MS TAIMUN ’13 SECURITY COUNCIL
Topic 1: Maintenance of international security-good neighborliness,
stability and development in Iran and Israel
Topic 2: The Repatriation of Refugees to Syria
Chairs: Rohan Sinha and Vernon Lin
BACKGROUND OF THE SECURITY
COUNCIL
• The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was
established with the UN following WW2, and first met on
the 17th of January, 1946 in London. The UNSC is one of
the six principal organs of the UN, and the only organ
whose passed resolutions are legally binding upon UN
member states.
• 15 representatives make up the UNSC, with five
permanent members who hold veto power (P5), and ten
rotating members (E10). The UNSC is charged with the
“maintenance of international peace and security …”
• As a body, the UNSC can identify “aggressive” states,
enforce sanctions, deploy peacekeepers, and engage
in military action. It is the primary platform for solving
pressing international disputes, and has a great deal of
responsibility in ensuring international peace.
TOPIC 1: MAINTENANCE OF INTERNATIONAL
SECURITY-GOOD NEIGHBORLINESS, STABILITY
AND DEVELOPMENT IN IRAN AND ISRAEL
By: Rohan Sinha (Chair)
TOPIC OVERVIEW
• Before the Iranian revolution of 1979, Israel had
relatively warm relations with Iran. However,
following the revolution overthrowing the Shah and
establishing the Ayatollah as the supreme leader,
Iran severed all official relations with Israel calling it
an “enemy of Islam” and “The Little Satan”.
• Since then, the Iran-Israel conflict has only
intensified. Three primary sources constituting the
dispute: religious differences, the development of
nuclear technology in Iran, and the funding of
Hamas and Hezbollah by Iran.
KEY ISSUES
• Three main sources that constitute the Iran-Israel
conflict
• Religious and geographical differences
• Iranian funding of Hamas and Hezbollah
• Development of Iran’s Nuclear Program
• This committee should focus on the third: Iran’s nuclear
program
MAP OF THE MIDDLE EAST
Israel is the only non-Arabic state surrounded by so many, so Israel is
extremely pressured
KEY ISSUE 1: HISTORICAL DIFFERENCES
• Religious differences between the two nations are
the first source of conflict. Israel was established as
a state in 1949 as a sanctuary for the Jewish
population around the world, whilst the Arab
Palestinians who were present in that land for
centuries were forced into the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip. Due to Israel being established against
the will of the Muslim population, Iran considers
Israel an illegitimate state.
KEY ISSUE 2: IRANIAN FUNDING OF
HAMAS AND HEZBOLLAH
• The second source of conflict between the two states arises
from Iran’s funding of Hamas and Hezbollah. Hamas is an
organization that governs the Gaza Strip where Palestinians
live. The United States, Israel, Canada, the EU and Japan
classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. Iran, Russia, Turkey
and other Arabic states do not.
• Hamas has had military confrontations with Israeli forces on
multiple occasions in the past, and ceasefires have been
established and transgressed by both parties. Iran endorses
Hamas and had originally supplied Hamas with 300 million US
dollars a year, but recently after Hamas failed to show public
support for President Assad of Syria this amount has
decreased.
MAP OF ISRAEL
Hamas is based in the Gaza Strip
KEY ISSUE 2: IRANIAN FUNDING OF
HAMAS AND HEZBOLLAH
• Hezbollah is a militia and a political party that is based in
Lebanon. It was created in 1982 by a group of Muslim clerics
with the primary purpose of countering the Israeli invasion of
Lebanon through the Golan Heights. The party’s rhetoric vows
to destruct the state of Israel. Iran has been supplying military
and monetary aid to Hezbollah, and this was openly admitted
on February 7th when Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader,
admitted that it had received financial and military backing
from Iran
KEY ISSUE 3: IRANIAN NUCLEAR
PROGRAM
• The third primary source - and the most conflict stimulating of the
three - is the development of Iran’s nuclear program. The
committee should mainly focus on this source of conflict. Reports
by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) state that Iran
has been developing its nuclear program over the past few
years. Whilst Iran claims that it is doing so in order to export larger
quantities of its oil, many states of the international community Israel especially - are anxious that Iran is enriching its uranium to
create an atomic bomb.
• The US, EU and UN have enforced sanctions that aim to cut off
Iranian oil exports from global markets, freeze assets of the Iranian
central bank, and stunt Iranian business transactions. These
measures have been quite effective, with the Rial sinking to
record lows and Iran’s oil revenue significantly reduced. However,
Iran continues to enrich uranium and Israel is wary that it will soon
be successful in producing a nuclear bomb. Though Israel has
been pushing for the US to take military action, none has been
taken.
APPENDIX/USEFUL SITES
• General:
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/25/iran.israelandthepalestini
ans
• Hamas and Hezbollah:
• http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/uk-palestinians-hamas-iranidUKTRE80T14P20120130
• http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/iran-funds-hezbollah-leader-nasrallahadmits.aspx?pageID=238&nid=13324
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6112036.stm
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4314423.stm
• Iran Nuclear Program:
• http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/
iran/nuclear_program/index.html
• http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/iaeairan/index.shtml
• http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/12/politics/fact-check-iran-nuclear
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Al-Mughrabi, Nidal. "Hamas Gaza Leader Heads for Iran." Reuters. Accessed February 15, 2013.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/uk-palestinians-hamas-iran-idUKTRE80T14P20120130.
