SOCHUM, Day One; Part Two

Rachna Iyer

After a surfeit of debates and moderated caucuses, the committee suddenly broke into crisis: in the United States of America, a Caucasian policeman shot an African American man for marrying a white woman. The frenzy stirred accusations and racy opinions from many angry delegates, such as the delegates of South Korea, Chile and Venezuela, who stated that it was a "bizarre act", and that the policeman was "clearly heartless". It was completely unnecessary, they argued. However, the delegates of the United States of America, Belgium and Sweden shined some light on their point of view, stating that it didn't necessarily have to be because of the victim's caste, it could be of any other reason, such as the theory that the policeman's heart belonged to the woman.

An update stated that widespread protests began in the United States of America, and spread to the Islamic countries where the citizens were demanding the right of inter-caste marriage. The delegate of U.S.A suggested, rather demanded, that there should be more laws supporting inter-caste marriage in Islamic countries, such as Afghanistan, where women should be allowed the freedom of marriage, just as the men, in order to terminate discrimination on basis of sex.

New update: Prime Minister Narendra Modi supports Khap Panchayat who declare honour killing as legal. A consensus was made, suggesting that Narendra Modi must withdraw his support and declare honour killings illegal, effective immediately.

After more updates and more arguments, the chairs realized the clock urged for some fun time.

MOTION FOR ENTERTAINMENT!

Jokes were made, dances were danced, songs were sung and laughter bounced off the walls. It was the best possible end of Day One. You had to be there.

The inner workings of an IIMUN committee

(click to view ;))

you did what to my wife?

SOCHUM (Social Cultural and Humanitarian Council) - "Motion" of Entertainment!
Reporter: Hatim Saifee and Sharika Bhan

In the last session of the SOCHUM committee, the motion of entertainment was going on. The delegate of USA was asked to dance romantically with the delegate of Chile. He was also asked to sing and dance with the delegates of Sweden and India. He was also asked to dance with the delegate of Ghana. Poor guy! Had to dance so much! Now, it was the Vice Chair's turn to take part in this motion. She was asked to dance together with the delegate of Afghanistan. We wish these motions take part in every session!

HRC (The Human Rights Council) - "Motion" of Entertainment!

Reporter - Hatim Saifee and Sharika Bhan

Towards the ending of the last session, the HRC council urged for a motion of entertainment. The delegates forced the Vice Chair to dance, but he excused himself by forcing the delegate of Czech Republic to propose to the delegate of Singapore by saying a cheesy line. The delegate completed this dare by saying the following lines to the delegate of Singapore on one knee:

"Are you a banana? Because I'm a-kela!"

A lot of laughter was spread around and the Chairs joined the fun, too! Can you believe it? The Chairs who were most serious during the sessions were enjoying the motion of entertainment by joining in the fun.

This was one of the most fun moments we had in the HRC.

SOCHUM (Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Council) Session 3
Reporter: Hatim Saifee

Many sub-topics were raised during the crisis about the White cop shooting a Negro man for marrying a white woman in the committee session which had detailed discussions which shined light on the views of the delegates of US, Chile, South Korea, Sweden, Venezuela and Belgium, and many joint statements made along with resolutions. Here are the facts we noted during the session.

Sub-Topics: Narendra Modi supports Khap Panchayat who declared honor killing is legal, Kids marrying kidnapped and sent to South America, Chile believed to fund the group kidnapping the kids, White cop shoots African-American man for marrying white woman.

Resolutions:

1.   The delegate of India suggested that Narendra Modi should quickly withdraw from the support and declare honor killing illegal, if the allegations were true.

2.   Joint Statement by delegates of USA, Chile, and India: Satellites should be set up everywhere and the kids and the mafia should be found, if allegations are true.

3.   Joint Statement by the delegates of Czech Republic, Chile and USA: Action should be taken against the government of Chile, if the allegations are true. If false, then the real reason why they funded the mafia should be found.

4.  The delegate of US suggested that if the allegations are true, then the white policeman should be searched for.  

      This committee is reaching a lot of conclusions. Hope this committee does great in the next sessions also.             

ISI vs RAW (the Kashmir War Cabinet), Session 2

Reporter: Sharika Bhan & Hatim Saifee

Here are some of the discussions that took place in the War Room Cabinet during the 2nd Session. This was pretty boring, as everything was being done by the delegates, not us. But, we did gain some information, though (because we don't read the newspapers. Who needs them :P)

*The delegates of RAW have proposed to have a joint operation with ISI for India and Pakistan’s benefit. 

