Background Guide United Nations Security Council - MainMUN
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Main Model United Nations Conference
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
14th Session
28th of February to 3rd of March 2019
Questioning Systems of Inequality
Background Guide
United Nations Security Council
Topic I – The Rohingya Crisis
Topic II – Combating the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons
Written by: Janna Chalmovsky, Nathalie Ferko
www.mainmun.de
Table of Contents
Word of Welcome........................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 4
The United Nations Security Council ............................................................................................................... 5
1 History.............................................................................................................................................................. 5
2 Competencies................................................................................................................................................... 5
3 Operation ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
4 Special Rules of the Security Council ................................................................................................................ 6
4.1 Minimum Majority and Veto Power ........................................................................................................ 6
4.2 Declare a Vote Substantial ....................................................................................................................... 7
4.3 Status of Observers .................................................................................................................................. 8
4.4 Explanation of a Vote ............................................................................................................................... 8
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................... 8
Topic A: The Rohingya Crisis............................................................................................................................ 9
1 Historical Background .................................................................................................................................. 9
1.1 The Political Transformation of Myanmar .................................................................................................... 9
1.2 The Rohingya Minority................................................................................................................................ 10
2 Current Situation ....................................................................................................................................... 11
2.1 Statelessness ............................................................................................................................................... 11
2.2 Migratory Flows .......................................................................................................................................... 12
2.3 Legal Implications – International Humanitarian Law................................................................................ 13
2.4 Refugee Camps in Bangladesh .................................................................................................................... 14
2.5 The Concept of Genocide ............................................................................................................................ 15
3 Approach of the International Community ................................................................................................. 16
3.1 United Nations Security Council .................................................................................................................. 16
3.2 United Nations General Assembly .............................................................................................................. 17
3.3 United Nations Human Rights Council ........................................................................................................ 17
3.4 Non-Governmental Organizations .............................................................................................................. 18
4 Points of Discussion: The Question on the Existence of Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing .............................. 18
5 Guiding Questions ...................................................................................................................................... 19
6 Further Reading ......................................................................................................................................... 20
7 Bibliography............................................................................................................................................... 20
Topic B: Combating the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons ....................................................... 24
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 24
1
1.1 Facts and figures related to the proliferation of SALW and SALW-related violence ................................... 24
1.2 Definitions on SALW.................................................................................................................................... 25
2 Key actors in the combat against proliferation of SALW ............................................................................. 28
2.1 UN Security Council ..................................................................................................................................... 28
2.2 General Assembly and other important UN bodies .................................................................................... 29
3 Current situation and legislation ................................................................................................................ 29
3.1 Firearms Protocol of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime .................. 30
3.2 United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and
Light Weapons in all its Aspects (PoA) .............................................................................................................. 31
3.3 International Tracing Instrument................................................................................................................ 32
3.4 Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) ............................................................................................................................. 33
3.5 Sustainable Development Goal Target 16.4 ............................................................................................... 34
4 Points of Discussion and Guiding Questions ............................................................................................... 35
5 Further Reading ......................................................................................................................................... 37
6 Bibliography............................................................................................................................................... 38
2
Word of Welcome
Honourable delegates,
We warmly welcome you to the 14th edition of Main Model United Nations in Frankfurt am
Main. We are pleased to introduce you to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Our
names are Janna Chalmovsky and Nathalie Ferko and we will serve as your committee
directors and chairs during the upcoming conference. As your chairs, we would like to
introduce ourselves:
I, Janna Chalmovsky, am in my second year of the M.A. International Studies / Peace and
Conflict Studies. I have attended some MUN conferences in the last years, however this will
be my first time as a chair. I am looking forward to learning even more about MUN and of
course to meeting all of you in person.
My name is Nathalie, I am in my master’s degree in Political Science at the Philipps-University
in Marburg. I attended several MUNs before and I‘ve also been a member of the organizing
team last four years. I am looking forward for a great conference, debates and negotiations at
the conference.
We hope you will find this Background Guide useful as an introduction to the topics of this
committee. However, it does not serve as a replacement for individual research. We highly
encourage you to explore your member state’s policies in-depth, as well as to use the provided
bibliography to broaden your knowledge on these topics. In preparation for the conference it
is useful to write down the position of your country regarding those topics.
If you have any questions concerning your preparation for the committee or the conference
itself, feel free to contact us via the mymun chat.
We wish you all the best for your preparations and we are looking forward to seeing you at
the conference!
Sincerely,
Janna Chalmovsky Nathalie Ferko
(Chair) (Chair)
3
Introduction
The UNSC is the primary body to maintain international peace and security. Its powers include
the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions,
and the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions; it is the only UN
body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
The violence against Rohingya people has continued since several violent conflicts have
emerged. The fighting has not stopped yet and many Rohingyas are continuing to flee across
the border from their home state of Rhakine to Bangladesh. After the outbreak of the
violations, there were around one million Rohingya refugees living in temporary camps and
shelters, according to the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). According
to Amnesty International, the human rights situation deteriorated desperately as many
ongoing human rights violations like raping and abusing women and girls were happening.
Many international officials claimed that the violations against the Rohingya are a sort of
genocide.
