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Hofstra Model United Nations Conference 2019

Fourth Committee: Special Political and Decolonization Michael Roller Chair

Hello distinguished delegates! My name is Michael Roller and I am the chair of the SPECPOL Committee. As such, it is my honor to welcome you to the 2019 HUMUN conference! I am a first-year student here at Hofstra University with a major in Political Science. Currently, I anticipate going for a second major, Computer Science, to pursue a career in patent law. Being that this is my first year at Hofstra, this is my first time being affiliated with the club here on campus. I did, however, attend this very conference in 2017, my junior year of high school. I hope to give you the same amazing experience I had then! I am beyond excited to moderate this conference and lead you into a fun, exciting and engaging debate. From the beginning of my sophomore year in high school, I have been a faithful member of the Model United Nations club. I have served as a delegate in countless committees, representing several different counties and organizations and debated many world topics. After joining by accident, I went on to be my high school’s club Secretary General. This happened only after realizing just how much I love MUN and its community. Being known for bringing energy and excitement into a debate, I have debated a wide range of topics such as the refugee crisis, rising nuclear tensions and even Mars’s colonization. My inspiration for parts of this committee comes from my experience with these topics, and I hope I can inspire you in the same way. For the 2019 Hofstra MUN conference, the Special Political and Decolonization committee will be debating the topics of Mars’s Colonization and the Safe Removal of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) left over from war. These issues, while different in scope, are both pressing to the world as we move toward the future and away from past conflicts. As we see the privatization of space exploration in companies like SpaceX and Elon Musk's intentions for Mars’s colonization, it is important to look to the international community to understand who should be regulating these missions. As for the issue of UXO’s, it is imperative that we as commissioners of peace remove these explosives with haste, but with safety as our ultimate concern. I really anticipate meeting you all and hearing your take on these topics! Sincerely, Mike Roller HUMUNC 2019 SPECPOL Chair

Introduction to the Committee The Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL) is the fourth committee

of the United Nations General Assembly. SPECPOL handles a wide variety of issues such as decolonization, Palestinian refugees and human rights, peacekeeping, mine action, outer space, public information, atomic radiation and University for Peace.1 At the 2019 Hofstra University Model United Nations Conference, The SPECPOL Committee will cover two separate topics. Topic A is Mars’s Colonization and the Privatization of Space. This topic will cover the aspirations of companies like SpaceX who are trying to achieve the first Mars colony. Topic B will cover Unexploded Ordnance in previous war zones. The committee will work together to discuss how it can create policies and agreements that will enable the safe removal landmines and other explosives left over from war.

Topic A: Mars’s Colonization and Space Privatization Introduction of the issues before the Committee With technology expanding faster than ever, many people are looking to the stars for humankind’s next obstacle. Elon Musk, CEO and owner of SpaceX, has introduced a planned program to colonize Mars. Musk, a pioneering technology and transportation multimillionaire, has proven to be a leader in privatized space exploration in the past being that SpaceX is the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station.2 The mission to Mars will take place as soon as 2022, sending only cargo to the “Red Planet”. The second mission, however, plans on sending both cargo and a crew to Mars.3 This second mission is scheduled for a 2024 launch, aiming to build a propellant depot and base for future trips to Mars.4 In Musk’s mind, this is not the end. If the missions are successful, the end goal is to create “…a thriving

city and eventually a self-sustaining civilization on Mars.”5 All of these missions are designed around SpaceX’s Super Heavy and Starship spacecrafts which are designed to function as a transformable carriage, able to carry passengers in both in planetary and interplanetary flights.6 While this is a large step for mankind, it is imperative for the United Nations to examine the rules and regulations already put into place. In 1967, the Outer Space Treaty (formally known as United Nations Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies) was established.7 This treaty states that outer space may not be owned or appropriated by any country by means of use or occupation. The Outer Space Treaty was negotiated during the height of the age of space exploration. During this time, there was a Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. To show their power in technological progress, the two nations competed in what is known as the “Space Race”. During this time, the countries attempted to explore outer space and its celestial bodies before their ideological counterpart. The race began on October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made object to orbit Earth.8 The United States was able to claim victory in the symbolic Space Race after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to ever walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.9 This event took place just two years after the signing of the Outer Space Treaty. After the Space Race, more counties began to get involved in space exploration. In 1975, the European Space Agency (ESA) was created. Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are all members of the ESA, with Slovenia serving as an associate member.10 In

November of 1998, the International Space Station (ISS) was created on behalf of the ESA, Russia, the United States, Canada, and Japan. The station functions as “…a platform for longterm research for human health, which NASA bills as a key stepping stone to letting humans explore other solar system destinations such as the moon or Mars.”11 The ISS is the largest object humans have ever put into space and has had 230 visitors from 18 nations over as of January 2018.12 All travel and exploration of space has been accomplished solely by the governments of Earth’s nations, not by private companies like SpaceX. The stated goals of SpaceX have focused mainly on the technology needed to travel and sustain life on Mars but have not focused as much on the types of governance issues covered by the treaty. This would directly contrast with Elon Musk’s stated plan for Mars colonization.

Case Study: Unlike earlier space discoveries, if SpaceX reached Mars, it would be the first private enterprise to land on a celestial body. With its plans for a colony and possibly a city on Mars, the celestial body would initially be under the exclusive use of SpaceX and its astronauts. It poses the question of what kind of government, if any, would be in authority on the new planet. Will the colony be under United States jurisdiction, being that SpaceX is a U.S.-based company? Will there need to be a new government set in place for the Mars colony? The component parts of the colony, including all things constructed, will still be owned by SpaceX according to Article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty.13 However, according to Article XII, all installations, equipment and vehicles on Mars will be open to representatives from other countries part of the Space Treaty.14 Being that there were no non-governmental space

institutions at the time of the Outer Space Treaty, it was designed to promote reciprocity among the space programs to share knowledge and avoid one country monopolizing said knowledge. The advocation for cooperation may not be a priority of SpaceX in their projected Mars colony. Another problem could be the economic impacts from the Mars colony. If travel between planets becomes accessible, trade would also become viable. Traces of profitable materials such as nickel and iron have been discovered on Mars.15 How could this trade be regulated? If the colony or city becomes an economic asset, developing countries and countries without space programs would not have access to these sources and could suffer if only a limited number of countries can affect the supply and pricing of these materials. It is important to know who supervises non-governmental entities like SpaceX when they are in outer space. This question is answered in Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty, which states that the company would be subjected to authorization and oversight from the “appropriate State Party”.16 In other words, as an American company, SpaceX would be under the jurisdiction of the United States and is required to follow laws set by the United States government. In turn, any object sent to Mars by SpaceX may be subject to ownership by the United States.17 However, as stated prior, the United States must leave their colony open to access by other nations due to Article XII of the Outer Space Treaty, which could lead to unforeseen challenges to its authority.18 Being that SpaceX must follow United States legislation, one must observe the definition of a “colony”. The definition reads, “It is a settlement in a foreign country possessed and cultivated, either wholly or partially, by immigrants and their descendants, who have a political connection with and subordination to the mother country, whence they emigrated…”. 19 By this definition, a colony in Mars would be impossible. No foreign country may have the ability to

possess the celestial body, neither wholly or partially. This is because no one individual or government may claim ownership over a celestial body, due to the Outer Space Treaty.20 This poses the question of whether a private venture to colonize Mars is legal in any way. Confusion over ownership of each individual aspect of the Mars colony is a likely future. To prevent such disarray, the United Nations must act fast to present answers to the questions posed by a possible colony on Mars. One must also question what would happen if anything goes wrong during the many planned missions to Mars. If a colonist loses their life, no matter what their country of origin, it would be the United Statesâ€™ legal responsibility. This issue is incredibly likely due to how little humans know about what it takes to survive on the â€œRed Planetâ€?. Overall, the political issues of ownership of the colony and laws surrounding the possible Martian government are overwhelming. It is up to the United Nations to consider these possibilities and to revise the Outer Space Treaty to ensure the legality of celestial colonies.

Bloc Positions: Countries without viable space programs are more likely to be against the creation of a Mars colony. However, countries that could partake in this colony would be much more interested and would support its inception. Listed below are countries that have the largest budgets dedicated to space programs as well as the countries with the highest percentage of their GDP dedicated to space exploration.21

Guiding Questions: 1. Should the United Nations allow SpaceX to create a colony on Mars? 2. How could other countries get involved in the possible flight to Mars and future exploration of the planet? 3. How could the United Nations regulate trade between the two planets? 4. How could the existing Outer Space Treaty be revised to better encompass the Mars colony?

