Novice Security Council-Crisis

MUN IS
Per. 8
2/11/14
Edison Wong
Amar Paul
Sneha Krish
Smruthi Maganti
Heewoo Choi
Sandhya Gullapali
Frances Lee
Suha Malik

Topic Synopsis: Drones

Situation:
An United States drone has just attacked a city on the border of Syria and Jordan, immediately
hitting a gas line which runs through a series of neighboring cities. This gas line exploded,
killing more than 400 civilians from both the countries. Your job, is to help find solutions in
order to solve the situation at hand as soon as possible before anything further actions escalate.

Background:
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, drones are defined to be a remote-less controlled
piloted aircraft or missile, meaning the drone does not require a person physically within the
vehicle to be fired, thus it is placed under the category of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). Due
to the convenience of this form of war, the number of used drones in the military has gone to the
point that the New York Times has called it a new paradigm for warfare. The country known
to be utilizing drones in high amounts currently is the United States. In fact, U.S. President
Barack Obama is known to have approved more drone attacks than any other president before
him. The first time that the U.S.s CIA deployed a drone was in Feb. 2002 when they believed
their target was Osama bin Laden. However, they later realized that their target in actuality was a
few innocent civilians who were gathering scrap metal. This is the perfect example of a drone
mission gone wrong: the drone conductors are safe back in their home country as they are
watching a screen as they target an alleged victim. Whats worse about the utilization of drones
is presented in another case in the U.S. When CIA observers spotted a tall man, they claimed that
he was Osama bin Laden. After this guess was proved incorrect, they tried to cover up their
mistake by using vague and even coy language, according to The Nation. Not only are
drones used in erms of warfare, but they are also used as aerial surveillance, which brings up the
matter of privacy. The problem is not exactly the utilization of drones, but rather the manner in
which it is used. Countries that use drones should not be using it as willy-nilly as they are due to
the physical, mental, and emotional consequences they can cause.

United Nations Involvement
The United Nations has adopted a resolution where drone strikes are obligated to abide by the
international law. Drones can go wrong and kill innocent civilians which is why more regulation
is essential. Pakistan is a huge supporter of this resolution due to the drone strikes that violate
their sovereignty. The UN has also used drones themselves for the very first time in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. The drones were used to observe the conflict between Rwanda
and Uganda. This mission was known as the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo(MONUSCO). However, the drones in this mission are
unarmed and are solely used to collect information and help the peacekeepers stationed. These
drones were also known as surveillance drones. Also, the United Nation Human Rights
Council(UNHCR) has monitored the United States in order to make sure that the drone strikes
that were going on are respecting the rights of the citizens and are respecting the international
law. There is also an NGO known as Veterans for Peace(VFP) and their goal is to ban the usage
of drones completely. They believe that these drone strikes are war crimes by definition, by
international treaties and by our own laws going back to World War I and II, which was said by
one of the group members.


Possible Solutions
One possible solution to the issue of drones is to determine the legality of drone strikes by
possibly amending the UN Charter to include this type of warfare tactic. The UN can determine
punishments for any infractions against international law violated with the use of drones, and
how the international community could regulate drone use. The international community can
endorse a compromise that allows complies with both those who support drone usage and those
who are against it.


Bloc Policies:
Western Bloc
Most nations in the Western Bloc uses drones, especially the United States. The US law
enforcement is greatly expanding its use of drones for surveillance.
Asian Bloc
Some Asian countries use drones, especially China. China drones prompt fears of a drone race
with the US, as they are advancing with their drones.
African Bloc
Although not many countries use drones, African generals are turning to drones, often made in
the US.
Latin American Bloc
At least 14 Latin American countries are known to have used drones. There is an increasing
drone usage overtime.
Middle Eastern Bloc
Countries in the Middle Eastern Bloc are especially against drones because there are many
victims of drone attacks.

Questions to Consider
Do drone programs violate international law?
How should nations infractions against international law due to the usage of drones be
dealt with by the UN?
How can the international community regulate the usage of drones?
How much information should a country share with its public about its drone program?
Should the UN Charter be amended such that includes such changes in war tactics?


Works Cited
http://www.nesta.org.uk/node/753
http://www.thenation.com/article/166124/brief-history-drones#
http://www.firstpost.com/world/un-adopts-resolution-calling-for-regulation-of-drone-strikes-
1296367.html
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/content/un-passes-resolution-drone-strikes-after-pressure-pakistan
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/03/us-rop-congo-democratic-drones-idUSBRE9B20NP20131203
http://theglobalobservatory.org/analysis/445-un-peacekeeping-deploys-unarmed-drones-to-eastern-
congo.html
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20131119/NEWS03/311190031/Veterans-peace-group-urges-
ban-on-use-of-military-drones