Table of Content - LIMUN · diamond company De Beers in an attempt to control diamond supply8. His...

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LONDON INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2018

Table of Content

DISEC Committee London International Model United Nations 19th Session | 2018

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Table of Content

Introduction Letters .............................................................................................................................. 3

Introduction to the Committee ............................................................................................................. 5

Topic A: The Role of Diamonds in Fuelling Conflict ......................................................... 6

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 6

History of the Problem ..................................................................................................................... 7

Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................................. 10

Current situation ............................................................................................................................ 12

Bloc Positions ............................................................................................................................... 16

Questions Resolution Must Answer ............................................................................................... 18

Sources ........................................................................................................................................ 19

Topic B: The Situation in Central America: Progress in Developing a Region of

Peace, Freedom, Democracy and Development .................................................................. 22

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 22

History of the Problem ................................................................................................................... 24

Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................................. 25

Current situation ............................................................................................................................ 28

Bloc Positions ............................................................................................................................... 32

Questions Resolution Must Answer ............................................................................................... 33

Sources ........................................................................................................................................ 34

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Introduction Letters

Director: George Mullens

Dear Delegates, my name is George Mullens and I‟m a British

and Italian Masters postgraduate. I have just finished my

Masters in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS,

University of London. Presently, I am working at the United

Nations Association of the United Kingdom as an

Administrative volunteer, and I have previously interned at

the Italian Embassy in London for six months. I started doing

Model UN at the age of 15, and I have attended numerous

conferences in a variety of capacities: from delegate and

chair, to Secretary-General of the very first MUN conference

at the University of Sussex, where I completed my undergraduate degree.

Presently, I am also the Secretary-General for LIMUN: HS 2017 and I have

recently acted as USG Chairing for UkraineMUN 2017. In total, I have attended

34 MUN conferences in Europe from LIMUN to OxIMUN and CUIMUN, for

which I won the Oxbridge Chairing Award.

Assistant Director: Cristina Abellan

Hello delegates! I am Cristina, a 2nd year student at Leiden

University College The Hague, currently pursuing a double

BA in International Justice and World Politics. I started

university-level MUN in 2015 back in my hometown,

Barcelona, and as a delegate in multiple conferences across

Europe. I then moved into the roles of Chair and Secretariat

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in conferences in Europe and Asia in 2016 and have been doing that since.

This will be my second time in LIMUN, the first one as a Chair. I am looking

forward to meeting you all in February in London.

Assistant Director: Migle Andrunaviciute

Greetings delegates! My name is Migle Andrunaviciute and I

am delighted to be co-chairing DISEC with George and

Cristina at LIMUN 2018. I am currently a second year

Business and Political Science student at Trinity College

Dublin and have been involved with Model UN on a variety

of fronts for close to four years now. I am presently serving

as Secretary-General of EireMUN and alongside acting as

Director-General of TrinMUN for this upcoming year, and I

look forward to seeing how the rest of my Model UN Career

develops onwards as the years progress. I also previously

served as Under Secretary-General at TrinMUN 2017 and

have chaired at conferences both across the UK and Europe. I look forward to meeting

all delegates in February for what is sure to be an unforgettable weekend.

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Introduction to the Committee

With the foundation of the United Nations and the formation of the General

Assembly, the Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC),

otherwise known as the First Committee, was created due to a realisation from

member states that there was a necessity to deal with a wide variety of security

issues worldwide.

DISEC is generally considered to be amongst the most powerful committees,

primarily due to its role within the UN. Similarly, DISEC‟s role in discussing

widespread security issues allows for all member states to have an equal say,

without incorporating the voting restrictions posed by the UN Security Council.

DISEC will regularly pass non-binding resolutions, which then go onto the

Security Council to be debated and voted upon.

The First Committee also has close relationships with a number of other

disarmament bodies both within the UN system. For instance, DISEC has

cooperated with the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament, as well as the

United Nations Disarmament Commission1.

1 United Nations (2017). Disarmament and International Security (First Committee). Available at:

http://www.un.org/en/ga/first/. Accessed on13/12/2017

http://www.un.org/en/ga/first/

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Topic A: The Role of Diamonds in

Fuelling Conflict

“A diamond may be forever, but terrorism, promiscuously funded, will be too.”

Bill Maher

Introduction

The role of diamonds in fuelling conflicts is an issue that has long been discussed

by the international community. Unfortunately, the extreme difficulty in tracing

“diamonds from source to buyer has rendered it virtually impossible to stop the

use of diamonds to fund insurgent groups worldwide which aim to overthrow

legitimate governments”2. While this issue is mostly focused in Africa, as the

continent with the largest quantity of diamonds, the international trade of

diamonds renders this an international issue which needs to be strengthened

through increased cooperation.

2 Global Witness (2017) “Conflict Diamonds”, Available at: https://www.globalwitness.org/en-gb/campaigns/conflict-

diamonds/#more, Accessed on 01/11/2017

https://www.globalwitness.org/en-gb/campaigns/conflict-diamonds/#more


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On the other hand, while consumers want

to buy „clean diamonds‟ with numerous companies

worldwide claiming to provide this service, in

reality, it is near impossible to authenticate the

original source of a diamond, meaning that by

buying diamonds, consumers could be

unknowingly funding insurgent group3. The United

Nations defines conflict diamonds as “diamonds that originate from areas

controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally

recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to

those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council”4.

Diamonds ultimately continue to finance armed conflicts in Angola, Liberia,

Sierra Leone and Guinea regardless of UN arms and diamond sanctions5. When

considering this issue, delegates need to firstly look at their country positions

followed by domestic policies in determining how each member states deals with

conflict diamonds.

