top of page
United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is tasked with ensuring international peace and security. It is the only council out of the six UN organs that has the power to enact international sanction and to authorise military action. Additionally, it is the only council whose resolutions are legally binding.
Difficulty:
Topic 1: The Iran Nuclear Issue and the renegotiation of the JCPOA
The JCPOA, otherwise known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, was a nuclear agreement ratified on 14 July 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 nations. It was intended to halt Iranian production of Uranium and let the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitor its nuclear programme while relieving Iran from international sanctions. This deal was endorsed a week after an agreement was reached by the UNSC in Resolution 2231 (2015), which set a schedule for the eventual lifting of sanctions when Iran fulfils its end of the deal . However, in 2018, despite the IAEA not finding any violations of the terms of agreement, the US unilaterally withdrew from the deal and reinstated severe economic sanctions on Iran, causing US-Iran relations to worsen.
Future conflict remains highly probable unless the international community can unite to resolve the tensions that exist today. Delegates of the UNSC have to decide between reviving the JCPOA and reinstating UN sanction on Iran. At the same time, delegates have to discuss the protection of shipping routes in the Gulf and the de-escalation of military activity around Iran, which has increased over the years
Topic 2: Reformation of the UNSC
In 2004, the then Secretary-General Kofi Annan asked a team of advisors for recommendations on methods to reform the current membership system. The current system has been claimed to be outdated and flawed due to the lack of representation of current international circumstances.
Reformation would entail a change in the number of permanent and non-permanent members, and even introduce a new position for semi-permanent members. These will better represent the changing relations in the international arena. However, there has been a lack of action taken regarding this issue despite it being brought up in the UNSC multiple times prior. This stems from the reluctance from some of the P5 to expand the membership of the UNSC or the number of veto powers in the council.
In this committee, delegates can look forward to negotiating various positions in a UNSC that is divided on this issue. With the multitude of alliances available --- such as Uniting for Consensus --- delegates will have to face the additional challenge of traversing through complex interests of individual countries.
bottom of page