singhania model united nations 2016 · moderator: kavya bhatnagar. ... delegate of south africa...

Singhania Model United Nations 2016

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Editorial

Day 2 was arguably the most eventful day so far. All committees, even the ones that the del-egates and press swore were awfully monoto-nous gained momentum and were extremely lively and active, with heated debates and fi ery discussions all around. Most committees also came up with multiple working papers which on Day 3 were converted into resolution papers.

Day 3 being the last day for our SMUN (sigh) was by far the most signifi cant. The fate of the world was changed by the delegates; most of them decided and resolved the problems set in the agenda of each committee. The amalgama-tion of exhaustion and uncertainty arising from the exertion of the last two days gave way to an air of excitement. The deliberations and discussions observed in the committees in these three days of SMUN showed an active participation through hard work and diligence.

- Rachel Varghese

Margaret Mead once said,” Never doubt that a small group of committed and thoughtful individ-uals can change this world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” At the SMUN 2016 we aimed to create such committed and thoughtful global cit-izens of the future. All the committees dealt with extremely relevant issues and when crises shook the committees, the directors with their wise words and sometimes with their witty humour kept the delegates on their toes and motivated. The dele-gates of course were extremely well researched and although it took a while for them to understand and adjust to committee procedures, they certainly

picked up momentum at a later stage. The quality of debate was outstanding and so was the clarity of ideas. The debates in various committees were heated, but constructive. The resolutions that were passed in all the committees were extremely detailed and incorporat-ed many innovative solutions to the problem at hand. All delegates at the conclusion of the SMUN spoke about how they had been enriched by this experience and had thoroughly enjoyed it. I truly felt privileged to be a part of this grand event and happy that I was able to contribute to it in my small way!!

-Arnav Joshi Secretary General

SMUN 2016

Savouring The SMUN


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Defi ning an End“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” -Ted RooseveltDay 3 being the last- was the day of decisions -committees were air-raided by resolu-tions which dropped like fl ies after heavy debating.The introduction of multiple crisis added fuel to the fi re which saw delegates scurrying to salvage their positions in their respective committees. Shock and dismay was distinctly palpable in the aftermath of the introduction of these crises. Soon enough delegates gathered their wits to chalk out their stance and defend themselves. The engrossing debates and innovative ideas that followed electrifi ed the atmosphere.

A Word of AcknowledgementFrom the conception of the second annual Singhania Model United Nations to infl uenc-ing every decision at every step, our teachers have been with us through thick and thin. A special word of gratitude to our Director- Education and Prinicipal Mrs. Revathi Srini-vasan, our Vice Principal Mrs. Kanchanmala Chabukswar, and our faculty advisors Mrs. Mangalam Narayan, Mrs. Lakshmi Madhusudan, Mrs. Runa Mukherjee, Mrs. Anandita Kar, Mrs. Deya Gupta and Mrs. Scarlet Sequeira for inspiring, guiding and helping us to realise our boundaries beyond what we thought was achievable. A huge shout-out to our teachers who have never failed to encourage us irrespective of the circumstances. Last but not the least, to take a step ahead we had delegates from Podar International School, Avalon Heights, Euro School Airoli, Euro School Thane, Presidency School, Hiranandani Foundation School, Lodha World School, and Pawar Public School partic-ipating in our SMUN. Our heartfelt thanks to these delegates for actively engaging not only in our committees but also among the fellow Sulonians.

-Harshvardhan Raje and Mitali Temurnikar

The decisive day i.e. the third day, began with the mandatory roll call. Following which a Pres-idential Address was given by the Delegation of Egypt, the Delegation of OCHA, the Delegation of Columbia and the Delegation of Brazil.The delegates were very restless, given the fact that today was the last and fi nal day of the UNGA 2020 and the day that would decide if the committee passed or failed (to know the fate of this committee, keep reading!)The fi rst Resolution, Resolution 2020 was in-troduced, with changes made in accordance to Day 2’s crisis. After the changes were ex-plained to the committee, a Special Speaker’s List ; 2 for, 2 against and 2 undecided, was in-troduced. The Resolution had some 44 or 45

