Haganum Model United Nations Gymnasium Haganum, The Hague Research Reports Security council The Question of ISIS 4 th, 5 th and 6 th of March 2016
Haganum Model United Nations 2016 4th of March 6th of March 2016 Forum: Issue: Student Officer: Position: Security Council The Question of ISIS Rohaan Radhakrishnan Deputy Chair Introduction We live in a world plagued by terrorism. We hear about the bombings and shootings constantly occurring on global level, and the terror and violence that has cast a shadow on Earth. Terrorism has existed for centuries and over the last few decades it has grown at an exponential rate. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda have been the prominent terrorist groups in the recent decades, however lately ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) has become one of the beacons of terror in the world. In an age of terrorism we are all aware of ISIS, the Jihadist militant group that has been terrorizing the world lately. Only officially a terrorist group in 2010, ISIS is a relatively new terrorist organization, however they are now known as one of the deadliest on the planet. The topic of ISIS is an extremely complex one that involves many parties and ideologies. Recently ISIS has become the richest terrorist organization till date. This funding is obtained from oil and the raiding of major banks and companies. Thus they have a huge arsenal of weaponry and funding which is making them a prime force against the world. Definition of Key Terms Terrorism Terrorism is the use of violence, intimidation and terror to pursuit a particular ideology, in most cases for political reasons. Caliphate A caliphate is a form of Islamic office or justification that is lead by a Caliph, who represents the entire Muslim population Jihadist 2 Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2016 4th of March 6th of March 2016 Jihadists are people who take Jihad, which is an Islamic term for preserving their religion, as their duty. Background Information History ISIS is a Sunni jihadist group that has an extremely violent ideology and refers to itself as a caliphate and asserts all Muslims. First inspired by Al-Qaeda and conforming to a sector of Al-Qaeda, it was later expelled from it. Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which was led by Abu Musab al-zarqawi, was responsible for many of the terrorist activities in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi was later killed in 2006 and replaced by an Iraqi fighter, Abu Du a. Also known as Al- Baghdadi, he later took more power over Iraq and renamed the group ISIS, where the group had officially been separated from Al-Qaeda. Territories and Goals The group has vast territories in Iraq and Syria, where it preaches Sharia law. It also has affiliations with countries such as Afghanistan and Nigeria. It has only recently gained prominence by driving Iraqi officials out, and capturing major cities. The group s main goal is to create the foundation of a Sunni Islamic state and create apocalypse in the world. They intend to conquer the world and kill any who do not believe in the Koran. They have a very violent and radical approach and are also causing a great deal of socioeconomic impacts on nations and specifically Islamists. Territory controlled by ISIS 3 Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2016 4th of March 6th of March 2016 Funding When it comes to funding ISIS is fully fledged. The biggest revenue was from the coup of the central bank in Mosul. Where they earned up to $430 million, furthermore they also raided many other of the banks in Mosul. $40 million of its income is also from oil-rich nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where it is supposed that individuals and donors are in alliance with ISIS. Surprisingly ISIS supposedly makes approximately $1billion, from trafficking Afghan drugs, specifically heroin into Europe. Major Countries and Organizations Involved United States of America The USA have given millions of dollars worth of military equipment to fighters opposing ISIS, furthermore they have sent nearly $548 million in humanitarian aid to Iraq and Syria. It has also conducted more than 800 airstrikes against ISIS and deployed over 3,000 US troops. Most importantly they have also been the key member in the coalition against ISIS. Saudi Arabia Regional Sunni power Saudi Arabia is part of US-led military action against IS targets in Syria. Saudi has been a key supporter of the rebels, but it has denied that it directly supports IS. In July 2014, Riyadh deployed 30,000 troops to increase security along its border with Iraq. United Kingdom The UK parliament is extending its bombing campaign against IS in Iraq and Syria. In 2013 the UK was approved for British air strikes against ISIS. Australia Australia is part of the military coalition targeting IS territory in Syria and Iraq. It launched airstrikes in Syria in September 2015. 4 Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2016 4th of March 6th of March 2016 Canada The new Canadian prime minister recently announced that Canada will be pulling their fighter jets from the air strikes in Syria and ISIS. Jordan Jordan, who are a US ally, stated that they would carry out air strikes on IS militants in Syria in September 2014. The general public agrees that ISIS should be handled before becoming active in Jordan. In 2014 ISIS threatened to "break down" Jordan's borders furthermore there are growing number of ISIS supporters. Iraq When ISIS took over the city of Mosul in June 2014, Syria requested US air strikes, they launched air strikes in August 2014. After Mr. Maliki stepped down and a new Iraqi government was formed. The US gave assistance to train, advise and equip the Iraqi military. Syria President Bashar al-assad repeatedly warned Syria of the threat of Islamist extremists, however at the time no one believed this idea. Although now we acknowledge that ISIS cannot be beaten without attacking its roots in Syria, the Western world still want Assad out of power and are hesitant to co-operate with him. The Syrian foreign ministry supports the efforts at "combating terrorism" caused by ISIS. Russia Russia is not taking part of the US-led coalition but has begun starting air strikes in Syria in September 2015. President Vladimir Putin says that they are targeting ISIS strongholds. Furthermore it has been confirmed that ISIS conducted the Russian aircraft that was downed in Egypt. United Arab Emirates The UAE is opposed to Islamist groups in the region and they have been reported to have offered its air force to attack ISIS to the US. 5 Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2016 4th of March 6th of March 2016 Bahrain Bahrain has also contributed in the US-led military action against ISIS in Syria. It also hosts the headquarters of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, which is responsible for the naval forces in the waters in the Middle East. Turkey Turkey is extremely eager to defeat ISIS, which has advanced into it s territory along its borders. Turkey believes that ISIS carried out the deadly bombings in Suruc, in July 2015 and Ankara in October. Turkish fighter jets have now started carrying out attacks on ISIS in Syria. Lebanon Lebanon has become greatly segregated by the conflict in Syria, and has had to deal with the negative spillover effects of violence and refugees. Jihadist militants also carried out several bombings in Beirut. France France was part of the US-led coalition targeting IS in Iraq in September 2014. It started it s first airstrikes in September 2015 on Syria. The president has vowed to intensify strikes against IS after the deadly attacks in 2013. Timeline of Events Date April 18, 2010 March, 2011-2013 April, 2013 Description of event Abu Bakr al-baghdadi becomes leader of IS Unrest in Syria turns into revolution that erupts into civil war. IS starts carry out a bombings in Iraq ISI declared to merging with the Nusra front (entity of Al-Qaeda) 6 Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2016 4th of March 6th of March 2016 January, 2014 ISI overrun Fallujah (Iraqi city). 13,000 families forced to flee. June 10-29, 2014. August 8, 2014 August 19, 2014 September 5, 2014 September-October, 2014 November 16, 2014 December 15, 2014 December 24, 2014 January 7-11, 2015 February 15, 2015 March 12, 2015 May 16, 2015 May 17, 2015 November 13, 2015 ISIS captures Mosul (Second largest Iraqi city), becomes the richest terrorist group after taking $429Million from the Mosul central bank. Imposition of strict Sharia law in its territory. Mass Kidnappings and executions in Iraq and Syria. Group declares itself as IS US launch air strikes against ISIS. American hostage and journalist beheaded, as retaliation against the US. USA forms an anti-is coalition, including Britain, France, Canada and numerous Arab nations. Multiple French, British and Canadian hostages beheaded on video, as retaliation. Mass beheading of Syrian soldiers 17 hostages taken in a café in Sydney IS take down Jordanian warplane Charlie-Hebdo attacks in Paris 21 Egyptians beheaded on a beach Boko Haram makes an alliance with ISIS US special Ops raid ISIS camp in Syria and kill key figure ISIS gain control of major Iraqi city Ramadi ISIS attack sends suicide bombers to six locations in Paris. 129 people killed. 