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MODEL UNITED NATIONSUNGA STUDY GUIDE
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An Introduction to the General Assembly
TheUnited
Nations
General
Assemblys
first
session
took
place
on
10th
January,
1946.
51
members
attendedtheconferenceatLondonsWestminsterCentralHall.Atpresent,thereare132members
inthisorganoftheUnitedNations,representingalmostallcountries,blocs,opinionsandforemostof
allthepeople,oftheworld.
ItwascreatedintheformofaWorldParliament,adeliberativeassemblytoformulatethefuture
ofourworldeveryaspectofitsocial,cultural,economic,scientific,political,environmentaland
humanitarian.
Article10ofUnitedNationsCharterstates,TheGeneralAssemblymaydiscussanyquestionsorany
matterswithinthescopeofthepresentCharterorrelatingtothepowersandfunctionsofanyorgans
providedforinthepresentCharter.Itsscopewasfurtherincreasedinits5thsessiononNovember3,1950,whenaUnitedStatessponsoredresolutionnamedUnitingforPeacewasaccepted.Now,
theGeneralAssembly Resolves that if theSecurityCouncil,becauseof lackofunanimityof the
permanentmembers,failstoexerciseitsprimaryresponsibilityforthemaintenanceofinternational
peaceandsecurityinanycasewherethereappearstobeathreattopeace,itwillitselfconsiderthe
matterimmediatelytomakerecommendationstoitsMembersofcollectivemeasurestobetakenin
thenameofInternationalPeaceandSecurity.IftheGeneralAssemblyisnotinsessionatthetime
suchasessioniscalledfor,anEmergencySpecialSessionwillbeconvened,towhichallmemberswill
havetoattendwithin24hoursofitsbeginning.Tothisdate,fivesuchEmergencySpecialSessions
havebeenconvened.ThreeoutoffiveweretodiscussanissueintheMiddleEast,twooutofwhich
wererelated
specifically
to
an
armed
struggle
between
Israel
and
Arabs
[The
Suez
Crisis
(1956)
and
TheSixDayWar(1967)].
History
Before there was an OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), the great oil
companiesoftheWestruledtheroost.Oilisthelifebloodoftheindustrializednations.Itisusedin
planes,cars,tanks,skyscrapers,fertilizer,drugsandsynthetics.YetbackbeforethedaysofOPEC,the
greatoilcompaniesoftenretained65%ormoreoftherevenuefromaproductthatwas
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producedonsomeoneelse'sproperty.Thenin1960,manyoftheoilproducingnations,fromboth
theMiddleEastandelsewhere,formedacarteltoprotecttheirinterests.
Beforetheembargo,theindustrializedWest,especially
theUnited
States,
had
taken
cheap
and
plentiful
petroleum for granted. Between 1945 and the late
1970s, the West and Japan consumed more oil and
minerals thanhadbeenused in allprevious recorded
history.OilconsumptionintheUnitedStateshadmore
than doubled between 1950 and 1974. With only 6
percent of the world's population, the U.S. was
consuming33percentoftheworld'senergy.
The goal of OPEC was to present a common front in
negotiations with the giant oil companies, which
themselvesworked
closely
together.
OPEC
set
the
stage
foranewprocessinwhichtheproducernationswould
eventuallytakeoverthefunctionsofthecompanies,at
least in production, and retain much more of the
revenues. But OPEC really had little impact from its
foundingin1960until1973.Thenallhellbrokeloose.
In 1973, theU.S. and theWesternworldwere in the
midstofan inflationary spiral.Theworldhadbecomehighlyvulnerable tocommoditycartels,as
twentyyearsofprosperityandacceleratingpopulationgrowthhadcreatedheavydemandforraw
materials.In
the
U.S.,
consumer
prices
were
rising
at
an
8.5%
clip,
while
inflation
rates
in
other
nations
wereoftenmuchhigher.Thedemand forMiddleEasternoilhadbeen increasing throughout the
industrializedworldand theneedsof thesecountriesgrew far faster thanproduction.OPECwas
growingstrongeranditwasdeterminedtoincreaseitsshareoftheprofits.
