Download Historical United Nations Security Council

Model United Nations at University of California, San Diego presents
SanDiMUN on Friday, February 5th through Sunday, February 7th, 2016
Historical United
Nations Security
Council
SanDiMUN
Introduction
Greetings Delegates,
I am pleased to welcome you to SanDiMUN I, and the Historical United Nations
Security Council! My name is Vaishnavi Paudel, and I am excited to be your chair for
this conference. I am a second year student at UCSD’s Muir College studying Physiology
and Neuroscience. I was a member of my high school’s Model United Nations team for
four years, and have always had an interest in international relations as I feel that it is
important that today’s youth stay informed about current events so that they can
knowledgeably shape our future. Having experienced immense pleasure in both travel
and home conference aspects of UCSD Model United Nations last year, I am now serving
as the Undersecretary General of Training.
As the Historical United Nations Security Council, our primary concern as a
committee is to maintain international peace and security. In discussing the topic for this
conference, I look forward to witnessing diplomatic collaboration, as this is especially
important in a committee that is discussing sensitive, and pressing matters. It is also
important that we respond to the situations presented realistically, by doing quality
research before the conference, and creatively, by addressing the problem differently than
the United Nations has in the past.
My Vice Chair, Grant Chen, and I are very excited to work with you in
committee, and wish you the best of luck in your preparation. If you have any questions
or concerns, please feel free to e-mail me.
Sincerely your chair,
Vaishnavi Paudel
[email protected]
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Background
The Iraq War, also known as the Second Persian Gulf War, was foreshadowed by the
First Persian Gulf War, fueled by a series of antagonistic developments between the
United States and Iraq. In order to fully understand the inhospitable climate of the
international community during this time, it is important to understand the historical
context of the situation, and the events that built up to the United States’ invasion of Iraq
in March, 2003.
Iraq-United States Relations Preceding the First Persian Gulf War:
In 1958, revolutionary leader Abd-al Karim Qasim overthrew the Western-allied
monarchy in Iraq, and declared the country an independent republic.1 This affair occurred
during a time when international relations were highly tense, due to a split between
Soviet Union-backed communist nations and United States-backed democratic nations
during the Cold War. Iraq was an ideal location for Soviet expansion, as “its growing
political and military involvement in the Persian Gulf and Arab-Israeli theaters, its oil
income, the consolidation of the anti-Western Ba’th Party’s rule, and Baghdad’s need for
Soviet weapons all enhance the prospects for a larger Soviet role”.2 The Iraqi Ba’ath
party’s ideology mainly involved creating a secular, socialist, and pan-Arab nation.3
Iraq’s newfound relationship with the communist Soviet Union caused a strained
relationship between the Iraqi government and the United States’ government.
Consequently, the United States staged a coup d’etat to oust Qasim; however, before this
1
http://origins.osu.edu/article/century-us-relations-iraq
http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/notes/2007/N1524.pdf
3
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2886733.stm
2
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was carried out, he was assassinated during Colonel Abdul Salam Arif’s Ba’ath military
coup, also known as the Ramadan Revolution.4 Following the overthrow of the antiWestern Ba’athist government, the CIA announced that they had been fully informed
about the operation, and played a role in positioning the new cabinet members. Soon
afterwards, Arif was killed during a helicopter accident, and his brother, Abd-al-Rahman
Muhammad Arif, succeeded him as the president of Iraq. Outraged at the United States’
continuous interference with Iraqi politics, the Ba’ath party staged another coup, and
General Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr was replaced as the country’s Ba’ath president. Under
President al-Bakr, Sadam Hussein was appointed as the secretary and deputy chairman of
the Revolutionary Command Council, which was a body that held supreme executive and
legislative authority.5
In October, 1973, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and its coalition comprised of various other
Arab nations fought the Yom Kippur War against Israel, with the intentions of contesting
the establishment of the Jewish State of Israel, and reclaiming it as Muslim territory. 6
With the rise of anti-Western parties, including the Arab Nationalist Movement in Syria,
and the Ba’ath party in Iraq, and the growing trade relationship between these countries
and the Soviet Union, the United States lost all of its allies, and consequently, all of its
political stronghold, on the Gulf region. The United States funneled about $15.7 billion in
aid to Israel to ease the transfer of Israeli troops from the Sinai Peninsula back into their
4
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40393500?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
http://www.britannica.com/place/Iraq/History#ref315982
6
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/meast/iraq-history-fast-facts/
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homeland, as established by the Camp David Accords in 1978.7 Around the same time in
history, Iraq was suffering from Kurdish rebellions, as the Kurds were battling to achieve
independence from Iraq. Saddam Hussein initiated the creation of the Algiers Agreement
between Iraq and Iran, in which “in which Iraq agreed to move the maritime boundary
between the two countries—conditioned on Iran’s withdrawal of support for the Iraqi
Kurds”.
