Model United Nations
Year 9 Program: Model United Nations Conference
On 12th and 13th June, all Year 9s had the chance to participate in a Model United Nations Conference. Every student had been assigned a country that they would investigate leading to the MUN, which was organised by the UNAA. The focus of our conference was Asylum Seekers and Refugees: A Global Humanitarian Crisis.
We were lucky enough to host Carlisle Richardson, former ambassador of St Kitts and Nevis Economic Affairs Officer of the UN, as our Secretary-General. He explained the conference protocols and showed us a touching video about refugees. Shortly after, the country delegates made their position statements concerning the issue. We had a Moderated Caucus, where delegates discussed and debated in a very formal manner. We also experienced an Unmoderated Caucus, where we talked informally to try to form alliances and to work on draft resolutions. After finding sponsors and signatories, we voted on the amendments and the new proposed clauses. Even though different countries and individuals have various views on this topic, we negotiated to make amendments and new clauses that we all agreed to.
Overall, this experience enabled us to develop our public speaking, negotiation, debating, teamwork and creative thinking skills but most importantly, it was an opportunity for us to challenge our global views.
Emily McLenaghan
Year 9A
Model United Nations Conference: Turkey (Year 7B) argue for more support for asylum seekers and refugees
The Model United Nations Conference experience was engaging and exciting. Our Year 7B team, Archie, Elliot, Oskar and myself, were representing the delegates from Turkey. The Secretary-General, Mr Carlisle Richardson (a former Ambassador of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations, and a former Economic Affairs Officer of the United Nations) gave an overview of the official proceedings. We received a folder with two Amendment slips, a sheet where we could document others ideas (friends or foes) to see which countries aligned with Turkey. We also documented which countries we could turn to for support and which countries would be against us in relation to seeking Human Rights for refugees and asylum seekers. The final document was the logistics for the Conference.
The Conference was organised for 3 different events. The first was officially delivering position statements for all 21 countries where we address our country's situation including the clauses and protocols we will follow. The delegates of Turkey presented our position of the overwhelming number of refugees within Turkey and how we do not have the funds to hold and sustain our colossal amount of refugees who are made up of mainly Syrians who had to evacuate their country due to war which spread throughout Syria.
Next was a moderated caucus where we put forward an amendment. Our amendment was that larger countries with enough funds, such as Russia should support more refugees. Midway through the caucus a second phase began, an unmoderated caucus, which is where we gathered support from countries we had convinced during the moderated caucus. Our main argument was against larger countries, such as America and Russia not pulling their own weight.
Then we began the voting. This is where all countries see the amendments put forward and vote upon them. An acceptance requires a simple majority. We decided to vote upon a few amendments. The ones we supported, were ones that supported our refugee crisis. Then our amendment appeared up on screen. My group and I were anxious to see if our amendment would be accepted by a majority. We received lots of support and our amendment passed with a vote of 80% which was definitely a relief for Turkey.
The researching beforehand along with the debating was the standout for me as it gave me an understanding of the United Nations and the refugee crisis in Turkey. Being mostly against all the other countries and trying to band together a team that supports our ideas and beliefs was really enjoyable and hands down much better than the usual day of school. I can’t wait to do it all again in Year 9!
Khai Tschuemperlin
Year 7B