Topic B: Unexploded Ordinance Introduction: All over the world there are land mines, bombs, grenades, and other undetonated explosive devices left over from combat. These devices are called Unexploded Ordinance (UXOs or UOs) and are littered throughout previous war zones. While “…[s]ome of the largest numbers lie in wait in Africa and Asia”,22 it was estimated that in 1995, there were 100 million UXOs in nearly 60 countries around the globe.23 Countries like Poland are estimated to have 96,560 square meters of land contaminated by unexploded devices.24 While these old and degraded weapons have yet to detonate, it is still possible for UXOs to explode. The exponentially large number of explosives is a threat the citizens who inhabit battlefields which may now encompass populated areas such as farmland, rural communities and cities.

Top three counties with the highest number of mines distributed25 Rank

Country

Egypt

Approximate Number of Landmines 23,000,000

Iran

16,000,000

Iraq

10,000,000

Angola

10,000,000

Afghanistan

10,000,000

China

10,000,000

One county living with the legacy of UXOs from previous conflicts is Laos, where over 20,000 people have been injured or killed by UXOs since the conclusion of the Vietnam War.

Around one third of the territory in Laos is covered in UXOs; this includes currently operating plots of farmland.26 This tenure contains scattered remnants of cluster munitions, designed to explode on impact, much like other UXOs. Many of these explosives can be set off by the shovel of a farmer beginning to plant a new crop.27 A large amount of UXOs can also be found in Europe, left over from World War II (WWII). England and Germany both have large amounts of UXOs from the constant bombardment of weapons dropped by their respective air forces from that time. The image below is an uncovered UXO from WWII found in Birmingham in the United Kingdom.28 This is one of many, as around ten percent of the explosives dropped on the United Kingdom during WWII did not explode. In 1997, the United Nations General Assembly established the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to handle explosive remnants of war.29 UNMAS works towards clearing the mine from its location, educating citizens on the dangers of UXOs, assisting victims, as well as stockpiling and destroying the explosives.30 Currently, UNMAS conducts seventeen operations in countries, including Columbia, Libya, Mali, CĂ´te dâ€™Ivoire, the Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It also conducts operations in territories under dispute, including Abyei, Darfur, Palestine, and Western Sahara.31

Since 1993, the United Nations has passed eighteen General Assembly resolutions

covering the topic of “mine clearance”.32 These resolutions ranged from creating UNMAS to condemning the use of landmines. The United Nations Security Council passed its first resolution that stood solely on mine action.33 In this resolution, the General Assembly continued to urge nations with the capacity to do so to support mine-affected countries.34 The resolution also called upon parties currently at war to end the use of explosive devices that are "in violation of international humanitarian law".35 To further prevent casualties from UXOs, the United Nations has also been actively attempting to ban cluster munitions and landmines entirely. In 2008, the international community adopted the Convention on Cluster Munitions to dismantle these weapons before their use. The Convention “…prohibits all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions, as defined in the Convention. The Convention also addresses assistance to victims, clearance of contaminated areas and destruction of stockpiles. Furthermore, it includes transparency measures as well as guidance to address possible compliance issues.”36 To date, 120 states have committed to the Convention, promising to never use, produce, transfer or stockpile cluster munitions.37As of August 30, 2018, ninety-nine percent of cluster munitions held by States Parties have been destroyed, “…eliminating a collective total of more than 1.4 million cluster munitions and 177 million submunitions…In 2017 alone, seven States Parties destroyed a total of 33,551 cluster munitions and more than 1.7 million submunitions.”38 The United Nations, through UNMAS, also actively monitors the destruction of the weapons to ensure they will no longer be used. In addition to Cluster Munitions, the United Nations regulates the use of landmines. Today, only a handful of countries continue to use antipersonnel mines including Myanmar/Burma, Libya and Syria. The Landmine and Cluster

Munition Monitor estimates that the parties to the convention can create a landmine-free world by the year 2025.39 This program is also trying to clear previously dangerous areas of UXOs, including the destruction of 168,000 landmines spanning over 128 square kilometers.40

