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THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE
SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST
SPECPOL
THE SITUATION OF OCCUPIED
TERRITORIES IN AZERBAIJAN
BACKGROUND GUIDE
Special Political and Decolonization Committee
IMUNA International Model United Nations Association
Prepared by the International Model United Nations Association (IMUNA)
National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN)
© IMUNA, 2015. All Rights Reserved
Costanza Cicero Secretary-General
University of Bologna
Shaan Pattni Director-General
Pennsylvania State University
Jinny Jung Conference Director
University of Michigan
Zach Hauser Director of Security Pomona College
Maunica Malladi Chief of External Relations
University of Alabama
Jennifer Padilla Chief of Staff
University of Southern California
Kevin Burchill Chief of Administrative Affairs George Washington University
Nicholas Rigler Under-Secretary-General
University of Washington
Elettra Di Massa Under-Secretary-General City University London
Joy Cui Under-Secretary-General University of Pittsburgh
Meghan Agostinelli Under-Secretary-General Georgetown University
Nika Arzoumanian Under-Secretary-General
New York University
Elliot Weiss Under-Secretary-General
Brown University
NHSMUN is a project of the International Model United Nations
Association, Incorporated (IMUNA). IMUNA, a not-for-profit, all volunteer organization, is dedicated to furthering global issues education at the secondary
school level.
NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2 March 2016 – 5 March 2016
Dear Delegates, My name is Nick Rigler, and I could not be more excited to welcome you to NHSMUN 2016! As the Under-Secretary-General of the General Assembly Mains Committees, it is my responsibility to ensure the smooth and successful execution of the five largest committees at NHSMUN 2016. Over the past couple of months, I have helped assist your directors with preparing these amazing background guides, which we are very excited for all of you to begin reading. Furthermore, they have chosen some incredible topics; this year’s topics are so fascinating that it almost makes me wish I was a delegate again! In March, I cannot wait to see the product of your research and preparation manifest itself in committee. This is my third year serving as a NHSMUN staff member and my seventh year involved in Model UN. I am a third year student at the University of Washington in Seattle, where I am studying Cellular, Molecular, and Developmental Biology. With my degree, I hope to attend medical school after college and pursue a career in sports medicine as a physician. Outside of school, I am a die-hard Laker fan and my favorite thing in the world is traveling. I also love to waterski and enjoy the outdoors! Model UN is one of the most intellectually stimulating experiences in which you can participate in. By digging deep your two topics, all of you will undoubtedly gain a better perspective on our global society. Additionally, as delegates in NHSMUN’s General Assembly Committees, each of you have the unique opportunity to share your ideas in front of more than 300 other students from around the world, something that very few people of your age can say they have done. As a past delegate myself, there are a couple pieces of advice I would like to share with all of you. First, make sure to adequately prepare yourselves for the conference. This means not only reading your background guide and looking over the research and preparation questions, but also doing your own outside research so you are prepared to debate either topic during committee. Instead of having one delegate prepare for one topic and the other delegate prepare for the other topic, I highly encourage both delegates of each delegation to be masters of both topics. Also, when devising solutions, make sure to not only think about what your solutions are, but also, how they will be implemented. By focusing on these two things, I am fully confident that all five General Assembly Mains committees will pass comprehensive and thorough resolutions! Lastly, please feel free to reach out myself or your directors to ask questions you may have about your committee or topics. They have worked incredibly hard to prepare these background guides and I know for a fact that they would love to hear from all of you! I cannot wait to see you all in March! Sincerely, Nick Rigler Under-Secretary-General, General Assembly Mains Committees [email protected]
Costanza Cicero Secretary-General
University of Bologna
Shaan Pattni Director-General
Pennsylvania State University
Jinny Jung Conference Director
University of Michigan
Zach Hauser Director of Security Pomona College
Maunica Malladi Chief of External Relations
University of Alabama
Jennifer Padilla Chief of Staff
University of Southern California
Kevin Burchill Chief of Administrative Affairs George Washington University
Nicholas Rigler Under-Secretary-General
University of Washington
Elettra Di Massa Under-Secretary-General City University London
Joy Cui Under-Secretary-General University of Pittsburgh
Meghan Agostinelli Under-Secretary-General Georgetown University
Nika Arzoumanian Under-Secretary-General
New York University
Elliot Weiss Under-Secretary-General
Brown University
NHSMUN is a project of the International Model United Nations
Association, Incorporated (IMUNA). IMUNA, a not-for-profit, all volunteer organization, is dedicated to furthering global issues education at the secondary
school level.
NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2 March 2016 – 5 March 2016
Dear Delegates, It is my honor and pleasure to welcome you to NHSMUN 2016! My name is Paxton Haven, and I am this year’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL) Director. I am beyond excited to present one of the largest and most distinct committees that the conference has to offer. As a General Assembly Mains Committee, you will have the unique opportunity to collaborate with the majority of the conference’s delegates while forming solutions to some of the international community’s most challenging issues. SPECPOL’s topics affect social, economic, and political issues of every country involved, making it one of the most comprehensive committees in the United Nations. These two topics affect the world’s most turbulent regions and I hope they grasp your interest and attention like they did for me. I cannot wait to witness this committee attempt to eradicate two very polarizing and relevant issues. This year will be my fifth year with NHSMUN and my second year on staff. Last year, I was the Assistant Director of SPECPOL and had such an amazing time that I decided to come back to the same committee. As a delegate, I was on GA Mains and enjoyed the thrill of speaking in front of such a large group of extremely intelligent students from all over the world. When I am not working for NHSMUN, I am a sophomore at The George Washington University studying undeclared (my parents are really proud). Outside of school and NHSMUN, I am the External Philanthropy Chair of Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity. In my free time, I am a huge film nerd and love binge watching horrible reality TV (KUWTK, anyone?). Other than that, I could eat sushi for every meal and never see a tree again in my life and be perfectly content (shout out to my fellow urbanites). Overall, I hope this background guide provides a brief overview and analysis of these two topics and inspires you to inquire about the world we live in. When all of you arrive in March, we will dive right into intense and rich debate, as both of these topics are complex. Until that time, please use this background guide to supplement your own research. While this paper is a great place to start, please use this information to delve deeper into the topic and form unique solutions. I look forward to seeing what kind of innovative ideas you will all present! Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions regarding to the two topics, and be sure to check out the committee Twitter account for updates, @NHSMUN_SPECPOL. I look forward to speaking with all of you, and cannot express how excited I am to see what your hard work and effort will produce!! Peace and Love, Paxton Haven Director, SPECPOL @NHSMUN_SPECPOL [email protected]
NHSMUN 2016 SPECPOL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Note on the NHSMUN Difference .................................................................................................... 1 A Note on Research and Preparation .................................................................................................... 3 Committee History ................................................................................................................................ 4 Simulation .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Topic A: The Situation of Occupied Territories in Azerbaijan ............................................................. 8
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 8 History and Description of the Issue .......................................................................................................................... 8 Current Status ............................................................................................................................................................... 18 Bloc Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................. 19 Committee Mission ...................................................................................................................................................... 22
Topic B: The Palestinian Refugee Situation in the Middle East ........................................................ 23 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 23 History and Description of the Issue ........................................................................................................................ 24 Current Status ............................................................................................................................................................... 35 Bloc Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................. 37 Committee Mission ...................................................................................................................................................... 39
Research and Preparation Questions ................................................................................................... 41 Topic A .......................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Topic B........................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Important Documents ......................................................................................................................... 42 Topic A .......................................................................................................................................................................... 42 Topic B........................................................................................................................................................................... 42
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 44 Committee History and Simulation ........................................................................................................................... 44 Topic A .......................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Topic B........................................................................................................................................................................... 48
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A NOTE ON THE NHSMUN DIFFERENCE
Esteemed Faculty and Delegates, Hello and welcome to NHSMUN 2016! My name is Shaan Pattni, and I am this year’s Director-General. I hope you are as thrilled as I am about the NHSMUN conference this year! Our staff has been working tremendously hard all year to ensure that you have an engaging, educational, and enriching experience in committee. NHSMUN strives to assure that the quality of our debate and in-committee interaction is unmatched. NHSMUN focuses on the educational value of Model UN. We believe that the experiences in our committee rooms extend skills originally developed in the classroom, and prepare students to become future leaders. NHSMUN thrives on well-researched, realistic, and diplomatic debate. We are very proud of the substantive program for NHSMUN 2016 and look forward to the vibrant discussion and cooperation in committee! NHSMUN Practices In order to fulfill our mission, our conference has adopted practices that are key to the continued tradition of excellence in our committees and the NHSMUN difference. NHSMUN prohibits the usage of personal electronics during committee in order to ensure that delegates do not gain an unfair advantage in debate. We feel strongly that the interpersonal connections made during debate are enhanced by face-to-face communication. Enforcing a strict no laptops policy also helps us to ensure that all our delegates have an equal opportunity to succeed in committee. The Dais is permitted a laptop for the purposes of communicating with respective Under-Secretary-Generals and other Senior Staff Members as well as attending to administrative needs. The Dais will only be limited to using their laptops for NHSMUN purposes, and the majority of their focus will be on the needs of the committee. In addition, we staff a dedicated team in our office to assist in typing and formatting draft resolutions and working papers so that committee time can be focused on discussion and compromise. An additional difference that delegates may notice about NHSMUN is the committee pacing. While each BG contains two topic selections, NHSMUN committees will strive to have a fruitful discussion on and produce resolutions on a single topic; prioritizing the quality of discussion over quantity of topics addressed. In order to respect the gravity of the issues being discussed at our conference as well as the intellect of our delegates, NHSMUN committees will focus on addressing one topic in-depth. BGs contain two topics in order to allow delegates to decide what problem ought to be prioritized, a valuable discussion in and of itself, and to safeguard against the possibility that an issue will be independently resolved before conference. NHSMUN uses a set of the Rules of Procedure that is standardized across all IMUNA-brand conferences. These rules provide a standardized system of operation that is easily translated across committee or conference lines. While the general structure and flow of committee will be familiar to any delegate who has previously participated in Model UN, there may be slight procedural differences from other conferences. All delegates are encouraged to review the Rules of Procedure
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before attending the conference in the Delegate Preparation Guide and are welcome to direct questions to any member of NHSMUN Staff. While NHSMUN does distribute awards, we feel that it is crucial to de-emphasize their importance in comparison to the educational value of Model UN as an activity. NHSMUN seeks to reward delegations that excel in the arts of compromise and diplomacy. We always prioritize a dedication to teamwork over solitary achievement. Directors will judge delegates on their ability and willingness to cooperate with their peers while always maintaining an accurate representation of country policy. At the core of the NHSMUN philosophy is an emphasis on education and compromise. As such, we do not distribute awards to individual delegates, with the exception of committees where students represent their own separate delegation (ICJ and UNSC, for example). Instead, awards will be distributed to delegations that exhibit excellence across all committees. The awards system is standardized so as to give equal weight to delegations of all sizes. Awards will also be offered for schools that demonstrate excellence in research and preparation based on the position papers submitted by their delegates. Detailed information on the determination of awards at NHSMUN will be available in the Faculty Preparation Guide and online in November. As always, I welcome any questions or concerns about the substantive program at NHSMUN 2016 and would be happy to discuss NHSMUN pedagogy with faculty or delegates. It is my sincerest hope that your experience at NHSMUN 2016 will be challenging and thought provoking. Best, Shaan Pattni Director-General, NHSMUN 2016 [email protected]
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A NOTE ON RESEARCH AND PREPARATION
Delegate preparation is paramount to a successful and exciting National High School Model United Nations 2016 Conference. We have provided this Background Guide to introduce the topics that will be discussed in your committee. These papers are designed to give you a description of the topics and the committee. This Guide is not intended to represent exhaustive research on every facet of the topics. We encourage and expect each delegate to fully explore the topics and be able to identify and analyze the intricacies of the issues. Delegates must be prepared to intelligently utilize their knowledge and apply it to their own country’s policy. You will find that your state has a unique position on the topics that cannot be substituted by the opinions of another state. The task of preparing and researching for the conference is challenging, but it can be interesting and rewarding. We have provided each school with a copy of the Delegation Preparation Guide. The Guide contains detailed instructions on how to write a position paper and how to effectively participate in committee sessions. The Guide also gives a synopsis of the types of research materials and resources available to you and where they can be found. An essential part of representing a state in an international body is the ability to articulate that state’s views in writing. Accordingly, it is the policy of NHSMUN to require each delegate (or double-delegation team) to write position papers. The position papers should clearly outline the country’s policies on the topic areas to be discussed and what factors contribute to these policies. In addition, each paper must address the Research and Preparation questions at the end of the committee Background Guide. Most importantly, the paper must be written from the point of view of the country you are representing at NHSMUN 2016 and should articulate the policies you will espouse at the conference. All papers should be typed and double-spaced. The papers will be read by the director of each committee and returned at the start of the conference with brief comments and constructive advice. Each delegation is responsible for sending a copy of their papers to the committee directors via our online upload process on or before January 22, 2016. Complete instructions for online submissions may be found in the Delegate Preparation Guide. If delegations are unable to submit an online version of their position papers, they should contact the Director-General ([email protected]) as soon as possible to find an alternative form of submission.
Delegations that do not submit position papers to directors or summary statements to the Director-General will be ineligible for awards.
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COMMITTEE HISTORY
The Fourth Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations is the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, otherwise known as SPECPOL. Established in 1993, SPECPOL is the combination of the Decolonization Committee (formerly the Fourth Committee) and the Special Political Committee. This committee’s inception took place in 1990 when the United Nations established 1990-2000 as the “International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.” This was particularly important considering at the time of the United Nation’s creation, 750 million people lived in what would be considered to be a colonized territory. Over eighty former colonies have become independent since 1945.1 Today, in part due to the work of the Fourth Committee, this number has drastically decreased to approximately two million, an amount SPECPOL is still determined to address.2 SPECPOL includes all 193 Member States, uniting to alleviate developing countries’ dependencies on former colonizing powers. The committee derives power from its mandate in Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter, which commits to the preservation of the rights and dignities of people living in non-self-governing territories.3 The committee passes resolutions with suggestions on the optimal ways for the United Nations and member states to address the issues of colonized people. According to its mandate, the Fourth Committee can discuss issues such as self-determination, decolonization, and peacekeeping efforts. While SPECPOL was derived from the Disarmament and International Security Committee, it takes on issues that the First Committee does not address, as well as looking at topics with a wider scope.4 Unlike other UN committees, SPECPOL shines a spotlight on issues pertaining to occupation, colonization, and subjugation, with the primary goal of making all countries independent and self-sufficient from outside powers.5 Also according to its mandate, SPECPOL is not able to take military action and many of its resolutions are passed along as suggestions to the Security Council, which ultimately decides whether or not the plan of action will be carried through. Since its inception, SPECPOL has passed many resolutions addressing the quality and framework of information technology in developing countries, paying special attention to the development of the United Nations’ Department of Public Information.6 The Committee has also attempted to develop a consensus among member states regarding the issue of the peaceful uses of outer space.7 Historically, SPECPOL has focused its attention 1 "Historical Background," United Nations, accessed 16 May 2011, http://www.un.org/Depts/dpi/decolonization/history.htm. 2 "Global Issues," United Nations, accessed 16 May 2011, http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/decolonization/index.shtml. 3 "Charter of the United Nations: Chapter XI: Declaration regarding Non-Self-Governing Territories," United Nations, accessed 16 May 2011, http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter11.shtml. 4 "Fourth Committee," United Nations, accessed 16 May 2011, http://www.un.org/ga/61/fourth/pr.shtml. 5Ibid. 6 GA/SPD/206, United Nations, accessed 19 May 2011, http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20001114.gaspd206.doc.html. 7 A/C.4/58/L.1, United Nations, accessed 19 May 2011, http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/N03/526/63/PDF/N0352663.pdf?OpenElement.