PresidentNixon,aspartofhisillfatedpricecontrolprogram,hadslappedcontrolsonoilinMarch
1973.TheU.S.,whichhadbeenselfsufficientinenergyasrecentlyas1950,wasnowimportingsome
35%ofitsenergyneeds.U.S.petroleumreserveswerenearlygone.Governments,corporationsand
individualswereentirelyunpreparedforwhatwouldhappennext.
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Freeze Date
The
Freeze
date
for
this
committee
will
be
the
7th
of
October
1973.
Basically
it
means
that
committee
willbeconvenedonthisday.So,wewillnotbeawareofanyissueoccurringafterthisdate.(Inthe
studyguidewemayhavementioneda feweventsoccurring lateron.Butthat isjust forabetter
understandingofthiscrisisandshouldnotbeusedincommittee)
The Agenda
FORMATION OF THE ORGANIZATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTINGCOUNTRIES(OPEC)OPECisanoilcartelwhosemissionistocoordinatethepoliciesoftheoilproducingcountries.The
goalistosecureasteadyincometothememberstatesandtosecuresupplyofoiltotheconsumers.
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization that was created at the Baghdad Conference on
September1014,1960,byIraq,Kuwait,Iran,SaudiArabiaandVenezuela.Lateritwasjoinedbynine
moregovernments:Libya,UnitedArabEmirates,Qatar,Indonesia,Algeria,Nigeria,Ecuador,Angola,
andGabon.OPECwasheadquarteredinGeneva,SwitzerlandbeforemovingtoVienna,Austria,on
September1,1965.
OPECwasformedatatimewhenthe internationaloilmarketwas largelyseparate fromcentrally
plannedeconomies,
and
was
dominated
by
multinational
companies.
OPEC's
Policy
Statement'
states
thatthereisarightofallcountriestoexercisesovereigntyovertheirnaturalresources.BecauseOPEC
isanorganisationofcountries(notoilcompanies),individualmembershavesovereignimmunityfor
theiractions,meaningthatOPECisnotregardedasbeingsubjectto"Antitrust"orCompetitionLaw
inthenormalway.
VenezuelaandIranwerethefirstcountriestomovetowardstheestablishmentofOPECinthe1960s
by approaching Iraq,Kuwait and SaudiArabia in1949, suggesting that theyexchange views and
exploreavenues for regularandclosercommunicationamongpetroleumproducingnations. The
founding members are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Later members include
Algeria,Angola,
Ecuador,
Gabon,
Indonesia,
Libya,
Qatar,
Nigeria,
and
the
United
Arab
Emirates.
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In1014September1960,attheinitiativeoftheVenezuelanEnergyandMinesministerJuanPablo
PrezAlfonsoandtheSaudiArabianEnergyandMinesministerAbdullahalTariki,thegovernments
ofIraq,Iran,Kuwait,SaudiArabiaandVenezuelametinBaghdadtodiscusswaystoincreasetheprice
ofthecrudeoilproducedbytheirrespectivecountries.
YOMKIPPURWARIn1971,EgyptianpresidentAnwarSadatraisedthepossibilityofsigninganagreementwithIsrael,provided
thatall the territoriescapturedby the Israeliswere returned.Forall the talkofpeace, though, itwasstill
violencethatgrabbedtheheadlines.Duringthesummerof1972,PalestinianterroristsinfiltratedtheMunich
Olympicsandmurdered11Israeliathletes.
Withnoprogress towardpeace,Sadatbegan to say thatwarwas inevitableand thathewasprepared to
sacrificeonemillion soldiers in the showdownwith Israel.Throughout1972and formuchof1973,Sadat
threatenedwarunlesstheUnitedStatesforcedIsraeltoaccepthisinterpretationofResolution242total
Israeliwithdrawal
from
territories
taken
in
1967.
