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Written by Libby Ye of Inkling for UWCSEA MUN.
As of 2019, 71% of teens use more than one social media site. Everywhere we go, people are either dm’ing on Instagram, snapping on Snapchat, or watching videos on YouTube. Thus, social media is arguably one of the most significant and transformative forms of invention within the past two decades. With more than 2.89 billion active users in the world, social media wields more influence now than ever. So why are some people so hesitant on exploiting this platform to educate the public on important issues like promoting long term storage of nuclear waste? In the Special Political Political and Decolonization Committee at MUN@UWCSEA 2019, the delegate of the United States of America recommends all member nations to “educate the public on the positive impact of long term nuclear waste storage through the creation of social media platforms.”
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Written by Libby Ye of Inkling for UWCSEA MUN.
Reminisced as a victorious wartime leader who played a significant role in defending Europe’s liberal democracy from the spread of fascicim in the UK and Western world, Winston Churchill is considered one of the 20th century’s most significant figures. So to what extent is this depiction accurate? Whilst he is praised as a social reformer and writer, his imperialist views, comments on race, and sanctioning of human right abuses in the suppression of anti-imperialist movements seeking independence from the British Empire have evoked considerable controversy. So should he be remembered fondly as a savior or is he a genocidal maniac masquerading as a war hero and esteemed politician? Written by Swasthi Rajesh Shankar of Inkling for UWCSEA MUN.
The Legal committee headed by Head chair Gautum Balasubramaniam and deputy chairs Meghna Abrol and Isha Sinha had begun the debate this morning. The committee focused on intellectual property theft between countries. It is understood that this is a very pressing matter that is quite popular in today’s world. The United States was the main submitter of this resolution. The delegation of the United States felt that as a country, it faced a lot of intellectual property theft, particularly from China.“China is stealing our (USA’s) intellectual property.” said the American delegate. The resolution was focused very much on China and its economy. The American delegate claimed that a large part of the Chinese economy comes from ‘counterfeit goods’ and argued that this needed to be stopped because “China is an influence to all other countries who produce counterfeit goods.” Other delegations such as the United Kingdom, Djibouti and Germany also spoke up on this matter and stressed on the fact that China was illegally profiting from these immoral deeds. Written by Libby YE of Inkling for UWCSEA MUN.
The HICC is a MUN event simulating the International Criminal Court, an intergovernmental organization with the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. The Hypothetical International Criminal Court at MUN@UWCSEA 2019’s first accused individual is Winston Churchill, the internationally perceived war hero who led Britain to success in World War II. So why are we dedicating a whole committee to trial a single individual? To spend 10 hours of the most advanced delegates to either prosecute or defend him? Turns out, probing into the “criminal side” of these perceived heroes might be just as important as coming up with consensus resolutions on global issues. Written by Samiha Singh of Inkling for UWCSEA MUN.
The world's 21st largest economy, Argentina, has been struggling with a monetary crisis. The deprecation of the peso coupled with the sustained increase in the Argentine inflation rate (recorded at 57.3% in May 2019) has proliferated the value of its external debt. Ultimately, in June 2018, Argentina came forward to the IMF for a $50 billion USD loan (which later rose to $57.1 billion USD in September 2018). As of 2018, Argentina's government debt is approximately equal to 86.2% of its GDP. Inflation has led to a myriad of undesirable outcomes. While unemployment has soared between 7-10%, the real value of the peso has depreciated. Additionally, Argentina's current account deficit has further exacerbated due to the reduced purchasing power of those with fixed incomes such as pensions and reduced exports. Furthermore, Mauricio Macri, the Argentine President, used expansionary fiscal policy to stimulate the economy through increased government spending. However, this spending needed to be financed through borrowing, inflating the government debt. As a result, the Argentine Central Bank had to intervene - printing more money to raise the money supply. This led to an increased aggregate demand and exacerbated the inflation; This prompted the Central Bank to raise interest rates by 60% in order to limit expenditure and attract foreign investors to restore the value of the peso. To add to Argentina's misery, due to a drought in 2018, its agricultural sector, which accounts for 36% of all Argentina exports, suffered. This furthered the devaluation of the pseo and increased the real value of Argentinas public debt. So how might Argentina deal with its debt crisis? .Written by Germaine Zhi En NG of Inkling for UWCSEA MUN.
The second day of the conference began with committees presenting and debating resolutions. In the World Health Organization committee (WHO), the first resolution proposed aimed to mitigate the threat of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics first became a common medicine to combat infectious diseases in the 1940s. Due to its great success and power, scientists did not acknowledge the possible detrimental effects of overuse. However, it has gradually become a widespread crisis that threatens even ordinary bacterial diseases to be immune to antibiotics. As a result, the time taken curing bacterial diseases, the cost for medical treatment, and the mortality rates all increased. Written by Rachel Jung of of Inkling for UWCSEA MUN.
