“It is better to kill an innocent by mistake than spare an enemy by mistake”
- Pol Pot (Saloth Sar), Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea.

Delegates, welcome to the United Nations Historic Security Council, summoned by the Secretary General and the President of the Security Council on the 20th of December, 1978. At this point, the Asian continent faces its most critical and consequential juncture in its history. In the midst of the US defeat in the Vietnam War, the Sino-Soviet Split and the rising Sino-Vietnamese rivalry, the Khmer Rouge (Communist Party of Kampuchea) under the leadership of Pol Pot has emerged victorious from the Cambodian Civil War.

However, chaos seems certain as Vietnam has begun amassing hundreds of thousands of its troops along its border with Democratic Kampuchea and the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China have begun taking opposing sides, with the former backing Vietnam and the latter backing the Khmer Rouge. The fate of a country which has been the victim of French and Japanese occupation, civil war, incursions, bombings and invasions, now hangs in the balance and so does the fate of the people in the country facing brute repression from the Government.

In this dynamic and fast-paced committee, whose responsibility is to ensure international peace and security, you, delegates of this Security Council, will have to maneuver through the dilemma between foreign policy realities and the legalities behind humanitarian intervention while coming up with the most comprehensive political, diplomatic, legal and military solutions to determine the fate of Democratic Kampuchea and prevent total human catastrophe.

To either pave the way for or totally eradicate the future of the Asian continent.

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CHAIRPERSONS’ ADDRESS

Dear Delegates,

We welcome you to the United Nations Historic Security Council (UNHSC) at the 13th edition of JacoMUN’23.

Set at the heights of the Cold War and the subsequent Sino-Soviet Split, this committee is set at what perhaps can be called the most critical juncture in the history of the Asian continent. At a time when new policies are being sophistically constructed between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China amidst the Sino-Soviet rivalry, we are presented with a crisis in a State that has faced the brunt of control and domination since its very existence, be it from the Vietnamese, the French or the Imperialist Fascist Japanese and now is subject to the horrors of authoritarianism and political radicalism, it is the country that has seen it all: Democratic Kampuchea. This country may differ in name and ideology, be it once as a French protectorate, or a US sponsored Khmer Republic or the currently communistic Khmer Rouge controlled Democratic Kampuchea, however its people have not changed. A period of global political instability has affected the whole world, be it in the echelons of the White House or at the steps of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and this is set to fundamentally alter global power dynamics.

Delegates, this crisis is not only an impending threat to international peace and security but also calls for immediate action to prevent what can turn into one of the gravest wars of the Century. A delegation in this committee is not only expected to portray exceptional diplomacy, handle the intricacies and complexities of the rapidly destabilizing geopolitical scenario but is also required to sophistically handle their foreign policies without compromising the greater good.

Delegates, a little something about myself.

I am Tanay Jain, a student of the batch of 22-23 at St James' School. I have a keen interest in Economics, Policy and Entrepreneurship which has led me to pursue Econ at the college level. I started my MUN journey as a class 7 student and 5 years down the line I can only imagine how much of a pivotal role it has played in defining my personality. Apart from Model UN, I am greatly invested in doing debates, business fests and basically anything that gives me a platform to argue and indulge in discourse. Having watched SUITS atleast 6 times now, rest assured that subtle Harvey Specter references would go a long way in establishing your presence in committee. The HSC is the last committee I'd ever chair at JacoMUN and it is definitely the one which would be closest to my heart, hence I'd expect all delegates, first timers or experienced, to make the most out of these 3 days by freely expressing their opinions, networking, and most importantly having a lot of fun. Being the flagship committee, the Historic Security Council will surely be one of the most dynamic and complex committees of this conference testing the delegation at every juncture, but I promise it'll have equally fun entertainment motions!

Dear Delegates, a small note about myself,

I am Aryan Ghosh, a Class XII student belonging to the Humanities Section of St. James’ School, Kolkata, with maths as part of my combination, so do feel free to rant to me about the subject. As cliché as this might sound, MUN has played a key role in my life- Allowing me to understand the complexities of this world and why countries engage in conflict despite calls for peace.

In addition to debate and international law, international relations sparks great interest within me, and I always wish to explore further into all three of these avenues, as little as I may know about them. I belong to the offensive realist school of international relations, primarily believing in the idea of great power politics, partly the reason why I selected this agenda for this committee. With a bit of an eccentric knack for poetry and an excessive amount of energy, I look forward to interacting with each and every one of you before, during and after the conference!

MUN is not just an event or competition- It is an experience and it is this experience which has helped me grow and I sincerely hope that it helps each one of you to hone your creative abilities and skills! It never is easy, especially in the first few conferences, but I hope that we, as an Executive Board, can help you navigate through its various difficulties.

It is genuinely, an honour for me to be Chairperson of this committee and I look forward to three days of intense debate and discussion and hope that each one of you have an immemorable experience.

Until then,
Acta, non verba,
Tanay Jain and Aryan Ghosh,
Chairperson of the United Nations Historic Security Council (UNHSC).
Secretary General and Under- Secretary General for Research and Policy,
JacoMUN’23.