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Regular version of the site

The Model United Nations Experience

Students of the program, Peter Pantiushkin, Rukevwe Etikini Claret and Opubo Melford Dokubo Goodhead, are sharing his experiences of participation in the extremely prominent and peculiar Model of the United Nations that was held in Moscow,  April 2017.

The Model United Nations Experience

 





   Peter Pantiushkin, 
   Delegate Representing Ukraine, General Assembly 

   I am pretty excited to share my own experience of participation in the extremely prominent and peculiar Model of the United Nations  Every year hundreds of youth   come to Moscow to taste what it means to be a part of the most well-know, of the most sophisticated and the most controversial world-wide institution called the United Nations, Of course, you do not become the part of the UN  itself, but you get into things, you get acquainted with the UN, the work, the procedures and delegates’ job and responsibility.

 At first, it is necessary to introduce the term “model” and explain how it works. Model of the UN is basically the imitation of the UN working procedures and sessions, it is a role-playing game, let us put put it this way. You get the  state, you get the committee, you get the agenda. As the MGIMO model is the biggest in the Russian Federation, it includes a lot of the UN bodies: Security Council, General Assembly Different committees of the GA,  ECOSOC, UNICEF, etc. The first model of the UN was held many years ago with only Security Council, but now the things are real and complicated. You should choose the state you are going to present and go through the  interview. And once the Secretariat of the MUN accepts your position you are here. And here’s when the game starts. You go through debates, positions of the countries, voting procedures, through the violation of the working  procedures and mean and provocative, but most the time constructive questions, coalitions and rivalling blocks. You became the ambassador, the delegate of the state you represent and you do your best to take their point of  view. You should live the delegates live you are playing now. And this is the thing that makes the whole process extremely amazing in terms of the person's’ involvement. After the first day I could not distinguish myself and my  state’s delegate thoughts. Basically the 5 days are to be occupied with positions reading, debates, free caucuses, working papers, amendments… all of these are only for the final production of your committee: the resolution.  This is the final document that is to be adopted by the majority of the committee. This is the thing that contains 5 days of hard work, blood, sweat and tears of the diplomatic efforts struggling and fighting this or that agenda  issue, negotiating with others and intriguing behind the curtains. And it is absolutely worth it. After the 5 days you leave the MUN with a lot of knowledge on the agenda, abundant amount of increased of diplomatic skills, public  talks and speeches, pretty huge number of new wise friends and the feeling, that you have become the part of something big and global. You feel like a part of the world, you feel as if you are capable of making the decision  crucial and vital for the world society. And that what makes you go forward and go for the things you desire.







   






   Rukevwe Etikini Claret, 
  Delegate Representing Zambia, Food and Agriculture Organization  

  The Churkin Moscow model united nation 2017 was an exciting 5 days’ diplomacy simulation. I was a delegate representing the republic of Zambia the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) committee. The agenda for this year  in the committee was to discuss biotechnology in agriculture. Often times we seem to focus more on problems surfacing rather than identifying the primary cause of these problems. Deeply injected in the political/economic    challenge, we neglect to put more emphasis on the agricultural sector which plays a very important part in the entire well-being of the society. Biotechnology has been adopted by most western states but questioned by others    based on its inadequate research on the long-term effects on human being. This issue was deliberated on this year, during which we had to weigh the negative and positive impact of biotechnology. During the conference I was  able to apply my theoretical knowledge of public policy discipline by identifying policy targets, stakeholders, ineffectiveness of already adopted policy. We also discussed how the implementation of biotechnology in agriculture  can contradict human right despite it stands as a tool to promote sustainable development through enhancing food security and eradicating hunger/poverty. Putting into consideration that Africa is one of the greatest exporters of  agricultural products despite being the poorest region, biotechnology can affect its economy through approval of genetically modified organism application but at the same time solve its problem and guarantee sustainable  development The conference was very informative as I was among delegates who had different academical backgrounds and shared their position on the agenda from their perspective. The program was indeed fun, we had  parties, tour Moscow and made new friends who came from different part of the word








 

Opubo Melford Dokubo Goodhead
Observer Representing CERN, Security Council

The concept of peace is not the absence of conflict but the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means. It is for this reason I was motivated to participate in one of the biggest model United Nations, the Churkin Moscow model united nation 2017 which held at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. There were a lot of committees to choose from but I was most drawn to the Security Council whose agenda was the North Korean nuclear program. I guess I fully didn’t realize what I was getting into when I decided to send in my application for the Security Council. It was a very intense committee which had very intelligent young men and women representing 13 countries and an observer organization; European Organization for Nuclear Research. The atmosphere in the committee was intense which made me feel like I was a heated negotiation amongst world leaders. Very strong points were raised by each delegate which led to heated debates.

 As an observer representing the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), I had to remain neutral which I believe was one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish. However, this didn’t deter me from going in with an open mind. I strongly condemned the continued testing of Nuclear weapons by the DPRK, as its ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile related activities in the peninsula, had generated increased tensions in the region. Furthermore, It was important to me that my fellow honourable delegates examined the root cause of the grievances of North Korea in a bid to restore peace between the North and South Korea.

 Unanimously adopting resolution 01/001 after a period of intense negotiations which took approximately six hours, the Security Council coalesced around the urgent need for the United States to  withdraw 33% of its nuclear bombers within six months and also for North Korea to freeze its nuclear program within an 18 months period under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), members of the six-party talks and to publish an annual report approved by CERN and submitted to the United Nations Security Council.

It was a very enlightening diplomatic conference; one I encourage my colleagues to apply for. I truly hope that the Higher School of Economics, Moscow would someday host a model United Nations.