Security Council
Chair: Carlos Valdés 5010
Moderators: Alejandro Bravo 6010 & Rebeca Ocaña 4030
Topic A: Private Military Contractors: A Threat to the International Security.
Private Military Companies are used to supply a wide variety of services: protect individuals, transport convoys, provide operational coordination, gather information, etc. These companies are used to protect, but also to carry illegal operations abroad.
Countries all around the world have increasingly turned to these private military companies over the last two decades. Countries like United States, Russia, Somalia, Canada and United Kingdom have turned to this option due the fact they are “cheaper”, more efficient, and more reliable than standard militaries. In countries with excessive use of private military companies security is becoming a private good instead of a public one, executing many clandestine operations without the appropriate supervise of the military performance.
The lack of public information and practical means to hold private military companies to the law of each country to prevent abuses and transgressions has become a concern, since private military companies have been the cause of some incidents, like the Blackwater incident in 2007 where 17 Iraqi civilians were killed.
UN has stressed in the importance of establishing international guidelines and legislations to regulate and monitor Private Military Companies activities and personnel, in order to protect human’s security and punish perpetrators.
Useful links:
http://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32419.pdf
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2010/gashc3991.doc.htm
https://www.globalpolicy.org/pmscs.html
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39545#.VBY0gvl5NS0
Topic B: Senkaku Islands, A Fight for its Goods.
China and Japan are involved in a feud over some uninhabited islands known as “Senkaku Islands” in Japan and “Diaoyu Islands” in China. These islands are known by being close to, potential oil and gas reserves, and for their strategically significant position.
On January 1895 Japan formally added these islands into its territory. But then after World War II Japan gave up several territories including the Senkaku Islands. Then, in 1971 President Richard Nixon of the United States returned them to Japan. They’ve belonged to the Japanese The Kuriharas family ever since.
Since ancient times the Chinese have claimed the islands as theirs, saying the islands have always been a part of their territory, therefore their goods belong to
China.
The feud was quiet for many years until Japanese authorities arrested a Chinese fishing crew on September 2010. This demonstrates how volatile the situation is. Almost two years later, in 2012, the government of Tokyo announced the usage of public money to buy the islands from their Japanese owners. China publicly declared its disapproval, and started with diplomatic protests and voyages to the waters surrounding the islands, violating what is meant to be Japan’s territory.
Both governments shall understand the importance of this issue, and talk about mutual assistance and creating mechanisms to manage the dispute.
Useful links:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11296648
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/24/us-japan-china-islands-un-idUSBRE90N16Z20130124
http://conoce-japon.com/historia-2/la-disputa-de-las-islas-senkakudiaoyu/