The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was established in 1945 via the establishment of the UN Charter at the end of World War II. As one of the UN’s six principal organs, the Security Council is unique among the committees offered at NHSMUN in its membership, scope, and power. The UNSC has a unique, preventive, and reactionary role in the UN—it is meant to respond to international crises and maintain international peace. In response to such crises, the Council can mandate decisive actions such as peace talks, mediations, negotiations, and meetings. Additionally, according to Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the Council can approve the use of force if there is no other way to maintain international peace. The Security Council can also deploy UN peacekeeping operations and impose sanctions on states. Only the Security Council has this power.

Yugoslavia was a multiethnic federation in the Balkans, a true mixed economy, a wedge between the West and the East, and the only country to rid itself of Nazi influence on its own. Former President Joseph Broz Tito had built a modern state. However, he was now dead, and the long-suppressed ethnic tensions had reared their heads. After a failure to resolve their disputes, accusations of treason, and the deployment of the army and armed militias, Yugoslavia was at war. The Croats and Slovenians demanded their independence and self-determination, but do the Serbs still advocate for a Federation or a Greater Serbia? Who believes in a United Yugoslavia? Who believes in freedom and self-determination? As the conflict continues, values are replaced with tribalism, trust with fear, and peace with unspeakable violence. It is time for the United Nations Security Council to intervene: for peace, justice, and the security of all the people of Yugoslavia.

The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991 was met with near-universal condemnation internationally. However, the US-led involvement in what became the First Gulf War was complex and often confusing. It has shifted into a tough balancing act between rival interests in the Arab World and beyond. Despite the trend of shrinking defense budgets in the early 1990s, the Gulf War is now a flash point that could heighten tensions. Several entities would feel this, like NATO and the former Soviet Union, Iraq’s former enemy Iran, or any one of a combination of states. Given the large coalition involved with the intervention in Iraq, there is unique scope for a near-universal involvement of delegates in the proceedings, either as allies or opponents, with far-reaching economic impacts on the entire region and world. Given the international involvement and fallout from the conflict, it is high time the United Nations Security Council becomes involved.