The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the UN, and wields unique power within the institution. Composed of five permanent members and ten rotation members serving two-year terms, the UNSC has worked since its first convening in 1946 to uphold international peace, security, and stability. As such, the committee is regularly tasked with navigating complex threats, where extreme urgency must be balanced with an equal measure of sensitivity.

This year, McMUN’s first-ever ICJ will simulate the critical period following the July 13th, 1998, passage of UNSC Resolution 1181, which granted authorization to the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL). This peacekeeping mission came in response to a period of tumult that began with the insurgency of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in 1991, which catalyzed years of violence and corruption on a national scale.

UNOMSIL primarily sought to oversee and encourage the demobilization of former civil war combatants and to disarm the Civil Defense Force (CDF). Focusing on the critical period immediately following the creation of the mission, delegates will seek to bring the conflict to an end, ushering in peace and stability (while ensuring their own influence in the process). Immediate concerns include navigating the role of peacekeepers in a region ravaged by human rights violations, promoting disarmament, and considering the broader regional stability of West Africa. Civilian safety is at the forefront, but national interests and international norms loom close behind. 

As per UNSC standards on the collegiate circuit, this committee will operate as a full crisis (double notepad system) on Thursday and Friday, and as a double-delegate general assembly on Saturday. Given the timeline of this committee, the actual developments and outcomes of UNOMSIL, which terminated in 1999, fall outside of the scope of debate.

Please note this is a double delegation committee.

The Dais