Reporters: Thandeka Mangwiro & Ting-ting Wu

New York Times

 

The debate begins with the delegates of Spain, Niger, United Kingdom,  Saudi Arabia were called to follow the chair and after thorough research, according to the delegation of Niger the delegations that called were the main submitters of the resolutions and they went to the approval panel to approve the resolutions. I conducted some interviews with the delegate of Germany and Morocco. The delegate of Germany’s committee is the Human Rights Commision We are debating ‘ensuring the cessation of the slave trade in Libya’ and ‘addressing child marriage in Africa’ About 21 people I think that it is very emotional and it is sad to think that these issues are still happening in now. The delegate of Morocco ( Courage Kusena ) is really excited for the debating to commence, she thinks that ‘addressing child marriage in Africa is good because she finds it unfair how girls like herself and even younger don’t get the same opportunities like she has, for example, going to university and getting married. She says that she is so happy that she was put on this commission and she is ready to ‘Fight for their Right’. There is a mixup in which topic and there is a lot of confusion, the printer was not working, therefore, making the delegates having to use the topic of ‘ensuring the cessation of the slave trade in Libya’. There is a strong tension between the chair and the delegate of USA. The delegate How does donating stationery towards schools help stop the slave trade. How does stationery help education? The delegate of Egypt thinks that the use of stationery is irrelevant. Should all schools teach basic human rights? But how do they expect other countries to follow this because they may see them as hypocritical? Says the delegate of Germany.

 

Reporters: Maya Djakovic (BBC) and Thandeka Mangwiro (New York Times)

 

The introduction starts with the chairs them choosing 3 people to say something about themselves. People really enjoy each other and there is a lot of laughter. This is very organized, and there is a lot of laughter in the room. The delegates seem to be really entertained by the two games that are played, Sylvester & toilet paper. The delegates are really discussing with each other How much tissue they use when they go to the toilet. The chairs are Makura Patricia and  Kadzirange Megan.

 

The delegates of Uruguay, United States of America and the United Kingdom have met up and started to write up their resolutions.They did lose the delegate of Romania after a discovering that she was 100% against abortion. The groups were using the topic Family planning and Population management. The United States said they are trying to educate people about the “risks that come with pregnancy” and that there are “moves that are taking place to empower women”. The United States is for abortion and so is Uruguay and the United Kingdom. In Uruguay is for abortion and it is only legal in the first 3 months of Abortion.

 

Though a few delegates were not present for roll call the Lobbying and merging were still very successful and that most of the group that was made agreed with each other some of the times and will help make the debates tomorrow a success.

Michell Svesve

The India times

The first day of ZIMUN 2018 commenced really well. Delegates in all committees came dressed to the occasion and seemed ready to get down to business.The mood in the ECOSOC committee was calm and relaxed and so were the chairs ,Mutale Kulilishika from Harare International School and Rufaro from  Peterhouse Boys School.

The chairs made the delegates play a game to break the ice and awkward silence that existed in the room. Each delegate would stand and introduce themselves to the committee and tell their fellow delegates what it is that made them interesting.Some of the delegates found it hard to say what it is that made them interesting but I guess that in itself must count as interesting.The delegate of Ghana was the only African country in the committee.

After the game the delegates were given the rules to the debate procedure and getting those who did not know familiar with them.Later the delegates were asked to sit according to their allies as they began to look into the  first topic of Debate in the ECOSOC committee “Exploitation of migrant workers in the Middle East “All the delegates found this topic more interesting hence they all decided to work collaboratively on this topic. They all got down to business like professionals having a few disagreements here and there but resolving them quietly without conflicts .Surely they had already started exercising the theme of this years conference “Overcoming conflict”.Of all the delegates though Canada was very keen on working on the Measures to alleviate the instability in oil producing countries but to his disappointment all the delegates opted to work on the other topic first.

.Because of time constraints they could not finish their resolutions but were tasked with having them ready by tomorrow morning so that debating would start the following day.The delegates ended the day by sharing emails and contacts so that more work could be done once they got home.

Andre Smith
Al Jazeera
General Assembly

Day 2 of Zimun, and to begin The General Assembly delegates regrouped and
completed any outstanding sections of their resolutions before the debate began.
The General Assembly Committee debated the resolution “Sexual Reproduction
Health and Rights: Family Planning and Abortion in Japan” under the topic
“Population Planning” which some of the delegates wrote yesterday.
To begin the delegates were given five minutes to read over the resolution,
after which, the Delegate of Japan read the whole resolution to the Chairs and other
Delegates. Delegate of Japan then read their speech on the resolution and the
Delegate’s position on it.

This was followed by an amendment for operative clause 2 sub clause a)
submitted by the Delegate of The UK, which reads: “Provides family planning
education in Secondary schools to all people despite socioeconomic status in both
rural and urban areas.” This amendment was passed and added to the resolution.
The Delegate of Cuba then took to floor to speak on the resolution as a
whole. Delegate of Pakistan gives point of info and encourages the delegate of Cuba
to include a section into the resolution to strengthen it.

Majority of the points of information that were raised mainly referred to Clause
1 which described legalizing abortion if women are raped. Which I believe has been
a sensitive and highly controversial issue in today’s debate. So, the Delegate of India
took the floor to speak totally against the resolution, and uses the abortion clause as
an example of how fragmented the resolution is as a whole. Delegate of India
expresses strongly how many women fake being raped just so they can get a legal
abortion if they fell pregnant by mistake. So the Delegate goes on to express how
women need to be checked by a doctor to see if they are legitimately raped, and only
then can they get an abortion.

Two more amendments were submitted, one by the Delegate of Uruguay
which read: “Creating safe medical centers in member nations which will be centered
around general usage of all methods of family planning such as but limited to: a)
Insertion of IUDs b) Abortion.” This amendment was not passed. The Delegate of
Russia submitted the next amendment: “Urges governments to make it legal
requirement to have mechanical contraceptives such as condoms in public
bathrooms in areas such as, but not limited to: Restaurants, Schools, Hospitals.” This
amendment was passed by a small majority.”

So far, the debate has been fairly slow, with few active participants and
minimal interesting discussion. No intense or exciting debate has taken place
between any delegates. Debate was suspended for lunch and when resumed will
continue until they come to a conclusion- whether the resolution should passed or
not. Voting procedure will take place at the end of debate.

Shaah Kamuruko

New York Times

Day 2

The delegates prepare their resolutions and discuss points with their fellow delegates on the topic of rhino poaching. Before the debates begin, they introduce themselves to each other and build friendships and bonds with other nation delegates.

The first topic debated will be regarding the Rhino poaching. The debate begins with Lesotho sharing her resolution written. The delegate of Thailand refers to aperitive clause 4 asking Lesotho if the relocation of the rhinos will put them in “mass stress”.  Lesotho then shakes of this statement.

The initial reaction when everyone is asked if they disagree with the resolution is silent but the delegate of France is recognized to speak, she states that she commends Lesoto for the “superb” resolution. The delegate of Indonesia disagrees with France when she said that the resolution is “flawless”, she asks if she is aware that not every country has the financing and enough money to spare to put into the conservation of the rhinos and may put the country in bankruptcy, France replies saying “yes”.

Off the record – The delegates appear confused about the topic and do not use the correct form of terminology when addressing the chairs and other delegates, they are continually asked to repeat their questions making the chairs and the other delegates frustrated.

The delegate of Lesotho becomes frustrated with the room after the constant disagreements put on her resolution, she repeatedly asks the other delegates to “open their mind” and to think like a rhino. The delegate of Egypt and Lesotho begin to have a back and forth conversation, the delegate of Egypt strongly disagrees with the clause that states “cutting the horns of the rhino will protect them”. The delegate of Egypt begins to get frustrated with the whole resolution saying that “the resolution will not protect the rhinos it will just making them look prettier”, delegate of Lesotho then asks the chairs for permission not to further answer Egypes questions.

In total this debate was “heated” and had many discussion points, we will be looking forward to the next debate.

 

Esme McGuire

BBC

The Security Council starts off with the rules and an icebreaker. The icebreaker was simply to introduce yourself in the accent of the country the delegate was representing. This was met with many laughs and claps, encouraged by the chair. After, the decision was made to discuss nuclear energy, the delegates split into groups to find a solution.

The delegates of the United States of America and Netherlands start a heated debate near the end of the session. The Netherlands stated that everyone deserves freedom, and that the U.S. has too much power. The delegate of the United States promptly clarified that the world they lived in was not all sunshine and rainbows, and that the Netherlands was being unjust. The delegate responded by saying that the United States should take initiative and talk to “that little snake,” or Russia, saying that they should remove their nuclear weapons, because they both have enough power to dominate the world. The United States relented and went to discuss the matter with Russia.

