Tumultuous Trials

A moderated caucus in the committee of DISEC was in session, on the topic of “Effectiveness of coercive measures”. The Delegate of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh delivered a short speech on the necessity of transparency with regards to sanctions in all international organisations. The Delegate of Palestine gave an information-packed speech on the inefficiency of sanctions.

The Delegate of the Republic of Marshall Islands stated that their country was repeatedly being subjected to nuclear tests, which was ruining the country’s environment. The Delegate explained that several stretches of pristine coastline was being contaminated with repeated nuclear tests and that they had to face 1.6 times the strength of the Hiroshima atomic bomb every day. Despite this being a disputed fact with questionable sources, the delegate ploughed on and vouched for environmental security. The delegate spoke openly against nuclear weapons even while the other delegates spoke for nuclear deterrence.

The Delegate of the Kingdom of Morocco at first spoke in support of extraterritorial coercive measures, arguing in support of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as well as necessary sanctions against Iran. However, the delegate also acknowledged the fact that sanctions were only useful up to a certain point.

The Delegate of the Republic of Tajikistan diverted the topic to the analysis of the legitimacy of states imposing sanctions. The Delegate of Costa Rica warned against the ill-effects of sanctions but also said that a country like Iran would stop production of nuclear weapons in order to lift sanctions. The delegate descended into a quick speech stating that if a country asked an important organisation, for instance the European Union (EU), to lay sanctions against a country they disliked (citing Iran) and if the EU followed through with it, trade would severely be impacted. He strangely laid emphasis on the trade of airbuses.

Another notable speech was given by the Delegate of North Macedonia. The delegate supported regulated, well-planned multilateral sanctions but did not support unilateral sanctions, and proudly stated that his country did not employ nor was under any kind of sanctions. The Delegate of Venezuela pointed out that the EU had imposed several sanctions, which went against the speech of the Delegate of North Macedonia. The Chairperson questioned how this was related to North Macedonia and asked if North Macedonia was in the EU. The Delegate of Venezuela replied affirmatively and strongly that North Macedonia was in the EU. The aforementioned country, however, is not in the EU but is a part of the potential candidates for that organisation. The country is a part of the Stability and Association Agreement (SAA), which is a group of prospective EU candidates.

Overall, the first day laid the foundation for the next two days of passionate debate and negotiation.