Heading into Saturday— full of heavy debates, passed directives, and final discussions for second topics— we find our IPC Reporters with bounds of knowledge. Here’s what went down:
A monopoly man look-alike, Angry workers and a Strong division in committee are things that can be spotted at the AD-HOC very easily. In the span of 15 minutes the committee was presented with a myriad of new issues, there was definitely a strong sense of division in the room.
First of all, some delegates believed individualized regulations were the way to approach this problem. On the other hand, some thought that would only bring more problems. Another recurring issue was the rail-road workers being dissatisfied with the committee's latest actions. They feel unseen and unheard, since they had finally received a good pay from the committee but then the delegates took that away. Some railroad workers argue that “they don't care about us, they just care about the big man with money” -Railroad worker (redacted). This comment makes sense in the context of the delegates deciding to please the big monopoly companies before the workers. When asked about the issue delegates had mixed opinions, some said that a good solution would be to Nationalize the Railroads, Others completely disagreed saying the workers are being greedy and ungrateful. All the railroad workers are asking for is a 16 cent or more minimum wage and good living conditions. They seem to be open to going back to work if these are provided.
To conclude, One can easily tell this committee is very divided. They will have to work together to find a solution for this crisis. Without the railroad workers the railroads won’t be able to run. We are very intrigued to see what the committee does. For more information keep reading The working paper.
Reported on by IPC Delegate Clarissa Ramirez
The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice began reviewing working papers related to their second topic, The Modern Slave Trade. Delegates resultantly split into two main blocks: Pro-Russia and Anti-Russia. This is because it was revealed that Russia was hiding their slave trade from the committee and rousing debate proceeded. 4 main papers were presented and 3 failed with the exception of one succeeding; according to the delegation of China, (one of the leaders of the Pro-Russia bloc) it passed because it was very “general and agreeable”. There was mention of how the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is a subset of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and whether that committee can make war plans. There was also mention of the lack of relevance about nuclear weapons in relation to preventing human trafficking. After the papers were reviewed and voted on, most of the delegates felt that the topic would be solved fairly soon. They then went on to discuss their next topic, The War on Illegal Poaching and Wildlife Trafficking
Reported on by IPC Delegate Aniva Vyas
This morning, we went to The Food and Agriculture Organization Committee (FAO) to check what they were doing. FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that strives to achieve sustainability across the globe and improve food insecurity. We walked in during a moderated caucus about working papers and were able to catch some countries' thoughts about the idea of self-sufficiency versus working as a whole organization under the FAO.
To start, Japan urged the delegates to work together instead of being self-sufficient because collaboration is key when it comes to a huge issue like food insecurity. At the same time, Panama, Costa Rica, and Vietnam all expressed their concerns for developing countries and support self-sufficiency. They say that by giving developing countries authority to make their own decisions, over time they will become less reliant on food aid and will eventually be able to make their own food to support their people. To add, Uzbekistan brought up the concern of food insecurity in rural areas that have frequent wars and natural disasters and advocated for communication among other countries.
When an unmoderated caucus got approved, we went over to Australia and interviewed them asking their stance on food security. Australia replied by saying they fully support private organizations that, for example, develop technologies like more beneficial ways to farm, to combat insecurity in developing countries. They plan to do this by contributing funding. To conclude, we are excited to see what working papers the FAO choses and how they will debate their next topic!
Reported on by IPC Delegate Fiona Fortin
In HUAC, there has been an individual who took a different approach to achieving the goals set out by their committee. The delegate formerly from Mississippi (now Louisiana), John Rankin said in a statement that their sole objective is the one granted to them by the committee: “To weed out the communists and to solve the spread of communism in the America” In an effort to accomplish the committee’s goals, Louisiana has resorted through a series of unusual and playful directives to combat the perceived threat of communism. In a statement, they cite their directives as “not trying to become a communist state, we are simply trying to reform our government.” Despite their radicality, this doesn’t distract them from their goal.
Their government has suggested through the use of directives that the enforcement of anti- communist beliefs would be best handled by their government. To do this, they have suggested that lands with high communist sympathies should be annexed into their state. Such attempts were not fruitful with their latest attempt at annexation with the state of New York being unsuccessful. Once this had not given the results they had desired, they further increased their ambitions and introduced another directive.
The Louisiana Supremacy Directive was an attempt to increase morale and security in the fight to combat the perceived threat of communism. This included a mandatory celebration of Mardi Gras and a condition that allowed for further expansion of its annexation policy allowing for it to happen towards a state harboring a single communist.
