, monitoring and reporting role. Specifically, the
Senior Protection of Civilians Advisor is responsible for working with mission
components to develop and regularly update POC threat assessments; establishing
POC coordination structures and the development of a mission-wide POC strategy.
The Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and the Department of Operational
Support (DOS) in New York are also devoting significant attention to assisting all
peacekeepers fulfil their role in protecting civilians effectively and efficiently by:
● Advising UN decision-making bodes such as the Security Council and General
Assembly about threats to civilians in areas where peacekeepers are deployed;
● Developing policy and guidance to inform the implementation of POC mandates;
● Supporting missions to develop comprehensive POC strategies, based on the
particular needs and situation of the mission which assists them in harnessing all
available resources for the task;
● Developing POC training courses targeted at personnel prior to deployment, as
well as those already working in peacekeeping operations. These courses are
aimed at military, police and civilian personnel.
Ongoing POC Activities
Tens of thousands of UN peacekeepers put themselves in harm’s way every day in
order to protect civilians from the effects of physical violence. Some of the ongoing work
undertaken by these peacekeepers includes:
● Providing physical protection to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced
people in POC sites, like in South Sudan;
● Deploying additional military and civilian mission personnel when a crisis erupts
to provide protection, monitor human rights violations and create an environment
conducive for humanitarian assistance, was carried out in the Democratic
Republic of Congo;
● Developing mechanisms including early warning systems, community alert
networks, community liaison arrangements, public information and reporting
systems.
ARTICLES OR BILLS PASSED REGARDING THE AGENDA
There are three basic principles that continue to set UN peacekeeping operations apart
as a tool for maintaining international peace and security.
These three principles are interrelated and mutually reinforcing:
1. Consent of the parties
2. Impartiality
3. Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate
1. Consent of the parties
UN peacekeeping operations are deployed with the consent of the main parties to the
conflict. This requires a commitment by the parties to a political process. Their
acceptance of a peacekeeping operation provides the UN with the necessary freedom
of action, both political and physical, to carry out its mandated tasks.
In the absence of such consent, a peacekeeping operation risks becoming a party to the
conflict; and being drawn towards enforcement action, and away from its fundamental
role of keeping the peace.
The fact that the main parties have given their consent to the deployment of a United
Nations peacekeeping operation does not necessarily imply or guarantee that there will
also be consent at the local level, particularly if the main parties are internally divided or
have weak command and control systems. Universality of consent becomes even less
probable in volatile settings, characterized by the presence of armed groups not under
the control of any of the parties, or by the presence of other spoilers.
2. Impartiality
Impartiality is crucial to maintaining the consent and cooperation of the main parties, but
should not be confused with neutrality or inactivity. United Nations peacekeepers should
be impartial in their dealings with the parties to the conflict, but not neutral in the
execution of their mandate.
Just as a good referee is impartial, but will penalize infractions, so a peacekeeping
operation should not condone actions by the parties that violate the undertakings of the
peace process or the international norms and principles that a United Nations
peacekeeping operation upholds.
Notwithstanding the need to establish and maintain good relations with the parties, a
peacekeeping operation must scrupulously avoid activities that might compromise its
image of impartiality. A mission should not shy away from a rigorous application of the
principle of impartiality for fear of misinterpretation or retaliation.
Failure to do so may undermine the peacekeeping operation’s credibility and legitimacy,
and may lead to a withdrawal of consent for its presence by one or more of the parties.
3. Non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate
UN peacekeeping operations are not an enforcement tool. However, they may use force
at the tactical level, with the authorization of the Security Council, if acting in
self-defence and defence of the mandate.
In certain volatile situations, the Security Council has given UN peacekeeping
operations “robust” mandates authorizing them to “use all necessary means” to deter
forceful attempts to disrupt the political process, protect civilians under imminent threat
of physical attack, and/or assist the national authorities in maintaining law and order.
Although on the ground they may sometimes appear similar, robust peacekeeping
should not be confused with peace enforcement, as envisaged under Chapter VII of the
United Nations Charter.
➔ Robust peacekeeping involves the use of force at the tactical level with the
authorization of the Security Council and consent of the host nation and/or the
main parties to the conflict.
➔ By contrast, peace enforcement does not require the consent of the main parties
and may involve the use of military force at the strategic or international level,
which is normally prohibited for Member States under Article 2(4) of the Charter,
unless authorized by the Security Council.
A UN peacekeeping operation should only use force as a measure of last resort. It
should always be calibrated in a precise, proportional and appropriate manner, within
the principle of the minimum force necessary to achieve the desired effect, while
sustaining consent for the mission and its mandate. The use of force by a UN
peacekeeping operation always has political implications and can often give rise to
unforeseen circumstances.
Judgments concerning its use need to be made at the appropriate level within a
mission, based on a combination of factors including mission capability; public
perceptions; humanitarian impact; force protection; safety and security of personnel;
and, most importantly, the effect that such action will have on national and local consent
for the mission.
Topic for discussions:
● Challenges faced by peacemakers
● Training and capacity building for peacemakers
● The extent to which peacemakers are helpful
Moderated Caucus Topics
1. How can UN peacekeepers in war zones guarantee the safety and security of
civilians?
2. What moral and legal questions should be raised when conducting peacekeeping
missions?
3. What role does gender perspective play in protecting and empowering women
and girls in UN peacekeeping operations?
4. investigating how peacekeepers may aid post-conflict development and
reconstruction efforts.
5. What functions do the three peacebuilding, peacekeeping, and peacemaking
strategies serve?
6. Examining ways to strengthen collaboration between UN peacekeepers and host
countries to ensure a more effective response to crises.
Recommended readings:capstone_eng_0.pdf (un.org)
Backgroundnote.pdf
https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/where-we-operate
Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) | United Nations Peacekeeping
What is peacekeeping | United Nations Peacekeeping
Conflict Zones Update | SKYbrary Aviation Safety
The Conflict Zone (nationalgeographic.org)
peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/dpo_poc_handbook_final_as_printed.pdf
Doctors without borders | The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law
(guide-humanitarian-law.org)
UNSC REPORT BASED ON AGENDA: (recommend to go through thoroughly)
s_2017_414.pdf (securitycouncilreport.org)
dpo_poc_handbook_final_as_printed.pdf (un.org)
ANNEX (un.org)
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/B752FF2063E282B0852576
7100751B90-unocha_protecting_nov2009.pdf
Protection of civilians mandate | United Nations Peacekeeping
Citation:
Protection of civilians mandate | United Nations Peacekeeping
Conflict Zones Update | SKYbrary Aviation Safety