UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
STUDY GUIDE
AGENDA
THE ESCALATION OF THE FIVE DECADE
CONFLICT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE
PALESTINIANS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
• BACKGROUND
• UNSC – FUNCTIONS AND POWERS
• VOTING SYSTEM
• BACKGROUND OF COMMITTE AGENDA
• CODE OF CONDUCT
BACKGROUND
• The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at Church House,
Westminster, London. Since its first meeting, the Security Council has taken permanent
residence at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. It also travelled to
many cities, holding sessions in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1972, in Panama City,
Panama, and in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1990.
• A representative of each of its members must be present at all times at UN
Headquarters so that the Security Council can meet at any time as the need arises.
UNSC – FUNCTIONS AND POWERS
Under the United Nations Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council are:
• to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United
Nations;
• to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction;
• to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;
• to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;
• to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should
be taken;
• to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent
or stop aggression;
• to take military action against an aggressor;
• to recommend the admission of new Members;
• to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in "strategic areas";
• to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the
Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.
VOTING SYSTEM (specific for DIS MUN)
• Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote;
• No country shall have the right to veto;
• Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of
majority members;
• A party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.
BACKGROUND OF COMMITTEE AGENDA
• The agenda of the committee will be to analyze the root causes of the conflict and to further
discuss the possible solutions amicably so as to form draft resolutions.
• Discussions about recommendations and steps concerning the ways in which conflict
prevention and/or resolution can pan out in such a manner to help you to better assess the
complexity of the conflict at hand, as well as the position of the party that you are
representing.
BACKGROUND
• Britain took control of the area known as Palestine after the ruler of that part of the Middle
East, the Ottoman Empire, was defeated in World War One.
• The land was inhabited by a Jewish minority and Arab majority.
• Tensions between the two peoples grew when the international community gave Britain the
task of establishing a "national home" in Palestine for Jewish people.
• For Jews it was their ancestral home, but Palestinian Arabs also claimed the land and
opposed the move.
• Between the 1920s and 1940s, the number of Jews arriving there grew, with many fleeing
from persecution in Europe and seeking a homeland after the Holocaust of World War Two.
Violence between Jews and Arabs, and against British rule, also grew.
BACKGROUND OF COMMITTEE AGENDA
• In 1947, the UN voted for Palestine to be split into separate Jewish and Arab states, with
Jerusalem becoming an international city.
• That plan was accepted by Jewish leaders but rejected by the Arab side and never
implemented.
• In 1948, unable to solve the problem, British rulers left and Jewish leaders declared the
creation of the state of Israel.
• Many Palestinians objected and a war followed. Troops from neighbouring Arab countries
invaded.
• Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced out of their homes in what they call
Al Nakba, or the "Catastrophe".
• By the time the fighting ended in a ceasefire the following year, Israel controlled most of the
territory.
• Jordan occupied land which became known as the West Bank, and Egypt occupied Gaza.
• Jerusalem was divided between Israeli forces in the West, and Jordanian forces in the East.
• Because there was never a peace agreement - with each side blaming the other - there were
more wars and fighting in the following decades.
CODE OF CONDUCT
• For the benefit of the council members, all delegates should rename themselves in this format:
CountryName_Delegate_1
• It is mandatory to maintain decorum at all times.
• Delegates are not required to submit positional papers before hand; but are advised to keep
them ready on event day.
• All delegates are advised to adhere to the speaker time.
