“If ten fighters rape a woman, she’ll become a Muslim ». That is what Abou Bakr al-baghdadi proclaims, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , also known as ISIS or Daesh. He incites his fighters to violence to against women “in the name of the religion”. Indeed, the diverse attacks levied on women in wartime, and especially within ISIS, are not minor. Prohibitions are numerous and human rights non-existent. Communication, ability to move, freedom of expression; all these things which seem natural to us are prohibited by these factions. The women of Daesh live in fear, under armed threats and the physical, but mostly moral, perpetual harassment. The recruitment of the women, often young and easily influenced, is mainly done on the Internet, via social networks, where they are manipulated and deceived by professionals. At first convinced by the ideologies of the latter and by the disenfranchisement they face from the West, they obtain a strong motivation. Then, they become aware of the macabre and inequitable decoration into which they have entered. Forced and forced, they find themselves prisoner of the infernal manipulation which is imposed on them until they die, in particular by using explosive belts during attacks, possibly programmed by their husbands. Indeed, in the eyes of these men, a woman has more value if she dies as a «martyr» than if she lives as a human, their role limited to reproduction in order to immortalize the future of the caliphate, or working with propaganda in order to attract new followers. The end of this nightmare seems so unattainable for these exhausted, bruised and dehumanized women, who face a horrifying reality.
Blue, red, orange, yellow as many shades as the mind can imagine…
It is here, in the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilization Room, that this impressive ceiling is a source of inspiration for all those who regularly gather to debate, share and change the world together.
We are here, seated, anxious, surprised, some of us comfortable, others not so much, and, in turn, each one of us sets their intrigued eyes on this piece of art, suspended over our heads, and, finally, we realise, we are here at FerMUN. Some come from far away, others live just around the corner, but everyone has tired eyes, filled with wonder, which have been fighting to stay open since early morning.
This ceiling disconcerts us and, while writing for the ceremony to begin, between embraces and introductions, we get tangled between this embossed picture’s winding grooves, displayed between sky and earth. In reality, this is where we are located. Between a smashed, mistreated earth, and a sky which allows the most absent-minded among us to travel far in their dreams. It is here, that we can hope to make a difference. Here, people of all nationalities gather: the French, the Greeks, and many others, between a world full of pain and a sky – a symbol of an inaccessible ideal of peace and calm.
Then we set our eyes on it again to better to explore the details which floods this giant canvas.
Hollows, bumps, splashes, smears, irregular stalactites. By superimposing an incalculable number of layers of paint and creating a structure strong enough to hold in the air this massive vault weighing more than 30 tonnes, the artist, Miquel Barceló has been able to instil – in us – a strange feeling of intimacy with “nature” thanks to the ceiling’s wild appearance, which took more than 20 assistants to finish it in November 2008.
It is difficult to make out if we are finding ourselves to be sitting under a coloured sea or just a bizarre mountain range. What we can be sure of is that this huge ceiling, of 1 500 m2, evokes a strong feeling of perpetual movement and an overwhelming calmness in our hearts. We are like this ceiling, dissimilar yet united. We can compare ourselves to these colours, though from different continents, we find ourselves merging and mixing to form a beautiful and harmonious painting. We are like these curves and spikes; we will never see the world exactly the same and our opinions will differ but in the end we will always come together, united in the same fight. The fight to make this planet, our planet, an “every man’s land”; that is to say, a place where everyone can hope to live in peace and harmony.
Someone announces into the microphone that we must take our places, so quickly we open up a passage in the aisles, then we wait until everything starts. We applaud K. Bartsch listening to different speakers and when we hear talk about “destructive selfishness” of which our nations are often proof, we are moved to learn that it is us – young people- that the world has entrusted to get off the beaten track and make our voices heard. A speaker presents us to be of “clear and capable” minds. We are touched and raising our eyes, some a bit embarrassed, we set once more our eyes on this ceiling and the words make sense in this moment. The speeches come one after the other , Nour, a student from Casablanca rises like angel in her white dress to play a piece by Debussy on the piano , we let ourselves gently rock and our eyes , roam to seek-for the last time- the mysterious ceiling of which we only know that the colours and reliefs but which seems to speak to us in a language that we struggle to master yet is one that enthrals us : the language of a more united world , one which we try to speak in throughout the conference.
Then, two CM1 (year 5) children deliver their speech on the environment, the cause which brings us here today and which “has no bounds”, trembling from head to toe. They remind us once more that if nothing changes, we will “all be affected” by global warming. They call themselves “future citizens” and when we applaud their impressive video “Mister everybody”, we simply want to tell them that they already are citizens and that their voices will continue to echo within us. “Mister our world is hurting […] what are we doing to our blue planet?” This quote disconcerts us deeply.
Claude Z’s anecdote moved us. His love and his gratitude, his suffering, his harsh journey, his intense words, the words that we needed to hear, once gain troubled us.
He has faith in God, in us, and the reason why he spoke to us today was to make us aware, to make us discuss a world which we ignore. We were born here and he was born there; maybe that is what jolts us. Today, “he tells his story to open the eyes of the world”, to share with us a message of peace and love, to encourage us to forgive and be tolerant, and to ask us to end this “nasty war”.
The speeches continue one after the other and once everybody gets up, ready to start the adventure that FerMun offers us, the words of Kennedy – a Kenyan student – return to our minds: “Being a human being, we owe it to ourselves to have great ambitions”.
Blue, red, orange, yellow as many shades as the mind can imagine…
It is here, in the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilization Room, that this impressive ceiling is a source of inspiration for all those who regularly gather to debate, share and change the world together. These people are ambitious, inspired, passionate and conscious of the world. These people, they are us. So with all our differences, our points of views, our hopes and commitments, let us come together to be the actors of change.
A speaker from the International Catholic Migration Committee in the UNHCR conference room this morning made an interesting point about the ambiguity of the language used to refer to elements of this refugee crisis, and in particular the importance of discerning what is fact and what is rhetoric. It has often frustrated me that many who talk about the refugee crisis refer to the Syrian people as ‘migrants’, or worse, ‘illegal immigrants’. This definition is of vital importance. The speaker made the point that the UN General Assembly has been very clear on the fact that the terms to be used in reference to these desperate people are ‘irregular’, not ‘illegal’, migrants, as well as refugees and asylum seekers. The 1951 Convention by the UNHCR concerning the protection of refugees cannot be implemented or made effective if the language used does not directly refer to ‘refugees’. The free and easy use of the word ‘migrant’ in this situation opens the way, very dangerously, to the use of polemic and rhetoric, language that does not serve the unification of the international community or any kind of compassionate response to the crisis: it serves politics, xenophobia and discrimination. The distinction of the use of language when we refer to human beings in horrific situation is far more insidious, and far more important, than many are aware. It is not that we ‘should’ help. It is that we ‘shall’ help.
The last 6th of January, for the first time, North Korean government has claimed having managed its first test of the hydrogen bomb. This is however not the first time that North Korea launches nuclear bombs. Indeed, it’s the fourth time since 2006, but this is the first time that fission is generated by “the only uranium and plutonium”. Already with the previous tests, international sanctions had been taken such as in October 2006 where the UN Security Council ordered North Korea to destroy its nuclear arsenal after the first trial, a year later she agrees to destroy its nuclear facilities, but despite a call to order, the country has continued its tests, we therefore infer that it is not faithful to its commitments. Some delegations as the United States, the Japan and the South Korea condemns these acts but emit a doubt concerning the nuclear object. On the other hand, the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, has evaluated these tests as being a “serious challenge to the global nuclear non-proliferation efforts and a serious threat to the Japan”.
Like Seoul, the Government said it would respond firmly to North Korean approach.
For purposes of prevention and punishment, the Security Council met on the same day to discuss sanctions against North Korea. The 15 members of this Council have unanimously decided to “start working immediately on such measures” that will be contained in a new resolution of the Security Council. Even China, ally of the Korea of the North since 1950, has adopted it. The 15 members of this Council have unanimously decided to “start working immediately on such measures” that will be contained in a new resolution of the Security Council. Even China, ally of the Korea of the North since 1950, has adopted it. At present the Security Council gave no more information about the nature of the measures taken.
International relations remain so for the less strained, and the verdict of the Security Council will settle nothing.
Among these, two Korean neighbors, maintain conflicting relations since the end of the second world war. Indeed, both “provinces” have had quite different political regimes after 1945 the Korea in 2 parties at the level of the 38th parallel: the North supported by the USSR and its Communist regime and the South by the United States. Even after the 1950 Korea war, two “enemies” have remained cold. Thus, on 13th January, we learn that South Korea would have made firing “summation” against the drone coming from the North, what inflame their already complex relationship. South Korea had also strongly react following nuclear tests by its rival, in let us remember, strongly condemning such acts and disseminating at the 38th border of the two States, North Korean anti propaganda messages. The Government of Kim Jong-un, consequently replied this morning, Thursday, January 14, by sending thousands of leaflets to the South of the 38th parallel. Relations between the two neighbours are far from improving and international results that they could cause would not be without consequences.
In taking into account the past, it’s necessary to manage the present in order to better predict the future, is a new Korea war inevitable? The decisions to be taken in the next few days will be decisive for the future of the World.
At midday today, the Turkish police have arrested a woman who seems to be connected with the deadly attack that occurred the 12th of January. Perpetrated by a Syrian suicide bomber in the touristic area of Sultanahmet in the city of Istanbul, in Turkey; this attack caused the death of 10 German citizens and injured 11 foreigners; 9 Germans, a Norwegian and a Peruvian. The German Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière declared that, for the moment, nothing proves that the Germans were specifically targeted. The Turkish tourism sector seemed to be the main target of this bombing.
