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Issue:
Reviewing the role of the international coalition in Syria
Forum:
North Atlantic Council (NAC)
Position:
Deputy President
Name:
Nimati Jaber
Introduction
Along the lines of coalition forces in the second Gulf War of 1991, the US administration
called on to create a new international coalition to combat the terrorist organization "Daash" known as ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The mission of this international coalition is not only to fight
«Daash», but also to destroy all the other terrorist organizations in Syria, from “jabhat Al-Nusra”
and “Ahrar al-Sham” to other fundamentalist terrorist organizations, and this carries a political
solution to the Syrian crisis.
This coalition is the largest since a similar coalition formed in the second Gulf War, as
the number of participating countries in the Second Gulf War was 32 countries led by the United
States in order to liberate Kuwait from the occupation of Iraq in 1990 - while the current coalition
a large number of European and Arab and Middle Eastern countries agreed to participate and
are amounted to nearly fifty countries, a number that exceeds the number of countries that
participated in the First coalition. In both cases, the United States is called for to lead the
coalition, perhaps the difference between the two cases that in the first case, the goal of the war
was clear and specific (liberate an Arab country from the invasion of another Arab regime). And
because the goal was specific the battles did not take long before liberating Kuwait and
restoring its sovereignty, while in the current coalition there’s no specific objective.
Air striking terrorist organizations is only the beginning, but the overall plan, according to
many news and statements tends to be even further; in addition to these strikes a few thousand
of the national Free Army fighters who have no affiliations ideology or relationship terrorist group
or fundamentalism, in general, were selected, and are currently being trained by US forces; in
Turkey ten thousand fighters, and in Jordan five thousand, in order for these to constitute a
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fundamental base for training the rest of the FSA (Free Syrian Army) on American weapons at a
later stage.
After that, an enforcement of a no-fly zone will be made in northern Syria and south to
prevent Al Assad from bombing those areas with bombs and explosive barrels, and the control
of the FSA is forced over those areas. Aleppo will be the capital of the North and Daraa the
capital of the south, and after securing these two regions millions of Syrian migrants will be able
to return to camps in their own country where all their needs will be insured by the efforts of
Arab and international countries.
After the imposing the control of the free army in the north and the south, and with the
aerial bombardment, the Army will have enough power to include eastern Syria and
prosecute “Daash” on the ground, and thus controlling the vast majority of the Syrian territory,
therefore, Bashar al-Assad will remain trapped in the center and west of the Syrian area,
between Damascus and Latakia. And then, according to the results, a political solution that
enforces al-Assad to give up his position becomes a logical choice and a viable option.
There are two sides that are against this coalition, which is the Islamic Republic of Iran
and the Muslim Brotherhood; the first for not being involved in the coalition and the fear of losing
its authority in Syria, and the second felt that the Egyptian-Saudi UAE conviction began to win
and influence in Western countries and that what was known as the Arab Spring made it clear to
everyone that it’s a terrorist group that is no different from other organizations such as «Qaeda»
or «Daash» .
Definition of Key Terms
Coalition
A temporary cooperation between a combination of different parties, people, factions or
nations to solve a major problem for specific reasons.
ISIS (Daash)
The Islamic state of Iraq and Syria is a terrorist group created by the Sunni terrorist
organization al Qaeda and has quickly taken control of Syria and Iraq.
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General Overview
Demonstrations of Daraa and the beginning of the Syrian crisis
In mid-march 2011 protests began in Syria to call for the release of political prisoners
even though those protests started in a peaceful way but the security forces responded with
violence. It was not the worst pessimist to think that the demonstrations in Deraa will turn after
a period of time into a devastating war between the Syrian army and opposition factions, in most
of the Syrian governorates. And it is known that this crisis is the largest humanitarian crisis since
WWII.
Protests evolved a shield that came with the harmonious revolutions witnessed by a number of
Arab States into violent confrontations with the police and widespread arrests, which led to
hundreds of casualties and thousands injured victims.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave his first speech immediately after the protests in March
31, and talked about the reforms planned to perform, along with the formation of a new
government after the resignation of Mohammed Naji Otri,
The Syrian government has also given citizenship to thousands of Kurds who have been
deprived of it in the province of Hasaka, and then released a number of political prisoners.
