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GENERAL ASSEMBLY Topic A: Ongoing Conflicts Regarding National Sovereignty Summary: The meaning of “national sovereignty” has been derived from the Peace of Westphalia, which occurred in 1648, as the full right and power of a governing body to govern itself without any interference from outside sources or bodies. Additionally, the Charter of the United Nations states “the principle of the sovereign equality of all its members,” and demands that no member state violates the territorial integrity of another member state. Nevertheless, this United Nation’s principle has been frequently broken, provoking numerous debates regarding whether or not the intervention was justified by the situation. Also, the role of the UN has been discussed in these conflicts, putting under scrutiny its own rules and principles. Moreover, there is the controversy over how much the sovereignty right of a country could limit other bodies’ intervention to stop abuses of human rights, or if sovereignty could be used by States to oppress their own people. Topic Outline: The international community is increasingly faced with a significant challenge to the principle of national sovereignty and territorial integrity, leading to many cases involving national sovereignty breach in actual days; just as the Hong Kong protests’ scandal alleging its sovereignty against China’s extradition pressure since 2019, or the United Kingdom’s separation from the European Union resolution (Brexit), and more recently, the assasination of the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani by the United States and the corresponding Iranian response by the justification of the “Legitimate Defense” protocol. In addition, there must be clarified an appropriate cooperation among the members of the General Assembly looking to tackle today's threats dividing them into global, regional and national levels in accordance with the Charter and international law, by specifying national sovereignty boundaries, violations and necessary interventions for each case. Unfortunately, this keystone principle of the UN Charter has frequently been used by non-state actors, which include terrorists, militias, and insurgents, to avoid capture as they cross national boundaries. Consequently, internal conflicts can quickly become an issue in entire regions, which can then lead to geopolitical destabilization of the area, and protracting an international conflict. In order to combat these tactics used by non-state actors, nations have invoked the “right of hot pursuit,” which entails that nations have the right to continue the pursuance of criminals that have left the national territory of the respective nation in which the pursuit begun, to validate the consequential violations of other nation’s sovereignty in the confrontation with non-state actors. An issue is that currently the resolution is limited to the application of ships leaving national territorial waters into international waters. Once the ship enters the territorial waters of another sovereign state, the right of hot pursuit ends. Another challenge faced by the international community is the notion that such a right also applies on land, which increases tensions regarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Questions to consider: ● Does the national sovereignty principle have to be modified? What needs to be modified? ● How are the members of the General Assembly going to face current national sovereignty conflicts such as the Hong Kong protests, Brexit, etc.? ● What would the United Nations official position be towards a violation or misconduct of the national sovereignty of a UN member? How will the UN respond? ● Under what circumstances would it be considered appropriate to interfere with a country’s sovereignty? ● Does the United Nations have to modify international laws regarding non-state actors pursuing and countries’ control over its people? ● What sanctions would be instituted if a delegation violates the national sovereignty principles of another delegation? Sources: 1. Kofi Annan. (1999). Two Concepts of Sovereignty. 2020, by the United Nations, Web Page: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/articles/1999-09-18/two-concepts-sov ereignty 2. Globalization 101. (2016). The Issue of Sovereignty. 2020, by the Levin Institute, Web Page: http://www.globalization101.org/the-issue-of-sovereignty/ 3. Axel Berger. (2010). The United Nations, National Sovereignty and the “Responsibility to Protect”. 2020, by d-i-e Web Page: https://www.die-gdi.de/en/the-current-column/article/the-united-nations-nati onal-sovereignty-and-the-responsibility-to-protect/ 4. United Nations. (2016). Urge Balance between UN Role in State Sovereignty, Human Rights Protection, But Differ over Interpretation of Charter Principles. 2020, by the United Nations Web Page: https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12241.doc.htm