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on issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In addition, SPECPOL frequently works in conjunction with groups such as the High Commissioner on Refugees and also specialized groups such as the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.8 The Special Political and Decolonization committee holds a very unique role in the United Nations. While other main committees aim to resolve current global issues, SPECPOL concerns itself with healing countries from the lasting impact of their troubling histories. The committee’s foremost goal is to ensure that all countries enjoy the benefits of the independence to which they are entitled, and only when all countries are economically, culturally, and socially liberated can the world move forward.
8 "OHCHR Documents," OHCHR Homepage, accessed 16 May 2011, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/GA/61documents.htm.
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SIMULATION
As members of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL), delegates will represent the views of their respective countries throughout the duration of our debate on both the Refugee Crisis in the Middle East and the Situation of Occupied Territories in Azerbaijan. Delegates will be responsible for collaborating to develop resolutions for these two issues while remaining within the mandate of SPECPOL. While these topics are new to SPECPOL, all resolutions created will need to bear in mind that the goal of SPECPOL is to promote international peace and security. The beauty of the NHSMUN conference is its ability to offer delegates a hands-on global education and to allow them to experience a real work environment they would be unable to experience elsewhere. Upon arriving in committee, delegates will be introduced to the members of the dais, which is made up of the Director and two Assistant Directors. In preparing for the conference by writing the background guide and update papers, the Director and Assistant Directors have become substantive experts on all matters related to SPECPOL, and delegates should use them as knowledgeable resources throughout the conference. As veterans of parliamentary procedure and committee simulation, the role of the dais is to ensure that delegates have a realistic, educational, and enjoyable experience at NHSMUN. Should delegates have any questions on either procedural or substantive matters, they should not hesitate to approach any of the three members of the dais for assistance. After delegates have been introduced to the dais, they will first debate the setting of the agenda and then progress to substantive debate, which will deepen and progress throughout the following sessions. In a committee of this size, collaboration and decorum are essential for each and every session. Formal debate consists of delegates adding themselves to the Speakers List to be formally recognized before the rest of the committee for a specified length of time. When delegates appear before the committee, it is their opportunity to give an overview of their country’s position as well as accept questions from other delegates for clarification on policy or solutions. It is imperative that delegates remain respectful of others during this time and observe all procedural rules in order for delegates to be heard and for the speaker’s list to flow smoothly. While formal debate is a key portion of our simulation, the majority of debate in SPECPOL will take place in caucus format. Caucusing can be done in one of two ways – moderated or unmoderated. Moderated caucuses flow similarly to formal debate. Delegates' speaking times are often shorter, and each caucus has a specific topic that delegates must discuss in their comments. Unmoderated caucuses suspend formal rules of debate for a designated period of time during which delegates are free to move around the room and informally discuss policy and potential solutions with one another. The majority of writing for working papers and resolutions will occur during these unmoderated caucuses. Another unique feature of SPECPOL as a committee of the General Assembly is the process by which its working papers and resolutions are created. Solutions start out as a set of ideas, are formatted into a working paper, then voted upon as draft resolutions, and finally presented as resolutions in plenary if passed in committee. The length of the resolution-writing
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process, the number of delegates in SPECPOL, and the capabilities of NHSMUN Administration will limit the number of resolutions that can be introduced, thus making collaboration and compromise essential. The two most important things for delegates to keep in mind throughout debate are decorum and country policy. As a committee of the General Assembly, SPECPOL includes delegates from each member state of the United Nations; hence, it is one of the largest committees. Each delegate will be given equal opportunity to speak before the committee and granted each member’s undivided attention. The alteration or suspension of rules may occur at the discretion of the dais in order to maintain control of the committee and to preserve decorum and respect for all delegates. Additionally, delegates are to keep in mind that country policy is the anchor for all proposals both presented and supported by the delegate. Although collaboration is the goal, it is always secondary to the integrity of a delegate’s country policy. The desire to compromise should never supersede the delegate’s ability to uphold his country’s stance on the issue. With this in mind, apt preparation for committee on policy, background, and potential solutions is imperative in order for all delegates to maintain quality debate and to remain on task at all times.
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TOPIC A: THE SITUATION OF OCCUPIED TERRITORIES IN AZERBAIJAN
INTRODUCTION The Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked mountainous region subject to an unresolved dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.9 Even though the territory lies within Azerbaijan, but is dominated by the ethnic Armenian majority, the neighboring Armenian government continues to rule and govern through its occupation of Azeri (Azerbaijan) lands.10 Both Azerbaijan and Armenia have been engulfed in conflict since the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Soviet occupation defined much of these states’ political actions. As the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) had little prior knowledge to cultural and ethnic divisions within these neighboring states, occupational lines were drawn with little consideration of the indigenous people.11 This lack of concern created an issue of ethnic conflict that has dominated the political intuitions of these regions to this day. Much effort has been made by both of these regions and various international political actors to create peace and resolution. However, continuous violations of ceasefire agreements and other forms of violent aggression have demolished this peace.12 Both the Azerbaijani and Armenian governments are frustrated with prolonging this peace process and have been looking towards more violent conflict to find a victor. Despite the international community’s recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh region as part of Azerbaijan, Armenia continues to assert its occupation and its view that this region should strive for independence.13 Using the Armenian ethnic majority, Armenia has vast political and physical control over this territory and Azerbaijan has recently stated that it is ready to act.14 Delegates in this committee should look for innovative solutions that emphasize peaceful compromise between the two states, while also assuring the ethnically indigenous Nagorno-Karabakh people are politically represented.
HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUE Russia and the Origins of Middle Eastern Political Conflict Azerbaijan’s geographical location is a quintessential aspect of its history and political status. Located in the South Caucasus on the great divide between Europe and Asia, while also surrounded by Russia and Iran, this state is familiar with complex religious and ethnic conflict.15 Dividing the Islamic and Christian worlds, this region also hosts a history entwined with the two opposing
9 "Azerbaijan - Armenian Aggression Against Azerbaijan." Heydar Aliyey Foundation, 2005, accessed May 28, 2015, http://www.azerbaijan.az/_Karabakh/_ArmenianAgression/_armenianAgression_e.html. 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Tadeusz Swietochowki, "Azerbaijan: The Hidden Faces of Islam," World Policy Journal 19, no. 3 (2002): 69-76, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40209821.
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branches of Islam.16 Azerbaijan became a battleground to the predominantly Shia Iran and the mostly Sunni Turkey.17 This divide has been furthered through nearly 70 years of Soviet occupation, from 1920 until the collapse of the USSR in 1991.18 In the early nineteenth century, Azerbaijani lands in the north were seized from Iran by USSR and new frontiers were redrawn.19 In order to promote the divide-and-rule policies of the new colonial rule, the USSR divided the Turkish-speaking Muslims from their compatriots in Iran.20 Leaving Azerbaijan with a comparatively large proportion of Sunnis, there became a theocratic divide between the Sunnis of the north and the Shia south.21 As this issue is deeply rooted in an ethnic divide in which ideological differences play a large factor, it is important for delegates to recognize the unique difficulties that accompany conflicts of this nature and base their solutions accordingly. The troubled Shia-Sunni relationship became a major concern for the emerging modernizing movement of the mid-nineteenth century. This movement was defined by the secularist actions of its leader Mirza Fathali Akhundzade, who believed that overcoming the religious divide was the most crucial step in building a community of Azeri people.22 This Islamic sectarian split waned only with the 1905-07 Russian Revolution, which triggered large-scale ethnic violence known as the I’atar-Armenian War.23 Threatened by the large military power of the Armenian aggressors, Shiites and Sunnis unified to defend their regions.24 The Russian Revolution started the March Days of 1918, a series of ethnic violence between Azerbaijan and Armenia.25 On 31 March 1918, the Armenian military seized the capital of Azerbaijan under the Bolshevik justification of fighting counter-terrorism towards the USSR.26 This conflict resulted in the deaths of an estimated 3,000-20,000 Azeri people and the destruction of hundreds of Muslim shrines, mosques, schools, hospitals, and cultural landmarks.27 The March Days of 1918 set the tone for violent outbreak as a means of expressing ethnic tensions, therefore preempting over 100 years of escalating violence. This conflict did not prevent the Azeri people or native Azerbaijanis from creating their own government following the collapse of the Russian Empire during the First World War in May of 1918. On 28 May 1918, the National Council adopted the Declaration of Independence of Azerbaijan, creating the Muslim world’s first Parliamentary Republic.28 The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) was responsible for a number of firsts in the Muslim world. Extending suffrage to women and establishing the first modern-type university were just a few of the progressive political
16 Ibid. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22 Tadeusz Swietochowki,"Azerbaijan: The Hidden Faces of Islam.” 23 Ibid. 24 Ibid. 25 Ibid. 26 Day Donaldson, "Azerbaijan Commemorates Historic Genocide Perpetrated by Armenians: 1918 March Days," Guardian Liberty Voice, April 2, 2014, accessed July 27, 2015, http://guardianlv.com/2014/04/azerbaijan-commemorates-historic-genocide-perpetrated-by-armenians-1918-march-days/. 27 Ibid. 28 Day Donaldson, "Azerbaijan Commemorates Historic Genocide Perpetrated by Armenians: 1918 March Days.”
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decisions made by ADR.29 However, Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, was still a center of ethnic tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Home to a large supply of oil, 56,000 Azeri people, and 25,000 Armenians, the three main political groups of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia fought for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.30 The two nationalist groups, the Azerbaijani Musavat and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, were in constant alarm against the third group called the Baku Soviets.31 These included citizens from Azerbaijan and Armenia who believed in the communist system, which lead to more violence.32 On 27 March 1920, the Baku Soviet disarmed a group of Azerbaijani soldiers, prompting an Azeri resistance and by 30 March 1920, Baku was a scene of civil war between the three political groups.33 It is crucial for the delegates of SPECPOL to recognize these three political groups and their motives as they define the three main political ideologies surrounding this topic. The Soviets play an enormous role both the pre- and post-political institutions of both Azerbaijan and Armenia.. As the Soviets used the Nagorno-Karabakh region for its resources and trading ports, the region continued to be a source of contention. Eventually, the Bolsheviks deployed artillery, which besieged the Azerbaijanis to sign a ceasefire on 1 April 1920.34 By the first week in April, the Bolshevik Red Army invaded the ADR and established the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR), thus ending the 23-month reign of the first Muslim parliamentary republic.35 Due to the Azeri acceptance and cooperation with the Soviet power, the country was given recognition of national identity, which included full rights to their own language and culture.36 However, once Joseph Stalin began to lead the USSR, these rights were merely symbolic as oppression of Islamic culture became very prevalent and characterized Azeri political relations for most of the remaining twentieth century.37 The Iranian Revolution of 1979 had serious political implications for Azerbaijan and many neighboring countries, as the Islamic reawakening began to surface.38 Finally, with the implosion of the USSR in 1991, the People’s Front of Azerbaijan was able to fully embrace its program that called for, “a new attitude towards the Islamic religion and culture… The People’s Front supports decisive steps towards the development of understanding and cooperation with the world of Islam.”39 As the Azeri government would soon discover, normalizing relations in the Islamic world comes with immense geopolitical challenges, especially in majority-Christian Armenia. The USSR and the Beginning Stages of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict The hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia are over 70 years old, with constant resurgence of political conflicts throughout each country’s history. Rooted in antagonisms and brief cooperation between the Christian and Muslim people of the South Caucasus, the collapse of the USSR in 1991 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. 31 Ibid. 32 Ibid. 33 Ibid. 34 Ibid. 35 Ibid. 36 Tadeusz. Swietochowki. "Azerbaijan: The Hidden Faces of Islam." 37 Ibid. 38 Ibid. 39 Ibid.
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required both of these countries to establish their own governments. This context framed the outbreak and persistence of the Karabakh war.40 However, understanding the cause of the Karabakh war would not be possible without and in-depth look at the transitional political institutions of Azerbaijan and Armenia post-Soviet occupation. The method in which Soviet Occupation governed Azerbaijan, Armenia, and other surrounding states was based on ethnicity.41 These ethnic lines would often be drawn imperfectly, but also promote a sense of that each nationality should have its own territory.42 As Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan become more ethnically homogenous, the expression of national loyalty became a defining characteristic of these cultures.43 Nationalism was often partnered with discriminatory and aggressive attitudes towards the differing nation-states.44 These institutionalized ethnic divisions caused race and religion to be embedded in the politics of these regions. With the collapse of the USSR came the need for each of these regions to establish their own political institutions that actually represented the indigenous people of that region. As these ethnic lines were so poorly distributed by the USSR prior to its collapse, the two regions struggled to represent the interests of the various ethnic groups within their territory, leading to political discontent and misrepresentation. The roots of political conflict surrounding the Karabakh region began with the application of Leninist nationality policy in this region. Though Nagorno-Karabakh was 55-60% Armenian in the twentieth century, the Soviet authorities placed it within the wealthier Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan for economic and strategic reasons.45 Karabakh was separated from Armenia by the mountainous Lachin corridor, which was also a part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, leaving Armenia with no contiguous border with this region.46 The ambiguity of Soviet legislation towards this region left the international community to decide the fate of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an issue that was not addressed until the situation further escalated in the late 1980s. Throughout the period of Soviet occupation, there were occasional protests from the Armenians in Karabakh, as they perceived this control as cultural and economic restriction of their people.47 The Azerbaijani people saw the Nagorno-Karabakh region as their homeland and therefore, the victim of aggressive Armenian nationalism.48 Due to the institutionalized ethnic divisions caused by Soviet occupation, the Karabakh Armenians called for a political merger of their autonomous district with the Armenian republic.49 When this merger was vetoed by the USSR, the Armenian people began the uprisings that triggered the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.50 40 Tadeusz. Swietochowki. "Azerbaijan: The Hidden Faces of Islam." 41 Ibid. 42 Laitin, David, and Ronald Suny, "Armenia and Azerbaijan: Thinking a Way out of Karabakh," Middle East Policy 7, no. 1 (1999): 145-76. http://homes.ieu.edu.tr/~ibagdadi/INT435/Readings/The%20Caucasus/laitinandsuny%20-%20Armenia%20and%20Azerbaijan.pdf. 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid. 45 Laitin, David, and Ronald Suny, "Armenia and Azerbaijan: Thinking a Way out of Karabakh.” 46 Ibid. 47 Ibid. 48 Ibid. 49 Ibid. 50 Ibid.
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These riots began 13 February 1988, when a group of Karabakh Armenians gathered and made speeches calling for the unification of Karabakh with Armenia.51 As the protest continued in the mountain town of the Southern Caucasus called Stepankert, the demonstration gained supporters.52 While the Nagorno-Karabakh region was mainly Armenian, the remaining 40% Azeri population became increasingly antagonized and began to form counter protests.53 As the conflict escalated, 87 Armenian deputies from the Regional Soviets, known as the leaders of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), exercised their right to call an emergency assembly for 20 February 1988.54 During this meeting, 110 Armenian deputies voted for Karabakh to join Soviet Armenia, while the remaining Azeri deputies refused to vote.55 This was the first of many legal standoffs between these two countries. Still under Soviet control on 21 February 1988, the governing body of the Soviet occupied states, the Politburo, met in Moscow to discuss the conflict.56 USSR president, Mikhail Gorbachev was dealing with nineteen other territorial disputes in Soviet territories and feared that making concessions to one would cause discontent in many.57 For this reason, the Communist Party’s Central Committee passed a resolution vilifying the disloyal Karabakhis and the NKAO as “extremists.”58 As a result of serious unrest in Nagorno-Karabakh, Moscow placed the region under special administration in January 1989.59 In response to this governance, some Armenian dissidents founded the Armenian National Movement, which quickly became the governing power of not only Nagorno-Karabakh, but also in Armenia.60 This explains the interdependency between the government in Armenia and the de facto leadership in Karabakh that can still be felt today. As the majority of people living within the Nagorno-Karabakh region identify with the Armenian culture, Armenia has been able to retain basic control over the leaders the Karabakh government. Soon after the formation of the parallel government between Armenian and Karabakhi leaders, the Armenian national movement openly declared to remove Moscow’s special administration.61 In August 1989, unauthorized elections were held in Karabakh with the support of the national movement, and the “Congress of plenipotentiary representatives of the population of the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh” declared the region to be an independent territory of this union.62 Ultimately, this region worked closely with Armenian government representatives to form a parallel government that would dominate the political authority of the Nagorno- Karabakh region to this day.63 With support from this Armenian parallel government, the Armenian Karabakhis elected a National Council and established an Armenian defense force.64 From this point
51Thomas Waal, Black Garden Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War, New York: New York University Press, 2003. 52 Ibid. 53 Ibid. 54 Ibid. 55 Ibid. 56 Ibid. 57 Ibid. 58 Ibid. 59Heiko Kruger, The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis. Berlin: Springer, 2010. 60 Ibid. 61 Ibid. 62 Ibid. 63 Ibid. 64 Ibid.
