Disarmament and International Security Committee
Chair: Roberto GarcÃa Aguas 4030
Moderators: Emiliano Viezcas 303 & Samuel Motola 302
Topic A: Russian troops in Crimea: A Violation of the International Law
In November 2013 Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich decided to strengthen ties with Russia and break them up with the European Union. That immediately started many protests in different regions of Ukraine that eventually escalated into a coup d’état, which resulted in several months of military conflict.
Shortly after the revolution started, preparation for a democratization process started with the close involvement of the Russian Federation in several parts of Ukraine including Crimea an Ukrainian province which was recently "annexed" through a referendum to Russia, although several countries like the United States of America and international bodies like the European Union and NATO question the legitimacy of the process therefore do not recognize Crimea as part of Russia.
In May 2014 a new Ukrainian President was elected, Petro Poroshenko, who declared a truce between the military and the pro Russian rebels, however this has not worked in an effective manner.
Order and justice are far from reaching Ukraine and today the conflict does not perish, Russian troops allegedly support pro Russian Ukrainians, and in the crossfire between the military and the rebels many civilian lives have been unfairly taken in the process.
Useful links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2014/09/140905_ucrania_rusia_crisis_en_mapas_nc.shtml
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/28/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/
Topic B: ISIS Occupation in Iraq and Syria: An Urgent Priority of the International Community.
ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and the Syria) is a radical Islamic group classed by the International Community as terrorist. Its objective is to create a new Islamic State (i.e. with the Koran as a Constitution) on the current territory of Iraq and Syria. What differs them from other terrorist groups is the efficiency they have worked with. It is believed that its power and military ability have surpassed Al Qaeda. Today, from Syria’s Mediterranean coast to south of Baghdad, ISIS controls hundreds of square miles. It is known for killing dozens of people at a time, public executions, and recently, sharing videos of them.
On August 2014, the U.S. government decided to use airstrikes to prevent genocide of minority groups by the ISIS fighters. This is the first time that Arab countries support the United States. These five Arab countries are Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. They are supporting United States with air strikes in ISIS targets in Syria, using fighter jets, bombers and Tomahawk missiles to blast 22 targets in Syrian territory. No European allies participated in the military action. But France has already attacked in the recent days the ISIS targets they using air strikes.
On Tuesday, August 19, a video of Foley surfaced. The video, apparently produced by ISIS as a warning the U.S. to stop air strikes against the group in Iraq, ended with Foley's death.
On September 2nd, ISIS released a video showing the execution of a second American journalist. But these people are not the only ones that have been executed; ISIS executed Iraqi and Syrian people to show their power.
The United States of America is taking strong measures collaborating with Arab and European allies. ISIS has people of the whole world in their group and has already threatened American and French subways.
Useful links:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/08/world/isis-fast-facts/
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48647#.VA5jKHmCNjA
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/23/obama-hails-arab-allies-isis-syrian-air-strikes