Fourth Committee Topic A: The Situation in the Darfur Region of the Sudan
General Background
Since early 2003, Sudanese armed forces and government-backed militia known as the “Janjaweed” have been fighting two rebel groups in Darfur: the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). The political aim of these rebels has been to persuade the government of Sudan to address the underdevelopment and political marginalization of the region. As a result, these government sponsored forces have targeted civilian populations and ethnic groups. Various methods of attack have included the burning and destruction of hundreds of rural villages, the killing of a UN estimate of approximately 200,000 people, and the rape and assault of thousands of women and girls. Displacement of over 2.5 million civilians has also put a strain on surrounding refugee camps in Sudan and neighboring countries such as Chad.
Current Situation
With more than 3.5 million men, women, and children completely reliant on international aid for survival, coupled with various international pressures, the Darfur Peace Agreement was created in May 2006. However, deadlines agreed upon between the Sudanese government and one faction of the Darfur rebels have been ignored and the violence has escalated. In July 2006, the UN Security Council approved UNSC Resolution 1706, which approved a new peacekeeping force of 17,300 to be dispatched to that area to aid the forces of the African Union that were already in place. This decision was supplemented by Resolution 1769 whose mandate lasts until 31 July 2008. Both of these resolutions have been highly contested by Sudan, their position being that this is an internal conflict and has promised that any foreigners will be viewed as spies and treated accordingly.
A new layer of complexity to the conflict has also evolved as in-fighting among the various rebel groups and factions has dramatically increased. This violence has made it dangerous, if not impossible, for most of the millions of displaced persons to return to their homes. Additionally, humanitarian aid agencies face growing obstacles to bringing widespread relief. In August 2007, a mere two months after the doctrinization of the Darfur Peace Agreement, the UN’s top humanitarian official, Jan Egeland, stated that the situation in Darfur was becoming “catastrophic.”
Future Outlook
While many countries have declared the acts of the Sudanese government as “genocide,” there is still much to do in regards of organizing and deploying peacekeeping forces with a mandate to protect civilians immediately. Further, both the government of Sudan and other member states (including permanent members of the Security Council) have stated that any intervention into the region will be a violation of Sudan's sovereignty, as the matter should be viewed only as an internal matter. Progress on this matter has currently ground to an almost halt, something which is causing the death toll in the region to continually rise.
Focus Questions:
1.) How does “genocide” in Darfur relate to the massacres of Rwanda in 1994?
2.) What is being done by the UN or NGOs to correct the situation? Is it enough? What else should be done? Should anything be done?
3.) How and why could effective media outreach, public education, targeted coalition building, and grassroots mobilization aid in the issues of Darfur?
4.) What methods of relief can be given to the millions of displaced persons?
5.) What is wrong with the position of non-interference? Should the UN really be involved in controlling the ongoing situation?
6.) What is the reasoning that some countries have declared as to why they will not get involved in the situation in Darfur? Is this sound reasoning? Is your country one of these countries?
7.) The United Nations has obligations to not only ensure international peace and security, but also to not infringe upon the sovereignty of member states. What is sovereignty? When these two obligations come in conflict, which is the one the United Nations should follow through on? Can you justify your answer?
Bibliography and Helpful Links
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3496731.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darfur_conflict
Human Rights Watch: Crisis in Darfur-- http://hrw.org/doc?t=africa&c=darfur
Koerner, Brenden I., “Who are the Janjaweed?: A Guide to the Sudanese Militiamen.” Slate Magazine, July 2005.
Save Darfur Coalition--Available @ www.savedarfur.org
“Sudan Executes a Defector SLA Commander in Darfur--Rebels.” Sudan Tribune, 26 March 2007.
“Sudan’s Darfur Conflict” BBC News, 6 Sept. 2007.
Fourth Committee Topic B:The Question of Palestinian Refugees in the Near and Middle East
General Background
Discussion of the question at hand begins in 1948 with the creation of the Jewish state of Israel. The state of Israel was approved by the Balfour Declaration and created out of the territory that was originally Palestine. The problem with this is that the area of Palestine was already occupied by Arabs and the placement of a new governmental system into power and allowance of the settlement of millions of new Jewish inhabitants caused conflict.