As the international relations between Iraq and the United States soured because
of the United States’ unwavering support for Israel, the United States’ tension with the
Middle East escalated upon entering the Iranian hostage crisis from 1979 to 1981. This
crisis erupted following the Iranian Revolution in 1978, during which young Iranian
citizens protested against Shah Reza Pahlavi’s authoritarian regime.8 The young Shi’a
protesters resented the “uneven distribution of wealth and westernizing influence of the
United States” promoted by Pahlavi’s policies.9 Feeling threatened by demonstrations
against his government, Pahlavi fled Iran to Egypt for refuge. Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, who was sent into fourteen years of exile because of his public hostility
towards the last shah, overtook as the supreme leader of Iraq to replace Pahlavi. AntiWestern sentiment stoked by Khomeini’s rhetoric caused a demonstration outside of the
United States embassy on November 4, 1979, during which Iranian students captured and
held captive 90 people, including 60 Americans. Immediately after this, Khomeini
canceled all treaties with the United States and the Soviet Union, to prevent these
7
http://www.haaretz.com/business/u-s-aid-to-israel-totals-233-7b-over-six-decades.premium-1.510592
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/world/meast/iran-hostage-crisis-fast-facts/
9
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/carter-hostage-crisis/
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countries from executing military intervention. United States President Jimmy Carter
attempted diplomatic negotiation with Khomeini, however, he refused to meet with
Carter or his advisors. Therefore, Carter reciprocated by freezing all Iranian assets in
American banks. With the help of the Canadian government and a carefully planned CIA
operation, six individuals working in the U.S. Embassy in Iran were able to escape in
January, 1980. Following many failed attempts at negotiation by the United States
government, Shah Reza Pahlavi’s death by cancer, and the escape and release of only
eight of the hostages, Ayatollah Khomeini refashioned the terms for diplomacy. The new
terms incorporated the unfreezing of Iranian assets by the U.S. government, and the
return of the Shah’s wealth to Iran.10 The remaining 52 hostages returned to the United
States after the United States’ government and the Iranian government agreed to these
terms.
In July, 1979, Saddam Hussein rose to power, and assumed the position as the
President of Iraq. Hussein and his Ba’athist regime, comprised of Sunni Muslims, felt
threatened by the successful Shi’a uprising in Iran during and after the Iranian Revolution
and the Iran hostage crisis. In an attempt to maintain order, Hussein evacuated about
40,000 Shiite Muslims from Iraq, and ordered the execution of Ayatollah Mohammed alBakr Sadr, one of Khomeini’s allies.11 This act of aggression marked the first of many
preceding the Iran-Iraq War. As summarized by a security database, “The Iran-Iraq War
was multifaceted and included religious schisms, border disputes, and political
differences. Conflicts contributing to the outbreak of hostilities ranged from centuries-old
10
11
http://www.history.com/topics/iran-hostage-crisis
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4961744
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Sunni-versus-Shia and Arab-versus-Persian religious and ethnic disputes, to a personal
animosity between Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini. Above all, Iraq launched
the war in an effort to consolidate its rising power in the Arab world and to replace Iran
as the dominant Persian Gulf state”.12 The United States’ international relations with Iraq
improved significantly during the Iran-Iraq war, as the country experienced a lingering
hostile sentiment towards Iran because of the recent hostage crisis. In 1988, the war
between Iran and Iraq ended through a United Nations Security Council Resolution 598,
which brokered a ceasefire between the two nations.
