BMUN LXIX Darfur

Hi everyone! We only have four more days until BMUN!!! Since BMUN is so close now, the chairs put together this mini-crisis rundown to help you all prepare for committee this upcoming weekend! Please read it in its entirety so that you are ready for committee. What is a "crisis committee"? Crisis committees are committees set in a certain time period, emulating different members of a small organization (ie. board of directors, senators, military members, etc). The main difference between a crisis committee and a general assembly committee is the pacing. In this committee, there will be about 20 delegates working to solve multiple "crises" that are brought up in relation to the topic, ranging from protecting refugees from an attack to responding to a drought that has left civilians without water. Instead of representing countries, each delegate plays a different character with a direct influence on the outcome of each event. When committee starts, unlike in general a...

Hello Delegates! With one week left before conference, we hope you've been preparing well for committee!  Due to a discrepancy between the character profiles and the assignments sent out to delegates, some characters were not included in the topic synopsis. We have included their profiles here for you to view. To help with your preparation, here are the two characters and their profiles for your consideration – think about how you might interact and work with them to achieve your personal and committee goals! Antonio Cassese was an Italian jurist who specialized in international law Member of the Italian Delegation to UNHRC, President of Council of Europe Committee Against Torture (1989-93) First President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (1993-1997) Appointed by the UN Secretary-General as Chairman of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur (2004) Received the Erasmus Prize in 2009 for his exceptional services in the field of interna...

     This post will expand on some of the ideas presented in the topic synopsis, specifically those detailing the first failed peace negotiations within Darfur, in order to better prepare you delegates with the necessary context for the beginning of committee. Note that our timeline begins in 2006, following the failed passage of the Abuja Agreement -- this post will help clarify why the agreement failed and what steps the respective actors within Darfur took as a result. Using Abuelbashar's article, titled "On the Failure of Darfur Peace Talks in Abuja," this post will help illuminate the underlying flaws with the Abuja Agreement.       It is evidently clear that the conflict within Darfur stems from ethnic tensions instigated by the central government of Sudan; Khartoum's policies of marginalization have greatly disenfranchised those within the southern part of the country, and have set clear goals for rebel groups and militant actors in regards to t...

Here's an abridged guide on the main groups and movements in Darfur. This is a good starting place, however, if any of your characters are part of these groups, I would recommend doing more research on what the goals and motivations of your designated group are. Rebel Groups in Darfur SLM/A JEM Sudan Liberation Movement/Army is a guerilla rebel group Made up of Fur and Zaghawa Believe that international intervention is the best course of action No swift political plans, more reactive/responding to whatever is going on in the moment SLM/A split into two different groups after the Abuja Agreement SLM/A-MM (mainly Zaghawa members) agreed to the Abuja Agreement  SLM/A-AW (mainly Fur members) did not agree to the Abuja Agreement The split in the group led to weakening of SLM/A as a whole Justice Equality Movement SLM/A sister guerilla group More tangible strategy for reform JEM philosophy: Black Book (anti-separatist manifesto) JEM is part of both the SRF (Sudan Revolutionary Front) a...

 Hi y'all. As a chair of a committee that discussed the Rwandan Genocide in BMUN 68 - I wanted to acknowledge that crisis committees can be useful spaces to learn about some of our world's most marginalized populations that have faced atrocities. However, it also can be a space for a lot of eager commitment to violence and solutions that are 'entertaining' rather than respectful. While in that committee, I found myself responding to delegates' violent crisis arcs at times and needing to integrate lectures and other ways to make delegates remember the gravity of the genocide that they were discussing how to address. I, therefore, wanted to similarly dedicate this post to the limitations of crisis and also expand on some of the pitfalls  Best Delegate  mentions well, but also add my own from crisis chairing experience. So here it is - your very own HISTORICAL CRISIS 101- and guidelines on what to AVOID doing in this committee.            ...

Hi everyone! It's pretty unfortunate that we have to do BMUN virtually this year, but we're going to make the best of it -- together! That's why this year, we are opening up optional virtual office hours for you all to drop in and ask questions about your paper, your solutions, the topic, or anything else you need help with or are curious about. Since hosting a virtual conference is a new experience at BMUN, we want to make sure that you're as prepared for committee as possible. If you want to just come meet us ahead of committee and chill, that's cool too. Sign up for a 10-minute slot using this link . We will be available during these times: 6-7pm, 2/15 6-7pm, 2/17 3-4pm, 2/20 We hope that your research is going well, and we can't wait to see you all soon!