Greetings delegates!
My name is Tom Winkler, and it is my honour to be serving as the Chair of the Historical Security Council – 1994, with special focus on the Rwandan genocide. First, a little bit about me. I am a junior here at Penn State, majoring in Health Policy and Administration. I’ve been in Model UN for six years now, and have attended many different conferences, both nationally and internationally. This will be my second year in a row chairing for PUNC, and I am the only returning chair from PUNC 2011, where I received rave reviews from my delegates. I have chaired at other conferences, including the Lake Erie International Model United Nations collegiate and high school conferences, and at Lock Haven University MUN’s high school conference. Also, feel free to contact me with any questions (my e-mail address is below). That’s enough about me for now, so let’s get to the good stuff.
This committee will keep you on the edge of your seat from the moment you enter into debate until we adjourn, not knowing what will happen next, or who will be the next to die. If not already obvious from the above title of this committee, this will be a historical committee set in 1994. There is much going on around the world during this year. The Bosnian War and the Yemeni Civil War are both in full swing. The Kremlin Accords are signed by Clinton and Yeltsin, Iraq invades Kuwait, and South Africa holds its first elections after the end of apartheid. Rwanda, our main focus, is by no means free from tensions.
1994 brought the country no closer to a solid cease-fire or relaxation of tensions. The Arusha Accords were signed, but the timeline set forth was beginning to fall behind. Elections were mandated within 22 months after the signing of the Accords, but this appeared to be a questionable success to achieve. Security Council Resolution 872, signed in October 1993, created the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), and began the UN’s peacekeeping involvement in Rwanda. The force remained small, and would see great challenges in 1994.
Of course, the largest event in Rwanda in 1994 was the Rwandan Genocide that began 06 April, 1994, and lasted through a good portion of the summer. With the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a systematic killing of the Tutsi minority and moderate Hutus began, and would not end until at least 800 000 Rwandans were killed. An event that I would call the biggest failure of the international community since the Holocaust, the devastation is still felt today.
This committee looks to change history. Beginning in early 1994, we will convene and focus our efforts on Rwanda. Historically, the Security Council did not do this, so you are already at an advantage. However, it will be up to you and your fellow delegates to stop this horrible atrocity from happening. Can you stop one of the biggest genocides of the 20th century, or will you fail like the international community did in 1994? The outcome will be of your choosing, and I hope that we can save a few lives and change history.
Yours in peace and security,
Tom Winkler
Tew5084@psu.edu
