Levelling The Tarmac Of Ideas
Suhas R Vaidya, reporting from the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC), gauges the committee’s insight on regional powers in the Sahel.
The representatives of the UNPBC, during their quest of building a thoroughfare towards pressing issues in committee, touched upon several aspects about the important roles of the regional powers and organisations in the Sahelian expanse.
The motion to discuss the same was introduced by the Delegation of the Russian Federation, who kick-started the flow of points by defining certain structures and boundaries the committee must follow, whilst presenting their ideas. The Delegation underlined that Articles 52/1, 53, and 54 of Chapter Eight of the United Nations (UN) Charter must always be kept in mind in order to have a grasp on the jurisdiction of the various regional bodies.
The Delegations accelerated the discussions when they brought in points regarding the pivotal roles of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United Nations Office for West Africa and Sahel (UNOWAS), and the African Union (AU) as the foremost establishments to regulate the dynamics of the concerned nations. After expressing concern about the food crises, the Representative of the World Bank suggested that these nations follow an integrated approach, with the regional powers and the UN working in tandem, in order to lay emphasis on the investments made by the World Bank to ease tensions regarding the same.
Multiple delegations spoke further about the need to ensure that trust and cooperation persisted amidst the nations, throughout their efforts to tackle the Sahelian matters. Another aspect that the committee agreed to discuss was the necessity to curb human trafficking and address issues associated with climate change that were presented by the Delegations of the French Republic and Canada.
Gears shifted as perspectives emerged addressing the incompetence and inefficiency in implementation of policies as pointed out by the French Delegation. The Japanese Delegation came out in support of the same and recommended the regional powers took charge of the situation on the ground.
The discussions broke to a halt soon after the Russian Delegation articulated the significance of capacity building measures and also requested an amendment in the peacekeeping budget to suit the expenses of qualified aid to the affected regions.
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)
Commencement Of Scapegoating
Reporting from the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC), Venkatesh Eleswarapu writes about the events that followed the allegations made by the Delegate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria) regarding the promotion of regional forces and not depending on the United Nations (UN) for everything.
The remarks made by the Delegate of Nigeria raised a pile of questions demanding explanations by the Delegates representing different nations.
The Delegate of The United States of America (USA) told the committee about the recent attacks on the Headquarters of G5 Sahel by suicide bombers linked with the extremist organisation, Al-Qaeda. The Delegate pointed out that the weakness of Sahel nations is that they are not able to keep even their secure forces safe from terrorist activities, let alone, the rest of the regions.
The politics involved in the unstable transfer of power and the issue of people having criminal records running for elections was brought to light by the Delegate of Romania. The people are forced to vote for a powerful person against their will and there is no one they can complain to about this. The Delegate questioned how the Sahel nations can even think about solving their internal problems on their own, when there is no one to listen to the problems faced by the general public.
The fragile economy of the Sahel region could only be tackled with the help from the World Bank, according to the Delegate of Russia. Further, the Delegate claimed that the prominent nations can come together and help with the funding and the providing of job opportunities to the people in the remote areas of the Sahel regions.
The Delegate of Nigeria tried to counteract the situation by telling the committee about the improvement in the Sahel nations. The G5 Sahel has been effective in lowering organised crimes. The Delegate claimed that the attack on the headquarters was a shock to everyone and the situation was dealt with quickly. It was put forth that the masterminds of the tragedy were later tracked down. The instability existing in the political field was statistically low as compared to the last decade. In fact the election of Muhammadu Buhari was the first stable transfer of power in Nigeria, in the Delegate’s viewpoint. The people of the Sahel region now have voting rights.
The delegate tried to explain his initial point by marking out importance of being independent. The delegate clarified his stance by explaining that his intentions were for favouring the regional peacekeeping bodies and not targeting the UN for not being successful in their missions or anything of that sort.
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)
United By Division
The committee agreed that the issues of the many cannot be addressed by one party; it requires inclusivity, negotiation, and consensus to yield the best results. Suhas R Vaidya, reporting from the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC), summarises the outcomes of the working group discussions.