The number of violent conflicts between states has decreased but the conflict areas and
potential have changed. Localized armed conflicts raise global attention, resulting in an
estimated death rate of more than a million people for the past decade. Neither a nation nor
a (sub-)region is safe from the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) which
are the weapons of choice in most of today’s’ conflicts. These events in localized areas can
have far-reaching implications in different forms throughout the global community. The
circulation of SALW is often the catalyst that converts stationary incidents into global events.
Thus, our committee will deal with the following topics:
1. The Rohingya Crisis
2. Combating the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons
4The United Nations Security Council
1 History
After the effects of World War II and the failure of the League of Nations, the United Nations
UN were established as an intergovernmental organization to maintain peace and security. In
turn, the UNSC was created with the responsibility to maintain those principles (Charter of the
United Nations 1945: Article 1). The first session of the UNSC was held on 17 January 1946 at
Church House in London, England. Later however, the UNSC received its permanent domicile
at the UN Headquarters in New York. Until 1965 the Security Council was comprised of five
permanent and six non-permanent members. It was after 1965 that the number of non-
permanent members was increased to ten (Bourantonis 2005:10). During the Cold War, the
UNSC, due to the disagreements between the United States of America and the former Soviet
Union, was quite ineffective and the permanent members made frequent use of their veto
power to prevent certain resolutions from passing. The late 1980’s, however, were marked by
an effective Security Council, which authorized peacekeeping missions in different countries,
such as the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kosovo, and
East Timor. Since the end of the Cold War and in recent years, the Council has adopted many
resolutions by consensus and has only been divided on a very limited number of issues
(Encyclopaedia Britannica 2014).
2 Competencies
The UNSC is the only body that has the power to adopt binding resolutions. When a resolution
is adopted, the member states, in accordance with Article 25 of the Charter of the United
Nations (1945), must accept the Council’s decision.
The mandate of the SC is to maintain international peace and security and to take measures
whenever those are threatened. The Council’s authority is particularly relevant with respect
to the UN’s four primary purposes, as specified in the Charter of the United Nations (1945):
maintaining international peace and security; developing friendly relations among nations;
cooperating in solving international problems; promoting respect for human rights as well as
being a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. In order to prevent the escalation of a
given conflict, the Council may call upon the parties to comply with provisional measures. The
Council also cooperates with a number of international and regional organizations, as well as
non-governmental organizations to gather knowledge and implement its decisions.
53 Operation
The Charter of the United Nations (1945) lays out the Council’s specific powers and
responsibilities: First of all, the Council is allowed to call its members to apply sanctions and
other measures. Sanctions can, among others, consist of economic and financial penalties,
restrictions on travel or the cancellation of diplomatic relations. Furthermore, the Council has
the mandate to investigate any dispute which may lead to aggression between two parties,
such as states, other non-state groups or within national territories. Finally, the Council can
decide on military action against any international peace- or security-threatening situation,
and - where needed - is allowed to further decide on the deployment of troops or observers.
Whether a situation endangers peace or security is determined by the Council.
4 Special Rules of the Security Council
The right to veto decisions is one of the special rules applied in the SC and sets it apart from
the other main bodies of the United Nations. The following rules, additional to the rules
mentioned in the MainMUN Rules of Procedure Guide, will be applied in the SC only.
4.1 Minimum Majority and Veto Power
Each member of the SC has one vote. Votes on all matters require a majority of nine Member
States, with the concurrent support or abstention of all permanent members in substantial
matters. If one of the five permanent members votes against a matter of substance, such as a
draft resolution, it is “vetoed” and does not pass. The five permanent members were granted
a special status in the Security Council. Each of them is allowed to the right of veto at any time.
In accordance with Article 27 of the Charter of the United Nations, “decisions on procedural
matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members. “
Decisions of all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including
the concurring votes of the permanent members. If a permanent member does not fully agree
with a proposed resolution, but does not want to veto, it may choose to abstain. The
resolution can be adopted, if the required number of nine favourable votes are given.
64.2 Declare a Vote Substantial
This is a motion which may only be used by the permanent members of the Security Council.
It may be entertained on any procedural motion. The aim of this motion is to change the
required vote on the procedural motion into a substantial vote. On a substantial vote, all
delegates who are ‘present’ may abstain, and, even more important, the required majority for
that motion to pass is nine including all permanent members.
Chair: “Are there any points or motions on the floor? N-P5 state, to what point do you rise?”
N-P5 State: “Distinguished chair, we/the Republic of… move(s) to suspend the meeting for the
purpose of a caucus for five minutes.”
Chair: “Thank you, this motion is in order at this time. Are there any further motions on the
floor? P5 state to what point do you rise?”
P5 state: “Honourable chair, fellow delegates, we/the Republic of... move(s) to declare the
motion to suspend the meeting substantial.”
Chair: “This is in order at this time. Is there any opposition to this motion?” (Several placards
are raised) “Seeing objections, we will now have to vote upon re-declaring this motion
procedural. All those in favour of re-declaring, please raise your placards now.” (12 placards
are raised) “Thank you. All those against?” (The P5 state which originally declared the motion
substantial raises its placard) “Abstentions?” (Two placards are raised) “Due to the veto of a
permanent member state, the motion to re-declare the motion [for suspending the meeting]
procedural fails. We will now vote substantially upon suspending the meeting. All those in
favour, please raise your placards.” (13 placards are raised) “Against?” (Again, the P5 state
which originally declared the motion substantial raises its placard) “Abstention?” (One placard
is raised) Due to the veto of a permanent member, this motion fails. We will continue with the
formal session.
