Policy Notes & Sources of ODU MUN

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Entry Trip End Feb 04, 2008

  Leonardtown, Maryland
Tuesday, February 5, 2008

http://www.statehouse.gm/scrolling/pmaker.html
General Assembly First Committee: Disarmament and International Security (DISEC)
1. Role of Diamonds in Fueling Conflict

 Gambia was suspected of being involved in the blood diamond trade as an export nation that had low export taxes and could hide the true origins of the diamonds. It exported roughly $100 Million in diamonds to Belgium between 1996 and 1999. These were the years that the Revolutionary United Front, the blood-diamond-funded rebel group in Sierra Leone's 9-year civil war was most active.
 Gambia Called a "mini-Antwerp" by the UN, which in 2000 called for an embargo on all diamonds from the country

Sources:
 Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones. Greg Campbell. Boulder: Westview Press, 2002, 256 pp
 http://edition.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/africa/12/19/un.c onflictdiamonds.ap/index.html

2. Reviewing the Peacebuilding Commission Report
Again, Sierra Leone...potentially Casamance

3. Prevention of Outer Space Arms Race: Anti-Satellite and Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense
 Jammeh, especially after growing ties with Iran, has expressed the right of Iran and all countries to have nuclear weapons, though of course it would be desirable if no country had nuclear weapons
o Called Iran's nuclear program "peaceful"
o "Other small countries in the West have nuclear power plants, and that's not an issue. Now, are they telling us that Arabs and Africans â€" and Muslims, for that matter â€" shouldn't have nuclear weapons? If they don't want us to have nuclear weapons, then what is their intention? But my principal belief is that nobody should have nuclear weapons. All countries should scrap their nuclear weapons, and you go back to a peaceful world. If not, every country has a right to nuclear weapons, because the way things are now â€" where you can sit down and then be invaded, because somebody is armed with nuclear weapons â€" the world is dangerous."
o http://www.inthebullpen.com/archives/2007/6041

General Assembly Third Committee: Social and Humanitarian (SOCHUM)
1) 21st Century Epidemics: Effects of Sustainable Development on Health
 Gambia has been engaged in many programs supporting sustainable development, especially since the 1980's. Currently, Gambia has developed it's own Sustainable Development initiative (PRSP) that is supposed to support the UN Millenium Development Goals
 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) effective 2007-2011
o Long term programs for growth and poverty reduction
o Change policy to favor growth of private business
o Focus on productive sectors
o Improve social services
o Build capacity of local communities to develop independently
 Millenium Development Goals
o Created 2002, UN goals for 2015
o create employment
o deliver social services
o reduce child mortality
o improve maternal health
o combat HIV, malaria, etc.
o ensure environmental sustainability
o universal primary education
o promote gender equality, empower women
o develop global partnership for development
 Gambia has had success with a rising GDP, especially due to the growth of private business. In 2006 the GDP rose by 7.7 %, putting it at $3.284 Billion
 Gambia has increased female enrollment in schools to 70%
 Child and maternal mortality is dropping significantly
 Gambia, especially President Jammeh, has been very critical of NEPAD, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, accusing Western governments of using the program to make African nations subservient to Western interests in their development programs
 Gambia's primary health issue is Malaria, which is responsible for 40% of hospital deaths among pregnant women and children has taken many steps to prevent and better treat Malaria in the country
 The primary program fighting Malaria in The Gambia is The National Malaria Control Program, which encourages access to early diagnosis and treatment, prevention through public education and involvement, and research, has been called one of the most successful programs in the region
o led to a 400,000 drop in malaria cases from 2002 to 2004
o brought the percentage of beds with insectiside- treated bed nets to 63%, one of the best percentages in Africa
 An important recent development is the introduction of a new anti-malaraial treatment policy called ACT, encouraging the use of a new drug, called Coartem to treat malaria cases. Through government procurement and distribution of Coartem and training/sensitization programs. The change comes after several reports on the increasing frequency of malaria strands resistant to the traditional drug, Chloraquine.
 One important program in the Gambia provides anti-malarial treatment for pregnant women (IPT) because malaria is especially dangerous for both the mother and child, it is the leading cause of death in pregnant women and children under 5.
o Using a $13.8 million grant over 5 years, in 2004 the program began setting up 24 IPT programs around the country, trained 395 health care workers, and treated 19,200 women
Sources:
 http://www.medicc.org/publications/medicc_review/07 05/international-cooperation-report.html
 http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:UiugXJVbXAYJ:t heglobalfight.org/downloads/Fact_Sheets/Malaria%2520Interven tions.pdf+Gambia%2Bmalaria+prevention%2Bgovernment+program&h l=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=safari
 http://allafrica.com/stories/200801250691.html?page =2

2) Restitution of Cultural Property to Countries of Origin

Basically about illegal art trade. Maybe something from Goree/ St. James Island? (historical artifacts) We are not aware of anything specifically...

