The first day of any conference is centred around fostering relations and seizing every opportunity, to better understand the stance of other parties.
I had the chance to speak to the delegates of the People's Republic of Algeria1, who remarked that their six o’clock wake up wasn’t the most pleasant, but that they were pleased to be there and had plans to make headway with their policies immediately. They planned to gain an understanding of how far each country is willing to back their previous policies, as Algeria claims to be looking to achieve big change, unlike Switzerland who they viewed as 'too neutral'.
They said that their priorities focus on immigration and human trafficking because they are trying to better their ‘Tier 3’ trafficking status2. They remarked that they will also take a harsh stance on Nuclear Treaties and aim to be a Nuclear-free nation. Going forward, they planned to form coalitions with Mozambique and Russia to force an answer from France. This was a direct result to France’s history of nuclear testing in Alegria. Algeria also planned to sit down with the USA to discuss funding potential. However, they were unsure of whether this would be successful. After the briefing of the council chairs at 11am, I spoke to Jessica Wood, Chair of the Security Council. She remarked that she was grateful that James Wallman (pictured below) had set a full agenda and relayed it forcefully to ensure that everyone present in the briefing thoroughly understood how the day was going to run, down to the last minute!
In Lecture Theatre One, delegates showcased their leadership skills by presenting their points in lobbying sessions - making deals with other delegations left, right and centre. I was able to catch a short word with the delegate for the People's Republic of China and the delegate of the People's Republic of Algeria, who seemed to have close diplomatic ties. They had just been approached by a new coalition of delegates from France, Ecuador, Guyana, and Mozambique who had presented their idea for the diversion of nuclear power and technology from weapons to agricultural power for Guyana. Algeria remained severely unimpressed, remarking that a five percent annual commitment was far too little and that they would prefer to see ‘more action’ and quickly. Furthermore, the PRC admitted that they were against the reduction of nuclear weapons as they believe that the nuclear threat of their country makes them strong. Also, the PRC alluded that she did not believe the ‘coalition’ was going to last as nothing had been signed. It seems that there are high expectations for the Model United Nations of Cambridge 2024.
1 Alice Boylan, Chloe Griffin, Ruth Appolos, Sofia Henderson-Casadevall, Charlotte Trueman
2 Human Trafficking Rank: Countries fall into one of four possible tiers or categories: Tier 1 (best), Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, and Tier 3 (worst). Only Tier 1
countries comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards for eliminating trafficking, while the rest are noncompliant and vary in terms of their level of effort.
IF10587 (congress.gov)
Author: Arwen Tarling
© MUNoC 2024 Department of Press