74.3 Status of Observers
A non-Council member (observer) is given debating rights. This will allow the delegation to be
recognized by the Chair during debate and proposing motions to the floor or vote upon
procedural matters. Observers cannot vote on substantial matters and submitting draft
resolutions or amendments is prohibited. Observers can be UN members whose interests are
directly affected, or non-members of the UN and experts, who are invited to the UNSC.
4.4 Explanation of a Vote
You are allowed to explain your vote after a roll call vote, when you say “no, with rights” or
“yes with rights”. The explanation should be kept rather short, as you will have only a short
time to realise it. You may only explain your vote if you vote against a draft resolution or
abstain from a vote. Furthermore, you need to remain in diplomatic conduct at all times.
Reasons for an explanation of vote can only refer to your country’s position, personal reasons
are not allowed. With voting clause by clause and divisions of the question, it is quite easy to
vote in favour only on specific parts of the resolution. To prevent the confusion of your
colleagues, if you vote against the resolution in a particular case, it might be necessary to
explain your vote to the committee. On the other hand, there is of course also a possibility to
make a final point about the resolution as a whole, but you should be mindful, that the chairs
will realise, if you try to abuse such an explanation.
Bibliography
Bourantonis, D. (2005). The History and Politics of UN Security Council Reform. New York:
Routledge.
Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2014): United Nations Security Council. Retrieved from:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/532070/United-Nations-Security-Council (6th
of January 2019).
United Nations (1945): UN Security Council, What is the Security Council? Article 1 in Charter
of the United Nations.
8Topic A: The Rohingya Crisis
1 Historical Background
The country Burma (also known as Myanmar) is located in the western part of Southeast Asia
and is bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. In the time of the British
colonial rule, Myanmar was a country with a large community of Chinese and in general of
South Asians. After the beginning of World War II those communities left the country.
There is no official religion held in the Burmese constitution. However, up to 90 percent of the
Burmese population follows Theravada Buddhism. The Christian and moreover the Muslim
community are part of religious minorities. The Burmese people depend on agriculture, as
most of the people are directly or indirectly involved in the agricultural sector. These
dependence shows the peoples vulnerability when it comes to flooding and impurities of
agricultural land. This leads to the fact, that the economy of Myanmar is one of the least
developed in Southeast Asia (Aung et al. 2018: 2ff.).
1.1 The Political Transformation of Myanmar
After the independence from the British Empire (and the exit of the British Commonwealth)
in 1948, Burma was marked by political instability. After a military coup in 1962 a centralized
socialist government came to the power and established a military-controlled one-party
system. 26 years after their independence, the first constitution of Myanmar (after the
country’s name changed) came into force. However, the progress of converting the
constitution was interrupted by another military coup in 1988. The tensions between workers
and the government (strengthened in the 1980s) peaked in the summer of 1988.
Revolutionary thoughts and demonstrations in the population were suppressed heavily by the
military. In the end there were thousands of protesters killed. According to the constitution,
the supreme power should be an elected body which should held the executive, judicial and
legislative authority. But with the takeover, the military implement a new ruling body called
State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) which held all previous state organs.
Approaches for implementing a new constitution took almost 20 years. A new parliament was
elected before the constitution entered into force in 2011 (Aung et al. 2018: 7).
91.2 The Rohingya Minority
For ages the country of Myanmar housed various groups of different ethnicities. About 135
ethnic groups living in Myanmar (Al Jazeera 2017). However, the efforts that were taken to
protect those minorities were deficient. While there is no article in the constitution of
Myanmar regarding the protection of ethnic minorities1, an approach back in 1947 was held
to implement such an article. Leaders of minorities and the government signed an agreement
to protect the rights of ethnic minorities, but it still remains to be implemented. This fact lead
ethnic armies to fight for the right of minority groups. These physical confrontations between
ethnic minorities and the government forced into a civil war (Sawe 2018).
Figure 1: Myanmar: Major ethnic groups (adapted from Al Jazeera 2017).
1 Ethnic minorities: “A group numerically inferior to the rest of the population of a State, in a non-dominant position, whose members - being
nationals of the State - possess ethnic characteristics differing from those of the rest of the population and show, if only implicitly, a sense of
solidarity, directed towards preserving their culture, language or religion“ - Francesco Capotorti, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations
Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (1977), (United Nations Human Rights Office of the High
Commissioner 2019)
10The people of Rakhine in Rakhine state include 1,802,000 members of the nation’s population.
