South African State Security Council, 1980

Dear Delegates,

I am thrilled to serve as your Director of the South African State Security Council at the 2011 Harvard National Model United Nations Conference. This historic simulation of the State Security Council takes place in 1980—at the height of apartheid policies in South Africa. It is very much a transformational point for South African politics: facing rising internal opposition from the African National Congress and international censure from anti-apartheid countries, the delegates of this committee must balance security and reform to ensure the stability of South Africa.

My interest in South African history lies in its status as one of the last so-called “developed” nations to abolish its racial segregation system—to the extent that most delegates in this committee were born before the end of apartheid. Supported politically and economically by the United States and the United Kingdom because of its anti-communist stance, South Africa was allowed to persist in its repression of the black majority and anti-apartheid activists. This history of South African apartheid has sadly been ignored both by popular history and the MUN circuit. This committee seeks to redress that imbalance.

At Harvard, I am a sophomore concentrating in Government. I was born in Singapore, but raised in Edison, New Jersey, where I first discovered my passion for Model UN. For the past eight years, international relations has become a big part of my life: since my middle school and high school days as a delegate, I now compete on the traveling team and serve as a crisis director for our sister conference for high school students, HMUN. I am also involved in Harvard WorldMUN, a college conference that travels to a different country each year. Apart from my academic and extracurricular commitments, I enjoy playing electric guitar and discovering rare remixes of songs.

Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions, or just want to introduce yourself! I can be reached at charlene.wong@college.harvard.edu. I look forward to meeting you in February!

Sincerely,

Charlene Wong
Director, South African State Security Council
Harvard National Model United Nations 2011

Topic Area: Maintaining the South African Regime

In 1980, South Africa was one of the most developed nations in Africa, achieving a First World standard of living for the white minority, and yet also one of the most embattled states on the continent.  The government-sanctioned division of the country into four racial categories has led to the segregation of living areas and the forced removal of black Africans to Bantustans, ethnic homelands. Under this system, whites controlled more than 80 percent of the land.

The 1960s and 1970s saw a rise in violence in the name of the anti-apartheid cause. Bombings, assassinations, and riots led by the African National Congress have caused domestic unrest and local instability. Following the brutal suppression of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, the United Nations Security Council declared an arms embargo on South Africa. At the same time, trade embargoes have caused the onset of a deep recession, while athletic sanctions on South African teams have disparaged national morale. On the regional front, the recent defeat of Portuguese colonialism and the independence of Mozambique and Angola under socialist governments pose a security threat to South African territories.

Over the course of committee, delegates will need to respond to challenges that threaten to overthrow the privileged position of the white minority in South Africa. How will we secure the nation against the instability caused by anti-apartheid groups? How will we grapple with the rising international pressure to end apartheid, especially its repercussions on the economy? And how will we prevent communism from gaining influence in the region? The decisions of the South African State Security Council will either bring the nation out of diplomatic and economic isolation and ensure the survival of white minority rule, or force the collapse of the status quo.