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on, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic recognized the National Council as the sole representative instance of the Armenians in Karabakh.65 These governments would continue to work in tandem, adding further complications to any form of peaceful negotiation between the legitimate owners of the territory, Azerbaijan. Neither the USSR nor Azerbaijan recognized the National Council or their declarations as legitimate.66 Instead, in November 1989, Moscow transferred the administrative power over Nagorno-Karabakh back to the Azerbaijan SSR without changing its territorial status.67 This meaning that while Azerbaijan SSR had theoretical control over the region and its government, the physical control of the land still remained occupied by Armenia.68 Still persistent on their goals, however, the Soviet Supreme of the Armenian SSR and the National Council of Nagorno-Karabakh jointly declared unification of the region with the Armenian SSR on 1 December 1989.69 Due to the political interconnections between the Nagorno-Karabakh independence movement and the Armenian SSR, many Armenian people within Azeri territories began to express their support for the dominating Armenian parallel governments.70 This heightened tensions between the two countries and ethnic violence was the unfortunate result. 1988-1991 was crucial and complex to the Nargorno-Karabakh conflict, and was filled with ethnic violence and ideological conflicts. The capital of Azerbaijan and surrounding cities were embroiled with riots that often escalated to beatings and murders.71 During these riots, the Armenian people were targeted since the Azeri people believed they could not trust Armenians.72 For the Armenians, these exterminations in Sumgait and Baku were proof that they could no longer safely live under Azerbaijani rule.73 By 1991, Azerbaijani troops forced countless Armenians living in regions north of Nagorno-Karabakh to leave their villages, causing the Armenians to do the same to Azeri people living within their territories.74 Since the ethnic lines were poorly drawn by the initial USSR occupation, there were large amounts of Azeri and Armenians within each other’s lands, a problem that still remains to this day. As a result of ethnic cleansing, 233,700 people became refugees and 551,000 people became classified as internally dispersed persons (IDPs).75 Today, the de facto leadership in Nagorno-Karabakh cites the events in 1991 as justification for their breakaway.76 Through their attempts for independence, the Armenian side expelled hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis, also committing acts of violence and killings.77 As described by political scientists David Laitin and Ronald Suny, “The riots and killings fatally colored the mutual understandings of these two nationalities, making each see itself as victim 65 Ibid. 66 Ibid. 67 Ibid. 68 Ibid. 69 Ibid. 70 Ibid. 71 Laitin, David, and Ronald Suny, "Armenia and Azerbaijan: Thinking a Way out of Karabakh." 72 Ibid. 73 Ibid. 74 Heiko. Kruger, The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis 75 Laitin, David, and Ronald Suny, "Armenia and Azerbaijan: Thinking a Way out of Karabakh." 76 Heiko Kruger. The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis. 77 Ibid.
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and the other as oppressor.”78 As both countries forced the blame and root of violence on the other, tensions grew higher and created the immensely polarized conflict that still exists today. Post-Soviet Occupation and the Declarations of Independence by Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh The situation in the region changed drastically in the summer of 1991. On 30 August 1991, Soviet Azerbaijan’s Supreme Soviet adopted its “Declaration on Re-Establishment of the National independence of the Azerbaijani Republic,” which heralded the process of Azerbaijan’s independence from the USSR.79 Four days later, Nagorno-Karabakh followed suit, initiating the same process through the “Declaration of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh,” adopted by the local legislative councils and the bordering Armenian-populated Shahumian district.80 However, it is important to understand that Nagorno-Karabakh was not declaring independence from the Soviets, but from Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh was in compliance with international and domestic Soviet law in their appeal, but their parallel government with Armenia SSR was still unrecognized by its governing powers.81 On 2 September 1991, the non-recognized parallel government between Armenia and Karabakh government leaders officially declared its own republic in Nagorno-Karabakh.82 A month later, on 18 October 1991, the Azerbaijani Republic confirmed its independence by adoption of its “Constitutional Act” on national independence.83 This formalized the national constitution of Azerbaijan and established them as an independent government.84 In response to Karabakh’s declaration, on 23 November 1991 Azerbaijan annulled Karabakh’s autonomy.85 In order to continue complying with Soviet law regarding leaving the USSR, Nagorno-Karabakh held its own referendum on independence in the presence of international observers and media representatives.86 Two days before the referendum, on 8 December 1991, Belarus, Russia, and the Ukraine declared that the USSR no longer existed.87 Ultimately, the referendum vote approved Karabakh’s sovereignty, with 82.2% of Karabakh’s registered voters participating in the election and 99.89% of those ballots supporting its independence from the Republic of Azerbaijan.88 The USSR dissolved on 26 December 1991 and on 6 January 1992, the formerly proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh declared its national independence.89 Since the USSR gave control of the Karabakh region to Azerbaijan, the collapse of the Soviet government left Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the region of Nagorno-Karabakh in great conflict. 78 Laitin, David, and Ronald Suny, "Armenia and Azerbaijan: Thinking a Way out of Karabakh," 152. 79 “Nagorno Karabagh: A White Paper,” 2nd ed. Yerevan, Armenia: Armenian Center for National and International Studies, 1997. 80 Ibid. 81 Ibid. 82 Ibid. 83 Ibid. 84 Ibid. 85 Ibid. 86 Ibid. 87Heiko Kruger, The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis. 88 Nagorno Karabagh: A White Paper, Yerevan: Armenian Center for National and International Studies. 89 Ibid.
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Between 1992 and 1994, Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over Nagorno-Karabakh.90 The end of the war resulted in Armenia forcing the Azerbaijani forces beyond today’s demarcation line, into the surrounding Azerbaijani districts.91 The Karabakh Army of Defense, with major assistance from Armenia and Russia, was able to demolish Azerbaijan’s blockade of its capital and open it to Armenia.92 Overall, tens of thousands of people from both ethnic groups died during these battles, while hundred of thousands became refugees, many of which still live in refugee camps today.93 The territory of the proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh established itself as an independent governing body on 6 January 1992. However, it is still not recognized internationally by any state today. It is known that Armenia fully supports the independence or reunification of Nagorno-Karabakh and finances a large sum of their budget, while also supplying troops.94 With over 20,000 soldiers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, it is one of the most militarized regions in Europe.95 Azerbaijan continues to support the affiliation of the region to its national territory, yet offers the region the greatest possible autonomy.96 Attempting to lay the foundation for independence, the leaders of the Nagorno-Karabakh held a referendum on the first constitution in December 2006, but it was not recognized internationally.97 The same applies to the presidential elections of 2007.98 The UN Security Council and various outside organizations underline Azerbaijan’s claim, and recently the Azeri government has made it quite clear that they will not wait much longer for Armenia to withdrawal control from Nagorno-Karabakh region. As the conflict escalates, both sides are using previous laws to justify their territorial legitimacy. The Karabakhi people believe they have a right to self-determination and that they followed the correct Soviet law for recognition under their previous rule.99 The international community, however, notes that the last official recognition of the territory was given to Azerbaijan by the USSR and uses that as a base for international law.100 It is under the mandate of this committee to peacefully figure out methods of government intervention to prevent escalated conflict. Failed Peace Actions by the United Nations and Independent Actors The UN Security Council involved itself in the mediation process on 30 April 1993 due to the Armenian Karabakhi invasion of the Kelbadjar district of Azerbaijan.101 Resolution 822 (S/RES/822) reaffirmed the “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all the states in the region” and “the inviolability of international borders and the inadmissibility of the use of force for
90 Ibid. 91 Ibid. 92 Ibid. 93 Heiko Kruger, The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis. 94 Ibid. 95 Ibid. 96 Ibid. 97 Ibid. 98 Ibid. 99 Ibid. 100 Ibid. 101 Rovshan Sadigbayli, " The Implications of the 1993 U.N. Security Council Action for the Settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict,” Caucasian Review of International Affairs 3, No. 4 (2009): 342-70.
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the acquisition of territory.”102 The Security Council unequivocally established the acquisition of these Azerbaijani districts as an “invasion” that produced the “occupation of territory of a sovereign state” by both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh without formally condemning them.103 This violation of international law prompted the Security Council to call for an “…immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from the Kelbadjar district and other recently occupied areas of Azerbaijan.”104 Resolution 822 would be become Azerbaijan’s main claim towards legitimate ownership of the occupied territory, but it should be noted that this resolution, along with 835 and 874, did little to create mechanisms for political mediation while simultaneously shifting authority to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE).105 Many states and outside actors have attempted to assist this conflict through peaceful means of negotiation. The OSCE was the most active organization in the conflict.106 The peace process was initiated by the meeting of OCSE Foreign Ministers on 24 March 1992.107 This meeting established the Minsk Group, a group of eleven member states charged with the responsibility of preparing a peace conference between these conflicting states within the OCSE framework.108 This framework gave Nagorno-Karabakh the right to participate as an interested party with the status of “elected and other representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh.”109 However, the status of Karabakh’s participation was ambiguous and led to the Minsk Group using Armenia’s delegation as the main line of contact with the leaders of this disputed region.110 At the final session, Nagorno-Karabakh was adequately represented and an agreement was formed that continued the activity of the Minsk Group without interruption.111 This lasted until September 1993, when the conflicting sides failed to agree to the “adjusted timetable” proposed by the Minsk Group, due to the recently launched Azeri military offense.112 In September 1997, Armenia and Azerbaijan accepted peace proposals presented by the Minsk group, which involved a two-stage settlement of the conflict.113 The first stage would withdraw the Karabakh Armenian troops from the six occupied districts of Azerbaijan, while OCSE peacekeeping forces would be deployed between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces.114 However, the second stage was designed so vaguely that each party interpreted the expected results differently. According to Azerbaijan official understanding, during the second stage, simultaneous negotiations were to be held about the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh and the restoration of full Azerbaijani control over
102 S/RES/822, “Armenia-Azerbaijan” 30 April 1993, http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/822(1993). 103 Ibid. 104 Ibid. 105Ibid. 106 Ibid. 107 Ibid. 108 Ibid. 109 Ibid. 110 Ibid. 111 Ibid. 112 Ibid. 113,Levon Chorbajian, The Making of Nagorno-Karabagh: From Secession to Republic, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave, 2001. 114 Ibid.
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the Lachin corridor and Shushi.115 Armenia’s interpretation excluded any change in the military control of Lachin or Shushi, as these are the last vestiges of military security for the Karabakh region.116 Consequently, Azerbaijani understanding of this plan completely negated the second phase of negotiations and both parties left angered. There are several reasons this plan was ultimately unsuccessful and it is crucial that every delegate understand these structural flaws in order to prevent this committee from submitting ineffective resolutions. While the Minsk proposals stipulated the demilitarization of the “occupied territories,” it created no mechanisms to ensure that these regions would remain demilitarized once Armenian forces left.117 Secondly, the OSCE peacekeeping force had no set timeframe for the length of their actions within these states, thus leading to disagreement between the mediating parties.118 Armenia and Karabakh wanted the peacekeeping forces to remain in the region as long as possible in order to regroup and prepare their request for independence, while Azerbaijan and other related parties wanted the duration as short as possible so that their forces could once again take control of their territories.119 In addition to financial shortcomings, the OSCE plan also failed to mediate the deeply imbedded ethnic conflict that has manifested itself in a political war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.120 Trying to use a mediation plan full of short-term frameworks to solve a long-term conflict, the peacekeeping forces left without establishing any political or governmental mechanisms for a stable solution. This left an opportunity for each party involved to try again to solve this crisis through military means. 121 In addition to the peacekeeping resolutions submitted by the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly also recognized the immense political and social repercussions involving this conflict. On 20 December 1993, the UN General Assembly submitted a resolution that reaffirmed the need for humanitarian assistance to Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs.122 While requesting that the UNHCR continue to work with non-governmental organizations to assist the over one million Azerbaijani refugees, this resolution purely focused on the humanitarian aspect of this topic. The General Assembly allowed the conflict to remain unsolved until it once again was put on the agenda in 2006.123 Even in 2006, the proposed resolution only discussed the environmental affects of the long-standing political conflict.124 It was not until 2008 that the General Assembly once again addressed the political and militant status of the three regions.125 On 14 March 2008, the General Assembly submitted a resolution that recalled the previous work of the Security Council and the Minsk Group, affirmed Azerbaijan’s 115 Ibid. 116 Ibid. 117Ibid. 118 Ibid. 119 Levon Chorbajian, The Making of Nagorno-Karabagh: From Secession to Republic. 120 Ibid. 121 Ibid. 122 A/RES/48/114, “Emergency international assistance to refugees and displaced persons in Azerbaijan,” 20 December 2993, http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r114.htm 123 Ibid. 124 A/RES/60/285, “The situation in the occupied territories in Azerbaijan,” 15 September 2006, http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/60/285. 125 Ibid.
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territorial right to the conflict region, and “Demand[ed] the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all forces from all the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”126 This resolution did reaffirm the international community’s support of Azerbaijan’s territorial claims, but provided little to no mechanisms for mediation.127 As SPECPOL is a body of the United Nations, all resolutions formed through this committee must incorporate the Nagorno-Karabakh region as property of Azerbaijan. This is how the UN defines this territory and therefore, delegates of this committee must work with the various political and governmental institutions within both Azerbaijani and Armenian states to facilitate peace while mitigating violent outbreaks. As this conflict also involves numerous Middle Eastern neighbors, SPECPOL must acknowledge these actors and their role in solving the conflict.
CURRENT STATUS The mostly Armenian population of the disputed region now lives under the control of the un-recognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a micro-nation that is supported by Armenia.128 As the continuous cease-fires throughout the duration of this conflict have proved ineffective, recent militant action has escalated this conflict. Azeri President Ilham Aliyev continues to assert Azerbaijan’s claim with increasing forcefulness.129 On 8 August 2014, President Aliyev released a statement, along with a series of tweets that stated the army of Azerbaijan is more than ready to respond to any Armenian military aggression.130 Going as far as stating “our army, targeting Armenia with missiles, is ready to fulfill even the order of destroying Yerevan,” arguably, the Azerbaijani leadership is on the breaking point of starting the second Nagorno-Karabakh war.131 Both the Azerbaijani Army and the Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army have professionalized and rearmed their forces along a 100 kilometer land-mined border.132 Since the summer of 2014, there have been many dangerous clashes between these forces that have occurred almost daily.133 In November 2014, Azeri forces shot down an Armenian Mi-24 helicopter that was flying over their territory and as a result, there was intense fighting on the ground as Armenians attempted to recover bodies from Azeri land.134 During the most recent attack on 31 January 2015, the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army “launched a preemptive attack” on several Azeri positions and killed a number of Azeri soldiers.135 These attacks, partnered with statements of aggression from
126 A/RES/62/243, “The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” 25 April 2008, http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/62/243. 127 Ibid. 128Jake Mulclaire, "Face Off: The Coming War between Armenia and Azerbaijan," The National Interest, April 9, 2015, Accessed July 23, 2015, http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/face-the-coming-war-between-armenia-azerbaijan-12585. 129 Ibid. 130Jeremy Bender, "Azerbaijan's Army Says It Is 'Ready To Fulfill Even The Order Of Destroying' Armenia's Capital City," Business Insider, August 8, 2014, Accessed May 28, 2015, http://www.businessinsider.com/armenia-and-azerbaijan-approaching-war-2014-8. 131 Ibid. 132,Jake Mulclaire, "Face Off: The Coming War between Armenia and Azerbaijan." 133 Ibid. 134 Ibid. 135 Ibid.
