SBIMUN Background Guide. UN Security Council

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1 SBIMUN 2015 Background Guide

2 Santa Barbara Intercollegiate Model United Nations Honorable Delegates, Jesse Lin UCSBMUN Secretary General Robert Kovacs SBIMUN Secretary-General Diana Alvarez SBIMUN Undersecretary-General Benjamin Pu SBIMUN Director-General Judy Li SBIMUN Deputy Director-General Katia Stern Chair, General Assembly Plenary Brett McDaniel & Sabrina Hodjati Vice Chairs, General Assembly Plenary Jason Tsao Chair, UN Office of Drugs and Crime Catt Phan Chair, World Health Organization Brian Carandang Vice Chair, World Health Organization Welcome to the beautiful city of Santa Barbara! My name is Mia Sen and I am the chair of The Security Council Crisis Committee for SBIMUN I am a third year Physics major and this is my sixth year doing Model United Nations. I have attended many conferences in my MUN career and have had the chance to travel to New York for Nationals with our MUN crew. I have been the chair for three different crisis committees and it is one of the greatest experiences ever. Crisis committees challenge you as a delegate, a debater, and most of all a diplomat. It leaves you exhausted and frankly, a bit annoyed, but at the same time it is exhilarating. The issues we will be debating at this year are of extreme concern. The crisis in Yemen has proven itself to be one of the most pressing topics that the Security Council faces today and I am hoping to see some great debates and discussions so that we can preempt a solution to this great crisis. I cannot wait to share this experience with you all, and I look forward to seeing you this weekend! Sincerely, Effie Sklaventis Chair, UN Environment Programme Akshaya Natarajan Chair, UN Economic & Social Council Vivan Velez Vice Chair, UN Economic & Social Council Mia Sen Head Chair United Nations Security Council sanghamitra.sen6@gmail.com

3 Santa Barbara Intercollegiate Model United Nations Honorable Delegates, Jesse Lin UCSBMUN Secretary General Robert Kovacs SBIMUN Secretary-General Diana Alvarez SBIMUN Undersecretary-General Benjamin Pu SBIMUN Director-General Judy Li SBIMUN Deputy Director-General Katia Stern Chair, General Assembly Plenary Brett McDaniel & Sabrina Hodjati Vice Chairs, General Assembly Plenary Jason Tsao Chair, UN Office of Drugs and Crime Catt Phan Chair, World Health Organization Brian Carandang Vice Chair, World Health Organization Effie Sklaventis Chair, UN Environment Programme It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to SBIMUN 2015 here at UC Santa Barbara s stunning campus. I am Bree Henshaw and am the co-chair of this year s Security Council Crisis Committee. This is my second year at UCSB and I am double majoring in Global Studies and Political Science. Last year was my first year doing Model United Nations, and I have learned so much from participating in local conferences and UCBMUN. I cannot wait to put my experience into practice this weekend while co-chairing a crisis staff. The Yemen crisis is a complicated, critical, and ever-changing event that has been challenging the Security Council for years. As a delegate, the analysis of this event will challenge you, but through your interaction and dynamic discussion with your colleagues you will walk away from this conference with confidence and an understanding of what the Security Council is facing right now and how they are managing it. I am excited to see active and researched debate as the crisis grows, and I know that we will see some great resolutions implemented throughout the course of discussion. I hope that everyone is as excited for this committee as I am, and I look forward to spending time with and meeting you all this weekend! Sincerely, Akshaya Natarajan Chair, UN Economic & Social Council Vivan Velez Vice Chair, UN Economic & Social Council Bree Henshaw Vice Chair United Nations Security Council bree.henshaw@yahoo.com

4 Introduction: Yemen, officially known as the Republic of Yemen, is located in the Southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It shares its borders with Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea to the south, and Oman to the east. The official capital of Yemen is Sana a but it has temporarily been moved to the city of Aden, because Sana a has been under rebel control since February of The Yemeni revolution began in 2011 as a struggle against poor economic conditions, unemployment, corruption in the government, and an effort to democratize the nation. The Yemeni revolution was seen as a part of the Arab Spring and was considered an outcry against the oppressive regimes. Background The Yemeni Revolution, which was once known as the Yemeni Uprising started as a part of the Arab Spring protests. The demonstrations started with the people of Yemen setting demands for better social and economic conditions and ultimately escalated to demands for Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president, to resign from office. Saleh had previously served as the President of North Yemen from 1978 to He finally resigned from power in the November of It was this revolution that led to the demise of Saleh s government in Yemen. This led to Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi taking office and he has been serving as president since. This transfer of power created a divide between the Southern forces of Yemen that support the current government led by Mansur Hadi and the Houthi forces that are loyal to the former president Saleh. The Houthi forces are officially known as Ansar Allah translated as supporters of God. The Houthis belong to the Zaidi faction of Islam, a sect of Islam almost exclusively found in Yemen. Their main objective is to fight against the expansion of Salafism in Yemen. Salafism is a movement within the Sunni sect of Islam. The basis for the current conflict in Yemen is that the Houthis intend to overthrow the current government because they believe that the government is promoting Salafism. The government, in turn, has accused the Houthis of trying to overthrow the current regime in order to instill a government based on Islamic Zaidi law. In March 2015, a Houthi offensive began against the government with Houthi forces starting a fight in the Taiz governorate and subsequently within a few days, they took control of Mocha and Lahij, which lie on the outskirts of Aden. On the same day, Hadi left Yemen to seek a more secure location. In response to the adverse political conditions in Yemen, Saudi Arabia started an offensive by launching airstrikes to restore the Hadi government. The government of Saudi Arabia and 4

