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AKAHMUN 2014

DISEC Background

Guide

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© AKAHMUN | DISEC Background Guide

Table of Contents

History of Disarmament and International Security - 4

International Interventions in Civil Wars - 4

Civil Wars and the United Nations - 6

Yugoslavia - 7

Libya - 10

The Syrian Arab Republic - 14

Questions to be Considered - 21

Suggestions for Further Research - 22

Bibliography - 23

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Delegates,

We welcome you to the Disarmament and the International Security committee. I am

honoured to be your Director for the 2nd edition of the Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad

Model United Nations, along with DhishanaKidambi.

I attended my very first MUN conference after joining AKA,H in 2013 and have been a

MUN fanatic ever since. DISEC was my very first committee.Thus, I have always had a little

more affinity towards DISEC. Model UN introduced me to the world of Politics and

International Relations and I have developed a deep interest in those areas of study, ever

since. My love for MUNs has led me to attend conferences not only in Hyderabad, but also in

other Indian cities, over the past year. Even though this will the first time I will be directing a

committee, I will ensure that the committee is gripping and will keep delegates on their feet.

Apart from MUNs, I love playing football, strumming my guitar and reading a book (once in

a while, that is). I love to follow the news and be updated with current issues.

I am extremely eager to meet all of you delegates, to know your ideas and solutions and to

help you take on one of the most daunting tasks, bringing world peace.

Sincerely,

Daanyaal Sheikh and Dhishana Kidambi,

Directors of Disarmament and International Security.

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History of Disarmament and International Security

Founded in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, the United Nations General

Assembly (UNGA) is the primary policy making organ of the United Nations (UN).

As the First Committee, the Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC) is

at the forefront of this mission;

its objective is to combat threats

to international peace and

security around the world.

Although the UNGA was

officially founded in 1945, its

founding precepts were outlined

decades earlier with the proposal

for the League of Nations. The

tradition of equal representation was first stated in the League of Nations, a precursor to the

UN, a tradition of equality that continues till today in DISEC.

Every country has one vote and all votes have the same power. DISEC’s mandate is “to

promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least

diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources”.1The First

Committee provides all 193 nations with a voice with which to discuss issues of global

disarmament.

International Intervention in Civil Wars

Civil wars, the most common form of armed conflict, are merely an indication that even

people, who are closely related by ethnicity, culture, history, and geography, can have deep

differences. Civil war has also been connected with genocide on many instances, and is

considered the most shameful kind of war. However, according to the great François Fénelon,

“All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers.”

1"Charter, United Nations." UN News Center.UN, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.

http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/

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A civil war consists of one or several simultaneous disputes over generally incompatible

positions that:

1) concern government and/or territory in a state;

2) are casually linked to the use of armed forces, resulting in at least 500 battle related deaths

during any given year of the conflict;

3) involves two or more parties, of which the primary warring parties are the government of

the state, where armed force is used, and one or several non-state opposition organizations.

The end of the Cold War was expected to lead to an “era of peace”. However with the 1990’s,

the number of active civil war conflicts was on the rise all over the world. In the 1990’s, no

fewer than 31 new civil conflicts began. In 1999 alone, there were twenty-five on-going civil

wars around the globe. Many people believed that this was the result of the new international

order that arose with the fall of the Soviet Union, since most of these wars took place in

former Soviet territories. However, many also argue that it was the fall of ethnic, religious

and cultural control under one regime that resulted in differences and violent clashes.

Efforts have been made to reduce and especially bring these conflicts to an end. With the

introduction of Responsibility to Protect in 2001 and its acceptance by the United Nations in

2005, the international community has the responsibility to intervene, through forms of

peaceful measures, if a state fails to protect its citizens from mass atrocities. The first formof

intervention would be through diplomacy whereas the last resort would ultimately be military

intervention.

Interventions are known to be of two types:

1) Attempt to influence the structure of the two opponents’ relationship;

2) Attempt to manipulate information kept with these combatants.

These forms of intervention could be a result of geopolitical dynamics of the state along with

ethno-sectarian affinity.