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both states involved, has caused the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenian-financed Nagorno-Karabakh to increase their military spending, as if preparing for a full-fledged war. As the conflict is once again reaching its climax, both countries are facing strong incentives to take military action in the next few years. Azerbaijan knows that the UN and most of the international community supports their territorial claims over the land and has been supplying a large arms buildup.136 The Azeri Land Forces spent over USD one billion on armored vehicles and artillery from Russia in 2013 and 2014 alone.137 Specifically, Azerbaijan recently acquired two batteries of Tos-1A Buratino thermobaric heavy rocket artillery systems from Russia.138 These systems have the capabilities of opening a gap in Armenia’s frontline trenches through a series of massive explosions.139 As Azerbaijan is close allies with Israel, the Azeri Air Force has also slowly built up an array of Israeli drones, invaluable for hunting Armenian artillery.140 These technologies legitimize the severity of President Aliyev’s statements of aggression and are quite indicative of an eventual militant outbreak. Armenia cannot afford to match the level of military spending displayed by the Republic of Azerbaijan. Therefore, the leaders of Armenia and Karabakh may view the military imbalance as an incentive to act soon in order to prevent more technological buildup from the opposing party.141 Since 2012, Armenia has heavily invested in Russian-supplied upgrades for its armor, artillery, and particularly in domestically produced drone systems.142 There has also been much speculation around the claim that Russia has sold 9K720 Iskander short-range conventional ballistic missiles to Armenia.143 These missiles could arm Armenia’s very small air force with the technology needed to cripple the superior Azeri Air Force.144 All of these factors indicate that both states are ready to wage war, with each partnered having very strong allies. As Azerbaijan refuses to settle for anything less than full control of the area, and Armenia continues to believe it is the right of their people to have independence, compromise over the Nagorno-Karabakh region seems far away. Delegates should be aware of this escalating conflict and form solutions that establish peaceful mechanisms and long-term stability. In addition, delegates should also create resolutions that discuss and form preemptive institutions to protect the people of conflict regions if the situation reached the level of militarized conflict. The situation of occupied territories in Azerbaijan has reached its climax and it is the job of this committee to mediate and prepare for any political or militarized actions of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and any other related party.
BLOC ANALYSIS
136 Jake Mulclaire, "Face Off: The Coming War between Armenia and Azerbaijan." 137 Ibid. 138 Ibid. 139 Ibid. 140 Ibid. 141 Ibid. 142 Ibid. 143 Ibid. 144 Ibid.
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As this topic is current and continues to evolve daily, so do many of the relative bloc positions. The involvement of these outside actors often acts as the only binding thread between a working government and extreme political instability. The blocs should act as merely a guide for additional research and should not be used as the definitive foreign policy for any delegate within this committee. The European Union and other Western States On 20 July 2015, European Council President, Donald Tusk, stated, “The peaceful resolution of this conflict remains a priority for the European Union (EU). The EU supports the negotiations aimed at settling the conflict.”145 Through this statement, Tusk echoed the sentiment of the majority of the international community. As the EU and other Western states support the UN’s affirmation of Azerbaijan’s territorial claim, these states have focused on supplying aid to the victims of this political conflict.146 Since Azeri gas is to be used in the EU’s ambitious Southern Gas Corridor Project, many human rights violations have been ignored due to the economic value of Azerbaijan’s political partnership.147 Conversely, as reports detailing Azerbaijan’s political corruption and imprisonment of over 90 activists and journalist have surfaced, Western support has been questionable.148 Still supplying the same amount of humanitarian aid, in July 2015, the United States (US) Senate Appropriations Committee specifically noted their concern about “democracy, human rights, and corruption in Azerbaijan” and called for the release of several prisoners.149 These human rights violations and Azerbaijan’s purchase of weapons from Russia have also made members of the EU weary of their participation.150 The US, as well as the EU benefit from the oil provided from Azerbaijan. As the EU and Western states do support Azerbaijan’s territorial claims, it is important to note their recently strained relationship as it could potentially play a large role in future conflicts. Muslim Countries As the most affected region by this conflict, the relations between Muslim countries is extremely important. Through backing the international community’s legal decisions on the territorial claims of Azerbaijan and supporting the Muslim Azeri population, most Muslim countries support a peaceful resolution in favor of Azerbaijan.151 Iran has supported Armenia financially for quite some time in order to promote a cooperative relationship for oil, but on 24 July 2015, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Armenia, Mohammad Raiesi announced, “the official stance of Iran over conflicts, particularly NK (Nagorno-Karabakh) settlement problem, is firm: All problems must be solved through peaceful negotiations based on internationally accepted norms.”152 With many
145 "EU's 'priority' to End Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict," Anadolu Agency, 20 July 2015, accessed August 27, 2015. 146 Ibid. 147 Denis Corboy, William Courtney, and Richard Kauzlarich, "It's Time to Reboot Our Relationship with Russia and Iran's Neighbors," Newsweek, July 28, 2015, accessed 27 August 2015, http://www.newsweek.com/its-time-reboot-our-relationship-russia-and-irans-neighbors-357498. 148 Ibid. 149 "Iran Sees Only Solution to Nagorno Karabakh Conflict Peacefully," Armen Press, 14 July 2015, accessed 27 August 2015, http://armenpress.am/eng/news/813203/iran-sees-only-solution-to-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-peacefully.html. 150 Ibid. 151 Ibid. 152 Ibid.
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refugees and IDPs still a major concern, these countries are concerned with this population’s safety and immersion into society. Russia and its Allies Russia has been a significant player since its occupation of the two states in the late nineteenth century. It has become one of the only countries supporting Armenia both financially and militarily. In 2013, Russia pressured Armenia to abandon association agreements with the EU and join the less wealthy Eurasian Economic Union, further straining EU and Armenian relations.153 Armenia depends heavily on Russia for military support, while Russia uses this relationship to strong-arm deals and relationships through Armenia.154 In addition, Russia has recently been playing both sides of the conflict by selling over USD one million of weaponry to Azerbaijan.155 This shows that Russia is mainly looking out for its own interest, leaving Armenia without many strong allies. This increased interaction with Azerbaijan and Russia has caused the West to question their relationship with the Azeri government, further increasing the political complexity of this issue.156 Russia has also entered the politics of gas supply as it is a major competitor to supply gas to the EU’s Southern Gas Corridor project. If it does start supplying, Azerbaijan would be shut out of a major economic deal that would impact many of its Eastern European allies.157 The role of gas must not be undermined when considering political inclination of states. States that rely on Russia for sources of energy and are also allies with Russia, many feel inclined to reflect Russia’s positions in foreign policy. Oil and gas have proved to be determining factors in political relations in the past for the Middle East, and the same applies to Russia and Azerbaijan. This could be the case in the future for China. It currently has the capacity to become more involved in this conflict since it has been increasing trade and regional energy projects in the Caucasus region.158 In May 2015, China rejected a claim that it submitted an UN resolution that supported the recognition of an independent Nagorno-Karabakh.159 Nonetheless, the country’s close ties with Russia, financial interests, and previous act of providing Armenia with rocket systems in 1999 all suggest that China has the potential to serve as a key player in the future.160 It is important to recognize that many Russian allies have not developed and declared concrete positions in regards to this topic. However, like China, they all have the potential to influence the outcome of the conflict. South America, Central America, and Africa
153 Denis Corboy. "It's Time to Reboot Our Relationship with Russia and Iran's Neighbors." 154 Ibid. 155 Ibid. 156 Ibid. 157 Ibid. 158 Fariz Ismailzade, “The Geopolitics of Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict,” Global Dialogue 3, No. 7 (2005), http://worlddialogue.org/content.php?id=354. 159 Seba Aghayeva, “China Denies Recognizing Separtist Regime of Nagorno-Karabkh,” Trend News, 21 May 2015, accessed 22 September 2015, http://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/politics/2397587.html. 160 Fariz Ismailzade, “The Geopolitics of Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict.”
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Often time with issues of great political polarization, many states will shy away from involvement that could complicate their relations with actors within the conflict.161 While some of these states are allies with stronger actors, they have not taken any definitive stance other than to support the international communities’ stride towards peaceful resolution.162 Delegates within this bloc should not see this as a reason not to be active in committee, and view this lack of definitive stance as an opportunity to work with the various political actors to form unique solutions to the issue without constraints. Some countries in this bloc, such as the Republic of Sudan and South Sudan, have experienced similar separatist movements and territorial disputes within their own countries. Similar to major Western powers, some of these countries are more sympathetic to Nagorno-Karabakh since countries of these blocs have a history of territorial disputes, been colonized by European powers, and have experience with declaring independence from other governments. For example, since 2012, Uruguay has been calling for the international community to recognize the region as an independent republic and respect the people’s right of self-determination.163 Members of this bloc are dedicated to establishing peaceful negotiations, and delegates are encouraged to further explore their country’s specific position.
COMMITTEE MISSION The political situation with the Nagorno-Karabakh region is constantly evolving. In the past, the international community has struggled to establish long-term stabilization mechanisms for this issue, which must be the primary concern of this committee. Corruption is a concern in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Nagorno Karabakh, and must be alleviated in addition to mediation between the opposing parties. Delegates should focus on a wide array of governmental and non-governmental institutions that will mediate this conflict peacefully, while also engaging the people and key actors. Delegates must be aware of the severity of this situation and consider preemptive solutions in case of militant outbreak. It is the job of this committee to prevent these kinds of situations through the use of peaceful political strategies. Refugees and IDPs should be a concern, but neutralizing the political and militant escalation is the main priority of SPECPOL. While this topic is quite polarizing in nature, Delegates must be aware of their country’s policy towards this issue and follow it strictly during committee. Delegates should look at past efforts made by the international community and other outside actors and build upon these to form more comprehensive and effective solutions.
161 Ibid. 162 Denis Corboy, "It's Time to Reboot Our Relationship with Russia and Iran's Neighbors." 163 Giorgi Lomsadze, “Uruguay to Recognize Nagorno-Karabakh?” Eurasianet.org, 13 September 2011, accessed 26 September 2015, http://www.eurasianet.org/node/64165.
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TOPIC B: THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST
INTRODUCTION With over five million Palestinian refugees throughout the world, nearly one and a half million individuals live in the 58 recognized Palestine refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank.164 The remaining two thirds of the refugees live in and around the cities and towns of these receiving countries and territories.165 These people live their lives without social and economic stability due to the highly polarized Arab-Israeli conflict. Starting with the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948, these Palestinians are the marginalized products of decades of political, religious, and ideological conflict within the Middle East. Unfortunately, refugees who live in a refugee camp are often at the will of their host country without any legal or political rights. As these camps are on land leased by the host government using local farmers’ land, the refugees in these camps do not own any of the land or shelters they call home.166 For the refugees not fortunate enough to have an organized living community, they wander around the Middle East as nomads with no legal recognition from any government, furthering their exposure to exploitation and human rights abuses. Without any rights or property of their own, these refugees are trapped within these turbulent states, constantly living in fear of escalating militant conflicts that surround the Middle East. This issue began with a political conflict that escalated to a militant conflict, displacing over 750,000 Palestinians starting with the first war in 1948 continuing until the end of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.167 Decades later, the same Arab-Israeli conflict has escalated and dispersed throughout the Middle East, yielding millions of causalities. This committee must focus on the origins of this conflict as it relates specifically to the refugee situation in the Middle East. The UN and other outside organizations have attempted to solve issues such as the rights of the refugees, poverty eradication, and refugee camp health standards, but have failed to work with Middle Eastern countries to improve political relations. SPECPOL must address the immediate human rights issues of the Palestinian refugees through innovative and diplomatic solutions that focus on governmental mechanisms to eradicate the political conflict that is the root of the Palestinian refugee situation in the Middle East.
164 "Where We Work UNRWA," United Nations Relief and Works Agency, 2014, Accessed 5 July 2015, http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work. 165 Ibid 166 Ibid 167 Ibid.
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HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE ISSUE Origins of Political Conflict As much of the world was dealing with the political and territorial repercussions of postcolonial control, Great Britain still had control over a vast majority of the Middle Eastern region during the beginning of the twentieth century.168 Palestine formerly comprised modern-day Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, but following the seizure of Ottoman Empire territory in 1917, Britain promised a Jewish “national home” in Palestine, while failing to promise the same to the indigenous Palestinian Arab inhabitants.169 During the First World War, large scale Jewish immigration to Palestine occurred due to the Nazi Holocaust of the 1930s and 1940s.170 This escalated tensions as Palestinian demands for independence and resistance to Jewish immigration led to violence and political insurgency.171 In 1929, Great Britain offered Palestine the opportunity to establish their own government and participate in elected assembly, but under several conditions.172 These conditions included accepting continued British rule and the establishment of the Jewish “national home.”173 The Palestinian community leaders refused because they believed no Jewish state should be formed in their homeland.174 Therefore, the Palestinians lacked the experience of self-governing and state building, and when the British mandate ended in 1948, their political and military institutions could not prevent Israeli immigration.175 These are the building blocks of The Arab- Israeli Wars and the Palestinian Refugee Situation in the Middle East. As the conflict escalated and Palestine was no longer under British control, the newly formed UN began to address the issue. After an intense two-month-long debate, the General Assembly, on 29 November 1947, adopted Resolution 181.176 More commonly known as “The Partition Plan,” it called for the creation of the Arab and Jewish States by dividing Palestine into eight parts; three to the Arab State, three to the Jewish state, a dividing town that separates the Arab and Jewish divisions, and an eighth division for an International regime for Jerusalem.177 The Jewish Agency accepted even with its dissatisfaction over the territorial limits on the proposed Jewish State, however, the Palestinian Arabs did not accept the plan on the grounds that it violated the provisions of the UN Charter that specifically addressed the right to self-determination of varying ethnic communities.178 Both Palestinian and Israeli civilians mirrored this discontent, as guerilla attacks became a daily occurrence. 168 Yezid Sayigh, "The PLO and the Palestinian Armed Struggle," The Middle East, 2005, http://fileserver.net-texts.com/asset.aspx?dl=no&id=80451. 169Ibid. 170“Operational Guidance Note: Israel, Gaza and the West Bank,” Home Office of United Kingdom, last modified 2009, http://www.refworld.org/docid/498ab1642.html. 171 Ibid. 172 Ibid. 173 Ibid. 174 Ibid. 175 Ibid. 176 Ibid. 177 Kiyo Akasaka, The Question of Palestine and the United Nations, 2008. 178 Ibid.
