Summit Manipal: MMXVIII

More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together. And that, my friends, is why we have the United Nations. – Kofi Annan

The 11th edition of Manipal’s very own MUN (Model United Nations), Summit Manipal, saw students arriving from all over the country. They took their position as the delegates from their respective countries with an air of professionalism reminiscent of the real-time United Nations.

The Committees in session this year included UNGA DISEC, who’s agenda involved private military contractors and their threat to World Peace, UNSC discussing the Gulf War (1991 – ), and finally Bilderberg on the colonization of Mars, conducted by the Chair Hriday Chhabria.

Session 1 began at 11 pm with a quick introduction, including the basics of how a MUN works. There was a turnout of around 55 delegates this year, most of them have attended less than three MUNs. Even so, the confidence and proficiency with which they presented themselves was far beyond commendable.

Session 5 of Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), headed by the Chair Aryaman Desai, was held on Day 2. The session was scheduled to begin at around nine in the morning. Unfortunately, there weren’t a sufficient number of delegates present to begin the session at the stipulated time. The executive board was forced to delay the proceedings by 40 minutes.

The purpose of the committee was to discuss the crisis of private military contractors (PMCs) employed by USA and Israel, attacking the Gaza strip. For a major part of the session, various directives were discussed in order to reduce the bloodshed in the region and come to a logical and peaceful conclusion. In the end, the directive presented by the delegates of China, Syria, and Canada was passed. The directive was to withdraw private military forces and maintain a cease-fire. The delegates did a commendable job in communicating their agendas and points of view. All the of them participated in the discussion actively. This session went on well with a lot of cooperation among the delegates and the executive board.

Day 3 of Summit Manipal witnessed a sophisticated denouement to all the heated debates and discussions spanning 3 long days. On a sultry Sunday afternoon, the session on the Gulf War crisis commenced and was conducted by Daksh Sharma, Chair for UNSC. The agenda was originally the Gulf War of 1991, but due to the last minute addition of Kuwait to the delegates, there was a slight change. A real-time crisis on the Gulf War with constant updates was given, and the Security Council had to come up with solutions. With an extension of around fifteen minutes granted by the Executive Board (EB) for the benefit of the committee, the conference finally started.

The delegates of USA, France, United Kingdom, Iraq, Kuwait, Greece, Israel, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and China had prepared a press release after mutual discussions and agreements. The press release read that, according to the circumstances, the most viable plan of action would be to negotiate bilateral relations between the state of Iraq, Kuwait and also Iraq, Iran. The reading of the press release was followed by a round of voting, to which every delegate voted in favour, excluding Iraq and Kuwait who abstained from voting. The motion was thus passed with the adjourning of the assembly.

The proceedings were followed by an informal feedback session wherein both, the delegates and the EB shared their opinions on each other and the agenda. Finally, the winners and honourable mentions were announced. Yash Malkan was pronounced Best Delegate of Bilderberg, Shaurya Malik for UNGA DISEC, and Sudhanshu Kadre for UN Security Council.

“Research is the key in a MUN,” stated the EB, UNSC. And rightly said, as what sets the delegates apart is their astonishing abilities in problem-solving. But more importantly, it is their drive to resolve world issues, thus laying the groundwork for a better, brighter tomorrow.

-Contributed by Nidhi Suresh Rao, Sayantani Saha and Tushar Machavolu for MTTN

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