However, these procedures were not able to end the crisis, which quickly moved to other Syrian
cities, and where the city of Homs and Damascus witnessed large demonstrations that were
dispersed by security forces, and the fall of the number of victims.
By the month of May, the Syrian crisis has entered a bloody phase which was the entry of the
Syrian army to the city of Homs, as the country witnessed more deaths in Idlib and Rastan and
paneling.
The Syrian crisis knew another turning point represented in the defection of a number of Syrian
army officers and the formation of what is known as the "Free Army" led by dissident Colonel
Riad al-Asaad. The Free Army fought battles with the Syrian army in the areas of Rastan,
Homs, as the Free Syrian Army announced the first attack on a military installation since the
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start of the protests, which attacked the Air Force Intelligence headquarters in the town of
Harasta near Damascus.
The Syrian government has also approved without reservations on November 2 the plan drawn
up by the Arab League to withdraw the army from cities, release political prisoners and hold
talks with opposition leaders during the 15 days maximum.
Escalation of the crisis and the displacement of millions
With the beginning of 2012 the Arab League unanimously launched a new initiative to
resolve the crisis in Syria, it requires the opposition to start a dialogue with the Syrian
government to form a national government, that Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers later
full powers to his deputy, in collaboration with the government to end the crisis .
And the Syrian National Council, a task spectra of the Syrian opposition welcomed the initiative,
but the Syrian government rejected it.
In March of the same year, the Syrian army took control of the district of Baba Amr in Homs
after that lasted nearly 26 days, as Colonel Riad al-Asaad commander of the Free Syrian Army
announced that its soldiers carried out a "tactical " withdrawal from the neighborhood.
In June the Arab and international envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, called on the permanent Five of
the Security Council in addition to Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and the European Union and the
Secretary General of both the United Nations and the Arab League to convene an international
conference in the Swiss city of Geneva with a view to ending the violence and agreeing on the
principles of political transition, led by Syria, at a time when Russia announced its regret for not
inviting Iran and Saudi Arabia for this conference.
On June 29 the preparatory Meeting of the Conference began, at a time when participants could
not reach a common vision on how to implement the plan of Annan to resolve the crisis in Syria
The work of the Conference began on Saturday, June 30th and it was agreed on the need for
Syria to form a transitional government that includes members of the current government and
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others from the opposition. However, the Syrian parties differed on the role that could be played
by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the next phase.
Nevertheless, in July, the Syrian crisis had a turning point after Syrian state television
announced the deaths of each of the Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha and his deputy Assef
Shawkat, and Hassan Turkmani Assistant Vice President in a bombing of a Syrian national
security building in Rawda neighborhood in Damascus.
Directly after the bombing A presidential decree was released to appoint Fahd Jassem al-Freij
as the new secretary of defense at a time when the General Command of the Army of the
Syrian armed forces issued a statement broadcast on state television saying that this terrorist
cowardly act will not increase the armed forces, but a determination to purge the country of the
remnants of the terrorist gangs.
In August people witnessed a more bloody crisis, where more than 5,000 people have been
killed within one month.
The growing extremist groups in Syria
2013 saw a continuation of violence between factions of the opposition and the Syrian
army, also, a number of extremist groups have grown dramatically, in addition to the arrival of
foreign fighters in Syria.
Damascus and Aleppo were from the cities that have witnessed fierce fighting between the
Syrian army and fighters of the opposition factions, where thousands of victims fell from both
sides.
In May of the same year the Syrian army and fighters of Hezbollah, controlled the strategic town
of Alqaisar, after 18 days of fierce fighting against opposition factions.
August was one of the most painful chapters in the Syrian crisis, where hundreds of victims of
the population of East Gouta fell after inhaling toxic gas resulting from nerve gas attack, three
days after the arrival of international inspectors mission to Damascus.
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The Syrian government and the armed opposition have traded accusations of responsibility for
this massacre, as demanded by Arab and Western powers to examine the incident in the
Security Council.
Assad's re-election. And "Daash" in Syria
Despite the hopes that were made In 2014 to resolve the Syrian crisis, but the situation
did not change, starting with the Geneva 2 Conference, which achieved nothing.
Unlike in the previous conference, this meeting had the presence of a much larger number of
countries. But its main mission was to seat the delegation of the Syrian government and the
opposition for the first time to direct the negotiating table.