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On 14 May 1948, Britain relinquished control of Palestine and the Jewish Agency proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel on the territory allotted to it by the partition plan.179 Fighting between the Arab and Jewish communities immediately broke out and the following day, troops from neighboring Arab States invaded the territory to assist the Palestinian Arabs. As the Palestinian leaders rejected the UN Partition Plan and lacked the state capacities to self-govern, the superior military of the Zionist forces, or pro-Israeli militants, gradually began to control much of the territory allotted to the Arab State by the partition resolution.180 After several attempts by the Security Council for armistice, the First Arab-Israeli War came to a halt in January 1949.181 The hostilities of this war created the Palestinian refugee situation in the Middle East, with almost 750,000 Palestinians uprooted from their land.182 Many scholars believe there to be two distinct phases of “Palestinian flight”: the civil war stage and the Arab military invasion after 15 May 1948.183 The civil war stage was characterized by the Zionist defense, where many upper and middle class Palestinians fled in order to protect themselves from any violent aggression.184 With much of the economically stable citizens gone, the Palestinian government struggled from a lack of social and national cohesion.185 As Palestine and other Arab nations invaded Israel, the Palestinian civilians became political pawns as many suffered abuses and attacks from the resulting war.186 The incidents of massacres and explosions caused by the Israeli forces caused psychological repercussions known as “whispering campaigns” that created increased fear in the Arab population of Palestine.187 After 1948, the Palestinian refugees found themselves under a variation of political, social, legal, and administrative systems. Egypt placed the 300,000 refugees crowded in the Gaza Strip under military administration, while Jordan annexed the West Bank and its refugees, which ensured the gradual conferment of Jordanian citizenship.188 The other 100,000 fled to Syria, where the refugees were given all rights enjoyed by Syrian nationals expect the right to run for or vote in a public election.189 The 150,000 that remained in Israel were granted citizenship, but endured de facto second-class political and legal status.190 The Department Chair of War Studies at the King’s College in London, Yezid Sayigh best describes the refugee situation as, “the loss of land and other immovable assets, disruption of social and commercial networks and labour markets, and exclusion from political and administrative power pauperized and stigmatized most Palestinian refugees, leaving them heavily dependent on UN-organized relief and on onward migration and subject to economic and social marginality in host countries.”191
179 Ibid. 180 Ibid. 181 Ibid. 182 Ibid. 183 Waldman, Simon A. Anglo-american diplomacy and the palestinian refugee problem, 1948-51. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. 2015. 184 Ibid. 185 Ibid. 186 Ibid. 187 Waldman, Simon A. Anglo-american diplomacy and the palestinian refugee problem, 1948-51. 188 Yezid Sayigh. "The PLO and the Palestinian Armed Struggle." 189 Ibid. 190Ibid. 191 Ibid.
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This mass exodus of the Palestinian people, however, catalyzed the growth of Palestinian nationalism. As these refugees pinned their hopes on the repatriation and restitution of the Arab governments, the Palestinian Liberation movement began. The Political Causes and Repercussions of Palestinian Liberation Organizations As these refugees and Palestinian nationalists initiated revolutionary actions in an effort to create a consolidated movement, small groups of political activists began to form. Perhaps the most influential of these groups, the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Palestinian National Liberation Movement began to dominate the political ideology of many Palestinians and refugees dispersed among other states.192 The Movement of Arab Nationalists believed in pan-Arab unity as the means to garner adequate military and economic support to defeat Israel and its Western supporters.193 The Palestinian National Liberation Movement (known as Fatah) felt that Palestine should launch its own armed liberation struggle independent of other Arab states.194 These two opposing ideologies would dominate the debate and insurgency surrounding the Palestinian liberation movement to present day. The man responsible for the official recognition of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement is Colonel Gamal Abdul-Nasser, who is known for his overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy and his promises to defeat Israel.195 Nasser publicly persuaded these nationalists to halt the independent military activity and formed the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) on the principles of pan-Arabism.196 Pan-Arabism promoted Muslim states’ political, social, and economic coordination in all matters of international and domestic relations.197 The supporters of pan-Arabism believed that cohesion through religion was the only way to properly defend the region from Western culture and oppressive political decisions.198 Further polarizing this issue with ideological warfare, these beliefs spread to the refugees that have been dispersed throughout neighboring states and led to discontent in those regions as well. Using his charismatic appeal and assistance from several layers, Nasser established the PLO as the nationally representative umbrella organization for the Palestinians in May 1964.199 Taking the organization to an international level, the PLO was invited to join the League of Arab States and allowed them to form small “liberation armies” in Gaza Strip, Syria, and Iraq.200 The formation of the PLO presented major challenges to the other independence groups, mainly Fatah who viewed the PLO as a compliant tool of the Arab states.201 Representing a large portion of Palestinian popular opinion, the Fatah began to launch small guerilla attacks to show their political discontent.202 This heightened the already strained relations between Middle Eastern countries, as many viewed Fatah as a terrorist group. While these complicated Middle Eastern relations, many 192 Ibid. 193 Yezid Sayigh. "The PLO and the Palestinian Armed Struggle." 194 Ibid. 195 Ibid. 196 Ibid. 197 Ibid. 198 Ibid. 199 Yezid Sayigh. "The PLO and the Palestinian Armed Struggle." 200 Ibid. 201 Ibid. 202 Ibid.
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young Palestinians showed interest in joining the fight, which prompted the creation of additional guerrilla groups. This type of aggression killed thousands of innocent people, mostly the refugees of these regions that feel trapped by their lack of political representation and human rights. After winning the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, Israel successfully occupied Sinai, Golan Heights, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, almost quadrupling the amount of land held previously.203 This left Israel in control of all of the refugees in these areas, creating more conflict between the two states.204 As each state was able to decide the rights of refugees in their territory, the refugees of each region were given a variation of human, political, and economic rights under the different governmental mandates of their host country.205 Depending on the host government’s role and policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict, some of these refugees were given full citizenship like in Syria or treated as second-rate humans like in Israeli occupied regions of Gaza and the West Bank. However, none were given the right to vote and all were crippled by the lack of receiving state infrastructure. While the Fatah’s effort in this war was seen as a militant failure, it greatly benefited their political objectives. Hearing about their sacrifice and brave resistance, thousands of volunteers flocked to guerrilla training camps and within months, the guerilla groups took control of the PLO’s Palestine National Council (PNC).206 With Fatah occupying the majority of the PNC’s representative seats and Fatah leader Yasser Arafat as its Chairman, the philosophy of militant guerilla attacks dominated the Palestinian political arena until the early 1970s.207 With the PLO’s expulsion from Jordan in 1971, other Middle Eastern countries began to tighten their security against militant groups, ultimately causing the organization to reevaluate their methods of political activism.208 At the twelfth meeting of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) in 1974, the organization began to move away from a policy of total territorial liberation in its entirety and focus on a more diplomatic two-state solution.209 This two-state solution is a term used to refer to a political compromise to the Arab-Isreali conflict that involves “two states for two groups of people.”210 As this type of peaceful negotiation had seen little practice with this conflict, the PNC focused on attempting to determine territorial boundaries that both states could agree to.211 It was at this point that the PLO discouraged their old militant methods and was officially recognized as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people” by Palestinians themselves, other Arab countries, and much of the rest of the world.212 With the main political objective as establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, the PLO focused on negotiations and peace-talks with the Israeli government.213 This diplomacy prompted the formation of a ten-point plan with many states for 203 Ibid. 204 Ibid. 205 Ibid. 206 Ibid. 207 Yezid Sayigh. "The PLO and the Palestinian Armed Struggle." 208 Glenn E Robinson,,”Palestine Liberation Organization," The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, Oxford Islamic Studies Online, accessed 6 July 2015, http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0618. 209 Ibid. 210 Ibid. 211 Ibid. 212 Yezid Sayigh. "The PLO and the Palestinian Armed Struggle." 213 Ibid.
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peaceful Palestinian independence that would incorporate state-building mechanisms and assistance programs for refugees.214 Greatly benefiting Palestinian relations, the newly developed diplomatic policies helped project the PLO as a major actor in Middle Eastern politics, leading to increased assistance programs for Palestinian citizens and refugees.215 This political evolution, however, met major resistance from a minority of Palestinians. Islamic groups, such as Hamas formed in 1988 as a rejectionist front to oppose compromise with Israel.216 As an outgrowth of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas soon spread throughout the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and other areas.217 This organization is a result of several outside factors, including the First intifadah and the resulting peace-talks. Following the Palestinian uprising called the First intifadah, the PLO agreed to enter peace-talks with the Israeli government that resulted in the Oslo Accords.218 This agreement led to increased Palestinian colonization of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but failed due to Israel’s continued construction of settlements in the occupied territories.219 As a result, talks broke down in 2000 and a wave of frustration and violence came over the Palestinian independence groups.220 A demonstration by an Israeli political candidate ended in lethal force of Israeli police at Islam’s third holiest site soon sparked the second intifadah.221 This uprising was much more violent than the first, accounting for more than 4,300 fatalities over the five year uprising.222 This lead to a public fragmentation of Fatah and the PLO, as more radical groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad gained more followers as they accounted for more Israeli casualties.223 Along with the political discontent, the second intifadah also led to Israel’s construction of a barrier that extends into occupied Palestinian territory, isolating villages and towns in the West Bank from the outside world. This has caused devastating effects to the economy and job market surrounding the Palestinian people and refugees.224 The ideological influence of non-state-actors (NSAs), such as Hamas must not be underestimated in the discussion of this polarized issue. Due to the cultural and governmental adherence to fundamentalist Islamic and Judaic principles practiced by both states involved, theocratic mechanisms and institutions of thought have always played a large role in the overall political conflict.225 This committee must recognize the immense influence these groups hold over the population, as their actions and policies play a crucial role in the sentiments reflected by the dispersed refugee population. Their actions not only affect the beliefs of refugees, but also influence the way in which receiving states perceive the political and cultural actions of the Palestinian people.
214 Ibid. 215 Ibid. 216 Ibid. 217 Ibid. 218 Glenn E Robinson. "Palestine Liberation Organization." 219 Ibid. 220 Ibid. 221 Ibid. 222 Ibid. 223 Ibid. 224 Kiyo Akasaka, The Question of Palestine and the United Nations. 225 Ibid.
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This often results in adverse policies towards refugee treatment, leading to limited access to the host country’s job market and lack of political legitimacy under the law. Although the violence subsided by the end of 2005, the conditions causing the conflict worsened. Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank continued and the refugees were marginalized as tight controls were placed on the movement of Palestinian goods and people, stunting economic growth. The peace negotiations ended and many Palestinians now turned to Hamas, which won the legislative election in 2006.226 The development of these liberation groups reflects a very pivotal aspect of Palestinian culture and politics. Based solely on the actions of non-state actors, the Palestinian people formed groups that created political movements and greatly altered inter-country relations in the Middle East.227 While some failed, it is important for delegates to note the political motives behind the actions of the PLO and other, more radical independence groups, as they greatly affect Middle Eastern politics and the refugee situation as a whole. The United Nation’s Attempt to Assist Palestinian Refugees Throughout the progression of this issue, the UN has been a key political actor. Understanding the intentions behind the specifics of the Partition Plan is crucial to fully understanding the international community’s general stance on the issue. While the plan attempts to solve the conflict through peaceful territorial mediation, it was more importantly the beginning stages of the two-state solution. This term is widely referred to by Western political actors as the proper means of mediation. However, this term is often used as a figurehead, meaning the specific boundaries of these two states have yet to be successfully discussed with any of the involved parties.228 As the failure of the Partition Plan illustrates, a two-state solution is at a gridlock, as Israeli aggression continues to increase and the Palestinians continue to oppose any territorial separation. Delegates should take note of the specific terms laid out through the Partition Plan and use this failure to determine solutions that utilizes different and more effective means of political mediation while also focusing addressing the needs of Palestinian refugees. It will only be through some degree of mediation that assistance programs for refugees will be effective. As the first Arab-Israeli War caused over 750,000 Palestinians to be displaced and become refugees, the UN felt it was necessary to address the humanitarian issue. At its third regular session, on 11 December 1948, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 194.229 This resolution declared that the refugees had two options: return to their homes and live at peace with the Israeli neighbors or receive compensation for their property and land of those choosing not to return to their native land.230 While this compensation was a good idea in theory, the resolution saw little action. The lack of coordinated response from the UN rendered one of the only methods of legal assistance to Palestine refugees ineffective.
226 Glenn E Robinson. "Palestine Liberation Organization." 227 Ibid. 228 Ibid. 229 A/RES/194, “Palestine—Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator,” 11 December 1948, http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/C758572B78D1CD0085256BCF0077E51A. 230 Ibid.
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This resolution also called for the demilitarization and internationalization of Jerusalem and the holy places of Palestine, as well as created a three-member UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine.231 The commission was tasked with solving three major issues: the size of the territories, the refugees and the status of Jerusalem.232 The commission was not very successful as the Arab states were reluctant to cooperate, while Israel insisted that the territorial question be given priority.233 Constantly citied as a legitimizing document of Palestinian rights, Resolution 194 has outlined the rights of these refugees but has lacked any serious result in regards to international legal and social authority for these people. With the next coming years, the Arab-Israeli conflict would escalate and the Security Council would be forced to once again call for truces and form various committees and programs to attempt to ensure safety in the turbulent Middle East. Delegates must recognize the need for security as the primary concern for these refugees, but also be aware of the limited political and legal rights of these people. The Partition Plan also included the formation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).234 This organization has been crucial in assisting Palestinian refugees, as it is the UN body with the longest history in the area.235 The organization has extensive field offices in all major refugee locations, such as the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, with its mission statement being to “help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstance in which they live.”236 The agency’s mandate constantly evolves as the needs of the refugees change with the political landscape. Although the organization is not responsible for administering camps or the rule of law within the camps, they do exist to provide education, health, relief, microfinance, and infrastructure development in the camps.237 Dealing with various levels of governmental cooperation from the host countries of these Palestinian refugees, the UNRWA has a particularly intricate job that relies on a large number of external political and militant factors. However, this organization has been invaluable to the Palestinian refugee, as 66% of the approximately three million Palestinian refugees are using their health and education services.238 On 2 June 2015, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this agency exists “because of political failure… [However] in the absence of a just and lasting solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA has become more than an agency, it is a lifeline.”239 This organization was originally conceived as a short-term solution to provide stability to the refugees and their camps during peaceful mediation. As the conflict prolonged and intensified over the past decades, this organization has been one of the few and most active Palestinian refugee assistance organizations.240 Without this organization, refugees would not only face limited political rights and economic 231 Ibid. 232 Ibid. 233 Kiyo Akasaka. The Question of Palestine and the United Nations. 234 Ibid. 235 Ibid. 236 "UNRWA Medium Term Strategy 2010 - 2015." UNRWA. 237 Ibid. 238 Ibid. 239 "After 65 Years, UN Agency Remains 'vital Stabilizing Factor' for Palestine Refugees in Middle East," UN News Center, June 2, 2015, accessed June 25, 2015, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51029#.VgW34d9Viko 240 Ibid.
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instability, but also greater violations of human rights and lack of security against continuing violence. As this crucial organization is undergoing a funding crisis, the UNRWA’s main goals for 2010-2015 are to work with host governments to expand their mandate to more refugees, focus on poverty eradication, improve educational programs, and promote political equality.241 Delegates should use the actions and programs of this organization to build and expand its mandate through further cooperation with governments of receiving states. This coordination will not only increase the level of humanitarian assistance for these refugees, but also provide the possibility of the beginning stages of normalizing political conflict in the Middle East. While the UNRWA continues to assist in supporting the humanitarian needs of the refugees, the UN still needs to focus on protecting legal and political rights of these people. In December 1969, the General Assembly stated in Resolution 2535, that “the problem of the Palestine Arab refugees has arisen from the denial of their inalienable rights under the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”242 The alleged denial of the right to self-determination and the lack of recognition of refugee’s political, social, and economic interests implied by this principle continues to be the justification of Palestine’s refusal to compromise.243 This statement reaffirmed Palestine’s initial concerns about the Partition Plan, while also highlighting the fact that the United Nations had not adequately addressed the human rights violations of Palestinian refugees. In September 1974, over 50 member states proposed that “the question of Palestine” be included in the General Assembly’s agenda, as the rights of the Palestinian people had not been discussed in over 20 years.244 Since the resolution was adopted on 22 November 1974, “the question of Palestine” has been a General Assembly item every year, creating the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.245 This program held annual seminars and demonstrations at regional level in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Latin America, and the Caribbean.246 Perhaps the most notable was held in 2004 and 2005, as countries gathered in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss the impact of Israel’s construction of the separation wall built around occupied Palestinian territory on the West Bank.247 The Israeli government refers to the barrier as a means of security for the bordering regions. This border not only isolates the refugees from their native country, but also isolates them from any trading ports and many job markets. When refugees are not able to access markets and a variety of jobs, they are stuck in the camps with no other options than to try and survive the daily acts of violence and injustice. Delegates must understand not only the importance of improving receiving states’ refugee camp infrastructure, but also the need for mechanisms of long-term financial
241 "UNRWA Medium Term Strategy 2010 – 2015," UNRWA. 242 A/RES/2535 (XXIV), “United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East,” 10 December 1969, http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/41F2C6DCE4DAA765852560DF004E0AC8. 243 Kiyo Akasaka. The Question of Palestine and the United Nations. 244 Ibid. 245 Ibid. 246 Ibid. 247 Ibid.