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Civil Wars and the United Nations

The UN Charter says, "Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United

Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any

state". 2Under its founding Charter, the United Nations has the mandate to preserve

international peace and security. When originally conceived, this mandate was to be restricted

to peace between nations.

There are only a few ways for the United Nations to intervene in the intra-state violence. This

led to the conception of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), in 2001 and its formal

acceptance by UN at the 2005 World

Summit. The R2P asserts that if a state is

manifestly failing to protect its citizens from

mass atrocities using peaceful measures, the

international community has the

responsibility to intervene: first

diplomatically, then more coercively, and as

a last resort with military force.3

UN intervention takes several forms, primarily through a loophole system known as

peacekeeping. Chapter VI, deals with pacific settlements of disputes, and also gives the

Security Council the right to investigate and arbitrate, which are usually put in practice

through observer missions, diplomatic envoys, and good offices (UN Charter). Chapter VII

gives the Security Council the right to impose economic sanctions under Article 41 and the

right to take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore

international peace and security under Article 42 (UN Charter).4

2"Charter, United Nations." UN News Center.UN, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.

http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/

3"Office of The Special Adviser on The Prevention of Genocide." UN News Center.UN, n.d. Web. 06

Oct. 2014. http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/adviser/responsibility.shtml

4"Decision to Intervene: How the War in Bosnia Ended." The Brookings Institution.N.p., n.d. Web. 06

Oct. 2014. <http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/1998/12/balkans-daalder>.

http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/

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Through the entire dilemma, the United Nations faces another problem, which is the UN’s

general mandate to keep peace and security, as there is no legal framework by which the UN

operates in negotiations between warring sides in a civil conflict. The Charter does not

envision the UN as a mediator. The UN has previously operated as a negotiator; however, it

has no clear framework under which to do so. This is becoming particularly important as the

UN attempts to solve almost exclusively domestic civil conflicts in areas ranging from Sri

Lanka and Myanmar to Yugoslavia and Libya.

Yugoslavia

As the Soviet Union collapsed during 1989-1991, countries that were under its control for

generations, struggled to reclaim their independent identities. Yugoslavia faced a particularly

difficult challenge because its integrity as a country was under question. It functioned as an

unstable collection of different and often fractious ethnic groups, including Serbs, Croats, and

Bosnian Muslims. The country dissolved into a number of competing parts.

Yugoslavia was a mixture of six republics: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia,

Montenegro and Slovenia. The two autonomous regions, Vojvodina and Kosovo were given

special statuses under Tito, the then leader of Yugoslavia. However, the two regions were

pro- Serbia. Yugoslavia was a state that had always been divided by language, ethnicity and

economic conditions. The divisions became more prominent during the 1980s, post the death

of the communist leader Tito, who had kept the country united. The leaders of Croatia and

Serbia led a nationalistic movement that increased the agitation of the people of a unified

Yugoslavia.

By the end of 1990, Yugoslavia was hit by 90% inflation and the overall economy was poor,

but the northern regions including Croatia and Slovenia were still prosperous. This resulted in

Slovenia and Croatia declaring independence from Yugoslavia, against the wishes of Serbia.

The German government immediately recognized the legitimate governments of Slovenia and

Croatia, which prompted Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina to follow suit. This resulted in

the Serbian Government, controlled by Slobodan Milosevic, attacking Croatia, where a large

minority were the Serbs. After controlling about 1/3rd of Croatia and shelling cities like

Dubrovnik, the Serbian government agree to a ceasefire. Efforts by the European Community

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to stop the hostilities in mid-1991 and to resolve the crisis in the framework of the

Conference on Yugoslavia proved unsuccessful. The United Nations then sent 13,000 UN

Peacekeeping Forces5 to oversee the situation in Croatia.