On the eve of the opening of the conference, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
pointed out to the importance of contributing to breaking the power of terrorist groups linked to
al -Qaeda in Syria, describing this task as one of the priorities of the Conference.
The most prominent event in 2014 was the victory of president Bashar al-Assad in the
presidential elections as he won with 88.7 % of the votes of the Syrians voters.
The last year also witnessed the creation of the new terrorist organization Daash, as
it controlled several regions of Syria such as Alriqa and Deir al-Zour, and the extremist
organization managed to defeat the moderate opposition groups in a number of areas after
heavy fighting.
The meeting of Moscow and cracking down "Daash "
The beginning of 2015 the Russian capital Moscow has seen consultations between almost all
the Syrian opposition factions, except the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and
Opposition Forces.
The Syrian government was represented in the Russian capital, by Bashar Jaafari the
Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations. The meeting resulted in the release of
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the ten " Moscow principles" on the settlement of the conflict in Syria, including the preservation
of Syria's sovereignty, unity, and independence, territorial integrity, as well as the fight against
terrorism
2015 has seen a retrieval of Kurdish fighters to the “Ayn Al-Arab” after months of fighting,
grinding, and with the help of the international coalition, which launched daily raids on the
settlements of Daash.
The death toll from the Syrian crisis has reached more than 200 thousand in four years, most of
them civilians, Nearly 12 million have been displaced from their homes, and more than 4 million
have fled the country.
Major Parties involved
The main countries involved in the coalition and their role
The roles of states and countries participating in the coalition vary, There are those who
participate in financial support and those who participate in military operations and field
operations and other logistics.
Here are the main countries involved and their roles in the coalition:
1. military support
United States: US President Barack Obama recently declared its readiness to launch airstrikes
in Syria against the settlements «Daash», and the expansion of raids by US fighter jets over
Iraq since more than two months. In total, 1,600 US military will be deployed to provide support
to Iraqi forces in terms of equipment, training, and intelligence, the coalition forces have
practiced several air strikes against Daash forces since the start of the campaign on September
23, 2014.
Despite the commitment of US forces not to enter any subsidiary ground forces into Syria but it
had sent a group of its experts and military advisers, both in Kurdistan and Anbar. The source
also added that the American military advisers were stationed in bases like “Al Habbaniyah” and
“Ayn al-Assad” to prepare for the requirements of the deployment of the American expeditionary
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forces in Anbar, because the security situation is very dangerous as in this province it is
estimated that the number of the fighters of Daash where more than 40 thousand.
Canada: Canada published dozens of military in northern Iraq for a period of thirty days,
subjected to renewal, providing consultations to the Kurdish forces. In addition to its military
intervention, Canada has already provided 28 million Canadian dollars of humanitarian aid to
civilians affected in areas dominated by « Daash » in Iraq and Syria.
France: France was the first country to join the international coalition against Daash,
But France has raised fears that the military action in Syria would create a void that may be
exploited by the forces of the Syrian President Bashar al- Assad and called for concerted efforts
to promote training and moderate opponents of Al Assad on the ground. French President
Francois Hollande has pledged to provide more military help for Iraq in its war against the
extremist organization.
France has indicated that it will carry out airstrikes in Iraq and send a special mechanism to help
guide the aircraft and to train the Iraqi armed forces troops. France also provides the Kurds with
weapons. The weapons have already been handed over to the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and
58 tons of humanitarian aid to the Irbil area.
Britain: London has handed heavy machine guns and ammunition to the Kurdish forces which
reinforce previous operations to deliver weapons. London is also considering participating in the
airstrikes but did not take a decision after that. The Prime Minister David Cameron's intention to
«take all necessary new measures» against its fighters responsible for the execution of the
British hostage David Haynes.
Indeed, Britain committed itself to this role, the British Ministry of Defence has revealed that a
specialized team of 12 British soldiers leading the training of Kurdish forces in Iraq to fight
«Daash», pointing out that the team trains Iraqi Kurds on the use of heavy machine guns
provided by Britain, also Britain has participated in the aerial bombardment of Iraq forces
Daash.
The Russian Federation: Russia is still the main ally of President Assad. And said it carried out
the first air strikes against positions of the Islamic state, but US officials said that the targets that
were attacked do not seem related to the Islamic state.
The members of the Russian parliament had unanimously agreed on the decision to allow
President Vladimir Putin to send Russian troops to Syria.