History of the Problem

The history of the diamond trade essentially goes back to when diamonds were

first discovered. In the first century AD, Roman naturalist Pliny called “diamonds

[…] the most valuable, not only or precious stones, but of all things in this

world”6. In essence, the history of diamonds begins with its formation process.

Diamonds are formed deep underground, under immense pressure and heat over

3 Ibid

4 Diamond Facts (2017) “Conflict Diamonds”, Available at:

http://www.diamondfacts.org/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D128%26Itemid%3D1

34%26lang%3Den, Accessed on 01/11/2017

5 Michael Fleshman (2001) “Conflict Diamonds Evade UN Sancitons”, Africa Recovery, vol15(4), p.15, available at:

http://www.un.org/en/africarenewal/vol15no4/154diam.htm, Accessed on 02/11/2017

6 GIA (2017) “Diamond History and Lore”, Available at: https://www.gia.edu/diamond-history-lore, Accessed on

02/11/2017

http://www.diamondfacts.org/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D128%26Itemid%3D134%26lang%3Den


http://www.un.org/en/africarenewal/vol15no4/154diam.htm

https://www.gia.edu/diamond-history-lore

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the process of billions of years, with the youngest being formed 900

million years ago6. Over time, it is sent upwards to the earth‟s surface where it is

found, polished and refined by humans.

The earliest diamonds were found in India in the 4th century BC. These diamonds

were then transported through various trade networks to Europe in what was the

Silk Road. While diamonds were valued because of their beauty, their science

was little known. During the dark ages for example, diamonds were used as

medical aid and were thought to cure illness7.

Until the 18th

Century, India was thought to be the only source of diamonds. This

resulted in the over-mining of diamonds until most, if not all, of the mines in

India were depleted. The search for alternative sources for diamonds began. In

1866, 15-year-old Erasmus Jacobs was exploring the banks of the Orange River

in South Africa when he came across a massive 21.25 carat diamond7.

This find resulted in miners travelling

to South Africa to find diamonds. In

1880, Cecil John Rhodes formed the

diamond company De Beers in an

attempt to control diamond supply8.

His attempts proved successful and

today, De Beers controls an estimated

33% of global sales9. After the great

7 Cape Town Diamond Museum (2017) The History of Diamonds. Available at:

http://www.capetowndiamondmuseum.org/about-diamonds/south-african-diamond-history/, Accessed on 13/12/2017 8 Brilliance (2017) “History of Diamonds”, Available at: https://www.brilliance.com/education/diamonds/history, Accessed

on 06/11/2017

9 Ibid

Figure 1: Source: http://robbreport.com.vn/features/2016/11/08/nghe-

thuat-chon-trang-suc/

http://www.capetowndiamondmuseum.org/about-diamonds/south-african-diamond-history/

https://www.brilliance.com/education/diamonds/history

http://robbreport.com.vn/features/2016/11/08/nghe-thuat-chon-trang-suc/

http://robbreport.com.vn/features/2016/11/08/nghe-thuat-chon-trang-suc/

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depression, the popularity of diamonds fell, resulting in De Beers

launching a marketing campaign that still has effects today, claiming that “A

Diamond is Forever”10

.

History of conflict diamonds

As we can see from the origins of diamond mining, the trade of diamonds is a

lucrative business which if successful can fund insurgent groups for months if not

decades. Diamonds are frequently cited as the most common form of capital used

by rebels in Angola, Sierra Leone and the DRC11

. Indeed, the monopolistic

practices of De Beers encouraged traders to find alternative sources for their

diamonds. This resulted in the formation of companies like the National Diamond

Mining Co in Sierra Leone, which profited by going to rebels groups seeking

diamonds to avoid De Beers‟ monopoly12

.

Previous UN Action

The United Nations has tried to break the link

between the illegal trade of diamonds and armed

conflict in numerous UN resolutions, by

approving the so-called Kimberly Process (KP)

in Resolution 56/263, creating an international

certification scheme for diamonds13

. While the

Kimberly Process aims to safeguard against the

shipment of conflict diamonds with 81 countries

10

Ibid 11

The Economist (2017) “A report form De Beers‟s new diamond mine”, Available at:

https://www.economist.com/news/international/21717369-production-worlds-most-valuable-gem-may-be-about-peak-

report-de-beerss, Accessed on 06/11/2017

12 Real History Archives (2007) “A Brief History of Blood Diamonds”, Available at:

http://realhistoryarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/brief-history-of-blood-diamonds.html, Accessed on 6/11/2017

13

Eric Johnson (2002) “Blood Diamonds: The Conflict in Sierra Leone”, Available at:

https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Conflict%20in%20Sierra%20Leone.htm, Accessed on 06/11/2017

Figure 2: Source: africabusiness.com

https://www.economist.com/news/international/21717369-production-worlds-most-valuable-gem-may-be-about-peak-report-de-beerss


http://realhistoryarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/brief-history-of-blood-diamonds.html

https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Conflict%20in%20Sierra%20Leone.htm

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who are members of the Process, in reality, corrupt elements within the

diamond trade are able to give authentic certificates to conflict diamonds

emanating from conflict regions. The Kimberly Process similarly ignores

situations in which serious human rights abuses are committed, in order to obtain

diamonds. This trend can be seen in Zimbabwe14

, where numerous government

officials were reported to have abused miners and civilians, in order to boost the

number of diamonds mined15

.

Statement of the Problem

The main root causes to the issue of diamonds causing conflict lie in the valuable

nature of diamonds. The impact of blood diamonds has left millions of dead in

Africa due to a variety of civil wars. Even when sanctions are placed on diamond

trading, these are often ineffective in stopping the illegal trade of diamonds16

.

