UNSC BMUN LXVII

Hello everyone! Today we'll be briefly discussing one of our suggested Open Agenda topics, the crisis in Burundi. When Nkurunziza stood for a third term in 2015, deadly unrest erupted in a nation still haunted by the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, a neighboring country. Widely expected to take advantage of recent changes to the constitution to stand for two more terms, Burundi's long-serving President Pierre Nkurunziza announced in June of last year that he would not run for another term, easing fears of new violence in the impoverished country. This announcement had followed a referendum on term limits, which in theory allowed him to seek another two terms in office. Nonetheless, Nkurunziza's announcement raised skepticism from the opposition. Some say that his message is untrustworthy. In addition, Nkurunziza is not without lawlessness: he muscled his way past constitutional limits in 2015 to claim a third term. This term has been characterized by growing authoritarianis

Hello everyone! With only two weeks left until the conference, we hope you are all doing well with your preparations. This blog post will focus on our first topic, the Horn of Africa. We'll be diving into another case study with the goal of understanding how the weaknesses of states allow insurgent groups to operate within the gaps of political instability. Let's look at Uganda as an example. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda is one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders. In December of 2017, the Parliament of Uganda voted to lift the age limit for presidents, setting the stage for Mr. Museveni to rule the country indefinitely. Musevini's supporters claim the law will end age discrimination in politics. Today, Musevini is in his fifth presidential term, which is set to expire in 2021. By then, he will be two years past the age limit set for presidents in Uganda's constitution written in 1995. While most members of Parliament overwhelmingly supported the law, m

Hi delegates! I hope you all are researching and getting pumped for committee. In this post, I want to cover a few points on how to prepare for the fast-paced debate in Security Council, as well as how to navigate committee best depending on your country. First of all, stop reading this post and go to BMUN's Learn website , specifically under the Conference Prep and In Committee headers, to get a general overview of conference prep! What follows is more Security Council specific prep.  Know what you can and can't do Remember, as a delegate of the Security Council, the resolutions you make have heightened powers, including the ability to:  Investigate any situation that might lead to international friction Determine the existence of a threat  Take military action against an aggressor in the form of UN Peacekeeping forces or NATO intervention Call upon members to place economic sanctions against an aggressor If you are a permanent member of the SC (China, Fra

Hello delegates! I hope your research is going well. This is the second post in the Al Shabaab series. If you haven't already you should read the first post in the series. This post will cover some of the recruitment strategies employed by the group within their base of Somalia. Targets The name Al-Shabaab translates to "the youth". This is very much reflected in their recruitment strategies. A number of independent research studies have found that the organization's target recruitment demographic is boys aged 9 - 15. The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres stated in 2017 that he believes that more than 50% of Al Shabaab militants are children. Additionally, a UN task force found that over 4000 children, predominantly boys, were recruited between 2010 and 2016. In addition to young boys, Al-Shabaab recruits women. This is because women are less conspicuous than men and can, therefore, more effectively carry out attacks. Additionally, female members can be u

Hi Delegates! We only have 30 days till BMUN! (so get excited!!!) I just wanted to clarify our policy on external technology in conference. Because this is Security Council, we tend to be more lax on using computers and phones during committee. In particular, we will be allowing phones and laptops during unmoderated caucus  and outside the committee room during normal debate , so this means that during moderated caucuses and other substantive debate, we won't be allowing computers/phones inside the room; we do this so that delegations that are currently speaking get the full attention from the room. During moderated caucuses, you'll be allowed to work on working papers without restriction. This will be most useful for when you all are writing your working papers. We will be accepting both written and typed  working papers; if they are typed up, we prefer them being on a Google Doc, so it can be shared with both your fellow delegates and with us. As always, don't he

Hello everyone! I hope you are finding useful information in your research. If you've thought about ways to address the Rohingya crisis, you've probably encountered a number of issues that arise when formulating effective solutions. This post is going to dive a little bit more profoundly into why the Rohingya crisis is so difficult to ameliorate and what we should do about that. INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL RESOLUTIONS/LEGAL ACTION When it comes down to it, there are two goals that the international community wants to achieve: 1) demanding justice for the Rohingya and 2) establishing more permanent settlement options. Both tasks are daunting and presuppose commitment from all parties. As we enter the second year of the refugee crisis in Bangladesh, one major way that the U.N. has instigated action is by taking on the monumental responsibility of collecting data and documenting each and every atrocity committed against the Rohingya. A recently released report from a UN fact-f