CIMUN XXIII Committees (1989)

Topic A: The Emerging Phenomenon of Global Warming

By 1989, the fact that human activity was having impacts on the global climate was an emerging scientific consensus. In 1987, the international community came together in the Montreal Protocol to address human industrial impacts which were creating a hole in the ozone layer. Now, the UNGA is tasked with considering the much broader question of human activity in relation to global warming, a term popularized just last year, as the world looks towards a new mellennium.

Topic B: The Role of the United Nations in Regions Recovering From Conflicts

In numerous regions around the world, most notably Iran and Iraq, conflicts have recently ended or are now in the process of ending. This topic will task the UNGA with addressing how the United Nations of the 1990s will interface with those conflict zones, what the obligations of the international community are towards war torn nations, and how the international community can work with impacted nations to promote peace.

Topic A: The Aftermath of the Iran-Iraq War

The active phase of the Iran-Iraq War lasted for eight years, and only came to an end in August of 1988. Less than six months have passed since the implementation of the current ceasefire, and animosity between the belligerents remains high. Moreover, negotiations for a lasting peace have proven fraught, with UN Peacekeepers with the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group are playing a role in maintaining the current ceasefire, but a more lasting solution is needed. The Security Council is called on to consider what role it can play in promoting peace in the region, and if or how UN peacekeepers can prevent the conflict from reigniting if tensions flare.

Topic B: The Namibian War of Independence

On December 31, 1988, South Africa, Angola, and Cuba signed an agreement designed to disengage the three nations from conflict in Namibia. By the end of this year, South Africa is expected to grant independence to Southwest Africa under the agreement. The Security Council is tasked with considering ways to promote peace in the region during this delicate process, as well as to consider whether it should step in to maintain peace in the coming months or years.

Topic C: The Situation in the Occupied Arab Territories

In 1987, with numerous contributing causes, a series of demonstrations both peaceful and violent broke out in both Israel and the Israeli-occupied Palestinian Territories. For the past two years, riots, demonstrations, and terrorist attacks have defined the conflict. In some form or another, this conflict has been ongoing since the formation of Israel in 1948, with this recent “Intifada” representing a more outwardly violent phase thereof. The Security Council is tasked with bringing the current period of violence to an end, and more broadly with considering ways to promote lasting peace in the region.

Topic A: Safety Standards in a post-Chernobyl Era

On April 26 1986, reactor four of the Soviet Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. The ensuing crisis tens of thousands of lives changed irrevocably, and served as a wake-up call to the international community. Three years later, the IAEA is tasked with considering what we have learned about the causes of the reactor explosion and the response to the ensuing crisis, and to consider how the IAEA can ensure that nuclear power remains safe for those operating facilities, living in their vicinity, and those who will inevitably be impacted from afar in the event of a nuclear disaster.

Topic B: Monitoring Nuclear Proliferation Globally

There are currently six known nuclear powers on Earth, the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, People’s Republic of China, and India. However, there are many nations around the world which may seek to develop nuclear weapons. During the Iran-Iraq War, Iran attacked the Osirak nuclear reactor out of fear that Iraq would develop nuclear weapons. The IAEA is now tasked with monitoring the state of nuclear proliferation globally, and developing protocols to prevent the spread of these weapons of mass destruction to new countries.

Topic A: Promoting Peace in Central and South America

Throughout the 1980s, Central and South America have been faced with numerous civil wars and civil conflicts. From the open civil wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador to the long-term militant resistance to Augusto Pinochet’s government in Argentina, there are conflicts across the region. Now, the OAS is called on to consider what role the hemisphere’s countries can take in concert to bring these conflicts to an end, and to ensure that any ensuing peace is a lasting one.

Topic B: Financial Stability in the Western Hemisphere

Over the last decade, many countries in Central and South America have struggled with mounting foreign debt obligations, rising interest rates, and an inability to service their foreign loans. In response to the oil shocks of the 1970s, commercial banks based in the United States financed significant loans to countries throughout Central and South America. Despite international efforts over the course of the last decade to find a solution to this crisis, the ability of these countries to repay their foreign debt is still highly questionable. Now, the OAS is called on to address this lingering issue, and to find a path for nations in the Western Hemisphere with significant financial obligations to balance those obligations with the goal of maintaining economic growth.