In March, 1988, Saddam Hussein launched a genocide against the Kurdish people
in Halabja, Iraq, and killed thousands of civilians. His justification for this mass attack
was that Kurds were Sunni Muslims who dissented the Shiite government of Iraq, and
that their threat to stability in the Iraqi government was unacceptable. In the midst of
violence against the Kurdish people, Iraq was also experiencing territorial dispute
between its neighbor states, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Since Iraq collected
heavy national debt after the Iran-Iraq war, it focused on Kuwait as a country from which
it could draw economic benefits during its time of need. After unsuccessfully making
claims to territories in Kuwait, and attacking the legality of its excess oil production, Iraq
placed about 30,000 troops on the Iraq-Kuwait border.13 United States President George
W. Bush launched Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait,
which “prepared American troops to become part of an international coalition in the war
12
13
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/iran-iraq.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/
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against Iraq that would be launched as Operation Desert Storm in January 1991”.14 On
August 8, 1990, Iraq officially annexed Kuwait as a part of its territory. As a response to
Iraq’s infringement on Kuwait’s national sovereignty, the United Nations enforced
sanctions and authorized military protection of embargoes on Iraq, and this will be further
discussed in the “UN Involvement” section.
On January 16, 1991, Operation Desert Storm, or the First Gulf War, began. A
military coalition including the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United States’ main ally
in the Middle East due to heavy oil trade, the United Kingdom, and Egypt, deployed
troops to the Gulf region in order to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait. The coalition’s
efforts were highly successful, as Saddam Hussein accepted the peace terms, which
included recognizing and respecting Kuwait’s national sovereignty, as well as destroying
all weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In spite of the coalition’s success, Saddam
Hussein advanced, still, as the leader of a weakened Iraq. In the following years, the
United Kingdom and the United States monitored the no-fly zone over Iraq, and the
United Nations continued weapons inspections. Soon thereafter, however, the United
Kingdom and the United States gathered reasonable suspicion that Iraq was not obeying
the peace agreements. In addition to this, the United States had just experienced the
largest act of terror in history, 9/11, during this time, and therefore, there anti-extremist,
and anti-Iraqi sentiment was brewing. As the United Nations Security Council failed to
pass a supplemental resolution calling for United Nations weapons inspectors to return to
Iraq, on March 17, 2003, George W. Bush, the President of the United States during this
14
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bush-orders-operation-desert-shield
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time, issued an ultimatum against the Iraqi government. This ultimatum demanded that
Saddam Hussein step down from power within 2 days, or the United States would enter
war with Iraq. As Hussein failed to step down from power, this act marked the beginning
of the Second Gulf War, or the Iraq War of 2003.
United Nations Involvement
As noted previously, the role of the United Nations Security Council is to
maintain international peace and security, and therefore, the UNSC did not respond to
aggression between Iraq and various nations until it threatened national sovereignty, and
international security. Furthermore, many of the actions taken by the UNSC with regards
to military conflicts in the Middle East have failed or unravelled, due the the ambiguity of
whether or not resolutions are binding, under Article VII of the United Nations Charter,
or non-binding, under Article VI of the United Nations Charter. Listed below are the
UNSC Resolutions ratified in response to various events leading up to the Second Persian
Gulf War:
United Nations Security Council Resolution 338: Response to the Yom Kippur War
UNSC Resolution 338 called for three actions to be taken in order to cease the
Yom Kippur War, during which an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria fought Israel
with the goal of “reclaiming” Muslim territory. The first of these actions was to call upon
all parties involved in military activity to cease fire within twelve hours of the adoption
of the resolution. The second of these actions affirmed UNSC Resolution 242, which
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called for the acknowledgement and respect of all nations in the Middle East, and their
national sovereignties. The third of these actions called for negotiations between
conflicting parties in order to establish a “just and durable peace in the Middle East”15.
While it is unclear who broke the ceasefire under this resolution first, military
confrontation continued, despite the UNSC’s actions.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 457: Response to the Iranian Hostage
Crisis
UNSC Resolution 457, adopted in response to the Iranian Hostage Crisis,
reaffirmed “the solemn obligation of all States parties to both the Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963
to respect the inviolability of diplomatic personnel and the premises of their missions”16.
