2023 is coming to an end, and so are our first few months together as the Tübingen 2024 NMUN-Delegation. Since our first weekly meeting-session in October, where we learned about all the details concerning the NMUN-project, lots has happened. Mid-November we held our first training simulation. This wasn’t only a possibility to learn more about the rules of procedure as well as debating at the United Nations in general. Even more so, it also meant a great opportunity for us all to get to know each other better over the cause of the weekend, be it over a shared pizza at lunch or our photo-shoot in front of the Neue Aula.
We also continuously came together in smaller working-groups for fundraising, Public Relations and preparation for TMUN, which will be our own one-day conference in Tübingen held in January. The PR-team for example regularly updated our Insta-page and Website while the fundraising team organized a bake sale in December and is currently planning the Clubhaus-Fest, taking place on the 11th of January 2024.
Apart from these important tasks, we continued to learn more about both the Republic of Benin and the different committees in which we are going to represent the country in New York City. By preparing and giving presentations about topics such as Benin’s history, culture or socio-economic situation, we were able to gather background-knowledge and interactively discuss Benin’s possible points of view on the different committee topics.
Currently, our focus lies on the preparation of individual position papers for the different committee topics. Furthermore, we will undergo a special speech-training after the Christmas break, so we’ll be able to shine not only with our knowledge but also rhetorically in New York. We feel happy and grateful for the great experiences and moments we were able to share together so far and are looking forward to the future work expecting us in 2024.
We will keep you updated on our progress and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
On November 18th and 19th, the Tübingen NMUN delegation participated in its first training-simulation at the Institute of Political Science. We were all looking forward to this first debate as a great opportunity to learn more about the debating process, the inner-workings of the UN as well as the appropriate ways and manners of behaving as a delegate.
Before diving into a specific topic, we all gave our agenda-setting speeches, which led to the decision of the topic “Women, Peace and Security” being debated over the cause of the weekend. At first it took some guts for many of us to give spontaneous speeches. Therefore, we also had to learn that keeping our countries off the speakers list, would mean a forced end of debate on the topic. However, we all soon overcame our beginning shyness and were able to get into proper debate on the topic. Furthermore, we had to make not only use of our rhetorical skills, but also of negotiation-tactics in informal sessions. In order to convince other delegates of specific standpoints and clauses in our working-papers, many of us had to face the challenge to let go of our personal standpoints and fully get into the role of representing our country and its core-beliefs.
In our first attempts at writing working papers, we faced several challenges: finding common standpoints between the different nations we were representing, coming up with concrete and practically realizable suggestions on the issue at hand, and putting them into correct wording and appropriate language. Both of our working groups managed to create strong working papers, which then became draft-resolutions we voted on. By Sunday evening we were finally able to adopt one of the two draft-resolutions.
Besides the fact that we all learned a lot about the different motions and ways of debating through our active participation in the simulation, the weekend was an amazing opportunity to get to know each other better as well. While sharing pizza for lunch, we were able to bond over our excitement for the upcoming projects as well as our trip to New York in March. In a final feed-back round it became clear that the simulation overall was a great experience and an important step forward in our preparation process for participation at the 2024 NMUN-conference.
It’s a wrap! After a term of preparation, the Tübingen Delegation participated successfully at the National Model United Nations in New York City. All the work throughout the semester, including learning about the inner workings of the United Nations, the code of conduct at the conference, and of course the research into the country represented by the delegation, Malaysia, paid off. Our group of 16 students did a lot of research, organised and participated in smaller simulations, visited institutions of the UN in Geneva and worked hard on our position papers during the winter term as well as during the semester break. After five intense but rewarding days in New York our delegation was even able to take an award of an Honourable Mention back to Germany.
On Sunday, April 2nd, all of us had arrived in New York City and met at the Hilton Midtown Hotel, where the conference would be held. After checking into the rooms and finding a moment to relax, the simulation started with the Opening Ceremony in the hotel’s Great Ballroom. Sitting in the grand room filled with other students only further fostered the excitement for the days to come. A highlight of the ceremony was the speech by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the Representative of the US to the UN, who used her speech to highlight the importance of kindness and compassion in diplomacy. After the ceremony was done, all participants went to their committees for an evening session in which the topics for the upcoming simulations were decided on.