The next crisis occurred in Bosnia-Herzegovina,6 where there was mass bloodshed caused by

the Bosnian Serbs, who were supported by the government of Serbia. When Bosnia declared

independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the European Commission immediately recognized

its sovereignty and Alia Izetbegovic was elected as leader of Bosnia-Herzegovina. He was

widely opposed by the Bosnian Serbs and fighting soon broke out between the Bosnian Serbs

and the Bosnian Muslims. To escalate the problems, Croatia that was still recovering from the

attack it faced from Serbia, attacked Northern Bosnia, a region where the majority of the

Bosnian Croats lived. The United Nations became actively involved in the situation in

Yugoslavia on 25th September, 1991 when the Security Council unanimously adopted its

resolution 713,7expressing deep concern at the fighting in that country and calling on all

states to implement a "general and complete embargo on all deliveries of weapons and

military equipment to Yugoslavia"

The crisis resulted in 2 million refugees fleeing the nation. The UN Peacekeeping Force8 did

its best to control the situation, but due to the lack of an adequate number of soldiers, artillery

and air force, the situation was slipping out of the hand.

The UN later made Srebrenica, Zepa and Goradze9, the three main Muslim areas in Bosnian

Serb dominated areas. But Serbian forces overran the safe zone at Srebrenica in 1995,

massacring more than 7,500 Muslim men in what many have called “worst atrocity in Europe

since World War II”. Even the presence of UN forces could not prevent this terrible act of

5"Common Menu Bar Links." DH&R. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. http://www.cmp-

cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhr-ddhr/chc-tdh/chart-tableau-eng.asp?ref=UNPROFOR 6"Decision to Intervene: How the War in Bosnia Ended." The Brookings Institution.N.p., n.d. Web. 06

Oct. 2014. http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/1998/12/balkans-daalder 7http://daccess-dds-

ny.un.org/doc/RESOLUTION/GEN/NR0/596/49/IMG/NR059649.pdf?OpenElement 8"United Nations Protection Force." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 July 2014. Web. 07 Oct.

2014.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Protection_Force 9"UNPROFOR." UN News Center.UN, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.

http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/unprof_b.htm

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violence from occurring The Bosnian Muslims and the Croats agreed to a ceasefire in 1994

and joined hands to fight the Serbs together.

Hostilities began to wind down at the end of 1995, partially because Serbian leaders had

accomplished many of their goals of “ethnic cleansing”. NATO responded by initiating more

aggressive military air strikes against Serbian forces. The UN International Criminal Tribunal

for the former Yugoslavia was charged with investigating and prosecuting war crimes and

other crimes that had occurred during the conflict.

The crisis in Bosnia is a case where the international community attempted to stop wartime

violations of human rights through strict peacekeeping and full-blown military intervention.

UN efforts in Bosnia were not entirely effective in meeting this objective, partially because

they were too late in recognizing the true nature of what was happening and partially because

sufficient resources were not devoted to the task.10

Post the war, Bosnia remained one state

with Sarajevo as its capital. Goradze

remained in Muslim hands and was

connected to Sarajevo through a

corridor. The 2 million refugees were

given the right to return.

60,000 NATO troops along with an

increased number of UN peacekeeping forces were sent to police the nation till stability

returned to the area. The UN lifted its economic sanctions that it imposed on Serbia during

the war.

Today, Bosnia-Herzegovina is an independent and democratic country with representation in

the United Nations.

10"Peacekeeping in Bosnia." Globalization101. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

http://www.globalization101.org/peacekeeping-in-bosnia/

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Libya

Officially called the poorest country in the world in 1951, Libya improved its living standards

to a level wherein it was considered to have the highest living standards in Africa, during the

uprising in 2011. Under the regime of Gaddafi, the country seemed to be flourishing with

urbanization, developmental projects, high oil revenues, subsidies or free services, adequate

health care and expansion of health facilities.11

The Libyan revolution was a civil war, fought between Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s forces

and those seeking to overthrow his regime. It was a result of the ‘Arab Spring’ that began in

2010.

The Libyan Islamic Fighting group and the local branch of the Al-Qaida promised to do

anything to bring down Muammar Gaddafi. These groups also murdered the US Ambassador

Chris Stevens12 and burnt down the US Embassy. It was also found that the US president

extended support to this group of revolutionaries. The US president Obama, had supposedly,

signed a secret order, authorising covert support, in the form of sending armed supplies

through US government for the rebels, who sought to oust Gaddafi.

