Millennium Model UN 3.0 Official Newsletter.

BELLE ÉPOQUE The official newsletter for Millennium Model United Nations 3.0 TABLE OF CONTENTS: FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK Beat, UNGA-ESS- 2 Greetings delegates, reporters, Executive Board members Interview, UNGA-ESS-3 and members of the Secretariat. OpEd, UNGA ESS- 4 OpPoll, UNGA ESS - 5 It is with great pleasure that we present to you the official Feature, UNGA ESS- 6 newsletter for Millennium Model United Nations 3.0. With Beat, UNHCR - 7 this newsletter, we hope to provide you an insight to the Feature, UNHCR - 8 committees simulated in this conference. Even though our OpPoll, UNHCR - 9 press team consisted of only three reporters, the efforts Feature, UNW - 10 they put were highly commendable. This experience has certainly made us wiser and changed us for the better. We hope to see all of you in future conferences! Happy MUNning! Anurag Dwibhashyam, International Press Chief. P Shreyas Manu, Editor in Chief. Page 1.

THE SIX-DAY WAR – WHOSE LAND IS IT ANYWAY? Rohan Bera, reporting from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), chronicles the committee’s discussion on the origins of the Six-Day War with special emphasis on border disputes. The Six-Day War between Israel and the neighboring states of Jordan, Syria, and Egypt began on 5th June 1967 and ended on 10th June 1967. The delegate of Israel stated that the origin of the Six Day War was in 1948 after the ending of the British mandate of Palestine which led to the invasion of Israel by the four Arab countries – Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. The delegate of Israel further added by pointing out that even after the passing of the UN resolution over Israel and Palestine, the Arab States funded the Palestine Liberation Organization to carry out political violence against Israel. The delegate of Israel also mentioned that such activities of violence led Israel to occupy the West Bank. On the other hand, the delegate of Egypt empathetically declared that the war originated due to the illegal invasion by the Israelis on Palestine and that it was not merely a border dispute. The delegate of the United Kingdom opined that the country which is occupying the land at the time in question must be given control of its borders. This statement prompted the delegate of Egypt to question the hypocrisy of the delegate of United Kingdom. The delegate of the United Kingdom in his answer further explained the rationale behind his statement by implying that the land must be given to Israel which would end the war. The delegate of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) highlighted using a map the need for a border line which is formulated on compromises from both the warring sides to achieve peace. The delegates further discussed several other reasons which caused the Six Day War between Israel and the four countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. The delegates looked forward to presenting solutions to end the conflict and establish a peaceful co-existence between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Page 2.

ZERO HOUR WITH THE DELEGATE OF ISRAEL Rohan Bera, reporting from the United Nations General Assembly – Emergency Special Session, with an interview from the delegate of Israel. Q1: What are the plans of Israel regarding the Palestinians after the end of the Six-Day War of 1967? A1: After peace has returned to the region and the new government has been established in Israel, the government has a road map planned out for the Palestinians. Firstly, the Israeli government will give the Palestinians a proportional representation in the government. Secondly, the deceleration of Palestine as an autonomous region of the State of Israel. Q2: Will the nation of Israel accept the return of refugee families who were displaced and fled the war? Will the refugees be given basic rights akin to the ones Jewish people exercise? A2: Yes, once political stability is restored in the region the Israeli government will definitely accept the return of the refugee families to their own homes and provide them with basic human rights. The return of the refugee families will be completed only once the Israel government deems its safer for the Israeli citizens. The State of Israel accepts the return of these refugee families in a conditioned and supervised manner to weed out terrorism. Q3: Will Israel withdraw its military forces and civilian settlements from the Sinnai Peninsula? A3: Israel will not withdraw its military forces and civilian settlements from the Sinnai Peninsula. The primary reason for Israel not withdrawing military forces is to protect its own national security. Israeli forces are stationed there to prevent any form of violence originating from Egyptian state sponsored terrorism against the State of Israel. The military forces of Israel are there only to maintain the peace in the region. Page 3.