*The delegates suggested that they had to think like the terrorists to find the solution. That was in fact a very good idea!

* “We have to negotiate with the terrorists”, said one of the delegates. A reply was given by another delegate, “Negotiation is not possible as we are not sure if they will not attack India back.”

*A crisis took place in which the solution was to ask the people who have attacked places and ask them why are they doing this and what do they want. 

*There has been an information that a navy vessel had been stolen from Pakistan. After the vessel was stolen there were some explosives that took place. 

*Discussions were held on the blasts that took place in Bangalore and Delhi, the people who were responsible for these blasts were captured. The terrorists have threatened the government of India by stating that they will kill hostages if their demands are not fulfilled.

*7 out of 10 prisoners of the Yerwada jail used to work with the Indian Intelligence Service. 

*The National Security Guard said, “Security has been sent around The Arabian Sea.”

 We hope they find resolutions beneficial to both the countries.

ISI vs RAW (The Kashmir War Cabinet), Session 1
Reporter: Hatim Saifee

The ISI vs RAW Committee featured discussions and debates on the wars and disagreements between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir war.

Over here, the Chairs were very serious, I have to tell you, and it is pretty intense out here. Many great points were being discussed which made these delegates seem like actual members to me, although everything went over my head. The logistics member got really tired, though, passing the chits from here to there. There was one delegate who spoke so loudly he made my ears burst. But, fun apart, the delegates here are pretty serious and I hope this committee progresses to a worthy resolution.

The Human Rights Council (HRC)
Reporter: Sharika Bhan

Session 1

The Human Right Council focused on the issues in Syria and Iraq caused by the ISIS terrorist attacks. The session had a lot of discussions and was to-the-point. The Chair was very serious. A lot of delegates raised motions.

Challenge: A challenge was raised by the delegate of Czech Republic against the delegate of USA. The delegate of Czech Republic said that the American army is killing a lot of civilians in Iran by bombing. The delegate of USA replied by saying, “We will bomb only if necessary.”

Presidential Statement: The delegate of South Africa stated that Iran funded $200 million to Hezbollah, a terrorist group. 

Session 2

Quite a few resolutions were being discussed. The response was slow, but the delegates had good points. The Chairs discussed a lot with the delegates. Many debates were being risen. We hope that the committee reaches a peaceful conclusion.

WHO Session 3

Reporter - Hatim Saifee

The WHO Committee focused on the Ebola issue and discussions were being held on its spread and preventions. After the high tea, the Chair explained the delegates, about some of the topics they had doubts about, nicely, so that they could write their working papers properly. 

Some of the delegates were feeling sleepy as this was the 3^rd session of the day and they were tired. The delegate of Finland was seen not to be interested in the explanation but more in passing chits to the delegate of Brazil through the logistic members, which made them frustrated and tired. The logistic members were particularly irritated at the delegate of Finland. Even the delegate of Brazil got frustrated and sent a chit in return, saying, “I know everything about Ebola. So just shut up.” We hope that the delegate of Finland finally stops and just listens to the Chair pretty soon. 

But, fun apart, we hope this committee progresses and finds worthy resolutions.

Post Tea-break HRC Report

Post Tea-break HRC Report

reporter: Anjali Jhunja

The session started off with the delegates of China and Czech Republic joining forces ,however failing to impress the Chair with the reasons for such an alliance. They reported a bombing on Syrian beaches according to sources in their secret service. In response, the Chair counter-questioned them stating that there are no beaches in Syria. The delegate of the United States said that on behalf of President Barrack Obama,  three fighter jets would be sent to fly over Syria to make sure that the situation was in check. The delegate of China warned that this act would be invading airspace without permission which would be seen as a threat to the Syrian Government.

Update: UNSC: US convoys crossing the Jordan-Syria border were restricted.

Contents: Military grade weapons + tanks [still in possession of the US].

US jets continue to fly through Syrian airspace.

The delegate of Czech Republic raised a hypothetical example of sending three tanks and five jets over US territory, asking whether or not that would be an offense to the United States. The delegate of the United States retorted by asking whether the Czech Government could hypothetically afford it. The delegate of Czech Republic was personally offended that the US delegate was blatantly calling his country 'poor'.

Update: The Syrian President was shot in the head by unknown assailants. He is in hospital and his condition is critical. A militant was seen fleeing the site. Gun used: Sniper Rifle. Place of attack: Damascus where a conference was being held.