Through an interview with Hanaah Hassim, the delegate of the United States, the country’s opinion was brought to light. Hassim stated that nuclear power was very important and gives the U.S. power, but it is a problem in the hands of North Korea and Russia. Other countries are calling for the United States to reduce their nuclear power, but Hassim argued that it might leave the country vulnerable. If every country gave up their own nuclear energy then they would, too, but if others still have claim to it, they have the right to hold on to theirs.

 

Shaah Kamuruko

New York Times

 

The delegates prepare their resolutions and discuss points with their fellow delegates on the topic of rhino poaching. Before the debates begin, they introduce themselves to each other and build friendships and bonds with other nation delegates.

The first topic debated will be regarding the Rhino poaching. The debate begins with Lesotho sharing her resolution written. The delegate of Thailand refers to aperitive clause 4 asking Lesotho if the relocation of the rhinos will put them in “mass stress”.  Lesotho then shakes of this statement.

The initial reaction when everyone is asked if they disagree with the resolution is silent but the delegate of France is recognized to speak, she states that she commends Lesoto for the “superb” resolution. The delegate of Indonesia disagrees with France when she said that the resolution is “flawless”, she asks if she is aware that not every country has the financing and enough money to spare to put into the conservation of the rhinos and may put the country in bankruptcy, France replies saying “yes”.

Off the record – The delegates appear confused about the topic and do not use the correct form of terminology when addressing the chairs and other delegates, they are continually asked to repeat their questions making the chairs and the other delegates frustrated.

The delegate of Lesotho becomes frustrated with the room after the constant disagreements put on her resolution, she repeatedly asks the other delegates to “open their mind” and to think like a rhino. The delegate of Egypt and Lesotho begin to have a back and forth conversation, the delegate of Egypt strongly disagrees with the clause that states “cutting the horns of the rhino will protect them”. The delegate of Egypt begins to get frustrated with the whole resolution saying that “the resolution will not protect the rhinos it will just making them look prettier”, delegate of Lesotho then asks the chairs for permission not to further answer Egypes questions.

In total this debate was “heated” and had many discussion points, we will be looking forward to the next debate.

 

Tingting

Al Jazeera

Shalom Masango

Wall Street Journal

“Tell the person in front of you something that you find interesting about them” said the Chair.

At the dawn of the conference, delegates surrounded by unfamiliar faces, different setting, something had to be done to spark conversation and familiarity.

It all started with an ice breaker game which brought a lighter mood in the room as the delegates became more acquainted with each other. The room became cheery and this facilitated a conducive environment to exchange ideas and views, that were in discussion. The tabled topics were:

1. The exploitation of migrant workers in the Middle East and
2. Measures to reduce instability in oil producing nations.

A total of three teams, each tasked with the responsibility of coming up with at least two resolutions in under 2 hours, it was game on. Mental capacities were tested, also those who were vested in local and international news could be singled out through their contributions that included practical and news on the now as it happened.

 

Watch out for our next piece tomorrow!

Shalom Masango

Wall Street Journal

 

After an amazing opening ceremony orchestrated by Ms Bernie and an inspiration speech by Doctor Kirsty Coventry, the Security Council had to go back to business and refine their operative clauses for the Approval Panel to go over and accept them. The peculiar thing about the Security Council is that they debate on operative clauses, unlike other rooms such as the General Assembly and ECOSOC were they debate on the whole resolution.

The Security Council consists of 15 countries, 10 non-permanent and 5 permanent countries. The 5 permanent countries, which are: China, russia, The United Kingdom, France and the United States of America have the veto power. This ‘veto’ enables them to reject an operative clause suggested by another country and in this particular conference, the veto powers can only do this twice during the course of the conference. The delegate of Netherlands has prepared 8 operative clauses on, “Reforming the UN for its 75th anniversary”, and he is looking forward to change some things, as we are living in the 21st century. The first half of the day became dedicated to getting the operative clauses passed by the Approval Panel, making them run behind schedule as they should have already started debating at 10am.

Now that all the operative clauses were approved by the Approval Panel, it is now up to the Chairs to decide which operative clauses to debate on first.