NUMUN: France’s burqa ban, Kashmir and Palestine issues reign supreme

Forty schools and colleges come together at NUST Model United Nations.

ISLAMABAD: To make the youngsters aware of international challenges and seek solutions, a brainstorming session was held on the final day of the NUST Model United Nations (NUMUN) 2012 here on Sunday.

The participants also set up a global village, featuring stalls and carnival for the entertainment of delegates after the committee sessions.

The day started off on a relaxed note as delegates brushed up their arguments of the past three days, passed resolutions and brought their committee sessions to an end. They tackled and passed comprehensive resolutions on controversial topics such as the ban on the burqa in France and the solution to the Kashmir and Palestine issues; they also discussed Iran’s focus on nuclear technology, as well as the challenges being faced by the world with respect to the health, environment and security threats.

The debate in the committee sessions held promise as delegates representing different countries brought forth convincing arguments on the topics being discussed. Debaters from every committee were presented with Outstanding Diplomacy Awards at the closing ceremony. The delegation from The City School representing Iran was awarded the Best Delegation Award for a remarkable representation of their designated country.

“We will help Pakistan and stand by it at every difficult moment. There is no need to be scared of the super power,” said a delegate of Iran, while defending Pakistan’s point of view on the nuclear issue at a committee meeting. He added that Iran would not abandon Pakistan if the US takes any aggressive step against Pakistan’s nuclear programme.

A Pakistani delegate at a session of the UN Human Rights Committee amid opposition by the delegates of US, Germany and Spain, said, “We firmly stand to protect the human rights of our civilians whether it is the case of Dr Afia Siddiqi or those who are daily killed by drone attacks.”

“What is going on with Dr Afia Siddiqi is criminal,” he argued.

Another Pakistani delegate at a session of the UN Security Council pointed out India’s aggression in Indian Kashmir and sought international support to press India to withdraw its forces from the valley, but the point was rejected outright by an Indian diplomat, with the support of diplomats of the US and Israel. The delegate of the European Union urged the international community to play their role in overcoming the environmental and climate challenges as being faced by the world.

The chief guest for the closing ceremony was the former foreign secretary Riaz Khokhar. He urged the youngsters to equip themselves with knowledge and skills to represent their country in future as the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2012