• The question of enhancing accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity

• The question of establishing frameworks to prevent and counter terrorism

• The issue of the jurisdiction of the UN Peacekeeping Force

It is my honour to welcome you all to this year’s conference. My name is Huibeom Daniel Lee, and I’m thrilled to be serving as your Head Chair of the Security Council. This is my third year chairing and my fifth year in MUN overall, and throughout this journey, MUN has profoundly shaped the way I understand negotiation, conflict, resolution, and the responsibility we hold as young people engaging with global issues.

Coming from a background where I’ve lived in multiple countries and adapted to different cultures, I’ve learnt that diplomacy is as much about listening as it is about speaking. MUN became a space where I could channel that experience into constructive dialogue, thoughtful leadership, and a deeper appreciation for the complexity of international relationships. 

This year’s conference theme—“Is our rules-based international system able to adapt to contemporary challenges to security and sovereignty?”—resonates with me personally. As someone aspiring to study law, I find this question both urgent and inspiring. It challenges us to scrutinise the institutions we often take for granted and to imagine how they must evolve to preserve peace in an increasingly uncertain world. 

In this iteration, our committee will engage in three crucial questions: 

First, the question of enhancing accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity will require delegates to examine why existing international legal mechanisms often fail to hold perpetrators accountable. This topic challenges us to consider the roles of the Security Council and the international courts and state sovereignty in ensuring justice, as well as the political limitations that prevent accountability in real-world conflicts. 

Second, the question of establishing frameworks to prevent and counter terrorism focuses on how the international community can respond to non-state threats without undermining fundamental legal principles. Delegates will be asked to balance national security, international cooperation, and human rights while addressing the evolving nature of terrorism in a globalised world. 

Finally, the issue of the jurisdiction of the UN Peacekeeping Force invites debate on the legal authority, mandate boundaries, and operational constraints of peacekeeping missions. The topic is particularly significant as peacekeepers are increasingly deployed in complex conflicts where the line between neutrality and enforcement is blurred. 

As we navigate these complex discussions, I encourage each and every one of you to approach them not with fear of their difficulty, but with excitement for their potential. You are stepping into the shoes of global leaders, and your ideas truly have the power to reimagine how the international community responds to injustice, extremism, and conflict. I look forward to witnessing your insight, diplomacy, and passion throughout this conference. 

Greetings delegates,

Welcome to this year’s conference! I am Henry James Dotta, and I am honored to take part in UNISMUN and be your Deputy chair for SC. I am a junior in Shekou International School going through IBDP. I have lived my entire life in Shenzhen, the most modern and “techy” city in China. It is in Shenzhen’s parks where I practice long distance running every weekend and occasionally play basketball with my friends. 

I love playing strategy games, reading about history, and engaging with modern geopolitics through debates and clubs like MUN. I also enjoy watching movies and good shows(WW2 stuff is the best) and studying military equipment when I want to get technical. Although my school doesn’t offer computer science, I make up for it by taking physics and math HL, learning programming on the side, and coming up with new ideas to write more CAS reflections(This is an IB thing).

This is my first UNISMUN conference, but I have been enjoying MUN for 4 years and have attended MUN conferences all around China, including my own school’s conference SISMUN in Shenzhen. This conference will be my 4th chairing experience.

This year’s conference theme “Is our rules based international system able to adapt to contemporary challenges to security and sovereignty” is a very potent question that holds dear to our committee. The security council is responsible for securing international peace, with the five permanent members China, USA, France, UK, and Russia holding veto powers. With tensions rising, the current order upheld by the UN hangs in the balance and it is up to you, delegates to navigate through the geopolitical landscape to reform the UN to better face future adversity. History has already witnessed once an international system crumble under challenges and tensions. The Italo-Ethiopian war and Finnish war proved the futility of the League of Nations and what ensued was World War 2. History doesn’t repeat, but it sure rhymes.

