Modern Warfare, At Sea

While many gamers have recently been enjoying the new title "Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2" navies around the world have been busy coming up with their own forms of modern warfare. The article below gives an interesting look at what could be the warship of the future, at least for the United States.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33431534/ns/us_news-military

West Coast of Africa New Pirate Haven?

A new pirate attack off the coast of Benin highlights the West Coast of Africa as an area of growing maritime violence.

Spanish boat freed

Good news, a Spanish ship has been released by pirates today. This article by the BBC wonders how much ransom was paid and also gives some updates on other naval hostage situations. The ending of this article was particularly interesting as it reveals the complex roots of naval violence.

"Somali pirates, using "mother ships" to launch their small-boat attacks on vessels, have extended their range to an area off the Seychelles in recent months in order to evade the navies patrolling the Horn of Africa.

More than 10 ships and 200 hostages are currently being held by pirates operating in waters off Somalia.

Many of the pirates began as fishermen and say they are stopping illegal foreign fishing boats stealing Somali fish, BBC international development correspondent Mark Doyle reports.

The upsurge in piracy in the region is a consequence of the failure to find a solution to Somalia's political disputes, our correspondent notes.

The weak central government faces an Islamist insurgency and parts of the country have broken away to form autonomous regions."

The BBC also kindly provides this helpful video on how to counter pirate attacks.

Yarrr maties, violence on the seas is a laughing matter

You know I can't say I've ever been a huge fan of South Park, but when I told my friend I was doing some research on piracy in Somalia he informed me that there was a South Park episode on that. Thrown in with the usual vulgarity and jokes (some great some not so much) was a very interesting line delivered by one of the pirates about the truly desperate state these pirates often find themselves in. When it comes down to it, these people are resorting to violence often as a last resort and that is something that the international community seriously has to consider when dealing with them. Say what you will about South Park but their writers can be quite insightful. If their brand of comedy is your thing I recommend taking a look at it. Otherwise if you're a military person or just want to get a better view of the military element of dealing with piracy take a look at this training video from EU NAVFOR.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6-fBCzMCaM&feature=related

for more information on the EU mission check out their website
http://www.mschoa.org/About.aspx

Welcome to the 2010 HSMUN Security Council!

Considering it's Halloween, we ask our SC delegates to not only get into character for their responsible behaviour tonight, but also for their delegate positions on The Security Council. Check the blogs frequently, as we promise not to neglect you like last year!

Will love,

Aidan & Nolan (Dais Staff)

Elana (Intervention)

HSMUN is coming...Are You Ready?

With February 19th fast-approaching, you should all be relatively familiar with the SC's topic of Self-Determination (see background paper link to your right).

However, as Security Council delegates, the rest of the UN looks to you as the models of delegate poise and grace. Think of yourselves as the 'cool kids on the block', the ones with a car/motorcycle and amazing fashion sense. You are the ones whose friends bum rides off of and ask to pick up the tab at a fancy resturant. Such are the ways of the Security Council as well, with the rest of the world looking to you for support and direction.

To prepare you for this arduous task, the news team has put together this informative video.



Carry the banner of HSMUN high and proud SC delegates; the world is counting on you.

For more news, and to see some of your fellow delegates, visit our Facebook group

--LK

Iraqi's Vote Shows Progress

While we seem to have heard that the fledgling democracy in Iraq is growing stronger each day ad infinitum for the last 6 years, a few more baby steps were taken recently with Iraqi's heading to the polls for provincial elections. Voters proudly displaying their purple ink-dipped fingers have been the poster-child's of Iraqi democracy.

The provincial election comes at a key moment in Iraq, with newly elected President Barak Obama looking to scale back the US presence in that country. In response, the Iraqi's must be willing and able to step-up and govern themselves. High turn-out and low violence are not the only distinguishing features of this election; Sunni voter turn-out was ~60%, a reversal of the 2005 election boycott supported by Cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr. This is an important shift in the populous' thinking, one that shows that the Iraqi people are fervently interested in self-determination of their own country. Also significant is the apparent renunciation of faith-based politics, with pre-election polls and early-returns showing Iraqi's are increasingly supporting secular parties.
Though, the Western world continues to hold its breath and hope that this experiment in Middle East self-determination will be successful, I think that a small sign of relief might be in order.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2543-DC-Foreign-Policy-Examiner~y2009m1d31-High-turnout-and-low-violence-in-Iraqi-provincial-elections-acclaimed-a

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html?hp

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/01/iraq.election/

-LK

Ethiopia pulls out of Somalia.

A big step for the nation of Somalia occurred today as Ethiopia pulled out of the country.  Read about it at BBC and The Globe and Mail. Keep your eyes on Somalia as the currently peaceful country works towards self-determination.

The UN's Failure in Gaza

While the United States has allowed the Security Council to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a withdrawal of Israeli troops, it has been to little effect. It is situations like these which call into question the legitimacy and power of the Security Council to actually impact the international community. In fact, as Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon begins a tour of the Middle East, violence has actually intensified. The BBC is reporting over 1000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israeli launched it's assault in late December.
As calls for Security Council and UN reform continue, will the sheer ineffectiveness of the UN in this situation help push the international community towards action? This conflict is one of the most publicized and political ones in international media in recent years and has sparked intense debate at all levels, from citizens to the UN. Osama Bin Laden has even resurfaced to demand a "jihad to stop the aggression in Gaza."
When delegates are faced with a crisis at this year's HSMUN conference they will want to consider the sobering realities of the Security Council; simply making a demand is generally not enough. In this conflict, the Security Council has proved to be simply a room of people wearing suits talking to themselves, weakened by international loyalties and an unwillingness by certain countries to use harder diplomatic methods that threaten to lose voters at home.

Security Council Background Paper

The Security Council's Background Paper on the Right to Self-Determination is now available.

International Day of the Right to Self-Determination

Today marks the International Day of the Right to Self-Determination. The day is almost exclusively marked by those who are fighting to have their "rights" to self-determination be recognized by the international community. Thus, it is no wonder that numerous pro-Kashmiri Independence groups in the UK, Pakistan and Kashmir are marking the day with rallies and calls that the United Nations recognize their right to secede from India. However, this year the International Day of the Right to Self-Determination was immediately after Indian Kashmiri's voted overwhelming to support a pro-India state government led by Omar Abdullah and his National Conference Party, supported by Sonia Gandhi's Congress.

What's interesting of these elections was what had preceded them. The state government collapsed in June and was put under "President's Rule" after sectarian conflicts erupted between the Muslim majority and Hindu minority over preferential land treatment given to Hindu religious groups. This led to massive state-wide anti-India riots and paralyzed the state government. Polls at the time indicated that pro-Independence parties would make considerable gains as a result. However, the Mumbai Attacks occurred and an escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan (Kashmir being the border region where the two nations are amassing their troops), taking the wind out of the pro-Independence sentiment in Kashmir.

This case study shows how popular sentiments towards Self-Determination are not static, and are subject to evolving socio-politico-economic realities. Furthermore, how does one know that the constituencies certain groups are speaking for, really represent those people. Should these factors lead to restrictions, limitations, rules or a ban on the Right to Self-Determination as outlined by the United Nations.

The following is a NDTV segment analyzing the impact of the electoral results on separatism in the region: