Hello, again!
Hello, Delegates.
I apologize for the delay of posting on this blog. I’m an officer for Publications, and I’ve been way too occupied with designing the t-shirts that you will be able to purchase during the weekend of conference, so once again, I apologize for my lack of attentiveness on this blog.
Many of you have emailed me concerning position papers, and I know the deadline for the position papers has already past, but let me briefly describe what I was expecting from the position papers.
You were required to write 2 position papers, each focusing on SIERRA LEONE and BURUNDI. You were supposed to follow the typical guidelines of a position paper, such as TOPIC BACKGROUND of each country and what conflict they had to deal with, what UN ACTIONs have been taken ever since conflict rose in those 2 countries, and your country’s position and possible solutions your country would suggest. Then, I wanted you to argue which country you would like to propose first to be set on the PBC agenda. Let me remind you, our committee is a simulation, and I tried to create an innovative way of facilitating debate. Thus, I wanted your country to specifically choose either Burundi or Sierra Leone and argue why that country should be dealt with first by the PBC. What urgencies/situations allow you to arrive in that conclusion? For example, you could have mentioned how the current situation in Sierra Leone seems much more alarming than in Burundi, so you believe that it is imperative for the PBC to immediately create a peacebuilding framework specifically designed for Sierra Leone and solely focus on Sierra Leone and then work on Burundi later. With that said, when you guys come to the conference, you guys will be debating whether Burundi or Sierra Leone is much more urgent and create a framework (this will be the resolution. Basically, the committee will be divided in supporting Burundi or Sierra Leone and depending on how persuasive your arguments are and how well established your frameworks are, the resolutions will pass with the discretion of the delegates. So this is basically the concept of what I was aiming for.
If this makes complete sense, then I congratulate you. If it does not, feel free to email me anytime. I know our committee is run a little differently, but keep in mind, this is a specialized committee, and I wanted to add a little twist to how committees are normally facilitated. I know some might now be highly supportive of my plan, but I definitely think this will make the debate more heated and interesting. I want you guys to thoroughly research the differences of Burundi and Sierra Leone regarding their situations, and derive a framework that will specifically work only in that specific country. If any of the solutions tend to be too generic, I will assume that you have not thoroughly done your research. Be creative and have fun with this. I’m giving you much freedom, but at the same time, please respect other countries. While I want you guys to have a blast during the conference, I want you guys to still maintain a great level of diplomacy and graveness as well.
You can also keep updated with the matters the PBC is actually handling at this current moment. You guys should already be aware of what actions PBC has been taking towards Sierra Leone and Burundi, but when you do create your frameworks, please use your own ideas and judgment.
I think that is all I can inform you guys so far. I will continue to update this blog more frequently, so please do check it out. Keep researching and good luck! See you guys in March!
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Hello all,
The delegation of South Africa believes that the Peacebuilding Commission’s resources, time, attention and money be spent on Burundi. We thank the delegation of Brazil for their comments, but all they really stated was how much Sierra Leone has overcome, and how they probably are in a better position then Burundi as they have better natural resources within the country. This is exactly why Burundi needs the Peacebuilding Comission’s attention. Burundi is in terrible shape, and it is extremely important that we try to diversify the Burundian economy through short term help with water and general agricultural methods etc, but also through long term initiatives through education. If we can make Burundi a success story in the extremely volatile Great Lakes region of Africa, the international community would take a major step in stabilizing the entire region (Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda etc). South Africa would like to stress the importance of discussing the topic of Burundi. Please continue to respond, and ask questions about our plans etc.
South Africa
March 4th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Hello Delegates and Chair!