The Illegal Trade of Diamonds

Quite simply, the illegal trade of diamonds often makes any sort of verification

process obsolete. The vast quantity of diamonds mined by rebel groups like

UNITA in Angola or the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone

allow these groups to be funded almost indefinitely. RUF mined upwards of $125

million of diamonds annually, according to Global Witness, whereas UNITA in

Angola controlled approximately 70% of the diamond production in the

country1717

. Therefore, regardless of any international sanctions, the vast quality

and funds at stake cause issues like corruption to make UN sanctions difficult to

14

Human Rights Watch (2012) “Zimbabwe: Diamond Abuses Show Need for Reforms”, Available at:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/06/04/zimbabwe-diamond-abuses-show-need-reforms, Accessed on 07/11/2017

15 UNGA (2002) “Resolution 56/263”, Available from: http://dag.un.org/bitstream/handle/11176/238944/A_RES_56_263-

EN.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y, Accessed on 06/11/2017

16 James Melik (2010) “Diamonds: Does the Kimberly Process work?”, Available at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10307046, Accessed on 06/11/2017

17

Global Witness (2006) “The Truth About Diamonds”, Available at:

https://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/import/the_truth_about_diamonds.pdf, Accessed on 06/11/2017

https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/06/04/zimbabwe-diamond-abuses-show-need-reforms

http://dag.un.org/bitstream/handle/11176/238944/A_RES_56_263-EN.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10307046

https://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/import/the_truth_about_diamonds.pdf

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impose as illegal diamonds are sent through legitimate markets to mask

their illegal origins.

Due to the difficulty in tracking the precise origins of diamonds, it is extremely

difficult to estimate the current percentage of diamonds which are currently on

the market that come from illicit sources. Global Witness estimated in 2006 that

around 20% of the global trade in diamonds comes from illicit sources. However,

even with this number, poor governance and corruption easily allow conflict

diamonds or diamonds that are obtained through human rights abuses to be

classified as legitimate18

. United Nations reports on the Angolan Civil War

estimated that UNITA exported approximately $700m annually which in 1996

represented approximately 10% of the global trade in diamonds.

The vast scale of the diamond industry makes it extremely difficult for any

measures to effectively monitor the trade of diamonds. Sachab Hayssam, a

diamond buyer for GEMS Africa in Cameroon stated in a report that

“Traceability of diamonds between Cameroon and the Central African Republic

is a joke. If the Americans with drones and advanced technologies have not been

able to control the flow of illicit drugs between Mexico and the USA, what makes

you think the Kimberley Process can control the illicit trade of diamonds between

Cameroon and the Central African

Republic?”19

An example of ineffective monitoring

can indeed be seen in the civil war in the

Central African Republic. While the

United Nations and the international

community imposed sanctions on CAR

18

Ibid 19

Ibid

Figure 3: “How diamonds fuel Africa‟s conflict?” Source: CNN

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with all diamond exports prohibited, it also took the further step of urging

diamond trading nations to be vigilant. This ensured that diamonds produced in

CAR were seized and not allowed to circulate legal markets, allowing the flow of

CAR‟s conflict diamonds to continue whilst under a full embargo20

.

A report from Impact Transform noted that there are two kinds of illicit diamond

trading in the instance of CAR‟s civil war. Firstly, diamonds enter illegally into

the global market via Cameroon after received a valid Kimberly Process

certificate issued by various Cameroonian government authorities. The role of

corruption clearly played a role and so did “non-existent due diligence measures

neuter the ability of government to offer any assurances on the provenance of its

diamonds”21

. The second type of illegal trading is smuggling. Smugglers in this

instance used Cameroon to launder diamonds to make them appear legitimate and

then are moved on to different countries in the region.

Current Situation

While the United Nations has worked on improving the research and verification

systems around the diamond trade,

unfortunately many of the issues which

affect the trade of conflict diamonds are

mostly dependent on the domestic policies

of member states. Critics of the Kimberly

Process have noted that it has refused “the

evolve and address the clear links between

diamonds, violence and tyranny”22

.

20

Offah Obale (2016) “From Conflict to Illicit: Mapping the Diamond Trade from Central African Republic to Cameroon”,

Available at: https://impacttransform.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2016-Dec-From-Conflict-to-Illicit-Mapping-the-

diamond-trade-from-Central-African-Republic-to-Cameroon.pdf, Accessed on 07/11/2017

21 Ibid

22 Ibid

Figure 4: “Diamonds matter” by Kadir van Lohuizen

https://impacttransform.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2016-Dec-From-Conflict-to-Illicit-Mapping-the-diamond-trade-from-Central-African-Republic-to-Cameroon.pdf


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Criticism of the Kimberly

Process

When the Kimberly Process

was formed in South Africa in

May 2000, the agreement

formed between the United

Nations, European Union, the

governments of 74 different

countries and the World

Diamond Council which

represented industry interests showed signs for hope. The establishment of the

certification scheme in which members are required to certify the provenance of

diamonds23

. While the process can be effective between member states that not

abuse the human rights of miners, this is less than effective in other cases in real

terms. According to Amy Barry of Global Witness, the lack of political will to

enforce the Kimberly Process has meant that member states like Zimbabwe

continue to be a part of the Process while benefitting from the sale of blood

diamonds24

. Similarly, the fact that consensus between all states is needed for any

decision to be made has meant that only one member can veto any sort of

punitive action.

This has resulted in member states going behind the process entirely by

sanctioning the sale of diamonds through the United Nations, the European Union

or through domestic legislation. While the Kimberly Process claims that

“participating states must meet minimum requirements”25

, in reality, if states do

23

Paul Armstrong (2011) “What are „conflict diamonds?‟”, Available at:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/05/world/africa/conflict-diamonds-explainer/index.html, Accessed on 08/11/2017

24 Ibid

25 Kimberly Process (2017) “About”, Available at: https://www.kimberleyprocess.com/en/about, Accessed on 08/11/2017

Figure 5: “Blood Diamonds”. Source: The Time

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/05/world/africa/conflict-diamonds-explainer/index.html

https://www.kimberleyprocess.com/en/about

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not meet minimum requirements, then there is very little that the process

can do to stop them from trading.

