MUNCH 25 Resolutions

Below is an example resolution. You should send yours to the email address on your committee page by Thursday 2nd October.

DISEC Committee

On the Question of the Conflict in the Sahel

Submitted by: China

Signatories: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, Russia, Sudan, Tuvalu, Zambia

Recognising the long-standing challenges which the Sahel region faces, due to a combination of weak governance, economic deprivation, climate stress, conflict, and foreign interference,

Alarmed by the increasing power held in the Sahel region by extremist groups including, but not limited to, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Islamic State, and Boko Haram, which threatens the lives of innocent civilians by embroiling the region in conflict,

Disturbed by the power vacuum left by the withdrawal of both French troops and UN peacekeepers, which looks to be filled by an aggregate of the Wagner Group and extremist organisations,

Taking into consideration the vast investments made by certain countries, which may need to be protected, further increasing the armed presence in the region,

Concerned by the increasingly damaging impact food and water insecurity is having on the civilian population, leading to alarmingly high numbers of displaced persons,

1. Highly recommends that member states in the Sahel region realise how desperate the situation has become for civilians due to such prolonged conflict and welcome UN assistance in the form of both humanitarian aid and peacekeeping forces;

2. Urges all member states to increase funding for the UNOCHA West and Central Africa Fund, in order to fulfil a mandate including, but not limited to:

1. Organise food, water, and medical supplies for delivery to those most in need of these basic human rights,
2. Set up centres in neutral areas where civilians, specifically women, children, and the wounded, can be offered shelter and a certain degree of protection against extremist groups,
3. Supply medical professionals to assist in treating the wounded,
4. Plan education programmes to teach children basic numeracy and literacy, so that they are not deprived of opportunities in the future,
5. Offer medical training to volunteers in order to help attend to those wounded by the conflict;

3. Supports the redefining of the mandates of peacekeeping forces in the Sahel to cover a broader range of measures intended to protect civilians, including, but not limited to:

1. The protection of all civilians from any conflict or intimidation by extremist groups,
2. The security of UNOCHA and other humanitarian groups in order to more effectively provide humanitarian aid to those suffering from the conflict, including food, water, and medical supplies, and stop extremist groups holding civilians hostage with basic human rights,
3. The coordination of any military operations to specifically avoid harm to the civilian population,
4. The enforcement of human rights through preventing the mobilisation of child soldiers and aiming to decrease sexual violence,
5. The reporting of any war crimes or similar to the ICC so that an investigation can be undertaken, reducing the unnecessary pain that may be caused by extremist groups not prioritising human life;

4. Calls upon all parties involved in the Sahel conflict to refrain from causing excess damage to member states’ infrastructure, including infrastructure managed by foreign governments, in the hope that, at the resolution of this conflict, states will be in a position to move on and rebuild without too much effort;

5. Strongly encourages channels of communication to be established between the governments of member states in the Sahel, in order to:

1. Discuss possible military collaboration to tackle the increasing threat posed by extremist groups,
2. Focus humanitarian aid on those areas most in need of it, as currently it will not be possible to provide relief to everywhere,
3. Root out corruption in governments, so that they can focus on the plight of their civilians,
4. Agree on a consistent and unified response to the conflict, providing a more effective strategy than separate struggles;

6. Endorses the governments of other member states, with the hope that the economies of the Sahel can be boosted as the region develops, if they wish to:

1. Provide direct aid to civilians through any infrastructure they already manage in the region,
2. Invest in infrastructure designed to improve the socioeconomic status of any member state in the region,
3. Bolster the governments of the Sahel and assist with the exposure of corruption,
4. Supply protection for infrastructure, including, but not limited to, that which covers the distribution of food, water, and medical supplies,
5. Contribute military forces to engage with extremist groups and begin to combat the risk they pose to the economic and cultural stability of the region.