Rakhine state is a coastal region in the western part of Myanmar in which Buddhist Rakhine’s
have been in conflict with the Muslim Rohingyas who are also located in Rakhine state (Sawe
2018). The government of Myanmar declines the Rohingyas the official citizenship and they
are granted no civil and political rights as for example the right to vote, to own land and ground
or to marry. The military of Myanmar are accused of forced labour of the Rohingya people and
permanent hostilities (BBC 2010). The Rohingya Crisis designates the conflict between the
Rohingya and the military in the Rakhine state, the taking of the civil and political rights, the
marginalized policies against the minority and the contrived displacement of people within
Myanmar or boarder states like Bangladesh. The conflict is characterized by the Buddhist
majority and the religious hatred grown within the Burmese population. It is estimated that
more than 1,000,000 Rohingyas are seeking refuge in Bangladesh. That are more Rohingyas
than in Myanmar. The Rohingya Crisis is described as “world’s fastest growing refugee crisis”
(United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner 2017a).
2 Current Situation
2.1 Statelessness
The Legal Status of the Rohingya remains unclear. Effectively they are statelessness people,
as Myanmar didn’t grant them any kind of citizenship and had denied them basic human
rights.
Historically, the region of Rakhine (or Arakan) is marked by migration. After the annexation of
Burma by the British Empire in 1824, the British supported migration from India. With the
independence of Burman in 1948, the government has declared this illegal. The government
goes further and deprives the Rohingya of their citizenship and dissolves social and political
organizations on the grounds that the Rohingya are actually Bengalis according to the
Burmese government. With the Emergency Immigration Act from 1974 the government took
the Burmese nationality from the Rohingya people. Afterwards a registration of all citizens
was held to sort out foreigners before a population census. This led to military violence
including killings, religious persecution, rape and destruction of mosques. More than 200,000
Rohingya departed from Myanmar to Bangladesh. The government took the migration as an
opportunity to declare the Rohingya in Myanmar as illegals. Recognizing the 1982 Citizenship
11Law, the status of Rohingya is stated as “foreign residents” or “non-national” (The
International Observatory on Statelessness n.d.).
According to the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons from 1954,
statelessness is defined as „individuals who are not considered citizens or nationals under the
operation of the laws of any country “. Usually, the nationality or citizenship of a person is
given according to the country of birth or the country of birth of the parents. It is possible to
lose the citizenship and nationality if laws which discriminate minorities were implemented in
the institution or the country does not exist anymore. The United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) published a Handbook on the Protection of Stateless People which
defines statelessness and a procedure for determining whether a person is stateless or not.
Although these documents are released as guiding principles for governments, the legal
means which stateless persons should hold vary by country (UNHCR n.d.).
2.2 Migratory Flows
According to the International Organization of Migration (IOM) around 258 million people of
the total resident population are international migrants. Thereof 68,5 million individuals are
fleeing from persecution, violence and human rights violations (IOM 2017a). Regarding to the
Rohingya Crisis, 2,9 million Burmese people live outside their country, from that 240,000 in
Bangladesh (IOM 2017b). According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) migrants are defined as individuals which live in a foreign country and
construct a social environment. This is only the case if the person leaves his or her country
freely without any external pressure, whenever and wherever this person likes. It follows that
there is a clear demarcation between the definition of refugee and migrant. Many countries
categorized in their legal concept different kinds of (international) migration: return migrants;
temporary labour migrants; family reunification migrants; highly skilled migrants; forced
migration and irregular migration (UNESCO n.d.).
12Figure 2: World Migration - Myanmar (created with the Global Migration Stock 2017).
2.3 Legal Implications – International Humanitarian Law
According to the 1951 Refugee Convention, states have to cooperate with the UNHCR to
ensure the rights of refugees2. The Convention is the outcome on the work of article 14 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to seek asylum from persecution in other
countries (UNHCR 2010: 2). However, the Convention is not up-to-date anymore. Overall,
three core problems can be identified. The first problem will be apparent from the definition,
especially the term “who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin”. People
which are fleeing violence and persecution but are still in their country of origin are, according
to the Convention, not granted the status of a refugee. It follows that the majority of those
people which are seeking shelter are not actually refugees. Practically the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees does not utilize the definition of the Convention. In
2A refugee, according to the Convention, is someone “who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-
founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.“
13reality, they use a wider term called “persons of concern”, which include all people seeking
protection and assistance in order of interest to the UNHCR. Another problem with the
definition comes along with the fact, that a state has to grant those people the status of a
refugee. If the state where they are fleeing to has not granted them the status of refugees,
they are only asylum-seekers. The second challenge is the procedure, how to deal with people
with a granted refugee status. Every state which signed the Convention has to, after the status
of refugee is given, protect the people and can’t expel them to their country of origin or to
any other country in which they may be subject to persecution. However, it is up to the state
in which they grant them the status of being a refugee, which decides if the state of origin is
safe or not. The status of refugee is only a temporary status, it is not the same as the right to
immigrate or the right to permanent settlement. The last challenge is the legal status. Not
every member of the United Nations signed and ratified the Convention nor the Protocol (Cole
2015). According to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to
National or Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic Minorities which was adopted by the General
Assembly in 1992, states have the responsibility to protect the minorities. The term minorities
belong to objective factors as well as subjective factors. Objective factors like language,
religion or ethnicity and subjective factors like the identification of individuals as members of
a minority. The definition varies from individuals which are separated from the majority and
individuals which are isolated throughout the country. It is important to highlight, that
minority not only means a numeric minority, but also includes that those “minorities” have a
non-dominant position in society. The definition of minorities does not include persons with
a specific political orientation, persons with disabilities or persons with a particular sexual
orientation. All over the world, individuals which are part of a minority are also often to be a
marginalized group in society (United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner
2019).