Moreover, this resolution called for the Iranian government to release the American
hostages immediately, and also called for the Iranian government and the United States’
government to diplomatically resolve tensions. This resolution was passed on December
4, 1979, and the hostages were not released until January 20, 1981, after financial
negotiations between Ayatollah Khomeini and Deputy Secretary of State Warren
Christopher were settled.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 514: Response to the Iran-Iraq War
Similar to previously noted UNSC resolutions addressing military conflict, UNSC
Resolution 514 called for a ceasefire between Iran and Iraq, and the return of all troops to
15
http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/un%20security%20council%20resolution%2
0338.aspx
16
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/370/71/IMG/NR037071.pdf?OpenElement
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internationally recognized home boundaries. Following two months of continued
fighting, the UNSC adopted Resolution 522, which reiterated the call for a ceasefire and
“withdrawal of all troops to internationally recognized boundaries”17. As neither party in
combat obeyed the measures set in these resolutions, the UNSC issued Resolutions 540,
582, and 588 in order to condemn “all violations of humanitarian law, in particular the
provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 1949”18, including the usage of chemical
weapons. About six years after the UNSC’s first call for a ceasefire between Iran and
Iraq, Resolutions 598 and 619, which established a lasting ceasefire, and a United
Nations Military Observer Group to reinforce the mandate.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 660: Response to the First Persian Gulf
War
The most notable of United Nations Intervention in Iraq was United Nations
Security Council Resolution 660, which condemned Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, and
demanded that Iraqi troops be withdrawn immediately. In an effort to strengthen the
United Nations’ pressure on Iraq to withdraw its troops from Kuwait, the UNSC passed
Resolution 66119, which implemented economic sanctions on Iraq, and Resolution 66520,
which enforced a naval blockade to reinforce the embargo on Iraq. Each of these actions
were taken under the jurisdiction of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, which
allows the United Nations Security Council to, “determine the existence of any threat to
17
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/435/38/IMG/NR043538.pdf?OpenElement
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/540(1983)
19
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/575/11/IMG/NR057511.pdf?OpenElement
20
http://daccess-ods.un.org/TMP/639494.732022285.html
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the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression”21. Regardless of the substantial
actions taken by the UNSC to halt Iraq’s violation of Kuwait’s national sovereignty,
Saddam Hussein continued to organize acts of terrorism against the Western world.
Bloc Positions
Western Bloc (France, and NATO nations excluding the United Kingdom and the
United States):
Following a statement that United States’ Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld,
issued, implying that the United States would commit troops to the Gulf Region-- due to
Iraq’s noncompliance of United Nations’ weapons inspections, and peace agreements -NATO countries, excluding the UK, expressed definitive sentiment against entering a
war in Iraq. Most notably, France’s President, Jacques Chirac, and Germany’s
Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, lead the NATO coalition disapproving the United States’
plans to invade the Gulf Region. These two countries were adamant that any large-scale
military action be taken with the approval of a common international body, such as the
United Nations Security Council. During a meeting with President Bush at the Elysée
Palace in Paris, President Chirac stated, "For us, war is always the proof of failure and the
worst of solutions, so everything must be done to avoid it”22. On January 22, 2003, the
21
22
http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-vii/index.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jan/22/germany.france
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United States requested that NATO launch multilateral military planning to protect a
fellow member nation, Turkey23, however, this was denied.
United Kingdom:
The United Kingdom and the United States of America share a “special
relationship”, involving powerful political, economic, and cultural alliances, and this
relationship was especially strong during 2003. Britain’s Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and
President Bush shared the goal of maintaining international security and diminishing
terrorism, as illustrated in Blair’s statement following 9/11: “This is not a battle between
the United States of America and terrorism, but between the free and democratic world
and terrorism. We therefore here in Britain stand shoulder to shoulder with our American
friends in this hour of tragedy, and we, like them, will not rest until this evil is driven
from our world”24. In accordance with this “special relationship”, Prime Minister Blair
fully supported the United States’ plan to invade Iraq, and committed as a member of the
coalition fighting against Saddam Hussein.
Eastern Bloc (Russia, China):
Regardless of the fact that the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2003 took place
after the collapse of the “Iron Curtain”, both the Russian and Chinese governments
condemned the United States’ aggressive military actions. In fact, Russian President
Vladimir Putin relayed intelligence information to the United States suggesting future
acts of terror25, and warning the US to suspend their plans to invade the Gulf Region.
23
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2683409.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-29120336
25
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/06/12/russia-on-iraq-we-told-you-so/
24
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While Russia and China initially condemned Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, each country
maintained a strong trade relationship with both Iraq and Syria during this time period.
