historical united nations security council (hunsc)

Created on October 24, 1945, the Security Council is considered the most important organ of the United Nations (UN) system - the only one able to make decisions which are binding upon nations. Primarily dealing with the maintenance of world peace and security, as stated in Chapter V of the UN Charter,1 the Council has faced great challenges in its more than 40 years of existence.

Reflecting the post-World War II scenario, it was composed of eleven members in its inception, five of them being permanent - namely China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the prerogative of vetoing resolutions if they deem necessary - and the others being elected for two year terms. The number of members was expanded to fifteen in 1965. At present, besides the five permanent members, the Council is composed by Australia, Bulgaria, Congo, Denmark, Ghana, Madagascar, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

Likewise the difficulties observed in the conclusion of other conflicts in the past, the Council and the UN system as a whole have been facing great problems in what concerns the achievement of a cease-fire agreement between Iran and Iraq in these almost six years of conflict. It is now March 1986 and the Council is expected to meet in an atmosphere of uncertainties and apprehensiveness in order to put hostilities to an everlasting end. With several new facts up-and-coming, such as allegations of the use of chemical weapons in the conflict, the Security Council will certainly have a very difficult task in the near future. Given the opportunity of pacifying the conflict, delegates shall take this chance to perhaps make history venerable.

Topic Area: 1986 - The situation between Iran and Iraq

Sharing a legacy that overpasses several centuries, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Iraq have inhabited the same region for millennia. It was in the 7th century, though, with the Islamic conquest of Persia, that differences started to emerge.2 The origins of present hostilities can be identified as religious frictions among Shi'a and Sunni Muslims and ethnic frictions between Persians and Arabs - both dating back and prior to the death of Mohammed - inasmuch as the contemporary personal enmity between its leaders - Ayatollah Khomeini and President Saddam Hussein - or even as border disputes concerning the possession over the Shatt al-Arab. Hence, the outbreak of the conflict in 1980 might be considered another phase of the ancient Persian-Arab clash.

On September 22, 1980, Iraq invaded the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran claiming its sovereignty over the Shatt al-Arab and demanding Iran to refrain from interfering in its internal affairs, as well as calling for the withdrawal of Iranians from the islands in the Persian Gulf, which had previously been under control of the United Arab Emirates. As the conflict went on, its main motivations changed and the hindrance of Iranian expansionism - possibly exporting the Islamic Revolution to other countries in the Middle East - appeared as an additional incentive.3

Throughout nearly six years of conflict, the human costs have been enormous for both sides, with hundreds of thousands of casualties. Moreover, the economic wreckage caused by the war has been overwhelming, and has proven to be difficult to surpass. The harm for the infrastructure and the loss of profit with oil revenues seem to transcend the conflict itself and are likely to have a great impact for both countries over the next decades. In order to stop the conflict and prevent further economic and human losses, many resolutions have already been approved, but none of them have succeeded in reaching a cease-fire.

At this moment, an adequate settlement for the issue is pressing, not only to stop the clashes, but also in order to maintain the region's security as a whole. As the use of chemical weapons in the conflict has been confirmed by the group of specialists appointed by the Secretary-General to investigate these allegations,4 the risk of a chemical and nuclear war seems to be real. Therefore, it is aimed that religious, ethnic and geopolitical differences, along with questions regarding oil production in the region, be taken into consideration when trying to settle the conflict.

Regardless of the approval of Resolution 5825 on last February 24 - which, among others, reports the violation of international humanitarian law as well as of the 1925 Geneva Protocol in what regards to the use of chemical weapons -, the facts already prove that the dispute has not reached a satisfactory end. Thus, the settlement of the conflict by peaceful means is urgent, and until then the Council is expected to remain seized on the matter, working in order to put hostilities to an everlasting end.

1. Charter of the United Nations. Available at: http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/ Last Accessed: 06 June 2008.
2. CRUZE, Gregory S. The Iran-Iraq War: Strategy of Stalemate, 1988. Available at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1988/CGS.htm Last Accessed: 06 June 2008.
3. SONNENBERG, Robert E. The Iran-Iraq War: Strategy of Stalemate, 1985. Available at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1985/SRE.htm Last Accessed: 06 June 2008.
4. S.G. Report 17911. U.N. Doc. S/17911 (1986).

References

CRUZE, Gregory S. The Iran-Iraq War: Strategy of Stalemate, 1988. Available at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1988/CGS.htm Last Accessed: 06 June 2008.
SONNENBERG, Robert E. The Iran-Iraq War: Strategy of Stalemate, 1985. Available at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1985/SRE.htm Last Accessed: 06 June 2008.
UNITED NATIONS. Charter of the United Nations, 1945.
UNITED NATIONS. Secretary-General Report 17911, 1986.
UNITED NATIONS. Security Council Resolution 582, 1986.