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stabilization of refugees. This wall is one of the greatest challenges to this issue and must be addressed by this committee, keeping in mind the principles of national sovereignty. This barrier brought the issue back to the international community and in 2012 when The General Assembly voted to make Palestine a nonmember observer state.248 This designation allowed the Palestinians to join the International Criminal Court, and more than 20 other international treaties.249 With this added political prowess, it is clear that the international community prioritizes the assistance of the Palestinian people and refugees, but many political obstacles still remain as the gridlock of this issue. As the UN’s efforts seemed to focus on the humanitarian effects of this this barrier, more evidence seemed to uncover there efforts were relatively ineffective. After several UN thematic Special Rapporteurs visited refugee camps in Israel and/or the occupied Palestinian territory from 2002-2006, they noted “the polices of collective punishment” that included land confiscations, house demolitions, and implantation of settlements and settlers.250 Since this time, the Human Rights Council has repeatedly called upon Israel to halt the vast human rights violations caused by the barrier and military occupation of the West Bank. Ignoring the comments and evidence found by the UN, citing it as “one-sided”, the Israeli government continues to marginalize these refugees, ultimately leaving the UN powerless. The UN has done a considerable amount to improve both the Israeli-Arab conflict and the Palestinian refugee situation, but has suffered from a lack of host county governmental coordination and effort. Khan Younis Camp Khan Younis is located in the Gaza Strip a couple miles from the Mediterranean coast, where it remains a major commercial route and trading point for the Middle East.251 After the 1948 war, 35,000 refugees took shelter within the camp and today it is home to nearly 72,000 refugees.252 Due to the location of the camp, these refugees have been the victims of Israeli politics and defense strategies. Over the years, many of the refugees have lost their shelters due to Israel Defense Forces’ operations and various Hamas terrorist attacks.253 Living in constant fear of violence from both Arab extremists and the Israeli government, these Palestinians often find it difficult to do daily activities. In order to curb the negative affects of this violence, the UNRWA has commenced a significant re-housing project.254 However, this project has recently been halted due to the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which has prevented the UNRWA from brining in materials to help thousands of people rebuild their structures.255 The UNRWA has only received permission in 2010 to bring in a limited amount of
248 Joe Lauria, "U.S. Raises Pressure on Israel Over Palestinians.” 249 Ibid. 250 Kiyo Akasaka The Question of Palestine and the United Nations. 251 "Camp Profile: Khan Younis," UNRWA, 2014, accessed 6 July 2015, http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/gaza/camp-profiles?field=1. 252 Ibid. 253 Ibid. 254Ibid. 255 Ibid.
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materials to complete a small number of shelters.256 However, the organization predicts that there at least 10,000 shelters to be rebuilt for these refugees.257 This blockade has left thousands of refugees living in unacceptable conditions as well as raised the unemployment rate. These refugees are stuck in Gaza without aid or a chance to make a life for themselves because of the lack of governmental cooperation caused by the Gaza blockade. This example is seen throughout many of the camps and is a major issue for Palestinian refugees. As they located in countries without adequate representation, they are often left as pawns in a greater political scheme. Delegates must recognize the humanitarian and militaristic repercussions of the political decisions of the Middle Eastern states involved in the refugee situation. Balata Camp Established in 1950, Balata is the largest refugee camp in the West Bank with over 23,000 registered refugees.258 Civil society and political actors play a large part in this camp as the Refugee Committee to Defend Refugee Rights was established in Balata in early 1994.259 Using the members of the camp to ignite political change for themselves, this camp has been extremely active in advocating for refugee’s rights.260 The committee, with assistance from the UNRWA, has formed youth activity centers and special women’s programs to further assist the refugees prepare for life after the camp.261 Still affected by general sewage issues and a 25% unemployment rate, the camp has illustrated the possibility of civil engagement and political action by the refugees.262 Using the efforts of the UNRWA and these refugees, delegates should be aware of the positive affects of political action. Due to the organization of the camp operations, the UNRWA has been able to implement health, education, microfinance, job creation, and emergency food programs within the camp.263 While this camp suffers from the same problems of most refugee camps, such as overcrowded schools and poor sanitation, the refugees experience greater effects of assistance from UNRWA due to increased cooperation caused by the civil societies and Refugee Committee to Defend Refugee Rights. Delegates should note the crucial role of civil society and grassroots political action a mechanism for both refugee representation and improving camp infrastructure. Case Study: Palestinian Rights in Syria With the Syrian civil war, political and militaristic tensions have risen within the twelve Palestine refugee camps located in this region. Scared for their safety, these refugees have seen extreme violence and displacement as a product of this civil war, worsening the humanitarian situation. As the UNRWA and other aid organizations have worked for 60 years to build stable communities for the Palestinian refugees, the armed political conflict has eroded all traces of these efforts. Refugees have fled to Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt to seek safety.264 As these areas suffer from overcrowded camps as well, many of the neighboring states are also suffering from this war.
256 Ibid. 257 Ibid. 258 "Camp Profile: Balata," UNRWA. 259 "Ibid. 260 Ibid. 261 Ibid. 262 Ibid. 263 Ibid. 264 Pierre Krahenbuhl, "Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal 2015," UNRWA, last modified 2015, http://www.unrwa.org/resources/emergency-appeals/syria-regional-crisis-emergency-appeal-2015.
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As the Palestinian refugees in Syria are in need more now than ever, the UNRWA is experiencing the largest funding crisis since its formation.265 The commissioner general, Pierre Krahenbul is quoted stating that the organization will run out of money by 2015 September due to a USD 100 million gap in its funding.266 In order to keep the organization operational, the UNRWA will end 85% of its short-term contracts with international consultants and they predict the next cuts will fall on the 700 schools that educate over half a million children.267 This will leave many children exposed to radicalization and greater influence from the various non-state actors that terrorize the Middle East. As the situation in Syria continues to escalate, the UNRWA appealed for a Regional Crisis Emergency fund.268 As the 2014 appeal was only 50% funded, the UNRWA published a report outlining the needs of the Regional Appeal in 2015.269 Despite doing all it can to assist the refugees, the UNRWA is facing many external problems such as militant conflict that make their job even harder. This funding crisis has hit the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria very hard, as it has suffered the most from the civil war.270 In 2015 April, the Yarmouk camp was the victim of a terrorist attack conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).271 Bombed and besieged by Syrian forces for over two years, these refugees awoke in April to ISIL militants seizing the camp.272 The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights predicts that ISIL controls over 90% of the camp.273 As 18,000 refugees are now trapped, the Syrian government continues to drop barrel bombs on this camp in an effort to drive out the terrorist group.274 As the Syrian Civil War gets worse and “as terror closes in on Yarmouk from all sides, residents have two choices -- to attempt to flee what was their place of refuge, or to stay inside what the UN says now resembles a camp of death.”275 As this may seem an like an easy choice in terms of safety, many refugees are scared to flee the camps as they do not have legal or political rights in many countries. Many refugees that made the decision to flee were met with further discrimination. Jordan is a popular destination for the Palestine refugees that have fled Syria, but the country is facing the same problem as many, overpopulation of camps.276 Jordan therefore has recently expelled and blocked Palestinian refugees from entering the country.277 Without legal or political rights, these Palestinian refugees have now escaped the militant violence only to become displaced persons without a stable 265 Grant, Harriet, "UN Agency That Supports Palestinian Refugees Faces Funding Crisis," The Guardian, July 2, 2015, accessed 25 June 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/02/un-relief-and-works-agency-funding-crisis-palestinian-refugees-yarmouk-damascus. 266 Ibid. 267 Ibid. 268 Pierre Krahenbuhl. "Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal 2015." 269 Ibid. 270 Atika Shubert, Bharati Naik, and Nick Thompson, "Yarmouk Refugees Describe ISIS Raid on Syrian Camp," CNN, April 15, 2015, Accessed June 25, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/13/middleeast/syria-yarmouk-isis-shubert/. 271 Ibid. 272 Ibid. 273 Ibid. 274 Ibid. 275 Ibid. 276 Areej Abuqudairi, "Report: Jordan Deports Palestinian Refugees," Al Jazeera, August 17, 2014, Accessed July 25, 2015. 277 Ibid.
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community and exposed to gross exploitation and political violence. While many camps experience the same issues, delegates must understand the need for situation-dependent solutions. As no camp is the same, this committee should develop solutions that are tailored to each region and receiving state as each will have varying political and humanitarian needs.
CURRENT STATUS Challenges Facing the UNWRA The recent funding crisis surrounding the UNRWA has brought many issues regarding this organization into light. On 26 July 2015, UNRWA announced a growing risk of possible delay to the start of the academic year in over 700 refugee schools, affecting half a million students across the Middle East.278 This delay stemmed from the USD 101 million deficit of the organization’s education programs.279 Without any other option, the UNRWA proposed to postpone the school year on 2 August 2015.280 This proposal would delay that start of the academic year for a period of four months, while UNRWA used their staff to locate more donations.281 The Secretary-General of Palestine Cabinet, Ali Abu Diak rejected this proposal, stating that there has to be an alternative option other than neglecting childhood education.282 Stressing that the Palestinian side is exerting all efforts to increase funding for UNRWA, he also called on the UN and other member states to do the same.283 As this is just one example of how the funding crisis of UNRWA will affect refugees, this committee must find solutions to the increasingly large funding deficit in order to adequately support the already existing humanitarian assistance programs. An interview conducted with Chris Gunness, spokesperson and Director of Advocacy and Communications for UNRWA, presents a completely different array of challenges for this organization separate from the funding crisis.284 According Gunness, the Israeli people often feel that these organizations work only with the Palestinians and protect their interests.285 On the other hand, some Palestinian people object to western intervention and disagree with many of the guiding principles of the organization.286 While it is clear that UNRWA does great work for the Palestinian refugees, receiving states such as Israel might be hesitant to allow the organization all of the access needed because of the various political affiliations. With a conflict so polarized, it is important that delegates understand the political implications of their solutions, as well as the receiving state’s own political agenda.
278 "PA Rejects UNRWA’s Possible Delay of Academic Year 2015-2016," WAFA, 15 August 2015, accessed 25 August 2015, http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=29000. 279 Ibid. 280 Ibid. 281 Ibid. 282 Ibid. 283 Ibid. 284 "The Toughest Spokesperson's Job in the World? A Decade Speaking out for Palestinian Humanitarian Needs," UN News Center.. 285 Ibid. 286 Ibid.
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Political agenda also plays a role in other various non-governmental assistance organizations. On 20 July 2015, the London-based refugee rights group Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) gained official consultative status at the UN.287 In a narrow vote, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) approved a recommendation to include PRC as an official advisor NGO. The organization “specializes in the research, analysis, and monitoring of issues pertaining to the dispersed Palestinians and their internationally recognized legal right to return.”288 Israel had previously rejected this recommendation under the allegation that PRC was closely linked to Hamas.289 The organization has repeatedly denied these claims, and on 17 July 2015, the PRC launched a lawsuit against Israel’s UN mission claiming that their “damaging” remarks had prohibited their assistance programs throughout the Middle East.290 Many independent investigations have been conducted into the PRC, all of which suggest that there is no evidence to support Israel’s claim. Delegates should note that while UNRWA is the largest assistance organization for Palestinian refugees, it is not the only organization. Delegates of this committee should be familiar with other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as PRC, as they could be very helpful alternative, given the financial crisis of the UNRWA. In addition, this example illustrates the importance of political affiliation of every organization involved within this conflict. Even though Israel’s claims were disproven, PRC’s projects were still disrupted by the mere thought that they could be involved with Hamas. Delegates should be acutely aware of the political sensitivity of this issue and develop each solution accordingly. Non State Actors (NSAs) and Escalating Military Conflict In the past two years, this conflict has been characterized by relatively small militant conflicts that have harmed thousands of innocent people and refugees. These militant conflicts are often the product of NSA’s aggression. On 30 July 2015, there was a firebombing in Duma, West Bank. Targeting a Palestinian refugee’s home, the bombing killed four people and is attributed to Jewish Israeli extremists.291 These events are a daily occurrence in these refugee areas. The month of July alone experienced four Palestinians being fatally shot by Israeli soldiers and Palestinians killing Israelis on their way home from a basketball game.292 These types of killings by independent political actors set off a chain of events that further escalate the conflict. The recent firebombing led to two rockets being fired at the Gaza Strip towards Israel from Islamic extremist.293 This is the endless cycle of violence that this conflict has evolved to. As more NSAs influence the population and gain support, they continue to terrorize areas with high concentration of refugees, further hindering any peaceful resolution to the overall Arab-Israeli issue.
287 "Palestinian Refugee Rights Group Wins UN Consultative Status," Middle East Eye, 21 July 2015, accessed 25 August 2015, http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinian-refugee-rights-group-wins-un-consultative-status-1408969820. 288 Ibid. 289 Ibid. 290 Ibid. 291 Diaa Hadid and Jodi Rudoren, "Jewish Arsonists Suspected in West Bank Attack That Killed Palestinian Toddler," The New York Times, 31 July 2015, accessed 25 August 2015, http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinian-refugee-rights-group-wins-un-consultative-status-1408969820. 292 Ibid. 293 Ibid.
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Conflicts between NSAs are also starting to occur within the Palestinian side alone. On 19 July 2015, four explosions targeted cars belonging to Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip.294 These explosions are suspected to be the work of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).295 These two Islamic groups have been battling for political control over the small coastal strip.296 Extremist followers of ISIS have attacked various Hamas facilities in the past and have also fired rockets at Israel in an attempt to undermine the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.297 These extremists believe Hasmas is too lenient in terms of Israeli relations and has failed to establish Islamic rule in the territory.298 As ISIS gains more followers, these uprisings are becoming more frequent. This leaves Palestinian refugees vulnerable in two ways. First, they have a limited means of protection, and live in constant fear of the next attack. Secondly, as marginalized members of society, they are quite impressionable to outside political actors. ISIS is gaining support by appealing to injustices and manipulated ideology felt by many Middle Easterners. This committee must realize the magnitude of political influence that these extremist groups hold over the population. Delegates must be aware of the political and militant conflict caused by these rebel groups and provide mechanisms to ensure safety for these refugees.
BLOC ANALYSIS As this is a largely politicized issue, there are several different bloc positions within the international community. The West provides most funding for various Palestinian refugee aid programs and has shown large support for Israel in the past. Most western countries now favor a two state solution, with peaceful mediation. Receiving states have a whole different set of political and social needs in terms of Palestinian refugees. This issue is one rooted in religious conflict, therefore the Muslim world is largely sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. As these states are theocratic, solutions involving these countries will have to be tailored to the adherence to Islamic principles, shaping their policies greatly. Finally, Latin America and Asia have a very interesting third-party status in peace talks and come from varying levels of support for both sides of the conflict. Delegates should note that these positions are only a guide to forming solutions. There are always exceptions to the policies outlined through these positions, as every state has their own intricate political history. Europe and North America As the top contributors to the UNRWA, the West plays a very crucial part in the Palestinian Refugee situation in the Middle East.299 This region contains mostly large developed countries, such as the US and the United Kingdom, that provide a large amount of aid to the International community, but contains very few Palestinian refugees. With the recent funding crisis, the support from the West is more important now than ever. As all of the Western countries support the inalienable rights of Palestinian refugees, the policies regarding the Israeli-Arab conflict vary. The political role of these
294 Suhaib Salem,"ISIS Role Eyed in Bombs Targeting Hamas, Other Militant Leaders in Gaza," CBS, July 19, 2015, accessed 25 August 2015, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-role-bombs-targeting-hamas-militant-leaders-gaza/. 295 Ibid. 296 Ibid. 297 Ibid. 298 Ibid. 299 Pierre Krahenbuhl, "Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal 2015."