Case 1: Aerial Incident of 3 July 1988

Case 2: Certain Phosphate Lands in Nauru

Case 3: Applicability of Article VI, Section 22, of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations

Note: The International Court of Justice serves as CIMUN’s highest judicial body, and delegates may be called on at any time to resolve disputes which emerge between members of the international community during the course of our conference.

Topic A: Responding to the Faltering Soviet Bloc

Right now, the Soviet Union and its bloc in Eastern Europe are faltering. Economic turmoil, dissatisfaction amongst the citizenry, and desires for democratic participatory government are all significant contributors to the emerging crisis, but the concern of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is how to respond. NATO’s primary purpose has always been to unite free Europe against Soviet tyranny. With victory in sight, the alliance must consider collective policy towards the Soviet bloc, and remain prepared to act in the defense of member states as the stability of the international system is shaken.

Topic B: Modernization of Short Range Nuclear Missiles

NATO’s short range nuclear weapons, particularly short range ballistic missiles and nuclear artillery shells, are currently at risk of being outdated. While some countries within the alliance support modernization efforts to keep the alliance’s collective nuclear deterrent in top condition, others, particularly the Federal Republic of Germany, are concerned that such weapons would only impact nations on the border of the Iron Curtain. The alliance must decide how to balance the concerns of its aging arsenal, and practical protection for member countries.

Topic C: Rising Tensions in Yugoslavia

Just weeks ago, in Montenegro, street demonstrations against bureaucratic forced the resignation of leading officials, and allowed for allies of Slobodan Milošević, a leader of the movement against the current leadership of Yugoslavia. This comes after months of discontent in the region, and is unlikely to be the end of unrest in Yugoslavia. Additionally, ethnic tensions in the country have been rising over the last decade, centered in part on the Kosovar-Albanian ethnic group. Though these events are not a direct threat to NATO or its member states, the alliance should consider what its position should be as this communist regime, not aligned with the Soviet Union, seems to be weakening.

Topic A: Consideration of Strategic Coordination With Members and Aligned Countries

The relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States has always defined the purpose and posture of the Warsaw Pact Organization. In the face of bourgeois aggression in the form of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Warsaw Pact Organization was formed to ensure the collective security of the communist world, and has functioned as such ever since. Now, the Warsaw Pact Organization must consider both the strategic concerns facing the bloc, and the possibility of outreach to and potential admission of other communist powers which are not formal members of the Warsaw Pact Organization.

Topic B: Concerted Action in Response to Internal Political Crises

In 1968, the Warsaw Pact Organization embarked on a joint invasion of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic to prevent the establishment of a bourgeois system of government in a member of the communist bloc. The invasion was brief, and though it had significant ramifications abroad and in its influence on communist parties outside the Warsaw Pact, it was effective in maintaining a communist government in Czechoslovakia which was aligned with the broader Warsaw Pact. Now, with unrest and other crises facing various members of the Warsaw Pact, the summit must consider if and how member states should take concerted action to support the existing systems of government, and more broadly how the alliance should address the issue of anti-communist sentiments in member states.

Topic C: Rising Tensions in Yugoslavia

Just weeks ago, in Montenegro, street demonstrations against bureaucratic forced the resignation of leading officials, and allowed for allies of Slobodan Milošević, a leader of the movement against the current leadership of Yugoslavia. This comes after months of discontent in the region, and is unlikely to be the end of unrest in Yugoslavia. Additionally, ethnic tensions in the country have been rising over the last decade, centered in part on the Kosovar-Albanian ethnic group. Though these events are not a direct threat to NATO or its member states, the alliance should consider what its position should be as this communist regime, not aligned with the Soviet Union, seems to be weakening.

Topic A: The Flag Protection Act of 1989

The case Texas v. Johnson is before the Supreme Court of the United States. The case concerns whether burning of the flag of the United States is protected speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Though the case has not yet been argued, it has generated significant political discourse. Even as we await the Supreme Court’s verdict, the Senate must consider how to balance patriotism, free speech, and the concept of respect for the flag.