SIX DAYS OF INFAMY, A LIFETIME OF IGNOMINY Rohan Bera, reporting, from the United Nations General Assembly pens on how the Six Day War of 1967 shaped the future of the global political order due to its failure to bring about any peace between the Israelis and the Palestinian. The mere mention of history elicits an eyeroll. Add the Middle East to the conversation and your folks might just start sprinting for the hills, unwilling to be dragged into the piping hot cauldron of disputes. Five decades ago, or fifty-three years ago, to be precise, the infamous Six Day War broke out. Most wars fade into irrelevance but this one is as popular as it was in 1967. The war never solved anything but left a trail of unresolved issues in its wake which still haunt the global political sphere. Politicians, diplomats, peacekeepers, and journalists continue to fail miserably in grappling with the outcomes of that war. The war ended in only six days, but its ramifications are still felt till today. Image courtesy: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/364158319852422292/ While freedom struggle by Palestinians has continued in many different forms, so has Israel's brutal response to the freedom movement of the Palestinians. Nelson Mandela once opined that on the scale of morality this is the greatest issue of our time. Whilst measuring on global and regional scales, the Six-Day war is one of the very few wars which had an enormous impact on shaping the future of the world. The Six Day war was like a death knell to pan-Arab nationalism and gave birth to political Islam. On the other hand, Israel became a strategic asset to the United States of America with the Americans sending billions of dollars to Tel Aviv, thus, cementing a partnership which is unequalled in world history. The Arab world never really bounced back from the absolute rout of the Egyptian-Syrian Jordanian alliance during the war of 1967. The war led to the mass displacement of over a million refugees from West Bank, Gaza and Golan Heights who were forced to flee. As of today, the bone of contention between the Israelis and the Palestinian still remains the same that is the return of the families that fled the war. Israel refuse to consider the demand of the return of these displace families while the Palestinians refuse to withdraw. Meanwhile, the nation of Israel marched on to new heights of prosperity and power globally and inadvertently the sole superpower in the region. The war not only helped the small nation of Israel to expand its borders but also send a chilling and resounding message to the entire world that the Israelis are not to be messed with. The phenomenally successful strategic partnership between the United States of America and Israel has prevented the rise of any kind of Arab resistance in the region. This has left a vacuum for political Islam to fill in. But political Islam has served most notably as an adversarial scapegoat for the United States of America and Israel when they feel like pursuing their various hemogenic ambitions and frequent meddling or as it is called in political verbiage ‘intervention’. The mechanism behind such mitigating factors have firmly ensured that the world order today looks very much alike to the one that was shaped by the Six Day War of 1967. Furthermore it also sheds light on the failure of global organisations and the larger international community to right the inhumane acts and numerous wrongs done during and after the Six-Day War, and to ultimately rid the world order that is run on the highly dangerous concept of ‘might is right’ and put in its place something more just. Page 4.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT Rohan Bera, reporting from the United Nations General Assembly on the opinion poll conducted in the committee on whether they believe that there will be peace between Israel and Egypt. Premise: On 9th June 1967, a few hours before tragedy befell on the USS Liberty where 34 crew members died and 171 were left wounded, a SU-7 aircraft flew close to the USS Liberty. There were warning shots fired in retaliation and a strong message was sent to Egypt that such behavior will not be entertained in the future. Question: How likely do you think it is that there will be peaceful settlement of differences between Israel and Egypt? Sample space: Israel, Syria, Iraq, United States of America, Turkey, United Kingdom, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Iran, Egypt Conclusion: The results are very indicative of the fact that all the countries want peace to be restored between the two warring nations of Israel and Egypt. One thing which stands out is that the delegate of the United States of America is overly optimistic of a peace deal between Israel and Egypt. The United States of America joined the global audience in promising to break the Egyptian blockade of Israeli shipping lanes but when the time came, they did not act. Though United States of America talked the talk but never walked the walk makes the optimism of the delegate of United States of America quite mystifying. So, the million dollar question is that can the United States of America or be able to be proactive in brokering a peace deal between Israel and Egypt when in the past it has failed to take any action? Hence, if the global leaders are optimistic of a peace settlement between Israel and Egypt then it must be brokered as soon as possible for peace to return to the region. Page 5.

THEIR MISSILES FOR HER SMILES Rohan Bera, reporting on the United Nations Security Council (Continuous Crisis Committee) shares the plight of the refugee families who were displaced during the Six-Day War and never came back to their homes. Image courtesy- https://images.app.goo.gl/qEFV5dtxW8dvfiMGA Gently tucked in her mother’s arm. Dreaming of playing in grandpa’s farm. It was a starry, cold, and tranquil night, Then appeared a flash of bright red light. Everything was about to change, As the missile came closer in range. A joyful and laughter filled tomorrow, Turned into a lifetime full of sorrow. Blaring alarms, smoke filled skies, Unwashed hair, tear filled eyes. Debris scattered where she played, A stream of bodies around her laid. Her abode of comfort demolished, Her innocence forever tarnished. She stood all alone in the carnage, Suffering horrors at this tender age. But survival was all that mattered, With her heart broken and shattered, She clutched in fear, her dearest teddy, Walked towards the ambulance, gait unsteady. Page 6.