Case Study: UXOs can be found around the world and can affect any region that has been exposed to a modern war. UXOs from WWII are a common issue in Germany; it is estimated that “…[b]etween 1940 and 1945, U.S. and British air forces dropped 2.7 million tons of bombs on Europe, half of that amount on Germany.”41 In 2008, over 2,000 tons of undetonated munitions were still being found in Germany every year.42 As of April 2018, it is estimated that there are 300,000 tons of UXOs under the city of Hamburg alone. While many other countries rely exclusively on military units to handle unexploded ordinance, Germany has these specialists embedded into their police force, forensic departments, and fire departments.43 Finding UXOs under building sites are common, hardly one week can pass without discovering one.44 A perfect example of these dangers occurred in Göttingen, Germany in 2010, when construction workers building a sports stadium discovered an unexploded bomb dropped by the Allies in World War II.45 After uncovering the explosive, more than 7,000 civilians were evacuated so experts could defuse it.46 These experts were members of an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) or Bomb Disposal team. It was reported that there were thirteen EOD team members tasked with defusing the bomb in Göttingen.47 This appeared to be a routine job for the EODs and no one had been expecting any issues. However, this was an irregularly dangerous weapon with a delay-action chemical fuse which made it particularly unsafe.48 In the act of defusing the bomb, it exploded, killing three EODs and injuring six others.49

Finding UXOs in Europe is not uncommon. With so many being found regularly, it poses

the question of whether the governments should be more proactive in finding and disposing of the UXOs. It is a clear and very present danger to the people living around these previous war zones. A second case involves South Sudan, where decades of conflicts, first with Sudan and later an ongoing civil war,50 has resulted in approximately 39.2 million square meters of potential explosive hazards.51 The combination of an active war zone with these hazards make it even more dangerous for noncombatants fleeing from the active conflict. In South Sudan, around 150 areas are deemed hazardous each month due to the discovery of explosive weapons.52 Since 2004, UNMAS has cleared 1.24 billion square meters of territory in destroying 38,595 mines and 955,121 had been UXOs.53 UNMAS also â€œ[s]urveyed and cleared 28,748 km of road and provided escort on 9,153 km of road enabling UN and humanitarian partners to deliver life-saving aid, as well as supporting functioning markets and sustainable developmentâ€?.54 The UNMAS program manager, Tim Lardner, noted that children are heavily affected by the large number of explosives in the area. To illustrate these dangers, Mr. Lardner recounted a story of two children living in the Unity State of South Sudan who found an object they were unfamiliar with, picked it up, and brought it to a small hut. The object turned out to be a UXO, which exploded and injured both children.55 These types of events may lead the United Nations to think more carefully about the removal of mines and UXOs. To combat this, delegates may look to revise education on explosive devices to ensure both children and adults in danger may identify the explosive and

remain safe. Delegates may also question if certain areas that are more populated be prioritized when removing explosive devices.

Guiding Questions: 1. What could be the safest method of detecting and removing the Unexploded Ordinances? 2. How can the United Nations assist victims of UXOs? 3. How can the United Nations educate citizens on safety in regard to UXOs? 4. In the case of conflict resolving, should both parties remove their UXOs after peace treaties?

Notes

General Assembly of the United Nations. “Special Political and Decolonization (Fourth Committee.” Accessed December 30, 2018. http://www.un.org/en/ga/fourth/ 2

Biography.com editors. “Elon Musk Biography.” Updated November 5, 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/elon-musk-20837159 3

SpaceX. “Mars.” Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.spacex.com/mars

Ibid.

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies." Accessed December 20, 2018 http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html 8

History.com Editors. “The Space Race.” Updated September 13, 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/space-race 9

Ibid.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “European Space Agency.” Updated November 30, 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/European-Space-Agency

Elizabeth Howell. “International Space Station: Facts, History & Tracking.” Published February 7, 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.space.com/16748-international-space-station.html

Ibid.

NASA. “Mars Facts: Composition.” Accessed December 30, 2018. https://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/facts/#?c=theplanet&s=composition 16

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.” Accessed December 20, 2018 http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html

Michael J. Listner. “A legal look at Elon Musk’s pans to colonize Mars.” Published July 17, 2017. Accessed December 30, 2018. http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3286/1

Ibid.

