Report

Report

Report

RepWelcome, distinguished delegates and most esteemed guests, 

I am Lan Dinh, a senior at Concordia International School Hanoi (CISH), and I am honored to serve as Head Chair for the Historical Security Council (HSC). This year’s UNISMUN November will mark my 14th conference overall and my 5th as a chair. HSC is a special committee, and as we discuss major events from the past, I hope you all use this opportunity to develop engaging debates & solutions.

This conference’s theme, “To what extent can multilateralism remain effective in an increasingly divided world?” is directly relevant to the Historical Security Council and its topic, the 1956 Suez Canal Crisis. In the past and present, multilateralism, though a solution that’s been applied many times before, has been repeatedly challenged by competing foreign interests. As the UN organ responsible for maintaining international peace and security, the Security Council finds itself in the middle of this tension, tasked with reconciling major world powers’ national interests and the need for collective action (or multilateralism). The HSC offers its delegates a unique opportunity to revisit these conflicts through the lens of history, where the benefits of hindsight allow us to explore alternative solutions belonging to different perspectives. 

Through the 1956 Suez Canal Crisis, HSC delegates will explore and navigate the competing interests of nations amidst Cold War tensions/rivalries, decolonization (particularly in the Middle East), and disputes over national sovereignty. Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, anti-colonial sentiments and Arab nationalism gained momentum across the Middle East, challenging the longstanding influence of European powers within the region. These tensions culminated in Egyptian President Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal Company in July 1956, sparking the Suez Canal Crisis. This decision, though asserting Egypt’s sovereignty, also threatened British and French economic/strategic interests. The failure of diplomatic negotiations, which resulted in the subsequent military intervention by Israel, France, and the United Kingdom, reveals how competing national interests can undermine multilateralism. Despite this, the United Nations remained an important platform for international diplomacy, where UN organs such as the Security Council and the General Assembly were used to prevent further escalation of the conflict. 

With that being said, I encourage you to step into the HSC with an open mind: while understanding your country’s position is important, remember that effective multilateralism also requires a willingness to find common ground and make compromises. 

See you in November! 

Lan Dinh

Honourable directors, esteemed guests, fellow chairs, and most distinguished delegates,

My name is Thomas Ly and I am a Junior at UNIS Hanoi. I joined MUN in 8th grade, and have since attended 11 conferences as a delegate. This November conference will mark my first time chairing.

This year's theme of  “To what extent can multilateralism remain effective in an increasingly divided world?” requires delegates to balance international interests with their own national interests to draft effective resolutions. In my personal opinion, economic, environmental, and political pressures present a challenge to multilateralism, as nations seek to protect their domestic interests. 

This is especially important to the committee’s topic: “The issue of the 1956 Suez Crisis”. The conflict was pivotal for many reasons: the effective end of the colonial era and decline of the UK and France, the rise of Pan-Arab nationalism, the US and USSR as the new global powers and their struggle for global influence, and Israel’s growing presence in North Africa and the Middle East. Delegates in this committee will step directly into the high-stakes environment of that time period. Delegates must not only be well researched and have an in-depth understanding of the topic, but must also have a strong understanding of the objectives of their fellow delegates to reach a diplomatic solution.

As a new committee to UNISMUN, the Historical Security Council provides delegates the opportunity to reshape history. Though delegates are encouraged to experiment with their draft resolutions and stances, they should remain grounded with their nation’s policies in the era, and though the topic asks us to step back to 1956, concepts such as sovereignty, international law, and global intervention are nonetheless pertinent to today's world.

I am interested to see how delegates will navigate these deeply complex issues, how you will challenge each other through conflicts and disagreements, and how you can use diplomacy to resolve them.

See you soon!

Thomas Ly - HSC Deputy Chair

Greetings directors, guests, fellow chairs, and delegates,

My name is Ismael Oliver Diallo, and I am an 11th grader at UNIS Hanoi. I have attended 4 UNISMUN conferences as a delegate; this UNISMUN November 2026 conference will be my first conference as a chair. I am extremely excited to serve as the procedural chair for the Historical Security Council (HSC).

HSC is one of the new additions to UNISMUN, where we deep-dive into past events that were formerly significant in the Security Council. It is up to you, delegates, to have a deep knowledge of your country’s stance and understand the historical context of the event so that we can have an engaging debate.

Our conference theme, “To what extent can multilateralism remain effective in an increasingly divided world?”, applies directly to our topic: the 1956 Suez Crisis. This crisis was one of many crucial events during the increasingly bipolar world of the Cold War era, where the US and the USSR, as well as other parties such as the Non-Aligned Movement, competed for power and influence on the global stage. 

In short, the Suez Crisis was when France, the UK, and Israel colluded to retake the Suez Canal by force, which received international condemnation; both the Western Bloc, led by the US, and the Soviet Bloc, led by the USSR, sat on the same side of the table with Nasser’s Egypt. Nevertheless, both powers also sought to increase their influence by portraying themselves as anti-imperial powers to encourage newly independent states to join their spheres of influence. Despite the large tensions and disagreements between both parties, they still used UN committees such as the Security Council and the General Assembly to pressure the tripartite coalition: France, the UK, and Israel, and, led by the UN Secretary-General at the time, Hammarskjöld, formed the UN peacekeeping force, which was then used in dozens of operations all across the world, showing the great effect of multilateralism, even in the largely divided world of the Cold War era. 

With that being said, I hope that every one of you approaches this topic with enthusiasm in what will be an extremely fruitful and interesting debate.

Ismael Oliver Diallo