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: