Florida Model United Nations 2016 Security Council: Background Guide I. Protecting Women and Minorities in Armed Conflict: The Case of Yazidis in Iraq For most of the recorded history of Mesopotamia, the region that is now presentday Iraq, historians and anthropologists have studied and documented a multitude of ethnic and religious groups traditionally living in the territory. Today, ethnic and religious groups such as Arabs, Kurds, Yazidis, Shabaks, and Christian Chaldeans all live within Iraq. In terms of relative populations, the territory today is roughly 75-80% Arab, 15-20% Kurdish and 5% Turkoman, Assyrian, or other. 1 Furthermore, the Arab majority is comprised of the two largest sects of Islam, being 60-65% Shia and 32-37% Sunni. Even within these two sects are a myriad of denominations and groups that range on a spectrum of being religiously progressive or conservative. Nevertheless, since gaining political independence from the United Kingdom in the early twentieth century, the Arab majority has translated their demographic dominance to political dominance at many of the regional and national levels of government. In 1932, the Republic of Iraq became an independent state after transitioning from a UK colonial territory to a UN mandate from 1920-1932. 2 Since independence, however, the country has been run primarily by what the US Central Intelligence Agency describe as political strongmen with authoritarian forms of governance. 3 Over the past eighty years, these strongmen have implemented a range of de facto and de jure policies that have been detrimental to minority groups in the country. At the height of these discriminatory policies, international human rights groups investigated reports of crimes against humanity, the use of chemical weapons on civilians, and acts of genocide. In the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, Bagdad practiced a policy of arabization (ta rib) in northern Iraq, which has been documented extensively by international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch. 4 The policy of arabization included the forcible removal of hundreds of thousands of minorities from their homes and land in northern Iraq, whom were replaced with Arab settlers from southern and central parts of the country. 5 Some minorities retreated and fled from government campaigns, while others such as the Kurds formed paramilitaries to 1 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iz.html 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/11/10/vulnerable-ground/violence-againstminority-communities-nineveh-provinces-disputed 5 Ibid. 1
repel Iraqi troops. Tensions and violence peaked during the Anfal campaign in the late 1980s, in which investigators from Human Rights Watch claim that hundreds of thousands of Kurds disappeared, many of whom were later found in mass graves throughout the country. 6 The campaign also included mass deportations, destruction of villages, and chemical weapons attacks. The end of the first Gulf War in 1991 lead to the establishment of a green line that demarcated a semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq that was secured through the joint actions of the US military and the Kurdish paramilitary, the peshmerga. This zone, however, only secured a fraction of the lands that the Kurds and other ethnic minority groups traditionally inhabited, and as a result many ethnic groups still reside in and under the jurisdiction of Iraq. After the establishment of a semiautonomous region for the Kurds, the Iraqi government continued its systematic persecution of minority groups below the green line. (http://www.us.gov.krd/aboutkurdistan/) Furthermore, Sunni fundamentalist groups carried out terror campaigns against religious and ethnic minorities in order to gain political power in northern Iraq. Thus, minority groups were excluded from political participation, faced terror attacks and suicide bombings, arson, intimidation and were encouraged to register as Arabs. Nevertheless, thousands remains in their traditional homelands, and today are protected by a range of local paramilitaries and private security forces. The 2003 invasion of Iraq by the US military may have removed the Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party from power in Bagdad, but it also toppled the delicate power balances and structures that existed at the federal level in Iraq, unjust as they were. The resulting power vacuum created an environment of anarchy and uncertainty to be filled by a range of competing interests and groups. The Sunni and Shia Arabs in southern Iraq began a bitter civil conflict for political control, meanwhile the Kurds pushed south of the green line to reclaim historically Kurdish villages and towns. They began to reintegrate displaced Kurds back into these cities, such as Mosul, which upset many Arabs that had been settled there for several decades. There followed a power struggle for regional governance, with political power shifting back and forth from Arab to Kurdish control. 6 https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/11/10/vulnerable-ground/violence-againstminority-communities-nineveh-provinces-disputed 2
The Rise of the Islamic State The power struggle in northern Iraq, combined with political disorder in Bagdad, gave rise to fundamental Sunni extremism across Iraq. An offshoot of Al-Qaeda emerged in Iraq, seeking to establish an Islamic caliphate and purify the region of non-sunni Muslims; they later referred to themselves the Islamic State (ISIS). Starting in 2014, this group has ruthlessly attacked minorities within Iraq, murdering, raping and abducting anyone who refuses to convert to Islam or join the group. 7 While many civilians have fled Iraq into neighboring countries such as Jordan, Syria, and Turkey, others are determined to stay in Iraq and fight to retake their homes alongside the Kurdish peshmerga or other paramilitary groups. While most of the minority groups within the country have faced violence and discrimination, the Yazidis have faced particularly brutal repression at the hands of ISIS in recent months. The Yazidis are one of the oldest religious minorities in Iraq, and there are an estimated 700,000 living in the region. They are ethnically Kurdish, but have a separate set of religious beliefs with a rich oral tradition that integrates some Islamic beliefs with elements of Zoroastrianism, the ancient Persian religion, and Mithraism, a mystery religion originating in the Eastern Mediterranean. 8 Because of their unique religious beliefs, fundamentalists often label them as devil worshipers or infidels and have attacked them throughout the last century in Iraq. Their homelands are primarily in the Nineveh province of Iraq, which borders the Kurdish green line on the Iraqi side. Attacks on Yazidis have been steadily increasing over the last several years. Initially begun as suicide bombers and terror attacks in Mosul by rogue actors, ISIS has now launched a full-out war on the Yazidis. In early August 2014, ISIS launched an attack on the city of Sinjar in northwest Iraq, which is the home to roughly 40,000 Yazidis. Kurdish forces were unable to protect the city and fled. Thousands of Yazidis were able to escape the city during the chaos and flee into the mountains, although ISIS slaughtered those who were too old or young to flee on foot. Human Rights Watch estimates that 5,000 Yazidis were murdered in this single attack, and another 5,000-7,000 women and children were abducted and taken to the ISIS encampments in Iraq and Syria. 9 Reports of forced marriages, rape, torture and murder have streamed out of ISIS territories since their abductions. The International Response After the attack on Sinjar in August 2014, the UNSC condemned the ISIS attacks on the Yazidi community, saying those responsible could face trial for crimes against 7 https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/11/10/vulnerable-ground/violence-againstminority-communities-nineveh-provinces-disputed 8 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140809-iraq-yazidisminority-isil-religion-history/ 9 https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/11/10/vulnerable-ground/violence-againstminority-communities-nineveh-provinces-disputed 3
humanity. 10 International observers were stunned by the attack, and for the first time the US military began aerial bombings of ISIS targets inside Iraq. In 2016, the Peshmerga and Yazidis militias did successfully retake Sinjar, yet ISIS still retains significant territory and Yazidi captives throughout Syria and Iraq. The UN Security Council has been monitoring the situation in Iraq since the emergence of ISIS in 2014. It has released several resolutions on the atrocities being committed (S/RES/2249, S/RES/2170) and calls to action for the international community in combating ISIS. 11 On December 16, 2015, the Security Council president released a statement that focused on trafficking in persons in situations of conflict, with a particular focus on ISIS and the impact on women and children. 12 This statement followed up S/RES/2249 released in November 2015, which called for member states to take all necessary measures on the territory under the control of ISIS to prevent terrorist acts committed by ISIS and other Al-Qaida affiliates. 13 Despite international efforts to combat ISIS, atrocities against women, Yazidis and other minority groups are still being committed in Iraq and Syria. In a 2016 report by the UN Human Rights Council, titled They Came to Destroy: ISIS Crimes Against Yazidis, it was reported that: ISIS has sought to destroy the Yazidis through killings; sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and forcible transfer causing serious bodily and mental harm; the infliction of conditions of life that bring about a slow death; the imposition of measures to prevent Yazidi children from being born, including forced conversion of adults, the separation of Yazidi men and women, and mental trauma; and the transfer of Yazidi children from their own families and placing them with ISIS fighters, thereby cutting them off from beliefs and practices of their own religious community, and erasing their identity as Yazidis. 14 With these reports in mind, the UNSC has been pressed to do more to protect women and minorities that are under attack from ISIS. Questions to Consider: 1. What can the UNSC do to better protect minorities and women in conflict zones? 2. How does the political illegitimacy of ISIS complicate the role of the UNSC in this situation? 3. What policies, if any, has your country implemented to defeat ISIS? 10 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/07/who-yazidi-isis-iraqreligion-ethnicity-mountains 11 http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un-documents/iraq/ 12 http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7b65bfcf9b-6d27-4e9c-8cd3- CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_prst_2015_25.pdf 13 Ibid. 14 http://www.ohchr.org/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coisyria/a_hrc_32_cr P.2_en.pdf 4
4. What tools does the UNSC have to combat ISIS (e.g. sanctions, peace-keeping troops, military action)? Background II: Non-Proliferation: Revisiting the Iran Nuclear Arms Treaty The history of the Islamic Republic of Iran can be divided into two timelines; before 1979 and after the Islamic revolution in 1979. Prior to the revolution, the country was ruled by Reza Shah Phalavi 15 who was an ally of the United States. However, post the Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran became a staunch Shia republic opposing Western ideas and philosophy. As a result, the United States imposed sanctions against the regime and Iran was isolated from majority of international political and economic activities 16 until the administration of President Obama made concerted efforts to implement the Iran Nuclear Deal. Introduction The Iran Nuclear Deal or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was finalized on July 14, 2015 under the expertise of the United States, China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and Germany (P5+1) 17. The deal paved way for Iran to enter the international economy, engage in diplomacy and access its frozen assets worth billions of dollars 18. In return, the nuclear deal requires that the government of Iran block any uranium enriching activities, block development of weapons-grade plutonium, and be open to scheduled inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 19. The Iran Nuclear deal ultimately aims to curb Iranian nuclear programs. As per the deal, the major nuclear sites in Iran, like the Fordow nuclear facility, the Arak heavy water reactor, and the Natanz Uranium facility will be kept under detailed supervision and continuous inspection 20. The activities at these centers will be limited, only to engage in energy related projects. Furthermore, Iran will have to start phasing out its IR-1 centrifuges in 10 years and limit its uranium enrichment to 3.67% for the next 15 years. The Arak heavy water reactor will only conduct peaceful nuclear research and there shall be no more additional heavy water reactors built 21. 15 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/middle_east-jan-june10-timeline/ 16 http://www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/iran/index.htm 17 http://jcpoatimeline.csis.org/ 18 https://www.thequint.com/blogs/2016/07/14/one-year-of-iran-n-deal-far-from-arunaway-success 19 https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/iran-deal 20 http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/14/422920192/6-things-you-shouldknow-about-the-iran-nuclear-deal 21 https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/jcpoa_key_excerpts.pdf 5
These actions will limit Iran s abilities to produce a nuclear bomb and will ensure that it no longer remains an active threat to its regional or international counterparts. Moreover, if any part of the deal is violated by Iran the sanctions can be implemented again, which will further damage the Iranian economy. JCPOA and the United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council has passed seven resolutions since 2006 against Iran. The seventh resolution, that is resolution 2231, was unanimously passed on July 20, 2015, in favor of the JCPOA 22. Implemented on January 16, 2016, the resolution supported the nuclear deal and laid the groundwork for the Security Council to lift the sanctions on Iran once it meets the nuances of the JCPOA. The 105 page document has provided authority to the IAEA to verify that Iran complies with the clauses of the agreement 23. The resolutions, however, do not lift the arms embargo nor the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile embargo. The resolution highlights the importance of the role of the IAEA in the nuclear deal. In addition to the authority over verification of Tehran s actions being within the clauses of the deal, the IAEA also has to provide reports to the IAEA Board of Governors and the members of the Security Council on the implementation of the commitments made by Iran by signing the deal 24. Secondly, it stresses on the importance of the Joint Commission to act as a single unit to ensure that the commitments are being carried out effectively, without any inconsistency from the clauses stated by the Security Council 25. The Joint Commission is different from the P5+1 as it also includes Iran as a way to make it responsible for its actions as per the deal. On the anniversary of the passing of the resolution earlier this year, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the deal a success 26. He went on to congratulate the Iranian government under the leadership of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. The United Nations has therefore supported the deal and the actions of President Barack Obama and lauded it as a symbol of diplomacy as a means to achieve international peace and security. Conclusion Despite being marked as a success, the Iran nuclear deal has witnessed severe opposition from its regional counter-parts. Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been vocal about their hostility against this deal and have condemned the actions of the United Nations and the P5+1. Some experts have commented on the 22 https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/security-council-resolutions-on-iran 23 http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc11974.doc.htm 24 http://www.un.org/en/sc/2231/ 25 Ibid. 26 http://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sgsm17939.doc.htm 6
deal leading to an arms race in the region, thereby making it more unstable 27. Iran has frequently been on hostile terms with Saudi Arabia and Israel, and both countries are not in favor of Iran entering the global arena. Additionally, the deal is facing threats from the internal dynamics of the Iranian power structure. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or the IRGC are not refraining from engaging in activities in the development of arms and weapons 28. Even though the United States has a separate set of sanctions 29 against the IRGC, the growing anti-us sentiments of this elite national armed group has not been affected. Questions to Consider: 1. How vital is the Iranian domestic political environment for the successful implementation of the nuclear deal? 2. Should the Security Council consider the concerns of Israel and Saudi Arabia as serious threats originating from Iran? 3. Will a change in the US leadership have an impact on the deal? 4. Is this deal a revolutionary step in the sphere of international diplomacy? 5. What steps can the Security Council take to further ensure the sanctity of the deal? 27 https://www.thequint.com/blogs/2016/07/14/one-year-of-iran-n-deal-far-from-arunaway-success 28 http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/iran-displays-deterrence-power-missile-tests- 197093146 29 http://nunes.house.gov/legislation/irgc-sanctions-act.htm 7