The UNPBC was carved up into three major factions to discuss the feasible solutions to the concerns of the Sahelian nations. The Delegations’ suggestions on various aspects ranging from humanitarian and economic, to border security, trade, and terrorism warranted the flow of pertinent policy discussion and resolutions.
One such group comprising the United States of America (USA), the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany), and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ethiopia), amidst many others, spoke extensively on the empowerment of youth and women as important factors in strengthening the nations’ foundations. Several viewpoints and perspectives were presented when Delegations spoke about the Sahel Women's Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) and the Representative of the World Bank even proposed to extend its mandate in order to reap more benefits from the same.
The Delegations of Romania and the USA furthered the discussion by citing the importance of creating opportunities for women to enhance entrepreneurial undertakings after providing them with quality education. They implied that it would reduce unemployment and prevent them from joining rebellious groups or terror outfits. The Delegation of Ethiopia proposed the augmentation of political representation of women in the governmental makeup, hoping it would boost equality and political stability. Further delegates also spoke at length about outlining better health and sanitation facilities, besides partnering up with numerous Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) from across the concerned states.
Finally, the Delegations of the bloc went on to draft their working paper encompassing all major topics that they deliberated upon in detail. The Representatives of the World Bank committed to providing equitable funds and assistance to empower and support the Sahelian states in the numerous facets they conversed about.
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)
In Quaerendis Solutionibus
Claiming that the committee was deviating from the real agenda at hand, the Chairperson divided the committee into three blocks and asked them to come up with practical solutions that would lead to achieving peace in the Sahel region. Venkatesh Eleswarapu, reporting from the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC), writes about the proceedings of the committee.
The Delegate of People's Republic of China came up with solutions for the internal affairs of the nations in the Sahel region. The Delegate stressed on the importance of how ignorance is not always bliss. According to the Delegate, the nations in Sahel should work in accordance with the United Nations (UN) and improve the state of regional peacekeeping missions and training of troops. The Delegate suggested that non-state actors should be dealt with more strictly to set an example in order to further diminish organised crime and political instability.
“The Sahel region has availability of resources but has failed to properly exploit their resources,” remarked the Delegate of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The Delegate stated that the rainfall may be irregular, but the soil is quite fertile for the cultivation of crops, which could solve the existing food crisis. The Delegate pinpointed the relevance of the latest developments in the agricultural field that can be taught to the people in the Sahel region by the people sent through UN missions.
The Delegate of Canada and the Delegate of the Russian Federation laid down points regarding the handling of unemployment issues. Opening of elementary schools even in the remote areas of the Sahel region will help improve the literacy issues and provide employment to the locals for the staff, according to the Delegates. The Delegates expressed their views on why the government should make education compulsory for every child in the Sahel region. They added that job opportunities can be created in the industrial sector, provided that industries are established in the region.
The Chairperson believed that the committee was getting back on track and that some conclusions were in sight. The Chairperson mentioned in the committee that peace is achieved not by the pointing of fingers and the continuous blaming of one another, but by settling down and discussing about the issues as a group and not individually.
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)
Views of the Masses
Suhas R Vaidya, reporting from the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC), plots and analyses the opinions of the delegations of the UNPBC.
The delegations of the UNPBC were asked to give their opinion on the following question:
Given the enormous constraints faced by the nations of the Sahel, do you think elected representatives can actually bring about substantial change in the situations that they face?
Looking at the response received, it is clear that most of the international community, summing up to 79% of the delegations present, felt that the situation in the Sahel could improve over a long period of time, but not in the short run. About 14% of the opinions went in favour of the fact that with strict measures and enforcement, change could be seen in the long run. Delegations of ambitious nations like the Russian Federation, Czech Republic, and the Kingdom of Belgium voted in favour of this choice.
Finally, a sad undertone crept in when about 7% of the delegations, comprising the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Republic of Rwanda felt that the circumstances in the Sahel definitely could not change in a positive light due to the colossal constraints that they face.
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)