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NMUN Team 2022

 

JLU Giessen participated in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) 2022 in New York and represented the UN member state Russia (Russian Federation). Two delegates each were represented in the UN Committees UN Women and UN Habitat and negotiated with commitment. Together with the delegation members of the University of Siegen, who also represented Russia, the delegates prepared themselves for the topics of their committees and the positions of Russia in this regard.

In preparation for NMUN, the team participated in SiegMUN in November 2021. There, together with other students in the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) Committee, they simulated diplomatic negotiations in English and gave political speeches. Christina Bähr and Dijwar Ortac represented Iran. Lina Kost and Mohamad Rashid represented the state of Saudi Arabia. In the Committee Sessions they represented the interests of their countries and introduced them in the resolution of the Committee.

 

For all those interested in becoming part of the next NMUN delegation for New York 2023: Starting this summer, the application process will open again at the chair and at the beginning of the next winter semester 2022/23, the preparatory colloquium Model United Nations will start.


If you have any questions or are interested, please feel free to contact us at:   ModelUN@recht.uni-giessen.de reach out.

In addition to the information and pictures below, our activities and reports can be found on Instagram.

Here you can find an article in German in the Giessen Newspaper Gießener AnzeigerHere is a contribution from us in the university newspaper Uniforum on page 8.

Faculty Advisor

 Vera Strobel (PhD Researcher)

 

Delegates



Christina Bähr

UN Women

 

 

 

Lina Kost 

UN Women

 



Mohamad Taissir Rashid

UN Habitat



Dijwar Ortac 

UN Habitat

 

 

NMUN April 2022

 

From April 10 to 14, 2022, four students were allowed to participate as a delegation of the Justus Liebig University Giessen in the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in New York. They were accompanied and prepared for the event by Vera Strobel, staff member at the Chair of Public Law and International Law of Prof. Dr. Thilo Marauhn. The conference took place for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic again in presence. The concept Model United Nations (MUN) is a simulation of the United Nations, in which thousands of students from all over the world and from different disciplines put themselves in the role of diplomats, discuss current issues, give speeches and draft resolutions. Together with the delegation members of the University of Siegen, they represented the member state Russia at the NMUN. This means that they had to negotiate in their respective committees from Russia's point of view and try to incorporate Russian interests into the resolutions, which was particularly challenging in view of Putin's war of aggression.

At the NMUN in New York, two of the Giessen delegates were represented in the committees UN Women and UN Habitat. There they dealt with the topics "Women as Drivers of Economic Recovery and Resilience" and "Sustainable Transportation for Better Air Quality in Urban Areas". Dijwar Ortac successfully applied for the position of Chair and subsequently headed the Commission for Social Development together with two Co-Chairs. At the beginning of the conference, the Giessen delegation was also able to visit the impressive United Nations Headquaters with the General Assembly and the Security Council and take part in a guided tour of the premises as well as receive background information.

During the preparations for the conference, the focus was not only on researching background knowledge about the assigned member state, but also on an intensive examination of the war in Ukraine. For this purpose, the delegation met many experts who supported them in preparing for this difficult task. Despite the bad feeling of having to represent Russia at a MUN, the delegates learned an incredible amount. They had to deal objectively with positions whose opinion they do not share, take on a certain role and argue from a point of view that triggers incomprehension in them.

This time, all members of the delegation were from the legal community. So being able to argue from different points of view is very helpful for one's future, especially when working on an international level later on. Especially for this, participating in MUN is incredibly instructive and inspiring, because global issues and international affairs are debated and practical solutions for worldwide challenges are sought. MUN offers the opportunity to learn about the workings of the United Nations while still a student and thereby gain a better understanding.

At the same time, rhetorical and diplomatic skills are developed. Moreover, the whole thing takes place in English. Although this may seem challenging at first, the delegates were able to observe how they became more confident in negotiating and speaking from conference to conference. Apart from that, the delegation was able to visit the United Nations, court hearings, and various museums. In addition, they were able to meet students from all over the world and make international friends.

Our trip was timed so that we had some free time to explore New York on foot before and after the conference. We spent the conference breaks in the good spring weather in all the parks that New York has to offer and tested ourselves through the different street food offerings.

This time, all members of the delegation were from the legal community. So being able to argue from different points of view is very helpful for one's future, especially when working on an international level later on. Especially for this, participating in MUN is incredibly instructive and inspiring, because global issues and international affairs are debated and practical solutions for worldwide challenges are sought. MUN offers the opportunity to learn about the workings of the United Nations while still a student and thereby gain a better understanding.

At the same time, rhetorical and diplomatic skills are developed. Moreover, the whole thing takes place in English. Although this may seem challenging at first, the delegates were able to observe how they became more confident in negotiating and speaking from conference to conference. Apart from that, the delegation was able to visit the United Nations, court hearings, and various museums. In addition, they were able to meet students from all over the world and make international friends.

Our trip was timed so that we had some free time to explore New York on foot before and after the conference. We spent the conference breaks in the good spring weather in all the parks that New York has to offer and tested ourselves through the different street food offerings.

 

   

 

Last Reharsal: MainMUN March 2022

Part of our delegation participated in the MainMUN in Frankfurt from 10.03 to 13.03.2022. There we represented the UK in the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The conference unfortunately only took place digitally due to the ongoing pandemic, but was still an enriching experience.

 

Preparation: SiegMUN November 2021

 

The delegation of Justus Liebig University was represented at this year's SiegMUN from 17.11.21 to 20.11.21. The students represented the countries Saudi Arabia and Iran in pairs in a business game. In the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), delegates had to deal with the difficult questions of how to keep the price of oil stable in times of global uncertainty and how OPEC nations can adapt to changing energy policies in the future. While the students were dealing with these complex issues, they also had to remember to represent and defend their country's interests.

One challenge arose from the fact that the two countries represented have a strained relationship with each other. Due to the fact that the two countries have historically little cooperation and also have different interests, the two delegations worked on two different resolutions. At the same time, this was also a great opportunity for the students, because the delegation was able to experience the entire conference and the respective experiences could be exchanged on the way home to Giessen.


The entire committee had to experience another challenge. Because while the fictitious OPEC just congratulated itself for its first adopted resolution, the real OPEC was taken to task by the USA. U.S. President Biden's statement that U.S. strategic oil reserves should now be used and that the OPEC nation must boost oil production not only caused a stir in the international markets, but also made the SiegMUN delegates sit up and take notice. This could not be ignored by either the fictitious or the real OPEC and even before the latter could sit down, the SiegMUN delegates had found clear words for President Biden's statement.

SiegMUN - Mohamad und Lina repräsentieren Saudi-Arabien - Foto durch SiegMUN Press Corps

Mohamad und Lina represent Saudi-Arabia 

SiegMUN - Christina und Dijwar repräsentieren den Iran - Foto durch SiegMUN Press Corps

 Christina und Dijwar represent Iran

 Photos of the SiegMUN Press Corp