Model UN Reflection

I enjoyed the UN simulation because it was different from the only other simulation I had participated in before.  During the fall semester, it was required for my Global Experience class that we partake in a Model UN simulation; however, that simulation was not crisis simulation and was more centered around the actions/decisions of the Security Council.  Although that experience helped me to better understand the inner-workings of the Security Council, I was simply not as into it because I felt like I could barely contribute my individual opinion.  The crisis simulation was much more interactive for me as it involved smaller groups and in-depth discussions/debates of the task at hand.  I think what I enjoyed was feeling like my opinion was a valued and useful one.

Because I had partaken in MUN before, I knew how to prepare and I came into the crisis simulation with not only knowledge of my country (Kuwait) but also of how to conduct myself throughout the exercise.  I felt that in the crisis simulation it was important to be knowledgeable of your country, but that it was just as crucial to simply rely on your own personal beliefs and opinions concerning how a country, in general, should be run.  Of course there are social, political, and economic distinctions between all the countries that require varying types of attention; but I believe that when a crisis occurs, the way to handle it extends beyond the factual characteristics of the country.  In other words, the crisis simulation helped me to discover that I have set feelings on humanitarian aid, diplomacy, military action, and all other things that come into play when dealing with both an international or domestic problem.

I was most proud of my group when we attempted to negotiate with China to advance our agricultural industry and they misunderstood our request, sent us humanitarian aid (essentially) in the form of rice and chick peas, and we refused the too-easy gift that we in fact did not need and re-routed the shipment to Africa, a country who truly needed it, instead.  Kuwait is such a small and relatively peaceful country that it is often-times perceived as weak, so I was proud of my group when we not only decided to negotiate with a big-dog like China but then went on to refuse the food they sent us out of pity and instead of directly insulting them, we simply made them look presumptuous while making ourselves look self-sufficient.  Overall, I was proud of my group for wanting to get involved even when a crisis was not directly affecting us.  We were constantly looking for ways to help, reform, and advance.

I wish that my country had taken our installation of new desalinization plants further.  Kuwait has a shortage of fresh water that is becoming increasingly more severe and I think that it was very important for us to have secured an alternative approach to fresh water.  I was excited to be working with Turkey on the matter, who had released an announcement of their newly constructed desalinization plants on the newsfeed, and wanted to continue our talks with them.

Issues of Human Rights and Security

Amnesty International has recently reported that although the Kurdish region of Iraq has made advancements in human rights, security forces continue to “regularly abuse their authority” and inflict violence upon women.  The Kurdish are has reached relative stability throughout the Iraq war and has seen “growing prosperity” in terms of human rights.  Progress has been made but “serious problems remain”.

The local security forces, known as Asayish forces, have been reported to randomly arrest and detain innocent people.  Their detainment oftentimes involving various forms of torture (such as electric shock, sleep deprivation, kicking, suspension by the wrists and ankles, and beatings with fists, cables, and batons) and resulting in forced disappearances. 

Amnesty’s director of the Middle East and North Africa Program, Malcolm Smart, urged that the Kurdistan Regional Government take distinct measures to control these forces and hold them 100% accountable under the law in order for recent human rights progress to ultimately be seen as effective.  Amnesty International went on to state that Kurdish authorities have also been unable to control the security branches of the two most important Kurdish political movements that comprise the regional government: the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

However, Amnesty’s report cited such progress as the legislation that broadened freedom of expression furthered measures to encourage women’s rights.  In regards to that, it stated that “several agencies” are currently working to regulate and prevent violence against women.  But Smart pointed out that issues like “arbitrary detention and torture, attacks on journalists and freedom of expression, and violence against women” haven’t ended and “need urgently to be addressed by the government”. 

On the topic of violence against women, Smart urges that authorities maximize their efforts to terminate the discrimination and excessive violence that is occurring.  As provided by official reports, at least 102 women and girls in the Kurdish region were killed between July 2007 and June 2008.  This statistic encompasses an unknown number of “honor killings”, or the murdering of women by their mal relatives who view their behavior as a violation of the traditional code of “honor.  Women demonstrated blatant objection to their arranged/forced marriage as well as women engaging in telephone contact with a male sans their family’s approval have also been considered victims of “honor crimes”.

The report also released that an estimated 262 women and children “died or were severely injured in the same period due to intentional burning, including suicides.  Some women were reported to having been burned to disguise a killing”.  In once case a 13-year-old girl burned herself to death in order to escape being forcibly married to an adult man.  Such an example is proof of how much more progress needs to be made in order for women and girls to receive the protection they need and deserve.

On Saturday, a Saudi judge in the city of Onaiza announced his refusal to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man.  This is the second time that the marriage has been brought before the judge, Sheikh Habib Al-Habib, and it is the second time that he has prevented its annulment. 

The first time that this case was brought to court was on behalf of the girl’s mother who brought a petition before the judge in the interest of getting a divorce on behalf of her daughter.  However, both times al-Habib has insisted that the girl wait until she reaches puberty to seek a divorce.  The first time, the judge ruled that because the girl’s mother is no longer with her father, she is not her legal guardian and thus cannot represent her in court. 

According to the family’s attorney, the girl’s father arranged her marriage to pay off his debts to the man who is a “close friend” of his.  Upon the initial verdict, the judge ordered that the girl’s husband since a contract pledging that he would not engage in sexual intercourse with her until she reached puberty. 

This past March, an appeals court in the Saudi capital of Riyadh refused to accept al-Habib’s original ruling, and ordered that the case be sent back to the judge for reconsideration.  Due to the complexity of the Saudi legal system, the appeals court ruling meant that the marriage was still legitimate, but that challenges to the marriage would continue.  Thus, the Riyadh appeals court has scheduled another hearing for next month. 

The topic of child marriage has stirred many debates recently as groups have been demanding that the government impose laws to protect children from “this type of marriage”.  However, the kingdom’s cleric continues to approve of child marriage as long as the girls are 10 years or older.  

On Sunday, General Ray Odierno, the top US military commander in Iraq, stated that he is almost certain that US troops will be out of the country by the end of 2011.  Odierno was one of the “key architects” of the Surge strategy in Iraq and believes that the strategy led to significant improvements in safety over the past year.  For example, there were nine US casualties last month, giving March the lowest monthly toll since the beginning of the War. 

Thus, Odierno has stated that security has been improved but begs the question, can it be maintained?  He is placing a strict emphasis on the Iraqi’s themselves being able to maintain the improved safety, not the US.  Although the US military has made it harder for foreign fighters to enter Iraq through Syria, Iran continues to serve as an outlet for Iraqi insurgency. 

Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, agrees with Odierno and is intent on taking up the issue of security into his country’s own hands, “We believe that now we are leading and we are planning and carrying out most of the combat operations in the country…and the United States forces are moving or transitioning to a more support role, more training, more providing more logistical support, rather than engaging a in a huge military or kinetic combat operations”.