Topic B: Maintaining Our System of Checks and Balances in the Wake of the Iran-Contra Affair

Between 1985 and 1987, the United States was rocked by the news and investigation of the Iran-Contra Affair. President Ronald Reagan and his administration, including newly-elected president George H.W. Bush, worked without the knowledge of Congress to provide arms to Iran and use the proceeds to fund the Contras in Nicaragua. Congress’s investigation was impeded by the loss of significant evidence due to the destruction of documents by senior administration officials. The Senate is called on now to consider what this affair means for checks and balances, and how (or perhaps if) the Senate can put in place legislative requirements to prevent a repeat of these issues in the future.

Topic A: Reforming the Constitution of the Islamic Republic

The Supreme Leader has noted several issues facing the Islamic Republic, and calls on the Guardian Council, in concert with the cabinet, to resolve these issues. General concerns that the Guardian Council should keep in mind are the disposition of executive power, whether Iran needs a permanent national security council, and what the proper qualifications for the Supreme Leader should be.

Note: Constitutional Reform is a topic which will be discussed by both the Guardian Council and the Iranian cabinet, which will come together for such deliberations.

Topic B: Promoting Islamic Morality at Home and Abroad

One of the core duties of the Guardian Council is to guard and maintain the moral values at the heart of the Islamic Revolution. To that end, the Guardian Council will be called on to consider how to maintain those values within Iran, and how the Islamic Republic can interact with the broader international community in a way that comports with those values.

Topic C: Continuing Reconstruction After the Iran-Iraq War

The Iran-Iraq War is tentatively over. at least for now. Though the dust has hardly settled on the conflict, it is already clear that the regions impacted by the war will require extensive reconstruction. The Guardian Council will be called on to address the task of reconstruction, and to consider carefully how the manner in which reconstruction after the war is conducted will impact the distribution of economic and political power in the Islamic Republic.

Topic A: The Impending Collapse of the Soviet Empire

Topic B: Addressing the International Flow of Narcotics

Topic C: Texas v. Johnson and the Issue of Anti-American Sentiment

Topic A: Bolstering the International Position of the Soviet Union

Topic B: Delivering on the Promises of Glasnost and Perestroika

Topic C: Completing the Withdrawal of the Red Army From Afghanistan

Topic A: Maintaining the Party's Control Over East German Politics

Topic B: The Relationship Between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany

Topic A: The Relationship Between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic

Topic B: Environmental Policy and the Public Outcry Surrounding Nuclear Energy

Topic A: Britain's Stance Towards China

Topic B: The Satanic Verses Controversy

Topic A: International Support For Internal Dissent and Poland's Place in the Eastern Bloc

Topic B: The Government's Stance Towards the Solidarity Trade Union

Topic A: Student Unrest in the People's Republic

Topic B: The People's Republic of China's Place in Global Superpower Competition

Topic A: Navigating Between Regional Stability and Revolutionary Principles

Topic B: Reforming the Constitution of the Islamic Republic

Note: The Council of Ministers will periodically convene with the Guardian Council during our conference to discuss the issue of constitutional reform.

CIMUN’s Ad-Hoc Committees are not announced prior to the conference. Participants will discover the identity of the body and their particular positions on Thursday night of our conference, and will be tasked with adjusting to that and responding to the events of our simulation as it develops.

The primary background document for Ad-Hoc participants will be the State of the World Brief. Delegates should be familiar with the major events and themes discussed in the State of the World Brief, and be prepared to spend the Thursday Night session of our conference preparing to address the particular context of their cabinet-format committee.

CIMUN’s Ad-Hoc Committees are not announced prior to the conference. Participants will discover the identity of the body and their particular positions on Thursday night of our conference, and will be tasked with adjusting to that and responding to the events of our simulation as it develops.

The primary background document for Ad-Hoc participants will be the State of the World Brief. Delegates should be familiar with the major events and themes discussed in the State of the World Brief, and be prepared to spend the Thursday Night session of our conference preparing to address the particular context of their cabinet-format committee.