At 10.18 am (local hour), an explosion was heard in the historical neighborhood of Sultanahmet, at a hundred meters of the Blue Mosque. The shock wave was felt for kilometers around. Less than an hour after the attack, the Turkish government forbade any dissemination of information and images concerning the events in name of “the national security”. The terrorist track was quickly evoked by the Turkish authorities who suspected the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) to be responsible of this attack. Six hours after, this hypothesis is confirmed; Ahmet Davutoğlu announces that the Syrian suicide bomber belonged to Daesh.
It’s the second suicide attack organized by ISIS in Turkey in less than four months. In fact, the 10th of October 2015, two jihadists from a Turkish cell of ISIS blew themselves up in front of Ankara’s train station, capital of the country. This act, qualified of “odious terrorist attack” by François Hollande, resulted with the death of 102 persons and injured 500 persons. It’s the deadliest attack ever perpetrated in the Turkish territory. This event deeply affected the international community; Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said, in a communiqué, that this bombing was “a despicable crime” and he hopes that “the culprits of this attack will be quickly prosecute”. The French government has established two crisis cells at the Quai d’Orsay since 1pm; one in Paris and the other one in the French consulate of Istanbul. The same day, Manuel Valls also declared at the end of a socialist meeting in the National Assembly that “all the countries attacked by the terrorism should stick together”.
This Thursday morning, Djakarta witnessed a new deadly attack: the terrorist group of the Islamic State is highly suspected to be responsible for it. 6 persons were killed, including 2 civilians and 4 assailants, and more than 10 people were injured. The Indonesian president Joko Widodo imediately qualified the events as a “terrorist act”, and asked the population not to concede to fear.
The attempt occurred downtown in a shopping center, where 2 of the assailants blew themselves up, while the 2 others randomly shot in the crowd. This led to an armed conflict with the indonesian police, but this last asserted that there are no fugitives after the fight.
French diplomats are demanding not to go to the French embassy in Djakarta and to limit their travels, as the threat still is be too important in the Indonesian capital.
Such tragic events are now happening around the world on a daily basis…
Denmark has always regulated the arrival of new immigrants. Sweden overpowered by the number of refugees, has recently installed controls at the borders. The Danes now fear that the refugees whose entery to Sweden was denied, come to their country instead.
They have now a new law that lets them confiscate the valuables of immigrants, in order to let them finance their expenses themselves. This reform comes however with certain conditions. These terms concern objects with emotional value to the immigrants such as wedding rings, watches and mobile phones. All other objects with a value higher than 10 000 danish krone (1340€) will be confiscated.
The accord was signed by the right party and the opposition on Tuesday 12th of January. Many people are against this project. In the United States, a website even compared the situation to nazi Germany, a number of petitions have been circling, but the confistcation of immigrant jewelry is now part of the many reforms in Denmark.
28 637 cases. 11 315 deaths. This is the numbers of victims of the biggest epidemic of all time: Ebola. Since December 2013, western Africa has been affected by this virus, which first showed in Guinea: an infant there became the first one of a long list of 2536 deaths. The scale of the disease was then unprecedented, until October, 2015 when the WHO optimistically announced the eradication of the epidemic. Effective results seem to be encouraging for the création of a vaccine. The inhabitants of Sierra Leone, absolutely not spared by the virus, began to glimpse the light at the end of the tunnel. Indeed, after more than 3955 deaths as well as uncountable limitations and safety instructions, the WHO finally declared the country free from the disease on November 7th 2015, leaving the inhabitants relieved and happy to be able to sing ” Ebola bye bye “. In spite of the alarming total of 4808 deaths, which makes this the deadliest manifestation of the disease, Liberia finally managed to get rid of the terrible virus on January 14th, 2016. For the first time for 2 years, western Africa counts no more cases of Ebola. However, in spite of the recent lui in the transmission of the virus, risks are always potential: the re-emergence of the virus is possible for the survivor’s, especially on a small scale. Consequently, vigilance remains relevant in the face of imminent relaxation of the caution of the inhabitants. Besides, the consequences of the virus are considerable, in particular on the economic plain. On average, 50 % of the staff of the companies of Sierra Leone have been lost since the end of 2013, which blocks the economic situation of the country. The virus had an impact on all the business sectors, dissuading the investors and scaring off the expatriates and the tourists. Indeed, only 5 planes land in Sierra Leone, in contrat to 48 before the epidemic. On the other hand, the consequences on the social plain are not lesser: the survivors, having lost a big part of their family and friends or acquaintances, are stigmatized, excluded and even rejected by the society. This difficulty is fed by the powerful sense of guilt which engenders numerous psychological disorders. The incurable secondary effects of the disease leave the survivors powerless in their country, destroyed by the virus and abandoned by NGO, leaving the country at the end of the crisis. Health systems and still fragile sanitary surveillances are to add at the long list of problems which waits for the survivors, finally thinking they are free of a hideous nightmare.
