OCMUNC XI:

TOPIC A: CONFLICT PREVENTION

AND NATURAL RESOURCES

- Security Council -

Brief History on the Issue

Since the advent of civilization, wars have been fought for one of three reasons: land, ideology,

or resources. This topic deals with resources alone, and how conflicts naturally arise around

resources, and how to prevent these conflicts in the future.

The history of this issue stretches back into history lost to the ages. The earliest physical

evidence of an actual conflict comes from the ancient city of Hamoukar. Sometime between

4,000 BCE and 3,500 BCE, the region surrounding the city state, which was located in what is

now north-eastern Syria, was invaded and colonized by the expanding realm of the Uruks of

southern Mesopotamia in modern day Iraq. The expanding of the Uruks was part of a desire for

resources which were either not plentiful enough or not present at all. What these particular

resources are or were is only speculation.

This first conflict has been followed ceaselessly by others of the same reason. The

resources fought over have changed greatly over the years, but all are to one end: wealth.

Whatever resource can provide the most profit is the one over which wars are always fought.

Typically there is no limit to the inhumanity to which groups will go to obtain these resources. A

more recent example is the Spanish conquest of South America. The Spaniards went across the

entirety of a continent in search of the resource which was most valuable at the time: gold. The

Spanish went to any length to acquire the gold they so craved, flooding the tropics with blood.

Genocide, slavery, brutality, destruction of the environment, these are but a few of the atrocities

committed by the Spanish. They were easily able to justify these crimes against humanity, by

refusing to view them as such. To them, the Aztec and Inca simply weren’t real people. This

excuse, while absurd today, was very reasonable to Europeans in their time. This provides a

deeper, more chilling message today. To what ends will modern peoples go acquire the resources

of value, and how will we justify crimes we will certainly commit doing so?

Past UN involvement

"As we mark this International Day, let us recognize the wide-ranging and long-term

consequences of damaging the environment – both in peace and times of war. And let us reaffirm

our commitment to the sustainable management of natural resources as a critical element of

durable peace and security." This quote by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon was made in

reference to the 2001 dedication of the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the

Environment in War and Armed Conflict, to be celebrated on November 6. This day is dedicated

to preserving natural resources during times of conflict, and is a large step to the recognition of a

serious problem. Resources have long been an unnoticed casualty of war, such as burning enemy

crops and forests, draining reservoirs, and many other combat tactics which inadvertently hasten

the path to environmental collapse. This day is made to bring international awareness to

combatants to take the preservation of Earths precious natural resources into account when

waging war upon one another.

The UN General Assembly created a Committee specifically to address issues pertaining

to the environment and preservation thereof. This committee is known as the United Nations

Environment Programme, or the UNEP. UNEP was established in December of 1972, in

resolution 2997. The mission statement of the UNEP is: “To provide leadership and encourage

partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and

peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.” The

UNEP is divided into five regions, with Africa having the largest representation.

The UNEP has passed several important resolutions and

declarations, one of which being the Malmo Declaration. This

Declaration in 2000 brought the environmental challenges of the

21st century to the attention of the General Assembly. During

the same year, the UN adopted the Millennium Declaration,

which contained time-bound global objectives on the protection of the environment. These

objectives are known as the Millennium Development Goals. Another major Declaration was the

Montreal Protocol of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, adopted in

1987. This declaration established a plan of action for preserving the deterioration ozone layer.

Past Conflicts Involving Resources

Since 1990, at least eighteen violent conflicts have been fuelled by the exploitation of natural

resources. In fact, recent research suggests that over the last sixty years at least forty percent of

all national conflicts have a link to natural resources. Civil wars such as those in Liberia, Angola

and the Democratic Republic of Congo have centered on high value resources like timber,

diamonds, gold, minerals and oil. Other conflicts, including those in Darfur and the Middle East,

have involved control of scarce resources such as fertile land and water.

From Liberia to Sierra Leone, Angola to Cambodia, natural resources such as timber, diamonds

and minerals have helped fund armies and militias who murder, rape and commit other human

rights abuses against civilians. There are three different types of conflict regions: Countries

where conflicts are ongoing, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, where fighting has

lasted for over 10 years in the mineral-rich east of the country. Countries where the potential for

conflict is high, such as Sudan, where an oil revenue sharing agreement is holding together a

fragile peace deal. And post-conflict countries, such as Liberia, where efforts are underway to

overcome corruption and ensure better management of natural resources after a war that was

fuelled by revenue from timber and diamonds.

Afghanistan has been devastated by decades of conflict and rampant corruption. Poverty is

severe with many Afghans living on less than US $1 per day. Food scarcity and malnutrition are

commonplace in the country. Afghanistan is heavily dependent on aid, but as international forces

withdraw and attention turns to other crisis countries, international support is expected to fall

sharply - further worsening the economic situation. Announcements of mineral and petroleum

reserves worth up to $3 trillion have raised hopes that these resources could transform

Afghanistan’s future. Managed well, they could bring essential revenue and employment into the

country ensuring a better quality of life for the Afghan people and a move away from aid

dependency. Managed badly, such resources could exacerbate corruption and give rise to further

conflict, undermining prospects for future peace, stability and development.

Oil dominates the Republic of Congo and accounts for the vast majority of the country’s

economy. Oil exports were over $7 billion in 2008, yet the Republic of Congo remains one of the

most corrupt and indebted countries in the world, and its oil wealth has contributed to several

bloody wars. While the majority of the population is mired in poverty, a minority surrounding

the family of President Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso are able to live in luxury.