The US, along with the NATO and some Arab states, was a part of the coalition, which

conducted air strikes on the Libyan Government forces under the UN mandate.13About $550

million has been estimated cost of US military operations in Libya till now.14The U.S. joined

11"The Standard of Living in Libya - Compilation of Data, Studies, Articles and Videos." Global

Civilians For Peace In Libya. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014

http://globalciviliansforpeace.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/the-standard-of-living-in-libya/ 12"US Ambassador Chris Stevens Killed in Libya - as It Happened." The Guardian.N.p.,n.d. Web. 8

Oct. 2014.http://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2012/sep/12/libya-egypt-attacks-

muhammad-film-live 13Hosenball, Mark. "Exclusive: Obama Authorizes Secret Help for Libya Rebels." Reuters. Thomson

Reuters, 01 Mar. 0030.Web. 07 Oct. 2014. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-libya-usa-

order-idUSTRE72T6H220110330 14"Libyan War Cost $550 Million so Far, Lawmaker Says." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 30 Mar. 2011.

Web. 7 Oct. 2014. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-libya-usa-cost-

idUSTRE72T6XZ20110330

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a coalition of nations that bombed Libya to establish a no-fly zone,15 designed to keep

Muammar Gadhafi from continuing attacks on the rebel groups. The mission, now being led

by NATO, continues to implement the no-fly zone.

Pre-Intervention

Tripoli, the capital of Libya in the west, and Benghazi in the east were destructed with battle

field grade weapons. Foreign enterprises, aid groups and diplomats fled the nation and the

war also drove thousands of civilians away from their home.

In western Libya, Gaddafi’s support forces claimed to have control over parts of Misrata.

This region was besieged by his government for more than a month as there were thousands

of people in support of his regime in

Misrata. An alliance of Islamic militants

and their allies from Misrata, Libyan

Dawn, took control of Tripoli in late

August after seizing the airport from its

nationalist defenders. The UAE and

Egypt launched airstrikes that day,

which hit Tripoli. On Salahuddin

Warehouse site, the outskirts of Tripoli,

about 150 civilians were detained in inhumane conditions by the Gaddafi regime.

The catastrophic situation led to total turmoil in the country. World powers meeting in

London pressurized the Libyan leader to step down. 40 governments and international bodies

together in the conference, agreed to continue taking the support of a NATO aerial

bombardment of the Libyan forces till Gaddafi complied to end the violence against civilians

and act in accordance with the UN resolution.

15"Security Council Approves ‘No-Fly Zone’ over Libya, Authorizing ‘All Necessary Measures’ to

Protect Civilians, by Vote of 10 in Favour with 5 Abstentions." UN News Center. UN, 17 Mar. 2011.

Web. 7 Oct. 2014. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm

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Intervention

In the struggle between the Gaddafi

regime and the rebels, the US asked

Saudi Arabia to supply weapons to

the rebels.

The United Nations was to have "an

immediate ceasefire in Libya,

including an end to the current

attacks against civilians, which

might constitute crimes against humanity" and "impose a ban on all flights in the country's

airspace – a no-fly zone – and tighten sanctions on the Gaddafi regime and its

supporters."16Military operations began, with American and British naval forces firing over

110 Tomahawk cruise missiles and the French Air Force, British Royal Air Force, and Royal

Canadian Air Force undertaking sorties across Libya and a naval blockade by coalition

forces. There was involvement from Qatar, UAE and Egypt, which risked a wider civil war.

The Libyan rebel, Abdel-Hakim al- Hasidi said that jihadists who fought against the

American troops, who supported Gaddafi’s regime, in Iraq17 served on the front line. He

believed that mercenaries from Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia entered the Libya so as to oppose

the regime and fight along with the rebels. Along with them, military advisors from Qatar

also participated on the side of the rebels.18

The UN was asked to operate under three fundamental principles:

16"Security Council Approves ‘No-Fly Zone’ over Libya, Authorizing ‘All Necessary Measures’ to

Protect Civilians, by Vote of 10 in Favour with 5 Abstentions." UN News Center. UN, 17 Mar. 2011.

