Security CouncilCommittee GuideSince 1991, when the revolutionary forces overthrew Dictator Saad Barre, Somalia has been home to civil war and political unrest. With several military operations having taken place, Somalia is a source of insecurity in an already volatile region. The Gulf of Aden is a major shipping and trade route with over 20,000 ships passing through the Gulf every year; approximately 30 percent of crude oil tankers heading towards Europe pass through the Gulf, and account for over 10 percent of the world’s annual consumption. With 111 piracies having taken place in 2008 alone, piracy in the Gulf of Aden has become of major concern for the global community. The International Maritime Bureau’s statistics show the highest success rate of piracies in the Gulf of Aden, resulting in the Suez Canal being declared the most dangerous shipping route in the world. The piracy and political instability in the region has devastating effects on the world at large. Not only does the ransom money demanded by the pirates overburden the shipping companies, drive up shipping costs and cause insurance premiums to rise, but causes millions of dollars to be lost due to delay in shipments. The only safe alternative available is for shipping companies to take the passage along Cape of Good Hope; needless to say this passage is longer, takes more time for ships to reach their destinations and costs more money. The immense inter-relations as a result of globalization have resulted in the situation in Somalia becoming a global issue; the countries that use the passage as a shipping route have the greatest interest in securing it, whereas countries not using this passage are also anxious to resolve the issue. Furthermore, following the example of piracy in the Gulf of Aden due to unrest in Somalia, piracy in other regions of the world may also spread and rise. The nations of world must collaborate and come together in order to find an adequate and long-lasting solution to the issue of unrest and crises in Somalia. |
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Introduction of the Chairs
Honourable Delegates and MUN-Directors,
My name is Aitzaz Rehman Sheikh, and I shall be the President of United Nations Security Council at the Baltic Model United Nations this year! I am currently a 2nd year UnderGraduate student from Pakistan, who is completely thrilled by the opportunity BALMUN 2009 has given me. Since 2006, I have participated in numerous MUN’s both within Pakistan and abroad. I’ve also had the chance to travel around the world to attend the International Youth Leadership Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, and the Global Young Leaders’ Conference in Washington D.C, USA. I’m sure you all must’ve already ascertained the extent to which I take pleasure in participating in MUNs by my introduction, but frankly speaking, that is the truth. MUNs have given me a sense of individuality, and have helped mould my personality to someone who enjoys being around people, having the opportunity to speak out my opinion, and subsequently gain some beneficial experiences, and most of all friends! This will be my third time chairing and hopefully it’ll be the best! I wish each and every Security Council Delegate will gain something out of this experience, as much as I will. Can’t wait to hear you all argue over different issues and their solutions this June! President of the Security Council
Dear BALMUN participants,
My name is Randolf Carr and I will have the pleasure of serving as President of the Security Council at this year's BALMUN conference. I am in 12th grade at the John-F.-Kennedy-School in Berlin and this is my fourth year taking part in MUN. I have previously attended ten other MUN conferences and this BALMUN 2009 will be my fifth conference as a chair of a committee. I enjoy personally taking part in debates on controversial topics, but have noticed that chairing such a debate is at least as challenging and fun as debating itself. The reason I started participating in MUN in 2005 was my great interest in politics that I had had even long before I started with MUN, combined with the urge to become acquainted and exchange opinions with people who share my interests. The Security Council has the opportunity to debate an extremely challenging and pertinent issue this year, the situation in Somalia. Somalia is currently the most prominent issue in the actual UN Security Council – since the beginning of 2008, the SC has passed eleven resolutions on the topic, more than on any other. But despite these efforts, the crisis situation in the Gulf of Aden and in Somalia’s mainland itself remains largely unsolved. Therefore it will be up to this BALMUN Security Council to develop innovative and effective measures that can solve this regional crisis in order to prevent greater global consequences. Looking forward to seeing you in Rostock in June, President of the Security Council |