These directives have been divisive in the HUAC committee, although a voice among those who spoke positively about these directives was incredibly notable. These responses came from the F. Edward Hébert, a fellow delegate in HUAC, who has voiced their support for these policies. John Rankin views this cooperation as a great and positive thing to prevent the spread of communism into the committee. They say this is only possible because “we share similar views. We have the same objective”.
Further attempts to increase the influence through the penultimate directive coming from Louisiana titled the Louisiana Purchase Part II, seeks to effectively give John Rankin ultimate power by granting them the Vice Presidency, the Speakership, House Majority Leader, Chief Justice, and Majority Whip. This is one of many amendments that has sought out to shift the dynamics of power towards the delegation of Louisiana and allies. It remains to be seen whether or not this will pass on the last day of the conference.
Reported on by IPC Delegate Jobsan Villa-Fuerte
When the IPC journalist entered the IMF or International Monetary Fund delegates were working hard on merging working papers for Topic B. The focus of the topic was Debt Trap Diplomacy which is a situation wherein rich and developed countries give out high interest debts to developing and needy countries. The committee, before committee session VII, had nine blocks each with different working blocks. However, the dias did tell us that the delegates were working towards merging these blocks into four concrete working papers.
The committee, according to the Dias, had lots of “similar ideas.” When asked what the differences in position was the Dias said that “a lot of the talk is about China.” The reason behind this is China’s reputation with debt traps; it is the biggest country that is currently laying out a lot of debt traps. Despite having the committee being split in two with regards to endorsing China, the country seemed very secure. “Things are looking good” said China, “especially in regards to small developing countries.” What China meant by that was unclear, but good intentions are assumed. The delegation of China also seemed unafraid of any opposition. “[The opposition] are a very vocal but a very small minority,” said China. A lot of countries that rely on China or have other political relations with the country, want to avoid mentioning it all together. Portugal said that one of the country’s goal is to “find a solution to this without alienating China...it is all about having to find a balance,” said the country. In the supported resolution, however, China is not mentioned at all. Instead, the country has chosen to focus on “access to the loans” without falling into debts that are “keeping them trapped.” The working paper supported by Portugal uses ideas like fluid interest to find a diplomatic solution.
Regardless of the other working papers, China has really clear goals: “For the truth to be unveiled and to protect the financial sovereignty of nations apart from the UN.” Will China accomplish its target? Or will the opposition hold China accountable for the previous debt traps Stay tuned to find out.
Reported on by IPC Delegate Tanvi Kulkarni.
‘The Super Slay’ is what they called it. The North Yemen Republicans weigh options in the war effort as they seek to gain an edge over their opposing Royalists by either killing millions during prayer or letting impoverished children die. The committee acknowledged that either way millions of people will suffer and ultimately peris in this lose-lose situation.
“We still have an optimal position, even though we do not have a functioning government,” said Moshin Ahmad Al-Aini. The committee suggested a call to arms for all Arab nations and sought the aid of Ethiopia as outside reinforcement.
They planned a voluntary enlistment via a Russia Republic radio broadcast to call on enforcements to march to the capital city of Sana’a, surround the capital and capture the Monarchist council. A crisis soon broke out, and many tribes were angry that the government beliefs had been enforced upon them. The tribes want to keep their unique identities but still be represented in the hierarchy of the Republicans. Solutions to this problem varied from ingratiating the tribes to letting them be. “We should construct a directive to send to the separate tribes,” said Hassan Al-Amri. “We should celebrate the differences of each individua tribe.” “These tribes have valid concerns—that we are forcing them to conform to a single bielfe system,” added Ahmed Numan. “We should eventually collaborate with them.” “I propose that we amend the constitution so tribes are more represented in the legislative branch,” said Al-Aini. “I think we should put some statute in place so that the tribes can have their own land and send representatives from each tribe to the national government,” added Al-Amri.
Backed into a corner, hoping to please the people and maintain their Constitutional monarchy, the Royalists had a communique with United States President Lyndon B. Johnson to discuss American reinforcements.
President Johnson agreed to meet with three Royalists delegates—Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, David Ben-Gurion, Hassan bin Yahya. The trio pitched their plan to Johnson.
The plan would include U.S. troops capturing the port cities of Yemen, then moving inward to the capital city of Sana’a. Israeli and Saudi Arabian troops will hold down the port cities once the Americans move towards the capital. The ultimate goal of the Royalists is to have the U.S. forces to expel the Egyptians, while the Saudis and Israelis would bomb from the skies and protect the perimeter.