3) Global Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
DRUG TRAFFICKING
· Gambia doesn't have significant drug production or trafficking, though cannabis is grown and used locally
· Growth in the use of marijuana, especially related to tourism, is a concern of the government, and recently they have stepped up efforts to seek out and punish growers and dealers
· The National Drug Control Council (NDCC) was created to target the issue and a "war on drugs" was proclaimed by the government.
· Over 600 drug traffickers were charged and prosecuted in the courts in 2002, the last year for which statistics are available; and 1,232 kilograms of prohibited cannabis were destroyed by the NDCC that year.
· Trafficking in persons is a concern of the government, as the sex tourism industry has facilitated the trafficking of children. Cultural issues also support this problem, as the children are sometimes seen as simply supporting their families through the money they earn.
· The country is also a destination for trafficked persons, especially refugees from conflict areas, who are then used as laborers or sex workers.
· The government has no victim care facilities for trafficked persons, though they do have a Task Force on Trafficking in Persons

Source:http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/rwinslow/africa/gam bia.html
Image: http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/analisis/943/image001.jpg

General Assembly Fourth Committee: Special Political and Decolonization (SPECPOL)
1. Regional Cooperation for Peacebuilding Operations
 Gambia is involved in regional groups supporting peacekeeping/peacebuilding efforts in surrounding countries
 Since receiving a two-year, nonpermanent membership on the UN Security Council in 1998, Jammeh's government has had greater legitimacy in foreign affairs.
o 2006, AU summit
o Under Lamin Sedat Jobe (foreign minister), successfully negotiated a cease-fire between warring factions in Guinea-Bissau
o Jammeh aided in a cease-fire in Nigeria in 1999
o Though Senegal's Wade now bars Jammeh's involvment, Jammeh once aided in discussions between Sengal's government and the Movement for a Democratic Casamance (MFDC)
 Accusations from Wade that Gambia is harboring rebles
 At least 9000 refugees from Casamance, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau
http://www.africa-confidential.com/article-preview/id/1967/C rossing-the-river

 Involved in mediation with Guinea-Bissau and Casamance in Senegal
 contributed troops to the community's ceasefire monitoring group (ECOMOG) in 1990 and (ECOMIL) in 2003 (150 troops) in the Liberian civil war and in Sierra Leone
 However, there are also reports of past involvement in the illegal trade of "blood diamonds" from Sierra Leone.
 2004, 196 men to Darfur with UN peacekeeping mission
 Other peacekeeping missions include Bosnia, Kosovo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, and East Timor.
Need:
 Jammeh has a history of shuffling through foreign ministers, in line with a general trend he has with abusing hiring and firing powers to suit his political whims and needs
 Expulsion of EU representative Marc Andre 2002
 Over-dominance of Jammeh as an individual in foreign affairs?
Sources:
 Small States in World Politics: Explaining Foreign Policy Behavior. Jeanne ak Hey (ed.) Lynne Rienner, Boulder, CO, 2003
 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5459.htm#foreign
 http://wow.gm/africa/gambia/article/2007/11/13/stat e-house-press-boss-lauds-gambias-foreign-policy
 http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMa rket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029394365&a=KCountryP rofile&aid=1019672596778
 http://www.gambiaembassy.us/news.php?news_sub_id=19

2. Effect of Religion on Sectarian Violence

 Jammeh Supports two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
o "My delegation strongly urges therefore that all the relevant UN resolutions on Palestine and the Middle East notably, Resolution 242 and 338 [which call for Israel's exit from territories occupied after the 1967 war] be complied with without any further delay. We also fully support those who have called for the recognition of the State of Israel by all nations as well as the creation and the recognition by all, of a State of Palestine."


http://www.un.org/webcast/ga/57/statements/020920gambiaE.htm

 Jammeh critical of conditions in Iraq, blames the occupation for spreading sectarian violence in the country and region in general.
 Counterterrorism Committee in 2001
 Increasing ties to Iran and Iranian President Ahmadinejad

3. Review of Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

http://www.monuc.org/News.aspx?newsID=11529&menuOpened=About %20MONUC
Mandate

The United Nations Security Council established MONUC to facilitate the implementation of the Lusaka Accord signed in 1999. [when The Gambia was on the Security Council] With a budget exceeding one billion dollars, it is the largest and most expensive mission in the Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO).

MONUC's mandate can be broken down into four phases: Phase one involved forcibly implementing the ceasefire agreement. Phase two involved its monitoring, and the reporting of any violations through the proper channels. The third phase, still underway, centers on the DDRRR (disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration) process. Phase four, also in progress, includes facilitating the transition towards the organization of credible elections.

MONUC is placed under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Its mandate authorizes it to use all means deemed necessary, within the limits of its capacities and in the areas of deployment of its armed units, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence; and to contribute to the improvement of the security conditions.

**The Gambia has 3 UN volunteers and 5 civilian staff members. More support is from Senegal.**

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