Delegates communicated their views and opinions on this news update.

Update:  The militant suspected of having shot the Syrian President, was apprehended trying to flee across the border. He confessed to the US forces that he was a Chinese national and part of the Chinese military.

The members of the Committee found this amusing [The delegate of China was being extra proactive]. Noticing the inappropriate giggles that filled the room, the Chair found it necessary to remind them that a President had in fact been shot!

The delegate of China tried to save her country's ass by accusing the United States and Russia of this travesty.

The delegate of Czech Republic raised a motion for caucus in order for the delegates to decide in a neutral atmosphere the details of the situation at hand, hoping to resolve issues in peace and harmony.

ECOFIN, Day 1.

Antara Dave

The session started with a tense collection of delegates, many of whom were first timers and who were nervous and excited at the same time.

The delegates began by lobbying and continued to do so until most of the other delegates had arrived. The first motion, raised by the delegate of USA, started the GSL. Almost immediately, the delegate of China rose to protest the presence of the delegate of Taiwan, and requested for the delegate to be removed, since Taiwan is not a recognized UN nation.

During the GSL, most delegates spoke against bank secrecy and how their countries cold benefited by the removal of bank secrecy. Various reforms and ways to end bank secrecy were also mentioned during the GSL.

An un-moderated caucus began and delegates discussed the Swiss Banking Act of 1934, and urged the delegate of Switzerland to consider reforming it. Soon after, a moderated caucus began and the delegate of Switzerland stated that Switzerland would be ready to sign bilateral agreements with other countries but said that these agreements would not affect Swiss individuals.

After lunch, a crisis was introduced by the chair, in which USA declared war on Russia and China because they were funding white collar crimes within the USA, and an SSL on this topic began. UK, Australia, France and Germany chose to take sides with the USA, while Ethiopia, Chile and Hungary chose to remain neutral in the war. The delegate of USA was challenged by the delegate of Switzerland, who proceeded to call the delegate of USA naive and arrogant, and an entertaining argument ensued.

SOCHUM, Day One.
Rachna Iyer

The Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee was holding a debate on the topic inter-caste marriage. The session started with an informative reiteration of procedure, as many of the delegates were unsure and a little apprehensive about the rules. Minutes later, the General Speaker’s list opened with a stimulating speech by the delegate of Afghanistan, who explained that in Afghanistan, inter-caste marriage was allowed for men but not for women, to which the delegate of U.S.A contended. This was followed by the speeches of the delegates of Belgium, Brazil, Canada and Chile, who elucidated that not only does inter-caste marriage allow men and women of different communities to come together; it also brings about feelings of unity and concentration on one’s own religion. A moderated caucus was initiated on the topic ‘reasons why inter-caste 

marriage is discouraged. The delegate of Egypt made a point showing that inter-caste marriage requires a lot of patience, love and affection, which might result in the child not getting enough of the above. A great statement made by the delegate of India said that inter-caste marriage causes discrimination of the lower caste and a violation of rights. Next, a moderated caucus was raised on the grounds of ‘faith of children with parents of different religions’ raised by the delegate of Chile, who gave a very intellectual speech explaining that children get a better education about religions because both of their parents could advise them on both of the religions, thus, broadening their horizons. The environment at the SOCHUM committee session was truly a thought-provoking one; be back for more!

Day One, Saturday the 31^st

Pre-lunch, UNSC.

-Lea Ramaswamy

The United Nations Security Council -home to the high-brow, ever so slightly dour delegates that are sure to be seen in every MUN.  They are incredibly important. Really. 

Today, we spoke of reformation: reformation of the Security Council and reformation of the democratic values reflected in its charter. The committee kicked off with suggestions that seemed to point toward the need for expansion- more countries, developing, rather than just the super powers- the current P5 members. Although the delegates were initially inclined toward the claim that expansion was the pathway to transparency, further speeches from the delegates of The Peoples Republic of China and the United States of America brought about controversy in the committee. They spoke to the tune of semi-permanent membership- a concept that eradicates the power of veto from being a permanent member. This, they argued with aid from the delegate of the United Kingdom, would alleviate risk of ill conceived decision making as result of a majority vote; or, as UK put it, any vetoed resolution on non-substantive matter from the masses would be allowing the entirety of the security council to enable a reform that dictated FREE PIZZA EVERY THURSDAY. Who would argue that?