clauses and provided almost all the solutions that this world needs.The second Resolution, Resolution 6.9 was authored by the Delegation of US, the Delega-tion of UK and the delegation of Australia. The Resolution, much like Resolution 2020 provid-ed a solution to almost all the obstacles that the world in 2020 is likely to face. This was followed by a question and answer session and then as ritual, a Special Speaker’s List was introduced.Amendments were made, fi ve of them to be exact. (14 are required to table a resolution, so those who hoped to table the resolution by making ‘unfriendly amendments’, faced disap-pointment.)All of this was followed by a formal voting pro-cedure, during which this journalist was thrown out. But what I do know is, that Resolution 2020 passed, which means that the committee was a success! Woohoo!To conclude, the United Nations General As-sembly 2020 was a proactive committee with an all-pervading competitive atmosphere.


Success Tastes Sweet

“It has been an amazing and unbeatable experience so far. The issues we are discussing range from one end of the spectrum to the other. The atmosphere is extremely competitive, with the USA and us locking horns on several issues. And it is for the fi rst time that several of us are realiz-ing that peace isn’t easily achievable. Overall, the SMUN experience has defi nitely been fantastic.-Triza Lahoria and Aryan Chouhan. Delegate of India. Smt. Sulochan-adevi Singhania School.

General Assembly 2020 Reporter- Palaq Ganatra

Director: Ardehl NainanAssistant Director: Chaitanya NirantarModerator: Disha Shetty

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The much awaited ‘fi nal day’ in the UNSC had a healthy dose of excitement. The discussions of the previous day resumed with the reading and voting on the working papers of China and USA and were followed by the working paper set forth by Delegation of Pakistan. Post the unmoderated caucus, the Committee seemed to have gathered their wits and used their time judiciously to successfully present three Res-olutions. The Resolution of Saudi Arabia and France which did not pass with 6 Yes and 8 No(4 Veto).The Resolution of China and In-

dia which was supported by the P5 members was tabled as well. The Resolution presented by the Delegation of Brazil and Japan which was mired in controversies was vetoed. The Committee after elaborate discussions, witty exchanges between delegates along with se-rious negotiations could not pass a Resolu-tion. The Committee was at its liveliest with the Chair calling for ‘Decorum’ regularly as dele-gates noisily engaged in hectic discussions. Al-though no Resolutions could be passed, it will be erroneous to term the discussions that were held in the three days of the SMUN to be futile. The Committee worked in all earnestness and seriousness thereby earning praise and appre-ciation from one and all.


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JIN-XED

“The debate was enriching. Each and every delegate was involved and there was never a dull mo-ment. It was amazing to speak alongside such motivated speakers. The atmosphere was always amicable and friendly.” -Rachna Sharma. Delegate of Brazil from Podar International School.

Security Council Reporter- Anushka Vaishampayan

Director: Jin BaraiAssistant Director: Hemali GandhiModerator: Kavya Bhatnagar

Day three started with deliberation on the question -Should Pakistan be included along with the Middle East for a nuclear-free zone? The answer was an overwhelming no. The delegate of South Africa expressed his views quite vehemently and openly against Paki-stan which prompted an apt response in de-fence from Pakistan. The day was dominated by two resolution papers which proved to be very interesting. The 1st paper was authored by Israel, Iraq, Spain and China. The name of their main treaty was quite interesting- the MENDIT treaty, an abbreviation of course. The gist of the clauses was that they support-

ed the establishment of a nuclear-free zone. Israel requested all Middle Eastern nations to respect Israel and acknowledge its existence. Its clauses prompted appreciation from rival blocs which further proved they were apt. One of the most important clauses was the prom-ise of establishing a ‘Middle Eastern Refu-gees Fund’ which would facilitate fi nancial aid to immigrants entering the Middle Eastern countries. There were many amendments pro-posed but only one passed, the promise that Israel would help Palestine and stop attacking it. Unsurprisingly, the resolution was passed to fi nal voting. The 2nd resolution paper con-tained some technical issues but as a sign of goodwill, the Chair allowed them to continue. This resolution too got accepted for the fi nal vote. In the fi nal voting, the resolution was passed with overwhelming majority- 32 to 1. Yes, you read it right, 32 to1. In conclusion, the DISEC committee would like to sign off by saying that nuclear power continues to be a safe, peace-promoting resource.