The effectiveness of international systems has always been under question and the UN is no different. The first topic is enhancing the accountability of war crimes. More must be done to ensure that war criminals are being held for their crimes and that international justice be kept in order. This can primarily be done with improving evidence collection, making use of new technologies, methods, and enhancing institutions so that accountability is met. There are many other approaches to tackle this issue, regarding international cooperation, methods to reduce state defiance, and other diplomatic tools that can be utilized through your resolutions.

The second topic is the question of establishing frameworks to counter terrorism. It is imperative that the tragedy of 911 is to never be repeated. Global security is imperative and the basic responsibility of the security council. The nature of terrorism dictates massive resource allocations and the need to build an international front held up by all member nations so that terrorism has no place to hide and that state-sponsored terrorism doesn’t occur. Like the topic 1, the resolution will synergize multiple methods and approaches to create the most effective framework against terrorism, through increasing security, international cooperation, and more.

Lastly, the third topic is regarding the effectiveness of the UN peacekeeping force. This is a very interesting topic that I encourage everyone to explore different arguments. The UN peacekeeping force is in an awkward position, designated to conduct peacekeeping missions to save civilians and restore order and law but is bound by international laws and unauthorized to interfere in conflicts. The genocides in Rwanda and massacres in Srebrenica unopposed by the inability of the UN peacekeeping forces to take action sets a fringe stage for debate. Whether the UN peacekeeper will be bolstered to become more involved in regional conflicts or remain a neutral force of security will be an amazing debate I look forward to seeing in the upcoming conference.

That is where I will leave things at. With all topics we have, the debates will be very interesting. See you all in Hanoi!

Regards,

Henry James Dotta

Deputy Chair

Honourable chairs, distinguished delegates, and our most esteemed guests,

Welcome to this year’s March 2026 conference hosted in UNIS Hanoi. If you are a delegate for the Security Council, I am honoured to be your chair for this conference. With 3 times under the Security Council as a delegate and once as a head chair for GA2, it is likely that I will see some familiar faces, and I can ensure that these 3 days during our March 2026 conference together will be a blast!

With that being said, our theme for this conference questions how our rules-based international system is able to adapt to contemporary challenges to security and sovereignty, and growing up in a largely international community where issues from all across the world are presented to me, I believe this theme is very valuable as our world is changing and new challenges unfold, a system that was made all the way back at the end of WW2 might not be the most effective. Because of this, I urge all delegates to come to this conference with this theme in mind, and strive to evaluate this rules-based system we have been living in.

As for the importance of our council, I believe that the topics and issues we discuss here have utmost urgency and importance. The Security Council is unique because it doesn’t focus on specific topics, but it discusses the most important issues from all topics and regions around the world, ensuring that they are brought to the attention of the world and solved with the utmost urgency. It is a forum where issues that threaten our world’s security and peace are discussed, where issues otherwise unresolvable are resolved.

For this conference specifically, we will be discussing 3 pressing issues. Firstly, the issue regarding the accountability of war crimes and crimes against humanity. As a person who grew up in a region scarred by the events of the Cold War, I believe this issue has utmost importance, as some of the crimes committed during this period of time were beyond inhuman, and holding the people involved responsible for their crimes is the least we could do to protect the dignity of those affected. 

Secondly, regarding the prevention of terrorism, this issue is also an overarching issue present in every region in the world, and it is especially important to tackle this problem because terrorism not only incites violence but also usually involves high amounts of collateral damage, leading to the death of many innocent lives. 

Lastly, addressing the issue of the jurisdiction of the UN peacekeeping force, I believe this issue must be discussed, as although the UN peacekeeping force usually has good intentions, its actions may sometimes be overstepping its authority, threatening the local country’s sovereignty.

With that being said, if you will be participating as a Security Council delegate for this year’s conference, I urge all of you to come to the conference prepared so that we may have meaningful and fruitful discussions regarding this pressing issues!