This can, then, result in diamonds which are obtained through human rights

abuses to be traded legitimately, unknowingly to consumers and companies that

originally buy them. Daniel Bekele, the Africa Director at Human Rights Watch

stated that the KP “should demand more tangible progress from Zimbabwe and

focus on reforming its certification scheme so that it can tackle the human rights

problems that taint diamond production”26

. Similarly, some recent decisions have

been criticised by NGOs and governments alike. In June 2011, Mathieu Yamba,

the KP chairman announced a unilateral decision to lift the Kimberly Ban on

exports from the Marange Fields in Zimbabwe, despite investigators from KP

stating that serious human rights abuses had taken place, even noting that in 2008,

over 200 miners were killed by members of the Zimbabwe military27

.

26

OpCit, n.16 27

Ibid

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While conflicts in Africa particularly have decreased since the heyday of the

conflict diamond trade, a number of initiatives have been created to provide

different verification systems to those provided by the KP. Local solutions like

the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), an

international governmental organisation of 12 African Countries went through

numerous checks and balances at a local level to assess over 180 mines in war-

stricken Congo, to determine that 140 of these were conflict free28

. Sasha

Lezhnev, the associate director of policy at the Enough Project stated that “For

the first time in Congo‟s history, there is a thorough, multi-stakeholder process to

assess whether rebel groups or the army are profiting from mines”29

.

28

Alison Moodie (2015) “African nations work together to rid supply chains of conflict materials”, Available at:

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/sep/14/conflict-minerals-africa-dodd-frank-apple-ford, Accessed

on 08/11/2017

29 Ibid

Figure 6: “Diamond Producing Countries”. Source: diamondeducation.co.za

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/sep/14/conflict-minerals-africa-dodd-frank-apple-ford

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Solutions

Solutions to this issue are naturally hard to come by. While the Kimberly Process

has been approved by the United Nations, there are valid criticisms of the KP

which point towards issues of corruption and a lack of political will to take

effective action against members of the KP who abuse human rights. On the other

hand, while local solutions like the ICGLR have been praised internationally by

groups that look at conflict diamonds, there is no guarantee that over time these

processes could not become obsolete. If members profiting from conflict

diamonds do not want to abide by the KP, then there are few incentives for them

to remain a part of the organisation.

Bloc positions

Various regional approaches have emerged over time along with the support of

the KP. When considering your country‟s position, it is vital to first look at

whether your country is represented in the KP along with any domestic

legislation that looks to combat conflict diamonds.

In North America, both the United States and Canada have been supporters of the

Kimberly Process whilst passing domestic legislation like the Clean Diamond

Trade Act in the United States30

. Similarly, both Canada and the United States

have acted at a domestic level when the KP or UN has failed to sanction members

who have engaged in human rights abuses whilst mining diamonds31

.

Members of the European Union have similarly supported the KP in its attempts

to stop the trade of conflict diamonds. As one of the major centres for diamond

30

Federation of American Scientists (2003) “Clean Diamond Trade Act”, Available at:

https://fas.org/asmp/resources/govern/108th/pl_108_19.pdf, Accessed on: 08/11/2017 31

Stop Blood Diamonds (2007) “Canadian Policy and Laws”, Available at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20070510200002/http://www.stopblooddiamonds.org/Canadian-Policy-Laws.asp, Accessed on

08/11/2017

https://fas.org/asmp/resources/govern/108th/pl_108_19.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20070510200002/http:/www.stopblooddiamonds.org/Canadian-Policy-Laws.asp

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trading, the EU is represented as one bloc in the KP and has recently

passed guidelines on the trading of diamonds for both member states and

companies32

.

In African member states, unfortunately policies have not been consistent. This is

largely dependent between member states. While some member states like South

Africa have aimed to tackle the trade of blood diamonds, the illicit trade of

conflict diamonds has resulted in the mixing of conflict diamonds with legitimate

diamonds. Countries like Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Angola, DRC and others still

act as hubs for rebel groups to mine, abuse and mine diamonds33

. For African

Member states, the root causes of the diamond trade need to be addressed to fully

stop the trade in conflict diamonds.

In Asia, the approach has also varied. While many of these member states are

ultimately where conflict diamonds end up, conflict diamonds are used by

organised crime groups all over the region to trade for arms. The diamond

industry in countries like China and Japan is prominent due to large factories that

process diamonds34

.

In South America conflict diamonds are usually processed and smuggled and then

laundered into legitimate markets in the United States, Israel and London

primarily through organised crime35

. Organised crime groups use the vast

networks through rain forests to mine and use diamonds to purchase arms and

32

European Commission (2015) “A practical guide for Kimberly Process Participants and companies involved in trade in

rough diamonds with the EU”, Available at: http://eeas.europa.eu/archives/docs/blood_diamonds/docs/guidelines-on-

trading-with-the-european-community-012015_en.pdf, Accessed on 08/11/2017

33 Greg Campbell (2009) “Blood Diamonds are Back”, Available at; http://foreignpolicy.com/2009/12/24/blood-diamonds-

are-back/, Accessed on 08/11/2017

34 Ian Smillie (2013) “Blood Diamonds and Non-State Actors”, Available at: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/wp-

content/uploads/sites/78/Smillie-.pdf, Accessed on 08/11/2017

35 Girish Gupta (2012) “Dirty Diamonds in South America”, Available at: http://www.warscapes.com/art/dirty-diamonds-

south-america, Accessed on 08/11/2017

http://eeas.europa.eu/archives/docs/blood_diamonds/docs/guidelines-on-trading-with-the-european-community-012015_en.pdf


http://foreignpolicy.com/2009/12/24/blood-diamonds-are-back/


https://www.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/78/Smillie-.pdf


http://www.warscapes.com/art/dirty-diamonds-south-america


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narcotics36

. Clandestine mines in South America are largely unreported on

an international scale in comparison to those in Africa. However, they still

provide a valuable source of income for organised crime groups37

.