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Hail Hail Israel

“My experience in the SMUN was amazing since contrary to my apprehensions that my research was not up to the mark, I was encouraged and made to feel comfortable. All the delegates are confi dent and have a lot of information about not only their coun-tries but also of the other countries.” -Aryan Pingle Delegate of China from Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School.

Disarmament and International Security Committee

Reporter- Adith Herga

Director: Agam ChavanAssistant Director: Madhulika PathakModerator: Saachi Sethi

Chair: The director, the assistant director and moderator were a jolly trio, encouraging the delegates throughout.China: The delegate of China was a very tact-ful and confi dent speaker who knew how to handle a situation very well.Columbia: Though he was banned from the committee once, he came back with a bang, making sure that his one silly mistake should not make him an easy target.France: The delegate of France was a dom-inating candidate, who was never afraid to voice her opinion.Japan: The delegate of Japan had a very calm and soothing voice and it was a treat when she took the mike.Malaysia: The delegate is acknowledged as the one who questions anyone and everyone. Resolution: The resolution raised by the del-

egates of France and Sweden on the topic of Catastrophic Climate Change and its impact on human beings was successfully passed by all forty nine delegates. Sweden: Like a siamese twin to France, the delegate of Sweden was an eloquent speaker and was able to tackle every question thrown in her direction.Thailand: Do not underestimate her just be-cause she is short. She is capable of bringing the best delegates down to their knees.UK: A soft spoken and a diplomatic delegate.USA: A very well dressed and a powerful dele-gate. She will make you write a formal apology if you displease her.Wind-up: Hopefully, UNEP remains the same next year- fun fi lled and full of surprises!


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The UNEP Dictionary

“The SMUN has been a wonderful experience and a great ex-posure. My fellow delegates were very welcoming and made me feel like home. If SMUN is hosted again, I would surely like to participate.” -Aamira Bobde. Delegate of Thailand from Presidency School.

United Nations Environment Programme

Reporter- Annis D’souza

Director: Arpita ShardaAssistant Director: Renuka MardikarModerator: Shalini Kanade

The second day session of the UNEGE had ended on a sour note with the controversial comment of the US presidential candidate Don-ald Trump quoted saying that “transgenders are just lonely people who aren’t good looking enough to attract the opposite sex”. The state-ment generated waves of shock and indigna-tion among delegates forcing USA to apologise for the statement.Keeping the empowerment of the transgender community in mind, the third day session, saw the delegates drafting their resolutions, expect-ing every country to support and accept trans-genders in every fi eld of occupation. However with Sharia laws being raised, the resolution which was fi nally passed included clauses per-taining to the fact that ideally these laws should be modifi ed to be in accordance with modern

policies and ideas. It was also requested that the issue of male abuse should be given equal importance. A clause was initiated pertaining to the devastating situation caused due to traffi ck-ing of women, but given the fact that the agen-da of the committee is about ensuring gender equality, the addition of men and transgenders as potential victims of human traffi cking was made. Also, the importance of the fact that education for all genders should be provided was highlighted. The issue of equal wages was also raised and the clause included the fact that wages must be paid on the basis of the skills and ability of the person and not gender. The resolution was passed with a majority of 36 votes with all the delegates appearing satis-fi ed with the ultimate result. UNEGE has been a very proactive group with enthusiasm levels through the roof. Each and every delegate has displayed sincere passion to stop discrimina-tion on the basis of gender on a global scale and if the future of achieving gender equality lies with this generation, rest assured we are in good hands.


Down With Discrimination

“It has been very inspiring. I feel all the delegates are well in-formed hence can debate productively. All relevant points have been discussed and I foresee a rewarding resolution in the end.” -Saanchi Thulla. Delegate of ILGA from Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School.