Web. 7 Oct. 2014. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10200.doc.htm 17Swami, Praveen. "Libyan Rebel Commander Admits His Fighters Have Al-Qaeda Links." The

Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 28 Apr. 0025. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8407047/Libyan-rebel-

commander-admits-his-fighters-have-al-Qaeda-links.html 18"Qatari Military Advisers on the Ground, Helping Libyan Rebels Get into Shape." Washington

Post.The Washington Post.Web. 7 Oct. 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-

east/qatari-military-advisers-on-the-ground-helping-libyanrebels-get-into-

shape/2011/05/11/AFZsPV1G_story.html

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1. National ownership: Decision making was required for the future of Libya and its

people in accordance with their needs and desires for a democratic and stable future.

2. Rapid response and delivery: A preparatory process was needed to enable the UN to

respond swiftly to requests by the Libyan authorities who focussed on mainly five

areas:

a. Restoring public security and order and promote rule of law;

b. Leading inclusive political dialogue, promoting national reconciliation, and

determining the constitution-making and electoral process;

c. Extending state authority, including through strengthening emerging accountable

institutions and the restoration of public services;

d. Protecting human rights, particularly for vulnerable groups, and supporting

transitional justice; and

e. Taking immediate steps to initiate economic recovery;

3. Effective coordination.

Post-war Conditions

State territory was divided into semi-autonomous regions controlled by hundreds of militias.

This division now poses the biggest threat to the political process. Elections were held in July

2012, but the central government remains weak, and the state security apparatus is incapable

of maintaining law and order. This has bolstered regional identities, and some politicians in

the oil-rich eastern Libya to call for self-rule that would keep oil profits from flowing into the

capital, Tripoli. The government has tried to ease tensions by recruiting former anti-Qaddafi

rebels into the army and police. However, this in effect, outsourced basic security services to

powerful militia commanders, who remain largely unaccountable to any authority.

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Libya’s transitional parliament holds the legislative power, but has so far failed to make any

progress towards adopting a new constitution for the post-Qaddafi Libya. The most powerful

political group is the Liberal National Forces Alliance, followed by the Justice and

Construction Party. However, most seats in parliament are held by independent candidates.

This makes it difficult for any party to

achieve a parliamentary majority.19

Libya now has two governments, one

in Tripoli and one in the east of the

country.

The United Nations’ Resolutions 1970

and 1973 should be considered by the

delegates to understand the steps taken

by the UN in Libya.

The Syrian Arab Republic

Syria, a country that was once under the French mandate, gained its independence from the

French forces in 1946. One of the leading Arab nations, Syria has taken part in most of the

Arab-Israeli wars. It has been ruled by the Ba’ath party for 50 years, headed by Bashar al

Assad.

Syria’s geographical position is at the heart of the Levant (a geographic and cultural region

consisting of the eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt)20 and its fiercely

independent foreign policy makes it a pivotal country in the Eastern Arab world. A close ally

of Iran and Russia, Syria has been in conflict with Israel since the creation of the Jewish state

in 1948, and has sponsored various Palestinian resistance groups. Part of Syria’s territory, the

Golan Heights, has been under Israeli occupation since the 1968 war.

19"Current Situation in Libya." About.N.p.,n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

http://middleeast.about.com/od/libya/tp/Current-Situation-in-Libya.htm 20"Levant." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 July 2014. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant

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The 2011 Arab Spring activism in Egypt and Tunisia inspired Syrian protesters to take to the

streets in demonstrations against the Syrian leader. Syrians voiced their unhappiness with the

stagnant political process and were advocated democratic reforms.21The Government

responded with extreme measures including the kidnapping, torturing and killing of

protesters. Government troops began opening fire on civilians, who fired back.After five

protestors were shot on the 19th of March, 2011, things escalated quickly, with many more

people taking to the streets. The brutal

response of the security forces against

initially peaceful proteststriggered a

violent reaction. An armed rebellion

against the regime soon took hold

across Syria, dragging the country

into a full-scale civil war.

Despite the sanctions imposed on

Syria by the US and the European Union and warnings from international leaders like Barack

Obama to either lead a democratic way or to get out of the way, Assad increased his use of

force against the protestors and civilians, which lead to the formation of the ‘Free Syrian

Army’ (FSA).