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states must not be undermined, as the US is one of the largest supporters of Israel within the international community, participating in years of failed peace talks and political negotiations.300 As of March 2015, the US and other Western countries have begun to exert new pressure on Israel to allow the UN to set a deadline for a Palestinian state.301 This newfound pressure against Israel shows that the West wants to see an end to this conflict so that the Palestinian refugees can be truly assisted. As much of these countries believe in the two-state solution, many are beginning to act on their convictions to make Palestine autonomous.302 These countries provide the international aid funding for most of the world and have immense political authority, causing them to be the unheard actors in the Palestinian refugee situation. This bloc would likely support increased infrastructure for receiving states and an increased means of peaceful negotiation with the end goal of a two-state solution. This bloc would not support any solution that defined either Israel or Palestine as the sole territorial representative and any cohesion with Middle Eastern NSAs. States that Receive Palestinian Refugees This bloc contains the occupied territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, along with Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. As these countries are embroiled in political and militant conflict, each one of these conflict play a major part in the condition of Palestinian refugees. Increased governmental coordination between these counties is needed for the refugee situation to be adequately curbed. While refugees in Syria and Jordan have been granted civil and economic rights similar to those of their own citizens, Syria remains in a civil war that has caused the displacement of thousands of refugees causing many to flee to an overcrowded Jordan.303 Refugees within Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon enjoy little to no rights, as they are constant victims of various political and militant crises.304 The policies of these states directly affect the Palestinian refugee situation in the Middle East, making both the political relations between these countries and the international community particularly important. As mentioned throughout this paper, these states are suffering from a severe lack of infrastructure, which leads to overpopulation and several humanitarian issues. These countries would be in favor of boosting their infrastructure and increasing cooperation with other Middle Eastern countries. These countries seek re-organization and coordination with neighboring countries to help them manage the influx of Palestinian refugees. Muslim Countries Middle Eastern relations are a major aspect of this topic as Middle Eastern politics are the root of this issue. As these countries show unwavering support for Palestine, many have sent aid packages to Palestinian refugees.305 This issue is particularly complicated due to the religiously fueled
300 Simon A. Waldman, Anglo-american diplomacy and the palestinian refugee problem, 1948-51, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. 2015. 301 Joe Lauria. "U.S. Raises Pressure on Israel Over Palestinians." 302 Ibid. 303 "UNRWA Medium Term Strategy 2010 - 2015." UNRWA. 304 Ibid. 305 "Iran Sends Aid to Palestinian Refugees," PressTV, 2013, accessed 25 August 2015, http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/07/30/316392/iran-sends-aid-to-palestinian-refugees/.
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ideological conflict that surrounds the Arab-Israeli issue. As many NSAs use interpretations of religious texts as their justification for terrorist attacks and militant uprisings, the coordination and integration of Muslim states is crucial to any solution proposed by this committee.306 As this issue has it roots in religious conflict, it is clear that this bloc is very sympathetic with the Palestinian cause. These countries fully support the PLO and their representative autonomy. As most of the international community now favors a peaceful two-state solution, this bloc may be in opposition with these other countries in regard to policies relating to both territorial right and refugee assistance. In regards to the refugees, the Muslim world wants these people to be safe, but would favor non-western aid and further coordination with various Middle Eastern NSAs to ensure their safety. This bloc differs mostly from the rest of the international community due to their ideological and political inclinations. Latin American and Asia Several militant conflicts, such as the aggression on the Gaza Strip in 2009, have caused states such as Venezuela and Bolivia to cut diplomatic ties with Israel.307 Since this time, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and El Salvador have withdrawn their ambassadors to Israel in protest.308 As the biggest Palestinian diaspora outside the Arab world, and estimated 700,000 Latin Americans are of Palestinian decent.309 The international community is beginning to fully support a two-state solution and now these areas outside of the Arab world have to work in conjunction with Israel and Palestine to figure out a long-term solution for the sake of the Palestinian refugees. Asian countries have been relatively inactive in this conflict in order to avoid complicating their trade and alliances with other polarized countries. Large economic players, such as China, have provided funds to various assistance programs, but not enough to have a stake in their methodology or implementation. These countries are obviously in support of peace mediation and prioritized refugee assistance. While states have varying degrees of political history with both Israel and Palestine, this bloc will see the most discrepancy between supports for each side. However, most countries in this bloc have participated in peaceful negotiations of some kind and look for a peaceful Middle East.
COMMITTEE MISSION While there are numerous aspects to the topic, the Palestinian Refugee Situation in the Middle East is suffering a major humanitarian crisis. As camps are overcrowded, understaffed, and underfunded, human rights abuses dominate a people that have been victim to serve discrimination for years. By analyzing Resolution 194 and other UN documents, this committee can identify the weaknesses and improve upon the humanitarian needs of these peoples. The actions of the UNRWA should be commended as delegates begin to build on their efforts through various solutions to further assist these Palestine refugees. Discussing issues such as rights of the refugee, sanitation of camps, and poverty eradication, this committee must fully account for the political causes and repercussions of any humanitarian solution.
306 Ibid. 307 Sam Bollier, "Is Israel Losing Latin America?" Al Jazeera, 1 July 2014, accessed 25 August 2015, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2014/07/israel-gaza-losing-latin-america-2014731111846443951.html.
308 Ibid. 309 Ibid.
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Perhaps the most important aspect of this situation revolves around the lack of legal and political rights and institutions available to these refugees. Displaced from their homes and stripped of their rights, these refugees are pawns in the political warfare that consumes the Middle East. Through addressing issues of lacking governmental cooperation, land rights, and the lack of political representation, delegates must be aware of the current politics of host nations as they greatly affect the overall Palestinian refugee situation. Considering religious, political, and economic motivations of each host country and neighboring Middle Eastern nations will be crucial to solving this situation. Furthermore, it is critical to consider the political affiliations to the Israeli-Arab conflict, as well as the interests, sovereignty, and cultures of the individual states within the Middle East, as well as the world as a whole, in order to create partisan resolutions to solve the Palestinian Refugee Situation in the Middle East.
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RESEARCH AND PREPARATION QUESTIONS
As mentioned in the Note on Research and Preparation, delegates must answer each of these questions in their position papers.
TOPIC A 1. Has your country ever experienced territorial disputes? If so, is it solved and how was it
solved? 2. What is your country’s policy regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute? Do they support
Azerbaijan? Armenia? Or the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh people? 3. What are some alternative methods of compromise and discussion that your country would
support for this conflict? 4. What level of UN intervention with the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan would your
country recommend for solving this territorial dispute? 5. What are some solutions to mediate the escalating militant conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan? 6. What are some preemptive solutions to minimize causalities if military conflict were to break
out? 7. How will your country use the territorial ownership of Azerbaijan to solve the dispute and
further facilitate compromise?
TOPIC B 1. Is your country home to Palestinian refugees? If so, to what extent are they politically and
legally recognized by your national government? If not, how does your country deal with general refugees located in their borders?
2. What is your country’s policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict? How has this policy affected your country’s involvement in Middle Eastern geo-politics?
3. Does your country provide any aid to Palestinian refugees? If so, how much and to what organizations?
4. To what extent would your country promote governmental coordination with outside aid organizations and NGOs such as UNRWA? If your national government does not agree with Western intervention, what are some solutions that they will promote?
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5. What are some mechanisms of compromise that would both increase Middle Eastern governmental coordination and decrease violent conflict?
6. Has your country recently suffered from overpopulation or lack of infrastructure? If so, what are the steps taken to improve this issue and how can your country apply these solutions to Palestinian refugee receiving states? If not, what are policies that your national government would support to deal with both overpopulation and infrastructure development?
7. Does your country experience conflict as the product of violent Non-State Actors? If so, what are their policies towards these terrorists and how could your state apply these policies to the various actors that affect the Palestinian refugees? If not, to what level of involvement would your country support outside militant actors neutralizing these threats?
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
TOPIC A A/RES/60/285. “The situation in the occupied territories in Azerbaijan.” 15 September 2006,
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/60/285. This is the first UN resolution where the United Nations officially recognizes that the territories are
“occupied” in the eyes of international law. This is a direct source from the United Nations. A/RES/62/243. “The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.” 25 April 2008,
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/62/243. This is the most recent UN resolution regarding this topic. This is an official United Nations document and
is a legitimate source. S/RES/822. “Armenia-Azerbaijan” 30 April 1993,
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/822(1993). This UN resolution displays failed mediation methods between the two countries. This is a resolution from
the United Nations, therefore it is a direct resource and should be treated as fully legitimate.
TOPIC B A/RES/194. “Palestine—Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator.” 11 December 1948,
http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/C758572B78D1CD0085256BCF0077E51A. This resolution established the Palestinian Refugee’s right to return to their home if they were willing to live peacefully with their neighbors and returned at the earliest date. Obviously not effectively executed by the United Nations, this resolution has many problems. Not gaining support of the majority of Middle Eastern Nations and completely ignoring the role of Israel, the international community has constantly cited this resolution as an attempt to help the refugees while no concrete result has been seen. Akasaka, Kiyo. “The Question of Palestine and the United Nations.” United Nations. 2008. http://unispal.un.org/pdfs/DPI2499.pdf. This source was published by the United Nations and provides insight on the Arab-Palestinian issue in the context of
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international jurisdiction and political authority. While providing an in-depth history into the issue, this source also specifically discusses refugees and the unique and gruesome challenges that faces their day to day activities. This source will provide the delegates will international context on how to address the Palestinian refugee situation. "UNRWA Medium Term Strategy 2010 - 2015." UNRWA. 2010. Accessed July 6, 2015. http://www.unrwa.org/userfiles/201003317746.pdf. This report specifically describes all of the regions of operations for the UNRWA. Assisting Palestinian refugees since its formation in 1950, the UNRWA instituted major reform in its policies and operations in 2007. Since these reforms, the agency has refocused their mandate and aimed for more effective programs and operations. This report outlines the UNRWA’s most recent goals and strategies for assisting refugees up until 2015.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
COMMITTEE HISTORY AND SIMULATION A/C.4/58/L.1. United Nations. Accessed 19 May 2011. http://daccess-dds-
ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/N03/526/63/PDF/N0352663.pdf?OpenElement. Agenda for SPECPOL’s 58th session. “Charter of the United Nations: Chapter XI: Declaration regarding Non-Self-Governing
Territories." United Nations. Accessed 16 May 2011. http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/chapter11.shtml.
This chapter deals with non-self-governing territories and addresses their political independence. "Fourth Committee." United Nations. Accessed 16 May 2011.
http://www.un.org/ga/61/fourth/pr.shtml. A summary of the Fourth Committee with resources of its recent activity. GA/SPD/206. United Nations. Accessed 19 May 2011.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20001114.gaspd206.doc.html. A compilation of press releases by the Fourth Committee during its 27th meeting on 14 November 2000. "Global Issues." United Nations. Accessed 16 May 2011.
http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/decolonization/index.shtml. A summary of colonization prior to and after the creation of the United Nations. "Historical Background." United Nations. Accessed 16 May 2011.
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpi/decolonization/history.htm. A political history of global attempts to address colonization in the world. "OHCHR Documents." OHCHR Homepage. Accessed 16 May 2011.
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/GA/61documents.htm. Topics covered by the OHCHR and Special Committee on Israeli Actions.
TOPIC A UN Sources
A/RES/48/114. “Emergency international assistance to refugees and displaced persons in Azerbaijan.” 20 December 2003, http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r114.htm.
This resolution established a program for the emergency international assistance to refugees and displaced persons in Azerbaijan. It is a direct source from the United Nations.
A/RES/60/285. “The situation in the occupied territories in Azerbaijan.” 15 September 2006,
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/60/285.
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This is the first UN resolution where the United Nations officially recognizes that the territories are “occupied” in the eyes of international law. This is a direct source from the United Nations.
A/RES/62/243. “The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.” 25 April 2008,
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/62/243. This is the most recent UN resolution regarding this topic. This is an official United Nations document and
is a legitimate source. S/RES/822. “Armenia-Azerbaijan” 30 April 1993,
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/822(1993). This UN resolution displays failed mediation methods between the two countries. This is a direct resolution
from the United Nations, therefore it is a direct resource and should be treated as fully legitimate. Other Sources
"Azerbaijan - Armenian Aggression Against Azerbaijan." Heydar Aliyev Center. 2005. Accessed May 28, 2015. http://www.azerbaijan.az/_Karabakh/_ArmenianAgression/_armenianAgression_e.html.
This source defines the historical events that lead to the eventual collapse of the USSR and their reign over both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Told from an Azeri perspective, this will give the paper contention in regards to the different methods Armenia used to secure power and influence over the disputed territory, while also displaying the political implications of outside actors such as Russia and Iran. This complex and politicized history is extremely important to fully understanding the motives of both Azerbaijan and Armenia. Bender, Jeremy. "Azerbaijan's Army Says It Is 'Ready To Fulfill Even The Order Of Destroying'
Armenia's Capital City." Business Insider. August 8, 2014. Accessed May 28, 2015. http://www.businessinsider.com/armenia-and-azerbaijan-approaching-war-2014-8.
This article describes the escalating tensions involving this topic. It is an extremely current issue and this article is a prime example of the possible dangers that are to come. Business Insider is a reputable source that provided all of their sources in the correct way. Chorbajian, Levon. The Making of Nagorno-Karabagh: From Secession to Republic. Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave, 2001. This book is another general outline of the Karahakh conflict, however this book breaks the issue down into very specialized subtopics. Providing analysis on the solutions attempted by outside organizations such as the OSCE, this book contributes geopolitical factors as a result of these independent organizations’ assistance. Looking at these geopolitical ramifications will help the delegates understand how this conflict affects the rest of the international community. Corboy, Denis, William Courtney, and Richard Kauzlarich. "It's Time to Reboot Our Relationship
with Russia and Iran's Neighbors." Newsweek, 28 July 2015. Accessed 27 August 2015. http://www.newsweek.com/its-time-reboot-our-relationship-russia-and-irans-neighbors-357498.
This article provides very interesting and useful insight into the different bloc positions regarding this topic.
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Donaldson, Day. "Azerbaijan Commemorates Historic Genocide Perpetrated by Armenians: 1918
March Days." Guardian Liberty Voice. 2 April 2014. Accessed 27 July 2015. http://guardianlv.com/2014/04/azerbaijan-commemorates-historic-genocide-perpetrated-by-armenians-1918-march-days/.
This article gives a brief, but extremely detailed history of the conflict. As liberty voice is a sub-section of the Guardian, this is also a reputable source and should be treated as legitimate account of the conflict. "EU's 'priority' to End Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict." Anadolu Agency. 20 July 2015. Accessed August
27, 2015. http://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/559223--eus-priority-to-end-nagorno-karabakh-conflict.
This article describes the EU’s position on this international conflict. It was very important in providing insight into how the EU viewed the conflict as it escalates in conflict. The Anadolu Agency is a European news service that is very accredited. "Iran Sees Only Solution to Nagorno Karabakh Conflict Peacefully." Armen Press. 24 July 2015.
Accessed 27 August 2015. http://armenpress.am/eng/news/813203/iran-sees-only-solution-to-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-peacefully.html.
This article challenges the past stance of Iran, updating the topic. This article describes how Iran now views this conflict as neutral and needed to end in order to stop complicating relations in the Middle East. This source is from Armen Press, an Armenian new source and might slightly bias. Keshishian, Flora and Lilit Harutyunyan. "Culture and Post-Soviet Transitions: A Pilot Study in the
Republic of Armenian."International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 26, no. 4 (12, 2013): 369-392. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10767-013-9162-7#/page-1.
