Letter From the Dais
Hello Delegates,
I’m Lauren, a sophomore who has done MUN since sophomore year of high school. The first crisis committee I ever ran was incredibly fun (on Warring States China!) and I’m excited to be running my very own crisis again this year as your chair. I’ve probably gone a full 180 degrees with regards to the topic of this committee and my first crisis, going from a science-fiction space committee to a historical committee in ancient China. Hopefully this serves as evidence that my interests vary widely from politics and international relations to science and engineering.
Interests outside of being your lovely chair include singing in my a cappella group, engaging with members in a student debate organization on campus, and a host of other activities.
Looking forward to a fun and interesting committee,
Lauren Ribordy, ‘19, Chair
Current Situation
The year is 2066. Since a NASA engineer leaked the whole archives of the American Space Agency back in 2031, most countries in the world have developed advanced aerospace technology. This, alongside with the increasing demand for mineral resources and land for the world’s population of 11 billion makes space exploration and colonization all the more enticing to countries around the world.
The Security Council has just approved the moon exploration petition and now the most powerful states and coalitions around the world are gathered at a special UN committee to discuss various aspects of how the lunar exploration and colony are going to operate.
Delegates should be prepared for a committee session that will challenge them on many typical Security Council Simulation fronts (public speaking, lobbying, quick thinking) while also pushing them creatively, as our topic this year is more abstract than most committees’.
Sabotage is encouraged, as well as understanding the history of relations that different members of certain coalitions have. Coalition heads must be able to think strategically to orchestrate their many represented nations appropriately without losing the favor of critical coalition members. On the other hand, individual nation representatives must too work to fulfill the objectives of their country despite internal problems and impenetrable bureaucracy.
Subtopic 1: Development Plan
The lunar colony, being composed of humans, will need certain features to ensure survival and long-term success. Humans’ basic needs include food, water, shelter, and oxygen, all of which are going to have to be actively provided for on the moon, as none occur naturally on its rocky surface. To put it simply, delegates will need to come up with a plan for sustaining human life on a planet not built to do so.
This is the time to let your sciencey-side shine. Research all the most interesting and cutting-edge ways to ensure your people will survive while making sure others won’t. Think of the scenario like a castle defender game. The most successful kinds of maneuvers will enable a single nation/coalition’s people to dominate the entire surface of the moon, leaving the corpses of other people in their wake (perhaps you should think of a way to dispose of human bodies, seeing that there are no microorganisms to break them down over time).
In addition, delegates will need to provide for certain other aspects of human civilization, such as waste removal, entertainment, medical services, and ways of record keeping. A lunar colony is no small undertaking, and ensuring basic survival, not to mention human thriving, will be a challenge.
Subtopic 2: A Constitution For the Lunar Colony
Constitutions are both the spirit and the blueprint of a political organization. Delegates on this committee will need to construct a constitution to govern the lunar colony, in order to promote peace, stability, and good governance. The style and contents of this constitution are completely up to the committee, but ultimately must give power to a governing body/bodies, and enumerate rights for the governed.
Delegates might find it helpful to look to the governments of the nations that make up this body. Here (http://bit.ly/1nkZrMf) is an article that defines a number of different governing styles, and here (http://bit.ly/1NIx9uw) is a database of various constitutions from around the globe.
The leaders of coalitions must tackle this problem with astute cunning to ensure that all coalition states are satisfied by the government sent up onto the moon. Individual nations on the other hand must strive to adapt their own system of government for a lunar setting.
Subtopic 3: Territory Partition
The current political climate of planet Earth, being a system of nation states, is used to acting in contrast to other humans and their actions; what one nation does will affect how another responds, and anticipating various moves often turns global politics into a game of metaphorical chess. Due to the competitive nature of various nations, a system of territory partition and international treaty is in order.
Delegates will need to draft a treaty that will govern who gets to act, where they get to do it, and how they are allowed to do it. In researching for this task, delegates may find it helpful to consult past international agreements regarding territory partitioning, particularly that of Antarctica. See, below, a summary of past international agreements regarding the apportionment of new frontiers.
Old international law:
1. Montevideo Convention (only signed by 19 states) 1933: lays down the defining characteristics of a state: (1) a permanent population; (2) a defined territory; (3) a government; (4) capacity to enter into relations with other states.
2. The Antarctic Treaty 1959: A model treaty that reserved the Antarctic continent for scientific exploration and cooperative research and disallowed deployment of weapons or other military activities in the region, pre-empting and preventing future conflict.
3. Outer Space Treaty 1967: (1) prevents the placement of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction or carry out the testing activities of aforementioned weapons anywhere in outer space; (2) establishes that no state can law a claim of sovereignty to a celestial body, including the moon.
