BMUN LXIX UNSC

For the past 17 years, Um Naria has supported her family by selling traditional Yemeni samosas in front of a local school in Al-Hodeidah, Yemen. As a mother of six children, Um Naria relies on her local samosa sales in order to provide food for her family and pay her medical expenses. However, as Yemen’s economic crisis worsens, rent prices and costs of daily expenses are on the rise. As small businesses are forced to close and schools are shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Um Naria can no longer sell her samosas and now struggles to keep her family fed and healthy.  Um Naria is one of hundreds of thousands of women struggling to make ends meet in Yemen today. Amidst the ongoing armed conflict and economic hardships, women in Yemen face added challenges posed by COVID-19. As men enter the conflicts, the number of female-headed households are increasing. With 75% of Yemen's population dependent on international aid, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the world’s worst humani...

     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...