In 1948 the Israeli War for Independence broke out. The conflict had started due to the UN vote in 1947 to divide Palestine into two separate states, Jewish and Arab. This decision was contested by Palestinians and resulted in blockades and attacks on Jewish strongholds. Their actions gained the support of neighboring Arab states who invaded Palestine in hopes of establishing another powerful Arab state – this failed and Israel was created. Many Palestinians during this period were fearful for their own safety and as a result fled to the surrounding countries to escape the fighting. The number of refugees varies from 520,000(Israeli sources), to over 800,000(Arab sources), with the UN claiming 726,000. Overtime, these numbers have grown to over 4.6million. There was a second wave of refugees after the 6 Day War in 1967.
After the 1948 hostilities between the Arabs and Israelis, the United Nations created the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near Middle East. This humanitarian agency, referred to as UNRWA, not only is responsible for the welfare of Palestinian refugees but also solely focuses upon the aid of one-nation groups.
The UNRWA is able to accomplish this through five main programs for the Palestine refugees which include health, education, relief and social services, microfinance/microenterprise, and new projects. They are able to stabilize their relief programs by working with other UN and international agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Israel views the refugees as hostile persons who hold sympathies for a belligerent aggressor, and passed a law forbidding their return and seizing their properties as State property. Palestinians insist on the UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which addresses the rights of return for refugees to come back to their homes in Israel.
Current Situation
Currently the UNRWA is attempting to assist the 4.3 million refugees who qualify for aid in the areas of Jordan, Lebanon, The Syrian Arab Republic, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Over a million of these live in camps run by UNRWA but the living conditions are that of abject poverty and overcrowding. There has been no suggestion of resettling the refugees, though there have been many mentions of the impossible conditions associated with camp life
There is an overwhelming desire among the refugees to return to their homelands, but this desire is refused by the Israeli government who view the return of more Arabs as the death of Israel’s self-determination and an end to the Jewish state. Additionally, the Arab League has given instructions for all Arab states to refuse citizenship to Palestinian Arab refugees, the reason being “to avoid dissolution of their identity and protect their right to return to their homeland.” The only neighboring country that has allowed permanent resettlement rights to the refugees is Jordan.
Additionally, under the mandate of the UNWRA, the organization will discontinue its service projects within refugee camps and will dissolve itself until settlement of the Palestine refugee problem has been reached. Until this point, the UNRWA continues to increase its programs’ efficiency in areas such as the Microfinance Project (MMP) and the Medium Term Plan (MTP) for 2005-2009.
Critics of the UNRWA believe that the relief agency has overstepped its original boundaries and the original purpose of being temporary. And as the conflict continues, the UNWRA also faces increased issues in regards to access, personnel safety, and sustainability. Thus, it is clear that the General Assembly and the Fourth Committee need to address these concerns with great care.
Focus Questions
1.) How can the UNRWA advance the guidelines of the Medium Term Plan (MTP)?
2.) At what point should the UNRWA be disbanded?
3.) Is the UNRWA really beneficial to Palestinian refugees or is it merely creating a culture of dependency?
4.) How should the lack in funding within the UNRWA be resolved?
5.) Does the work of the UNRWA have any impact on the peace and stability of the region in either positive or negative ways?
6.) What is being done to assimilate the Palestinian refugees into the countries that they are presently living in?
7). Would the creation of a Palestinian state outside of the region occupied by Israel be acceptable to Palestinians? Why or why not?
Bibliography and Helpful Links
Chiff, Benjamin N., Refugees unto the Third Generation: UN Aid to Palestinians Foreign Affairs, 1995.
Frayer, Kevin, “Isreal’s Balancing Act,” The Christian Science Monitor, 3 July 2006.
Luttwak, Edward N., “Give War a Chance,: Foreign Affairs, July/August 1999.
Ohrstrom, Lysandra, “Hundreds of Thousands of Refugees Look to UNRWA to Meet
Basic Needs,” The Daily Star, 11 June 2007.
Palestine Refugee Research Net homepage--Available @ www.arts.mcgill.ca/mepp/new_prrn/
“Report: UNRWA Violating Regulations,” The Jerusalem Post, 28 Sept. 2006.
UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near Middle East homepage- Available @ www.un.org/unrwa/
The UN Refugee Agency on the Occupied Palestine Territories homepage--Available @ www.unhcr.org/country/pse.html
http://www.fateh.net/e_public/refugees.htm
http://www.al-awda.org/nusseibeh_response.htm
http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/p1.htm
http://www.medeastweb.org/refugees1.htm
http://wn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_refugee
http://www.un.org/unrwa/overview/index.html