Debate Beo

BEO 2014

THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM

08/04/2014

Constructive Conflict Resolution

If a government uses chemical or biological weapons against its own citizens, should the United Nations have a mandate to intervene militarily?

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland

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School: Cumbres Institute Durango

Committee: Constructive Conflict Resolution

Country: Poland

Topic: If a government uses chemical or biological weapons against its own citizens, should the United Nations have a mandate to intervene militarily?

Delegate: Andrea Silerio, Victoria Estrada, Ana Paula Camacho

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"Humanity should question itself, once more, about the absurd and always unfair phenomenon of war, on whose stage of death and pain only remains the negotiating table that could and should have prevented it..."

-Pope John Paul II

Honorable members of the Chair, fellow delegates, audience in general,

We are honored to be here at the British English Olympics in England and pleased to be able to speak to you about the Poland position regarding if a government uses chemical or biological weapons against its own citizens, should the United Nations have a mandate to intervene militarily?

Firstly, we will define what chemical and biological weapons are. According to the British Encyclopedia biological weapons are composed by any disease-producing agents that can be used against humans, animals, or plants. On the other hand, chemical weapons are those which are intended to kill, destroy, exterminate, injure, or incapacitate enemy personnel.

One of the best examples of the use of these weapons of mass destruction might be the world’s most known genocide, the Second World War in which many people, including polish people, were greatly affected. Almost 6 million of our people were severely killed and many more were injured.

Through the years Poland’s territory has been partitioned, and we’ve had conflict after conflict. Poland our country, if something understands is the consequence of chemical and biological weapons, therefore if a government is using chemical or biological weapons against its own citizens, we have considered that the UN should have a mandate to intervene militarily to aid the citizens in distress obviously after trying to achieve and maintain peace and security, thru effective diplomatic methods such as: negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice. Furthermore, it is the UN’s mandate and obligation to help people in grief. If a country can’t trust its own government to protect them, who should they trust? The whole point of creating this institution was to maintain countries in order and keep global peace.

The UN has had many successful interventions leading to peace, for example:

The Mission on Afghanistan, Help on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mission on Haiti, Syria among others.

Of course it’s important to respect a country’s sovereignty, but no reasonable person could object to the idea that when human rights or humanitarian emergency reaches a state of massive loss of life, sovereignty should not be an obstacle to international intervention. Therefore, the UN should have the mandate to intervene militarily only after applying or putting to use all diplomatic approaches before considering an intervention as we said. Under the Charter, the Security Council, a division of the UN, has

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