Questions a Resolution Should Answer

When looking at the issue of conflict diamonds, delegates need to consider

regional and international approaches to combatting this issue. Conflict diamonds

remain a perfect way for organised crime groups to smuggle and launder their

profits through legitimate sources. Consider the following questions whilst

researching:

1. To what extent has the Kimberly Process been successful? If so, how?

2. Have regional approaches been successful in limiting the trade of conflict

diamonds?

3. Which detection methods have been successful in detecting the origin of

diamonds?

4. Have domestic laws and sanctions been an effective solution to stopping

the trade of diamonds?

5. What role does civil society play in the trade of diamonds?

6. How can corporations play an effective role in stopping the trade of

diamonds?

7. What is the impact of organised crime in the illegal trade of conflict

diamond?

8. To what extent do international processes like the Kimberly Process

actually stop the trade of diamonds?

9. How can member states combat the abuse of human rights by members of

the Kimberly Process?

36

Girish Gupta (2012) “Not Just Out of Africa: South America‟s Blood Diamonds Network”, Available at:

http://world.time.com/2012/08/20/not-just-out-of-africa-south-americas-blood-diamonds-network/, Accessed on

08/11/2017

37 ibid

http://world.time.com/2012/08/20/not-just-out-of-africa-south-americas-blood-diamonds-network/

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Sources

Alison Moodie (2015) “African nations work together to rid supply chains of conflict

materials”, Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-

business/2015/sep/14/conflict-minerals-africa-dodd-frank-apple-ford, Accessed on

08/11/2017

Brilliance (2017) “History of Diamonds”, Available at:

https://www.brilliance.com/education/diamonds/history, Accessed on 06/11/2017

Diamond Facts (2017) “Conflict Diamonds”, Available at:

http://www.diamondfacts.org/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Dartic

le%26id%3D128%26Itemid%3D134%26lang%3Den, Accessed on 01/11/2017

Eric Johnson (2002) “Blood Diamonds: The Conflict in Sierra Leone”, Available at:

https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Conflict%20in%20Sierra%20Leone.htm, Accessed

on 06/11/2017

European Commission (2015) “A practical guide for Kimberly Process Participants and

companies involved in trade in rough diamonds with the EU”, Available at:

http://eeas.europa.eu/archives/docs/blood_diamonds/docs/guidelines-on-trading-with-

the-european-community-012015_en.pdf, Accessed on 08/11/2017

Federation of American Scientists (2003) “Clean Diamond Trade Act”, Available at:

https://fas.org/asmp/resources/govern/108th/pl_108_19.pdf, Accessed on: 08/11/2017

GIA (2017) “Diamond History and Lore”, Available at: https://www.gia.edu/diamond-

history-lore, Accessed on 02/11/2017

Girish Gupta (2012) “Dirty Diamonds in South America”, Available at:

http://www.warscapes.com/art/dirty-diamonds-south-america, Accessed on 08/11/2017



https://www.brilliance.com/education/diamonds/history



https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297a/Conflict%20in%20Sierra%20Leone.htm



https://fas.org/asmp/resources/govern/108th/pl_108_19.pdf




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20


Girish Gupta (2012) “Not Just Out of Africa: South America‟s Blood Diamonds

Network”, Available at: http://world.time.com/2012/08/20/not-just-out-of-africa-south-

americas-blood-diamonds-network/, Accessed on 08/11/2017

Global Witness (2006) “The Truth About Diamonds”, Available at:

https://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/import/the_truth_about_diamonds.pdf,

Accessed on 06/11/2017

Global Witness (2017) “Conflict Diamonds”, Available at:

https://www.globalwitness.org/en-gb/campaigns/conflict-diamonds/#more, Accessed on

01/11/2017

Greg Campbell (2009) “Blood Diamonds are Back”, Available at;

http://foreignpolicy.com/2009/12/24/blood-diamonds-are-back/, Accessed on

08/11/2017

Human Rights Watch (2012) “Zimbabwe: Diamond Abuses Show Need for Reforms”,

Available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/06/04/zimbabwe-diamond-abuses-show-

need-reforms, Accessed on 07/11/2017

Ian Smillie (2013) “Blood Diamonds and Non-State Actors”, Available at:

https://www.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/78/Smillie-.pdf, Accessed on

08/11/2017

James Melik (2010) “Diamonds: Does the Kimberly Process work?”, Available at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10307046, Accessed on 06/11/2017

Kimberly Process (2017) “About”, Available at:

https://www.kimberleyprocess.com/en/about, Accessed on 08/11/2017



https://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/import/the_truth_about_diamonds.pdf






http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10307046

https://www.kimberleyprocess.com/en/about

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Michael Fleshman (2001) “Conflict Diamonds Evade UN Sancitons”, Africa

Recovery, vol15(4), p.15, available at:

http://www.un.org/en/africarenewal/vol15no4/154diam.htm, Accessed on 02/11/2017

Offah Obale (2016) “From Conflict to Illicit: Mapping the Diamond Trade from Central

African Republic to Cameroon”, Available at: https://impacttransform.org/wp-

content/uploads/2017/09/2016-Dec-From-Conflict-to-Illicit-Mapping-the-diamond-

trade-from-Central-African-Republic-to-Cameroon.pdf, Accessed on 07/11/2017

Paul Armstrong (2011) “What are „conflict diamonds?‟”, Available at:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/05/world/africa/conflict-diamonds-explainer/index.html,


