• Membership of South Ossetia and Abkhazia 

• Membership of Palestine

• Membership of Somaliland

• Membership of United Bengal

For the March 2025 UNISMUN conference, I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Borowik, the IB Economics and MSHS I&S teacher. He has studied education, history and economics during university and after teaching English, he has been an I&S teacher since then. During the interview, I had the opportunity to ask him about his opinion and insights on both the theme of the conference and the committee issues.

To get to know him better, I first asked Mr. Borowik about his previous experiences with MUN. He shared that he had been involved in MUN and participated in a conference during high school. Additionally, he has been a commitee mentor for multiple conferences.

Then, I asked about a global issue that he was interested in, Mr. Borowik mentioned that he “keeps up with general issues with a lot of different places” but was interested in United States and Polan because of his personal connections.

When asked about his opinion on the conference’s theme, Mr. Borowik mentioned, “[Security and development] are actually important. I think countries do have to prioritize both of them, but, obviously, that will depend on the situation the country is currently in. If we're look if we're looking at integrity in the context of countries and reducing corruption, well, less corruption is goining lead to more economic development, and help with the security aspect.”

When asked about his opinion on the committee’s topics, Mr. Borowik shared that he was particularly interested on the membership of South Ossetia and Abkhazia because the areas were “part of Georgia and invaded by Russia in 2008.” He also mentioned that the committee topics are interesting as most of the applicants are occupied territories by a foreign power and not many have attempted to become UN member countries.

On researching, Mr. Borowik recommended looking at multiple perspectives as well as examining the origin, and voices in the sources.

Thank you for your help, Mr. Borowik!

As the Head Chair of the UNMC committee, I had the pleasure of meeting with our mentor, Mr. Schofield. During our meeting, I asked him several questions, including his opinions on the committee's topics and the conference theme.

First, I asked Mr. Schofield about his experience with MUN. He replied that, although he did not have MUN experience, he had a lot of exposure in the past.

We then discussed the conference theme, “What role can integrity play in the balance between development and security prioritization?”Mr. Schofield noted that ethical leaders could play a role in making decisions for countries or businesses.

When I asked him about global issues that interested him, Mr. Schofield replied that his main interest was biodiversity. He added that this topic connects to the conference theme as it impacts sustainable development and country decisions.

On the four committee topics, Mr. Schofield focused specifically on the “Membership of Palestine” and the “Membership of Somaliland.” He mentioned that Somaliland has its currency and government and that the discussion has been ongoing for over 20 years. In the case of Palestine, he explained that the debate about its recognition has been ongoing since Israel was founded and how it has been fueled by religion and politics.

Additionally, he suggested starting with a series of simple questions and then dividing them up by topic before researching. He also recommended using a variety of sources from different countries to gather a range of opinions and examine the historical context.

Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Schofield!

Greetings, distinguished delegates, fellow chairs, and most esteemed delegates,

My name is Hanbee Choi, and I am a sophomore at UNIS Hanoi. I will be serving as your Head Chair of the United Nations Membership Council, which marks my sixth UNISMUN conference and my second time chairing in UNMC. 

The conference's theme will be “What role can integrity play in the balance between development and security prioritization?” This aligns with UNMC as some of the aspects that determine whether a membership application is passed is security, whether a country is “peace-loving” and able to carry out the obligations on the United Nations Charter.

The United Nations Membership Council is a non-official council responsible for discussing resolutions submitted by various nations wishing to become UN member states. In real life, the Security Council and the General Assembly are responsible for these procedures. As UNMC requires cooperation between multiple countries and sometimes discussing the membership of a fictional nation, it is one of the most intriguing committees of UNISMUN.

Moreover, the four topics that will be discussed in this conference are “Membership of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,” “Membership of Palestine,” “Membership of Somaliland,” and “Membership of United Bengal.” 

South Ossetia and Abkhazia are located near the Caucasus region. An interesting aspect of the topic is that the relationship between the two applicants and Georgia is complex due to Russia’s involvement and decades-long conflict.

Palestine is located in the Middle East. This is important because of the ongoing Israeli-Palestine conflict, which was caused by multiple factors, including self-determination and self-governance. 

Somaliland is a de facto state located in the Horn of Africa. It declared itself independent from Somalia in 1991, but no countries have recognized its sovereignty.

Last of all, United Bengal is a hypothetical state based on the proposition that present-day West Bengal and Bangladesh are undivided. It was initially proposed in 1947. 

That said, I look forward to meeting everyone and having a fruitful debate at the upcoming conference. Thank you!

Greetings, honourable directors, esteemed chairs, and distinguished delegates,

My name is Simi Lee, and I am a sophomore at Seoul Foreign School. This is my second year of serious involvement in MUN, with my background beforehand being speech and debate, and I am very excited to serve as your deputy chair of UNMC. I believe there is no better place to improve your skills as a delegate than at a conference, especially competitive ones, so I hope that through my experiences and continued efforts I can aid delegates in having a fruitful conference and learning as much as possible.

This year's overarching theme for UNISMUN is “What role can integrity play in the balance between development and security prioritization?”. Considering the nature of the UN, it truly is reliant on the integrity of nations to abide by passed resolutions, past agreements, and ambition of delegates to create a brighter future through exceptional, long-term solutions. I urge all delegates to take a step back and consider what solutions could be the most beneficial, rather than the easiest and most obvious.

The United Nations Member Council is an unofficial council that focuses on topics submitted by nations that hope to become UN member states. The implications of this is that all delegates are essentially required to cooperate closely for the council to function as inherent in its subject matter, and for that reason I believe it to be one of the most interesting of this conference.

All topics we are to discuss boil down to whether or not nations will be inducted into the UN, with topics ranging from “Membership of Palestine”, an inherently contentious and difficult topic, to “Membership of United Bengal”, a hypothetical state based on a proposition for its establishment from 1947. Delegates should be prepared to deal with topics that require immediate action, and aim to achieve an equal balance between short and long term solutions within resolutions.

I am greatly looking forward to meeting everyone and supporting fruitful debates throughout the upcoming conference.

Greetings, honorable delegates and esteemed guests,

My name is Emily, and I am a current sophomore at Shanghai American School Puxi. I have been involved in MUN for around 5 years, and I am honored to serve as your procedural chair of the United Nations Membership Council. 

The theme of this conference will be: “What role can integrity play in the balance between development and security prioritization?” In the modern day, where there are numerous political parties with differing interests, it is important to maintain a balance. In line with the UNMC, the theme emphasizes maintaining integrity, trust, and cooperation between countries while experiencing global changes and growth.

The United Nations Membership Council’s role is to discuss and solve issues regarding possibilities of various states to become United Nations members. In the official United Nations, this is usually mainly handled by the General Assembly and Security Council. Membership and involvement in global affairs is a vital part of every state’s political development, making this committee an important part of this conference.

At this conference, we will be focusing on topics about the memberships of four groups: South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Palestine, Somaliland, and United Bengal. Of these four topics, each have their unique circumstances. For instance, on the“Membership of South Ossetia and Abkhazia”, there have been wavering opinions on their independence since their declarations of independence in the 1990s, closely involving Georgia and Russia. This overall process will be an intriguing discussion and deep dive into the membership rights of states that are experiencing internal conflicts, external conflicts, or even both. This would require close cooperation between various countries, which demonstrates the global significance and complexity of these topics.

With that in mind, I look forward to meeting you all at the March 2025 UNISMUN conference!