By Cyrene Woo ||
The Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011, following protests inside the Syrian Arab Republic in favour of freedom and civil liberties with involvement from the West, Russia, and terrorist organizations, which has developed into a major international conflict.
Foreign forces remaining in Syria involve the United States and Russia, who have used preventing terrorist forces from gaining power in Syria as an excuse. With the recent earthquake that struck southern Türkiye and northern Syria, questions are raised about the extent to which foreign forces should be able to provide aid.
During an unmoderated caucus, the delegates divided themselves into two blocs, with opposing stances being whether countries should intervene in the Syrian conflict. The ‘Strongest Bloc’, led by Syria, agrees to provide humanitarian aid for the civilians of Syria by setting up the organization of Angelic Strategic Support (ASS). An international forum, International Stability in Syria (ISIS), is also established. This resolution condemns terrorism perpetrated by the United States and allies on innocent civilians of Syria, and opposes all unauthorized foreign intervention. Countries supporting the resolution include Libya, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, with the delegate of Sudan even stating through a friendly POI that the only problem with the resolution is that it is ‘TOO PERFECT’.
However, countries like the United States, Qatar, and Kuwait have voiced their opinions against the resolution, stating that it does not solve the Syrian crisis from its root cause. The USA claims that the government of Syria is terrorist, and when asked about whether the delegate is being hypocritical by ignoring how the country once colonized Iraq and caused extreme instability, the delegate replies with a strong ‘No. Period.’ The delegate of Kuwait has also made a speech against the resolution, stating that in order to fight the root cause of the war, the problem regarding religious conflicts in Syria has to be addressed. The delegate suggests a ‘not very big’ reform internally in Syria through an amendment, where Syrian civilians are encouraged to be more empathetic and open-minded through means such as ‘social media’ and ‘propaganda’, to promote religious tolerance by ‘spreading love’. The amendment overall does not pass as a majority of delegates have voted against it.
Voting for the resolution as a whole, an overwhelming majority of delegates voted in favour, with only Qatar voting against, and the United States choosing to abstain.
After a brief chess break and a small outbreak from the chair questioning why the Arab League council room doesn’t have a trash can (is it racism), the council moved on to entertain the second resolution submitted by Kuwait. This resolution suggests reforming the Syrian government, establishing the Charter of the Arab League on matters of nationality called the Syrian Panel Engaged in Arab Amnesty Relations (SPEAAR), forming the multinational coalition known as Arab Security Service (ASS), and weakening the influence of foreign entanglement of Iran and Russia in the region.
With the council moving on to debates on the second resolution, how will delegates of the Arab League come up with the best answer to the topic?
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