BMUN LXIX UNSC

     On February 1st, Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw, overthrew the nation's young civilian government. They acted quickly and decisively to shut down the country, temporarily shutting off telecommunications and internet access, and placing Aung San Suu Kyi and other prominent leaders under arrest. The move came shortly before the Burmese Parliament was set to begin its first session following elections in November which brought a landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). In what was broadly seen as a referendum on democracy, the NLD won a resounding 83% of the available seats amid cries of fraud from the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party.       Aung San Suu Kyi is widely regarded as a national hero for her work in advocating for Burmese democracy. The daughter of independence hero Bogyote Aung San, she spent 15 years in house arrest for her role in the 8888 Uprising against the coun...

It is no secret that the Trump Administration dramatically reframed U.S. foreign policy to favor transactional relations and political competition. The past four years have been characterized by none less than the global dwindling of democracy, the rising appeal of authoritarianism and populism, devastating sanctions, and ill-advised trade wars. Tangentially, Sudan has also undergone a drastic transformation in the past four years. From the indictment of former President Omar al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court, to the civilian-led uprising demanding democratic reform, to the lifting of Sudan’s sanctioned designation as a state sponsor of terrorism (SSTL)—the region has demonstrated potential to be a powerful transformational story (Crisis Group, 2020). In October of 2020, just weeks before the Presidential election, former President Donald Trump struck an agreement with Sudan to remove them from the SSTL. In exchange for Khartoum’s agreement to normalize relations with Isrea...

       Despite their prominent role in the Sudanese Revolution, women have continued to be marginalized from decision-making processes and government positions. By some accounts, the proportion of women among the protesters that brought down former President al-Bashir's regime was as high as 70%; however, only a single woman participated in the subsequent power-sharing talks between military and civilian leaders. In the constitutional agreement that was produced, it was mandated that a minimum of 40% of Sudan's future legislative council should be women. However, this document gives no mechanism for how this minimum will be enforced. Compounding the issue further, of the 11 members on the current ruling Sovereign Council, only two are women.        However, some improvements have been made since the oppressive days of al-Bashir's rule. In November of 2019, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok repealed public order laws which restricted women from interac...

The famous photograph capturing Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Alaa Salah or Sudan’s “Woman in White” standing on a car above a sea of Sudanese women undoubtedly broke the internet. Wearing a white dress and golden earrings, hand raised high like a revolutionary leader, Alaa Salah is one of thousands of Sudanese women who led the charge in overthrowing former President Omar al-Bashir’s authoritarian regime in the 2019 Sudanese Revolution. After decades of oppression and marginalization, Sudanese women took to the streets a courageous fight for equal rights, justice, and peace. Constituting 70% of total protesters, Sudanese women shattered stereotypes, reclaimed their agency, and refused to remain silent in the face of state-sanctioned gender discrimination and human rights violations. In the words of Alaa Salah—“the bullet doesn’t kill. What kills is the silence of the people.” Sudan’s movement for liberation reflects the powerful legacy of women’s resistance and leadership in both local...

Hello delegates! Just a friendly reminder that the deadline to turn in your position papers is approaching soon. The deadline to be considered for a research award is February 2nd , and the deadline to be considered for ANY award during committee is February 9th ! If you need guidance on how to format and write your position paper, https://learnbmun.squarespace.com/position-paper-overview is a great way to get started! For open agenda, feel free to write about any current international affairs topic that interests you:)  Also, I wanted to take this time to dive in a little deeper about what we will look for during committee. BMUN is a teaching conference, meaning we hope that you all attending will leave conference weekend having gained some additional knowledge- whether that be on the international issues we will discuss or public speaking skills. Thus, it is important to us that we all maintain a welcoming atmosphere that will promote this learning. We want to emphasize that...

 Hi guys! My name is Sora Kanosue, and I'll be one of your vice chairs for Security Council this year. I'm a sophomore at UC Berkeley studying Computer Science. This is my 6th year in Model United Nations, and my 2nd year in BMUN. Outside of BMUN, I'm an academic intern for the Discrete Math class in the Computer Science department here, and also work as a math tutor in my spare time. I'm also a member of the Berkeley club squash team, and play tennis with my friends when I can. In my spare time I enjoy playing 2k, and am also a suffering Knicks fan. Can't wait to see you guys at conference! Sora