Real History Archives (2007) “A Brief History of Blood Diamonds”, Available at:

http://realhistoryarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/brief-history-of-blood-diamonds.html,


Stop Blood Diamonds (2007) “Canadian Policy and Laws”, Available at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20070510200002/http://www.stopblooddiamonds.org/Cana

dian-Policy-Laws.asp, Accessed on 08/11/2017

The Economist (2017) “A report form De Beers‟s new diamond mine”, Available at:

https://www.economist.com/news/international/21717369-production-worlds-most-

valuable-gem-may-be-about-peak-report-de-beerss, Accessed on 06/11/2017

UNGA (2002) “Resolution 56/263”, Available from:

http://dag.un.org/bitstream/handle/11176/238944/A_RES_56_263-

EN.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y, Accessed on 06/11/2017

http://www.un.org/en/africarenewal/vol15no4/154diam.htm




http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/05/world/africa/conflict-diamonds-explainer/index.html

http://realhistoryarchives.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/brief-history-of-blood-diamonds.html







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Topic B: The Situation in Central

America: Progress in Developing a

Region of Peace, Freedom, Democracy

and Development

Introduction

Central America has historically been an unstable region, and it continues to be

so nowadays. Gang violence, economic and political corruption and poverty

trump the development of a region rich in natural resources and fossil fuels.

Each of these issues have to be fought internally in every country by the national

governments, yet it remains an issue of international interest. Consequently, there

have been numerous international interventions in the region, with the example of

Guatemala, where the UN mediated between the national government and the

Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca as part of peace negotiations in

1996 38

.

38

United Nations Security Council Letters A/51/796 S/1997/114, 7th February 1997.


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After a period of international interventions and civil wars between 1980

and 1992, the majority of the governments of the region transitioned to

democratic or semi-democratic regimes39

.

The context modern Central America finds itself in is one of post-civil war

societies that have morphed into democratic or semi-democratic regimes. These

new forms of government were inevitably affected by the previous civil wars in

the fields of development, industrialization and trade40

. Neoliberal reforms were

initiated in most of the cases. Nonetheless, only Costa Rica and Panama were

successful enough to complete them and achieve some increase in growth rates 41

.

The rest of the states similarly attempted at reforming. However, reforms were

not deep nor effective enough, thus all the actions that followed failed 42

. This led

to the formation of unviable states that could not boost themselves enough with

re-investments of the revenues made, which subsequently led to low levels of

development, weak democracies and poverty that instigated violence in the sub-

region 43

.

39

Bowman, K., Lehoucq, F. and Mahoney, J. (2005). Measuring Political Democracy. Comparative Political Studies,

38(8), p. 964. 40

Lehoucq, F. (2012). The politics of modern Central America: Civil War, Democratization and Underdevelopment. New

York: Cambridge University Press, p. 102. 41

Ibid, p. 105. 42

Ibid. 43

Ibid, pp. 152-155.

Figure 1: “Guatemala‟s Mayan Indians Endure Poverty”. Source: Voa News

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24


History of the Problem

As seen in the previous section, Central America has been struggling with the

issues of underdevelopment, poor democracies and systemic violence for a long

time. This was firstly observed with the respective dictatorships that were present

in every country of the region, a time in which all the issues became engrained in

the societies. Secondly, even when these governments democratised or at least

became hybrid democracies, they structurally experienced the same issues as

before. The fact that the issues are structural, often engrained in the society and

impeding any socio-economic progress makes further development difficult

and/or scarce in the area. Moreover, these socio-economic issues feed one

another, making it extremely difficult to break the cycle of underdevelopment44

.

Furthermore, structural factors within democracy, poverty, freedom and

development are used as an economic framework for illicit activities such as

violent gangs, drug production and trafficking and arms trafficking among

others45

. Therefore, fighting against the problem does not only include consulting

the state actors (governments) nowadays, but it also involves acknowledging the

presence of non-state actors, such as criminal groups that have acquired an

important position within illicit trafficking46

.

Previous UN & Regional Organisations’ Actions

The United Nations has been committed in addressing the topic in question since

199847

. There have been numerous resolutions adopted by both the UN Security

Council, the General Assembly and other chambers of the UN. Some of them are

the following:

UNSC Resolution 637 (1998) – 27th July 1989

44

Cruz, J. M. (2011). Criminal Violence and Democratization in Central America: The Survival of the Violent State. Latin

American Politics and Society , 53(4), pp. 25-26. 45

Veltmeyer, H. (1997). Latin America in the New World Order. The Canadian Journal of Sociology, 22(2), pp. 208, 212

& 237. 46

Ibid. 47

Yearbook of the United Nations, 1998. (2000). Boston: Martinus Nijhoff.

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25


UNGA Letter sent on behalf of SICA by Nicaragua A/60/613

(2005) – 21st December 2005

UNGA Resolution 63/19 (2008) – 10th November 2008

Moreover, the Central American governments themselves have also reached

certain agreements that follow the same line. Some of them are the following:

Organization of Central American States, Tegucigalpa Protocol (1992) –

13th December 1991

Agreement on Procedures for the establishment of a firm and lasting peace

in Central America, signed at Guatemala City on 7th August 1987.

Alliance for Sustainable Development of Central America, signed at

Managua on 12th and 13th October 1994.

Statement of the Problem

This section will touch upon and discuss some of the root causes which have

contributed towards the current humanitarian crisis and refugee epidemic taking

place across the Central American region.

