General Assembly delegates vote to pass a motion during the first session, Tuesday. (SG photo by Hirah Azhar)JEDDAH: The Japanese delegate to a mock UN General Assembly remarked that unless rulers listen to what their people have to say there will be protests and uprisings like the kind the Middle East is currently witnessing. A fiery debate over whether the people of a country can dictate how they want to be led saw the delegates of Bahrain, Malaysia, Qatar, Japan, the two Koreas, Yemen, France, Spain, Liberia and others verbally battle it out in a lecture hall within the serene confines of the Dar Al-Hekma College. Committee sessions at the second annual Dar Al-Hekma Model United Nations conference (DAHMUN) began Tuesday with 120 female delegates from schools and higher education institutions across Jeddah in attendance. The sessions offer delegates the opportunity to participate in mock United Nations set-ups with the General Assembly (GA), Security Council (SC) and Human Rights Council (HRC) all holding simultaneous sessions over three days along the theme of “Shifting Sands: A Wave of Change”. Students as young as 14 were split into the three committees; each individual was given a country to represent. General Assembly delegates debated the “situation of Arab states declaring states of emergency in times of turmoil”; Human Rights Council delegates debated the status of social media and freedom of speech in the context of the current crises in the region; and Security Council delegates debated the impact of the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya in the wake of the popular revolt against Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Chaired by DAHMUN officers, the committee sessions involved a refreshing variety of students. Institutions represented at this year's conference include Effat University, Jeddah Knowledge International School, Bangladesh International School (English Section) Jeddah, Al Falah International School (DPS), Dar Al-Fikr and Indian International School Jeddah, among others. GA delegates spent much time debating the international definition of “state of emergency” as well as the violation of basic human rights during uprisings in their session. The HRC saw the Algerian delegate, as well a number of her colleagues, speak passionately about the contribution of social networking mediums like Facebook and Twitter toward mobilizing and uniting like-minded people. The Security Council, which arguably offers the most specific topic to debate, gave delegates the opportunity to discuss international security and the legality of such policy measures. The initial buzz of excitement amongst the delegates mellowed into a deep-seated nervousness as they realized how strictly the conference was going to resemble real United Nations sessions. Delegates would often lapse into the first-person when addressing each other and DAHMUN officers were forced to gently remind them of the various regulations and procedures, often offering understanding smiles as they did so. “Delegates are normally very nervous on the first day,” explained Nada Rizwan, DAHMUN's undersecretary general for Operations. “By the second and third days, they normally have a better grasp of the protocol and they gain a lot of confidence by continuous public speaking.” By the end of the first day, participants were addressing each other in the third person by habit and calling for motions and voting with much more confidence – and enthusiasm – than they were at the start. When the time came to draft resolutions, groups of participants huddled together and enthusiastically contributed to finding their unique solutions to the turmoil in the region. These resolutions and further debates will take place over the next two days and culminate in an awards ceremony on Thursday when the conference officially ends.