5 the United States alleged that the Houthis receive weapons and other forms of support from the Iranian government based on their political and religious similarities, however; the Iranian government has denied any such affiliation. Historical Background: Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), also known as the Houthis, are members of a rebel group operating in Yemen that adhered to Zaidism, a branch of Shia Islam. In 1992, Hussein Badreddin al-houthi founded the Houthi movement, which originally was focused on values such as tolerance and optimism of human nature, and of the Yemenis. With the goal of reviving Zaidism in Sanaa, Badreddin al-houthi and his followers began summer camps and events under the organization The Believing Youth. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the ideology of some members of the Houthi became more radical, and anti-american and anti-semitic messages began to be adopted within the camps and lecture events. After Badreddian al-houthis death, the radicalism, combined with dissatisfaction with the Yemenis government, led to Hussein Badr al Din al-houthi, head of the Zaidi sect in northern Yemen, to start an uprising in the capital. He demanded both the protection of Zaidi traditions and more autonomy of the northern region of Yemen (which had become unified with the south only 14 years earlier). His followers adopted his name, and even after his death that soon followed, the group began a long period of bloody fighting with the government until a ceasefire was agreed upon in While the President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was a fellow Zaidi, he held deep contempt for the Houthi rebellion. Yemen has been and is the poorest country in the Middle East, and their weaknesses were emphasized as the Arab Spring spread throughout the region. As the Yemenis citizens became more discouraged with their president and their government, the Houthi gained power in Northern Yemen. 5

6 Humanitarian Actions: The conflict in Yemen has caused a lot of damage to the economic, social, and humanitarian conditions in the country. As of an UNHCR report from December 2014, there are more than 686,217 people within Yemen that fall under the category of Population of Concern, which includes refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people, and returned refugees. There is also a huge population that has originated from Yemen, but has fled the country because of the adverse conditions. On 19 April 2015, Saudi Arabia promised to provide $273.7 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Yemen. The UN appealed for the aid, saying 7.5 million people had been affected by the conflict and many were in need of medical supplies, potable water, food, shelter, and other forms of support. On 14 April 2015, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution placing sanctions on Abdul-Malik al-houthi and Ahmed Ali Saleh, establishing an arms embargo on the Houthis, and calling on the Houthis to quit Sana a and other areas they seized. There have been many calls for ceasefire and the most recent one was on 16 April, Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon requested an immediate ceasefire in Yemen. In his statement, he also requested for all parties to halt the war. 6

7 Timeline of Events: 2004 June to August: Yemeni troops battle Shia insurgency led by Hussein al-houthi in the northern region. September: Government declares that its forces have killed Hussein al-houthi, the leader of the revolt in the North March-April: Resurgence of fights between the government forces and the supporters of al-houthi. 200 people die. May: President Saleh says that the leader of the rebellion in the North has agreed to stop the campaign September: More than 600 followers of deceased al-houthi are released under amnesty. September: Saleh wins the re-elections January: March Clashes between security forces and al-houthi rebels in the north. June: Rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-houthi accepts a ceasefire 2008 January: Clashes between security forces and rebels loyal to Abdul-Malik al-houthi restart September: Attack on the U.S. embassy in Sana a that killed 18 people 2009 August: Yemeni army launches attacks against Shia rebels in Saada province. There were numerous deaths. October: There is tension and further clashes between northern rebels and Saudi security forces. November: Saudi Arabia says it has regained control of the territory seized by Yemeni rebels February: Government signs ceasefire with the northern rebels. March: Northern rebels release 178 captives after the government accuses them of not complying with the terms of truce. December: Yemen says 3000 soldiers killed in recent outbreak of fighting involving Houthi rebels January: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits to express urgent concern about the al-qaeda activities in Yemen. 7

8 May: Dozens die in clashes between troops and tribal fighters in Sanaa. June: President Saleh is injured in rocket attack and is flown to Saudi Arabia. September: President Saleh returns home. November: President Saleh hands over power to Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi 2012 January: President Saleh leaves Yemen. February: Abdrabnuh Mansour Hadi inaugurated as president after uncontested elections. June: Army recaptures three al-qaeda strongholds in south-shuqra, ZInjibar and Jaar March: National Dialogue Conference begins with the aim of drafting a new constitution. April: Ahmed Ali Saleh, son of Ex-president Saleh, is removed as head of Republican Guard. July: U.S. intensifies drone strikes against al-qaeda January: National Dialogue Conference is finalized and a document is agreed upon that forms the basis for the new constitution. July: Tribesmen blow up the country s biggest oil pipeline, disrupting supplies from the interior to a Red Sea export terminal August: President Hadi sacks his cabinet and overturns a controversial fuel price rise after two weeks of anti-government protests. September: Houthi rebels take over the capital Sanaa. The United Nations brokers a peace deal according to which the Houthis agree to withdraw their fighters from cities January: The Houthis reject the draft of a new constitution proposed by the government. They seize state TV and clash with troops in the capital, in what the government describes as a coup attempt. February: Houthi rebels say they are seizing power and that a transitional fivemember presidential council will replace President Hadi. March: Islamic State carried out its first major attacks in Yemen- two suicide bombings targeting Shia mosques in Sanaa in which 137 people are killed. June: The Yemeni leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQIP), Nasser al- Wuhayshi, is killed in a US drone strike in Yemen. 8

Yemen. The conflict in Yemen is defined by the struggles between the Sunni-led government and

Yemen. The conflict in Yemen is defined by the struggles between the Sunni-led government and Yemen Background: The conflict in Yemen is defined by the struggles between the Sunni-led government and those who are allied to the Shia rebels, known as the Houthis. This struggle stems from the cultural