Monday morning started with an excursion. As representatives of Malaysia our delegation had the honour to visit the Malaysian mission to the UN in New York. In an interesting talk the students had the change to learn even more about Malaysia, the workings of the UN, and especially Malaysia’s foreign policies and positions within the UN. Well informed the students then could go into more committee sessions on Monday afternoon, as well as throughout Tuesday. The long and exhausting days paid off on Wednesday when all committees could finish their papers into draft resolutions which then were voted on in the afternoon. The vast majority of draft resolutions were accepted and all participants could end the sessions full of pride and relief with the official motion to adjourn the meeting for this simulation.
The end of a successful conference has to be celebrated, of course, and the our delegation staid in character by enjoying Wednesday evening with a dinner at an Malaysian restaurant. Finally, we had a chance to enjoy the food of the country that we had been studying for half a year. After two very busy days, a bit of celebration was in order.
Thursday began with mock voting ceremonies in two big groups, the General Assembly with minor committees and the ECOSOC with minor committees, in the hotel. Each committee presented one of their resolutions and the big group of delegations voted on them. Afterwards, it was time to get to the UN Headquarters, where the official closing ceremony took place. The delegations participating in NMUN gathered in the hall of the General Assembly. Even after four days of the simulation, actually being in the hall was a great honour and left an impression on everyone. Two speakers were invited for the ceremony. Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and Maher Nasser, the Director of Outreach at the UN Department of Global Communications. They shared their experiences working at the UN, but also their hopes and dreams for the future, calling upon the participants to dare to dream big and change the world.
During the closing ceremony it was also times for awards. While those are by far not the most important part of the experience, we are proud to not only get an Honourable Mention for our presentation as the Malaysian delegation, but we also got rewarded for our hard work on the position papers. Congratulations to the representatives of Malaysia in the GA3, IAEA, UNEA, HRC, CPD, and CSW for their awards! But regardless of all the success in form of awards, most importantly the delegation can look back on a week of hard work, proving all their knowledge and endurance, and everyone was rightfully proud of their achievements.
As it is tradition, the end of the conference was of course celebrated as well, and the last get-together of NMUN was the Delegate Dance with another opportunity to meet new people, talk to each other, or just dance off all the stress.
Looking back at not only the time in New York but the whole project, it was a great personal gain for everyone to participate in the project. We had to develop organisational skills, not only in an academic context, but also to keep the project running and promote it. In preparation for the conference, we had to learn rhetoric skills, diplomatic work and conduct. Maybe even more important however, learning how to engage in diplomatic discussions, how to advocate for your position, and to give speeches, demanded resilience, endurance, and self-confidence. All of us grew in these aspects during the project. Further, not only the academic and occupational aspects were fostered. Every participant was able to learn a lot from the others, not only within the Tübingen delegation, but also with the international students in New York. And last but definitely not last, strong and reliable friendships grew during the project. Most of us went into the project not knowing many other participants and at the end of the days in New York one strong friend group was formed.
However, there are also things that can be criticised. For all the talk about being an international conference, the majority of students participating were from the US and Canada, with some Western European countries filling in some more spots. Except for a few very few exceptions, the conference was coined and led by Western students. This unfortunately leads to some very euro-centric discussions and positions brought forward. Further, sometimes the conversations in the committees proved to be challenging with different students having very different approaches to the idea of success in the conference. And finally, it will remain challenged how realistic the simulation truly is with every participant trying their best to be as inclusive and comprehensive as possible. Political disputes of the world only found their way into the conference rooms very seldom.
This project has been a lot of work for everyone involved and it forced every single participant to truly pull their weight in order to be successful. It was very demanding in both academic and personal terms, however the personal growth and the pride after finishing the simulation was worth it. Successfully participating and enjoying the time was only possible because of the amazing group of students of this delegation. Taking part in NMUN was not a solo-effort but the result of 16 students becoming friends and working hard together. And of course, there was no way to have done this alone, and we especially want to thank our head delegates for all their help and support, especially in New York!
Last weekend, on the 03rd of February, our own Tübingen Model United Nations simulation took place. Seated in the impressive hall of the Neue Aula, the first speeches were held, and the first debates started. This time „Closing the Energy Gap for All“ was discussed and after a long day of several discussions, three solutions successfully passed.
One last time before we all leave to the big conference in New York, we were able to practice, apply motions, discuss and write resolutions and practice diplomatic conduct. After three simulations and countless debates, we are now well prepared to apply our knowledge and skills in the right environment.
New York, here we come!
A special thank you goes to the Schwäbische Tagblatt for the visit and the great interest in our project! We hope you also enjoyed watching our debates and speeches to get an impression of what we will continue in New York.
We would also like to thank the delegation of Hohenheim for participating in our simulation. We look forward to seeing you again. Furthermore, we would like to thank our amazing TMUN team for preparing the simulation, Professor Diez for speaking at our opening ceremony and our faculty advisor Lea Augenstein as well as our head delegates Helena Jordheim and Monika Hägele for their guidance during the debates.
After three successful simulations, we feel ready to represent the country of Malaysia in our committees in New York. There are still some last preparatory steps to be completed before it gets serious in New York and all the work from the semester will be applied for the last time, so look out for our updates from Geneva where we will visit several UN sub-organizations and the delegation of Malaysia to the UN.
We feel well prepared and are looking forward to the biggest UN simulation in New York!
Last weekend, we were able to put our diplomatic skills, which we increasingly acquired in the seminar, to proof. The Club of Hohenheim invited us to their Model United Nations (HCMUN) at the beautiful Hohenheim Castle. Together we discussed the topic „International Cooperation Against the World Drug Problem“ and ended the day successfully with three resolutions.
HCMUN is different from a small simulation of our 16 delegates we had in the beginning of December, because with a bigger group of delegates you have to face more challenges, like finding working groups or finding a common ground. This was a good exercise, since the number of delegates we will meet in New York will be even bigger. But at the end of the day, it turns out that we can overcome any challenge. We are all getting better and more confident and are already very excited to represent Malaysia in New York.
To celebrate the successful conference, the Hohenheim Club prepared a professional wine tasting, which allowed us to end the exhausting but educational day in a relaxed atmosphere. In addition, it was also possible for us to get to know the delegates better privately and to exchange experiences and knowledge.
Many thanks to the Hohenheim Club for their hospitality and organization of an exciting simulation. We surely had fun with you all and we think you too. We are very much looking forward to seeing them again at our Tübingen Model United Nations on February 3rd and in April in the city that never sleeps!
On the first weekend of December the first internal simulation of our delegation took place. We used this opportunity to apply and understand the process of a UN negotiation and its motions. The topic that was debated for two days was „Cyber Security and Protecting against Cyber Warfare“. At the end of the discussion which entailed many fruitful debates among our delegates, three resolutions were successfully adopted.
This first simulation was an exciting and experiential change, giving us first-hand impressions of how the UN works and the chance to implement the theoretical preparation we had worked on beforehand.
It quickly became clear to us that there are several things to keep in mind, such as the speakers list, which should never run out, otherwise people will vote immediately, even though there are usually no papers to vote on yet. Additionally, it was important to find a common ground between the countries to develop specific proposals to find solutions to the problems. Lastly, it was crucial to convince other countries to support the proposals.
During the course of these two days, we realized that good proposals and strategies can generate strong collaborations that result in innovative resolutions and identify pathways to solutions. Of course, this is much more complex in real UN negotiations, because actual relations play a role and the proposals have to be more specific in terms of their funding, but nevertheless the history of the UN also shows us that cooperation is really possible, and solutions can be applied.
With this first real simulation, our delegation was able to apply important procedures, make speeches and draft resolutions quite well. We are looking forward to HCMUN and TMUN to further deepen our skills and practice in larger meetings.
Our first preparatory step towards NMUN is now completed and we are looking forward to further simulations.
By Monika Hägele, Lea Deubner, Julian Lotz & Lydia Michalek
Introduction: On our Way to NMUN
We are delighted and relieved to announce: We have successfully participated in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) 2022! After months of worrying whether our study trip would really come true, our intensive preparations of the past semester have finally paid off.
But first things first: NMUN is an official NGO of the United Nations (UN) and an international project that brings together about 5000 students from all over the world! In the 5-day simulation from April 3 to 7, we had the great opportunity to practice and implement the working methods and agendas of the UN in New York. In this simulation, each university represents a different UN member state or NGO. Each participant represents a different UN organization, e.g. HRC, IOM, UNICEF, UNESCO etc. This way there are about 20 parallel simulations in New York. This year we represented Venezuela – a country that is far from our familiar political and economic structures and was not easy to work through.