"Hamas Funding." Global Security. Accessed February 15, 2013.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/
world/para/hamas-funds.htm.
"Iran funds Hezbollah, leader Nasrallah admits." Hurriyet Daily News. Accessed February 15, 2013.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/
iran-funds-hezbollah-leader-nasrallah-admits.aspx?pageID=238&nid=13324.
"Iran 'sending funds to Hezbollah.'" BBC. Accessed February 15, 2013.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
6112036.stm.
"Iran's Nuclear Program." New York Times. Accessed February 15, 2013.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/
news/international/countriesandterritories/iran/nuclear_program/index.html.
Siddique, Haroon. "Explainer: Relations between Iran and Israel." The Guardian. Accessed
February
15, 2013. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/25/iran.israelandthepalestinians.
"Who are Hezbollah?" BBC. Accessed February 15, 2013.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/
4314423.stm.
TOPIC 2: THE REPATRIATION
OF REFUGEES FROM SYRIA
BY: VERNON (CHAIR )
THE SECURITY COUNCIL
GENERAL OVERVIEW-THE SYRIAN
CIVIL WAR
• The Syrian Civil War, which began on March 15th 2011, is an ongoing
conflict in Syria between the Syrian Government and the Syrian National
Coalition. The conflict began as a result of nationwide protests calling for
political reform and denouncing the corrupt rule of President al-Assad,
who had already been accused of torturing political dissidents. Assad’s
regime responded with armed suppression, and the protests soon
evolved into violent uprisings.
• The Syrian Civil War is regarded as part of a larger political movement
known as the Arab Spring, which involves similar uprisings in Western Asia
and Northern Africa.
Flag of Syria
Flag of the Syrian
National
Coalition
KEY TERMS
• Repatriation: The act of returning an individual to his or her country of
origin and citizenship. According to International Human Rights Law, it is a
basic right to return to one’s country, thereby making all states involved
responsible for assisting in the process. Also, one cannot be forced to
return to one’s country as this is considered involuntary.
•
• Refugee: Based on the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees, the UN defines a refugee as a person who has fled his or her
country and is unable or unwilling to return because of a ‘well founded
fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality,
membership of a particular social group or political opinion’.
•
• The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): Established
on December 14, 1950 by the General Assembly, the UNHCR aims to
protect refugees and solve refugee related problems worldwide.
KEY ISSUES
• The unrest in Syria has caused many Syrian
citizens to flee to the neighboring states of
Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.
The UNHCR reports that 668,908 individuals
have been registered as aid seeking
refugees across various states. The total
number of individuals awaiting registration is
821,829, with this number increasing daily as
the conflict continues. Clearly, Syrians do
not want to return to Syria given its current
social condition.
UNHCR REPORT ON THE NUMBERS OF
SYRIAN REFUGEES
• 204,689 –Jordan
177,387- Turkey
• 181,117-Lebanon
89,352- Iraq
16,363-Egypt
MORE KEY ISSUES
• Countries accepting Syrian refugees are now
considering repatriating some individuals due to the
increasingly high refugee population. Furthermore,
attacks on Syrian refugees crossing the border by
government forces have raised worries that the war
could spread to other nations. This raises the
question of whether refugees should be repatriated
in order to contain the war in Syria. On February 13th,
Ban Ki Moon- Secretary General of the UNcondemned such an attack on the Turkish-Syrian
border, stating that violence should not be used. In
order for refugees to voluntarily be repatriated to
Syria, there first must be stability within Syria.
SYRIA AND NEIGHBORING STATES
MORE KEY ISSUES
• Notably, there are many Iraqi, Afghan, and
Somalian refugees residing in Syria, despite its unrest.
According to the UNHCR, there are over 1 million
refugees in Syria from Iraq alone. Given the turmoil
in Syria, these refugees want to be repatriated.
However, this requires cooperation between the
UNHCR and the Syrian government. The Syrian
government has not labeled this issue as a priority.
APPENDIX/USEFUL SITES/ACTIONS
TAKEN BY ORGANIZATIONS
• UNHCR http://www.unhcr.org/cgibin/texis/vtx/home
• http://www.unhcr.org/51127e696.html
• UN https://www.un.org/
• ICRC http://www.icrc.org/eng/where-wework/middle-east/syria/index.jsp
• Arab News http://www.arabnews.com/syrianrefugees-lebanon-and-forced-repatriation
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• ‘Syria: The story of the conflict’, BBC News Middle East, 7
December 2012 last updated 16:32 GMT,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east17258397
• ‘Syrian Regional Refugee Response’, UNHCR The UN
Refugee Agency, last updated 12 February 2013,
http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php
• ‘Convention relating to the Status of the Refugee’,
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of
Human Rights, last accessed 14 February 2013,
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/refugees.htm
• ‘Who is Today’s Refugee?’, United Nations, last accessed
14 February 2013,
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/briefing/refug
ees/rfprogress.htm