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United Nations Entity for Gender Equality Reporter- Anushka Narayan

Director: Resham ShahAssistant Director: Siddharth SapreModerator: Srishti Dubey

The prime focus of today’s session being res-olutions, the committee session was inaugu-rated by the rather important roll call, where delegates marked ‘present’ or ‘present and voting’ as per their choice regarding the voting on the resolutions. It was followed by a moder-ated caucus on the discussion of the remaining working papers of Sweden and Algeria followed by those of Italy and Canada. The delegate of Saudi Arabia then proposed a moderated cau-cus on percentage of GDP to be put into the contingency fund. All the delegates who spoke provided rather alarming statistics and opin-ions on the limit of refugee intake. It was then that the resolutions came into pic-ture. There were two resolutions presented – the fi rst by Sweden and Russia and the second by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and United Kingdom. The resolution of Sweden and Russia includ-ed an eff ective approach to manage refugees through biometric tests and screenings, sus-pension of the Schengen free zone as well as employment of educated and uneducated ref-ugees. They also expressed their opinion on the management of special refugees like unac-companied minors, torture survivors, disabled refugees and refugees belonging to the LGBT community.

The resolution of Saudi Arabia, UK and Turkey included social integration, fi nancial measures, humanitarian rights of asylum seekers, health and resettlement, measures related to food and education, anti-terrorism and safety measures, humanitarian reforms and stoppage of all for-eign intervention after restoration of peace and end of crisis in Syria.The fi rst resolution was passed with moderate majority, and due to lack of time, the second resolution could not be formally voted on. The committee session ended on a light note as usual but with a tinge of sadness, with the del-egates having nothing to look forward to except Monday blues at school.

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United Nations High Commission for Refugees

Reporter- Sakshi Nadkarni

Director: Aakansha MishraAssistant Director: Karen D’souzaModerator: Purva Mhatre

Regaining Hope for Refugees

“The delegates contribute to the committee wholeheartedly and they are passionate about the agenda we’re dealing with. The ambience of the school is delightful and pleasing. The fact that the crisis aff ect each and every country’s delegates is thrilling. All in all it was a fruit-ful and gratifying experience.”-Sneha Chatterjee. Delegate of Jordan from Podar International School.


Day 3 began with the discussion on the third working paper followed by the much anticipat-ed and awaited marvel of ‘The Resolution.’ The delegates anxiously waited for these resolutions and couldn’t help but propose friendly and un-friendly amendments. Not to mention the itch that the ‘Grammar Nazis’ had to correct grammatical and syntactical errors in the amendments. The fi rst draft resolution, authored by Canada and USA and co-authored by Greece and France was presented and was interestingly called ‘Res-olution 007’. Out of the many clauses, recom-mending a second Scottish Independence Ref-erendum, and proposing a fi ve tier system were stated, to name a few. This was followed by a briefi ng on improvisation; thereafter chaotic con-ditions ensued while making changes in the draft but it was worth it. The Chair encouraged delegates to propose un-friendly amendments as they didn’t want a draft sliding by so easily. As a result delegates from Kuwait and Finland ended up satisfying the Chair. The second ‘Resolution 100’ authored by UK, France and co-authored by Germany and USA

specifi cally focused on trade barriers, free trade between UK and EU, agriculture and environment. The clauses of this Res-olution included the nailing down of the in-clusion of Scottish and

UK clubs in the Premier League and proposed that it would use its renowned service sector to increase productivity of agriculture.Equally important was the third ‘Resolution 005’ authored by South Africa, Australia and coau-thored by Turkey and the World Bank, the del-egate of which stated that the Resolution ad-dresses solutions on a global front. It stated the development of a ‘Multiplayer Strategy’, to strike deals with non EU nations to boost FDI and sug-gested to rejoin the EFTA. This was followed by a question and answer session.Finally, Resolution 007 stole the thunder which was greeted with a thunderous applause.The debates, the extensive arguments and the clash of ideas that the committee witnessed were all worth it in the end. The Chair and dele-gates were overwhelmed with pride and joy with the vast array of experiences they gained in the three days of SMUN.


Road Map for a Bright Beginning?

“SMUN is an excellent opportunity for us to explore the diff erent facets of the world economy. I have been able to learn a lot about the intricacies of our agenda and how the UN functions. I feel honoured and blessed to be a part of this programme.”-B. Aishwarya. Delegate of World Bank from Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School.