Simultaneously,SadatappealedtotheSovietstobringpressureontheUnitedStatesandtoprovideEgyptwith
moreoffensiveweapons.TheSovietUnionwasmoreinterestedinmaintainingtheappearanceofdtentewith
theUnitedStates thanaconfrontation in theMiddleEast; therefore, it rejectedSadatsdemands.Sadats
responsewastoabruptlyexpelapproximately20,000SovietadvisersfromEgypt.
InanApril1973interview,SadatagainwarnedthathewouldrenewthewarwithIsrael.Butitwasthesame
threathehadmadein1971and1972,andmostobserversremainedskeptical.Infact,almostuptothestart
oftheshooting,nooneexpectedawar.Thenewsofthe imminentattackonIsraeltookuscompletelyby
surprise,
PresidentNixon
said
later,
As
recently
as
the
day
before,
the
CIA
had
reported
that
war
in
the
Middle
East
wasunlikely.
EgyptandSyriacaught Israeloffguardwhen they invadedthe Jewish land,yesterday,onYomKippur, the
holiestdayoftheirpeople.TheEgyptianaswellasSyrianarmystagedmilitaryexercises,ontheirsidesofthe
SuezCanalandGolanHeightsrespectivelyandcalledupmostoftheirreservetroops.However,theIsraelis
dismissedthesepreparationsofwarasmeremilitaryexercises.
Israelsmilitarystrategyisbasedonthethinkingthat,ifintelligencewasreceivedofanimpendingattack,then
IsraelwouldconductapreemptivestrikeagainsttheArabs.Clearly,IsraelreliedonandtrusteditsIntelligence
AgencyMossad,eventotheextentthattheybelievedthatMossadwouldgiveIsraelatleast48hoursnotice
beforeawar.
However,
Mossad
failed
Israel
this
time.
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GoldaMeir,IsraelsPrimeMinisterandMosheDayan,theMinisterforDefence,both,werenotinthefavour
of a preemptive strike against the Arabs, as it would have cost them the invaluable American support
(Kissinger,SecretaryofStateapparentlysentMeiracablesayingDontpreempt),asUSAwouldnothelp
Israelifitwasasanaggressor.Also,theythoughtwarwasnotnecessarilyimminentasSyriawouldnotattack
withoutEgypt
and
Egypt
would
not
attack
until
and
unless
it
had
all
the
weapons
it
required
from
the
Soviets.
TheEgyptianshavecrossed theSuezCanalalready.TheSyrianshavealready takenoverMt.Hermon, the
highestpointintheregion,astrategicvantagepoint,owingtoanunobstructed360viewofthearea.Almost
amilliontroopswiththousandsoftanks,aircrafts,etc.arereadytoinvadeIsrael.Israelisstilljustcallingupits
reserves.
OILCRISISTheArabsbelievethatJerusalemshouldbeintheirhands,
notinIsraels.Hence,theyhaveannounceda70%hikeinoil
pricesand
a5%
cut
in
production
directed
mostly
towards
theIsrael supportingWesternworld.Asoilisvitaltotheir
economies, severalWestern countriesmightbedeterred
fromhelpingIsraelmilitarily.Thiswillalmostcertainlylead
to Israelsdefeatas the large forceoftheSovietUnion is
behindtheEgyptianandSyrianarmies.
Theyhavealso said that theymay imposeacompleteoil
embargo on any and all nations that aid Israel. Their
demandtosuchnationsinreturnforuninterruptedsupply
ofoil
was
declaring
support
for
the
implementation
of
UNSCR242,especiallytheclausestatingIsraelswithdrawal
topre1967borders.