THE TALE OF THE HAUNTING EYES SEARCHING FOR HOPE Rius Maiti, reporting from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, paints a gist of the committee’s discussion on improving education for refugees with critical prominence on tackling the problems along the way with wise and strong-spirited solutions. It is no bombshell that even after immense efforts, or perhaps the lack of them, the right to education is still inaccessible to many around the globe, notably in the cases of refugees. In recent times, the flow of refugees to host countries have spiked at a steep rate as wars and religious persecutions brim at the edge as fear for one’s life compels them to cross over hundreds of miles of land and water to search for a bright future in a foreign land. According to the Delegate of Canada, their nation has been in the forefront at welcoming refugees and assisting them in building a life where they enjoy the basic human rights. But the Delegate also acknowledged the shortage of teachers in educational institutions along with the high unemployment among the population of the refugees when called out by her fellow delegates. When questioned about their role in assisting the refugees to rebuild their life, the Delegate of Australia proudly noted that the Family Migration Program, the United Nations 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees and various humanitarian programmes were functioning fairly. Following this, brilliant speeches were delivered by Delegates of Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden and Turkey highlighting the need of education in a refugee’s life, importance of availability to healthcare and mental aid for refugees, challenges faced by the government and the citizens alike were fiercely discussed and deliberated upon and solutions to control the problems were efficiently and diplomatically handled. The committee entertained various moderated caucuses, one notably being ‘Challenges faced in making education accessible to refugees. Delegates were fighting tooth and nail to defend their nation’s policies and provisions while boldly interrogating the criticisms and backdrops of other nations. The committee took turns discussing individual sub-topics with great precision and sensitivity. Upon further discussion, delegates also debated about the growing issue of xenophobia and islamophobia in schools and in the society, in general. Both the derogatory social injustice was met with harsh disapproval and condemned by the delegates, with a collective approval to approach the social evil strictly. Page 7.

LONGINGNESS FOR THE TOUCH OF FAMILIARITY Rius Maiti, reporting from United Nations High Commission for Refugees, highlighting the plight of a young orphaned refugee. Dear Diary, Ah! My feet were numb. It had been one of those tiring days where I wanted to sleep my troubles away but the empty feeling in my heart won't let me catch a blink of a sleep. I terribly miss mum and dad but I had no idea where they were. I didn't know if they were even somewhere. It had been, days, weeks or maybe even months since I had last seen them. I did not know when I lost count. To come to think about it, I didn't even know if they were together, and maybe searching for me. Two big men had separated us. They were carrying big guns just like the bad men back in my home! Home? Yes, home! The word felt foreign to me now. I didn't know where I was or who I was with. I was trapped in this small cage and forced to sleep on the cold ground. I missed my mum's arms around me. She would always feed me with her hands and then wrap me around herself. I always fell asleep in her warm embrace. Here, all the other kids, not too younger or older than myself, were all silent. None talked or smiled, only looked out from between the bars of the cage. Sometimes the big men would scowl and sneer at us, scaring everyone. I did not ever harm or hurt them. Mum said that I was a good boy and that God would soon bless us all with a happy life. Then where did I go wrong? Page 8.

IS EDUCATION AT STAKE DURING COVID-19? Rius Maiti, reporting from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the Opinion Poll conducted in the committee concerning the need of educating in COVID-19. Premise: The grave circumstances of COVID-19 have pushed everyone in the confinement of their homes. The education of our youth, particularly refugees is at stake but will it surpass the prioritisation of national health emergencies Question: Should the government reopen educational institutions following the protocols and guidelines provided by the WHO rather than retaining themselves to online schooling? Sample space: Australia, Canada, France, Paraguay, Sweden, Turkey, USA. Conclusion: As we roll into the last phase of the year 2020, majority of which has been spent battling the outbreak of COVID-19, it is quite appalling to see that majority of the nations have affirmed to open educational institutions after the catastrophe that COVID-19 has, and still is, leaving behind. As expected, United States of America has decided against the opening of educational institutions as they stay atop the chart with the largest number of COVID-19 contacted patients. France and Sweden have followed suit while Australia, Canada, Turkey and Paraguay have decided to re-open schools and universities. Page 9.

HOW WOMEN SUFFERED IN THIS PANDEMIC Manya Kamath reports on the influence of the Coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of women. Image Courtesy - https://juristsks.blogspot.com/ Have you ever bothered to check up on your neighbor’s mother, wife or sister? She may look fine, but are you sure you know what’s going on with her I remember the time I could go, talk and have fun, those days were so much better I cherish those moments, while I sit here with a mind filled with fear I am abused by the ones, who I once considered my dear as a world went into quarantine, I wasn’t allowed to go out I am locked up in my home, causing increase in the time spent with my abuser Mentally and physically bruised, as I talk about it, these horrifying memories unfurled I suffered at my home which I considered a safe place, as a state of lockdown spread over the world I blame myself for dreaming big, of becoming successful, qualified and educated But I am not lucky enough to have such freedom, as I live in a family where women are hated I look outside the window wishing to be as free as a bird, or even as free as the dogs on the streets, for here even worse than animals am I treated During the Coronavirus pandemic, there is a spike in domestic violence or mental abuse cases Quarantine also decreased our access to social justices A lot of factors contribute to the deterioration of my mental health One of them is the financial insecurity, due to job loss and decrease in salary and wealth It can be commonly seen in the informal sector where I and most of the women are employed Women like me are locked up in their homes, without physical interaction, many of them are poor, abused or even unemployed Of many human rights are we women devoid Unable to raise a voice and many of them remain unheard This is a significant problem, which needs to be looked into and cured! The best we can do is to talk to them, identify share and if we observe any cases of mental illness Find out what’s wrong and do the best we can to help, even the small efforts we make will not go useless! Page 10.