Regardless of Russia and China’s commitment to combating terrorism, negative relations
with the United States following the Cold War bolstered the possibility of strengthened
ties in Iraq and Syria, regardless of possible leadership linked to terrorism.
Addendum
It is important to note that the Historical United Nations Security Council will
function in collaboration with another committee at SandiMUN I: The Special Session of
the General Assembly, discussing Security Council Reform. Pursuant to Chapter XVIII
of the UN Charter, proposed amendments must be ratified with a two-thirds majority of
member states (present states, in the GA committee) and all five permanent members of
the Security Council. As the discussion on the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2003 is
highly correlated to the jurisdiction of the Security Council under the United Nations
Charter, any amendments proposed by this committee must be approved by our
committee. There is a technical time difference as the Historical United Nations Security
Council takes place in 2003 and the Special Session of the General Assembly takes place
in the near future. Despite this, reforms to the UN Charter are relevant in each time
period. When voting, please maintain your country’s position, as it would stand in 2003.
We hope that this collaboration will foster increased discussion and thought about the
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function of the United Nations, with regards to international affairs, in both the past,
present, and the future.
Questions to Consider
1.
Have the minimal amendments to the United Nations Charter, which was ratified in 1945,
adequately considered changes in international relations, and changes in the role of the
United Nations since then?
2.
Did the international community respond adequately to the United States’ unilateral
action in invading Iraq, without approval of the UNSC?
3.
Was the United States’ invasion of Iraq a war crime? Was there deliberation and action
taken to decide how to respond to this possible violation of international law?
4.
What is the historical context of your nation’s interactions with the UN Security Council
and the United Nations as a whole? How does this affect your nation’s position in the
debate about the Security Council’s actions in 2003?
5.
Is your nation a member of one of the blocs or coalitions arguing for a specific strategy
for the Security Council’s actions in 2003? How does affiliation with one of these blocs
or coalitions serve your nation’s interests?
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Suggested Sites
For information about the Iraq War:
Encyclopedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/event/Iraq-War
Timeline: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14546763
For general information regarding international affairs and country profiles:
CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
BBC World News Country Profiles:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
For more about the Security Council and Security Council Reform:
UN Security Council Website: http://www.un.org/en/sc/
UN Charter: http://www.un.org/en/charter-united-nations/
Global Policy Forum: https://www.globalpolicy.org/security-council/security-councilreform.html
Center for UN Reform: http://www.centerforunreform.org/?q=securitycouncil
For Model UN tips and guidelines:
Best Delegate: http://bestdelegate.com/
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Bibliography
"A Century of U.S. Relations with Iraq | Origins: Current Events in Historical
Perspective." A Century of U.S. Relations with Iraq | Origins: Current Events in
Historical Perspective. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." The Iranian Hostage Crisis.
PBS. Web. 25 Dec. 2015.
"Bush Orders Operation Desert Shield." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009.
Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Coren, Ora, and Nadan Feldman. "U.S. Aid to Israel Totals $233.7b over Six Decades Business." Haaretz.com. 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
"France and Germany Unite Against the Iraq War." The Guardian. The Guardian, 22 Jan.
2003. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.
Fukuyama, Francis. "The Soviet Union and Iraq Since 1968." 1 July 1980. Web. 1 Dec.
2015.
Hollingworth, Clare. “The Ba'athist Revolution in Iraq”. The World Today 19.5 (1963):
225–230. Web.
"Iran Hostage Crisis." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.
"Iran-Iraq War." Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). Globalsecurity.org. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
"Iraq Fast Facts - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 4 Apr. 2015. Web. 5 Dec.
2015.
Kafala, Tarik. BBC News. BBC, 25 Mar. 2003. Web. 25 Dec. 2015.
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Taylor, Adam. "Russia on Iraq: ‘We Told You So’." Washington Post. The Washington
Post, 12 June 2014. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
"The Gulf War." PBS. PBS, 1996. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.
"Timeline: Saddam's Violent Road to Execution." NPR. NPR, 29 Dec. 2006. Web. 25
Dec. 2015.
"UN Security Council Resolution 338." GxMSDev. Web. 25 Dec. 2015.
Woods, John. "History." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 9
Sept. 2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
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