2.4 Refugee Camps in Bangladesh
Bangladesh didn’t ratify the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees nor its 1967
Protocol. Even in its constitution, Bangladesh didn’t mention the legal status of refugees or
asylum seekers. However, in 1991 the Government of Bangladesh recognised 250,000 Muslim
Rohingyas as refugees. In cooperation with the UNHCR, the Rohingyas received assistance.
Initially there were 20 refugee camps, but after the government of Bangladesh repatriated
14most of the people back to Myanmar, only two refugee camps are still existing. The two camps
are located in the South-east part of Bangladesh near the border to Myanmar. In recent years,
more than 27,000 Rohingyas have been living in one of those camps. As there is no
constitutional law, which describes the handling of refugees, the situation becomes more
challenging. The Rohingyas do not have the right to move, the right to education and the right
to work. The government has failed to integrate the Rohingyas, they are waiting in the camps
until Bangladesh considers the situation in Myanmar safe. The UNHCR tried to improve the
standards of refugees in Bangladesh and achieved that new shelters in the camps were
commissioned and that a third country, in this case Canada, takes up a certain number of
refugees. In 2006 the government of Bangladesh allowed non-governmental organizations as
well as international organizations to share their expertise and work in refugee camps.
However, the refugees can’t fulfil their rights under international law as of now (Phiri 2008:
1f).
2.5 The Concept of Genocide
According to article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide (1948) Genocide is defined as:
"any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group;
causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting
on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in
whole or in part ; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and]
forcibly transferring children of the group to another group (Office of the UN Special
Adviser on the prevention of Genocide (United Nations Human Rights Office of the High
Commissioner 1948).
The Burmese government signed and ratified this convention. Even in Article 6 of the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court in A/CONF.183/9 of 1998 the definition of
genocidal acts is implemented. The International Criminal Court (ICC), also known as “the
Court” was established as a permanent institution which have the power to dispense justice
over persons for the most serious crimes of international concern. The Court is the last resort
which only starts to act, if national governments are incapable or averse to litigate alleged
crimes (International Criminal Court 1998: 2f).
153 Approach of the International Community
3.1 United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) called multiple times on the Burmese government
to end the accusations of Rohingyas. Emphasising that the Burmese government should work
with the UN and Bangladesh to prepare a voluntary based return of Rohingyas to Myanmar
and to provide them with humanitarian aid, resettlement and their full implementation in the
state of Myanmar (Security Council 2017a). Regarding sexual violence in the Rohingya Crisis
the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sexual Violence in Conflict raised
awareness to the fact, that nearly all women or girls which she had spoken to, are affected by
sexual violence or brutal assault until death. While she was visiting a refugee camp in
Bangladesh, the representative reported about grave abuses of human rights and the using of
sexual violence to avoid displacement. She also urges the UNSC to establish an independent
authority to investigate in the crimes that happened to the Rohingyas (Security Council
2017b). Secretary-General António Guterres described the Rohingya crisis as “one of the
world’s worst humanitarian and human rights crises”. Guterres indeed condemned the
extremist attacks against Burmese security forces. But he also affirmed that violence is not an
option. While the Burmese government refused to work together with human rights
mechanisms of the United Nations, Guterres emphasized one more time to end the violation
against the Rohingya in order to solidify the democracy in Myanmar. In cooperation with the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UNHCR is working on a sustainable
surrounding for the Rohingyas in order to achieve a voluntary return of the Rohingyas from
refugee camps in Bangladesh to Rakhine state. The representative of Myanmar to the United
Nations stated that the Burmese government denies any mandate of foreigners. He argued
that the international community is not able to understand the complex issues in Myanmar
and that the Burmese government is trying to achieve peace and national “reconciliation”. On
the other hand, there are also members of the UNSC which support solutions through bilateral
diplomatic negotiations (Security Council 2018a). The human rights fact-finding mission
declared the abuses against the Muslim minority in Myanmar as a risk to international peace
and security. The representative of the fact-finding mission urged to guarantee accountability
for those violations. Furthermore, he describes the unaccountable military as root of all
violations. The report solidifies the allegations of violations of human rights and on charges of
genocide by the government and the military. The Tatmadaw (Burmese national armed
16forces) are supposed to have invaded six villages, where young people, women and elderly
people were raped, burned or looted. Across Rakhine, 392 villages were documented as being
subject to such violations and being completely destroyed, according to the report. This lead
10,000 deaths of Rohingya and over 750,000 who fled. Moreover, the rapporteur calls upon
the Security Council to introduce the situation to the International Criminal Court. Or
otherwise to establish an “ad hoc international criminal tribunal”, in order to condemn
Tatmadaw officials and to endorse sanctions against them. To prevent more armed conflicts
in the region of Rakhine, the representative calls for an arms embargo. The Security Council is
divided into two groups. One group argues, that the fact-finding mission has no legitimation
and the mandate of this issue should be held by the General Assembly and the Humans Rights
Council. Furthermore, they doubt the report because the mission was not conducted in
Myanmar, but only in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. Furthermore, they argued that the
Burmese government is investigating in those crimes and they should only be supported in
order to guarantee their sovereignty. The other group represents the position that the
massive violations and following from this the refugee crisis are a threat to international peace
and security. They argue, that stabilizing the current situation is necessary and that such
crimes must be prohibited in the future. The presentative of Myanmar to the United Nations
clarified that the report of the fact-finding mission is incorrect, there were not any forms of
genocide and Myanmar will not accept any commands from the ICC (Security Council 2018b).