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World Trade Organization Reporter- Ariana Cowan

Director: Rutwik DeshpandeAssistant Director: Brian NoronhaModerator: Shrutika Hari

On Day 2, China-Spain Paper 11.17 and Tur-key- Sweden paper 1.0.0 were passed where-as ICRAC Paper 6.9 and Japan-Canada Pa-per 12.1 failed. In the entertainment motion the North Korean delegate impersonated his Su-preme Leader Kim Jong (F)Un, which added spice to the heated debates.On Day 3, the committee began its proceed-ings with an unmoderated caucus to discuss the resolutions. The fi rst Resolution 7.2 was presented by Germany and UK, with the dele-gates of Spain and China being the co-authors. This extremely detailed and comprehensive resolution was subjected to a war of wits in the form of Question- Answer sessions. Its focal point was to not allow WMDs to go in the hands of AI and coexistence of AI and humans. After intense debate, it was chosen for the fi nal vote.The second Resolution (Resolution 007) was presented by Russia and Sweden with the co-authors being Turkey and North Korea. Another detailed and impressive resolution, it faced a couple of amendments. Resolution 007 proposed formation of several committees like ‘General Organisation against Traffi cking of Artifi cially Intelligent Defence System’ (the delegate of DPRK was proud of his brainchild), a ‘United Nations Committee for AI Research’

and a ‘Committee to Certify Artifi cial Intelli-gence Monitoring Systems’ to keep the system transparent, and create systems that minimise damage. The two for two against debate was a rather aggressive aff air but ultimately the reso-lution was chosen for the fi nal vote.After an unmoderated caucus that witnessed 5 minutes of intense lobbying and careful delib-eration thereafter, the Russia-Sweden Resolu-tion 007 was put to vote after a clever vote to reorder the resolutions, and was passed with a close 22 ‘yes’ and 20 ‘no’ votes, testament to the competitiveness of both resolution pa-pers. Overall clashes of opinion and the friend-ly rivalry between delegates were articulated in robust deliberations that never turned ugly, thanks to the profi ciency of the wonderful chair.

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Crushing The Ultron Dream

“Our committee is the most dynamic committee, I feel. We have very good speakers. I feel that we are reasonable and can make a compromise to reach a common resolution. Taking up North Korea is especially diffi cult, but as long as I have the support of a supreme leader, I can do anything.”-Gaurav Rane. Delegate of North Korea from Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School.


4th Meeting of the CCW on Laws, 2040 Reporter- Apara Kale

Director: Sparsh AgarwallaAssistant Director: Sanjana ApteModerator: Nimish Naik

The Press Signs Off It was truly an amazing experience. I felt so privileged to share my designing skills while making the newsletter for SMUN 2016. I had a wonderful time getting my keyboard and mouse, run to show my cre-ativity. It was simply the most unforgettable experience. It feels really worthwhile after seeing the fi nal print-copy in the hands of everyone. – Makarand Madhavi

The 2nd SMUN, gave me a wonderful opportunity to hone my cre-ative skills. as the layout designer it was surely one of the best ex-periences and a much-needed stress buster from the stressful 12th. With stay-backs till 7:00 pm, tight deadlines, end - moment chaotic situations and Domino’s pizzas ,it was surely an experience that would be cherished, for the rest of my life.

-Savya Agarwal

Journalists-Adit Herga

Annis D’souzaAnushka Narayan

Anshka VaishampayanApara Kale

Ariana CowanHarshwardhan RajeHimanish AgarwalMitali TemurnikarPalaq Ganatra

Sakshi Nadkarni

Director Of Press- Aniket Sawant

Aashmi HariaAditya Kamat

Anushka KukianBhairavi Muralidharan

Chirag PopatDhruvam Desai

Ishaan AmbavaneKashish Jain

Mihir SabnisMohit ManwaniNeeraj Doshi

Paarth ThakkarRomel JohnRoshini S.

Shivansh ShahSneha Deshmukh

Photographers-

Editor- Rachel Varghese

Designed By-Makarand Madhavi

Savya Agarwal

singhania model united nations 2016 · moderator: kavya bhatnagar. ... delegate of south africa...

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