This is what our course of 18 advanced bachelor’s and master’s students spent one semester intensively preparing for. And this is how it all began: First, we meticulously familiarized ourselves with the complex structures, the various functions and organs of the UN. A special focus was on our country of representation, Venezuela. Through regular presentations on history, politics, culture and economics, we slowly gained an understanding of our confusing and hard to grasp country. There should have been deeper insights during our UN excursion to Geneva, but Corona thwarted our plans. Instead, representatives from the WHO, WTO and UNCTAD faced our critical questions via Zoom. These expert discussions in particular brought more light into the darkness for us.
One particular challenge was the process of writing our position papers. In this report, each member state presents its positions and visions for the future on two organization-specific agenda topics (e.g. HCR, IOM, UNEA, UNESCO, etc.). Although the position papers are only two pages long, they form the substantive basis for the resolutions during the NMUN conference. For this reason, our Head Delegates put great emphasis on accuracy, which meant that we spent hours and days researching and improving the report. However, the effort and frustration was worth it! This year, our delegation from Tübingen won two awards for outstanding position papers: Congratulations to the representatives from UNEA and UNESCO!
In order to train our soft skills, throughout the semester we held internal simulations on the weekends. Thereby we went through a noticeable development process! While during our first simulation in December we were all very nervous, insecure and cognitively as well as emotionally completely exhausted at the end, things looked very different after our last and largest TMUN simulation with the University of Hohenheim (by the way, the T in TMUN stands for Tübingen). Routinized in terms of all rules and procedures, we confidently went into the negotiations, held spontaneous speeches and built up cooperations with diplomatic skills. After this weekend we all felt well prepared and ready for the challenges of New York!
New York, New York: The Tübingen Delegation at the NMUN Conference
On Sunday, April 3, the time had come. Our delegation, consisting of 18 delegates, two head delegates and our faculty advisor, arrived at the Hilton Midtown Hotel in New York City, where we would sleep and work for the next five days. We were allowed to check into our rooms, change to our business attire, and then we were off. Our delegation met for a short briefing before the opening ceremony, where final questions were clarified, and we wished each other good luck. The opening ceremony took place in the great hall of the Hilton Hotel, which was imposingly decorated and seated for thousands of participants. An impressive sight.
During the ceremony, the president of the non-profit organization that organizes NMUN each year welcomed us all warmly and honored a delegation from a Ukrainian university that was able to attend the conference despite the war in their country. He also reminded us all, that the Canadian university representing Russia has no influence on the actions of the Russian government and we should please include them in our sessions with respect. We can happily report that during our simulations, no students were antagonized for the country they represented. In addition, some of the volunteers who have been preparing National Model United Nations 2022 for over a year introduced themselves. It turned out that most of them had once started as delegates themselves and the experience meant so much to them that they wanted to help out as volunteers.
After the opening ceremony, we went straight to the first meeting of each committee. This was used to vote on the order of the agenda for the upcoming conference. At 10 p.m., exhausted but proud of our work, we were able to return to our rooms and talk about our days with our roommates. On Monday morning, each delegation had time to meet and exchange ideas with the permanent UN representatives of the countries they represent. Unfortunately, our attempts to contact the Venezuelan mission were in vain. For cases like ours, a panel discussion on the war in Ukraine was offered at the same time. The rest of the day was spent working in the respective committees. On Tuesday and Wednesday, too, we were busy in our committees all day, interrupted by short breaks for lunch and dinner, and on Wednesday afternoon we declared the contracting of the committees to the next year. An official motion, as is customary in the UN.
On Thursday, the three General Assemblies, as well as the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), were scheduled to hold their voting proceedings in the General Assembly hall at UN Headquarters. The closing ceremony should also have been held there. Unfortunately, UN Headquarters was not open to the public at that time and all events were moved to the room in the Hilton where the opening ceremony had also taken place. During the closing ceremony, our delegation was awarded a prize as a distinguished delegation for representing Venezuela. In addition, two position papers of the delegation were awarded and one delegate received an outstanding delegate award from his committee. We can really be proud of our delegation. We were then able to celebrate the exciting week and our successes during the conference together at the Delegate Ball on Thursday evening. With heavy hearts, we headed home on Friday, where we had time to reflect on our experiences.
The End of the Road: Important Takeaways from NMUN 2022
Thanks to the NMUN project in New York, we learned incredibly much. From organizational skills to charismatic speaking and diplomatic negotiating. We learned to put ourselves in the strategic-political shoes of a country and to gain an understanding of the international relations. As a result, we have all gained an enormous amount of flexibility, resilience, presence, assertiveness and self-confidence. During this intensive time, we gave each other a lot of support and got to know each other very well. We also networked with students from other countries – even beyond the simulation. This level of friendship made the whole experience especially memorable.
We successfully mastered all the challenges of NMUN – which was also rewarded! We proudly bring three awards back to Tübingen: two position paper awards for UNEA and UNESCO as well as one award as „Distinguished Delegation“.
However, a differentiated reflection also includes critical aspects. It should be emphasized that primarily universities from the global North participated in this simulation. Unfortunately, only a few delegates from regions such as Latin America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe were present. As a result, the project had a rather exclusive character and a strongly Eurocentric perspective. Reasons for this include the high cost of participation and strict US visa requirements. In the future, it would be desirable for NMUN to promote more countries of the global South in order to live up to its international claim.
The authenticity of the simulations is also debatable. In many committees, the negotiations were extremely compromising and harmony-driven. Often, states cooperated with each other that would never pull together in reality. Eventually, in most committees, almost all resolutions were adopted – a successful and satisfying feeling for us. But if it would work the same way in the real UN, the world would probably look more environmentally friendly, social and peaceful today.
In a nutshell, the project took a lot of time and organization, strong nerves and endurance. In retrospect, however, the efforts were well worth it. We gained a realistic insight into the nature of political work, built our social skills, made new friends, and had an exciting time in New York! We are very grateful for these experiences, as they are a great privilege.
During the 2022 NMUN Conference, the two topics addressed by the Human Rights Council were, first, „Promoting international human rights to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity“ and, second, „The impact of unilateral coercive measures on the protection and enjoyment of human rights.“
On the first issue, Venezuela’s position is quite simple. Homosexuality is neither persecuted nor illegal in Venezuela. Same-sex marriage has been on the parliament’s agenda for years, but has always been overshadowed by other issues and therefore left to the side. This may be due to the fact that the Catholic Church has quite a large influence on the Venezuelan government and population. However, President Maduro has announced that his party is in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage and wants to introduce it soon. Accordingly, our position during the conference in New York was to be in favor of same-sex relationships but not to push it too much. Venezuela has no laws on gender identity and it is difficult for people in Venezuela to officially change their gender, let alone take any gender confirming measures. This is what Venezuela, and so we as delegates, are trying to ignore by focusing more on same-sex marriage. In general, our tactic was to be as neutral as possible in order to cooperate with both progressive and conservative countries and not antagonize them, because Venezuela does not have a strong opinion on this issue and does not want to lose potential allies for other issues.
What Venezuela lacks in interest in the first issue it makes up for in the second. Venezuela is strongly affected by unilateral coercive measures, especially from the United States. Venezuela’s oil exports and food imports are severely hindered by various sanctions. During the pandemic, Venezuela had virtually no access to medical protection measures, such as masks, protective gowns, gloves, etc. for their hospitals, let alone for the general population. They were also denied access to medication and vaccines. Venezuela’s bank accounts in the UK were frozen, so Venezuela had no money for further action. In addition, Internet access in Venezuela is very poor, as they are denied access to American satellites. This meant that children and young people – if they even had access to devices with which they would be able to access the internet – could not participate in virtual classes because they did not have any internet connection. Therefore, we as Venezuela were very interested in clarifying the legality of unilateral coercive measures (unfortunately, international laws are very vague on this) and making international criminal procedures more efficient and attractive to resolve disagreements between countries through legal means rather than coercive measures.
During the first session in New York, we were unfortunately outvoted, resulting in topic one being discussed first, which usually takes up the entire conference. Due to the nature of the topic, we were unfortunately unable to take a leading role in the negotiations, but our delegation did act as a mediator between factions, among other things. We actively worked on two working papers and were signatories on the other two papers. Of course, it was not always easy to distinguish one’s own opinion from the opinion of the country one represented, but in the end we succeeded quite well in representing Venezuela in the Human Rights Council. Three of the four working papers were finally merged into a single paper through a lot of work and compromise. And both final papers were adopted as resolutions at the end of the last session, which we are very proud of. Although the papers could not generate sweeping new policies, it was still a great concession by all participating states to respect and defend the fundamental rights of all people.