4. Moon Treaty (not ratified by most states) 1979: stipulates that all existing international law, including the tenets of the UN Charter carry over to celestial bodies and that the jurisdiction of any celestial body must be turned over to the international community.
While diplomatic genius is certainly integral to success in committee, behind the scenes actions are incredibly important to ensure final victory, especially should diplomatic relations break down between rival superpowers.
Portfolio Powers
All actors will have the following powers:
List of Committee Positions (Actors):
Blocks:
Note: the nations of blocks 1-5 have the most individually developed space programs. Aside from these nations, the coalitions will work together to ensure their collective space program can effectively take to the skies.
Nations Represented by Single Delegates:
1. China
2. Russia
3. India
4. United States of America and Canada
Central American Coalition
1. Mexico
2. Guatemala
3. Haiti
4. Costa Rica
5. Nicaragua
6. Honduras
7. El Salvador
South American Coalition
1. Brazil
2. Argentina
3. Chile
4. Peru
5. Colombia
6. Bolivia
7. Paraguay
8. Dominican Republic
9. Cuba
European Coalition
1. The United Kingdom
2. France
3. Germany
4. Spain
5. Ukraine
6. Romania
7. Bulgaria
8. Norway
9. Poland
Central and South Asian Coalition
1. Turkey
2. Afghanistan
3. Pakistan
4. Kazakhstan
5. Uzbekistan
6. Kyrgyzstan
7. Turkmenistan
8. Azerbaijan
9. Tajikistan
10. US Hostile Middle Eastern Coalition
11. Daesh
12. Palestinian Authority
13. Iran
14. Syria
15. Yemen
16. Lebanon
17. Oman
US Allied Middle Eastern Coalition
1. Egypt
Israel
Jordan
Saudi Arabia
Iraq
United Arab Emirates
African Coalition
1. South Africa
2. Algeria
3. Libya
4. Ethiopia
5. Nigeria
6. Botswana
7. Morocco
8. Democratic Republic of the Congo
9. Zimbabwe
Southeast Asia and Oceania Coalition
1. Burma
2. Thailand
3. Vietnam
4. Malaysia
5. Singapore
6. Indonesia
7. Philippines
8. Australia
9. New Zealand
Free East Asian Coalition
1. Japan
2. South Korea
3. Mongolia
Committee Procedures and Structure
This committee will operate as any other crisis committee does. The chair will moderate the flow of debate, and delegates may motion for any action within the debate. At any point during the committee session, a crisis may be introduced by the dais. In addition, delegates may instigate crises on their own, with approval from a member of the dais team, by sending notes.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that when sending crisis notes, both those to the dais and to other delegates, is that your portfolio powers dictate what you can and cannot do. They are laid out in the preceding section of this topic guide, and any action you take must fall within the bounds they prescribe. If you have questions during committee session about whether or not you can take a certain action, pass a note to your dais to receive confirmation.
To reiterate the ingredients for success in committee: those delegates that match confident and poised performance in committee session with brilliant scheming behind closed doors will be most successful. The chairs recognize this is a difficult task, and thus encourage all delegates to rise to the challenge of feigning complete innocence of all schemes to each other. This committee will be most fun if nobody in the committee has any idea who is really plotting what. Feel free to spread misinformation and lead people in circles as a tactic; the chairs will play along.
Questions to Consider
1. What is the history of your nation? Or, what is the balance of power and authority in your coalition? How does this affect policies towards colonizing the moon?
2. Which nations or coalitions could serve as allies, and which are certainly hostile?
3. What does your country have to gain from diplomacy? What does your country serve to win from war? Which method may be most effective to employ?
4. Would your country or coalition benefit from a presence on the moon? Why? If not, what role should your country or coalition play in the conference?
5. How should people go about constructing their own society on the moon? Should this society strive to be something new, or should it extend the governing system of its colonizing power on Earth?
6. How should relations between people on the moon and people on Earth be conducted? Should only the most loyal citizens be sent up into space to prevent mutiny? How do you govern a colony that is so far away?
7. What are the logistics inherent in constructing a colony on a planet in space? Learning some science is encouraged to answer this problem.
With that, a final parting note:
At the conference of 2066, nobody is to be trusted. While the Earth itself does not appear to hang in the balance, colonizing the moon could be the trigger for change a half a century in the making.
By the end of the conference, perhaps the world as we know it will never be the same again.
It's up to you, delegates, to decide the future. To shape the world into what you want it to be. The task ahead of you is mighty; the challenges in front of you are steep. But do not go gentle into that good night; do not submit defeat when all seems lost, when your plans all go awry. Fight until the very end, until perhaps the last blood of your people is lost to the dunes of the moon, dying her smile lipstick red.