Since 1995, Cambodia’s political and business leaders have exploited the country’s natural

resources for personal profit and to shore up their own positions of power. Instead of harnessing

these state assets to kick-start sustainable economic growth, their mismanagement has fuelled

conflict, corruption and human rights abuses. Meanwhile Cambodia’s international donors have

turned a blind eye and continued to finance essential state services such as infrastructure,

healthcare and education.

Angola is an impoverished country that depends on its oil industry to pay for reconstruction after

a long civil war. It is one of the two top oil-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa but most

of its people still live in dire poverty and have one of the lowest life expectancies in the world:

46.5 years, according to the United Nations. The tens of billions of dollars the country has earned

from oil have brought little benefit to the majority of its citizens.

Between 1989 and 2003 Liberia experienced two exceptionally bloody civil wars that killed over

a quarter of a million people and displaced a further 1.3 million. Global Witness’s investigations

revealed how President Charles Taylor used diamonds and timber to bankroll brutal campaigns

against the people of Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone. Today, Liberia is at peace, and

Taylor has been convicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for crimes committed in that

country. Efforts by the Liberian government and donors to rebuild the economy and turn the

page on past mismanagement have seen mixed success – unemployment is rife and corruption

endemic, while life expectancy stands at just 57 years. As a post-conflict country where natural

resources played a significant role in fuelling the war, Liberia now faces the challenge of

managing its resources in a way that benefits its citizens and prolongs peace.

Natural resources

What may be the most widely contested and fought over resource on the planet is oil.

Called “black gold” since the mid 1800s, oil has reigned as the king of natural resources since

the invention of gasoline and the combustion engine. Oil is harvested mostly in the Middle East

and Africa, with other large sources in South and North America, and Russia. Oil has spurred or

been involved in dozens of conflicts across the Middle East. These conflicts became global with

the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the United States involvement during and after. Many oil fields

were set on fire, wasting this valuable resource and proving that crimes against the environment

are applied tactics in military conflict, a terrible tragedy. The United States reasons for

involvement are still a subject of some scrutiny, a desire to control oil or have allies controlling

oil is a very possible explanation

of involvement.

What is often attributed to

as the rarest of stones, the

diamond, is also one of the most

fought over. Diamonds are mined

largely in Africa, with varying

degrees of conflict. Diamonds are

mined responsibly and are a boon to the economies of some nations such as Botswana, South

Africa, and Namibia. But many unstable African nations such as Angola, Congo, and Sierra

Leone, are all cursed by the wealth of diamonds within their borders. In these politically unstable

or corrupt nations, the diamond trade leads to human slavery, murder, starvation, economic

collapse, and militia rule. The rebel and/or militia groups that hold the diamond mines often

capture slaves to work from nearby villages. Many of these slaves are killed by their abductors or

die from starvation. And since diamonds are small, easily smuggled, and generally untraceable, it

makes it extremely difficult to prevent illegal diamond trade. Christine Gordon, a London-based

journalist and independent diamond expert said that as recently as the mid-1990's, diamonds

from African war zones accounted for 15 percent of world supply. Violence in Africa has done

nothing to change the consuming habits of Americans, who buy more than half the world's

diamond jewelry. Sales jumped about 11 percent last year. Diamond sales are also booming

around the world, with showing record sales last year of more than $5 billion from one African

Militia group.

A third major conflict resource, and one that surprises many people, is water, specifically

fresh water. Water is a resource taken for granted in America and most of Europe. However, in

Africa and the Middle East the climate is often too hot for many fresh water supplies, making

water a scarcity and a valuable resource. Since water is essential to life, deprivation and abuse of

water is far more serious than the abuse of many other natural resources. To deprive a besieged

city or region with water is an ancient battle tactic, first seen in 2500 BC in the Cradle of Life, in

modern day Iraq. This is still a very efficient way for combatants to win conflicts. In Asia, water

is becoming a valued resource as the populations of India and China both exceed 1 billion people

there is barely enough water to go around. More and more regulations are being placed on fresh

water supplies as the populations grow. Across the globe, many national borders are defined by

rivers. These border rivers are now becoming focal points of international tension as nations are

desperate to claim every water supply they can, and each nation claims the river as their own.

Water is swiftly becoming one of the most contested resources in the world, and it is hoped that

this issue can be resolved before the fighting starts.

Guiding Questions

1. With what speed does this issue need to be resolved? Is it extremely pressing or does it

have more years before it becomes a major issue?

2. How are military conflicts typically resolved, and how might those solutions be translated

into solutions for this issue?

3. What are the groups involved? Who is perpetuating the issue? Are they mainly rebel

groups and militias, or governments?

4. What powers does the Security Council have to stop these conflicts?

5. Who stands to gain from the perpetuation of these issues? Who stands to lose? This may

not be only militarily involved groups, but economic powers and businesses.

6. Why is the line between war and economic stimulation so fine for most countries?

Sources and Resources

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http://www.un.org/en/events/environmentconflictday/

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http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/040600africa-diamonds-article1.html

http://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/Security_Council/conflictchronology.pdf

http://partners.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/040600africa-diamonds-map.html

http://b.vimeocdn.com/ps/188/709/1887098_300.jpg

http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2013-

06/conflict_prevention_and_natural_ resources.php

http://www.unssc.org/home/category/themes/peace-and-security/land-natural-resources-and-

conflict-prevention

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resources.php

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resources/

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http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/conservation/naturalresources/grownups.weml