Civil Wars

What undoubtedly triggered the spiral of

struggle and conflict in the Central Americas

were the civil wars which ravaged the area

between the 1960s to the late 1990s48

. Post

1970 saw Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica,

El Salvador and Honduras become “largely

defined as a battleground amidst a struggle for

power”49

. This can be illustrated clearly by

48

Preceden.com. (2017). 49

Cotf.edu. (2017).

Figure 2: NPR.org, 2013

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26


the Sandinista Revolution, alongside the thousands of people dead or missing in

both Guatemala and El Salvador, following the conclusion of their internal conflicts50

.

These conflicts saw the intervention of the United States on numerous occasions, which

had devastating effects on the Central American economies, particularly for those states

within the Northern Triangle51

.

Criminal Violence & Homicide

The end of the civil wars across Central America sparked the birth of vicious gangland

violence across the Northern Triangle. These gangs have seen themselves evolve from

youths simply attempting to defend their neighbourhoods to hierarchal organised

violence52

. The two largest gangs, MS-13 and the 18th Street Gang (at the time of

writing) continue to undermine and actively threaten the peace and security efforts of

governments on the continent, with their role in “violence, extortion, and forced

recruitment”53

fuelling international displacement and outward migration into the

United States54

, leading to what the UNHCR attribute the situation in the Northern

Triangle to a “refugee-like situation”55

.

In addition to this, all member states within

the Northern Triangle have fallen victims to

rocketing rates of homicide and violence

due to “the proliferation of gangs, the

region‟s use as a transhipment point for

U.S.-bound narcotics, and high rates of

impunity”,56

with no region in the world

being quite as violent as Central America. As illustrated above in Figure 2, Guatemala,

Honduras and El Salvador are the countries which are home to the highest homicide

50

ibid. (2017). 51

Faulkner, N. (2017). 52

Crisis Group. (2017). 53

Ribando Seelke, C. (2016). 54

Ibid, (2016). 55

Refugees, U. (2017). 56

Renwick, D (2016).

Figure 3: Panama Expat News.com, 2015

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27


rates, with Nicaragua and Belize also seeing an increase in the number of

homicidal attacks within their borders57

.

Drug Trafficking

For decades, Central America has been utilised as a bridge between drug producing

countries in the South and consumer countries in the North, primarily the USA. As a

result, transnational crime organisations have established a basis and operate in the

region of the Northern Triangle, consisting of names such as the Sinaloa Cartel and

the Gulf Cartel, who use their base to oversee the transportation of illicit drugs within

Central America.58

These transnational crime organisations also have a trickle- down

impact, as they also encompass local contractors and fellow co-conspirators into their

illicit activities.

Drug distribution also closely correlates with rising tensions between gangs, drug

related crimes and violence, enabling gangs to acquire more “sophisticated weaponry,

establish safe houses, expand their political reach and buy out local independent

businesses”59

- strengthening the criminal economy of the Northern Triangle

twentyfold60

.

Corruption within the Northern Triangle

The end of the civil wars, which ravaged

the Northern Triangle, should have given

rise to stable democracies in the Northern

Triangle. However, that was not entirely

the case, as to this very day, the

governments of Honduras, Guatemala,

Nicaragua and El Salvador see corruption

57

Panamaexpatsnews.com. (2015). 58

Dudley, S. (2016). 59

Ibid. (2016). 60

Ibid. (2016).

Figure 4: Wiser, 2014

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28


run rampant within their very own borders61

.

According to a survey on the Global Agenda,

corruption was listed as the number one

problem facing Latin America back in 2015 and

remains a prominent issue in the year 2017, as

illustrated by countries within the Northern

Triangle consistently ranking at the bottom of

the Corruption Perception Index published by

Transparency International year after year62

.

Corruption itself is identified by the World Bank as one of the greatest challenges

toward ending “extreme poverty”63

and fostering economic growth in developing

economies64

, with bribe payments being highest in Latin American countries. This is

particularly evident within the public service, resulting in the rampant “weakening of

governmental structures, trust and human rights”65

across the central continent and

hindering any potential progress, which could be made with regard to further economic

and developmental prosperity66

.

Current Situation

In this section, delegates will find an outline for some of the key problems affecting the

region today. Further research is greatly encouraged, however, in order to ensure that all

delegates have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the challenges Central

America is presently facing.

61

Briscoe, I. (2014) 62

World Economic Forum. (2017). 63

World Bank. (2017). 64

Ibid. (2017). 65

McVeigh, K. (2017). 66

ibid. (2017).

Figure 5: World Economic Forum.org, 2016

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29


Mass Migration

Over the last number of years, the United States have borne witness to an ever-

increasing number of migrants entering their borders illegally, with 200,000 thousand

migrants being detained from Central America in 2016 alone67

. In addition to this, 2014

saw a total of 69,000 unaccompanied minors attempting to cross into the United States

from Northern Triangle countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, fleeing

from the increasing threat of “gangs and organized crime groups, as well as rising rates

of homicide, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and gender-based violence”68

.

In 2015, it was estimated that “approximately 3.4 million Central Americans resided in

the United States, representing 8 percent of the 43.3 million U.S. immigrants”69

who

have fled from the socially and economically unstable region. Historically, mass

migration northwards into the United States has been taking place for the last three

decades, only being exasperated by internal and external factors such as “family

unification, natural disasters, and persistent political and economic volatility”,70

and has

resulted in the population of Central American migrants “growing tenth fold” during the

period between 1980-2017, as illustrated in Figure 5.

In light of this, citizens of Guatemala, El

Salvador and Honduras each became eligible

for Temporary Protection Status, which

enabled them to reside in the United States

and work without fear of deportation, with

this agreement being extended into the

coming year, further encouraging outward

migration for these citizens into the United

67

Linthicum, K. (2017). 68

Hipsman, F. and Meissner, D. (2015). 69

Lesser, G. and Batalova, J. (2017) 70

ibid. (2017).

