Press Report
DAY 1
The United Nations Security Council, chaired by Eduarda Caldas and Victoria Kroger, started its debate on the current political, economic and humanitarian crisis found in Venezuela. Fourteen different countries took part in the discussion, which started with a moderated caucus where two different groups suggested agendas regarding the main topics that should be discussed. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Russian
Federation and the People`s Republic of China got together with an opinion contrary to the rest of the delegates, agreeing that Maduro`s government should be seen as legitimate and not questioned all the time, as it was previously during the opening speeches.
After the voting procedure of the agendas, the one suggested by the United States of America`s block won, and the political crisis was the first debated topic. Regarding the supposed election of Nicolás Maduro, the delegations of China and Russia showed support to the current government and refused the need for a new election, since they see the crisis as an economic problem, not a political one. The delegation of the USA made its position clear, by stating that the real enemy is not Venezuela, but its dictatorship Maduro. Economic support was always offered from the United States for all countries in need: 46 million dollars were donated to Latin America since 2017 to help and confront the Venezuelan crisis with the new aid. The delegates of China, Russia, and Venezuela kept on accusing the United States of being partially responsible for the Crisis but failed when giving reasons why.
Agreeing with the US delegation, the delegate of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Northern Islands showed concern regarding the current "democracy" in Venezuela. The delegation of Russia tried suggesting another method of dealing with the issue besides a new election being made, to which the delegate of the UK disagreed, since "Chavism has brought many problems to Venezuela" and democracy is a priority at the moment.
The debate was marked by Venezuela`s delegation insisting on the veracity of the election of Maduro, and asking for respect from the other delegations, but failing in proofing this fact.
The council then proceeded to the next topic, which is the number of undemocratic measures coming from Maduro since his election. The delegation of the USA started by pointing out the arrest of judges and oppositions in Venezuela and suspicious behavior regarding the elections, to try and justify the antidemocratic character present in the current Venezuelan government. The delegation of the Republic of Colombia mentioned the suspension of the Venezuelan constitution and calls it a dictatorship, trying to convince the delegations of both Russia and China to see it as well. Another suspect behavior comes from the delegation of Venezuela when refusing to answer a question of the delegate of the Swiss Confederation regarding the lack of freedom of the Venezuelan citizens when trying to leave the country.
Despite being highly indicted, the United States of America receives the support of most countries present in the Council, such as the delegation of Colombia, that states that "Venezuela put itself in this situation."
After much debate, a semi-moderated caucus discussing possible solutions for the economic crisis, such as investments coming from other countries in some specific areas and financial help, started. Two drafts resolutions regarding the previously discussed topics were then made. The discussed one has as its main submitters the United States of America, French Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irland. It has as main goal the maintenance of the democracy and the protection of the Venezuelan people of a greater problem. Since the voting procedure on the clauses is not done yet, the New York Times team won`t be able to give any specific details on the resolution. The final version, however, should be published as soon as the council agrees on all topics.
-Camila Costa
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DAY 2
A press statement coming from the American Bureau of Diplomatic Security reported today images captured by surveillance drones on the 8th of October that show Chinese Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles being positioned with nuclear warheads on the Venezuelan territory. The occurred caused tension between the USA and China since it can be seen as a threat to security; causing President Donald Trump to signalize mobilization of the American army.
A conference uniting the representatives of
the G8 and the delegates of the United Nations Security Council was assembled to discuss the problem immediately and ensure no nuclear war began. The most active countries on the debate were the three directly involved ones, the People`s Republic of China, the United States of America and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela but the delegations of Russia and the UK were also actively debating.
The delegate of China started the discussion by trying to explain that those missiles are only in Venezuela for protection and by no means should be seen as a direct threat to the USA. ICBMs however, are very big missiles that for Trump can`t be seen as anything other than an invitation to war. The discussion continued with a few off-topic problems being mentioned by both blocks, mainly directed to the delegations of the USA and UK but returned to the main topic occasionally.
The United States was repeatedly accused by the Chinese representatives of being anti-democratic and ‘brainwashing’ its population. The arguments for both of these accusations were the support for dictatorships that happened in the past and the American high security, both being according to Trump, invalid arguments. The delegation of the USA then proceeded to explain that besides having a complicated past, the goal is now to maintain democracy in all the countries.
The UNSC`s delegate of Venezuela pointed out that the USA`s surveillance drones in Venezuela were part of illegal espionage that should not happen, and reestated what the delegation of China previously mentioned, that the missiles were only for protection.
After much discussion, the council started debating on possible solutions to maintaining peace and solving the bigger issue, since a lot of delegations were taking part in it, however, it wasn`t the most effective idea. The chairs then recommended the delegations to proceed with a direct negotiation between the three representatives of both more involved countries, the United States of America and China. They determined which articles from a draft trade deal were going to pass or not.
The passed trade deal agreed on the removal of American military bases in some countries, where the council saw no need for. The lowering of tariffs in some specific American goods such as electronics, vehicles, and machinery in China. The third Article has measures that the United States of America`s government is going to need to take in order to show respect and regret towards Venezuela. The probably most important Article is regarding the removal of the warheads from Venezuela, guaranteeing peace between the countries.
-Camila Costa