This article adds contention to the topic, as it describes the transition of Armenian culture and people during the collapse of the Soviet Union. As both states began to form democracies, different issues arose for both leading to the political motivations of the Karabakh conflict. This article breaks the Armenian population itno three different generations and describes their views and actions on the transition, specifically how it relates to the Karabakh region. Kruger, Heiko. The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Legal Analysis. Berlin: Springer, 2010. This novel removes itself from both of the states’ contexts and provides and unbiased analysis of the issue’s legality. Looking at the international law, this book states that regardless of the native people, Armenian aggression was illegal in the eyes of the international community. Providing specific examples and citing all UN documents surrounding the issue, this novel is key to allowing the delegates to understand the legal frameworks that surround this issue and define the methods in which this committee should address the conflict. Laitin, David, and Ronald Suny. "Armenia and Azerbaijan: Thinking a Way out of Karabakh." Middle
East Policy 7, no. 1 (1999): 145-76. http://homes.ieu.edu.tr/~ibagdadi/INT435/Readings/The%20Caucasus/laitinandsuny%20-%20Armenia%20and%20Azerbaijan.pdf.
Describing the effects of the collapse of the USSR on the post-colonial political institutions of Armenia and Azerbaijan, this article specifically links these problems to the conflict surrounding the occupied territories. This perspective is crucial to understanding the evolution of the political institutions in both states and how their evolution has affected the overall conflict. This provides a direct transition into describing the Karabakh conflict and will allow the delegates an in-depth look in the formation of various political structures that define this issue.
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Mulclaire, Jake. "Face Off: The Coming War between Armenia and Azerbaijan." The National
Interest. 9 April 2015. Accessed 23 July 2015. http://www.nationalinterest.org/feature/face-the-coming-war-between-armenia-azerbaijan-12585.
This article provides an in-depth look on the recent events that surround this issue. While the conflict is coming to a militant climax, this article analyzes the military and political affects of both of these nations’ actions in regards to Middle Eastern politics. As normalizing the Middle East is a large issue surrounding this topic, it is extremely important for delegates to understand the ramifications of the current situation. Nagorno Karabagh: A White Paper. 2nd ed. Yerevan, Armenia: Armenian Center for National and
International Studies, 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/20100510024209/http://www.armeniaforeignministry.com/fr/nk/white_paper.html.
This report is written by the Armenian Center for Nation and International Studies and provides some contention to the issue. Outlining the feelings of the native people of the Karahakh region, this report allows delegates to see the other side of the occupation as these people view it as their cultural right to the land. In addition, this report also describes the UN security resolutions and their ineffectiveness in solving the issue. This paper will really provide the delegates with a viewpoint from both sides of the conflict. Qasimova, Shafa. “Article 51 of the UN Charter and the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict.”
Perceptions 15, (2010): 75-98. http://sam.gov.tr/article-51-of-the-un-charter-and-the-armenia-azerbaijan-conflict/.
Article 51 has been used to justify the violent means of many politicized conflicts. Basically stating that native people have rights to their own lands, it has provided international justification to the Karabakh natives, but has also directly conflicted with the four resolutions drafted in 1993 by the Security Council. It is important note this contention because both of these documents are published by the UN and both provide political legitimacy to the violence surrounding this issue. This article shows how the UN has been widely ineffective in solving this complex issue. Rasizade, Alec. "Azerbaijan in Transition to the “New Age of Democracy”." Communism and Post-
Communist Studies 36, no. 3 (2003): 345-72. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967067X03000436.
Specifically addressing the transition of Azerbaijan, this article clearly outlines the issues surrounding the state’s formation of democracy. This article also provides information on the economic resources such as oil and energy that surround the overall topic. Oil is a huge political actor in the Middle East and this topic, as the Karabakh region is abundant in this resource. This article breaks down the issues surrounding Azerbaijan and its instability, adding great depth to the overall conflict. Sadigbayli, Rovshan. "The Implications of the 1993 UN Security Council Action for the Settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict.” Caucasian Review of International Affairs 3, No. 4 (2009): 342-70. http://www.cria-online.org/9_3.html. This article cites the most important UN document relating to this topic, with an in depth look at each of the four resolutions passed. By outlining its shortfalls in international peace keeping, delegates will be able to understand what has been done and what issues still need to be addressed. This is crucial to understanding the issue and the political actions that have already been tried by the UN.
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Swietochowki, Tadeusz. "Azerbaijan: The Hidden Faces of Islam." World Policy Journal 19, no. 3 (2002): 69-76. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40209821.
This article outlines the religiously fueled origins of the Occupied Territories in Azerbaijan. The Russian occupation changed defined much of Armenia and Azerbaijan’s culture and history, leading to the conflict. Through analysis of the political insurgency between Islamic nations and their aggressors, delegates will get a better understanding of how Middle Eastern religious politics plays a major role in this topic. "The Conflict Between Armenia and Azerbaijan." The Council on Foreign Relations. January 2,
2014. Accessed 23 July 2015. http://www.cfr.org/global/global-conflict-tracker/p32137#!/?marker=23.
This article outlines the timeline of the recent militant conflicts surrounding this issue, as well as areas of conflict that the issue affects. This will provide a comprehensive look at Middle Eastern relations and how the continuing events of this conflict will affect the international community. This is important because the conflict is reaching its climax and soon the analysis surrounding this topic might become a reality. Waal, Thomas. Black Garden Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War. New York: New York
University Press, 2003. This book provides an in-depth look on the actual events of the Azer-Armenian militant conflicts that are the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict. Describing the issue from both sides, this book illustrates the consequences of this conflict such as internally displaced persons and the escalating political situation in the Middle East. This will give delegates a full picture of the issue.
TOPIC B UN Sources
A/RES/194. “Palestine—Progress Report of the United Nations Mediator.” 11 December 1948. http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/C758572B78D1CD0085256BCF0077E51A.
This resolution established the Palestinian Refugee’s right to return to their home if they were willing to live peacefully with their neighbors and returned at the earliest date. Obviously not effectively executed by the United Nations, this resolution has many problems. Not gaining support of the majority of Middle Eastern Nations and completely ignoring the role of Israel, the international community has constantly cited this resolution as an attempt to help the refugees while no concrete result has been seen. A/RES/2535, “United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East,”
10 December 1969. http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/41F2C6DCE4DAA765852560DF004E0AC8.
This resolution established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the single most active aid organization for these refugees. This UN document also reaffirmed the Palestinian refugees’ right to inalienable human rights under the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration of Human Rights. As this is still a major issue today, it is clear that this resolution had some shortcomings. Delegates should use this resolution to pin point the ineffective aspects and base their solutions of the inadequacy of this piece of international legislation.
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"After 65 Years, UN Agency Remains 'vital Stabilizing Factor' for Palestine Refugees in Middle East." UN News Center. June 2, 2015. Accessed June 25, 2015. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51029#.VdxxTNNViko.
This source discusses the importance of UNRWA and their actions with Palestinian refugees. Published by the UN News Center, the information presented about this UN organization may be presented in an overly-optimistic light, but this organization does provide the majority of the assistance to these refugees and is very important. Akasaka, Kiyo. “The Question of Palestine and the United Nations.” United Nations 2008. http://unispal.un.org/pdfs/DPI2499.pdf. This source was published by the United Nations and provides insight on the Arab-Palestinian issue in the context of international jurisdiction and political authority. While providing an in-depth history into the issue, this source also specifically discusses refugees and the unique and gruesome challenges that faces their day to day activities. This source will provide the delegates will international context on how to address the Palestinian refugee situation. "Camp Profile: Balata." UNRWA. 2014. Accessed July 6, 2015. http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-
work/west-bank/camp-profiles?field=12. This camp profile is from the West Bank and outlines one of the positive results of civil societies and non-state actors. Home to The Refugee Committee to Defend Refugee Rights, this camp has shown significant improvements since the establishment of this civil society group. As one of the main groups defending their own rights, it is still affected by the inaccessibility to the Israeli labor market. "Camp Profile: Khan Younis." UNRWA. 2014. Accessed July 6, 2015.
http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/gaza-strip/camp-profiles?field=1. The UNRWA also provides camp profiles of each of their camps, outlining the problems that surrounding the refugee issue relating to specific camps. This profile discusses a camp on the Gaza Strip that has been sufficiently hurt by Israeli Defense Forces militarized actions. Now affected by the imposition of the Israeli blockade, the camp lacks the materials needed to rebuild a majority of their shelters. This camp is a perfect example of how conflict between political institutions can further marginalize and harm these refugees. "Camp Profile: Nahr El-Bared." Where We Work UNRWA. 2014. Accessed July 6, 2015.
http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/lebanon/camp-profiles?field=15. This camp was destroyed in the cross-fire of Lebanese military conflict. As the UNRWA’s largest project, this camp illustrates the reconstruction process associated with Palestinian refugees camps. It will be important for the delegates to see an outline of reconstruction and proper help from the UNRWA. "Interview: The Toughest Spokesperson's Job in the World? A Decade Speaking out for Palestinian
Humanitarian Needs." UN News Center. August 3, 2015. Accessed August 25, 2015. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51549#.VdxhlNNVikr.
This source provides very interesting commentary on the inner workings of UNRWA. Through an interview with the leader of this organization, the UN News Center published a very interesting and accurate retelling of various operations. "UNRWA Medium Term Strategy 2010 - 2015." UNRWA. 2010. Accessed July 6, 2015.
http://www.unrwa.org/userfiles/201003317746.pdf. This report specifically describes all of the regions of operations for the UNRWA. Assisting Palestinian refugees since
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its formation in 1950, the UNRWA instituted major reform in its policies and operations in 2007. Since these reforms, the agency has refocused their mandate and aimed for more effective programs and operations. This report outlines the UNRWA’s most recent goals and strategies for assisting refugees up until 2015. "Where We Work UNRWA." UNRWA. 2014. Accessed July 6, 2015.
http://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work. Through this website, the UNRWA has compiled maps and human rights data to specifically outline the rights, or therefore lack of in the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Each region has their own issues regarding rights and the UNRWA has created an extensive collaboration of many sources to highlight the shortcomings in each area. This will be crucially important for delegates, as this will present the major political problems they will need to address in each area. Other Sources
Abuqudairi, Areej. "Report: Jordan Deports Palestinian Refugees." Al Jazeera. August 17, 2014. Accessed July 25, 2015. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/jordan-deports-palestinians-fleeing-syria-war-20148710735703862.html.
This source provides key information on Jordan and how they were forced to deport refugees due to overpopulation. Published by a new source based in a Muslim country, it might have a slight bias as to the severity of Jordan’s actions. Delegates should see information from these source with a grain of salt, as they provide an accurate picture of the sentiments felt by Muslim countries. Bollier, Sam. "Is Israel Losing Latin America?" Al Jazeera. July 1, 2014. Accessed August 25, 2015.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2014/07/israel-gaza-losing-latin-america-2014731111846443951.html.
Again, published by a news source located in a Muslim country, this source may be slightly bais. However, the source provides a very interesting look into Latin American relations and how they relate to the overall issue. Grant, Harriet. "UN Agency That Supports Palestinian Refugees Faces Funding Crisis." The
Guardian, July 2, 2015, World- Middle East sec. Accessed June 25, 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/02/un-relief-and-works-agency-funding-crisis-palestinian-refugees-yarmouk-damascus.
This source discusses in detail the current funding crisis of UNRWA and how this is effecting their ability to assist the refugees. The Guardian is a reputable news source and cited all of their information in the proper way. Hadid, Diaa, and Jodi Rudoren. "Jewish Arsonists Suspected in West Bank Attack That Killed
Palestinian Toddler." The New York Times, July 31, 2015. Accessed August 25, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/01/world/middleeast/west-bank-arson-palestinian-toddler.html?_r=3.
This source is a direct example of how Palestinian refugees have been and continue to be affected by the greater Arab- Israeli conflict. The New York Times is obviously an extremely reputable news source. "Iran Sends Aid to Palestinian Refugees." PressTV. 2013. Accessed August 25, 2015.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/07/30/316392/iran-sends-aid-to-palestinian-refugees/.
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PressTV is a question news source, but this information was fact checked and provides great information for Iran’s involvement in refugee aid. Krahenbuhl, Pierre. "Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal 2015." UNRWA, 2014.
http://www.unrwa.org/resources/emergency-appeals/syria-regional-crisis-emergency-appeal-2015.
UNRWA published this report after their emergency funding appeal in 2015. This document lists the reasons and causes of intense funding shortages faced by UNRWA the past couple of years. As UNRWA is the largest organization focused specifically on Palestine refugees, it is imperative that delegates understand where funding needs to be increased and form solutions accordingly. This report was published by the United Nations, and therefore should be credible and free of any biases. Lauria, Joe. "U.S. Raises Pressure on Israel Over Palestinians." The Wall Street Journal, 17 March 2015.
Accessed August 25, 2015. http://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-to-release-frozen-palestinian-tax-funds-1427472744.
This source explains the recent pressured applied to Israel from its long time ally, the United States. This is crucial information to understand the current evolution of the international community’s stance on this issue. Obviously, the Wall Street Journal is an accredited news source. "PA Rejects UNRWA’s Possible Delay of Academic Year 2015-2016." WAFA. August 15, 2015.
Accessed August 25, 2015. http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=29000. This document reviews the obstacles of the UNRWA. "Palestinian Refugee Rights Group Wins UN Consultative Status." Middle East Eye. 21 July 2015.
Accessed 25 August 2015. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinian-refugee-rights-group-wins-un-consultative-status-1408969820.
This source described the process in with Palestinian refugees are slowly beginning to gain political representation. As the source is named Middle East Eye, it might have a bias but none of the information presented has a reason to be polarized and changed. Salem, Suhaib. "ISIS Role Eyed in Bombs Targeting Hamas, Other Militant Leaders in Gaza." CBS.
19 July 2015. Accessed 25 August 2015. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-role-bombs-targeting-hamas-militant-leaders-gaza/.
This source discusses the role of ISIL in the overall issue. As CBS published this information, it is a legitimate source. Sayigh, Yezid. "The PLO and the Palestinian Armed Struggle." The Middle East Online. Accessed 23
September 2015. http://fileserver.net-texts.com/asset.aspx?dl=no&id=80451. This essay discusses the rise of the PLO and its other Non-State Actor conter-parts. As the PLO gains popularity, it eventually becomes the representing body for the rights of Palestine. This essay fully outlines their efforts. Shubert, Atika, Bharati Naik, and Nick Thompson. "Yarmouk Refugees Describe ISIS Raid on
Syrian Camp." CNN, 15 April 2015. Accessed 25 June 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/13/middleeast/syria-yarmouk-isis-shubert/.
This is another source describing ISIL’s role in the overall refugee issue. Published by CNN, the information presented in this source is legitimate.
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Robinson, Glenn E. "Palestine Liberation Organization." The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic
World. Oxford Islamic Studies Online. Accessed 6 July 2015. http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0618.
This source discusses the modern history of the PLO, contributing much information to how the evolution of this organization has complicated by external and internal political relations for Palestine. Severing ties with many Middle Eastern nations, the PLO has also encouraged the formation of other NSAs that contribute to the violence and political insurgency. Hamas has now won the political elections in 2006, ending the reign of Fatah and starting a new theme of pluralist politics. “Operational Guidance Note: Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.” United Kingdom Border Agency.
Accessed 6 July 2015. http://www.refworld.org/docid/498ab1642.html. This Operational Guidance report was published by the UK Border Agency and decribes the modern history of the border politics surrounding the Palestinian Refugee issue in the Middle East. Discussing the border policies of each country in which the refugees were displaced, this will provide delegates with solid information about the current border politics that affect the Palestinian refugees. Waldman, Simon A. Anglo-american diplomacy and the Palestinian refugee problem, 1948-51. Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.. As much of this topic is written though a Middle Eastern lens, this book provides the Western policies and the effects that resulted from this issue. This book not only looks at the Palestinian refugee problem from a different perspective than most, but also adds commentary on how these policies later affected the international community as a whole. This will be crucial to a full understanding of the refugee situation.
