Welcome to Security Council
Dear Delegates,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the United Nations Security Council committee of the twenty-ninth session of ILMUNC. Having previously staffed both ILMUNC and UPMUNC – our equivalent conference for college students – I am thrilled to now serve as your Crisis Director on what will surely be one of the best committees of this year’s ILMUNC.
Let me introduce myself: I hail from France, which I left in order to come study International Relations and Chinese Language and Civilization in the College of Arts and Sciences here in Philadelphia. I am currently a sophomore and plan to spend the next semester studying abroad in Nanjing, China. Besides Model UN, which I discovered when I came to the US, I also have a passion for Taekwondo, which I practice at Penn as part of the Taekwondo team. Additionally, I love going to the movies, reading novels, and hanging out with my friends.
The United Nations Security Council is one of the best crisis committees at ILMUNC. As representatives of the fifteen Member States of the Security Council, you will be responsible for maintaining peace and security throughout the world by dealing efficiently and diligently with a number of topics. I hope to see strong debate, good handling of crises, and – above all – everyone having a good time, as this is the main objective of Model UN.
ILMUNC is a unique conference with delegates coming from around the globe to participate. I urge you to take as much out of it as you can and to have the greatest time possible. We would love to hear about you, so don’t hesitate to contact our USG, Mark Vessalico, if you have any comments, concerns, or just want to chat. I can’t wait to meet you all next January!
Sincerely,
Rodolphe Dougoud
Crisis Director, United Nations Security Council
Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXIX
Dear Delegates,
My name is David Schwartz, and I am very much looking forward to serving as your chair for the United Nations Security Council at ILMUNC XXIX! On behalf of our entire committee staff, I would like to take the time to welcome you to what is sure to be one of the most challenging and exciting committees at this year’s ILMUNC. The UNSC is a Model UN standby for good reason; since its founding, the decisions of the United Nations Security Council and its member states have forever altered the course of geopolitics, the international political landscape, and history.
A little bit about myself: hailing from the northern suburbs of New York City, I am currently a senior at Penn studying Economics and Political Science. I have held a passion for Model UN since high school, and I have been an active competitor on Penn’s intercollegiate team since my freshman year, serving as Intercollegiate Chief of Staff in the 2011-12 academic year. Outside of intercollegiate competition, I am also heavily involved in the International Affairs Association’s publications team, and I am an active golfer and cellist.
As delegates on the UNSC, you will have a chance to take the great – yet solemn – responsibility of maintaining international peace and security in the face of a challenging and volatile global landscape. In particular, our choice of topics for this year’s UNSC is carefully designed to test the high school circuit’s most experienced delegates, and I promise that, just as in real life, there will never be a dull moment for our UNSC representatives.
I am looking forward to meeting you all this coming January.
Best Regards,
David Schwartz
Chair, United Nations Security Council
Ivy League Model United Nations Conference XXIX
Topic Summary
The United Nations Security Council’s main responsibility is to maintain international peace and security through several methods ranging from recommending sanctions to taking military action, as set forth by the UN Charter. The Security Council remains an essential component in the prevention of and intervention in international conflicts. In today’s tumultuous times, with ongoing struggles in the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Asia, delegates’ knowledge of current events and their ability to respond to crises will be put to the test through a series of topics based on the political, economic, and cultural developments over the coming months.