One of the reasons why the impact of the crisis was so
dramaticwasthat,intheyearsprecedingthecrisistheUS
dependencyon importedoilshad steadily increased.This
canbewitnessedbythefactthatin1970only22%ofAmericasfuelconsumptionrelieduponforeignfuel,but
thishadrisento36%bythetimethecrisiscommencedin1973.AnotherproblemwasthefactthattheUShad
aweak internalpoliticalstrategy inrelation toenergyconservation,whichmeantthe impactwasperhaps
greaterthanitmighthavebeenhadconsumersbeenandautomobilebeenencouragedtooptforautomobiles
thathadagreaterlevelofefficiencyintermsoffuelconsumption.ThedifficultyfortheUSgoingforwardis
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that,unlessitaddressesandembracesenergysavingpoliciesinamorepositiveway,itseconomywillcontinue
to remain vulnerable to disruption and disturbances that occur within the major oilproducing nations
throughouttheworld,especiallyintheMiddleEast.
Current Situation
Oilprocured fromtheMiddleEastcontinuestosustainahighdemandofconsumptiondueto its
betterqualityandrelativelylowerprices.Moreover,oiltradewiththeMiddleEastisfurtherfavoured
dueto itsproximitytoContinentalEuropeandAsiathrough landandsearoutes. (VenezuelanOil
hardlyfindsitspresenceonIndianandChinesesoils.)Furthermore,complementingthehighdemand
fortheArabOilisthepresenceofhighsupplyoftheOilwithintheMiddleEast.Statisticshighlight
thattheMiddleEastaccountsforhalfoftheworldsreservesofcrudeoil,producingnearly1000
milliontonnesperyear.Outofthe1000millionproduced,thenetoilrequirementoftheMiddleEast
isapproximatedtoaround60milliontonnes.InstarkcontrasttothissituationisthatoftheWestern
World.Theratioofoilrequirementtooilproductioninthelattercaseisimmenselyskewed;while
theWestern
world
produces
around
640
million
tonnes
of
oil
per
year,
it
requires
1500
million
tonnes
peryear.
Inoileconomics,theglobalpriceofcrudeoilissameforallcountries.(However,thecostofrefining
andthedomestictaximposedbycountries,makethepriceofpetrolordieseldifferentaroundthe
world).Thecrudeoilpriceisdecidedbyaseriesofformulae.However,twoinferencesstandoutin
thisdiscourse: first, thepriceofcrudeoilhas tobe sameeverywhere, irrespectiveofwhethera
countrygetsitsoilsupplyfromVenezuelaornot.Moreover,thepriceofoilinacountrywouldalso
increase ifVenezuelacuts itscrudeoilexports.Secondly, iftheMiddleEastcutsoilproductionor
exports,thepriceofoilwillincreasedrasticallyintheWorldasarepercussionsoastosustainmarket
equilibrium.
In such a situation, the proposed Oil Embargo would not be as successful in blackmailing and
threateningtheWesternWorld,astheproposedcut inoilexportsandproductionwould. Hence,
evenaminordisturbanceinthisregionhasthecapabilitytoplungetheworldinacrisislikesituation.
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Events leading to the war
The pivotal factor that motivated Syria andEgypttoinvadeIsraelwastheirhumiliatingandcrushing
defeat.
Witness
to
their
widely
prevalentacrimoniousattitudeistherampanthijackings,massmurders,andbombings thatwere specifically aimed against the Israeligovernment by groups such as the PFLP(Popular Front for Liberation ofPalestine).Notableattacksagainst Israelwerethe Munich Massacre of 1972, Lod AirportMassacreandthefailedhijackingofElAlflight219aspartoftheDawsonsFieldHijackings.
On
September
13,
the
Israeli
and
Syrian
armies
met each other in a violent crossfire thatresulted in the lossof twelveSyrianaircraftsandone Israeliaircraft.Justafewweeksago,therewasmassmobilisationoftroopsontheSuez Canal as well as the Golan Heights byEgypt and Syria respectively. However, Israelmistook this mobilisation to simply be atraining exercise. Their understanding of themobilisationarose from the fact thata largenumber of Egyptian reserve forces went toMecca as pilgrims at the end of September
eachyear.
Furthermore, the Israeli Governmentsmisinterpretation of the armed mobilisationcouldbealsotracedbacktoMayofthisyearwhenonnotificationbyawellplacedspyinEgypt,Israelthoughtthatthesimilarmobilisationoftroopswasapreparationforaninvasion.TheGovernmentreactedbycallingupallofitsreservedforces (nearly a fifth of its working population) and brought Israels daily activities to a halt.However,themobilisationhadturnedouttobeafalsealarm.Humiliated,theIsraeliGovernmentdidnotwishtorepeattheirmistake.
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The Attack
TheattackbyEgyptandSyriawaswellplannedandwasoneofthefewcrucialArabsecretskeptfromtheMossad.TheychoseYomKippur,theholiestdayofJudaism,toinvadeIsraelasmostofIsraels
Jewish
soldiers
would
be
off
duty
with
their
families.
Some
sources
also
state
that
their
motivationforchoosingthisdaylayinthetheorythat IsraeliswouldbetooweaktorepulsetheAraboffensiveafteradayoffastingTheEgyptianSecondandThirdarmiesinvadedtheSinaifromtheNorthernandSouthernfrontiersrespectively.TheyquicklypenetratedtheBarLevLineandthethin Israeli lineofdefence.Theymadeuseof theirAir Force to attack Israelibases andHawkSurfacetoAirMissiles. Israelhadconstructedhugesandwallson itssideoftheSuezCanalandEgyptianengineers spent around 2hours in thewarbreaking through thesewalls to facilitatecrossingofheavyarmourandtanksacrosstheCanal.TheSyrianAirForcemadeuseofairstrikesagainst Israelimilitarypositions in theGolan, taking controlofMt.Hermon (thebest strategicadvantageeithersidecouldwishfor)yesterdayitself.YesterdayEgyptstartedablockadeagainstIsraelishippingontheStraitsofBabelMandeb(separatingtheRedSeafromtheGulfofAden).
SeveralArabnationsandSovietUnionhavepledgedsupporttothearmiesofEgyptandSyria.TheyhavealsosignalledtheirreadinesstouseoilasaweaponagainstthecountriesoftheIsraelibloc.Hence,severalIsraeliallieshaveshownanuneasinessinopenlysupportingIsrael,asoilrunsnotonlytheirvehiclesbutalsotheireconomies.
MilitaryoffensesasapartofOperationBadr
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Changes in the oil world in 1973
OnMarch161973,theOPEChadheldits32ndmeeting.Duringthemeeting,themembernations
discussedthepossibilityofraisingpricesofcrudeoil,soastooffsetthereducedvalueoftheUSdollar.
Thishad
led
to
a5.7
percent
increase
in
oil
prices
by
the
OPEC
on
April
1.
Consequently,
on
June
1,
eightOPECcountrieshadonceagainincreasedoilpricesby11.9percent.ArabnationssuchasLibya,
IranandIraqnationalizedtheconcessionsofvariousoilcompanies.TheShahofIranhadannounced
on23JanuaryanoperatingagreementbetweenIranandaconsortiumofoilcompanies(theSeven
SistersastheywerecalledbyEnricoMattei).OnSeptember16theOPECreiterateditssupportfor
thepricehikes.Asaresult,wecanseethattheideaofusingtheOilWeapontogainfavourinthe
IsraelPalestineissuewaslongembalmedinthemindsoftheArableaders.
USOilProductionand ImportsInAugust, theUSCostof LivingCouncil imposedanew twotierprice ceilingondomestic crude
petroleumsales.Accordingtothissystem,oldoil(oilproducedatorbelow1972levels)weretobe
soldat
the
May
15,
1973
posted
price
plus
35
cents,
while
the
new
oil
(oil
produced
above
1972
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levels)wastobesoldatuncontrolledprices,soastoallowthemarketforcestodecideitsownprices.