China greatly appreciates the above country’s position in regards to both Sierra Leone and Burundi. China believes that the Peacebuilding Commission’s immediate response should be in regards to Burundi. Currently, there have been more increased tensions in the nation of Burundi, while Sierra Leone has made vast strides in peace. For example, in the Sierra Leone’s newspaper, Standard Time Press News, it mentions how “Sierra Leone’s democracy and its NEC (National Electoral Commission) have performed remarkably well …[In] the 2007…elections many nations sent their delegates and…showered praises on the process and conduct of those elections”( Sierra Leone Article ). Resulting from their successful elections, China sees Burundi’s situation as more urgent justified through the International Crisis Group stating, “[Burundi] needs a genuine peace agreement to put the conflict behind it, as evidenced by the fact that the rebel delegation’s hasty departure from Bujumbura in July 2007 precipitated widespread fear fighting. The security forces use the presence of the rebels’ armed wing (the FNL) in the countryside to excuse abuses and human rights violations” (“http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5034&l=1″>Burundi Article ). With these factors, as well as numerous others, China deems Burundi to be of higher precedence in PBC’s agenda.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
The Untied Arab Emirates would first like to applaud Brazil on opening talks regarding the conference. The United Arab Emirates agrees with the Brazilian delegates that Burundi requires monetary aid; with the lowest GDP in the world, Burundi requires much supplies from the Western Europe for its civilians. In recent news, the crisis in Kenya caused Burundi to pay even more for its imported goods. By establishing a viable economy in Burundi, the country can hopefully lessen its dependency on foreign assistance. As the Brazilian delegates mentioned, Sierra Leone has been able to emerge from a civil war successfully due to natural resources. Without natural resources, PBC should encourage the growth of the agricultural sector in Burundi, primarily coffee and bananas. The United Arab Emirates would like to encourage other delegates to participate in the blog because everybody’s input is key to success at United Nations.
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL261228.html
*Some Updates regarding a recent insurgency attacks.
March 8th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Dear fellow delegates and chair,
We the country of Japan would like to recognize Brazil’s view on the agenda of this Peace Building Committee. Japan also feels that the Peace Building situation in Burundi outweighs the situation in Sierra Leone. Japan understands that Sierra Leone needs to now develop economic, political, and social life, but as Brazil had stated, the fact that they made it out of the Civil War and have begun to maintain the situation in their country is a great success itself. Burundi meanwhile has been in a greater state of danger as there has been a lack of Peace Building compared to the situation in Sierra Leone. Japan would also like to say as being a greater contributor to the on-going strive for peace in Sierra Leone, Japan would also like to help make Burundi a successful country as well. As Sierra Leone is now on its way to becoming more and more successful as the Civil War is over, Burundi has long ways to go. The situation in Burundi must be looked at and action must be taken. The political instabilities in Burundi must be removed and this removal of Political instability should guide the economic and social aspects of life to thrive as well. Thus, Japan feels it is necessary that the situation in Burundi receive the PBC’s attention first. Thank You, and feel free to respond.
Japanese Delegation
March 8th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Dear fellow delegates and chair,
We are thrilled to be representing Colombia at the upcoming conference and would like to excuse ourselves for a late posting. In response to Brazil’s prior comment, we would like to state our opinion that while the situation in Burundi is most certainly deserving of our attention, we believe the situation in Sierra Leone deserves the committee’s primary concern. Our research has led us to believe that there are more child soldiers involved in the conflict in Sierra Leone. We have also become aware of the fact that more Burundian refugees are returning to their homes while those who have fled from Sierra Leone are reluctant to return. There is a chance that Burundi may be able to strengthen its economy by tapping into some of its more recently discovered mineral resources, while Sierra Leone is still highly dependent upon its diamond trade. In the past, this diamond trade was one of the causes of the very civil war we are assembling to discuss. Colombia feels that, while Burundi still deserves our concern, the situation in Sierra Leone is more dire. We are greatly looking forward to hearing your opinions on the subject and are anxious to meet all of you next week.
If we may, we would also like to pose an inquiry to our chair regarding debate style in the conference. Will there be an open speaker’s list, or will we only be giving one general debate and one substantive debate speech?
Thank you for your time,
Colombian Delegation
March 8th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Dear fellow delegates and chair,
Japan would like to commend the Columbian delegation on their prior comment, but responds negatively to the agenda set by Columbia. Japan, playing a significant role in the Peace Building in Sierra Leone does agree with the Columbian delgation that Sierra Leone has child soldier and refugee problems, but can them two alone outweigh the FNL rebellion against the Burundi Government. Unlike Burundi, the Sierra Leonese Government almost completely rid the RUF with the Abuja Agreement which called for Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reintegration (DDR). Sierra Leone has begun building its political stability, which Burundi most definitely lacks. This political stability will enable them to restart their diamond industry and help them in making their dimaond industry one of the greatest in the world, as it once was. However, in regards to Columbia, Burundi’s mineral resources are far too underdeveloped an industry to thrive without major amounts of help. Japan would once again like to mention that the help needed in Burundi is far greater than that needed in Sierra Leone because Burundi is politically weaker and economically weaker.
