United Nations Security Council

Director's Letter

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to HNMUN 2022! My name is Delaney Hurley, and I am so excited to serve as your Director for the United Nations Security Council. The UNSC is by far the most important organ of the United Nations, and this year we will be discussing the Kurdish conflict in the Middle East and the Sino-Indian Border Dispute. I can’t wait to have a productive discussion on these two pressing issues.

I grew up quite far from the issues we’re discussing today, in Glastonbury, CT. I was lucky to attend a high school with an incredibly robust language program that shaped many of the interests I have today. After studying Mandarin for four years, I worked extensively with debaters in China; training the Chinese national debate team in summer 2019 was one of the highlights of my debate career. Ultimately, though, I decided that the Middle East was my main region of interest: after studying abroad in Oman seven years ago, I fell in love with Arabic and Middle Eastern culture. Since then, I’ve put my Arabic skills to use by sponsoring Syrian refugees in my hometown and working at refugee camps in Bulgaria during my gap year. I will be moving to Abu Dhabi this time next year to work for a development firm that works closely with the United Nations, World Bank, and Islamic Development Bank. 

I often joke that I do far more debate and politics-oriented activities than any one person should. After years of high school competitions, I found my home on Harvard’s Intercollegiate MUN team and served as a head delegate from 2020-2021. Nowadays, I compete less frequently in debate and Model UN and have transitioned more towards coaching and running competitions. Beyond the experience in China I highlighted earlier, I have coached Bulgaria’s national debate team and currently act as Head Coach of Poland’s national debate team. In case anyone was unaware, debaters tease MUN kids like me mercilessly, but I love both activities enough to put up with it. This will be my fourth year staffing HNMUN - I directed the Arab League committee in 2020 and crisis directed for the 2011 Tunisian Constituent Assembly in 2021. I’ve greatly enjoyed taking on administrative roles in conferences as well, having been Secretary-General of HMUN India 2021 and President of Harvard Model Congress Middle East 2022. 

I’m pursuing a joint concentration (the unnecessarily complicated Harvard equivalent of a double major) in Government and Modern Middle East Studies with a secondary in Education Studies. Outside of the seemingly all-consuming debate work I do, I love organizing outings into Boston for my friends, mixing up drinks (I recently became a certified bartender!), and frequenting art museums because I can’t create my own art to save my life.

The Security Council is the most important organ of the UN by virtue of the fact that it can pass binding resolutions on member states. The presence of the veto, however, complicates this power and makes passing anything difficult. I hope that this committee can work together to come up with constructive solutions for these two pressing issues. The Kurdish crisis has been ignored in political discourse and Sino-Indian border dispute has major regional stakes. These are discussions worth having and solutions that need coming up with. My background in international relations and MUN, as well as my interest in Asia, make me extremely excited to direct this committee and I hope you will bring the same level of enthusiasm to it! See you soon! 

Sincerely,

Delaney Hurley

Committee Director, United Nations Security Council
unsc@hnmun.org

Crisis Director's Letter

Dear Delegates,

It’s my honor and pleasure to welcome you to the United Nations Security Council at the

Harvard Model National United Nations 2022! My name is Emin Berker, and I am very excited to serve as your Crisis Director. Our committee will focus on some of the most pressing (and thought-provoking!) issues that presently surround international security, some that will impact the course of politics in the Middle East for many decades to come. I am confident that with your valuable input as the delegates, we will not only have a productive committee, but also an extremely enjoyable one.

I am originally from Istanbul, Turkey. Apart from eating around 2 boxes of Turkish delight every day, my favorite hobby might be singing Turkish pop songs tragically off-beat, inspired by the wise woman who once said “People can say I couldn’t sing, but no one can ever ever say I didn’t sing.” I have been in Boston for a few years now, and although my doctor claims that I have developed some serious vitamin D deficiency (we really don’t see the sun here), I really love the city and its people.

I first started my Model United Nations journey all the way back in 6th grade, and have since been involved in MUN during middle school, high school, and college. While it certainly sounds cool to pretend that it was my undying devotion to politics and world issues that kept me going, I can’t deny the indisputable fact that the main factor that got me doing MUN for so long is the people. I’ve gotten to meet most of my closest friends through MUN, and the only thing better than getting to hang out with amazing people is to travel with amazing people.

I am still struggling to decide what I would like to major in (I beg you, come find me if you have anything that would help make up my mind), although it currently seems that I might be choosing Chemistry and Physics. Apart from MUN, I also play the alto saxophone in the

Harvard Marching Band. I also work as a Peer Advising Fellow for first-year students, and I constantly do my best not to lose any of my advisees; however, the possibility is always there (honestly, who chose me for this job?). I love doing research and will probably pursue a career in the bizarre realm of academia. I am also truly interested in politics and can probably spend 3+ hours explaining the dynamics of the Turkish political scene to you, although I can’t make any promises about how much you would enjoy it. Last but not least, my true passion has always been and will always be reading Marvel comics and watching MCU movies, and you can easily win my heart by making the tiniest reference to either.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about the committee, and I look forward to seeing you all this February!

Sincerely,

Emin Berker

Committee Crisis Director, United Nations Security Council