3.2 United Nations General Assembly
The General Assembly (GA) urged the Burmese government in its resolution A/RES/72/248
(2017) to stop the military violence against the Rohingya minority, which attacked and
restricted the human rights. Furthermore, Myanmar should, in order to monitor the human
rights situation of Rohingyas, grant the full access of independent groups to the state of
Rakhine (United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner 2017b: 259).
3.3 United Nations Human Rights Council
According to the Human Rights Report 2017, the human rights situation of the Muslim
minority in Rakhine remains severe. The report recommended that the High Commissioner of
Human Rights should monitor the progress regarding the human rights situation in the
Rakhine state. The refugee camp in Cox Bazar, Bangladesh was visited by representatives of
17the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) to collect data from refugees,
especially various stakeholders about the current situation in Myanmar, especially the human
rights situation. Moreover, the teams have to state their claims how to stop the violence
against the Rohingya (United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner 2017b:
250). According to A/HRC/RES/5-27/1, the Human Rights Council called upon the Burmese
government to collaborate with the special procedures and demanded that the progress of
the human rights situation will be tracked by the High Commissioner, who will bring the
council up to date (United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner 2017b:
259).
3.4 Non-Governmental Organizations
As the Rakhine State is still restricted, international organizations and NGOs are not able to
provide any kind of humanitarian aid. But humanitarian access is needed for neutral
humanitarian actors to enter a conflict area and guarantee basic human rights such as food
and water security. Two weeks before the attacks (August 2017) from the Arakan Rohingya
Salvation Army (ARSA) on the Burmese military happened, the government denied
authorization for Doctors without Borders to carry out medical activities. Since then, Doctors
without Border requested several times to grant all necessary travel and activity
authorizations. Doctors without Borders operated since 1994 in Myanmar (Doctors without
Borders 2018).
4 Points of Discussion: The Question on the Existence of Genocide and
Ethnic Cleansing
After the accusations of violating basic human rights, persecution, killing and sexual violence
of the Rohingya minority on the Burmese military in the past few months, the chief prosecutor
of the ICC published a statement in which she stated there is the possibility for the ICC to
investigate the deportations, even if Myanmar is not a member state of the ICC. The ICC
argued that some of the violations from the Burmese military on the Rohingya happened
already in Bangladesh, as Bangladesh is a member state of the ICC, they are able to investigate
in those crimes. She started the formal process with an inquiry to clarify if there is enough
evidence for a full investigation (The Guardian 2018).
18With S/RES/2150 (2014), the UNSC urges countries to prevent and fight against any forms of
genocide like ethnic cleansing under international law and calls upon the member states to
include the history of genocide in their educational program to never let this happen again.
The situation in Myanmar remains severe. The United Nations Security Council didn’t find yet
a resolution regarding the Rohingya Crisis due to different approaches of members and state
blocks. Fundamental principles of humanity and international community were threatened by
the Rohingya Crisis. As it is the responsibility of the Security Council to maintain peace and
stability, the Council is called to find solutions for one of the major problems the international
community has to face. At MainMUN2019 a new round of negotiations will be held.
5 Guiding Questions
• How long are the Rohingyas kept in temporary camps before they can finally go back
to their country?
• How to deal with refugees in general? Is it legally, to put them in camps without any
perspective to integrate in another country?
• What are the responsibilities of the Security Council in the Rohingya Crisis?
• Is the Rohingya Crisis a threat to international peace and security?
• How can humanitarian access to Rakhine been guaranteed?
• How can the UN support the Rohingya community in granting human rights to every
individual?
196 Further Reading
Green, Penny; MacManus, Thomas; de la Cour Venning, Alicia (2015): Countdown to
Annihilation: Genocide in Myanmar. Retrieved from:
http://statecrime.org/data/2015/10/ISCI-Rohingya-Report-PUBLISHED-VERSION.pdf (31st of
January 2019).
International Organization for Migration (2019): Key Migration Terms. Retrieved from:
https://www.iom.int/key-migration-terms (31st of January 2019).
Human Rights Watch (2018): World Report 2018. Burma. Events of 2017. Retrieved from:
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/burma (31st of January 2019).
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2018): Rohingya crisis one
year on: Holding on to hope. Retrieved from: https://unocha.exposure.co/rohingya-crisis-one-
year-on-holding-on-to-hope (31st of January 2019).
7 Bibliography
Aung, Maung H.; Aung-Thwin, Michael A.; Steinberg, David I. (2018): Myanmar. Published by
Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/place/Myanmar (6th
of January 2019).
Al Jazeera (2017): Myanmar: Major ethnic groups and where they live. Retrieved from:
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2017/03/myanmar-major-ethnic-groups-
live-170309143208539.html (6th of January 2019).
