Special Political and Decolonization Committee

Dearest delegates,

My name is Jennah Hiari and I will be directing the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, the Fourth Committee, the best committee, at HNMUN 2010!

I am a sophomore at Harvard, likely concentrating in English with a secondary field in Economics. I live in the relatively distant, but undeniably beautiful, Pforzheimer House in the far-away land known as “The Quad.” I am a native of Cambridge, MA, home of Harvard, making move-ins and laundry extraordinarily convenient. Since coming to college, I have become actively involved in the International Relations Council, also staffing our high school model U.N. conferences. I am on Harvard’s Inter-collegiate Model U.N. team and I particularly enjoy being a delegate in general assemblies— I am really looking forward to directing one! I lifeguard year-round and enjoy skiing, reading, warm weather—a rarity around here so pack warm in February—ice cream, long walks, and roses.

My hope is that the topics of our committee will fuel heated debate on the four-day road to solutions. The development of outer space is certainly a matter in need of international consensus for the sake of global security, especially as technology advances and economies endure tumult. Small arms and light weapons have been increasingly present in ethnic and internal conflicts in recent years and are responsible for countless combat deaths and immeasurable criminal violence. The all-too-easy spread of small arms makes the matter one of urgency for the international community.

I truly cannot wait to meet all of you! I do hope you bring your A-game to conference, and the 4th Committee is sure to be fantastic! Please contact me with your questions and comments.

Sincerely,

Jennah Hiari
Director, Special Political and Decolonization Committee
Harvard National Model United Nations 2010

Topic Area A: International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space

In 1959, two years after the U.S.S.R.’s launching of Sputnik, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was set up by the General Assembly to address its pressing concerns. Currently, it is the charge of the fourth committee (SPECPOL) to critically examine issues related to peaceful usages of outer space in order to maintain and promote international security.

The development of outer space, a vast expanse under no sovereign control, is comparable in nature and magnitude to nuclear weapons: its peaceful development is supported by the international community, however, a great discrepancy exists between developed and developing nations. Space development—launching a satellite, research and development—is extremely expensive, and it is lacking substantially in less-industrialized nations comparatively. However, space technology is critical in its many applications, such as detection of natural disasters, satellite imagery in land use and development, and even intelligence. Complicated issues abound, however, in relation to this issue, such as space debris due to over-development, information accessibility and, notably, the severe gaps between developed countries, developing countries (including China and India) and those with minimal resources, which can only be soothed by international support for underdeveloped countries in accessing this technology.

Besides peaceful purposes, there are also the questions of weapons in space (though international consensus is against the militarization of space), as well as spy technology, which unquestionably pose a threat to international security by giving developed nations the incredible advantage in conflict. Though preventing an arms race in outer space is another facet of this problem, this committee will need to determine which types of technology are “peaceful” and find ways to give all countries access to “peaceful” technology through cooperation, and perhaps funding and international transparency.

Topic Area B: Small Arms and Light Weapons Proliferation

The October 2000 Millennium Report of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the UN General Assembly declared: “the death toll from small arms dwarfs that of all other weapons systems – and in most years greatly exceeds the toll of the atomic bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In terms of the carnage they cause, small arms, indeed, could well be described as ‘weapons of mass destruction.’” Small arms (SA) are hand-held weapons, (i.e. revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles, sub-machine guns, assault rifles and light machine-guns,) while light weapons (LW) are generally portable, crew-served weapons (heavy machine-guns, some types of grenade launchers, portable anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, and portable launchers of anti-aircraft missile systems).

The ammunition and explosives of small arms and light weapons, as well as their portability and accessibility, make them integral components of ethnic and internal conflicts, such as those in Colombia, Kosovo, and Sierra Leone, combat, and criminal violence. However, the problems caused by these attractive tools of violence are of utmost international concern and the special political and decolonization committee with need to address the control of small arms and light weapons, as well as their illicit trade. Small arms are especially problematic because they can remain in conflict zones after its official cessation, permitting additional outbreaks of violence, are easy enough for even child soldiers to carry, and can interfere with humanitarian efforts and the return of refugees post-conflict. More than one thousand companies manufacture small arms and light weapons worldwide, notably within the European Union, United States, China, and Brazil and more than one million SA/LW are stolen or lost each year.

Effectively curbing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons is the objective of this committee, via answers to the questions of civilian possession of firearms, the arming of non-state actors and private military and security corporations, transparency, export criteria, in addition to those specific to small arms in combat zones, border security, and trafficking.