United for One World

20th, 21st & 22nd April 2010

The tagline of the first MHSMUN encapsulates the spirit in which MHSMUN was held. 36 delegates, 10 logistics members, 8 press corps and 6 directors worked together for over a month to make MHSMUN happen. MUN stands for Model United Nations and consists of a simulation of the various bodies of the UN  with students acting as diplomats and representing different countries and solving global issues. A MUN is an excellent platform for developing speaking, research, leadership, negotiating, diplomatic and problem solving skills. A Model UN inculcates greater awareness and interest in global issues and current affairs, and is a highly educational and enriching experience for all its participants.

MHSMUN consisted of a single committee, the Security Council, with 18 countries being represented by 36 delegates. The topic we had chosen to discuss was the Kashmir conflict, a topic close to home, but one that is so very complicated and multi faceted that it has remained unresolved for over 60 years.

We also had an 8 member Press body, headed by Advika Jalan and Ritisha Mishra of Class 9, which reported committee proceedings. A 10 member logistics staff kept the MUN running smoothly.

The delegates and press members were selected on the basis of the application forms which they handed in; the forms consisted of essay type questions, word association and lateral thinking problems.  The next stage, consisted of the Directors (Spriha Dhanuka, Shivani Agarwal, Ipshita Bhuwania and Abha Laddha) of the MUN, preparing the Conference Handbook which explicitly outlined MUN procedure and a Study Guide which gave a detailed description of the various facets of the topic. These documents were put up on the blog created for MHSMUN 2010 through which we communicated with the press, delegates and logistics. The delegates took their job as diplomats very seriously, committing themselves entirely to their assigned country and doing rigorous and voluminous amounts of research. The 18 delegations then sent in highly commendable position papers, which clearly outlined their country’s stand on the issue and the solutions which their country proposed.

The MUN commenced on 20^th April in the school auditorium(“The Shed”). Proceedings began with every country, being represented by 2 delegates each, giving short introductory speeches as part of the General Speaker’s List. The committee then moved into ‘moderated caucuses’, which are rapid discussions on specific sub topics within a specified time period. Discussion on important sub topics such as human rights violations, terrorism and water resources of Kashmir took place. After each sub topic was thoroughly discussed, ‘unmoderated caucuses’ were opened during which the delegates formulated documents known as ‘working papers’. Working papers are documents which propose solutions to whatever problem has been discussed by committee, the pros and cons of working papers are then discussed and put to vote. The first day had a very short committee session, but there was enough time for the delegates to display their in depth understanding of the issue and their competence in coming up with workable solutions.  

The second day saw the usual committee proceedings, but additionally, we had an ‘Emergency’, with Hamsika Parimi, an ex student acting as the spokesperson for Jammat-Ud-Dawa, saying  that they had hijacked a plane carrying an IPL team, and wanted certain demands to be fulfilled.  The purpose of the emergency situation was to see how well the delegates were able to cope with unexpected matters of international importance and their ability to think on their feet. The delegates negotiated maturely with the spokesperson as she laid down impossible demands and resolved the Emergency in an admirable manner. The committee also managed to pass a large number of detailed working papers, resolving many subtopics of the agenda.

The third and the most important day of a MUN, when the actual tangible work of three days of negotiation comes through in the form of a resolution, saw the delegates questioning both Pakistan’s and India’s claims on Kashmir, with excellent points to back up their allegations. The parties concerned refuted these pointed allegations using a combination of logic and research. The high standard of debate reached its peak with all the people who had started out being shy speaking with confidence and passion for their assigned country. The committee passed an excellent resolution with just 30seconds to go on the clock. This resolution if actually adopted by the UN, could probably help secure a decent standard of living to the Kashmiris and possibly help in resolving the issue. A large number of amendments were made to the final resolution till it finally suited all the member nations of the committee. The resolution passed with 16 votes and one abstention. Though the people of Kashmir had been represented in the MHSMUN Security Council so that they could voice the hopes and aspirations of the Kashmiris, its delegates were not allowed to vote on the resolution and were given the rank of an ‘observer nation’.

At the end of each day, a press release was printed, which covered all of the commitee’s work, as reported by the Press. The releases were both entertaining and informative and they gave a good idea about committee proceedings, all the while being witty and enjoyable. The press reporters kept to their tight deadlines, sending in articles every day, which were edited by the press directors. The newspeople additionally drew cartoons and took photographs and videos.

The teachers were very integral to this enterprise, despite it being student organized. They stood by us, guiding and helping us when required, and empowering us by believing that we were capable of organizing this event all by ourselves.

In the end we managed to accomplish all the goals we had set out to achieve and received commendation from our principal. MHSMUN 2010 was truly a success and left everyone thirsting for more.

by Spriha Dhanuka