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Australia: Sydney announced the deployment of 600 militaries in the UAE in the framework of
the international coalition
Italy: As the Italian defense minister Roberta Pinotti confirmed in a press statement at the end of
the meeting of the European defense ministers the recognition of Italy of the role of the United
States in the elimination of the terrorist organizations of the war by carrying out air strikes
directly strong and focused to assist Iraq in a war aimed at completely destroy "Daash".
Albania, Poland, Denmark, Estonia: The delivery of military equipment.
Spain: Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margall explained that his country will not
send troops to participate in the attacks on the organization of the State " Daash " in Iraq. He
stressed in a statement that Madrid;s support of the international coalition includes the use of
military bases and to provide logistical support and supply of equipment and weapons and
intelligence as well as refueling aircraft.
.
2. humanitarian aid
Saudi Arabia expressed its willingness to grant $ 500 million to the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees. The Mufti of Saudi Arabia confirmed that the organization «Daash» is «the first
enemy of Islam».
Kuwait: ten million dollars of humanitarian aid.
Australia: the reception of 4400 Iraqi and Syrian refugee, and throwing a lot of humanitarian aid
from airplanes.
Britain, Canada, France, Norway and Poland also sent humanitarian aid. Italy has pledged to
grant million dollars and 500 thousand euros Spain and Ireland 250 thousand dollars to UNICEF
and $ 250 thousand of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Luxembourg $ 300
thousand High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme.
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3. Specific donations for the Office of the United Nations Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs:
Switzerland $ 10 million, Japan $ 7.8 million each to other organizations and Norway $ 6 million
and Australia $ 4.6 million and Denmark $ 3.8 million and New Zealand $ 800 thousand, Finland
680 thousand dollars and Hungary $ 150 thousand and South Korea $ 200 thousand.
The Philippines expressed their willingness to join the coalition.
Gulf Arab states
Saudi Arabia and UAE are at the forefront of Arab countries participating in the coalition against
al « Daash ».
The UAE's prominent role is not only to participate but also to become the seat of the
international coalition forces, according to what I said, and Britain is considering the possibility
of the establishment of three military bases in the Middle East, specifically in the United Arab
Emirates, to participate in combating Daash.
However, Qatar's position is still unclear, as the West suspects that the Doha funds extremist
groups.
The Arab League has also pledged to fight terrorism and « Daash » on the political, security and
ideological level
But the number of Arab countries, which disclosed the size of their participation was limited. The
participation of Emirates and Saudi Arabia lies in airstrikes,
Goals of some of the countries from this coalition:
Iran: Iran believes that the Daash poses a threat to the unity of Syria and Iraq, but fears rotate
in Tehran that Iran's regional power and influence are one of the goals of the war, especially if
the United States expands its scope and reaches Syria and thus the coalition will be against
Daash and Iran’s ally al-Assad
But despite the US refusal to let Iran join the coalition, Iran has entered the path of war in their
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own way and supplied the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga with arms, advisers and fighters of the
Revolutionary Guards
Israel: Israel sees in the war on Daash an opportunity to expand relations beyond Egypt and
Jordan to reach the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia and it also provides it with an
opportunity to claim that the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian issue is not the core of the
conflict and that there are other problems in the region that urgently need to be solved. Israel
also is trying to put Hamas and Daash in one rank and that the two organizations represent
radical Islam that must be fought and destroyed.
Syrian regime: Although the US intervention draws a powerful blow to the opponents of Bashar
among armed factions today, Jabhat Al-Nusra and the organization " Daash ", it carries serious
risks; including the refusal of the involvement of the Syrian regime and the Iraqi regime as
partners in the war against " Daash ", and the refusal to coordinate with them or get their
approval as a legitimate government of Syria, and finally the possibility of strikes against the
Syrian regime forces if it attempts to intercept US airplanes under the pretext of defending
sovereignty.
Goals of the United States, and its Western allies:

Secure oil resources that affect the global economy. It is also known that the most
important sites that the coalition forces bombed are the oil refineries controlled by Daash

Securing key allies who felt a real threat of expansion Daash. In the foreground, the
countries which considered that the progress of Daash towards the Iraqi-Jordanian
border a direct threat to its security. The Kingdom and its allies also committed to secure
the Gulf states and Jordan.