BBC (2010): Who are Burma’s minority groups? Retrieved from:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11620652 (6th of January 2019).
Cole, Phil (2015): What’s Wrong with the Refugee Convention? Retrieved from:
https://www.e-ir.info/2015/11/06/whats-wrong-with-the-refugee-convention/ (14th of
January 2019).
20Doctors without Borders (2018): Myanmar continues to block humanitarian access in Rakhine
state. Retrieved from: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/news-
stories/news/myanmar-continues-block-humanitarian-access-rakhine-state (31st of January
2019).
International Criminal Court (1998): Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court.
Retrieved from: https://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/rdonlyres/ea9aeff7-5752-4f84-be94-
0a655eb30e16/0/rome_statute_english.pdf (26th of January 2019).
International Organization of Migration (2017a): Global Migration Trends. Retrieved from:
https://www.iom.int/global-migration-trends (24th of January 2019):
International Organization of Migration (2017b): World Migration. Retrieved from:
https://www.iom.int/world-migration (24th of January 2019):
Phiri, Pia Prytz (2008): Rohingyas and refugee status in Bangladesh. Retrieved from:
https://www.fmreview.org/sites/fmr/files/FMRdownloads/en/burma/phiri.pdf (22nd of
January 2019).
Sawe, Benjamin Elisha (2018): Largest Ethnic Groups In Myanmar (Burma). Retrieved from:
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/largest-ethnic-groups-in-myanmar-burma.html (6th of
January 2019).
Security Council (2017a): Security Council Presidential Statement Calls on Myanmar to End
Excessive Military Force, Intercommunal Violence in Rakhine State. Retrieved from:
https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc13055.doc.htm (25th of January 2019).
Security Council (2017b): Security Council Must Demand Swift End to Atrocities in Rakhine
State, Says Special Representative, Stressing ‘Inaction Is Not an Option’. Retrieved from:
https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc13117.doc.htm (26th of January 2019).
21Security Council (2018a): Myanmar’s Refugee Problem among World’s Worst Humanitarian,
Human Rights Crises, Secretary-General Says in Briefing to Security Council. Retrieved from:
https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13469.doc.htm (25th of January 2019).
Security Council (2018b): Head of Human Rights Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar Urges
Security Council to Ensure Accountability for Serious Violations against Rohingya. Retrieved
from: https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13552.doc.htm (30th of January 2019).
The Guardian (2018): Myanmar Rohingya crisis: ICC begins inquiry into atrocities. Retrieved
from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/19/myanmar-rohingya-crisis-icc-
begins-investigation-into-atrocities (31st of January 2019).
The International Observatory on Statelessness (n.d.): Burma/Myanmar. Retrieved from:
http://www.nationalityforall.org/burma-myanmar (10th of January 2019).
UNESCO (n.d.): Migrant/Migration. Retrieved from: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-
and-human-sciences/themes/international-migration/glossary/migrant/ (26th of January
2019).
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2010): Convention and Protocol Relating to
the Status of Refugees. Retrieved from: https://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10 (12th of January
2019).
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (n.d.): Statelessness. Retrieved from:
https://www.unhcr.org/statelessness.html (10th of January 2019).
United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (2019): Minorities under
international Law. Retrieved from:
https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/minorities/pages/internationallaw.aspx (6th of January
2019).
22United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (2017a): Joint Statement on
the Rohingya Refugee Crisis. Retrieved from:
https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2017/10/59e4c17e5/joint-statement-rohingya-refugee-
crisis.html (6th of January 2019).
United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (2017b): UN Human Rights in
the field: Asia and the Pacific. Retrieved from:
https://www2.ohchr.org/english/OHCHRreport2017/allegati/12_Asia_and_the_Pacific_2017
.pdf (26th of January 2019).
United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (1948): Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Retrieved from:
https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crimeofgenocide.aspx (26th of
January 2019).
23Topic B: Combating the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons
1 Introduction
Small arms and light weapons (SALW) are the main tools used in today’s conflicts, be they
inter-state wars, civil wars or organised crime, and the cause of the majority of deaths from
armed violence in the world – of combatants, but also and mainly, of civilians. Estimations
point to around 875 million SALW in circulation globally (Cirlig 2015: 1), with a majority of
weapons of this scale in the possession of private citizens. Trade in SALW not only includes
the weapons themselves, but also their parts, accessories and ammunition, and involves every
country in the world, not only those countries prone to conflict. It includes authorized
transfers by states, but also illicit flows of arms that violate national and international law.
Authorized trade in SALW includes both new and surplus arms, bought not only by military
and law-enforcement agencies worldwide, but also by hunters, recreational shooters and
other individuals who buy arms privately. Illicit trade and proliferation, on the other hand,
contributes to the increase in global armed violence, fuels conflicts and can delay conflict
resolution. In post-conflict situations, it can allow ex-combatants to rearm for war or engage
in criminal activity. On an individual level, humanitarian and socio-economic consequences of
illicit proliferation can have an impact on every citizen, especially with regard to domestic
violence and gender-based violence.