Feel free to respond.
Thank You,
Japanese Delegation
March 8th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Dear Fellow Delegates and Honorable Chairs,
The sovereign nation of Canada would like to propose that for the first official peace building mission of Peace Building Commission, the commission focus its efforts on the war torn nation of Burundi. The nation of Burundi is not only one of least economically and socially developed nations in the world according to the World Bank’s per capita index and United Nations Human Rights Commission’s human rights index, but also relies on an unstable economy based loosely on failing agricultural crops.
In contrast, the nation of Sierra Leone, as stated before by other nations, has exhibited signs of stable recovery from the damage done during its civil war. This is in part because of prior decisive international action and in part because of the rich mineral reserves within Sierra Leone which comprise a major staple of its economic exports.
According to a conservative estimate by the United Nations, as many as 300,000 Burundians have been killed because of the fighting between the rebel groups and national troops over the issue of ethnic superiority. It was only a year and a half ago that the 7 September 2006 Comprehensive Ceasefire Agreement between the Burundi Government and the last active rebel group, the Palipehutu-FNL, called for cease fires and opened tenuous peace negotiations that have still not been completely resolved by today.
In contrast, Sierra Leone has achieved a state of relative stability throurgh the endurnig ceacefire agreement between the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the national government. Additionally, peace talks such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) peace plan and the Lome peace talks have been very fruitful in attempting to resolve the conflicts of that area.
There is a sense of hope in Burundi for what a future of peace might bring to a people who have finally decided to reject war. Canada believes that it would be there, among the group of starving, impoverished, and fearful, yet hopeful Burundians, that the Peace Building Commission can do the most good.
The delegation of Canada would like to commend the delegations that have contributed to this blog as it has created helpful insight on these very dire issues that we will be debating.
March 10th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Hello fellow delegates yet again,
China would like to respond to the question about debate within committee. As stated in page 16 (committee strucure page) of the delegate guide handbook, committee will only be in substansive debate. However, since our committee will be run a little differently it is important to discuss why your nation decisively takes immediate action on one nation over the other, as well as giving insight to your country’s framework. This information should be mentioned in your first speech.
Furthermore, China appreciates all of the comments posted and looks forward to debate on Friday, March 14th.
March 10th, 2008 at 11:12 am
China is deeply encouraged by the committee’s current discussion, and China feels that we are in need of further expansion on our defense of Burundi. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on March 7, 2008 published an article in regards to the food shortages within Burundi. At the current time, citizens of Burundi lack “quality, quantity, and diversity,” of crops. Additionally, as Burundi’s population has increased by two million within the last twenty years, citizens often receive less than 1400 kilocalories a day. (Article)
However, agricultural reform is not the only aspect of Burundi that needs to be reformed. In addition to the agricultural sector, the political sector also needs to strengthened.
We hope to expand more during committee, and hear more insight as to why Sierra Leone should have presidence over Burundi and other solutions. China is open to any more ideas on both nations goal for building peace.
Thank You,
China
March 10th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Dear fellow delegates and chair,
Japan, supporting China’s view, have already supported the situation in Burundi to be the first goal on the PBC agenda because compared to Sierra Leone, they are worse off both economically and politically. Japan would like to mention that the political status in Burundi is most definitely crushing their social status and their economic status. Although Japan is reiterating the fact that Burundi needs the PBC’s foremost support, Japan does want to mention that the problems in Sierra Leone are also very major. Japan has been more involved with the situation in Sierra Leone rather than Burundi, but have very much been a major player in Burundi. Japan is one of Burundi’s principal trade partners other than France and Germany. In 2005, Japan extended an emergency grant of approximately three million US dollars to Burundi. In addition to this, Japan has granted 3.68 million US dollars for Burundian refugees. Meanwhile, in Sierra Leone, Japan has been participating in the elections and trying to help political stability in Sierra Leone and constantly participating in the United Nations in helping this problem. Japan and Sierra Leone also have strong trade ties together and Japan looks to help the economy as well. Japan has also participated and greatly affected Sierra Leone during the Civil War by giving the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) for Refugees and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 1,100,000 US dollars.