United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA)
The United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) is a UN committee composed of all member states. For decades, it has acted as a forum for member states to work together to tackle the world’s many environmental challenges. In contrast to other committees, the work is relatively harmonious. The world community is aware of the environmental problems – even if they do not always do what they promise. Faced with the historic tasks of the 21st century, it was an honour for my committee partner, Tom Webb, and me, Julian Lotz, to consider today’s solutions to avoid tomorrow’s problems.
On the 1st April, over 200 delegates representing 106 nations filled the prestigious green room of the Hilton Hotel. Finely dressed women and men readied themselves for the challenges of the coming days. The tension was palpable, this day had finally come after six long months of preparation. In the morning we jogged in Central Park and now we stood here as delegates from Venezuela while the seconds ticked by until the start. We asked ourselves what topic would be chosen and what would we spend the next few days debating and struggling over? The choices were between Reducing Marine Pollution, including Plastic or Implementing a Circular Economy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Both were worthy topics, each representing a pressing global problem, with significant interlinkages. We, as the delegation from Venezuela, decided to vote for the circular economy, primarily because the actual UNEA had recently made pathbreaking progress on tackling marine pollution. Right from the start, there were enthusiastic speeches and heated discussions on both issues. In the end, the international community decided by a narrow majority in favour of topic 2, the circular economy.
Three full days began. Speeches were made, discussions and negotiations were held, partners and compromises found. Member states began to form blocks comprising common interests, such as region of the world or ideological perspective. In order to protect Venezuela’s interests as much as possible, my partner and I joined two different blocs. During the days, one became aware of the immense value of having a committee partner. „Secret information“ about the activities of other blocs could be exchanged, support was offered in difficult times and mutual help was given. Without a partner, this exciting, yet very exhausting experience would not have been half as enjoyable and bearable.
In the end, the delegates had 7 drafted resolutions on the table. Now it was time for amendments. As a delegation from Venezuela, we did not agree with everything and did everything in our power to get amendments passed. In the end, all 7 resolutions were adopted by the international community. If this had been the reality, it would certainly have been another important step towards preserving our environment. But despite the largely harmonious working atmosphere of the UNEA, and taking into account the simulation, I think we fell short of expectations. And it is at this point that it becomes clear how incredibly difficult it is to find solutions with so many actors and interests – even though the issues were less confrontational. This makes it understandable why there are only small steps in real assemblies and why the accusation of unambitious solutions is justified but difficult to change.
At the beginning of the days, I had looked with slight dread at the intense days ahead. How could I muster enough energy from 8 in the morning until half-past ten in the evening? Looking back, the days went by far too quickly. It was sad to end this wonderful time with all the new contacts and experiences. But as an added reward, this experience was crowned with an award for our UNEA delegation’s position paper. What a great ending to this unique and unforgettable time!
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
1 in 20 people all over the world is considered an international migrant. The more than 280 million migrant all over the world contribute tremendously to the development of their sending and receiving states, but migration also comes with many challenges. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has assisted millions of migrants since it emerged more than 70 years ago with the goal to promote humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all.
“Migration and racial discrimination” and „Access to preventive healthcare for migrant workers“ were the two bang up-to date topics on the floor for our IOM committee simulation at NMUN 2022. Lea Deubner and Lydia Michalek had the honor to represent Venezuela in this committee. Of course, we had prepared intensly for the conference and worked hard to find out, which interests Venezuela has regarding these topics. Venezuela is one of the main sending countries for migrants all over the world and the massive migration flows from Venezuela affect especially South America. We therefore found that Venezuela cares about its people in other countries and can take an active stand in discussions about both topics.
At the beginning of the conference on Sunday, different countries and non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) presented their arguments on how the agenda should be set. In between, there heated discussions took place. It was clear that all countries had interests on the floor that they wanted to be heard. There were good arguments for both agenda topics, as both are highly relevant and intertwined. When we voted in the late night on the setting of the agenda, there were many votes for both topics, but one topic had the majority of votes: Topic II, “Access to preventive healthcare for migrant workers”.
After choosing the topic, speeches and negotiations by all IOM members followed from Monday till Wednesday, full of innovative ideas. A lot of countries, such as Peru and Belgium, talked about the need for more research and good data collection. Other countries, such as Egypt, put a focus on empowering female migrant workers. Israel and more countries encouraged to reduce language and cultural barriers. Many of those suggestions were in line with the goals that we have set for Venezuela. For example, Venezuela is part of the Universal Health Coverage Partnership (UHC-P). Therefore, we encouraged to improve access to preventive healthcare for migrant workers by promoting UHC all over the world. Also, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we urged to provide vaccinations for migrant workers and more.