The U.S. only offered 30,000 troops due to their ongoing conflict with Russia. President Johnson and the CIA Director assigned 10,000 to the capital from the north, 12,000 to the port cities and 8,000 from the countryside. Johnson concluded the communique with a stern notice that this will be the only support coming from the United States and wished the Royalists luck in their efforts to find some semblance of success or peace in the convoluted, violent and murky conflict with the opposing Republicans.
Reported on by IPC Delegate Nicholas Alumkal
A heated debate is heard in the Austro-Hungarian committee of World War I over the conviction of the suspect charged with the assassination attempt of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The crisis drop brought Gavrilo Princep who’s put on trial on the assassination attempt of the archduke and the attempted suicide to avoid persecution. Through the interrogation, it was uncovered more about the convicted suspect. Aged 19 and of Serbian descent, he grew up working at his dad’s sandwich shop, however later in his teenage years, Princep left to work on the streets. It’s alleged that he’s a current member of the Serbian rebel groups that are currently active in the empire that have been causing havoc for government officials. However it was proven difficult gaining information from the suspect as he actively refused to answer the questions directly and instead answer in hypothetical situations. The refusal of answering the question brought suspicion to the committee and they are likely to find him guilty for his crimes.
However, the debate became heated as there was no unanimous decision on the exact prison sentence. Many argued for a death penalty despite the minimum age of executing prisoners being 20 years of age. Major general Maximillian Ritter von Hoen argued that, “he’s a murderer. An exception must be made for the severity of his crimes.”. Some members argue that execution will send the wrong message to the citizens. As stated by prime minister István Tisza where they claim that “exceptions must not be made regardless” and instead offering life in prison with no possibility of parole. It’s rumored that the debate is continuing and the results of the trial may come soon.
Reported on by IPC Delegate Nico Capaldo
“I am a Monkey,” Said a monkey, at Ortega's cabinet. The cabinet members looked around very perplexed, as there were 36 monkeys stating that they were not satisfied. The monkeys and the young population of Nicaragua made it very clear that they do not approve of The contras. The United-states
Backed right-wing guerilla groups are very active in Nicaragua. It's very understandable how the young population does not support them, since its US involvement in their country, we still need to get more information on why the monkeys have a problem with the contras.
Before the strange crisis broke, the committee was talking about passing directives to deal with the country's current cocaine crisis. A recurrent theme during directive discussions was not criminalizing people who are addicted and instead building institutions to help with rehabilitation, A delegate even mentioned that “we should criminalize small scale cocaine dealers' '. Their reasoning to this statement was that the dealers are selling drugs because of the economy, But dear delegates, should you not criminalize drug dealers or try and fix the economy?
To conclude, This committee is in a very strange place right now, talking with monkeys and sympathizing with drug dealers instead of tackling the economy. We will certainly keep reporting on this peculiar situation. For more information keep checking The working paper!
Reported on by IPC Delegate Clarissa Ramirez
Entering the Persian-Greco war room you could be met with a map showing how troops will be moved in one corner, alliances being made in another, and sinister plots being concocted in the back. The pressure is enough to turn a lump of coal into a diamond. With so much happening it would be easy to overlook the secretive plan of Leontiades and Pindar.
Leontiades had their follower take over as leader and then had him poison the food supplies from Plateau before it got to Athens, damaging the close relationship between this city state (Plateau) and city (Athens). Pindar and Leontiades have also been in contact with a Persian general. While their methods may seem radical they find their actions completely justifiable. Leontiades and Pindar’s cities were both attacked, causing their people to have to flee for safety.
While Pindar and Leotiades had tried to warn the committee that fast action was the only way, the rest of the committee focused on collaboration. Leontiades summarized their sentiment by saying: “We were betrayed by everyone else”. Later on a gentleman’s unmod where delegates were not afraid to voice their opinions as disagreements broke out. While many felt it was most important to focus on the war with the Persians who were setting their sights on Athens, Pindar thought that he should investigate the attempted assassination of himself and the successful assassination of Leonides, King of the Agiad Dynasty. Words got heated as the argument went back and forth resulting in a joint crisis with Pindar and another delegate to investigate the assassinations. Pindar said that if the person behind these attacks was not found they may resort to assassinating those who they think are the most likely suspects. While assassination plots, poisonings, and treason occur a war continues to rage in the Persian-Greco Committee. The work and passion that all delegates are putting in shows through every heated debate and every directive regarding the training of alligators for war or the king's funeral arrangements, where his body may be carried by the batmobile.
