No End in Sight: CareBears Lack Care for the USSR

Aurora Lai, Press Corps 2

The delegate of France asserted in the first moderated caucus that “we need to make change permanent,” echoing the mission of the UNSC (Aurora Lai). 

The delegate of France asserted in the first moderated caucus that “we need to make change permanent,” echoing the mission of the UNSC (Aurora Lai). 

UNSC, Historical Crisis — On the morning of February 19th, 1966, the United Nations Security Council gathered as shattering news of an invasion shocked the committee as soon as delegates settled into their seats. Between compromising with delegations and pushing their nation’s independent agenda, the delegates unified to find timely solutions to the Republic of Congo’s invasion of one third of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 

Meanwhile, anonymous sources from the Associated Press reveal that the USSR may be involved. Though, this rumor didn’t hold the spotlight for long, especially not when the directives “Aid Plan” and “REMP” (Reallocating Establish Military for Peace) passed. As debates resumed post-crisis, now with a focus on protection and prevention for the DRC, five directives emerged, yet only two passed. Of the two, the NAIMUN Daily had the opportunity to sit down with delegates of the “Aid Plan,” which was an extension of the directive “CareBear,” which passed last night. 

“Under ‘CareBear,’ it was a care package for social and humanitarian aid for those dealing with the aftermath of protests,” the delegate from Nigeria explained, as they worked alongside Uganda and Uruguay. “Now, through ‘Aid Plan,’ social workers civilians throughout the country have been incorporated to distribute resources, such as feminine products.”

Beyond allocating resources, “CareBear/Aid Plan” aims to reverse the trend of the staggering death toll from the Congo Crisis between 1960 and 1966— totalling nearly 100,000 deaths thus far—with hopes of stationing troops along the region of the DRC that was invaded to combat future warfare. 

The future prospects of “CareBear/Aid Plan” have come to the forefront of this committee’s attention with a successful vote of 12-2, leaving little room in debates for any speculation over the USSR’s potential involvement in the invasion. Despite the unity over the passage of this legislation, solving the crisis in war-ridden Congo is muddled with the delegates’ very own “war of words” between themselves and their ideologies. When the NAIMUN Daily requested comments, several nations had their own say. 

“We’ve been trying to figure out how to push the allegations elsewhere because we know it’s not us,” the USSR delegates stated. “We suspect that there’s someone pretending to be us, specifically Uruguay.” 

While delegates from Uganda, Bulgaria, and New Zealand share the common sentiment that the invasion is likely not correlated to the USSR, some delegations still have suspicions, with New Zealand believing that the USSR might’ve funded the invasion. 

“We believe that as an African nation, we are advocating to protect the Congolese people whereas the foreign powers are trying to extract resources. We should push the USSR and other world powers out,” the delegation of Mali, one of three African nations, expressed. “We are our own people.” 

As questions remain unanswered and new crises beckon new solutions, the status of the USSR remains uncertain. Yet the definitive nature of directives like ‘CareBear’ brings the hope that this committee seeks to achieve.

The Unrecognized Injustices of Indigenous Peoples

Mariella Mattaliano, Press Corps 1

UNPO, ECOSOCs — Indigenous peoples from unrepresented nations are being denied their basic rights. Around the world, so many cultures are having their land seized by ruling governments to cultivate the land for more profitable purposes. In doing so the indigenous groups from small unrepresented nations are having their land, as well as their main economic source, taken away. 

Chinese and Pakistani economic committees began working on a highway, on land belonging to the Gilgit Baltistanian indigenous groups, to improve their economic status. The indigenous groups were ignorant of the plans to destroy their land and had no ability to defend themselves against this destruction.  

The NAIMUN Daily was given the opportunity to sit down with Gilgit –  Baltistan’s delegate, Vrritti Bhargava. 

“It’s a really big issue because Gilgit –  Baltistan is full of mountains, it’s full of landscape, it’s really one of our main attractions when people come and visit us.”, says Bhargava. 

The nation of Gilgitt –  Baltistan, run by the Pakistani government, is given little to no rights by the ruling government. Despite the small nation already having a functioning government, it was soon under the control of the Pakistan government. Under the rule of the Pakistani government, the entire nation's rights were restricted but the indigenous groups located in the mountains suffered the most. 

The indigenous groups, whose land is being destroyed for the profits of the Pakistani government, made a living off of the tourism brought in by their complex cultures. Not only is their land being destroyed but several ancient artifacts have already been destroyed, as well as their intricate rock carvings. The land formerly contained over 60 million rock carvings which have now been reduced to half of what it once was due to the building of the highway. 

In the destruction of their land and culture, the nation of Gilgit- Baltistan has suffered great blows to its economy. Many of the inhabitants of the nation are unable to make a living due to the loss of their main source of income and their isolated environment.  

Gilgit Baltistan is not alone in this issue. The people of Maasai, an ethnic group located in East Africa, have had their land taken by the Tanzanian government. The Maasai’s economy is dominated by agriculture. With the government of Tanzania seizing the Maasai land, the tribe was located on a reservation with infertile land making it impossible to create a living for themselves. 

So many nations and cultures have lost their land rights due to larger and more powerful governments infiltrating and imperializing smaller nations. In self-interest, these superior governments are taking land already inhabited to advance their economy, in doing so stealing, even destroying the land.