Figure 6: Migration Policy Institute (MPI) tabulation of data from the U.S.

Census Bureau, 2015 ACS.

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30


States.71

Social and Economic Inequality

Whilst immense steps have been taken to improve and reduce the level of socio-

economic inequality within Central America, it remains one of the most divided regions

in the world; with an analysis carried out in 2014 indicating that 10% of the population

hold 71% of the regions‟ total wealth. These figures only further reiterate the fact that

“inequality is growing at an alarming pace and poses a serious risk to economic growth,

the fight against poverty and social stability”72

.

The levels of inequality in Central America are fostered through the existence of

“archaic and dysfunctional international tax systems”73

which only act as a breeding

ground for tax evasion and corruption, resulting in the “critical loss of revenues from

commodities”74

and the stagnation of many Central American economies. In order to

remain in line and on course with the UN determined Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs), it is evident that further steps will have to be taken on the part of local

governments in order to ensure the designing and implementation of a sustainable tax

system adapted and fit for the 21st century

75.

The Role of Women

Nevertheless, economic inequality and tax

corruption are no longer the most predominant

causes of developmental stagnation. One of the most

urgent and pressing matters holding the region back

are the glaring impacts of gender gaps and

inequality across the Central American Continent.

71

ibid (2017). 72

Ibarra, A. and Byanyima, W. (2016). 73

Ibid. (2016). 74

Ibid. (2016). 75

Ibid. (2016).

Figure 7: Wilde, 2014

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31


In the 21st century, women are still denied

fundamental human rights such as “equal

access to education, health care and

employment” 76

It is imperative that

policymakers start paying closer attention

to the problems limiting the development

of half of the regions total population in order to wholly facilitate equal socio-economic

development. These changes can only be achieved through the expansion of current

policies pertaining toward higher education, sexual health and the tackling of

“systematic discrimination” 77

and the roaring gender pay gap faced by women in the

workforce today. This, alongside the enlargement social protection schemes to

encompass both “life skills and job training”78

would enable women to enter the labour

market under more favourable conditions and help them improve their socio-economic

standing.79

.

Stabilising and Promoting Security within the Region

The conclusion of the civil wars which ravaged the continent up until the end of the

1990s80

saw the region become a “laboratory for a zero-tolerance policy” 81

when it

came to taking measures towards reducing violent crime82

all of which was brought

about in the onset of increased by drug trafficking and youth gang violence83

.

Even so, national governments have rapidly come to recognise that such autocratic

measures are proving themselves to be ineffective and are looking to guidance from the

international community in order to establish the most effective way forward. Countries

76

Avalos, C. (2017). 77

ibid (2017). 78

Ibid. (2017). 79

ibid. (2017). 80

Preceden.com. (2017). 81

Beltran, A. (2009). 82

ibid. (2009). 83

Siteresources.worldbank.org. (2011).

Figure 8: Huffington Post, 2014

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32


such as “Guatemala and El Salvador are leading moves to develop new

strategies, creating an opportunity for broader institutional reforms within the region's

national police forces”84

in order to both modernise and improve national police forces.

As of present, many Northern Triangle police forces are under- equipped and poorly

staffed, in addition to being frequently plagued by corruption and human rights

violation scandals. Many private business owners have resorted to the hiring of their

own private security forces to guarantee their safety and individuals gained easy access

to firearms as a means of protection. It is evident that reforms must be carried out, in

order to establish long term and sustainable peace in this violence-torn region85

.

Bloc positions

All countries in the Central American sub-region have taken steps to achieve

peace, freedom, democracy and development. However, it is worth noting that all

these countries present high levels of mass inequality that might benefit the elites

and it is unclear how much these ones are willing to cooperate with the

governments to improve the countries‟ situations in each case.

It is in the best of the interests for the neighbouring countries in the Central

American region to have a more democratic, free, peaceful and developed Central

America. This would help the entire region mainly economically, but also at all

other cooperative levels.

In general, it would be positive for the general international community to

achieve the objectives mentioned in Central America. Economically, the prices of

the products original from the region would rise, but the improved economic

situation would open up new investment and trade opportunities.

84

Beltran, A. (2009). 85

Ibid. (2009).

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33


Moreover, if the situation were to be improved, it would make it more

difficult for violent gangs and drug/arms trafficking networks to operate. This

would be good for the world as a whole, since these groups would face more

restriction and difficulties when moving illegal products around the world.

Consequently, other countries of the region could benefit from a lower level of

international violence and criminality.

Questions a Resolution Should Answer

1. Which measures are to be implemented regionally/nationally to fight

against poverty, poor democracies, violence, repression and

underdevelopment?

2. Should priority be given to one or some issues to be tackled over the

others?

3. How to implement measures that will try to solve some issues without

feeding on the other ones?

4. How can it be ensured that the benefits produced by the measures applied

by the international community will end up going back to the people and

not the corrupt elites of each country?

5. Should the international community get directly involved in solving these

issues? If yes, how?

6. Should the private sector get involved? If yes, how?

7. Should specific objectives be imposed to the Central American countries

that they need to reach within a specified amount of years? If the answer is

yes, how can this be enforced? If the answer is no, how will progress be

quantified?

ZZ

34


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Conference Information

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your first step should be to visit our website: www.limun.org.uk

LIMUN on social media

Please follow updates from us through our social media channels:

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When tweeting about this year‟s conference (your preparations, journey to/from

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- please use hashtag #LIMUN2018

Agenda & Rules of Procedure

The agenda for the 2018 conference is available online at

www.limun.org.uk/agenda

The Rules of Procedure can be accessed here: http://limun.org.uk/rules

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