[ECOSOC] NGOs are a key part in mitigating the negative impacts of oil spill, yet they were barely mentioned

By Valerie Quek, The Guardian

Delegate of Seychelles presenting her working paper.

While the virtual conference held by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) have been productive, and different delegates had made various interesting suggestions to tackle the issue of the lack of accountability and oversight of oil spills, I still am concerned about how throughout the past 1 and a half days of discussion, non governmental organisations were almost never brought up, until towards the end. 

Advertisement

[UNGA] Agreeable solution found, hierarchy for the win

By Rajagopal Sudiksha, The Daily Wire

A solution that most countries seemed amenable to was discovered in the United Nations General Assembly conference held on 4^th June 2021. The issue of under representation of regions like Africa, Latin America and Asia in the United Nations Security Council, was previously identified by delegates of the countries that participated. The delegates, after much discussion and valid arguments, managed to come to a consensus. Introduced by the delegate of Germany, is the addition of conditional permanent members in the council. 

[UNGA] Results of the General Assembly

By Lee Laura Eunbee, Xinhua News Agency

The delegate of USA’s working paper.

On June 4^th, the second day of the UNGA was carried out. It focused on addressing the flaws in a semi-permanent membership such as too many countries making it difficult to come to a solution. Thus, USA, Germany, Liechtenstein worked together to evolve the semi-permanent membership into a conditional permanency. The terms of the conditional permanency include the first year of term will going without veto power, and a two-third majority of the region having to vote favourably for the members to use veto. 

[UNHCR] Debate on provision of education takes precedence in UNHCR debate

By Matthew Chan, Reuters

Image of a refugee camp.

Education was the main focus of delegates during this day of debate within the UNHCR, with polarising opinions expressed throughout the course of debate.

[UNGA] Reforming of the UNSC — Passing the Resolution

By Hannah Lim, Agence France-Presse

The bloc led by Liechtenstein has proposed several changes to be made to help reform the UNSC. 

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has seen the lack of regional representation in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and recognises that this is a problem. After taking into consideration the fact that the UNSC may be inefficient, they are afraid of the potential abuse of veto powers in humanitarian crises. The UNGA understands the countries’ willingness to voice out their opinions in security issues and recalls the Code of Conduct previously proposed by ACT, as well as prior commitment by Mexico and France to restrict the use of veto in mass atrocities. 

Therefore the UNGA has proposed changes to the definitions, expansion of non-permanent members in the UNSC, introduction of conditional permanent members as well as the implementation of the code of conduct for the veto power system. However, another bloc has voiced some suggestions they had to improve the resolution. 

[UNSC] Can the UNSC really help Libya?

By Tan Yi Jun, The New York Times

An image of people submitting their votes into a poll box. (Image Source) 

Over the last 2 days, the UNSC conference on how the Libyan Conflict could be resolved has been an intense one. Delegates from all over the world came together in hopes of finding long term solutions that could help Libya. However from what we can see, the discussion has not been as smooth sailing as no solid conclusions can be made due to instances where the Delegates go back on their statements and endlessly circle around the same point for hours. 

[ECOSOC] When maritime oil spill is the problem, Prevention is the best Solution

By Kumar Arnav, Korean Central News Agency

Many countries have been at fault for maritime oil spills and have started to take steps to mitigate this problem. Everyone notices and acknowledges the rare spills of large quantities but they fail to heed the occasional oil spills in smaller quantities by ships or boats. Every year, the USA spills or dumps out more than 30 times the oil that was spilled in the Exxon Valdez disaster which was nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil. At this rate, the USA can pose a serious threat to more than 50 percent of the marine ecosystem. If everyone continues to follow in the footsteps of the USA, the damage to the marine ecosystem will be irreversible. 

[US Senate] National Popular Vote Interstate Compact vs Electoral College System: Which one is better?

By Damita Jha, Korean Central News Agency

 A picture of a General Speaker List being carried out in the US Senate, Damita Jha 2021.

Today was Day 2 of the RMUN 2021, where in the US Senate, the delegates were supposed to share their views on the ‘Reforming of the Electoral College System’. The Democrats were obviously against the Electoral College and proposed to implement a National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) in all those states which are considering and want an NPVIC. However, the Republicans strongly opposed the Democrats’ proposal as they were in favour of the Electoral College and did not want the system to be reformed.

[US Senate] Op-Ed: Hope of consensus fading — The US Senate’s failure to cooperate

By Nathan Yap, The Daily Wire

As the US council session drags on, developments still won’t show.

US Senators amidst heated discussion.

Today marks the second day of the US Senate’s convening to discuss the issue of national importance: the Electoral College system. Used to determine to leader of United States of America, the pillar of democracy amidst of world of wrongs and rights, the Electoral College system well has the ability to determine the events of the world.

[UNSC] “A Fruitful Debate”— Superficial Discussions in the UNSC

By Zhang Huixin, Al-Jazeera English 

“A fruitful debate” .

I had previously expressed my wishes for a more clear and in-depth discussion in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting yesterday, with the P5 powers stepping up and leading the discussion more. Unfortunately, the discussions held today morning do not seem to be getting much better.