Ibid

Emma Luxton. “Which countries spend the most on space exploration?” Published January 11, 2016. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/which-countries-spend-themost-on-space-exploration/ 22

Children in war. “The legacy of land-mines.” Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.unicef.org/sowc96/9ldmines.htm 23

UNICEF. “UNICEF Annual Report 1995.” Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.unicef.org/about/history/files/unicef_annual_report_1995.pdf 24

Landmine Action. “Explosive Remnants of War.” Published in June 2003. Accessed December 30, 2018. http://www.unidir.org/files/medias/pdfs/erw-a-global-survey-eng-0-69.pdf

Nicolas E. Walsh & Wendy S. Walsh. “Rehabilitation of landmine victims – the ultimate challenge.” Accessed December 30, 2018. http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/81/9/Walsh.pdf

Legacies of War. “Leftover Unexploded Ordnance (UXO).” Accessed December 30, 2018. http://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/leftover-unexploded-ordnances-uxo/ 27

Ibid.

Reality Check Team. “Unexploded bombs: How common are they?” Published February 14, 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43061244

UNMAS. “What We Do.” Accessed December 30, 2018. https://unmas.org/en/what-we-do

Dag Hammarskjöld Library. “Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War.” Updated December 13, 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://research.un.org/en/mines/un-documents

UNMAS. “Where we work.” Accessed December 30, 2018. https://unmas.org/en/where-we-work

United Nations Bibliographic Information System. “Mine Clearance.” Accessed December 30, 2018. http://unbisnet.un.org:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1372643G35R2I.253637&menu=search&aspect=sub tab124&npp=50&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=bib&ri=1&source=~!horizon&index=.AS&term=%22mine+ clearance%22+AND+.UD%3Dares*&x=13&y=9&aspect=subtab124 33

United Nations Meeting Coverage. “Security Council Approves Frist Stand-Alone Text on Mine Action, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2365 (2017).” Published June 30, 2017. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc12897.doc.htm

General Assembly. “Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 7 December 2017.” Published December 7, 2017. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://documents-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N17/428/87/PDF/N1742887.pdf?OpenElement 35

UNOG. “Convention on Cluster Munitions.” Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/F27A2B84309E0C5AC12574F70036F176?Open Document 37

The CCM. “The Convention on Cluster Munitions.” Accessed December 30, 2018. http://www.clusterconvention.org/ 38

The Monitor. “Landmine & Cluster Munition Monitor.” Published August 30, 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018. http://the-monitor.org/media/2903630/PressRelease_ClusterMunitionMonitor2018_final.pdf 39

International Campaign to ban landmines. “Landmine monitor 2018.” Published November 20, 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018 http://themonitor.org/media/2918822/PressRelease_LandmineMonitor2018_embargoed_revised.pdf 40

International Campaign to ban landmines. “Landmine monitor 2018.” Published November 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018 http://www.the-monitor.org/media/2918780/Landmine-Monitor2018_final.pdf 41

Adam Higginbotham. “There are still thousands of tons of unexploded bombs in Germany, Left over from World War II”. Published January 2016. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/seventy-years-world-war-two-thousands-tons-unexplodedbombs-germany-180957680/ 42

David Crossland. “The Lethal Legacy of World War II.” Published October 14, 2008. Accessed December 30, 2018. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/unexploded-bombs-in-germany-thelethal-legacy-of-world-war-ii-a-584091.html 43

Brian Melican. “They haven’t lost their potency’: Allied bombs still threaten Hamburg.” Published April 23 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/apr/23/alliedbombs-still-threaten-hamburg-ww2 44

Spiegel Online. “Routine Disposal Goes Wrong: Three Killed in Explosion of World War II bomb in Germany.” Published June 3, 2010. Accessed December 30, 2018. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/routine-disposal-goes-wrong-three-killed-in-explosion-ofworld-war-ii-bomb-in-germany-a-698245.html 45

BBC News.” World War II bomb kills three in Germany.” Published June 2, 2010. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/10212890

The Telegraph. “Three dead as Second Would War bomb exploded in Germany.” Published June 2010. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7795709/Three-dead-as-Second-World-

War-bomb-explodes-in-Germany.html 47

Ibid

Express. “Bomb kills German explosive experts. Published June 2, 2010. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/178648/Bomb-kills-German-explosive-experts 50

CIA World Factbook. “South Sudan.” Accessed December 30, 2018. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/od.html

UNMAS. “Where we Work: South Sudan” Updated October 2018. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://unmas.org/en/programmes/southsudan 52

Ibid.

Birungi Machrine. “UNMAS 0 Mine rise education critical for South Sudan, as UXOs injure children.” Published March 30, 2017. Accessed December 30, 2018. https://unmiss.unmissions.org/unmas-minerisk-education-critical-south-sudan-uxos-injure-children