Crisis Committees

Comprising a significantly larger portion of our conference than is to be traditionally expected, our crisis committees set MEDMUN apart from other conferences. By participating in a real-time crisis simulation involving chance, calculation and the execution of current events-based events, delegates are given the chance to apply their research and conflict strategies in an exciting and dynamic setting.

A small portion of our crisis simulation includes semi-crisis coordination, or the insertion of crisis elements into MEDMUN’s non-crisis committees. By employing a translator to communicate between committees, MEDMUN realistically simulates real negotiations where the interests of multiple parties are amplified and the ongoing crisis can complicate the job of our delegates at any moment.

The Crisis Committees for MEDMUN 2017 can be found below!

2015 marked a year of unprecedented deterioration of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran: in March, Saudi Arabia started a military campaign in Yemen to counter the Iran-backed Houthis on their quest to rule the country. Riyadh accused Iran of orchestrating a coup d’etat using the militia; Tehran retaliated, saying that Saudi air strikes were targeting civilians and soft targets.  In July, Iran signed a landmark nuclear deal with the P5+1 countries, drawing criticism from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, who argued that Iran was untrustworthy and just looking to expand Shi’a influence in the region. Around that time, President Obama met with leaders of the GCC to affirm the commitment of the US to security in the Gulf and protecting the interests of its allies: King Salman did not attend, which was widely seen as a snub to Western interest and negotiations with Iran.  In September, over 2,400 pilgrims were killed in a stampede during the Hajj, almost 500 of whom were Iranian. Tehran accused the Saudi royal family of mismanagement, saying that they weren’t capable of handling the Hajj and ruling the sacred cities. In October, Saudi and Iranian delegates were forced to convene at Vienna-based talks on the Syrian peace process, in which the two countries support opposing factions. The two countries seem increasingly disparate in terms of their grand visions of the region. Yemen, it seems, has become the most obvious battleground for these two competing visions of the Greater Middle East to clash. Sectarianism, military strategy, and grand personalities govern the fierce rivalry between the two Islamic nations. What comes next is unclear, but the stakes are high and the world is watching.

En 1978, l’armée israélienne lance l’opération Litani. Elle survient suite au différentes attaques ayant lieu au niveau des frontières Israëlo-Palestiniennes qui ont jonché le cours des années 1970. Toutefois, celle-ci échoue ne parvient pas à stabiliser la situation qui devient de plus en plus tendue et culmine en 1980 lors des événements qui ont secoué le village de Kiryat Shmona, “la ville des huit” hommes juifs tués suite à des représailles palestiniennes depuis les frontières libanaises. Cette zone frontalière a donc été, en termes de développement, loin derrière le reste d’Israël du fait des tensions incessantes qui la secouent.

Par ailleurs, l’Organisation pour la Libération de la Palestine (OLP) multiplie les attaques en katioucha et développe une technique de guérilla particulièrement efficace et agressive qui menace de plus en plus le voisin Israélien. Parallèlement, la tentative d’assassinat de l’ambassadeur israélien à la capitale britannique par des membres agissant sous les ordres d’Abou Nidal (fondateur du Fatah Conseil Révolutionnaire et activiste considéré comme terroriste par l’Union Européenne, et le Canada entre autres) aggrave ces tensions, conduisant ainsi, 3 jours plus tard, à ce que l’opération “Paix pour la Galilée” débute.