When in Rome, do as Romans do, or so the old saying goes. In a way, the modern world has not moved much from that kind of thinking. Foreign judgements and the enforcement of such rulings are still a current problem that must be discussed for the development and maintenance of a more sustainable and peaceful world. The delegate of Colombia was the main proponent who submitted a resolution addressing this issue as a member of the Legal Committee. The resolution proposed methods of how the jurisdiction of a foreign ruling is decided, how to sustain foreign rulings, how to make them legally binding, how to uphold accountability of a country, as well as alternative courses of action should a country refuse to uphold the foreign judgement. The resolution attempts to focus on just and legal rulings of countries in nations that are not their own, aligning with other countries’ aims to create a fair, inclusive resolution recognised by the UN that would still allow for political and economical sustainability and stability. The resolution is also specific and viable to support the claim that strengthening the enforcement of foreign rulings will bring more communication between nations. Written by Rachel Jung of Inkling for UWCSEA MUN.
Diplomatic legislature is important to the development and maintenance of world peace. A fundamental core of global democracy is allowing dialogue between all international voices, and the laws of diplomacy help make sure communication goes smoothly when in foreign countries and gives a stage to all, even to countries with weaker influence. However, what happens when diplomacy starts to clash with another country’s sense of justice? This is the case for Equatorial Guinea and France. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue is Equatorial Guinea’s former Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and current Vice President, as well as the son of the current President of the country. While in France on a diplomatic mission, several complaints pushed Transparency International France to investigate the accusations of Mangue misappropriating public funds of Equatorial Guinea to France to purchase private goods. French officials detained Mangue and seized property on 42 Avenue Foch, as well as the assets within. Equatorial Guinea is furious at what they call unlawful prosecution, arrest, and slander of Mangue. They state that Mangue is a man dedicated to his people; he fought for justice and worked tirelessly to improve his country, and he would not have embezzled his people’s money for personal pleasure. More importantly, Equatorial Guinea accuses France violating countless diplomatic rights written in the 1961 Vienna Convention. Most prominently, Article 31 which states that diplomats have immunity from a foreign country’s criminal jurisdiction while completing their diplomatic mission. As the house on 42 Avenue Foch belonged to Mangue, it is under the same immunity as him, so France’s acquisition of the estate is also illegal. Equatorial Guinea sees this event as France using their vast power to bully a smaller nation, so they take the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking a fair hearing and ruling. Written by Rachel Jung of Inkling for UWCSEA MUN.
Organized crime runs rampantly in most parts of Latin America, causing innumerable deaths and acts of violence. So much so that Honduras is named “the murder capital of the world” and where 90 people out of 100,000 are killed annually. The activities of organized crime gangs are not limited to just murder and assault; they also participate in numerous forms of trafficking, with their goods ranging from drugs to people. Coupled with these gangs taking advantage of the high corruption of police forces, organized crime remains a very formidable presence in Latin America. Youth also find themselves turning to gangs in order to obtain a source of income. Fueled by a lack of access to education, youth believe that there is no alternative occupation for them;thus, beginning a life of crime and providing gangs with fresh recruits for their battles. Some Latin American countries, such as Mexico, are already fighting hard to decrease the presence of organized crime in their country, but to no avail. Others, such as Brazil and Guatemala, have too much corruption within their government to effectively address and solve the problem. The Disarmament and International Security committee gathered here today in an attempt to form a resolution that addresses the serious issue in Latin America. The clauses in their resolution covered topics from how legalization of marijuana would affect the profiteering of gangs to how providing higher wages to workers in public sectors would affect the level of corruption prevalent in the police and the government and more. They also debated on the details present in the resolution. Written by Swasthi Shankar of Inkling, for UWCSEA MUN.
All amendments are finally being presented today, the second day of the MUN. After all the planning, the committees and delegates are now in session. Today, the Human Rights Committee (HRC), chaired by Head chair Digvijay Singh and Deputy Chairs Mika Sacdalan and Aditya Raj, focuses on human rights across the world debated amendments based on arbitrary detentions of people by governments. The delegates presented several points contemplating on the clauses and their uses. This amendment was submitted by Bangladesh and co-submitted by several other countries. The amendment focused on how to avoid misuse of arbitrary detention as well on the legitimacy of entities who practice arbitrary detention. Bangladesh suggested that arbitrary detention should be very controlled and monitored to avoid any wrongdoings on the governments’ parts. A few delegates questioned Bangladesh’s motives and suggestions because of Bangladesh’s own history of misusing and manipulating arbitrary detention. The delegate of Bangladesh however responded by explaining that this resolution will help avoid such situations. Devanshi Loomba, the Indian delegate showed their extensive support for this resolution by stressing that “Following this resolution is better to ensure the safety of the country as a whole” but also claimed that for the safety of the citizens, “Detaining should be kept away from civillians.” |
InklingInkling is UWCSEA East's Literary Magazine. It is a student-led publication that aims to showcase the diversity and creativity of our school through its output. Press CorpsUse this section to catch up on all the exciting resolutions that were debated at UWCMUN 2021 ArchivesCategories |
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