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

My name is Simi Lee and I am a Junior at Seoul Foreign School in South Korea. I joined MUN in my Freshman year of high school, and have since attended 7 conferences over the past 3 years. This UNISMUN marks my 5th time chairing, and my 2nd year in a row chairing for the UNMC committee here. 

This year's theme of  “Is our rules based international system able to adapt to contemporary challenges to security and sovereignty?” offers an interesting opportunity to delegates, through which you must take unique stances on each agenda to draft effective resolutions.

For our three agendas, “On the membership of: 1. Hawaii 2. Tigray 3. Balochistan”, delegates will encounter topics which they have no previous experience with and likely limited knowledge. From this point they must reach a point where they can host effective discussion that would mirror a UN environment realistically. Effective research and an in depth understanding of all concepts covered in Chair Reports are essential to success in this committee.

Firstly, on Hawaii. Hawaii is quite widely known as the 50th state of the US. However, delegates must be deeply aware of the inner workings of Hawaii’s annexation and its legal status should it be recommended to be a UN member state as this would likely require secession from the United States. 

Secondly, on Tigray. The Tigray Region is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob and Kunama people. Tigray's arguments for statehood are often held as contingent on their ability to hold and maintain a proper democracy in a post-war climate. Delegates must be aware of the implications of Tigray's cooperation with the greater Ethiopian government on their claim to sovereignty.

Finally, on Balochistan. Balochistan is a region split across Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, most notably as Pakistan's largest province, bordering the Arabian Sea. Delegates must be aware of Balochistan's previous examples of statehood and the impacts of Pakistan's forced annexation on current arguments.

Within all arguments delegates should of course weigh the opinions of those residing in the various regions, as more often than not an overwhelming majority are against secessionist policy and would rather remain citizens of their current country.

While I hope all delegates maintain realistic representations of their countries' stances at all times, personal opinions are bound to shine through in various ways and I am interested as to how delegates will balance different sources and stances accordant to their own beliefs.

Though the United Nation Member Council does not exist in the real UN, within the scope of the larger UNISMUN conference it is still a large and important committee! The agendas that we will focus on are nonetheless pertinent to real world people, and I hope as a chair that delegates will keep this in mind throughout the conference.

Though this is not technically a real-life committee, I hope delegates will take the opportunity to truly make this conference your own. Your word is your strength and your effort is the reward, for all of us.

See you in March!

Dear directors, delegates, guests, and fellow chairs,

My name is Maite Olivia Senff, and I am a sophomore at UNIS Hanoi. Ever since having attended my first MUN Conference, I gained a deep passion for the riveted debate, global topics and teamwork that forms the foundation of MUN. MUN has taught me to look beyond the surface into the root of global issues, inspiring me to always think thoroughly before concluding my stance. This has played a huge  role in shaping my love for politics and history. This March will mark my 5th MUN conference. Having participated in a range of roles, from admin to delegate, and now chair, I’m extremely honored to say this will be my second time chairing for the UNMC. I’m incredibly excited to have the chance at playing a role in molding the success of this unique committee once again.

Looking at our conference theme, "Is our rules-based international system able to adapt to contemporary challenges to security and sovereignty?" I interpret this through the lens of AI and the ever evolving range of modern security threats. I firmly believe technology can benefit society, and can be used in beautiful ways to save, improve or change lives of those who would otherwise have had much more difficulty accessing resources they need. Simultaneously, through the wrong incentives it can be weaponized quickly. Picturing our committee through this theme,  I envision this committee’s debate analyzing state’s admissibility to the UN through a new lens – evaluating their competency to adapt to modern technology while assessing how agencies like the UN may equip advanced technology to monitor and analyze whether region’s economic, social and political states meet the criteria for UN membership.

The UNMC– with its influence on the membership of emerging states holds the power to shape our political future. Each decision, each resolution and each membership granted adds new elements onto the ever-tilting scale of geopolitics. It's crucial that this council upholds the responsibility to maintain this balance.

As for the UNMC’s committee topics, I see the memberships of Hawaii and Balochistan as heated concerns of colonization rights. The annexation of Hawaii in 1898 by the United States reportedly violated international law of the time. If so, current geographics, which consider Hawaii one of the 50 U.S states, resulted from illegal measures. This remains a strong argument for citizens striving to preserve Hawaii’s unique cultural heritage and gain independent autonomy over water and land rights across the fertile region. 

Similarly, Balochistan was forcibly annexed by Pakistan in 1958. Formerly run by tribal leaders and chieftains, the area held its own culture and political ideologies. Additionally, locals argue Pakistan has been exploiting the rich natural resources of the region– disadvantageously impacting the economy and its reliance on Pakistan as a whole. These ethnic and cultural disparities fueled significant push-back during the integration of Balochistan under Pakistan– forming the foundation of today’s strive for sovereignty. 

Across these 2 topics, I believe delegates should examine the influence of historical injustice on current geography. Debate and resolutions should seek to answer the question: if a state’s previous actions violated international law, where do we draw the line today? 

The membership of Tigray is clearly an issue of great scale, concerning political power imbalances and conflict surrounding the interpretation of Article 39 in the UN Charter. Decades of dispute over regional authority, Ethiopian rule and alleged genocide have driven large scale conflicts throughout the region’s borders. Resolutions should seek to balance addressing the immediate concerns of violence with long-term stability goals. Throughout this debate, delegates are highly encouraged to directly reference and incorporate UN Charter 2 (Articles 3-6) throughout their arguments, as this section forms the framework for membership admissibility.

I’m extremely excited to meet everyone at this conference, I hope you all are too!

Thank you,

Maite Senff - Deputy Chair of UNMC