Reported on by IPC Delegate Anna Crum
The Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM) is hard at work finalizing working papers. With five working papers in circulation on the topic of prisoners’ rights, each paper was recently introduced by their sponsors. One of those working papers, Prison Pandemic Resource Committee Creation (PPRC), had 15 clauses and spanned an impressive length of 10 pages. Sponsored by China, Latvia, Iraq, Singapore, and Russia, the paper included the prevention of prisoner torture, the improvement of prisoners’ mental and physical well-being, the allocation of monthly menstrual products, the inspection of cells and food, and the acknowledgment of prisoners’ different religious beliefs, gender identities, and sexualities. After PPRC was presented, a five minute Q&A took place. The sponsors made it clear throughout the session that their paper’s primary purpose is to establish a precedent for prisons when another pandemic occurs, which they dubbed as “highly likely”. PPRC, in addition to other papers, added various friendly amendments proposed by fellow delegates. One of PPRC’s (many) amendments created an International Detention Bureau (IDB) to recall necessary prison data from willing countries and their detention centers. In fact, so many of these friendly amendments were added that the chairs were forced to announce they would no longer entertain them anymore. A+ rating for your friendliness, SOCHUM! However, the atmosphere became quite unfriendly when the 2 For, 2 Against speeches commenced. When it was time for delegates to give their opinions regarding PPRC, Malaysia proclaimed, “This paper is 10 pages instead of 3-4 pages like the other resolutions. It is clearly pre-written, so we cannot vote on this paper!” Gasps and laughter erupted throughout Forum Hall at the massive controversy. Though there is no proof of PPRC being pre-written (which is against MUNUM’s rules), the accusation hung heavy in the air. As SOCHUM moves into voting procedure on these five different papers about prison reform, only time will tell on which resolutions will pass and which resolutions will fail.
Reported on by IPC Delegate Sydney Lount
The world is coming to an end with global warming and what exactly is the main cause of this? Greenhouse gasses and fossil fuels. Agriculture, Transportation, Electricity generators. These are all economic factors that contribute to climate change. In power plants used to produce electricity and provide heat a lot of greenhouse gasses are admitted. Greenhouse gasses are very harmful to the environment because they cause the warming process of certain areas, in a sense, trapping the heat in earth’s air. This leads to climate change which affects our ocean temperatures and the rising of the sea and is overall predicted to be the fatal end to earth and its survival. Now what might be the possible solution to this issue, renewable energy. Renewable energy can replace our windmills and our light sources and help supply and fuel our poorer countries and increase their development to become more self sufficient. Funding by this would be provided by the UN habitat budget. It can also be helped by richer countries that have already started advancements in renewable resources which can help provide to the poorer population.This act would also help reduce pollution, slow down global warming, reduce air sickness, and most importantly provide a better environment for everyone to feel safe in.
Reported on by IPC Delegate Drithi Padukone
Amongst the Security Council, there was a general consensus that it was necessary for them to take action to resolve the conflict in Kosovo. However, as France told a reporter, “disagreements lie in the details.” Slovenia and Canada called for a plebiscite to decide if Kosovo should become independent from Albania. Whether they chose independence or to remain a part of Serbia, the directive would facilitate peace talks to ease tensions. Additionally, it would limit NATO action in the region However, when debating the directive, the Netherlands brought up the fact that Kosovo had previously not desired independence. Additionally, France told the committee that NATO would not listen to any UN proposed limits. The directive failed, lacking enough votes to pass and being vetoed by the UK. The Border Peace directive from Brazil and the Netherlands, focusing on defending the region and preventing the unnecessary insertion of NATO faced the same fate. The only directive the council was able to pass was “Refugees from Conflict,” from Malaysia, Gambia, and Namibia addressing job placement and scholarships for refugees of the Kosovo War. In a speech in favor of the directive Malaysia insisted, “There is nothing controversial about humanitarian aid.” Russia notably abstained.
After the committee’s failure to take any military action, in an update it was revealed that 45 Kosovan citizens had been killed by Serbian forces, but Serbian Leader Milovesic blocked the prosecution of his troops for war crimes. The update highlighted the fact that as the council failed to pass directives, the violence would persist.
Reported on by IPC Delegate Maggie de la Fuente