7 Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2016 4th of March 6th of March 2016 Relevant UN Treaties and Events There have been many UN resolutions and treaties formed to help reduce and stop terrorism and the affects of Terrorism. Many also include the violation of Human Rights and the social and economic impacts of terrorism. NGOs have focused their resources on helping refugees, these include: Project HOPE, Refugees International, Mercy Corps and many more. Here are few of the UN Resolutions regarding ISIS: Condemning Gross, Widespread Abuse of Human Rights by Extremist Groups in Iraq and Syria, 15 August 2014, (S/RES/2170) Condemns ISIL Terrorist attacks, 20 November 2015, (S/RES/2249) To strengthen and expand measures to cut off funds to the terror group, 20 December 2015 Previous Attempts to solve the Issue There is a lot of involvement in an attempt to stop ISIS. There are twelve countries that have launched airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Furthermore 30 more countries have provided aid, in terms of military and military training. These countries are also being helped my rebel groups such as (Iraqi Kurds, and the Islamic Front), and depleting ISIS resources. The United Nations, through several resolutions have condemned ISIS and its allies. They have asked member states to do their best to contain ISIS, successfully relocate the approximate 4 million refugees. Furthermore the UN Security Council are planning on authorizing military action against ISIS, as many nations have deployed armed forces however none have shown the intent to destroy ISIS with ground troops for example. Possible Solutions It is clear that a major force is needed against ISIS, and the solutions are quite minimal, due to the extremely complicated issue. Primarily in a holistic approach there needs to be more done to prevention of radical groups in order to block terrorism at its source. It is also important to increase religious diversity as different cultures can understand and accept differences, unlike revolting. This is the next step for nations to further prevent organization such as ISIS to arise in the future. 8 Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2016 4th of March 6th of March 2016 The use of violence seems like the only possible solution for us to stop ISIS. ISIS has too much power in their region for any military to have much affect, thus this issue must be solved from within, perhaps without the use of violence. There needs to be an agreement, a state of equilibrium in the region(s), a government to represent the interests of the people, someone with power, authority and charisma. Stopping ISIS by the use of violence is a last resort option. It may seem like a simple task, with a few nuclear bombs heading ISIS way, however no one wants innocent civilians to die in the process. War would lead to many loses of lives and not only that, it would take years to completely eliminate ISIS from the face of the earth, due to the extent of their coverage. It will require the world s armies to come together, bring their resources and fight in unity against ISIS. Bibliography "I Was Held Hostage by Isis. They Fear Our Unity More than Our Airstrikes." The Guardian. Nicolas Henin, n.d. Web. "In 60 Seconds: What Does Islamic State Want? - BBC News." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. "ISIS Fast Facts - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. "ISIS: Trail of Terror." ABC News. ABC News Network, n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. "ISIS." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS): Why Isn't Anybody Doing Anything to End ISIS?" Why Isn't Anybody Doing Anything to End ISIS? N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. "Islamic State: Where Key Countries Stand." Islamic State: Where Key Countries Stand. BBC, n.d. Web. "The Islamic State: Who Is ISIS? An Open Source Investigation." Global Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. "What Does ISIS Want? Everything We Don t." Mirror. The Mirror, 17 Nov. 2015. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. Wing, Nick. "15 Shocking Numbers That Will Make You Pay Attention To What ISIS Is Doing In Iraq." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2015. "Definition of Caliphate." Caliphate. N.p., n.d. Web. "Los Zetas vs ISIS: Who Is The Most Dangerous?" Xpatnation. N.p., 01 Apr. 2015. Web. 03 Jan. 2016. "Security Council Adopts Resolution 2170 (2014) Condemning Gross, Widespread Abuse of Human Rights by Extremist Groups in Iraq, Syria Meetings Coverage and Press Releases." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2016. 9 Research Reports
Haganum Model United Nations 2016 4th of March 6th of March 2016 "Security Council 'Unequivocally' Condemns ISIL Terrorist Attacks, Unanimously Adopting Text That Determines Extremist Group Poses 'Unprecedented' Threat Meetings Coverage and Press Releases." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2016. "UN Adopts Resolution to Cut Off IS Funds." VOANEWS. VOANEWS, n.d. Web. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/16/isis-bombs-hostage-syria-islamic-stateparis-attacks http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27905425 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buywc20zwxq&feature=youtu.be 1 0 Research Reports