Finally, if possible, Japan would like to hear some of the policies of other countries on both the topics of the Peace Building in Burundi and in Sierra Leone and would like to hear some of the past actions to by other countries.
Thank You,
Japanese Delegation
March 10th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Dear delegates,
We first recognize that Burundi is in a more dire situation than Sierra Leone, but also, a more unstable one. Burundi’s history of broken ceasefires, frequent coup d’etats, and the current unstable government (ran by an ex Hutu rebel leader) allude to the uncertainty of peace in Burundi. The PBC was designed to help post war torn nations take advantage of their peace and recuperate as a nation. We, Djibouti, feel that lasting peace in Burundi is questionable.
On the other hand, SIerra Leone, who has already cooperated with the UN, has shown large improvement, but still remains far from reaching its goal. The PBC has worked with Sierra Leone and made more progress than Burundi. Appointing more funds to finish sending aid to Sierra Leone can serve as a catalyst for surrounding nations to race towards peace.
Spending the limited funds of the PBC towards Burundi can result in ineffective expenditures. Finishing what we started, in a country that has the potential to fully recover is the exact reason why this committee was established.
Thank you,
Djibouti
March 12th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Fellow Delegates and Chair,
We would just like to state our position on the following topics as well. As many others have mentioned, we believe that Burundi is the most pressing issue at hand. Considering Sierra Leone has made vast steps towards peace already, just as China has stated. Seeing as about %5 of the population of Burundi was murdered in 1972, they need as much humanitarian aid as they can get. Currently, there are about 800,000 to 1 million refugees fleeing into neighboring countries such as Tanzania, Zaire, and Rwanda and over 100,000 internally displaced persons. That’s a lot of people that do not have anything.
NGO’s and other groups should continue to aid these refugees. The International Committee on the Red Cross is a major contributor to issue. A group of them have been staying in Burundi since 1999. They aid families, women, and children with acquiring fresh water, medical aid, and sanitation facilities. This includes 145 staff members with 18 expatriates. UNICEF is also another large organization that has helped tremendously. In February of 2006, the director of UNICEF visited Burundi and they have provided free primary education for all children in the area and were successful in demobilizing more than 3,000 child soldiers. They realize that there are still another million children who wish to be able to attend school as well and they are working towards helping them as well.
We would like to recommend that more doctors without borders and mobile units continue to be put into place in the concentrated refugee areas. Awarness should also be addressed, particulary in the more developed nations, on the simple and easy ways they can donate and help these innocent lives. We would also like to encourage the continuation of peace talks between the Hutus and Tutsis as well.
Thank you and we look foward to a successful debate this weekend
India
March 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Fellow Delegates and Chair,
According to General Assembly resolution A/RES/60/180, the resolution that founded the Peace Building Commission, the PBC is “an intergovernmental advisory body” whose main purposes will consist of actions such as “bringing together all relevant actors to marshal resources and to advise on and propose integrated strategies for post-conflict peacebuilding and recovery.” Thus, the intent of the creation of the Peacebuilding Commission is as a coordinative body that can provide the organizational and logistical support necessary to create a stable democratic governance. The nation of Canada hopes that during our debate throughout this weekend, the member nations of the United Nations will keep in mind this role of the PBC.
The organization was created to bring order to chaotic situations and succeed where other UN and international organizations have failed. This is why Canada believes that the Peacebuilding Commission must focus on the situation within Burundi. Despite international financial aid programs such as the Programme d’Urgence of 2006 and efforts to create political stability within region with programs such as the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement for Burundi of 2000, it is still evident that much needs to be done to create a stable democratic nation. Canada believes that this is because of a lack of specialized coordination of these extra-national efforts to the specific needs of the nation of Burundi. Thus, Canada would implore nations within the Peacebuilding Commission, to take advantage of this opportunity to develop the assistance framework necessary to pave the way for a stable and democratic nation.
We look forward to debating this during committee today and throughout the weekend,
Canada