1.1 Facts and figures related to the proliferation of SALW and SALW-related violence
While most SALW are legally produced, illicit trade remains a main problem in the context of
proliferation. The illicit trade in SALW occurs on a worldwide scale but tends to be
concentrated in areas affected by armed conflict, violence, and organized crime. Additionally,
weapons produced by individuals or small groups (especially those operating outside of state
control), and replica and deactivated firearms that are modified to function as real firearms,
have to be considered as additional sources of illicit arms flows.
When it comes to the numbers of SALW-related violence, estimates show a continuous drop
in the average annual number of violent deaths worldwide: The Geneva Declaration
Secretariat reports a drop from around 540,000 violent deaths over the period of 2004-7,
526,00 for 2007-9, to 508,000 for 2007-12 (Geneva Declaration Secretariat 2015). Problematic
in this context is the significant increase in the annual number of direct conflict deaths in the
24same period: from an average of 52,000 deaths to 55,000, to 70,000 deaths. Additionally, “the
period 2007-12 also saw an annual average of 377,000 intentional homicides, 42,000
unintentional homicides, and 19,000 deaths due to legal interventions” (Geneva Declaration
Secretariat 2015). In percentages, 46.3% of all homicides are linked to the use of firearms, and
32.3% of direct conflict deaths. Overall, firearms were used in 44.1% of all violent deaths,
resulting in an annual average of around 197,000 deaths for the period of 2007-12. Looking
only at the year 2016, firearms were used to kill about 210,000 people. While 15% of them
died in direct conflict, the majority fell victim to intentional homicide (81%) (Mc Evoy/Hildeg
2017: 48). Looking at the numbers that go beyond the deathly impact of firearms, experts
report an estimate of about 7 million people living with gun injuries received outside armed
conflict around the world (Cirlig 2015: 6). One should also not forget the important
psychological consequences for survivors of gun violence, as well as consequences linked to
gender-based violence and domestic violence.
1.2 Definitions on SALW
A main problematic in the field of SALW is the non-existence of a universally accepted
definition of the terms small arm and light weapon. The present guide will rely on the
definitions used by the Small Arms Survey (SAS), a global research centre on small arms and
armed violence issues based at the Graduate Institute of International and Development
Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. SAS use the term SALW to cover both military-style small arms
and light weapons as well as commercial firearms (handguns and long guns) (Parker/Wilson
2016: 14). Often, the term small arms refers also to light weapons, although, from a technical
point of view, small arms consists entirely of firearms, whereas light weapons cover a “variety
of weapon systems employing different operating principles” (SAS 2018: 29), whose
definitions are mainly based on the calibre, diameter, or length of the relevant system or its
ammunition. Regarding the terms small arms and firearms, they are often used
interchangeably. Generally, the term firearm is used in domestic settings, whereas the term
small weapon is used with regard to military context.
25The International Tracing Instrument (ITI), established in an UN-led process in 2005, uses the
following definition to cover the term SALW:
‘small arms and light weapons’ will mean any man-portable lethal weapon that expels or
launches, is designed to expel or launch, or may be readily converted to expel or launch a
shot, bullet or projectile by the action of an explosive, excluding antique small arms and
light weapons or their replicas. Antique small arms and light weapons and their replicas will
be defined in accordance with domestic law. […]
(a) ‘Small arms’ are, broadly speaking, weapons designed for individual use. They include,
inter alia, revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, sub-machine guns,
assault rifles, and light machine guns;
(b) ‘Light weapons’ are, broadly speaking weapons designed for use by two or three
persons serving as a crew, although some may be carried and used by a single person.
They include, inter alia, heavy machine guns, handheld under-barrel and mounted
grenade launchers, portable anti-aircraft guns, portable anti-tank guns, recoilless rifles,
portable launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems, and mortars of a calibre of less than
100 milimeters. (UNGA 2005, para. 4)
On more detailed examples as well as technological specifics on different kinds of arms
covered under the definition of the ITI and by SAS, see the guide by Parker & Wilson (2016:
16-20).
In addition to the definition of weapons covered under the term of SALW, it is important to
not only think about the weapon itself, but about what makes the weapon a lethal instrument:
its ammunition. The UNGA 1999 Report of the Group of Experts on the Problem of Ammunition
and Explosives defines ammunition as
the complete round/cartridge or its components, including bullets or projectiles, cartridge
cases, primers/caps and propellants that are used in any small arm or light weapon (UNGA
1999, para 14, A/54/155).
Delegates should be aware that ammunition can also figure as a topic when talking about the
proliferation of SALW. It will be pointed out later on in this guide which UN treaties cover the
proliferation of ammunition and to what extent, and which don’t.
When talking about the problem of proliferation, delegates should also be aware of another
general problematic in the field of SALW: the link between the (illicit) trade and the life cycle
of firearms. Trade in SALW can be done legally, or illegally on so-called black or grey markets.
The black market covers sales of SALW that both the buyer and the seller should not possess.
The grey market covers the diversion of legally sold/produced SALW to unauthorised
recipients, mostly due to “gaps in legislation” (Cirlig 2015: 9). One of the main parts of trade
on the grey market consist in legally authorised transfers by states that contravene
international law (e.g. to embargoed countries or nonstate groups). Compared to the
26You can also read