PresidentNixonimplementedthispolicytoprovideanincentivetoproduceincreasedquantitiesof
domesticcrudeoil.Althoughthepolicywasexpectedtoaidinthegenerationofmarginalincrements
inthedomesticcrudeoilsupply,theoverarchingideawastopromotedomesticoilproductioninthe
lightofthecomingenergycrisis.
AfterNassersdeath in 1970,Anwar Sadat emerged as thenew Egyptian leader.Hebelieved in
Clausewitzsdictum that Warwas the continuationof politicsbyothermeans.Hehad amore
diplomaticandshrewdapproachtotheissue.HeconvincedKingFaisalofSaudiArabiathattheArab
nationsmustusetheOilWeapontoachievetheirgoalsintheIsraelPalestineconflict.
Today,themembersoftheOPECarethreateningtoraisepricesofoilby70%andcutproductionby
5%alongwithembargoesagainstanynationsthatsupportIsrael.Thisissettoresultintheriseof
priceofonebarrelofcrudeoilfrom$3.01to$5.11.ThePossibleImpactoftheIssuetheOilWeapon
has,inthepast,failedtoachieveitspoliticalandeconomicgoals.However,thistimeitssuccessis
highlyplausible formultiple reasons.This timearound, thereareaconsiderablenumberofArab
nationswho
are
all
threatening
to
use
the
Oil
Weapon;
anumber
much
larger
than
ever
witnessed
inhistory.Thededicationofthenationstothiscauseisunprecedentedandisfurtheraccentuatedby
anincreasedgovernmentcontroloveroilproductionandexportintheirrespectivenations.Suchis
themomentumofthecrisisthatitissettochangetheveryfaceofoiltradeandcreateitsrippleeffect
ontoeverynation.
Untilnow,changesinthepriceofoilhavebeendecidedafternegotiationsbetweentheoilcompanies
andtheOPEC.AlthoughtheOPEChasusuallysucceededingettingitswaythroughthedeliberations,
themerepresenceofnegotiationsanddiscussionshadensuredacertainamountofstabilityinthe
oilmarket.WiththeOPECsettotakethepricingofoilintoitsownhands,thefutureofoilisfraught
withchaos
and
uncertainty.
It
is
for
the
first
time
that
there
would
be
amarked
decrease
in
oil
production.Everycountryintheworld,irrespectiveofitssupporttoIsraelortheArabswillbebrought
underthenegativeimplicationsofarbitraryoilpricing.Keepinginmindthegravityofthesituation,
membersoftheinternationalcommunity,especiallythosewhosupportIsrael,areunderacompelling
pressuretocomplywiththewishesoftheArabs.Thisalsomeansthattargetednationswillnotbe
abletoprocurethisoilfromelsewheresincetherewillbeaworldwideshortageofoil.Withwinter
approaching,thismeansthatthousandsoffamiliesaroundtheglobewillhavetobravethecold.
Thisissuewillalsohaveahugeimpactontothepoliticaldiscourseoftheworld.Nationswhocurrently
supportIsraelmightbecompelledtosupporttheArabnationsoratleasttostopaidingIsrael.Many
nationssuchasBritain,FranceandJapanwhocannotaffordadecreaseinoilimports,wouldbeforced
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tosidewiththeArabs.The issuecouldalsohaveanoppositeeffect;that is,nationswhocurrently
supporttheArabscouldbesoaggravatedbythereducedamountsofoilandtheincreasedpricesthat
theywouldbegintosupportIsrael.
The implicationsofthiscrisisare largeand leavenonation inunaffectedor in isolation.Thevery
dynamicsof
diplomacy,
economics
and
warfare
is
set
to
change.
Such
avolatile
situation
must
be
handledwiththeutmostcare.