Mariella Mattaliano, Delegate 1
Tensions are rising between unrepresented nations and host nations. Host nations, like Russia, take advantage of and cultivate the land and the people of unrepresented nations, like the Republic of Tuva, for their benefit. The large nations steamroll over the weaker unrepresented nations. The unrepresented nations have had enough of this mistreatment, and many are striving for sovereignty, but how do these nations build up to the independence they desire?
The republic of Tuva, a nonautonomous region, belongs to its host nation, Russia. With only one road through the entire territory and citizens living in yurts, Tuva is very disconnected from the modern world. Because their economy and nation, in general, are nowhere near the status of Russia there is little the unrepresented nation can do to defend itself from the tyrant nation.
Per capita, Tuva had the most deaths out of any Russian region in the duration of the Russia-Ukraine war. Like many unrepresented nations, Tuva’s people were being used by the Russian government to fight a war that did not necessarily involve them.
NAIMUN Daily got the chance to speak with the Republic of Tuva’s delegate, Jai Ahuja.
“You can’t have any overall solutions without defining sovereignty,” Ahuja says.
The Republic of Tuva cannot achieve the rights they deserve while they are still controlled by Russia. In order to gain these rights, the unrepresented nation first would need to gain sovereignty. Although it would be ideal to achieve sovereignty in as little amount of time as possible, that is not realistic. Short-term solutions would leave the Republic of Tuva weak and at the mercy of Russia.
For the Republic of Tuva, the realistic option is to gain sovereignty the long way. The first step on this long journey for the unrepresented nation is to gain power in their own government. This means evicting the leader Russian citizens have elected and replacing them with a person native to the Republic of Tuva.
Ahuja also states, “They have no one to speak up against Russia… Tuva has no power to undermine the Russian government or to grant themselves sovereignty”.
After electing a leader with the best interests of Tuva in mind, the next step is to go to Russia with their demands. It is predictable that Russia will push back on these demands and want to enforce its power on Tuva more than ever.
With the predictable pushback from Russia, it is vital for the Republic of Tuva to gain allies to defend itself from Russian forces. In gaining allies, the unrepresented nation is becoming more in touch with the modern world and expanding its outreach.
As an unrepresented nation, the ability to gain sovereignty in a way that is designed specifically for each nation is important. If one nation was able to gain sovereignty in a quick and easy way that does not mean it will work for every country. For countries under the influence of larger nations like Russia, it is the more strategic and smart choice to slowly prop themselves up to slowly but surely build themselves up to sovereignty.