Following the different national priorities and international relationships, around twelve working groups formed, that focused on single topics. We as delegates of Venezuela engaged in the speeches, discussions and focused on participating in two working groups, that were collecting ideas to improve female migrant workers health care, improving education of migrant workers, reducing cultural and language barriers and on improving especially mental healthcare for migrant workers. In both working groups we were able to partner with countries from the South American region, such as Guatemala Ecuador.
At the end of the conference, working papers of different groups were merged and turned into draft resolutions. Friendly and unfriendly amendments by different countries were made and suddenly it became visible that even though before there was consensus that “all countries wanted the best health for the migrant workers” there was discord about practical solutions. As in the “real IOM” we thought. Hungary for example even said provocatively, “The best migrants are those that do not come”. Most countries disagreed, including us. In all the discussions, our committee was able to find common ground between the different nations and we adopted six diverse resolutions. For us, these days were a very good educational experience that helped us to better understand international diplomacy and campaign for human rights in the context of international migration.
On February 4th, the 2022 delegation of Tübingen welcomed students from Hohenheim and Regensburg for the annual Tübingen Model United Nations (TMUN), the last big simulation before New York. After enjoying pretzels, fruits,and apple juice, everyone was eager to tackle the following topics:
1) Rights of Indigenous People
2) Advancing Responsible State Behavior in Cyberspace in the context of International Security
After a few agenda-setting speeches, the committee voted to address topic 1 in this simulation. Soon after, multiple working groups formed and approached this issue in different ways. Some groups focused on providing access to health care supplies, whereas others concentrated on giving indigenous communities a stronger voice in today’s world. Many speeches, motions, and negotiations later, 4 draft resolutions were finalized. In the end, all of them were passed through majority votes, which were accompanied by applause by the delegates. After these achievements, the honorable chair and the delegates voted on several awards, such as best speech and best negotiator but also on less serious awards like best outfit and funniest speech.
The successful simulation was followed by a celebratory dinner at the Neckarmüller, where the group enjoyed dinner, drinks, and entertaining conversations into the late hours of the night.
Many thanks to the TMUN department for the exceptional organization, to all the participants, and also to Lea, Lina and Freddy who played the roles of the chair and rapporteurs.
As we are slowly but surely approaching the end of the semester, the workload on our delegation has doubled. Finishing the second drafts of our position papers, planning and organizing the upcoming TMUN and preparing for exams next week at the same time… definitely not easy! However, we are becoming more and more confident in our knowledge of Azerbaijan and UN procedures and our role as delegates. We can’t wait to put our skills to the test in New York!
Last weekend, we also attended the annual General Assembly simulation at Hohenheim Castle with the universities of Hohenheim and Heidelberg. It was great to get to know some other delegations, especially since Hohenheim will be joining our delegation in New York, representing Iraq. The location was extraordinary and gave the negotiations a unique atmosphere. At the beginning of the assembly, we set the agenda on the topic „Forced Displacement Due to Climate Change“. As we had never participated in a simulation with more than 20 people, we quickly realized that we did not need to worry about the speaker’s list running out. It is also more difficult to find a working group that best represents your country’s interests when there are so many delegates you could cooperate with. This was definitely a good exercise for New York, where some of us will be in committees with about 100 nations more than in Hohenheim.
One of the main disputed issues between the different working groups was the question if the term „refugee“ should be broadened to include people displaced due to climate change, guaranteeing them the same political rights as people displaced due to violent conflicts or human rights violations. While mainly European and North American countries debated this definition, African and Asian countries called for more concrete ideas on how to help people already displaced due to climate change and how to prepare countries with a higher risk of being affected. In the end, two resolutions were adopted, one of them containing detailed suggestions and one defining „environmental migrant“, without using the term refugee, and most of our delegates were happy with the achievement. To top everything off, Jakob, representing Togo, was honored with the title „Best Delegate“!
To celebrate our hard work, we attended a wine tasting the Hohenheimer delegation had prepared. This gave us the opportunity to relax and get to know the other delegations on a more private level. We will see them all again on Friday when they come to visit us in Tübingen for TMUN. We can’t wait!