There is no doubt that the efforts to fight international terrorism is one of the goals of the
Western allies . Especially with the growing phenomenon of Europeans and US citizens
joining Daash and killing innocents in Syria and Iraq. And this required the enforcement
of laws and legislations to restrict traveling to those places,
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
The pressures of the Gulf states were among the reasons that prompted the United
States to adopt an international coalition against Daash. The Kingdom and the UAE had
put pressure on Obama and European countries to interfere amid fears and stop the
threat of jihadist groups on one hand, and the inability of the Gulf States to make Iran
surrender and give up its power in Iraq and Syria on the other hand.
Timeline of events
March 15, 2011
Demonstration in which about 200 Syrian participated in the market in Damascus, and other
demonstrations in Aleppo and Daraa, demanding change.
March 16, 2011
Protest of the relatives of political prisoners in front of the Interior Ministry in Damascus,
demanding their release, and the arrests of several of them
March 22, 2011
United Nations Office for Human Rights invites the Syrian authorities to immediately cease the
use of excessive force against peaceful protesters.
23 March 2011
Syrian security forces shoot more than 1,000 people who protested outside the Omari mosque,
killing six and wounding many.
March 26, 2011
The call for a « popular uprising » on the Internet in all Syrian cities in order to relief Dara,
And «al-Assad» released about 260 political detainees to appease the protesters.
April 14, 2011
Syrian president orders the release of all detainees, with the exception of those who «
committed crimes ».
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July 29, 2011
The establishment of a military force of dissident officers from the Syrian military under the
name of « Free Syrian Army » to protect the demonstrators in Syria.
August 9, 2011
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Syria, the Arab League
issued its first statement regarding the events.
August 18, 2011
The United States, France, Britain, Germany and the European Union, Canada, declare that
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost its legitimacy and ordered him to step down
immediately
October 2, 2011
The foundation of the Syrian National Council in Istanbul under the chairmanship of Burhan
Ghalyun.
October 4, 2011
Russia and China use their veto against the decision of the UN Security Council condemning
the use of force against peaceful demonstrators.
February 4, 2012
Russia and China have opposed a decision by the UN Security Council, to end the violence in
Syria, and described the Security Council’s resolution as biased against Syria.
February 24, 2012
The employment of Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, as a
representative of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, to resolve the conflict in
Syria.
June 30, 2012
The Permanent members of the Security Council agree on a timetable for the political transition
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process in Syria and the formation of representatives of the government and the opposition, and
the formation of a transitional government.
August 3, 2012
The United Nations vote on a draft resolution calling for the Syrian regime to end the conflict
and not to use or transfer chemical or biological weapons.
January 30, 2013
Israeli aircraft bombed a Military center for research northwest of the capital Damascus.
February 18, 2013
The European Union decides to provide aid to the Syrian opposition.
April 8, 2013
Syria rejects UN mission to investigate about the use of chemical weapons.
August 30, 2013
President of the Syrian National Coalition opposition, Ahmed al-Jarba announced the
participation in the coalition « Geneva 2», under the condition of negotiating the importance of
Bashar leaving the authority.
September 9, 2013
Russia requests to put Syria’s supply of chemical weapons under international control to avoid
any US military action.
September 12, 2013
Syria announces that it has become a full member of the «Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Treaty».
November 22, 2013
7 of the opposition Islamic groups in Syria announced the formation of a joint military and social
front to drop the Assad regime.
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November 28, 2013
Syrian opposition coalition decides to participate in the « Geneva 2» conference .
December 11, 2013
The United States and Britain pinned their military aid to the Syrian opposition in northern Syria.
Previous attempts to resolve the issue
For the previous attempts to resolve the issue, please see the Major Countries Involved.
Appendix
http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/crises/crisis-in-syria
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http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Civil_War
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868
https://www.reddit.com/r/syriancivilwar
http://www.britannica.com/event/Syrian-Civil-War
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/syrian-civil-war-guide-isis/410746/
http://www.ibtimes.com/who-fighting-isis-map-us-led-coalition-campaign-after-paris-attacks2185295
http://www.petercliffordonline.com/syria-iraq-news-5/
https://insomniadiary.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/understanding-syria-proxy-wars-part-iv/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American-led_intervention_in_Syria
https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/wr2015_web.pdf
https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R43201.pdf
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/06/world/meast/isis-coalition-nations/
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