The FSA was formed by a few officers, who defected from the Syrian Army. Defections,

according to unverified reports, continued throughout the Spring as the government used

lethal force to clamp down on protesters and lay siege to protesting cities across the country.

There were reports of soldiers, who refused to fire on civilians and were executed by the

army.22

Syria is a diverse society. It is home to Muslims and Christians, with a majority Arab country

with a Kurdish and Armenian ethnic minority. President Assad belongs to the Alawite

21Wiersema, Alisa. "Everything You Need to Know About the Syrian Civil

War."ABCNews.ABC News Network, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/syrian-civil-war/story?id=20112311 22"Free Syrian Army." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 July 2014. Web. 7 Oct.

2014.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Syrian_Army

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minority, an off-shoot of Shiite Islam. Most of the army generals are Alawites. The vast

majority of armed rebels, on the other hand, come from the Sunni Muslim majority. This

shows that the Syrian civil war is more than just a war to overturn the government. The

biggest problem facing Syria today is the fact that the civil war appears to be becoming

increasingly sectarian. Al-Assad is being supported by Shia Muslim-affiliated Hezbollah. The

Syrian civil war now seems to be moving more towards the Shia-Sunni conflict that has been

gripping the Middle East for generations.

The most shocking part of the civil war is the use of chemical weapons by the forces of

Bashar al Assad, which is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.

The CWC required the destruction of all forms of chemical weapons by 2012.23The American

government claims that the Syrian Government fired rockets loaded with nerve gas on

opposition-controlled parts of the Damascus suburbs on August 21st, 2013. That attack

reportedly killed 1,429 people, including 426 children.24 These chemical weapons were a

result of the sale of industrial materials to Syria by Britain and Germany.

Foreign Intervention

The United Nations Secretary-General,

Ban ki Moon has himself spoken out

against the inhumane situation in Syria. 25

Russia has supplied Assad's government

with arms as part of a business contract

signed before the uprising began. Russia

has also sent military and technical

advisers to train Syrian soldiers to use the

23"Chemical Weapon Proliferation." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 July 2014. Web. 07 Oct.

2014.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_weapon_proliferation 24"Everything You Need to Know about Syria’s Chemical Weapons."WashingtonPost.The

Washington Post, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/05/everything-you-need-to-know-

about-syrias-chemical-weapons/ 25Ban Ki-moon. "CRISIS IN SYRIA: CIVIL WAR, GLOBAL THREAT." N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct.

2014. http://www.un.org/sg/articles/articleFull.asp?TID=140&Type=Op-Ed&h=0

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Russian-made weapons and to help repair and maintain Syrian weapons. Western diplomats

have frequently criticized Russia's behaviour, but Russia has denied that its actions have

violated any international law. Russian President, Vladimir Putin, claims that Russia does not

support either side. Investigations by reporters also suggest that Russia is helping to keep the

Syrian economy afloat by transporting hundreds of tonnes of banknotes by airplane.26

Iran has also provided significant support for Syria. Iran is said to have extended technical

support and $9 billion as financial support. Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was

reported to be in favour of the Syrian Government. As the uprising developed into civil war,

there were increasing reports of Iranian military support being extended to Syria, partly in

response to reports of

increasing military support to

the Syrian opposition from Gulf

States.27

On 1st November 2011, NATO

said it had no intention of

taking military action in Syria,

after it closed its seven-month

campaign in Libya. In the same

month, Libyan rulers offered weapons, money and potential volunteers to support the Syrian

rebellion. A crucial line of support began in 2012 as Saudi Arabia and Qatar announced they

would begin arming and bankrolling the opposition. On 22nd April, 2013 the European Union

lifted its embargo on Syrian oil to import barrels directly from rebel groups. Inter-rebel

conflict started during the Syrian Civil War after fighting erupted within the Syrian

opposition groups.

The ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is an unrecognized state jihadist extremist group

active in Iraq and Syria in the Middle East, which aims to bring most Muslim-inhabited

regions of the world under its political control, beginning with territory in the Levant

26"Foreign Involvement in the Syrian Civil War." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 July 2014.

Web. 7 Oct. 2014.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_involvement_in_the_Syrian_Civil_War

27"Foreign Involvement in the Syrian Civil War." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 July 2014.

Web. 7 Oct. 2014.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_involvement_in_the_Syrian_Civil_War

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region.28 The United States, who was completely against the Syrian Government since the

start of the war, has now authorized strikes on the ISIS.

The United Nations and the Arab League had dispatched joint peace envoys to persuade both

sides to sit at the negotiating table, with no success. The main reason for the paralysis of the

international community is the disagreements between western governments on one side, and

Russia and China.29

The fighting has resulted in refugees fleeing the country to every neighbouring state. As

many as 200,000 people have left the area surrounding the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobaniin

just four days, as ISIS advances into the area. More than three million refugees have fled

Syria since 2012. Only about 12 percent live in the large refugee camps that have been built;

many of them live in substandard shelters in towns and villages.30

The Syrian Civil war is slowly getting gripped by the ISIS. With the ISIS taking up territories

of even the forces fighting the government, it has a threat to the neighbouring states as well.

The United States has authorized strikes on the ISIS territories along with its partner nations

such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Apart from the on-going civil war in Syria’s main cities, the United Nations’ Peace Keeping

and Observer Forces that are located in the Golan Heights also face violent threats due to

violent non-state actors like the ISIS and the Free Syrian Army. The Security Council has

called for the extension of the nearly 40-year-old United Nations Observer Force in the Golan

Heights for another six months, calling on all parties in the Syrian Civil War to cease military

actions in the area.31

A few United Nations resolutions concerning the Syrian conflict that should be looked into

by the delegates are:

28"Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 May 2014. Web. 05

Oct. 2014.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant 29"All You Wanted to Know about the Syrian Civil War." About.N.p.,n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

http://middleeast.about.com/od/syria/tp/Syrian-Civil-War-Explained.htm 30"Amid Airstrikes Against ISIS, Refugees Flee Syria." The New York Times. The New York Times,

11 June 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/12/world/middleeast/the-iraq-isis-conflict-in-maps-

photos-and-video.html?_r=0 31"UN News Centre." N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46771

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Resolution 2042

Resolution 2043

Resolution 2059

Resolution 2118

Resolution 2139

The situation in Syria not only threatens to spill beyond the boundaries and affect Syria’s

neighbours, but also causes a great shift in the opinions of today’s superpowers, namely the

United States of America and the Russian Federation. With thousands of dead civilians since

the first breakout of the war, an end to the Syrian Civil War does not seem close. It is up to

you, as the delegates of DISEC, to re-establish peace and security.

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Questions to be Considered

1. Should any form of intervention in civil wars be permitted? If yes, which countries and/or

organizations should be given this responsibility?

2. What challenges does intervention pose to the country afflicted by internal chaos? In what

political, social and economic ways is it detrimental to these states?

3. What are the potential benefits of various forms of international intervention? Give

examples from prior civil wars.

4. In what ways are the intervening organizations or countries benefitting from civil wars?

5. What can be the possible solutions to the contradicting views and concerns on

intervention in civil wars? What have the UN and other international community

members done so far to resolve the issue of international intervention in civil wars?

6. What role do the intervening organizations or countries play as third parties taking part in

the intra-country conflict?

7. Where should the international law draw a line between assistance and breach of

sovereignty?

8. What should be the response of the international community when catastrophic human

rights are violated within a state?

9. What is the impact of civil wars on the international community?

10. What role does your country play in this agenda?

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Suggestions for Further Research

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/56121/g-john-ikenberry/civil-wars-and-foreign-

powers-outside-intervention-in-intrastate

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/04/un-syria-duty-to-intervene

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/opinion/courts-cant-end-civil-wars.html?_r=1

http://prijipati.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/4987/1/Foreign%20Intervention%20an

d%20Warfare%20in%20Civil%20Wars.pdf

http://www.eldis.org/go/display&id=22887&type=Document

http://books.sipri.org/files/books/SIPRI08Seybolt.pdf

http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/~ihu355/Home_files/is%20hi%20legal.pdf

http://politics.as.nyu.edu/docs/IO/5628/kelly_siegel.pdf

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/ga11266.doc.htm

http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2014/sc11537.doc.htm

http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/libya/

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